Brief review of the latest episode…
Grindhouse
I saw it, along with
Unfortunately, the film opened in 4th place — Easter weekend being “take the kids to the movies” time, which meant that unchallenging comedies like Blades of Glory and Are We Done Yet, and the latest souless Disney CG project, Meet The Robinsons came out on top.
Interestingly, Harvey Weinstein says that Grindhouse played to big crowds on the East and West coasts but failed to click with audiences in the Midwest and South. Where, not surprisingly, they didn’t really have grindhouses in the 70s.
Of the audience who was there for the opening matinee on Saturday, I’d guess that about a third really got it, a third were fratboy types digging on the cool-factor and gore, and a third were pretty clueless.
As for me — I saw two filmmakers decide to make the sort of films that they had grown up on, which nobody makes any more. It was brilliant, and it was inspirational.
Yup — another log on the “Gareth wants to make a movie” fire.
Quid Pro Quo
In early February, Jalal Sharafi, an Iranian diplomat at their embassy in Baghadad, was abducted by men wearing the uniforms of the Iraqi 36th Commando Battalion – a special Iraqi unit under US direction.
This came a month after US Forces raided an Iranian consulate in Arbil, northern Iraq, and detained five staff members. Of course, most major media retracted details almost immediately after the raid, claiming that it wasn’t a consulate…..because of course, such an action against a consulate would be an act of war.
Tuesday, Jalal Shafari was released.
THE NEXT DAY, Wednesday, in an act that American media has almost universally called a “suprise” or “unexpected”, Iran released the 15 British sailors and marines they had captured on March 23rd.
Of course, there are denials all around that the events were connected. No relation at all. A diplomat is released after being held for two months, and then immediately afterward, Iran releases British personnel. Huh. Quite the concidence.
It gets deeper. Sharafi is claiming that he was tortured during questioning, directed by the CIA. The US response? “The CIA does not conduct or condone torture.”
(Well, aside from contractors, of course. Oh, and rendition. Oh, and water-boarding isn’t technically “torture.” And..etc. etc. etc.)
Don’t expect any of this to be spelled out for the American public. It disturbs the narrative. After all, the EEEEEeeeevil, hostage-taking Iranians are obviously ASKING for it. We’re gonna Git-R-Done. Payback for ’79, baby.