["There are at least three branches of the esteemed Criterion Collection. There is the one that puts out first-rate DVD editions of cinema classics like The Seven Samurai and The Third Man. There is its new Eclipse line, which has packaged early Bergman, late Ozu, and, coming soon, the mid-period of some other distinguished auteur. And then there is its unnamed subset, dedicated to movies that stretch its mission to present 'the greatest films from around the world.' Dedicated collectors of Criterion's canonical titles must surely feel their ascots tighten about their necks when the label forgoes Welles and Antonioni for a month to put out deluxe packages of cult chillers like The Blob or Equinox."]
2. "Allies push Bush to pass children's health insurance." By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar of the Los Angeles Times.
["WASHINGTON—The Senate, by a wide margin, approved a bill Thursday to expand health insurance for children of low-income working parents, sending it to President Bush as supporters mounted a last-ditch effort to persuade him not to cast a long-threatened veto...The American Medical Assn. and AARP, the seniors lobby—key Bush allies in the creation of the Medicare prescription benefit—wrote the president Thursday urging him to change his mind and sign what they called a "carefully crafted bipartisan compromise. On the Senate floor, some of the sharpest challenges to Bush's position came from Republicans. The bill's GOP supporters said the administration was misinformed—and even misleading the public—when it argued that the bill's provisions for extending aid upward to families far from the poverty line would put the nation on a slippery slope toward socialized medicine. 'The administration is threatening to veto this bill because of 'excessive spending' and their belief that this bill is a step toward federalization of healthcare,' said Sen.Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), a supporter of the plan. 'I am not for excessive spending and strongly oppose the federalization of healthcare. And if the administration's concerns with this bill were accurate, I would support a veto. But, bluntly put, they are not.'"]
3. "Robert Benton's Portland Feast." By N.P. Thompson, for Willamette Week.
["On the nudity in Feast of Love, Benton states that he was 'very clear about what the boundaries were. In the case of Radha [Mitchell], I told her, 'If I were your father, I wouldn't let you do this.'' I asked him if Mitchell, an adventurous performer from the get-go, needed any coaxing for the full frontal fight sequence where she and her married lover (Billy Burke) have at it. Not at all. 'Radha wanted to do a second take, and I thought, 'Are you insane?'']
4. "Halo 3 Mimics Halo 2, With Some Improved Graphics." Charles Herold's latest "Game Theory" column in The New York Times.
["The story of Halo 3 is the same as that of Halo 2 and the original Halo: a lot of things get in your way and you kill them."]
5. "The Darjeeling Limited: Anderson chucks the suffocating quirks from the train for his most emotionally complex film yet." By Vadim Rizov of The Reeler. See also: A.O. Scott in The New York Times ("an overstuffed suitcase") and Armond White in NYPress ("It could be re-titled Three Stooges and a Prayer").
["Not coincidentally, Anderson's first and second films were also the most emotionally volatile of his career, their adolescent protagonists swinging between unconvincing internalization (externally manifested in the bizarre) and open despair in a heartbeat. But something calcified in The Royal Tenenbaums; characters squared off in a closet, and all eyes were on the panoply of game boards on either side. In Tenenbaums and The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou, the protagonists' emotional constriction had become the films' own—any real feeling was buried deep beneath the elaborate shots and miniature sets. Anderson's latest, The Darjeeling Limited, is a landmark eruption: No more stifled adolescents. The Whitman clan—brothers Francis (Owen Wilson), Peter (Adrien Brody) and Jack (Jason Schwartzman)—process trauma and confront grief, no clever soundtrack required. "]
Quote of the Day: "I always thought the real violence in Hollywood isn't what's on the screen. It's what you have to do to raise the money."—David Mamet
Image of the Day (click to enlarge): From This Island Earth (1955).
Clip of the Day:"I pity the poor son of a bitch that got mixed up in this shit!"
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"Links for the Day": Each morning, the House editors post a series of weblinks that we think will spark discussion. Comments encouraged.
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