Oliver 40274

Zune Social

info@oliver40274.com (Glenn) — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 13:12:00 +0000

Real Journalism

info@oliver40274.com (Glenn) — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 14:10:00 +0000

We've been hearing alot lately about the imminent demise of printed media. Don't you believe it. This is quality reporting...

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Government Solutions Funny

info@oliver40274.com (Glenn) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 02:18:00 +0000

I got such a fun reaction from the Trick or Treat comic that I thought I'd try another one out. Pretty funny.. huh?

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Top Movies by Alpha

info@oliver40274.com (Glenn) — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 02:51:00 +0000

I spotted this meme being played out on the blog Reading is my Superpower - undoubtedly passed on by others... and wanted to give it a go. Fits in well with the theme of Oliver 40274 after all.

List your favorite films from A to Z, one for each letter of the alphabet.

    A - American History X
    B - Box of Moonlight
    C - Color Purple, The
    D - Dr Strangelove
    E - Exorcist
    F - Fried Green Tomatoes
    G - Graduate, The
    H - Holes
    I - Invasion of the Body Snatchers
    J - Juliet of the Spirits
    K - Killing Zoe
    L - Lock, Stock & 2 Smoking Barrels
    M - Mystery Train
    N - Neighbors
    O - One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest
    P - Pulp Fiction
    Q - Quick and the Dead, The
    R - Run Lola Run
    S - Station Agent
    T - Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada
    U - U-Turn
    V - Visitor
    W - Waking the Dead
    X - X-Men
    Y - Young Frankenstein
    Z - Zelig

Had a spot of trouble there at the end but there it is. Feel free to argue as required.

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In This America...

info@oliver40274.com (Glenn) — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 03:36:00 +0000

A North Carolina woman, Rita Cantrell, has been awarded $3.1 million from the department store chain Target, after employees refused to take her $100 bill. The cashiers not only refused the bill, they emailed her photo to local businesses pegging her as a counterfeiter.

Cantrell's attorney, Bozzie Boggs, says that the store got off lightly. "Every aspect of Rita's life has been harmed by Target" says Bozzie. "Where can she buy back her good name? We looked, and you can't buy it at Target."

Sounds a bit overlawyered to me. How long can businesses survive jackpot kooky awards like this? $1,000 would have been sufficient.

Only in this America....

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Presidential Debate

info@oliver40274.com (Glenn) — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 02:22:00 +0000

Now wouldn't this have been more interesting than the debates we saw....?

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Pan's Labyrinth

info@oliver40274.com (Glenn) — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 01:02:00 +0000

EL Laberinto del fauno

***Spoilers Ahead***

A girl on the verge of adolescence is thrust into a brutal nightmare of violence and horror. And this is the reality in the movie.

Half of the movie is this girl's reality - which takes place during WWII years of 1944 but centers on the civil war happening in Spain. Franco's fascist soldiers are attempting to round up peasant resistant fighters that are living in the mountains and forests. The fighters are encouraged by the recent allied victories in France but are nevertheless out manned, out gunned and are low on provisions. The sadistic captain - expertly played by veteran Spanish actor Sergi Lopez - clearly despises young Ofelia and her mother, the captain's wife.

Ofelia is an avid reader - of fantasy and make believe. Her mother and step-father captain forbid such nonsense. But Ofelia's mind will not be denied its retreat from reality. Director Guillermo del Toro does not shy away from the frightening aspects that underlie fairy tales. This is a fairy tale for adults. From the first appearance of the faun or the giant frog, Ofelia shows no fear. In fact she shows more reaction from a flying insect than the moss covered, towering faun. Do these creatures exist only in the mind of a 12 year old girl escaping the brutal realty of war or has she stumbled upon a truly magical place that needs her? I'll leave that for you to discover.

We are left to ask ourselves if the faun represents good or evil. Certainly he presents Ofelia with exactly those choices. Notice how the faun gains youth as the film progresses. Initially he is old, gray, moldy. As he spends time with Ofelia, he becomes, subtly, younger. His hair richer, his movements livelier. The faun gains strength from his interactions with the girl. Near the end of the movie he demands a sacrifice of Ofelia that actually pushes her out of the fantasy world and into the reality. Ofelia is just as out of place in the real world as her fantasy world.

The movie is visually stunning. The fantasy creatures are original and detailed. The pale man image stays with you long after the movie is over... his loose pale skin, his eyes in the palms of his hands, his taste for blood. There is a pile of children's shoes nearby that points to the horrors of the holocaust in neighboring Germany. The same actor plays both the faun and the pale man. You will not recognize Doug Jones here but you will have seen him in Hellboy, Men in Black and Adaptation. What originality he brings to these creatures.

Another interesting casting choice here is Maribel Verdu in the role of partisan sympathizer Mercedes. We fell in love with her in the 2001 Mexican indie hit Y tu mama tambien. She shows a love for the young Ofelia which endears us to her. Her story line role morphs during the film from subservient servant to brutally feisty guerilla. Maribel handles the task expertly.

Enjoy this movie as fantasy, Enjoy this movie as a parable on the good and bad in mankind. Enjoy this movie as a taste of history on the Spanish civil war. But above all, enjoy this movie.

This movie made our Top 100 Movie List.

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TGIF Trick or Treat

info@oliver40274.com (Glenn) — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 19:49:00 +0000

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The Cost of Congress

info@oliver40274.com (Glenn) — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 23:43:00 +0000

This is an interesting graphic that shows the effect of congress on gas prices over the last 8 years.

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TGIF Castle

info@oliver40274.com (Glenn) — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 14:57:00 +0000

Burg Castle along the Rhine river, Germany

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Smokin' Aces

info@oliver40274.com (Glenn) — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 01:14:00 +0000

Smokin' Aces - 2007

Wow. After some brief introductions, you get onboard a fast moving train and head out full speed for the next 90 minutes. If you like that kinda thing - and I do - then you will. Oddball characters and crooks in way over their head are the finer things I look for in a film - and I found them here. I searched the net looking for a positive review of this movie. I'm proud to say this is the first.

Writer/Director Joe Carnahan is familiar with this fast paced crime spree adventure genre. In his 1998 Blood, Guts, Bullets and Octane indie hit, Carnahan created a wild - yet believable - adventure with a couple of car salesmen, a used car with a trunk full of cash, and a host of people looking for it and them. They converge and and fun ensues. Fast forward to 2007 and Smokin Aces and we have a mob informant with a head full of knowledge, a host of people out to get him. They converge and fun ensues. Repeat as necessary.

We have here a bunch of assassins converging on Las Vegas to collect the bounty for former magician mob boss gone informant. The FBI is out to protect him. Sounds kind of like standard B movie fare but the execution and the character development set this movie apart. Sure, some are over the top but that's part of the fun. It throws alot of crap up at you and some of it is sure to stick.

There is a group of cousin assassins known as the Trevor Brothers - some inbred neo-nazi boys who would kill 15 people just to get their target. There is Georgia and Sharice, two black lesbian assassins out to make a name for themselves. There's a former revolutionary turned mercenary (who chewed his fingers down to avoid fingerprints), a bail bondsman with some ex-cop buddies and a master of disguise doctor. All this amounts to a cornucopia of bloody, wacky violence.

The acting here is astounding, it lifts the movie up to more than a violent free for all - it becomes essential. The actors are having fun, yes... but they are taking their craft seriously and it elevates the movie to the next level.

If you like Tarantino movies, this will not disappoint.

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But its the Republicans fault...

info@oliver40274.com (Glenn) — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 01:50:00 +0000

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TGIF Blue Winter

info@oliver40274.com (Glenn) — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 13:12:00 +0000

Blue Winter, Pittsburgh, PA

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In This America...

info@oliver40274.com (Glenn) — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 02:22:00 +0000

Elementary school pupils in Georgia are to be weighed twice a year under a new state law that requires schools to track kid's body mass indexes and post the aggregated information on a website.

Critics are says that the testing is a violation of the children's privacy and may be traumatic. "Sally, step into the office, step onto the scale, that's about as invasive as it gets," remarked State Senator Joseph Carter in a Feb. 29 interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Does the long arm of the government belong in our lives like this? Senator Preston Smith, a Republican from Rome, says no.

What say you?

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Prosperity Killers

info@oliver40274.com (Glenn) — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 02:29:00 +0000

TGIF Africa Mountain

info@oliver40274.com (Glenn) — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 19:56:00 +0000

Ribaue, Mozambique

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Oblivious

info@oliver40274.com (Glenn) — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 23:29:00 +0000

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Smalltime

info@oliver40274.com (Glenn) — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 18:12:00 +0000

Smalltime - 1996

In this installment in the incompetent crook genre, Glenn Plummer plays Ben, a small time, but up and coming crook in the employ of The Dutchman. He is entrusted with a half million dollars worth of cocaine and instructed to hold on to it for a couple days in the desert until the buyer comes. Ben sees this as his opportunity to move up the ladder in the organization and be a big player.

What should be routine soon turns into a nightmare. Ben brings along his two partners, Jesus and Marty, who are constantly bickering. The next couple days in the desert prove to be Ben's unraveling.

The movie has tones of Tarentino in the witty dialog and violent narrative - drugs, amateur dealers, prostitutes... all intertwined into a fast moving and explosive ending. That being said we see overtones of Oliver Stone in the mysticism of an Indian shaman. And over top all of this is the desert. The desert is a pivotal character in the film. You can see it, smell it, and taste it. Several characters become lost in it for a time and try to extract something to drink from a drying stick plant. This movie works in the desert location. If the city was the setting it would have been a lame imitation of a hundred similar movies.

It was interesting to see Rae Dawn Chong , daughter of Tommy Chong, show up as the money collector. She has a great film presence. Look for her in the more well known Color Purple. Here she shows range with a role that puts her as an assertive and ruthless gangster.

Smalltime is currently out of print - with no plans to reprint. Keep a watch out for additional pressings as this is a must have for your dumb crook in the desert movie collection.

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TGIF Light Green

info@oliver40274.com (Glenn) — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 13:26:00 +0000

Chihuly Glass

Land of the Blind

info@oliver40274.com (Glenn) — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 23:38:00 +0000

Land of the Blind - 2006

Cinematographer Emmanuel Kadosh creates an over exposed world where stark faces are bleached out and white rooms are washed into a single visual that is fascinating to see. Attention is given to costume & set design and they come together to bring us a world that is part fantasy, part period piece.

The movie is narrated by Joe (Ralph Fiennes) from his jail cell. We are given periods of his life throughout the pervious couple decades that tell the story of how he got there. As a security guard for the country's most dangerous political prisoner, Thorne (Donald Sutherland) he begins to sympathize with the prisoner and questions whether the current dictator Maximilian II (Tom Hollander) is really good for the country. He comes to the conclusion that he isn't and the ensuing series of events puts him at odds with his country, no matter who is in charge.

The different repressive governments represented here are fascinating. We see shades of fascist dictatorship, socialist revolution, Islamofascism, military authoritarianism, demented child king and media manipulation. There is no left or right lean, no current political comment to make. This is political satire at its best. It says, "Absolute power corrupts, absolutely." This is about the fragility of the human condition, not about any particular belief system.

Tom Hollander looks like he is having great fun with this script. Obviously there are veiled references to North Korea's leader Kim Jong-il in his character. Fiennes is always intense and riveting in his work. I first saw him in Schindler's List as the German camp officer Amon Goeth. His roles always seem to require such intensity.

Land of the Blind disappeared from the theatres almost as soon as it was released. I'm bucking the trend here giving it 4 stars. Most critics panned it. Perhaps they missed the satire. The acting is top notch and if you are looking for a political message to support your personal theories, you will be disappointed. I didn't and I wasn't.

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Preliminary Nebula Awards

info@oliver40274.com (Glenn) — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 02:00:00 +0000

2007 Preliminary Nebula Awards

The annual Nebula Award is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), for some the best science fiction and fantasy fiction published in the United States during the two previous years.

Nebula & Norton Award Winners

Novel: Seeker, by Jack McDevitt
(Ace, Nov05)

Novella: "Burn," by James Patrick Kelly (podcast version)
(Tachyon Publications, Dec05)

Novelette: "Two Hearts," by Peter S. Beagle
(F&SF, Oct/Nov05)

Short Story: "Echo," by Elizabeth Hand
(F&SF, Oct/Nov05)

Script: Howl's Moving Castle, by Hayao Miyazaki, Cindy Davis Hewitt, and Donald H. Hewitt (Studio Ghibli and Walt Disney Pictures, U.S. Premier 10 Jun05. Based on the novel by Diana Wynne Jones.)

Andre Norton Award: Magic or Madness, by Justine Larbalestier
(Penguin Razorbill, May05)

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TGIF Fern

info@oliver40274.com (Glenn) — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 14:26:00 +0000

Phipps Conservatory, Pittsburgh, PA

War on Terror

info@oliver40274.com (Glenn) — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 21:39:00 +0000

This is humorous, but it has a point. How many of us really understand the War on Terror?

List of 80th Annual Oscar Nominees

info@oliver40274.com (Glenn) — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 14:13:00 +0000

The nominees are out for the 80th Oscar awards.

Best Picture

Best Actor

George Clooney, Michael Clayton
Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood
Johnny Depp, Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Tommy Lee Jones, In the Valley of Elah
Viggo Mortensen, Eastern Promises

Actress

Cate Blanchett, Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Julie Christie, Away From Her
Marion Cotillard, La Vie en Rose
Laura Linney, The Savages
Ellen Page, Juno

Supporting Actor

Casey Affleck, The Assassination of Jesse James
Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men
Hal Holbrook, Into the Wild
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Charlie Wilson's War
Tom Wilkinson, Michael Clayton

Supporting Actress

Cate Blanchett, I'm Not There
Ruby Dee, American Gangster
Saoirse Ronan, Atonement
Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone
Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton

Director

Julian Schnabel, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Jason Reitman, Juno
Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men
Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood

Foreign Film

Beaufort, Israel
The Counterfeiters, Austria
Katyn, Poland
Mongol, Kazakhstan
12, Russia

Adapted Screenplay

Christopher Hampton, Atonement
Sarah Polley, Away from Her
Ronald Harwood, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Joel Coen & Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men
Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood

Original Screenplay

Diablo Cody, Juno
Nancy Oliver, Lars and the Real Girl
Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton
Brad Bird, Jan Pinkava and Jim Capobianco, Ratatouille
Tamara Jenkins, The Savages

Animated Feature Film

Persepolis
Ratatouille
Surf's Up

Art Direction

American Gangster
Atonement
The Golden Compass
Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street
There Will Be Blood

Cinematography

The Assassination of Jesse James
Atonement
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood

Sound Mixing

The Bourne Ultimatum
No Country for Old Men
Ratatouille
3:10 to Yuma
Transformers

Sound Editing

The Bourne Ultimatum
No Country for Old Men
Ratatouille
There Will Be Blood
Transformers

Original Score

Atonement, Dario Marianelli
The Kite Runner, Alberto Iglesias
Michael Clayton, James Newton Howard
Ratatouille, Michael Giacchino
3:10 to Yuma, Marco Beltrami

Original Song

Falling Slowly from Once, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova
Happy Working Song from Enchanted, Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz
Raise It Up from August Rush, Nominees to be determined
So Close from Enchanted, Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz
That's How You Know from Enchanted, Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz.

Costume

Across the Universe
Atonement
Elizabeth: The Golden Age
La Vie en Rose
Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Documentary Feature

No End in Sight
Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience
Sicko
Taxi to the Dark Side
War/Dance."

Documentary (short subject)

Freeheld
La Corona (The Crown)
Salim Baba
Sari's Mother

Film Editing

The Bourne Ultimatum
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Into the Wild
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood

Makeup

La Vie en Rose
Norbit
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

Animated Short Film

I Met the Walrus
Madame Tutli-Putli
Meme Les Pigeons Vont au Paradis (Even Pigeons Go to Heaven)
My Love (Moya Lyubov)
Peter & the Wolf

Live Action Short Film

At Night
Il Supplente (The Substitute)
Le Mozart des Pickpockets (The Mozart of Pickpockets)
Tanghi Argentini
The Tonto Woman

Visual Effects

The Golden Compass
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Transformers

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In This America...

info@oliver40274.com (Glenn) — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 15:02:00 +0000

PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) has asked that a man awaiting trial for cannibalism be forced to become a vegetarian.

Christopher McCuin was arrested and charged earlier this month with killing, cooking, and partially eating his girlfriend. In a letter from PETA Vice President Bruce Friedrich (pictured on right) to prison officials, Bruce asks that Christopher be put on a strict vegan diet to prevent him from contributing to any more suffering and death.

The request will not be honored, prison officials said. McCuin will be fed like any other prisoner.

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Oliver 40274

Zune Social

Real Journalism

Government Solutions Funny

Top Movies by Alpha

In This America...

Presidential Debate

Pan's Labyrinth

TGIF Trick or Treat

The Cost of Congress

TGIF Castle

Smokin' Aces

Smokin' Aces - 2007

But its the Republicans fault...

TGIF Blue Winter

In This America...

Prosperity Killers

TGIF Africa Mountain

Oblivious

Smalltime

TGIF Light Green

Land of the Blind

Preliminary Nebula Awards

Novel: Seeker, by Jack McDevitt (Ace, Nov05)

Novella: "Burn," by James Patrick Kelly (podcast version) (Tachyon Publications, Dec05)

Novelette: "Two Hearts," by Peter S. Beagle (F&SF, Oct/Nov05)

Short Story: "Echo," by Elizabeth Hand (F&SF, Oct/Nov05)

Script: Howl's Moving Castle, by Hayao Miyazaki, Cindy Davis Hewitt, and Donald H. Hewitt (Studio Ghibli and Walt Disney Pictures, U.S. Premier 10 Jun05. Based on the novel by Diana Wynne Jones.)

Andre Norton Award: Magic or Madness, by Justine Larbalestier (Penguin Razorbill, May05)

TGIF Fern

War on Terror

List of 80th Annual Oscar Nominees

Best Picture

Best Actor

Actress

Supporting Actor

Supporting Actress

Director

Foreign Film

Adapted Screenplay

Original Screenplay

Animated Feature Film

Art Direction

Cinematography

Sound Mixing

Sound Editing

Original Score

Original Song

Costume

Documentary Feature

Documentary (short subject)

Film Editing

Makeup

Animated Short Film

Live Action Short Film

Visual Effects

In This America...

Novel: Seeker, by Jack McDevitt
(Ace, Nov05)

Novella: "Burn," by James Patrick Kelly (podcast version)
(Tachyon Publications, Dec05)

Novelette: "Two Hearts," by Peter S. Beagle
(F&SF, Oct/Nov05)

Short Story: "Echo," by Elizabeth Hand
(F&SF, Oct/Nov05)

Andre Norton Award: Magic or Madness, by Justine Larbalestier
(Penguin Razorbill, May05)