October 2007 Archives

Madonna has been a constant presence in Britney Spears' life at least since Madge gave Britney her very first kiss from a girl back in 2003, the year Madonna appeared on the Brit-hit "Me Against the Music." Now it looks like she's giving her tips on ticking off the Catholic League. In two photographs illustrating the liner notes of Britney's critically acclaimed new album, "Blackout," the Southern Baptist-raised singer is shown slinking into a confessional with a handsome young man dressed like a priest. Britney herself is hardly dressed.

In response, the League's Bill Donahue released a bit of boilerplate sensitively noting Britney's alleged inability to raise her own child--that's how to make converts, Bill--and suggesting the photos are a shameless bid for publicity.

I am a bit star struck. Well, more than a little bit.

Philip Pullman, author of "His Dark Materials", the subject of a growing controversy from the religious right, and a man who is about to see his extraordinary novel, "The Golden Compass," turned into a movie by New Line Cinema, is this week on a rare visit to the United States. For the last two days, I've had more than just a glimpse of my literary idol: I had the amazing opportunity to sit down and talk to Mr. Pullman at length about theology and Dust and the imagination, among other wonderful things.

When first I learned I'd be having this conversation with Pullman, my stomach tied up in knots. I felt flushed and nervous. You have to understand: I think Pullman is one of the greatest literary figures of our time, and his trilogy, "His Dark Materials," is one of the greatest literary achievements I've ever come across--the kind of story you come back to again and again at different ages, each time discovering something new, reading it in different ways, asking new questions, and realizing there is always more to find with each encounter, all marks of great literatue.

The American Film Institute recently celebrated its 10th anniversary of "100 years, 100 movies," a listing of its top 100 movies of all time. Since the start of the series, AFI has also cited movies that are inspiring, great movie quotes, great movie songs, love stories, heroes and villains, thrills, laughs, stars and film scores, all in the "Top 100" format.

I was wondering: Why haven’t they yet done the 100 Scariest Movies of All time. I think it’s possible that they haven’t done it because, quite frankly, there haven’t been enough great scary movies made. To name the Top 100 would be to name almost all of them that are any good.

I’d love to see them do it. Short of that, on this Halloween, here is my list of the top 5 scariest movies I’ve ever seen. These are just my own favorites--I don't claim to have seen all the contenders out there. What are yours?

1. "Halloween": See my post here to hear why I like this one so much. It was dang scary, but watchable.

Halloween is here and it’s a good day to give my five reasons why "Halloween" is the most inspiring Halloween movie of all time. "What?" you say, "How can a movie about Halloween be inspiring?" Here’s how:

5. "Halloween" was an original, made on a thin budget, which meant few special effects and lots of real people. It meant a real neighborhood, not expensive sets on a backlot. There was an authenticity to John Carpenter’s "Halloween" which moved past the surfacy holiday stereotypes but not as far as the over-the-top way Hollywood often handles this day.

4. The heroes of the film, Donald Pleasance’s Dr. Loomis and Jamie Lee Curtis's Laurie, are decent people and there is a goodness about them, but they’re not portrayed as religious or church-going. It reminds us that the Battle Between Good and Evil is fought among all people, not just those who talk about it at church.

Since the trailer for "Michael Clayton" only left me scratching my head and grunting like a Cro-Magnon, I was surprised to find myself in full command of my cerebral cortex as I walked (upright) out of the theater. Actually, I wasn't in full command of it because I was still processing the film's intricate, layered look into the ethical underpinnings of a fictional Manhattan corporate law firm.

At this movie's heart is a moral dilemma: What would you do if you were single-handedly involved in the outcome of a $3 billion class-action lawsuit against the powerful agrochemical company that you worked for? Would you make public a "smoking gun" document that shows your company was negligent in causing rampant cancer among a group of small-time farmers and their family members? Collateral damage, anyone?

Don't answer too quickly. What's at stake is your entire professional career, the careers of your superiors in whose powerful presence you practically tinkle yourself and the reputation of your company whose potential financial loss is incalculable.