The first line in the review of Control by Bob Fischbach in the Omaha World Herald:

“If you’re like me, you’ve probably never heard of British actor Sam Riley, Dutch director Anton Corbijn or the late-1970s British band Joy Division.”

Actually, I am aware of all three, and as a reviewer of film and a purveyor of culture, I would expect you to have at least a base or passing knowledge of acclaimed music video director Anton Corbijn and/or the influential band Joy Division. In fact, my main reasons for wanting see this film are 1) It was directed by Anton Corbijn and 2) It is about Ian Curtis and Joy Division and 3) I have heard and read great things about the performance by Sam Riley and I am a fan of Samantha Morton’s work. Why else besides one of these reasons would one want to see this film, besides maybe a recommendation from a friend or by randomly seeing a trailer and thinking that it looked good?

Now to be clear, I realize that most people in Nebraska have not heard of any of these people (and most people in the country as well), and that is fine. I’m not expecting that they do. I understand that these are not household names, and that I am among a minority in the overall population. However, I am expecting that a film reviewer for a paper in what most (including those at this paper) consider a major metropolitan city does not claim total ignorance of these artists, and expect the same of his audience. Can we aim a bit higher?

What also annoys me is that there is no shame, no apology to his admittance. It’s not as if he should know any of these, but doesn’t. It’s just simply that he is unaware, and we are assumed to be in the same equally unaware boat. Well, what if we are not? He should be knowledgable about these things, it’s his job. I want a film reviewer to be (and sound) knowledgable, insightful, intelligent and aware, even more so than me. It reminds me of Bush and some of his supporters (especially around here): “Well, he sounds like me. He mispronounces words. He isn’t so smart.” I don’t want the President to sound like me, mispronounce words, or be on equal footing and intelligence as myself. I want them to be more intelligent, more aware, more well studied and well spoken than myself and same for my film reviewers and other writers I read.

I’m coming to the end of my rant, don’t worry. Okay, my last point: if you didn’t know anything about these people or this movie to be begin with, you could’ve done a little research or at least not claimed ignorance. I mean, it’s really not that hard to do a little cursory research these days. A 10 minute Google search could have helped. In fact, you could have even watched some of Corbijn’s videos online…get a sense of his work, style and sensibility. And if you had a few more minutes, you could’ve listened to some Joy Division songs online. Perhaps both could have provided some context, insight, knowledge and/or familiarity. Just a suggestion.

The Democratic debate is on tonight. It airs on CNN at 7 pm Eastern time. I’ll be tuning in. Catch it if you can.

Also, I subscribed to the New York Times home delivery yesterday and I’m so excited. The Omaha World-Herald was just not cutting it as the only print source of news. The only weird thing is that there is no way for me to get the Saturday paper. My only options were Monday-Friday or Sunday only. I signed up for both, but that still excludes Saturday. I will have to designate this as my day to go out and get the paper, which is fine I guess since that is what I have been doing every day. I hope it starts coming soon!

I finally saw The Lives of Others and loved it. I was completely absorbed and engaged in the film. Nothing since 24 has held my rapturous attention like this film. It was amazing. Rich, complex characters that felt as if they were inhabiting a very real, very morally complex world. It was deep and resonant without being didactic or too obvious. It managed to be both restraintful and emotionally evocative. I really, really loved it.

I can’t wait until Film Streams opens this upcoming weekend. I am trying to decide if I should attend the opening on Friday night. Seven Samurai opens as one of Alexander Payne’s ten picks for the Film Streams series that he is curating. Although some may view this as sacrilege, especially as a movie lover and a film student, I must admit that I’m not a big Kurosawa fan. I’ve got nothing against the guy, but the films I’ve seen of his haven’t sparked anything within me. Basically, I was bored. I feel like I have seen Seven Samurai for a film class, but I’m not sure. Maybe I should give this movie a first or second chance. Maybe with the excitement of a hopefully packed theater on opening night, I will find something onscreen in that dark, new theater that I haven’t seen before. Payne has written this about the film:

“Japanese director Akira Kurosawa’s grandly entertaining historical epic is an achievement like climbing Mount Everest. My vote for best movie ever made. It’s the film that most made me want to become a filmmaker.”

There’s more:
“I still can’t believe it now, fifty-odd viewings later, that a movie can be that good—that ferocious, that delicate, that historical, that timeless, that entertaining, that complete. It goes by quickly precisely because it is so economical, each frame measured and weighed for the story it tells.”

That’s pretty high praise. If you’re interested in seeing his other picks and notes on them, you can go here for an Omaha World-Herald article and/or on the Film Streams site. As more incentive, Payne himself is going to be on hand for some of the opening week events.

It seems to me, based on my own musings here, that I should go. Couldn’t McCabe and Mrs. Miller be the opening night? Or La Notte? Or The Last Detail? Or any other film that he has chosen?

Article on the new music venue in Omaha owned and run by Saddle Creek, which is slated to open this Friday, from the Omaha World-Herald.