1. Whatever Happened to Gilles Mimouni? David over at We Can Rebuild Him really wants to know where the acclaimed French director got off to after the release of his one and only film.

["It happens so rarely with Cinema. In Literature, its more common; Harper Lee, Arundahti Roy. Both writers who wrote one novel, then gave up. There are others; Ross Lockridge Jr. He wrote Raintree County in 1948, and it was called a 'Great American Novel' by lots of critics. Killed himself two months later, leaving it as his single novel. Not so in cinema. Directors begin careers. They make a second film, it flops, they start to take jobs in TV or advertising. Or they craft an oeuvre, film after film of varying quality, hitting their stride at some point, tailing off into late middle age as they lose edge and relevance. They don't just...stop."]

2. So I've been writing up In Treatment for The AV Clubb, and the show just wrapped its second season. If you were watching and have something to say, check it out. If you weren't and have nothing to say, check it out anyway.

["It's that image of life as an unending process of becoming that makes In Treatment so compelling to watch. The easy thing to do with this show would be to have Paul fix everyone he sees. Indeed, that is likely what would happen if this show were on any other network. While Paul helps these patients confront their issues and, indeed, reach some sort of turning point, he doesn't help them miraculously realize the ways they can fix their lives and start living the lives they've always wanted to. So many shows about therapy treat the process as something akin to rebirth—purging what was no longer needed in the soul and then bringing out a new soul—when the real process is a long, painful evolution. Even when we get a brief mention of just what happened to Sophie (season one's most compelling patient) in April's episode this week, we get the sense that while Paul helped her realize new ways of living her life, she's still struggling to become who she's meant to be—she's in college after all. But, hell, even Walter is struggling to become who he's meant to be, and he's in his 60s. We're, all of us, looking for ways to balance who we are and who we were with who we want to be. And, again, that's where Paul comes in."]

3. Clydefro takes a look at Bullitt and Steve McQueen's performance in it and takes the opposite tack from the Good Mr. Seitz.

["Because I perceive Bullitt as McQueen's most signature role and film, and because the result was so impressive, it follows that the opportunity to see it on a very large screen was impossible to ignore. Even in an archive print - and you'd think a film as popular as this would warrant something freshly struck - the effect was like seeing it for the first time. Those McQueen close-ups depend so much on where the attention is elsewhere. And the car chase...the car chase! It's less viewed than experienced. The hilly San Francisco streets inspire that same discomforting stomach jump as one gets while traversing actual roads of that nature, though perhaps not quite with the same abandon of doing so at such raw speed. Engines at full roar have rarely sounded so exciting. The scene lasts a few minutes, but it feels like the blink of an eye. Most movies that try car chases get it wrong, or at least less right, because they struggle to comprehend that it isn't the suspense or the result that the viewer craves. The key is in how closely we can transport ourselves into the car. Nothing tops Bullitt. When Lalo Schifrin's score goes silent and we see that great literal image of a seatbelt being buckled, all that's left is for the cars to forcefully peel out into the chase. It's a video game, with superb editing, before they existed. And it's much, much better."]

4. Outing the Outers. Lauren Wissot joins the chorus of voices discussing Kirby Dick's outing-politicians documentary Outrage.

["For the most fascinating thing about these white gay men who out perceived white gay men is how much these radical left and conservative right camps have in common—much more than the outers share with the diverse LGBT community at large. When these 'truth-seeking' journalists question the validity of someone's marriage, making catty comments such as 'I don't know why the wives stay with them!' and calling disgraced senator Larry Craig's relationship with his spouse 'bizarre,' it echoes a time not long ago when gay partnerships were considered 'bizarre.' Why on earth would a woman stay with a man who 'fucks around with guys' on the side? For the same reason two men would want to live together. It's called love."]

5. Finally, let's link to CHUD because why the hell not? And, actually, this examination of the ways that the original script for Terminator: Salvation was more interesting than what made it up on screen while still missing the mark is illustrative of ... something. (Spoilers for the film are in the article, but, believe me, being spoiled for this film is somewhat impossible, as it might be the most predictable movie in some time.)

["What caused these massive changes? And what were they? The biggest change came when McG flew to the UK to talk to Christian Bale about starring in the fourth Terminator movie. The director wanted the Batman star to play Marcus Wright, the cyborg protagonist of the script. But Bale focused on another part: John Connor. The only problem is that John Connor had about three minutes of screen time in the entire film; most of Connor's moments were played offscreen. In the original script John Connor was the secretive leader of the Resistance. He lived on the HQ sub, and almost no one saw his face, so as to keep him hidden from the robots. Connor made radio addresses and existed as a legend for the fighting men and women of the Resistance, but in the original script Connor didn't show up onscreen until the last minutes of the movie."]

Quote of the Day:

Image of the Day (click to enlarge): Hi there.

Clip of the Day: Let's let Roky Erickson bring it all home.

"Links for the Day": A selection of Links that will hopefully spark discussion. Comments encouraged. Suggestions for links are also welcome. Please send to todd@vanderwerff.us.