A high time with "Sky Captain"

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow was first planned for theaters last June. The studio held it until this weekend, not wanting to compete with big summer releases, and the timing is perfect. This is just the kind of movie fun we need right now, when the new TV season sucks and the next wave of movie “biggies” doesn’t arrive until Thanksgiving.

Sky Captain is Doc Savage, Metropolis, the old Fleischer Superman cartoons, Rocketeer, and Indiana Jones rolled into a glorious CGI retro-future. Everything except the actors (Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie) and a few props is computer generated. Amazing. (Even the late Sir Laurence Olivier stars in this film, courtesy of computer geeks.)

This is the first movie by writer-director Kerry Conran. Next up for Conran: A Princess of Mars. I think Edgar Rice Burroughs buffs can breathe easier now, knowing Conran’s at the reins of that project.

Oh, and Sky Captain features the best movie punch line I’ve heard in ages. Great fun.

"Serenity" is on the way!

Shooting is finished on Serenity, the Universal movie spin-off from Fox's short-lived sci-fi TV series Firefly (14 episodes shot, 10 aired), broadcast two years ago. The movie is now being readied for an April 22, 2005 theatrical release.

Created by Joss Whedon, Firefly was about a ragtag band of freedom-loving spacebound smugglers who spend most of their time dodging Alliance authorities. The acting was superb. The dialogue was always clever. The stories were riviting. The effects were terrific. And it was all over much too quickly. But thanks to an enthusiastic fanbase, Joss Whedon's dogged determination, and high sales numbers for the Firefly DVD package, we now have a movie to look forward to, written and directed by Whedon and starring the original cast.

On the official Serenity webpage last Friday, Whedon posted a delightful note to fans. In part, he wrote:

"...come April 22nd I think we'll be bringing you an exciting film that's a powerful statement about the right to be free. Which is not as cool as my original statement about the right to tasty garlic mussels in a cilantro broth, but the freedom thing's okay too. The editing started this week, and after just a first cut I can safely say this will be the greatest film since whatever film comes out right before it. And I'm not backing down from that."

The Wacky World of Ann Coulter

How important is Election 2004? Amazon.com decided to ask right-wing author, pundit, and glamour queen Ann Coulter. And Ann says: “Insofar as the survival of the Republic is threatened by the election of John Kerry, I’d say 2004 is as big as it gets.”

Survival of the Republic?

Coulter says the closest parallel from American history to this year’s race is “1864. Bush is Lincoln and Kerry is General McClellan — who, I note, was a great military leader.”

“What would a Kerry administration mean?” asks Amazon.com.

“Quite possibly the destruction of the Republic,” responds Ann.

Ann is asked what five books she’d recommend to become an informed voter. She lists The Bible, followed by four others, all written by, why, by Ann Coulter!

Fighting terrorist bibliophiles

Lew Rockwell posted the following news item on the LewRockwell.com blog yesterday:

TAMPA, Fla. -- A weight may soon be lifted off a Maryland woman charged with carrying a concealed weapon in an airport. It wasn't a gun or a knife. It was a weighted bookmark.

Kathryn Harrington was flying home from vacation last month when screeners at the Tampa, Fla., airport found her bookmark. It's an 8.5-inch leather strip with small lead weights at each end.

Airport police said it resembled a weighted weapon that could be used to knock people unconscious. So the 52-year-old special education teacher was handcuffed, put into a police car, and charged with carrying a concealed weapon.

She faced a possible criminal trial and a $10,000 fine. But the state declined to prosecute, and the Transportation Security Administration said it probably won't impose a fine.

Harrington said she'll never again carry her bookmark into an airport.

Rooting Down Under

The most amusing email I've received so far about my essay "But Whom Will You Root For?" comes from Greg Fisher. He writes:

"In Australia, 'rooting' is colloquial slang (oops, tautology alert!) for, err, well, bonking, you know, doin' the do! So when a bloke is said to be a bit of a wombat (small dog-sized vegitarian marsupial), it means he 'eats, roots & leaves.' Regards."

Is Michael Badnarik an option?

I’ve received a lot of email about my essay “But Who Will You Root For?,” featured yesterday on LewRockwell.com. One reader asked:

Why will you not root for Badnarik?

I really cannot understand the slew of Lew Rockwell articles that are endorsing NOT VOTING at all. And not even offering Badnarik as the Libertarian candidate whose views most closely match all you “small l" libertarians. He IS a viable option!

I’m going to vote for Badnarik...AND I'm going to root for him, too.

Two things.

First, this is a LewRockwell.com reader who has either not read enough libertarian arguments against voting to understand the anti-politics position or is simply not paying attention. The argument against voting has been made pretty clear again and again. And the most fundamental is that it’s fraudulent for anarchists -- which hardcore libertarians are -- to elect politicians to abolish politics and govern to abolish government.

Second, Badnarik is NOT a “viable option” to even root for. He has absolutely no chance of winning in this election. You may vote for him if that makes you feel better. But rooting for a candidate is strictly about a few fleeting emotional rewards. And emotional rewards come only if the candidate you’re rooting for can realistically win the election. Does anyone really think Badnarik can pull off this election? Come on...

OK, there's a third thing, after all. Badnarik, “whose views most closely match all you ‘small l’ libertarians,” is a strict Constitutionalist. To a radical libertarian like myself, who’d abandon the U.S. Constitution for the good ol' Articles of Confederation in a heartbeat, Badnarik is one more example of the Libertarian Party’s empty-headed willingness to compromise with government rather than smash it, to hold power rather than crush it.

"But Whom Will You Root For?"

Just because I'm a longtime nonvoter doesn't mean I don't root for someone to win in most presidential elections. On the other hand, this election year...

My latest essay, "But Whom Will You Root For?" (an expansion of one of my posts from last weekend), can now be found on LewRockwell.com.

Kids' WB launches "The Batman"

I love Spider-Man. I’m crazy about Daredevil. But in the pantheon of comic book heroes, Batman’s always been numero uno. He’s got no super powers, just his wits, extraordinary physical training, oodles of money, and some really bitchin’ gadgets.

For many years, I’ve considered Frank Miller’s version (The Dark Knight Returns; Batman: Year One; The Dark Knight Strikes Again) the definitive Batman, with Bruce Timm’s animated cartoon series of the 1990's a close second.

Last Saturday morning, Kids’ WB unveiled the hero’s latest animated incarnation, The Batman. Friends, this half-hour show kicks serious butt, and it stands proudly alongside the Timm series. It’s as dark, if not darker, than Timm’s — which is a BIG plus when you’re still fighting the old Adam West image — and although it may be too early to judge, this show seems to me every bit as good. Jeff Matsuda produces the series and serves as its art director, so the animation is top-notch. Set just three years into The Batman’s career, the program depicts a younger Dark Knight than we’re used to. The new Batmobile rocks. Characters have been intriguingly redesigned. The most radical makeover so far is the Joker, with his shocking green dreadlocks, yellow-toothed smile, and a truly chilling, high-pitched cackle. I’m looking forward to seeing Matsuda’s takes on Penguin, Two-Face, Catwoman, and others.

This Batman is a keeper.

North Korea checks in

As an update to yesterday's news, North Korean officials say that last Thursday's explosion was not nuclear. Rather, they say, it was part of a construction project to build a hydro-electric dam in the remote mountainous region of Ryanggang, on the Chinese border.

The BBC asked North Korean Foreign Minister Paek Nam-sun why North Korea hadn't explained earlier about the blast. He said it was because all foreign journalists were liars.

An Xmas Gift Idea for Wally

I know a LOT of you must be wondering, even in September, just what to buy me for Christmas this year...

Tell you what. I'd LOVE a Hatori Hanzo samurai sword, like those used in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill! There are several selections to be found at Empire Swords. They range in price anywhere from $70 on up.

And don't worry that someone ELSE might also get me one. I can always use a few of 'em.

North Korea Blast: Don't Worry, Be Happy!

CNN reports today that a “huge explosion” that shook North Korea’s Yanggang province three days ago and produced a “mushroom cloud over 4 kilometers (two miles) wide” was NOT, according to an unnamed U.S. official, the result of a nuclear explosion.

Yanggang is the site of Yongjori Missile Base, a large facility with an underground missile firing range. And The New York Times reported yesterday that President Bush and top advisors recently received intelligence reports that indicate North Korea might be preparing its first nuclear test. But CNN’s “U.S. official” says that last Thursday’s mushroom cloud, spotted in satellite images, “could be the result of a forest fire.”

Perhaps U.S. officials should consult Trinity and Beyond: The Atomic Bomb Movie to refresh their memories of what a nuclear blast looks like. That 1999 film contains the most remarkable and terrifying U.S. nuclear test footage I've ever seen.

"Oh, just one more thing..."

I was a high school senior when NBC launched a new "Mystery Movie" cycle of three rotating series in September 1971. One show was called "McMillan & Wife" and starred Rock Hudson. Another featured Dennis Weaver as "McCloud." But the first episode to air in the rotation starred the great Peter Falk as a cigar-smoking, trenchcoated homicide detective named Columbo. I was hooked on "Columbo" for the next seven years (some 43 episodes total).

Last night, I watched that first 90-minute show for only the second or third time in 33 years. It's titled "Murder by the Book" and starred the late Jack Cassady, a perfect snooty Columbo adversary. What a treat! It still holds up as both a clever mystery and as great entertainment. That episode (directed by a young punk named Steven Spielberg), plus six others from the series' first "season" and two pilot movies from 1968 and 1971, have been released by Universal on DVD as Columbo: The Complete First Season.

There are no extras in this DVD package -- just the barebones shows themselves -- but it's a gem anyway. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the release of further "Columbo" episodes.