'Hurt Locker' Locks it Up at Academy Awards

At the Los Angeles Times, "'Hurt' Locks it Up":

"The Hurt Locker," a gritty, challenging and little-seen drama about bomb disposal in the Iraq war, was the leading winner with six Academy Awards on Sunday night, including best picture and the first directing honor for a female filmmaker.

Academy Award organizers had doubled this year's best-picture contest to 10 movies to rope in more mass-appeal hits and boost the ceremony's ratings; but "The Hurt Locker," an emotionally exhausting account of an Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal team, stands apart as the lowest-grossing film in modern history to capture Hollywood's highest award.

"This has been such a dream -- beyond a dream -- for all of us," screenwriter and producer Mark Boal said in his best picture acceptance speech, calling the film's performance in the 82nd annual ceremony "beyond anything we could have imagined." The film also was honored for its original screenplay, editing and two sound awards.

The Iraq-bomb-defusing drama's Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman to win the Academy Award for directing. "There's no other way to describe it. It's the moment of a lifetime," said Bigelow, who was only the fourth woman nominated for directing in academy history.

Notice how the film is described as a "little seen drama." But in my case, it's one of the films I made sure to see. The other was "Precious," which also did very well last night, for example, with Mo'Nique taking the best supporting actress award. I think, in my movie-going, I seek out genuine meaning in film beyond entertainment, which is why I caught both of the productions at the theater. "Hurt Locker" and "Precious" are of course both riveting productions. But they're also films that speak to us at a deeper level than is common in what goes for popular movie culture. And by that I mean that popular culture of leftist media indoctrination or uber-commercialization that truncates real thinking.

As for the leftist Hollywood culture, "Hurt Locker" in particular has come under fire for NOT being an antiwar movie. And keep in mind that screenwriter Mark Boal was a journalist in-country who wanted to chronicle his experiences in Iraq on film. The Times on Saturday ran a piece on Robert Greenwald's Brave New Films, which is funding a number of hardline leftist films on the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. See, "Veterans Put Their Own War Stories on Film." But keep in mind that these vets will provide a staple for Greenwald's longstanding anti-American ouevre (see here).

In contrast, I first read about "Hurt Locker" at Hot Air, in Ed Morrissey's clear-eyed account from last October, "Film Review: The Hurt Locker." Plus, more recently I've been reading Jules Crittenden's film commentary. He's had a lot of praise for Hurt Locker," and his remarks are grounded especially well in his own experience of having been an embedded reporter in Iraq. See, "World of Hurt."

From the Oscars: Jeff Bridges Wins Best Actor

I love him.

Michelle Pfeiffer introduced Jeff Bridges by harking back to "The Fabulous Baker Brothers." That movie was special to me for some reason, but I think Jeff Bridges does that with most of his roles. He seems to get down to the hard cases that touch experience in all of us. Have you ever seen "American Heart"? It's another one that moves emotion, but I think it was "Starman" that was most special, and I saw it at the theater upon its release:

Anyway, CNN has a report, "Bridges wins best actor; 'Locker' has four Oscars." And at the Los Angeles Times, "Jeff Bridges finally wins his Oscar for 'Crazy Heart'."

Footnote: "Hurt Locker" just won best picture, and Kathryn Bigolow for best director. I'll have more on that tomorrow ...

From the Oscars: Mo'Nique Wins Best Supporting Actress

From CNN, "Mo'Nique Wins Best Supporting Actress":

Also, breaking at Los Angeles Times, "Oscar Night Belongs to 'Precious' So Far." Plus, additional coverage.

I'll post some of my reflections later, especially on Mark Boal.

Radical Left Abandons Obama!

Hardline leftists glommed onto Barack Obama in 2008, jettisoning genuine revolutionary postulates amid a sensational historical moment: the election of America's first black president. Even the CPUSA endorsed Obama for president.

But after nearly 14 months in office, the radicals are abandoning this administration in droves. Here's this from the International Socialist Review, "Meet the New Boss":

The escalation of the war by a Democratic administration underscores the necessity, and the opportunity, for building a clearer and more consistent antiwar movement that is independent of both parties and willing to take on both.

It is no longer as easy to make vague appeals to some alleged better nature of American intervention—it has always been about using military might to deter any potential challengers to American power. The “war on terror” was, and continues to be, a pretext to justify the indiscriminate use of that power. It is a pretext, however, that is much harder to sell to the American public more than eight years after 9/11.

The antiwar movement against the war in Afghanistan was always weaker than that against the war in Iraq, mainly because many who opposed the Iraq War accepted the one in Afghanistan as somehow the legitimate “retaliation” for 9/11. That now can and must change. As the war in Afghanistan escalates and intensifies, there is an opportunity to begin building a stronger movement against the war in Afghanistan, one that is based on firmer politics, and independent from both parties of war.

And the ACLU is throwing down the gauntlet (via Memeorandum):

As president, Barack Obama must decide whether he will keep his solemn promise to restore our Constitution and due process, or ignore his vow and continue the Bush-Cheney policies.

Tell President Obama not to back down on his commitment to our justice system, and to try the 9/11 defendants in criminal court.

Remind the world that America stands for due process, justice, and the rule of law.

Normally, I'd just shrug off the ACLU's remarks, but if they're running an ad like this in the New York Times, let's just say Obama's getting thrown under the the bus at this point:

But typically, given their mindless hatred, some lefties are still clinging to distinctions:

Personally, I don't like to equate President Obama with Bush, even in cases like this one. It's too harsh, even if there are similarities. IMHO, Bush is a war criminal, so I reserve comparisons to him for other thugs.

Oh, Obama's doing, what, virtually the exact same thing as the Bush administration (not because he wants to, but for sheer political opportunism)? But only Bush is a "war criminal"?

Yeah. Right.

That's why they call these idiots "the reality based community." They create their own reality of sheer stupidity.

'Jaws' - Best Picture Nominee, 1975

Speaking of Steven Spielberg, we're watching "Jaws" on Cinemax right now. "One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest" won best picture in 1975, and looking at the list, the competition was tough back then:

I saw "Jaws" at the movie theater. It was a big deal. But looking at the list, my parents took me to see "Funny Girl," which was nominated for best picture in 1968. That's the earliest one for me (seeing a flick at the movies), at least for any of the films nominated for an Oscar. I was about 7 years-old.

The Confusing 'Underrepresented Women at Oscars' Meme at Los Angeles Times

Here's Reed Johnson, discussing "Hurt Locker" director Kathryn Bigelow, in a February 28th piece at the Los Angeles Times:

In the old-boys club that is modern Hollywood, there are few surer ways to kill off a promising film career than by getting yourself labeled a "feminist" director.

Over the years, Kathryn Bigelow has quietly steered clear of that facile epithet, even while many film critics and academics have insisted that her movies cry out to be examined through the twin lenses of gender and genre.

But on the evidence of her latest movie, the taut war thriller "The Hurt Locker" -- a front-runner for this year's Oscar for best picture -- Bigelow deserves to be recognized as one of cinema's most astute analysts, male or female, of masculine identity. And although her perspective shouldn't be tagged as "feminist," it's one that shakes up traditional notions of what men are and how they behave, whether on a battlefield, in the depths of a nuclear submarine or surfing off Malibu ...

Okay, Kathryn Bigelow's got game, right?

Well, not so fast. Better check first with Rachel Abramowitz, also of the Los Angeles Times:

By many counts, 2009 was a great year for women in Hollywood. Female directors knocked out such hits as "The Proposal," "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel," "It's Complicated" and "Julie & Julia," as well as the Oscar contenders "The Hurt Locker" and "An Education."

Sandra Bullock and Meryl Streep outperformed most of their male counterparts dollar for dollar at the box office, nabbing Oscar nominations to boot. The elusive female movie-going audience has started to gel into a potent force, driving such hits as the "Twilight" franchise, "The Blind Side" and this weekend's "Alice in Wonderland."

Now comes the capper, as Kathryn Bigelow stands poised to become the first woman to win an Oscar for directing, after spending seven years in proverbial director's jail because her last film, "K-19: The Widowmaker," flopped at the box office.

After winning numerous critic awards and the prestigious Directors Guild of America directing award, Bigelow is favored to take tonight's prize for directing "The Hurt Locker," her film about bomb-disposal technicians in Iraq that is also nominated for best picture.

Bigelow's likely ascension to the podium at the Academy Awards has provided a jolt of adrenaline.

The director lent her own idiosyncratic eye to the most male of genres, the war film.

But she is considered by many in the business to be more of an outlier, an exception to the rule as a woman who's made her name largely directing men in action films such as "Point Break" and "Strange Days" ...

Okay. Right.

Must be some lingering gender bias in the industry? Except that Abramowitz just published a piece, on February 3rd, entitled, "In Oscar Directing Category, a Numbers Boost for Women and African Americans."

A "boost" in February" but downgraded to a mere "outlier" in March, on the eve of the awards program? No surprise, actually. The leftist media elite gotta maintain that "underrepresented" line at all costs, lest they lose the shaming clout they've been building up for so long. Indeed, as one commenter said previously of Rachel Abramowitz:

What matters most in the Abramowitz worldview is vagina. Those who have one are inherently righteous because of their suffering at the hands of the powerful possessors of penis.

It's true that Kathryn Bigelow would be the first woman to win the best director award. But you're not getting context from Rachel Abramowitz at the Times, not to mention her contradictory reporting. For one thing, it's not like women don't make war films. Director Kimberly Peirce made "Stop Loss," which bombed at the box office -- so maybe folks should be talking about GREAT women film directors rather than filling gender and racial quotas for Oscar. And it's not like Peirce is a stranger to the Academy Awards. Hilary Swank won best actress in Peirce's earlier film, "Boys Don't Cry. And women on tough, hard-hitting drama and violence? Well, maybe Jodie Foster, who carries water for no man, should direct a film on Iraq.

Anyway, Jules Crittenden's got some good commentary on the Oscars tonight. My favorite line, warning not to hold your breath on authentic war films out of Hollywood: "WWII is after all a moral free throw."

By the way, Steven Spielberg, who is Jewish, won best director for "Saving Private Ryan" in 1999. If you make powerful movies, the Academy will notice.

American Al Qaeda, Adam Gadahn, Captured in Pakistan - UPDATED!!

UPDATE: Via Bloomberg, "FBI Says U.S. Hasn’t Confirmed Arrest of Adam Gadahn, and at CBS News, "U.S.-Born al Qaeda Arrest News Incorrect: Confusion Over Militant's Identity Sparked Reports of Gadahn Arrest; Some Media Say It is Another U.S.-Born Terrorist."

***********

A tweet from Adam Housley of Fox News:

This is flaming-skull material at AOSHQ, "Report: Fatass Adam Gadahn Captured in Pakistan UPDATE: NBC Confirms."

Plus, the Astute Bloggers weigh in, "AWESOME! NOW, KICK THE SHIT OUT OF HIM UNTIL WE KNOW EVERY THING HE DOES."

And at Long War Journal, a serous military-strategic update, "American al Qaeda Spokesman Adam Gadahn Captured in Pakistan: Report."

Note that it's basically bloggers and tweeps breaking the story, although NYT's got an AP wire story, "Pakistan Arrests American-Born al-Qaida Militant."

Added: Melissa Clouthier at RWN, "U.S.A. Traitor Adam Gadahn Captured In Pakistan–UPDATED: About Those Treason Charges."

Your Love Has Set My Soul on Fire...

I'll tell ya, Pat Benetar looks like a "Heartbreaker" in this clip. The record was released when I was a senior in high school, but this woman can get the jams on! From 2001:

That's Neil "Spyder" Giraldo on guitar. Neil and Pat were married in 1982.

Anton's evening rock is live, "Sunday Music – Live And Let Die." And for variety, check AOSHQ, who like some hard rockin' from time to time as well.

Side Trivia: From Wikipedia, "Benatar was the first female artist featured on MTV, and her music video, You Better Run, is the second video aired by the network following its debut with The Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star".

G-Spot Mouse

I'm sure Ann Althouse could work up a pithy entry on this, and don't even get Robert Stacy McCain going!

More pics here.

Hat Tip: Vanderleun.

'Barbershop' Beat Down: 'Rosa Parks Ain't Do Nothin'!

(O)CT(O)PUS just hates him some conservatives! See, "THE REPUBLICAN WAR AGAINST CLIMATE SCIENCE: A BOZONE REPORT."

As OCTO claims there, "Congressional Republicans are employing every possible means to suppress research data..."

Uh, well, no actually. That'd be the global warming hysteria crowd. See, "Climategate: “Men behaving Badly” – A Short Summary for Laymen." And a related news update: "Cooling and Warming Cause Snow... Not Exactly."

But don't send your stuff to (O)CT(O)PUS!! He'll mount a denial of employment attack at your place of work. Can't have any dissent from the left's totalitarian line!

And it's not just "global warming." These folks are even worse on race! And you 'specially don' wana' be takin' trash on no black history, yo! Check out some, "'Rosa Parks Ain't Do Nothin'!":

Bill Whittle's Afterburner: 'Ghosts of Independence'

From Bill's blog, "IMPERISHABLE":

The Declaration of Independence – the foundational “why” of why we are here – is faded, irreparably faded, and lost to us forever. And the sight of it filled me with despair. Not only for the lost document. I became overwhelmed with despair because the loss of the words on the parchment beneath the glass at my fingers felt a perfect analogy for the fading of those words and ideals from the pages of society. Like the ghost signatures on this pale surface, so many of these ideals are faded and worn — almost invisible, today.

And the instant I had that thought I had another. This document, this piece of parchment, is unreadable. So I resolved to make a copy: just for me.

I wrote it out, by hand, using a four-dollar fountain pen I got at the drug store and copied onto regular printer paper. I could have typed it – heck, I could have texted it – but wanted to write it out by hand. I wanted it to hurt a little.

And I would urge you now – I would urge each of you listening to this today, especially those of you with children – to help me recover this document. We can’t get that ink back on that paper. But we can do something better. We can put new ink to fresh paper, and copy down once again those words exactly as they were written. We can whisper them aloud as we write them – as I did – and through writing them anew on the page we will inevitably write them anew on our hearts, as fresh and as clear to our eyes and our souls as they were the day that ink dried in that hall in Philadelphia.

A piece of parchment is a piece of old skin. A flag is a piece of colored cloth. A man groans in agony, dying in a dirty room. None of that matters. Not here. Not in America.

For above and beyond faded ink, and strips of colored cloth, and whimpers of pain are ideals that come once in all of history. Once. Never again.

O.T.P. ( One Term President )

From Snooper Report:

Spencer Ackerman don't like it. But, of course, for "Attackerman," wishin' death to President Bush is totally cool. I guess that's a leftist thing, yo!

'Alice in Wonderland'

I took my boys to see "Alice in Wonderland" yesterday. Kenneth Turan's review is here. We liked it. It's the first major studio production I've seen in 3D, and it worked for me, although I had strong reminiscences of Captain EO from the 1980s. So, not sure how far the technology's actually advanced. Still, the format is perfectly a piece with Tim Burton's oeuvre. Perhaps the acting was flat, and frankly, Elijah Wood could have played "Mat Hatter" without all the makeup. But it was enjoyable for me (anything with "good versus evil" catches my attention). Besides, my youngest boy started bugging me on Friday as soon as I picked him up from school. He loves the movies -- seriously, monumentally loves them -- and seeing it through the eyes of your children is worth more than all the theater art-critic reviews in the world. That said, check NYT, "What’s a Nice Girl Doing in This Hole?", WSJ, "'Alice': Half a Wonderland."

Los Angeles Times Goes 'Mad' with Front-Page 'Alice in Wonderland' Advertisement

I couldn't believe my eyes at first. The newspaper was in plastic wrap and I thought some kind of insert was partially obscuring the main page. But nope: The Los Angeles Times printed and distributed the main newspaper featuring a full-page advertisement for "Alice in Wonderland." This is not new. Ad buys on the front-page of broadsheet papers have taken off the last few years as publishers have sought to enhance revenue. No one, of course, can say that industry dignity or reputation is being similarly enhanced. I took a pic as soon as I brought he paper upstairs, and the New York Times has a report, "A Cover Ad That Mimics a Newspaper’s Front Page":

The entire first page of The Los Angeles Times on Friday was an ad that looked, in part, like the front page of The Los Angeles Times, as the newspaper again tested the accepted limits on where ads can be published and how they can blur the boundary with news.

A garishly multicolored image of Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter, in the film “Alice in Wonderland,” occupies most of the paper’s cover page, superimposed over what looks like the usual, sober front page. Above him is the “Los Angeles Times” banner, and bracketing his face are actual, recent articles.

The top editor of The Times, Russ Stanton, and several of his deputies vigorously opposed the ad before it was published, but they were overruled by the paper’s business executives, according to people with direct knowledge of the dispute, who were granted anonymity to discuss private conversations.

Mr. Stanton said only, “Obviously, it was not my decision.”

John Conroy, a spokesman for The Times, said, “Stretching the boundaries was what we were going for.” He said Eddy W. Hartenstein, the publisher and chief executive, and other executives would not comment.

Ads that completely cover a publication’s front page, or are made to look like part of it — or both — are not unusual for trade magazines and some tabloid newspapers, but broadsheets have generally shunned them. But Mr. Conroy noted that however unorthodox the ad may be for print, it mirrors a common practice online of having an ad cover part or all of a Web site’s home page for a few seconds.

“It’s taking a concept that we normally apply to new media and reimagining it to a concept in a newspaper,” he said.

More critical reaction from folks at the Times (at the link).

'KARWRAPS' Goes Genocide Chic

Saw this Toyota Scion the other day while heading north on Interstate 405. I'm doing about 70 MPH. Traffic is actually pretty brisk here, but wanted a pic. I'm thinking, "Man, when did genocide go glam"? The website is here: "KARWRAPS":

Honesty, Integrity, Quality; We care about your business and your advertising project. Our products are of the highest digital print quality on the best materials suited for your purpose. We will do our best to gear your project towards your goals of maximum quality impressions on your future clients and patrons.

Living it Up at the Hotel California...

I've been slow in keeping my promise on The Eagles. The concert's April 25th, and I've been thinking about it a lot. In any case, please enjoy a few minutes with "Hotel California," from the 1994 "Hell Freezes Over" tour:

The Reaganite Republican's got some tunes posted. See, "Saturday Night Rock-n-Roll Oldies... The Kinks- 1967."

And as always, check Theo Spark's.

Make My Day at Starbucks

I saw the editorial at Thursday's Los Angeles Times, "At the Starbucks Saloon."

But Nick Gillespie does it better with some Clint Eastwood, "Starbucks, Like Robert Heinlein & William S. Burroughs, Knows That an Armed Society is a Polite Society":

Hat Tip: Glenn Reynolds.

Palestinian Self-Defense Immigrant Adaptation Program

Canada's got a novel approach to assimilating immigrants. It's a useful indoctrination method as well. Blazing Cat Fur's got the story, "Palestine House offers FREE SELF DEFENSE Training to 'Immigrant Youth' Courtesy Citizenship & Immigration":

More on these welcoming communities here and here. Plus an assimilation video here.

And don't miss "The Sixth Annual Israeli Apartheid Week 2010." Hooray!!

RELATED: Alan Dershowitz, "Let's Have a Real Apartheid Education Week."

DeVore Wins California GOP Senate Debate!

Well, according to the DeVore campaign, "DeVore Wins First Debate." There's an audio clip at the link.

Plus, from the Los Angeles Times, "Three Republicans Fight for the GOP Nomination to Challenge Boxer":

The Republican candidates for U.S. Senate traded foreign policy insults in a tense first debate Friday, with businesswoman Carly Fiorina hitting former Rep. Tom Campbell for associating with supporters of terrorism and Campbell accusing Fiorina's campaign of smearing him as anti-Semitic.

"That whispering campaign, that silent slander stops today," Campbell said, his hands and voice shaking in the first minutes of the hourlong debate on "The Capitol Hour" on KTKZ-AM (1380).

Campbell called for the debate after earlier Fiorina attacks on his congressional record on Israel, including two efforts to trim economic aid to the nation, and for connections with men who later pleaded guilty to or were charged with crimes associated with terrorism.

The debate was Fiorina's first as a political candidate, and the former chief of Hewlett-Packard aggressively confronted Campbell. He shifted from the contest for governor in January and has since led in early polls in the race for the nomination to oppose Democrat Barbara Boxer in November.

"I have been very clear: I do not believe Tom Campbell is an anti-Semite and I have never called him one," Fiorina said. "I do believe Tom Campbell's record is decidedly anti-Israel and many in the Jewish community agree with me."

The third candidate in the race, underdog Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, largely stayed out of the fray, allowing his two competitors to slash each other's records and mostly ignore him. DeVore and Campbell participated face-to-face in the studio with moderator Eric Hogue; Fiorina called in from her home in Los Altos Hills.

RTWT at the link.

Disgusting: VoteVets, Soros-Backed Antiwar Group, Uses IED Attacks in New Global Warming Disinformation Campaign!

This is perhaps the sickest antiwar advertisement I've seen in some time. Can you imagine troops getting blown up on video used to sell the radical left's global warming agenda? The clip's below, from the Soros-backed VoteVets. Note how the spot's running as a click-thru web-ad at Daily Kos, where it reads, "TELL CONGRESS TO DEFEND AMERICA BY PASSING CLEAN ENERGY CLIMATE LEGISLATION" and "OIL MONEY IS FUELING TERRORISTS AND FUNDING OUR ENEMIES" (screencaps here and here):

We send $1 billion a day in oil money overseas -- often to nations that don't like America very much. Some of that money ends up in the hands of terrorists and funds deadly attacks on American forces, like EFPs specially designed to piece our armor.

This is what our troops are up against, everyday ...

At the VoteVets entry we find a link to George Soros' Center for American Progress, "Quadrennial Defense Review Should Spark Interagency Climate Conversation."

Actually, VoteVets doesn't care a bit about Middle East oil dependency. Founder John Soltz has been in the news before. Melanie Morgan attacked him and VoteVets in 2007 for supporting al Qaeda in Iraq. See, "VoteVets.org Scam Exposed," which links to this Wesley Clark ad:

The Stop Iran War website is still up.

Melanie eviscerated John Soltz in a 2007 PBS debate, saying that VoteVets advocacy was "shameful and really disrespectful to our troops":

... let me also say that I certainly would hope that the Democrats, if they’re planning their strategy meetings with people like Mr. Soltz and MoveOn.org, others who are meeting daily in telephone conference calls, which we are not, by the way, on our side, that al-Qaida is listening to their results, as well ....

And by the way, please keep Melanie Morgan in your prayers. She's fighting the good fight against thyroid cancer. See, "I Ain't Dead Yet, Says the Cowgirl."