edited by Jonathan Doyle

Cloverfield [BLU-RAY] (Paramount Home Entertainment, 6.3.2008) Disguised under deliberately goofy, yet deliciously edible-sounding, aliases such as Cheese and Slusho, Matt Reeves' Cloverfield was produced and rushed into theaters under an equally appetizing shroud of secrecy. From last year's incredibly elusive Super Bowl ad to the film's viral marketing campaign, Cloverfield had everybody scratching their heads and drooling in anticipation. Aside from the as-yet untitled title and the Blair Witch-ian visual style, the film's biggest appeal was the enigmatic creature who was last (un)seen hurling the decapitated head of the Statue of Liberty onto the crowded streets of New York City. All we knew about the mysterious beast was that it was big and angry. Now that the highy-anticipated project has come and gone, one question has fortunately been answered: Cloverfield was a major success. (continued)

Upcoming

August 27

Traitor

August 29

Babylon AD

College

Disaster Movie

Goal II: Living the Dream

I Served the King of England

My Mexican Shivah

Sukiyaki Western Django

Year of the Fish

Young People F*cking

September 3

The Pool

September 5

A Secret

August Evening

Bangkok Dangerous

Everybody Wants to Be Italian

Mister Foe

Ping Pong Playa

Save Me

Surfer, Dude

Schmidt Effect

email this story
read comments (8)
post a comment

"How important is it for candidates to tell the truth?," asks Elizabeth Kolbert in an 8.11 New Yorker essay. "Throughout his long career in politics, John McCain, who called his PAC Straight Talk America, has presented frankness as his fundamental virtue. [But] the past few weeks have seen a change in McCain. He has hired new advisers, and with them he seems to have worked out a new approach.

"He is no longer telling the sorts of hard truths that people would prefer not to confront, or even half-truths that they might find vaguely discomfiting. Instead, he's opted out of truth altogether.

"Recent history suggests that Presidential campaigns don’t reward integrity; the candidate who refuses to compromise his principles is unlikely to have a chance to act on them. Still, McCain's slide is saddening. That he has sunk to the level of 'Pump'" -- the ad that more or less blamed Barack Obama for rising gas prices -- "a full month before Labor Day really doesn’t leave him -- or the race -- far to go."

Added N.Y. Times columnist Maureen Dowd said in yesterday's column that "McCain's mouth is moving but the words coming out belong to his new hard-boiled strategist, Steve Schmidt, a Rove protégé, nicknamed 'The Bullet' for his bald pate. Schmidt has turned Mr. Straight Talk into Mr. Desperate Straits. It’s not a good trade. "

Carr Tube<< previous | next >>More Of It

Posted by Jeffrey Wells on August 6, 2008 at 1:53 PM

comment #1

p.Vice says ...

This makes perfect sense. Isn't it an established fact that the conservative agenda is built on avoiding truth at every turn? All he has to do is say talk about Jesus and how Obama is one of them dirty Johnny Jihads and he's golden.

Posted by p.Vice at August 6, 2008 2:31 PM

comment #2

snackyx says ...

Its been said that the John McCain of 2000 would not vote for the John McCain of 2008. Bingo.

Posted by snackyx at August 6, 2008 2:32 PM

comment #3

thatmovieguy says ...

The McCain of 2007 would not have voted for the McCain of 2008. It appears that McCain is so grateful to the GOP movers and shakers for finally giving him the opportunity to run -- and don't think for a minute that a lot of them aren't having Bob Dole flashbacks -- that he will gladly go along with anything the party dictates, no matter how far away it is from one of his previously announced positions. He has turned from one-time renegade into a mealy-mouthed cheerleader for the very ideas that are pushing this country to the brink of disaster. I used to disagree with him on many topics but still respect him for having his own opinions and ideas. Now I think he's just a pitifully misguided clown.

Posted by thatmovieguy at August 6, 2008 2:59 PM

comment #4

Mgmax says ...

"Isn't it an established fact that the conservative agenda is built on avoiding truth at every turn?"

Absolutely! An established fact! I think some guys won the Nobel prize for proving it in the comments on a Daily Kos thread a couple of years ago!

Posted by Mgmax at August 6, 2008 3:03 PM

comment #5

dinther says ...

Even those of you who are criticizing McCain seem to have bought into the made-for-TV version of him rather than the real person.

Those inside the Beltway who have dealt with him will uniformly tell you that, in person, he is a jerk. A jerk with a huge temper at times. He treats media types and other senators amicably, but those for which he has no use are treated with disdain. It is comical that Republicans have tarred Obama with the arrogant label - McCain is old-Washington pomp, personified.

Otherwise, he is not exactly the "good guy" the media depicts - his affair with the lobbyist was notorious on capitol hill - it was common knowledge among staffers in the Senate. And it was easy, given that his wife stayed in Arizona. That being said, he was regarded as an effective Senator who knew how to grease the process.

But the idea that he is ignorant of the way his handlers have pushed this campaign, or that he has no say in the way they're running the show? People, he is old, but he's not stupid.

Posted by dinther at August 6, 2008 3:51 PM

comment #6

BurmaShave says ...

I think Chuck Grassley and John Cornyn would disagree that he treats other Senators amicably.

Posted by BurmaShave at August 6, 2008 4:26 PM

comment #7

Mgmax says ...

If John McCain had been in a coma for the last three months, there would still be stories coming out right now about how he used to be a principled conservative, but now he's acting like just another bad ol' putty-Republican. I had the day the press would turn on him marked on my calendar.

Posted by Mgmax at August 6, 2008 7:19 PM

comment #8