esrosedotblog

EXCITING TIMES

Just when I get bored with the news, something 'new' comes along. Frank Rich weighs in with a revue of the anti-administration media inventory to be played out and with this summer.

I do not plan to see the remake of MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE as I do not do remakes and Lawrence Harvey and Angela Lansbury were scary enough; no doubt contributing to my abiding distrust of the right wing.

But, Rich features it as the possible 'all audience' followup to F-9/11; the film that really ought to scare the pants off the bushies while it is scaring its audiences. Of course, it is always possible that the remake will bomb just like the original did; critical success, popular failure. See: 3 Hours Over 4 Nights With 1 Fear.

You gotta register but, hey, it is the NYTimes, at least the paper of 'cultural' record if not in the general sense. The 'grey lady' blew that one a while ago and still sands the edges and rounds the corners of the truth. But that is another story.

Just to demonstrate what I mean about the 'paper of cultural record' take a look at A. O. Scott's feature on the film: 'Harold and Kumar': A Dumb Stoner Comedy for a New American Century. There is 'nowhere else' that you can get this level of film/cultural/social phenom writing. Well, hardly. I am not finding it.

I wouldn't want to see this film; I am of the Cheech and Chong generation; but after reading Scott, I wouldn't have to. I would have thought about the whole thing and had a run with some new ideas. And so on.

Maybe it is better this way. De-grey the old lady and make her more of a hip purveyor of the present. Besides, they are one of the few national papers so there is not so much onus on being the fact-lady anymore. We have the internet for facts! Ha! Nudge nudge.