Jeff Ellis: It's Impossible To Start A Fire If You Have No Desire To Burn

Richard Todd, R.I.P.

Actor Richard Todd has died.  He was 90 years old.

The Irish-born Todd served in the British Army during World War II and twice took part in D-Day -- once as a soldier and once as an actor when the entire day was recreated and filmed as The Longest Day (1962).

A stage actor even before joining the army, Todd branched out into film following the end of war.  He made his film debut as a dying soldier in The Hasty Heart(1948) and, for that performance, he received an Oscar nomination for best actor. 

(The Hasty Heart is also notable for being one of future President Ronald Reagan's better films.)

Todd went on to have a somewhat sporadic film career, establishing himself as a dependable character actor and occasional leading man.  Rumor has it that he was Ian Fleming's first choice to play James Bond in Dr. No.  And while it is true that everyone from Roger Moore to David Niven to Hoagy Carmichael has been identified as being Fleming's first choice, it is easy to picture Todd in that role.

Todd spent the later part of his career on television and quite a few people of a certain age (myself included) remember him best as the oddly sympathetic buffoon Sanders in the classic 1982 Dr. Who serial Kinda.  An old school, stiff-upper lip military man, Sanders suffers from an alien-induced nervous breakdown and, over the course of the 4-episode serial, proceeds to transform into a little child in an old man's body.  It's a transformation that Todd captured perfectly and his performance -- and, admittedly, quite a few other things -- helped to make Kinda one of the defining stories of the far too brief Peter Davison era of Dr. Who.

Richard Todd, R.I.P.

My favorite time of year

My favorite season -- Oscar Season -- started up yesterday when the always enigmatic (and vaguely sordid) National Board of Review announced they're picks for the best of 2009.

Up in the Air (which I hope to see this upcoming Tuesday) was named best film.

For the record, of the eligible films that I've seen so far this year, my pick for the best would have to be Joel and Ethan Coen's A Serious Man with An Education, District 9, Inglorious Basterds, and Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans as very close runner-ups.

A full list of the NBR winners for 2009 can be found here.

As always, I will be posting my own personal Oscar picks in January.

Promises Kept

Finally, liberals and conservatives can agree on something.

They're all pissed off at Barack Obama.

President Obama did promise to bring a new spirit of bipartisanship to the American political system.

Greetings From The Streets of New York City

To see the entire image, click on it.

Take A Shot

I'm watching Barack Obama's speech.  I know I said I wouldn't but it's raining so I'm stuck inside.

Nothing that Obama is saying is unexpected.  What is unexpected is just how flat a speaker he's becoming as of late.  Of course, Obama's always been at his strongest when he's an outsider, fighting the establishment.  Now, he is the establishment and the smugness is coming out.

As usual, Obama is giving his speech in front of an audience that can't ask questions.  In this case, he's speaking to cadets.

He's letting us know how hard it was for him to make this decision.

There's something really satisfying about seeing Obama trip over his words.

Obama's strategy in Afghanistan sounds a lot like Bush's strategy in Iraq.  Except, of course, Obama will be doing it with an international force. 

Obama also just said that we'd begin withdrawing in July of 2011 which will work nicely for his reelection.

Then again, Obama also said Gitmo would be closed by 2010.

Barack Obama is looking straight into the camera as he delivers his "message" to the people of Afghanistan and I realize now why he usually insists on robotic head movement while speaking.

His ears really are just gigantic.

"Those days are over," Obama just said.  If you're playing the Obama Drinking Game, take a shot.

Now, he has narrowed his eyes and is scolding those who disagree with him.  Take a shot.

Obama was doing fairly well until he reached the scolding part.  For such an "inspiring" figure of hope, Obama is surprisingly bitter.

"As President," Obama says, "I refuse..." Take a shot.

Obama: "I don't have the luxury..."  Take a shot as Obama plays the "poor-me" card.

Did you remember to take a shot earlier when Obama talked about the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression?

Now, he's blaming Bush.  Take a shot.

"As we end the war in Iraq and transition to Afghan Responsibility..."  Afghan Responsibility?  Is that what we're calling it?

Obama's bragging on himself.  Take a shot.

Hillary Clinton looks unimpressed.  Take a shot.

Obama: "That is who we are."  Take a shot.

Obama just mentioned America's moral authority.  Take a shot.

Obama is tipping his chin upward and trying to look serious.  Take a shot.

Keep taking shots until it's finally over.

The Clock Is Ticking

As always, to see the entire picture, click on it.

 

Obama Makes Up His Mind

President Barack Obama will be taking over the television airwaves tonight so that he can announce how many more U.S. troops he's going to send over to Afghanistan.  Obama has spent the last few months openly pondering this decision while the soldiers already deployed have waited and, in many cases, died.

The national media, though no longer as in love with Obama as they were back in January, have consistently framed this as "the young president's" first difficult decision.  I suppose that's one way to put it.  Another way to put would be that Obama decided to wait until his precious health care reform got through the House before committing himself to something that could be potentially very unpopular with his liberal base.

For such political consideration, American soldiers are held in limbo.

Regardless of whether Obama makes the right or wrong decision on this issue, the fact remains that it's still a decision that should have been made months ago.

Many people are wondering just what Barack Obama will say in tonight's speech.  It's actually pretty easy to guess as Obama has pretty much said the exact same thing in every speech he's given since taking office.  He'll probably talk about how he "inherited" this problem (just as the American people are going to inherit the cost of his health care plan).  He'll probably brag about the number of people that offered him advice that he didn't actually need.  I imagine he'll probably find time to brag about how his approach will work where all others have failed.  He will also probably find time to threaten anyone who disagrees with him (though I doubt he'll talk about "calling them out" like he did with the opponents of Obamacare).

And, in the end, the main gist of the speech will be about how difficult it was for him to make the decision and how difficult it will be for him to have to deal with people having the nerve to disagree.

As 2009 comes to an end, there's been a lot of talk about what we've learned from Obama's 1st year in office.  The main thing I've learned is that, trendsetter or not, Barack Obama is one of the most predictable politicians in recent history.  Little that he says is truly insightful or meaningful because, by virtue of being a trendsetter, he does not need to be insightful or meaningful.  Meaning, instead, is invested by those listening who, for whatever reason, need Barack Obama to either be an angel or a demon but never just another ordinary politician.

The truth of the matter is that Barack Obama is just another politician and his speech tonight will be just another political speech justifying another political decision.

Watch it if you want.

I'm going to go see a movie.

The Price Of Fame

It Must Be Monday

I received my royalty checks today.

As always, they were small but very appreciated.

Ninja Assassin

Earlier this week, I caught an "action" film entitled Ninja Assassin. 

November, of course, is not the month that traditionally sees a lot of action films being released in theaters and, after seeing Ninja Assassin, it's obvious why the film's distributor might want to hide it.  Ninja Assassin manages to duplicate the action of a Hong Kong film without any of the demented fun or quirky moments that are necessary to keep that action from growing repetitive and dull.

It's hard to think of any other film that has managed to make the idea of being a ninja seem so pointless.

The film's hero -- the titular ninja assassin -- is played by Rain.  Despite only having one name, Rain actually does occasionally display some genuine charisma on screen but, surprisingly, he really doesn't get to do much until the film's end. 

Indeed, the majority of the movie is taken up with a rather boring subplot in which a spunky young Europol agent investigates rumors that there are ninja assassins roaming the world assassinating people.  During these scenes, I wanted someone to just grab this agent and say, "Aren't you paying attention to the movie's title!?  Of course there's ninja assassins!"

It's hard to escape the feeling that the main purpose of Ninja Assassin is to prepare the world for Ninja Assassin 2 and Ninja Assassin 3: Beyond Thunderdome.  Hopefully, these sequels will actually be about ninja assassins and will feature a little less plot and a lot more Rain.