A writer, director and sometimes actor who's enjoyed considerably more success abroad than in his own country but is nevertheless regarded as one of the greatest filmmakers of all time and able to attract big names to his projects, Woody Allen (Vicky Cristina Barcelona) is an incredibly prolific and rythmic worker, churning out one film a year like clockwork. Melinda And Melinda marks his 2004 offering, though it was released in 2005 in numerous countries.

Actually two stories in one (thus the title), the film has two playwrights arguing about whether life at its core is tragic or comic. One of their friends thus suggests a challenge by setting the premise of a troubled woman crashing a dinner party and asking whether the subsequent events would evolve into a tragedy or a comedy. Naturally, we see both options unfold at the same time.

As is common for Woody Allen films, Melinda And Melinda stars a substantial amount of notable people including Radha Mitchell (The Children Of Huang Shi), Chiwetel Ejiofor (Redbelt), Will Ferrell (Step Brothers), Jonny Lee Miller (Aeon Flux), Amanda Peet (The X-Files: I Want To Believe), Chloë Sevigny (Zodiac), Wallace Shawn (Kit Kittredge: An American Girl), Josh Brolin (American Gangster) and Steve Carrell (Get Smart) among others. Trailer and review after the jump.

Despite a very interesting concept, and good performances by the whole cast, Melinda And Melinda manages to be only a so-so film, mostly due to its lacking script. Indeed, the movie's big problem is that its so-called "tragic" storyline isn't tragic enough and the supposedly "comic" storyline isn't funny enough to really sustain the viewer's interest.

Melinda And Melinda thus joins the numerous other Allen films that are certainly watchable and mildly enjoyable, but actually nothing really special. Thus, Allen fans will probably like it, but the casual viewer may want to skip it. As a matter of interest however, it can be seen as a transition piece for Allen between the decidedly light Anything Else and the decidedly dark masterpiece Match Point.

As with most Woody Allen films, Melinda And Melinda didn't make a whole lot of money, at least in the US, which may or may not have played a part in Allen making his next four films in Europe. For a truly enjoyable movie with a slightly similar concept, I'd suggest you watch the superior 1998 British film Sliding Doors instead.

Verdict: An interesting concept with a rather bland execution. Melinda And Melinda currently holds a 6.5/10 on IMDB and a 52% on Rotten Tomatoes.

More “Movies Of The Day”

Peet stated, "Frankly, I feel that parents who don't vaccinate their children are parasites."

Parasites?

Let's take a deeper look at that word, shall we?

Biology An organism that grows, feeds, and is sheltered on or in a different organism while contributing nothing to the survival of its host.

Wow! I contribute nothing?

I'll be honest. If autism hadn't come into my life, I'd be just like Peet. Misinformed, judgmental, biased. The list goes on.

But I'm not like her. My life isn't privileged. I don't have celebrity status to stand behind and use to insult families who have been living with this disorder for decades.

I'm sure if it were up to Peet, our children would be institutionalized so we wouldn't infect/harm the herd!

Don't let the exclamations fool you. I'm really not angry. I'm numb.

I don't understand how Peet could vocalize her disdain for something she knows nothing about? How could she judge someone else's choices when her life is "normal"?

Worse yet, how can she look herself in the mirror while sitting on the very panel that points the how-dare-you finger at moms like me?

She doesn't get it. I know this to be true.

Peet, in a later interview with Good Morning America, stated, "I didn't mean to show disdain, and I did and do apologize for the use of the word 'parasites,'" she said. "But I do in no way, shape or form retract my position or the meaning behind the use of the word, which is that if there are vast reductions in herd immunity, our children will be at risk."

Um. She apologized for using the word 'parasites' but doesn't want us to retract from the meaning behind the use of the word?

What?

How can you apologize for something without really apologizing?

Am I the only one who's confused here?

Does she not know that we're not anti-vaccinations? If she had been paying attention, she would have realized that all of the rallying is about making the vaccines safer for our children by removing the dangerous and unnecessary toxins from them.

It never ceases to amaze me how critical people can be of others who make choices that aren't considered "mainstream".

• If you compost... you're a weirdo.I
• If you recycle... you're a weirdo.
• If you drive an electric car... you're a weirdo.
• If you don't vaccinate... you're a parasite.

Judging doesn't solve anything. Nothing good has ever come from it.

I know of the supplements, the bio-chemical therapies, and the like that can benefit my son, but I'm more interested in sticking to the recovery path that is as natural as possible.

Having fully transitioned into the holistic (green) lifestyle a little over a year ago, I'm done putting junk into my family's environment (internal and external).

Lately, the media has been comparing one mother's choice (Jenny McCarthy) over another's (Amanda Peet). It is conflicts like this that keep the "judging" eyes on holistic parents and our decisions.

Parents choosing to not vaccinate their children is nothing new. We've all heard of the 60s! We're just the new generation of informed parents.

If Amanda Peet et al want to criticize our choices, that's life. I'm not going to get all worked up over it. She chose to "educate" herself by "doing the research" and still injected garbage into her child. That's her prerogative.

Me? I chose the ignorant route because I thought the medical providers knew better. I trusted them. My son received his unnecessary doses of chemicalized crap!

Of course, those days are dead and buried, and I'm not as trusting as I once was.

At times, I feel I have no other choice but to retain the label that was stamped on my son's forehead some time ago. I believe, and hope, I will finally be free of this label once he is fully recovered. People not living with the disability can be a bit ignorant (i.e. staring, not willing to understand, etc.).

In a sense, I have the label to protect him.

Of course, one lady told me, "He isn't autistic; he has autism. Demons go by many names." {sigh} Just another one who's flown over the cuckoo's nest!

One day at a time... one step at a time.

Over the years, I've heard of some celebrity connections to autism. Some of the people I've seen listed as having kids on the spectrum are:

  Can you identify all of these folks? This is a pop quiz, people!

While I'm sure that some of the issues that we, as parents of children with autism, all face are universal. There is no amount of fame or fortune that can insulate you from the panic that a child's diagnosis of autism brings. And I don't fault them at all if they've jumped to the top of the list for services because of their stardom. Wouldn't you if you could?

Before Jenny McCarthy , I used to think that if Julia Roberts or Matt Lauer or one of those High School Musical kids had a  child with autism that more attention would be paid to the unmet needs of our kids. Not that I'd wish any ill fortune on any of those people or their kids, just that it would definitely put the issue more in the public eye. Of course, I don't mean to categorize any of the celebrities who already havekids with autism as slackers. I'm sure that they were all contributing to autism awareness (and more importantly, dealing with their child's autism) but no one's efforts were creating what you'd call a  publicity frenzy .

Then came Jenny. Jenny McCarthy has a bullhorn and she's not afraid to use it, folks. She's talked to Oprah & Larry King about autism. She's written book. She's on ET & Access Hollywood (please don't ask how I know this!), she's on the cover of magazines with her incredible bob (just the one o, people!) and self-proclaimed big mouth.  She's everywhere & she's not afraid to speak up.

Even if you don't agree with all of her beliefs, you must admit that Jenny McC is drawing the public's attention to the issue of autism.  Granted, this is not something that Jenny's trained for (unless her stint as hostess of the MTV show "Singled Out" counts) but how much have any of us trained to be in this situation? I'm frightened of what I would have said if I'd had a public platform to share my opinions in the years immediately following my son's dx. I haven't read Jenny's book (it's moved to the interesting-but-not-vital portion of my book list) & I've missed most of her appearances, so I can't comment on anything but to say that she's definitely mixing it up.

And now, with this. Amanda Peet, who has been a mother for all of ten minutes, has proclaimed that ..."parents who don't vaccinate their kids are parasites." For those of you who don't know her, Amanda Peet is an actor (whose next movie is titled "What Doesn't Kill You" - interesting timing, eh?)Did I mention that she doesn't have a child with the diagnosis of autism?

 or should I say?

While it would seem that Amanda Peet is referencing herd immunity in her "parasite" comment. It sounds as though she did research - talking to Dr. Paul Offitt, who created a vaccine of his own - the rotavirus vaccine.  I wonder if she researched what families of children with autism go through. When my oldest was an infant, healthcare seemed pretty straightforward. Your baby's sick, you take him to the dr. and find out what's wrong and how to fix it.

That's not how it works with autism. Nowadays,  dr's are better at diagnosing autism but no one can give you a treatment plan that will provide any guaranteed results. When my doctor got the report back from the developmental pediatrician, she said "Unfortunately, we're right. It's autism."  When I asked her what to do she said "Pray."

Jenny McCarthy to the rescue! She has taken exception with Amanda Peet's comments.

Who's right? Who knows? Let me know your opinion!!

-the cheese does not take financial planning advice from Miley Cyrus

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is suing President Bush and many others over making the National Day of Prayer a federal holiday.

A man in Tuscon allegedly ran a house of prostitution camouflaged as a church.

Is Age of Autism telling Jenny McCarthy to back away from a fight? - Ah huh. They say they don't think McCarthy should debate Amanda Peet because--are you ready?

". . .this war between two young non-doctor icons really cheapens the debate over the safety of vaccines."

Really? YOU JUST FIGURED THIS OUT?! So I suppose you guys will no longer be pushing Jenny as your spokesperson anymore then, right? Oh, and here's what they wrote in their open letter to Amanda Peet:

"Whether one mom is right or wrong about how to raise our children should not be up for public debate. You were right for your child and I am right for mine."

Um, you are aware that Jenny and Amanda are making too diametrically opposed claims, right? If one is right then the other is wrong. And funny again how you suddenly started kissing Amanda's ass now that there's talk of a possible debate. It seems to me that if your evidence was so strong you'd welcome the debate since you've been pushing non-doctor icon Jenny McCarthy as your big champion. I'll say the same thing I said about the Republican Party when they wouldn't release Sarah Palin to the press for interviewers. What are you so afraid of, guys?

Roger Ebert gave Religulous three and a half stars! - I just saw it today myself and plan to write a review tomorrow. So stay tuned.

The Smithsonian has recently put a set of photos from the 1925 Scopes trial on Flickr.

Stephen Hawking tells us why we should go into space.

And on a related note, The Money Shot - From Space - Very soon Virgin Galactic will launch its first tourists into space. But this week, an “unidentified party” offered Virgin Galactic $1 million, up front, to film a sex-in-space movie aboard SpaceShipTwo. Virgin Galactic rejected the offer. And follow the first link to learn about the complications of sex in space. Apparently, it's not as easy as it looked in the the movie "Supernova."

In Defense of Militant Atheism - Part 1

A blazing quick read, City of Thieves reads like a screenplay, implausible yet not surprising, considering the author is also a screenwriter.  The action takes place over a few days in the drawn out siege, and there is no surfeit of transcribed Russian words to stumble over.  The narrator does his share of stumbling, but each time it is fortuitous.  "Not everybody has talent," Lev Beniov tells another character who inquires about his talents, but he doesn't yet realize his own talent for survival.  Mistaken for a thief, Beniov is paired with Kolya, a charismatic deserter, and given the task of locating a dozen eggs by a colonel in the NKVD.  It is an impossible task in a besieged city, but Kolya is irrepressible.  When the pair falls in with a band of partisans and meets Vika, a tomboy sniper, finding the eggs becomes Lev's second most important conquest.  Full of likable characters and humor even in the face of atrocities, City of Thieves deserves to be recommended rather than resented!

In a recently interview, Peet had referred to parents who did not choose to vaccinate their children as “parasites”.

Though she later tried to make amends by apologizing to parents of autistic children who believe that vaccines may have caused the illness, the apology did not make any impression on McCarthy, who has a six-year-old son suffering from autism.

“She (Peet) has a lot of [nerve] to come forward and be on that side, because there is an angry mob on my side, and I like the fact that I can say she''s completely wrong,” Fox News quoted McCarthy as having told Spectrum magazine.

“I look at (Peet) now and say to myself, ‘That was me before I had autism in my life,’ and until she walks in our shoes, she really has no idea,” McCarthy added.

Besides McCarthy, the national autism advocacy group Autism United has also expressed anger at Peet’s comment, and called for a boycott of all of the actress’s movies.

“We want to send a clear message to her,” the organization’s Executive Director John Gilmore told Pop Tarts in a statement.

“Ms. Peet''s comments are deplorable and an apology will not suffice. We applaud Jenny McCarthy''s continued efforts and for speaking up for our community,” he added.

McCarthy and her long-time lover Jim Carrey have continued their crusade this past summer, and led a rally of thousands in Washington, D. C., to put pressure on the federal government to remove toxins from vaccines and fight for fewer childhood vaccinations prior to the age of two.

[Source: ANI]

Pharyngula sends me to this.  More here.

Come on.  There's really no choice.  I mean, have you seen "The Whole Nine Yards"?

What is Jenny McCarthy's argument, really?  That she's right because she's backed by an angry mob?  That only families affected can dictate health policy?  Does she not realize that her position is backed by, um, no evidence?  That her position - borne of a personal experience with which any parent can sympathize, but nothing more than that -  WILL end up affecting the health of untold numbers of children?  Does she really want that on her conscience?

Safe vaccines. There, I said it. It's really simple. There's no 'anti-' in that -- there's simply the word safe. Why is that so hard to understand? Why fight it?

Let's make up a scenario. We have a baby, we begin injecting it with toxins (such as aluminium over 10x the recommended safe amount for a newborn) in the first few days after birth, and proceed to give it another 30 or so vaccines by the age of two. We don't do any tests to see if the child's got a weakened immune system and could get sick from any ingredients in the vaccines, we just figure we'll prevent our child from measles, mumps, chicken pox, etc. Our doctor says it could happen, so it must be true! Then a couple of years later, we wonder why our child's losing speech, constantly having rashes or diarrhea, and is banging his head on the floor while pulling out his eyelashes and screaming when you move his line of toys or screeching when you turn on your overhead fluorescent light. Oh, wait, that's not a scenario, that's real. Let me do the fake scenario.

So here goes, the futuristic scenario: people open their eyes and realize that even if there really is not 100% guarantee that autism is caused by vaccines, having safer vaccines can't hurt. Formaldehyde, ether, aluminum, thimerasol, and aborted fetal tissue is removed from the vaccines and, sit down, the VACCINES STILL WORK.  These vaccines continue to decrease the risk their child will get a fever from chicken pox or itchy from the measles, and decrease the risk that polio will return. One thing that may happen is that the insurance companies or the parent may pay more of a co-pay towards the vaccine. Or, here's the shocker, major pharmaceutical companies, one of the most profitable yet protected (immune, ironically, if you'll pardon the pun) industries in the world, may make a few dollars less. But the big change? The risks related to these vaccines -- the numbers printed on the inserts of vaccines, that every parent should be reading already -- will decrease. Less children will be suffering seizures, swelling, infections, dying. Pretty significant, wouldn't you think?

Those of us who are "Jenny Followers" do so proudly. She's saying what we've wanted to say for years but we just aren't celebrity enough to get the attention. She's spent weeks with doctors and renowned scientists learning facts about vaccines, illnesses, autism, diet, nutrition, etc. She's simply the messenger. (In fact, I'd venture to say that Amanda Peet, the "other" side of the current argumental coin, is just a messenger, too...but she volunteered for the role, whereas Jenny was thrust into it by her son's autism. Jenny's lived the life, Amanda's learning it secondhand. Jenny's been doing it for a while, Amanda's brand new. So before I hear another person spout off "why are you listening to Jenny?" I want to know why they're listening to Amanda Peet? She knows about as much about vaccines as any first time mother of a baby. Big deal.) I don't care if Jenny was a nude juggler in a Martian circus act and speaks in gibberish. If she can get a point across, great. Pretty narrow-minded to think people are only worth listening to if they've got a medical degree.

Even if you don't feel autism is related to vaccines, I honestly don't care. I'm already neck-deep in autism and its side-effects, so I don't expect you to understand. I've got friends that can't even find two minutes to ask me how my son is doing, so I can live with a stranger who has a different opinion. But think about it, really think about it. If vaccines can be made without toxins, and the diseases are still prevented, WHY NOT? We want vaccines -- we just want our child or your future child or grandchild or Godchild or friend's child or niece or nephew to just not be the acceptable collateral damage that there are so many of today.

And essentially, that's what my son is when you look at numbers and say "my son's not autistic, and he was vaccinated." Better me than you, right? Maybe my son has a weak immune system, or maybe he was genetically predisposed to autism in some other way, and maybe vaccines didn't have anything to do with it, but why take the risk? No studies have ever been done, ever, to test the full load of all the current vaccines on small children. (Why? Who wants their child to be that guinea pig?)

Lastly, if that can be a real word for just now -- don't blame unvaccinated children for your illness. If your vaccine worked, you wouldn't have any worries. Unvaccinated people are only at risk themselves if the vaccines really work. And truly, measles is a walk in the park compared to severe autism.

Don't let the point of this latest issue on CNN and everywhere else be lost because you're choosing between Jenny or Amanda or because you're hung up on their lack of credentials or scientific proof. We all know formaldehyde, ether, aluminum, and other things aren't in food or any other thing around your body (or your dog's) because it's not safe. So why does it belong in a vaccine? It doesn't. Safe vaccines with a safe schedule harms NO ONE. That's the point. Safe vaccines. If you remember nothing else in this fiasco, remember those two words: safe vaccines. That's all we want.

ACTRESS AMANDA PEET-WELLNESS AUTHORITY?

Another case of a celebrity who should just keep her mouth shut.

Ray Salomone

www.GrecoRomanWellness.com

Remember, I work with celebrities, so I know first hand that many of them should just smile at the camera when told. And do nothing else.

Amanda Peet has recently said that parents who choose not to vaccinate their children are

“parasites.” She recently apologized, no doubt forced to by her publicists who must have blown a gasket. Remember, I know how this all works.

Jenny McCarthy, (her son has autism) has shot back hard. What I’d love to see is Jenny bitch slap Amanda Peet because she needs it.

When I first heard about this I assumed that Ms. Peet MUST be an informed source who had undoubtedly done significant research before making such a statement.

Well, I should never assume. Ms. Peet is a paid spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics. Get this- she auditioned for the spokesperson role.

I look forward to the next time I see her walking the streets of Manhattan.

Ray Salomone

www.GrecoRomanWellness.com

So, she slams Amanda Peet.

I think this important conflict will only be settled if Jenny and Amanda work out there differences, while wearing bikinis, by wrestling in a vat of hot oil. They are both scientists, right, and that's how we normally work out these kind of analytical inconsistencies. Right?

You're also interesting in Summer Bailey. There's also a Summer Bailey who does porno, I'm guessing they aren't the same Summer Bailey.

You've also developed a sudden interest in the Alternative Minimum Tax out there on the Internets. You people must be rich, if you're paying that. It's just for rich people, right?

And Lou Dobbs on the Bailout. Good for you. Making you Internets are getting smarter. Lou Dobbs has a much better idea what he's talking about than most of the Talking Heads out there.

Also, you pipples are apparently very interested in the Senate version of the bailout bill. It's not that complicated. First, you bend over. Second, you grab the ankles. Third, the government takes your money and gives it to their big leftist friends running Wall Street. Done and done.

And you want to know about The Hampton Coliseum. Why? Phish again. Jeeze, you Phish-heads out there. A lot of you are, apparently. They broke up, what, four years ago? Some bands don't do a tour or come out with an album for five or six years. Settle down, people.

So, are you people doing the Googlification out there for the latest Quinnipiac Poll because you're all about reading how Obama is ahead in the polls, or just because you like saying the word Quinnipiac?

A sudden interest in Robert Kardashian because of what exactly? Whatever, Internets. Whatever.

Hewlett Packard is buying LeftHand Networks. They are rumored to be in talks with one Ned Flanders to buy The Leftorium at the Springfield Mall. Because it would make about as much sense.

I think you Womens out there must be the ones searching for Yummie Tummie. Watching the Oprah again?

 Laters, Internets.

Not all religiously-motivated terrorist attacks on U.S. soil are caused by Muslims - Some nutty American Christians sprayed gas into a mosque filled with kids. Some suspect this is connected with an anti-Muslim "documentary," Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West.

Consequences of Pulpit Sunday - As I mentioned in my blog 2 days ago, a group of religious organizations planned to preach from the pulpit to tell their parishioners who to vote for, deliberately violating the rules that afford them tax exempt status on Sunday. Americans United for Separation of Church and State is already filing complaints with the IRS.

Religious sentiment in New Zealand - A recent New Zealand survey suggests only 40% of the people believe in a god, and 10% do but have doubts. Only 52% believe in an immortal soul, and 80% accept evolution. Not surprisingly, this secular paradise is not the crime-ridden distopia theists would have you believe. Quite the opposite.

CREATIONIST NEWS:

Creationists are losing the battle in North Carolina! YEA! - I blogged about the creationist goings-on in North Carolina 2 weeks ago (here). Apparently the creationist Newspeak gambit isn't working no matter how many times they insist:

Religion is Science

Science is Religion

Bill Gates funding the Discover Institute? - Et tu, Bill? As if there weren't enough reasons to switch to a Mac.

CRANKS IN THE NEWS:

Mayor of Fort Mill, South Carolina sent a chain email around that said something to the effect of, The Bible says the anti-Christ would be a Muslim, Barack Obama is a Muslim, ergo, Barack Obama is the anti-Christ. Can't argue with that bulletproof logic.

Christian Civic League of Maine blames Wall Street crash on gays - One would have thought the Jews would make better scapegoats for this one. But then again, who am I to tell the bigots how to do their bigotry?

“Our crisis is a symptom, not the cause,” writes Michael Heath. “I am not saying I know whether this financial crisis is God’s judgment or not. It is not for me to know that definitively.”

Conservative Christian reviewer calls Skeptics' Guide to the Universe podcast the "Mouthpiece of Satan" - Apparently he's under the impression that all they do is sit around mocking god-belief. Though oddly, having heard every episode, I somehow must have missed that one. Oh, and also he also believes that autism is a "disease" and is one of many "judgments from God." He calls it, "liquid blasphemy" (I guess it's liquid because vaccines contain liquid). Of the podcast, he says:

"There is nothing redeemable in this podcast. It’s a propaganda mouthpiece for Satan and his followers."

AND IN ANTIVACCINATION NEWS:

Jenny McCarthy fires back at Amanda "My Future Wife" Peet - I dare you not to laugh when you read this quote by Jenny:

“(Peet) has a lot of [nerve] to come forward and be on that side, because there is an angry mob on my side, and I like the fact that I can say she’s completely wrong.” She added, “I look at (Peet) now and say to myself, ‘That was me before I had autism in my life,’ and until she walks in our shoes, she really has no idea.”

Wah! Wah! Also, the national autism advocacy group Autism United is calling for a boycott of all of Amanda Peet’s movies:

“Our community will not support the continued misinformation that is funneled into the media by organizations like ECBT and the American Academy of Pediatrics. We are not against vaccines, rather we are for safe vaccines. Until they understand that, we won’t back down."

Flash forward to a month from now when they've backed down. The difference between McCarthy and antivaccinationists at Age of Autism is:

"There's a big difference. One teaches. The other proselytizes. May Amanda never need our help."

Oddly, I agree on both counts. Peet teaches while McCarthy proselytizes nonsense and it truly would be a tragedy if Peet ever needed these delusional fools' help. But yeah, as everyone knows the pediatricianazis are next to traitors in the center of Hell. Damn you, you pediatrician!!! Stop protecting our children!!!

Also McCarthy apparently couldn't understand why Barbara Walters didn't believe that her son, Evan, had recovered from the currently uncurable autism until Jenny found some convoluted explanation for Walters' skepticism.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT:

In Defense of Food - Here's another blog recommending we stop listening to nutritionists and stupid fad diets and just eat rationally, citing the eating advice of one author who breaks it down to 7 words: Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants. Though blogger Harriet Hall makes a slight alteration to this advice: Eat a variety of foods. Not too much. Mostly plants.

What does a scientific consensus mean?

The Times investigates alternative medicine in a series of articles - But apparently in the most recent article, the author doesn't take into account Bayes' Theorem, which states that the more implausible the hypothesis, the less likely that any numerical data can confirm it.

Phil Plait interviewed for Popular Science Magazine regarding Moon Hoaxers

EPIC FAIL!

Congratulations to PETA for making the Epic Fail 2 consecutive weeks in a row!! That's quite an accomplishment - Okay, I found last week's stunt nothing but mildly amusing. But this time it's personal! Now they're blaming the genetic disorder autism on milk consumption. Anyway, Orac delivers a crushing debunking of their ludicrous, repulsive propaganda taking advantage of the current hysteria surrounding the disorder.

WHAT'S THE HARM?

Homeopathic/herbal scam artist sentenced:

A Shelby County man who scammed thousands of hopeful customers worldwide with bogus health-remedies pleaded guilty Monday to computer fraud and agreed to forfeit cars, motorcycles, bank accounts and other property. . . "We have victims from virtually every continent and there allegedly are several thousand victims," said Steve Crossnoe of the District Attorneys Office White Collar Crime Prosecution Unit. "People were not receiving what they thought they were receiving. The medical research was fictional. The doctors were fictional."

AND NOW FOR A MOMENT OF SCIENCE:

Mass Extinctions And Evolution Of Dinosaurs - "Dinosaurs survived two mass extinctions and 50 million years before taking over the world and dominating ecosystems, according to new research published this week."

New Dinosaur Had Bird-Like Breathing System - "The remains of a 30-foot-long predatory dinosaur discovered along the banks of Argentina's Rio Colorado is helping to unravel how birds evolved their unusual breathing system."

Mars Lander Sees Falling Snow On Red Planet - "NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander has detected snow falling from Martian clouds. Spacecraft soil experiments also have provided evidence of past interaction between minerals and liquid water, processes that occur on Earth."

Second-hand Smoke May Hook Kids On Nicotine - "Parents who smoke cigarettes around their kids in cars and homes beware – second-hand smoke may trigger symptoms of nicotine dependence in children."

Hello everyone! Associate producer Greg Walsh here, fresh off a twelve hour trip to the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF08).

Producer Chuck Pistorino orchestrated this trip to TIFF08 so that we could get a first hand experience of what a big time festival is like. Joining us on this trip was production designer Courtland Jones and actor/electrical specialist Zach Egan. We left on Friday at 8:00 pm and drove straight though the night, arriving in Toronto at 6am. After sleeping for an hour in the bottom floor of the parking garage, we hit the streets and started schmoozing.

First up was the Canadian comedy Control Alt Delete. A hilarious story of a man and his love for his... computer. We specifically chose this film because it was one of the premier independent comedies at TIFF08. After laughing for 93 minutes straight, we were left completely satisfied thanks to the original storyline, an extremely enthusiastic crowd, and excellent acting led by up-and-coming actor Tyler Labine.

Following the film we were treated to a Q&A with Director Cameron Labine (yes Tyler and Cameron are brothers), Producers Stephanie Symns, Lynne Stopkewich and Actor Geoff Gustafson. This Q&A was extremely informative and it gave Chuck and myself a taste of what to expect should Catching On be accepted to a major film festival (which it obviously will be accepted).

Next up,  we traveled up the street to the Edison Theater to see the highest budgeted Korean film in history, The Good The Bad, The Weird. Directed by Kim Ji-woon and starring Jung Woo-sung as the Good, Lee Byung-hun as the Bad, and Song Kang-ho as the Weird. This epic remake of the John Wayne classic was perceived extremely well by the pack house. The two hour movie seemed to loose the audience around the hour and a half mark, but quickly won them back with a gun blazing showdown finale. After the film, we were treated to a Q&A from director Kim Ji-woon. He seemed to entertain the audience well, unfortunately anyone who didn't speak fluent Korean was left in the dark waiting for the translator to relay his jokes and anecdotes.

Our final movie for TIFF08 was the South Boston (southie) based movie What Doesn't Kill You. The film, about two childhood friends who grow up into a life of crime, starred Ethan Hawke, Amanda Peet, Donnie Wahlberg, and Mark Ruffalo. The acting was extremely convincing and the Boston accent was not murdered as it so often is in Hollywood. My only worry for this movie is that it will get lost in the tired "life of crime in Southie" storyline that has been nearly overused after the success of The Departed and Gone Baby Gone. All in all, it was an enjoyable movie and the "based on a true story" element did help to create a surprising twist at the end of the film.

Unfortunately though, I was extremely disappointed with the lack of a Q&A following film. When you are paying $20.00 a ticket and driving 12 hours to attend a film festival, you do tend to expect something other than just watching the film. However, I still thought that it was a movie worth watching and it was a great way to end our Toronto International Film Festival experience.

Toronto was a huge success for us because we got first hand experience of what a major Film Festival is like. Chuck and I, as the producers, will be going to many different film festivals and we will be capturing them on film for podcasts! So watch for them real soon!

-Greg

Imdb page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0443701/
Rotten Tomatoes page: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/x_files_2/
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5HrxAXvQ6A

mFacts:

01. You can be wanted from a military court conviction and stay of the grid by hanging out at your girlfriends house who happens to be your ex-partner in the FBI.
02. Mulder wasn't exactly Miss popularity at the FBI himsel.
03. An out of work forensic pathologist can always make a few bucks as a neurosurgeon, after all it's not exactly brain surgery- except, oh yea it is.
04. In order to prepare themselves to perform an untried and experimental form of neurosurgery, all a doctor needs to do is google "stem cell research" and print off some medical papers from websites a few days before the scheduled operation.
05. Things end badly for buxom brunettes who try to come between mulder & his girl
06. Things end badly when you call Mulder, "Fox".
07. If you are looking for a suspect, randomly stop at a store, he will show up.
08. If you are looking for your partner, randomly drive down a road and look at post box addresses.
09. If you want to cover up serial amputations dispose of them in ice, no one will find them.
10. Pedophilac priests make good psychics.
11. Don't worry if your head is about to be chopped off, someone will be right there to save you even though continuity leads you to believe they are minutes away.
12. Search teams with FBI coats and poking sticks, line up and search a frozen lake for a missing person and not a snow bank because it makes a better camera shot.
13. If you push an FBI agent over a tiny cliff in his car which land in snow you make sure he is dead.. Unless he is the lead.
14. If you get stuck after 60 minutes of theories, start doing real police work as checking the place which sells animal tranquiliazer, and in 10 minutes its solved.
15. If the badguys truck breaks down blocking the road to the evil hideout it will magically disappear when people need to drive to the hideout.
16. A mad scientist who is determined to keep his bizarre and unethical transplant operations a secret will let a two-headed dog wander round in the open air to guard his property.
17. If you're an FBI agent and you are putting a psychic to the test by taking them to a perfectly innocent house and pretending it's a crime scene, it's not a good idea to just take them to the house across the road from the actual crime scene, which is visibly cordoned off with bright yellow police tape.
18. Sticking pencils in the ceiling is a habit hard to get rid of.

A Griffin (Dermot Mulroney) su doctora le recalca lo que otros especialistas ya le han dicho: le quedan pocos meses de vida debido a un invasor cáncer que lo aqueja. Como es de esperar, la vida de Griffin da un vuelco inesperado en el cual su mayor preocupación son sus dos pequeños hijos que viven toda la semana con su madre. Pero su vida sufre un cambio cuando asiste a una charla acerca de la muerte en la Universidad y donde conoce a Phoenix (Amanda Peet) una hermosa joven a la que intenta seducir. Cómo no, Griffin se la juega con todo, la convence, pasan buenos ratos, hasta que descubre que a ella también le han diagnosticado cáncer y también le quedan pocos meses de vida. Es entonces cuando Griffin y Phoenix (título original de la película) deciden vivir la vida a como de lugar hasta que uno de los dos parta primero.

Este remake de una telefilme setentero del mismo nombre (donde actuaba el  célebre Peter Falk), es la típica historia de amor implacable donde el… amor se despliega por toda la pantalla, no obstante, y esto es muy de los ’70, el toque trágico onda Love Story de los amantes a quienes la muerte los separará, antes de tiempo, claro está.

Con dos años de retraso, Una Lección de Vida (2006) nos llega a las salas nacionales en un estreno prescindible para las vacaciones de Fiestas Patrias. Si bien es verdad que la historia no deja de ser interesante, el giro dramático onda pantalón de elefante no le hace justicia a la temática; Amanda Peet (Martian Child, Fast Track) es la estrella indiscutida del dramón en la que, si bien, no otorga una interpretación soberbia, sí mantiene el ritmo de la cinta, opacando al siempre secundario Dermot Mulroney (Zodiac, About Schmidt) que a ratos intenta sorprender.

Pienso que el espectador de este siglo bien sabe que  ante tremenda paradoja, los personajes no debieran de comportarse como tiernos y juguetones infantes y darse a los placeres mundanos. Bueno, por lo menos eso no ocurriría con un personaje chileno. No resulta creíble si aplicamos la lógica económica financiera. Pero ese es mi punto de vista. Lamentablemente el director Ed Stone sólo ha maquillado una vieja versión de un amor sin barreras. Quizás es por esto que Una lección de Vida es hasta la fecha su única película como director.