Weefselkweekje’s ‘Traffic’ review has inspired me to write a little review about the British 1989 mini-series ‘Traffik’ on which Steven Soderbergh’s feature was based. I recently rented the DVD box-set at ye olde video shoppe and locked myself in the house to watch close to six hours of made-for TV-drama almost consecutively.

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Steven Soderbergh has quickly become one of my favourite directors over the last few years. His movies have a certain flair that made for instance “Ocean’s Eleven” and “Out of Sight” so special. In “Traffic” he proves that he can just as easily use that style to give a serious movie about drugs a grim, realistic edge.

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One of the webmasters of this site guessed right! That is, which movie I’d be seeing in the Sneak last night. ‘The Life of David Gale’ wasn’t disappointing. Notice how movie-themes tend to come in waves. The ‘romantic comedy’ wave, the ‘back to the future’ wave, the ‘Extreme Spectacle’ wave. This one belongs to the ‘Death Row’ wave.

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When I saw Ming the Merciless staring at me from the cover of a DVD at the not-so-Free Record Shop (overpriced Dutch chain of music/video stores) my hand grabbed it instinctively, unable to keep myself from purchasing this 1980 Flash Gordon camp extravaganza.

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OK, let me get right to the point. I loved the nose. When I first heard they were making this movie, I just couldn’t imagine how anyone thought it might be a good idea to cast the insipid Nicole Kidman as Virginia Woolf. But, my love for this story (and Julianne Moore) made me overcome my fears. And when I got there, I found that the prosthetic nose actually allowed me, for the most part, to sit back and forget it was Kidman.

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Unless you were hiking through the Andes, or living on the North Pole last year, you already know that Star Wars Episode II, Attack of the Clones is the second “prequel” to the star wars movies made in the seventies and eighties. The first prequel “The Phantom Menace” came out in 1999, 22 years after the first movie. Episode II came out in 2002, but since we only started this site a few weeks ago, it took a while to reach Choking on Popcorn.

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Duke University in North Carolina (USA) is hosting a film festival with movies from Iraq, Iran and North Korea. You know, the states that George W. dubbed the “axis of evil”. They’re also playing movies from “rogue states” like Cuba, Syria and Libya.

The idea is to stimulate cultural dialog between the USA and countries they want to bomb. I especially love the title they’ve come up with: “Reel Evil”, LOL. More info can be found at ABC News

The opening, title sequence of this film is beautifully done and I think far and away the front runner to get this year’s academy award for opening title sequence. In fact, I recommend going to see this film if only to watch the opening credits. What follows is the recent contribution to the world of sitting in a dark room watching light patterns move for entertainment from Steven Spielberg is 90 minutes of relaxing, enjoyable entertainment. The Problem is, the film is 141 min minutes long!

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Julie Taymor can be commended for a valiant effort directing this film. However, as much as I like Salma Hayek I have to point her out as the big weakness in this film version of the life of Frida Kahlo.

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Nothing is better than a complicated, twisted David Lynch experience. Especially one that provides a litmus test to identify stupid people by their complaints that they didn’t ‘get it.’ Are we supposed to pay over $10 to see a movie that makes us walk out with nothing more to discuss than whether or not we liked it? I, personally, found it deliciously satisfying to be so completely disturbed and unable to stop discussing this movie. I’m going to give it all away, so don’t read further if you haven’t seen it. And you must see it.

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