Mat continues his family road trip, so I am picking up the reins to write about what looks interesting.
It feels like we’ve been living in Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Emperor’s New Clothes” for the past few years as the public discourse gets increasingly less trustworthy due to certain players reveling in and profiting from the chaos of misinformation. It makes one wish for more people in the public square, like the child of Andersen’s story, to call out the nonsense on display in society. I enjoy those rabble-rousers, firebrands, and troublemakers who don’t go along with the status quo, not fearing what those in charge or their followers think, which is why the deaths of folks like Hunter S. Thompson, Christopher Hitchens, and George Carlin were more meaningful to me.
Speaking of Carlin, the comedian’s work is being celebrated in George Carlin Commemorative Collection, a 10-disc set that presents all his HBO comedy specials, ranging from On Location: George Carlin at USC (1977) to It’s Bad for Ya (2008), along with hours of bonus material from the 1960’s all the way through to the 2000’s, including the 40 Years of Comedy special hosted by Jon Stewart. It will be a treat to watch his tremendous ability to provide insightful humor (or is it humorous insight?) about “humanity’s bullshit” in between moments of absurdity and silliness.
Also out this week that looks interesting:
Manila in the Claws of Light (Criterion) – Although I had never heard about this Filipino drama before Criterion’s announcement, I trust the company’s judgement because of their track record, so a release by them alone is enough to interest me
Ninja III: The Domination [Collector’s Edition] – When an aerobic instructor Christie Ryder (Lucinda Dickey) is possessed by an evil ninja, she begins to seek out his former enemies. What more do you need?
Designing Woman – Vincente Minnelli directed this romantic comedy starring Lauren Bacall and Gregory Peck. George Wells’ Academy Award-winning screenplay offers a twist on the story by having the two get married and then start to get to know each other.
Jack the Giant Killer (1962) – This fantasy adventure contains stop-motion animation by Project Unlimited, the company that won an Oscar for The Time Machine.
