The Power of Nightmares Part II

This is one of three in a BBC series that charts the rise of and similarities between radical Islamists and the neo-conservative political activists. It's presented clearly, chronologically, with fairly entertaining, if random video footage (b-roll) to supplement the interviews. One creepy scene had home video from a car driving around at night in DC in 1991, presumably during the US invasion of Iraq, part I. There was no real point but it was gripping footage, like something was about to blow up.

Anyhow, there are creepy similarities between the politics of fear used by the Islamists and the Neo-cons. Both end up basically hating the populace after their tactics fail. For example, the whole persecution of Bill Clinton for his supposed sex crimes, perjury, whitewater, etc. fit into the Neo-con (and by association, Islamist) agenda by trying to rid the world of a moderate. But in the end, no one really cared enough to impeach him.

The soundtrack is Eno, from Another Green World, which is pretty cool. Those Brits stick together I guess. No watch checks but I was a little tipsy so that.

I think the opening monologue talked about the "myth" of Al Quadae and how it's pumped up by the media. That's probably true but the director Adam Curtis kind of gave it drive-by treatment. I'll go a-looking for the other two DVDs in the series. Rock.

Oh, and there wasn't a single woman interviewed in the hour and a half of dialogue. Probably those Islamists' fault for not recruiting more females, I gather. (sarcasm). Well maybe men did it all -- but not according to Charlie Wilson's War. Julia Roberts character had blood on her manicured hands.

Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, 2007

After nearly passing out and getting woozy, one of the few things that came to mind was how the American Red Cross missed a golden opportunity for cross promotion. Sweeny had a lot, check that A LOT of blood. There was so much spilled that the grace and artistry with which it's spilt (yeah conjugation!) reminded me of a champagne toast. My favorite is when someone opens the bottle with a saber, and it spews with rainbow arc.
The big "wher'd'it go?" was the title song usually sung by the chorus in the stage production. I miss it mostly because it is emblematic of Stephen Sondheim's disjointed modernity in lyric and score.
There are other "numbers," as B'way lingoists note, that fall in his style. One might be interested to know that Sondheim's big break came with the lyrics for Bernstein's West Side Story..
All that aside...
I think that movie is long. If only because it is a musical that wears me out. Other than that I liken the story to a cross between a Charles Dickens and Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus. I recommend checking out Julie Taymor's take from 1999.
By the way. Did you know it was a musical? For most of the ads that I saw, there was hardly a mention of a note of a hint of tune. We here in Elk Grove Village theorize that it's a marketing ploy to get more people in the door.
More singing from Alan Rickman please.