Countdown To Converge South 2007 And More...

"You got a VCR in the back of your head? It's like David Cronenberg all up in here!"
- Master Shake (Dana Snyder)

I'm attending my first blogger convention/conference whatever - CONVERGE SOUTH 2007 in Greensboro a week from today. I'm going with my brother Dave who says it is a "small conference devoted to blogging, podcasting and 'new media'". He has been to many of these kinda deals so he'll show me the ropes. I'll blog about it of course so stay tuned.

Just one just seen flick to babble 'bout this time out :

AQUA TEEN HUNGER FORCE COLON MOVIE FILM FOR THEATERS (Dirs. Matt Maiellaro/ David Willis, 2007)

Once I was angered to find that prissy critic/pundit Leonard Maltin in one of his bulky film guides described MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL as being "for fans only". This was absurd - I've met many people who say that's the only Python they like so it is inaccurate to label it that way. That said this odd flat looking animated full length version of the Cartoon Network's cult fave Aqua Teen Hunger Force is definitely without a shadow of a doubt for fans only. Maybe even just the stoned hardcore fan actually - the only type of people who would truly appreciate a cameo by Space Ghost that is. I've only seen a handful of episodes and found it amusing to a degree but uh, feature film worthy? I think not.

The premise is that a large talking soda cup - Master Shake (Dana Snyder), a goateed talking order of large fries - Frylock (Carey Means) and a baby voiced talking meatball - Meatwad (David Willis) uh, well...they, okay that is the whole premise. I mean they have uh, adventures I guess, but not really. They seem to stand around and say weird twisted things. This "Movie Film" (that part of the title obviously comes from BORAT - with Sacha Baron Cohen constantly referring to his movie in that manner) makes no attempt to be anything but a long episode of the show and involves some kind of evil alien exercise machine that our fast food product pals' crusty wife-beater-wearing neighbor Carl (also voiced by Willis) gets caught in. Sample dialogue from that scene :

Cybernetic Ghost (Matt Maiellaro) - "There's only one way to stop it. You must push the stop button.
Meatwad - "It doesn't have a stop button!"
Cybernetic Ghost - "Well...I...then there's no way to stop it."

Yep, the humour is consistent on that level. There's no point of recounting any other plot points - the characters themselves continually forget there is a plot (Meatwad - "do I remember anything?") If BORAT was rude mean comedy, then this is a model of awkward comedy. Every character has issues and makes inappropriate yet silly comments and the others look uncomfortable and brush it off - "uh, okay!" Which is probably the best response to this movie. Sorry, Movie Film.


Now doing this blog I get a lot of email - content requests, link exchanges, questions, corrections, etc. The moderator at this site - eyje.com wrote me asking for a Review Exchange Request. I review their site - they'll review mine. Okay, so I checked out eyje.com and played around with what they call their "social comment search engine". I put in Bruce Springsteen - "No results for bruce springsteen" I put in Bob Dylan - "No results for bob dylan". Hmmm. I knew Kurt Cobain would get something because his name is on the recently discussed comments homepage - I try Hitler - "No results for hitler". Okay, so it's a new site. These things take time. I'll try back later. Not sure how this is a social network device like it claims to be but again maybe it's too soon to tell. Anyway I'll link to them and stay tuned.

More later...

I Think I Smell A BORAT...

"We support your war of terror!"
- BORAT (Sacha Baron Cohen)  




The #1 movie-film in America right now with an approval rating of 96% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (you know, the site that tallies up all the major reviews) BORAT: CULTURAL LEARNINGS OF AMERICA FOR MAKE BENEFIT GLORIOUS NATION OF KAZAKHSTAN is really burning it up this season.



It does has a lot of funny moments though I personally feel much of the material would be better seen in individual YouTube clips, because even at just 84 minutes the guys routine wears a bit.



Peering in on the sold out shows at my local hometown theater where I work part-time, a drop-off in riotous laughter is strongly evident in the last third of the movie. One sequence in particular I could have done without, a nude wrestling match between BORAT (Sacha Baron Cohen) and his morbidly obese manager (Ken Davitian) that starts over a squabble in a fancy-pants hotel room and spills out into the lobby, so that the shocked public can witness of course. 



Thankfully black bars were inserted to cover the naughty bits. That's definitely he scene where my laughter dropped off. 



Being the second most hyped movie of the year (the first being SNAKES ON A PLANE) I was surprised at the critical reaction.



It's getting a lot of incredibly favorable notices remarking on the supposed sharpness of the satire and the telling socio-political statements it makes. Some examples:



"The brilliance of BORAT is that its comedy is as pitiless as its social satire and just as brainy" - Manohla Dargis (New York Times) 



"He makes us squirm until we laugh and laugh until we squirm, holding a mirror to our darkest fears and prejudices." - Bob Townsend (Alanta Journal-Constitution) 



"Evil comedy, a new genre, has arrived. The bar has been raised and is flying over everyone's head." - Victoria Alexander (FILMSINREVIEW.COM) 



This is a bit much. 

I mean, it does live up to the hype much more than SNAKES and it does have plenty of genuine laughs, but come on! It says more about how lame comedies have become in the last several years if this is being lauded so highly. As for all the variations on the labeling of BORAT as an "equal opportunity offender" that critics have been tirelessly making, I was offended like Jerry Seinfeld would be "as a comedian" at how easy cheap and obvious some of the lines were - for example:

Borat Sagdiyev: This is Natalya. (He Kisses her passionately) She is my sister. She is number-four prostitute in whole of Kazakhstan. (Natalya holds up a trophy and smiles) Niiice!



Yep, now that's top-line-state-of-the-art-grade-A comedy!



More later...