The King's Speech: B

THE KING'S SPEECH poster - Polish style, originally uploaded by Sam's Myth.

Scott (in protest), Sheena, Ma, and I saw The King's Speech last weekend after Christmas Day. This movie had all the typical attractions -- British accents, royalty, period setting, WWII, all-star cast -- for the white-haired art house film crowd (although, Judi Dench was somehow not cast). I've become a bit of an Anglophile after watching so much BBC America, so I'm probably rating this movie better than it deserves. It wasn't a ground-breaking movie, but it was enjoyable and the performances were good. The nearly sold-out showing we went even applauded the movie.

"friendliest cat ever" or "blood thirsty killer"?

How can such a sweet kitty, be so proud of killing so many squirrels?

rant: deceptive packaging

What the heck?!? Food prices are going up and corporations are screwing-over their customers, but really? Shame on you Ernest and Gallo Winery.

Winnebago Man: B

Okay, I didn't actually leave the house to see Winnebago Man last weekend. I lazily watched it On Demand. Like DVDs, it feels like cheating watching movies at home - especially since it was recently at Cinema 21.

I've seen the Winnebago Man YouTube video, but I wouldn't consider it a top viral video. In the Michael-Moore style documentary, the filmmaker, Ben Steinbauer, is frank about his decision to make a documentary about this particular viral video. He acknowledges the problems the subjects of other viral videos have had such as the Star Wars kid. Profiling corporate video spokesman is probably less problematic than exploiting the possible mental issues of those secretly filmed. It was interesting to learn that the Winnebago Man video was viral years before YouTube in bootleg VHS tapes.

When Steinbauer does track down the "Winnebago Man" Jack Rebney, he finds a well-spoken, crotchety old hermit living in a remote cabin. The documentary becomes Steinbauer trying to reach-out and understand the reclusive Rebney. It is entertaining to watch the young-old conflict that isn't exploitive.