Greg Daniels and Steve Carell‘s Space Force (Netflix, 5.29) is a ten-episode comic miniseries. Starring Carell and costarring John Malkovich (who’s suddenly looking old, might need a Prague touch-up), Ben Schwartz, Tony Scarapiducci, Lisa Kudrow, Jane Lynch, Noah Emmerich, Fred Willard, Jessica St. Clair and — according to Wikipedia — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Principal photography began in Los Angeles, California on 9.26.19 and ended on 1.10.20 (pre-pandemic). Like a blend of The Office and In The Loop? The whole thing will be binge-able on opening day.

“As a scientist, you have a loyalty to reason. Makes you a little untrustworthy.”

Inmate #1: The Rise of Danny Trejo will begin streaming on digital platforms on July 7th.

When I think of this legendary mutton-faced actor I think of his “Trejo” character in Heat, and how this guy was far more problematic than the demonic Waingro (Kevin Gage) because it was Trejo who brought Waingro into the gang for that first armored-truck heist, from which all the other problems resulted.

Secondly I think of the Malcom X transformation metaphor (jailbird to restoring angel). Thirdly I think of Trejo’s Tacos, Trejo’s Cantina and Trejo’s Coffee & Donuts. Lastly I think of Machete, but mainly the first three.

No offense but I don’t remember him from Runaway Train

“Always Look On The Bright Side of Life.” the Monty Python tune initially heard in Life of Brian (’79) and later in As Good As It Gets (’97), was written with a wink. It’s not exactly a parody of the kind of song typified by George and Felix Powell‘s “Pack Up Your Troubles In Your Old Kit Bag,” but it certainly flirts with a nudge-nudge.

And yet Art Garfunkel’s version, recorded for James L. Brooks’ 1997 film, erases any hints of irony, and in fact replaced the original “Life’s a piece of shit” lyric with the G-rqted “Life’s a counterfeit.” It’s obviously sung with sincerity. And that choir! It’s a happiness anthem.

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And due respect to Cameron Douglas, grandson of Kirk and son of Michael Douglas. But if I’d been advising during the recording of this AFI Movie Club announcement, I would have gently reminded Cameron that the last syllable of Spartacus rhymes with “cuss” (i.e., as in “to curse”) or the first name of former Communist Party USA chairman Gus Hall. I’m sorry but at the :53 mark Cameron pronounces it Spartakiss, as in “kiss my ass” or Gene Simmons.

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…I’m waking up without any particular excitement about what day it is, about what’s going to happen or what I need to prepare for or anything along those lines. It’s all flatline these days. Because in this hellish, suspended-animation nothingness it’s hard to believe that anything matters. A Sunday morning is a Thursday or Tuesday morning, ad infinitum.

I do the same thing every day no matter what (and I love it!), but before the pandemic there was always stuff to explore, things to attend, places to go, a bar or a restaurant to visit, a plane or a train to catch, etc.

A KL Studio Classics Bluray of A Thousand Clowns pops tomorrow, and for one brief shining moment I was reminded how much I once love the late Herb Gardner‘s dialogue.

Don’t forget that Martin Balsam won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Arnold Burns, the sober, boringly responsible brother of Jason Robard‘s Murray.

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In a 5.4 Variety piece titled “Gladiator at 20: Russell Crowe and Ridley Scott Look Back on the Groundbreaking Historical Epic,” Crowe is quoted as follows:

“I’d read the script and I thought it wasn’t a movie. But then [Walter] Parkes said, ‘It’s 184 A.D., you’re a Roman general, and you’re going to be directed by Ridley Scott.’ And that was enough for me to want to talk to Ridley. I was just coming off the shoot of The Insider. I was gigantic. I had no hair because I had been wearing a wig on that movie, so I had shaved my head to make it more comfortable and the wigs go on quicker. I didn’t look like any Roman general.”

(l.) Russell Crowe in 1999’s The Insider; (r.) during a 2019 appearance on Howard Stern’s SIRIUS show.

With each new failed attempt to recapture the lustre of the first two Stars Wars films, the flickering flame becomes smaller, weaker, sadder. The prequels injected poison, and the sequels…well, yes, no and maybe. Is the fanbase even capable of understanding that it’s fucking over…can they get that simple fact through their thick heads? The only sensible response to the news about Taika Waititi being officially locked to direct and co-write a new Star Wars flick is “oh, Jesus God…another one?” The added blast about 1917 co-writer Krysty Wilson-Cairns co-penning the script with Waititi means nothing….less than nothing.

…while beginning to answer a complex question. On the other hand, the “addiction to growth” mentality is a profoundly serious problem. Michael Moore: “The word ‘enough’ is the dirtiest word in capitalism, because there’s not supposed to be any such thing as ‘enough’…it’s always more, more, more.”

If you think I’m going to adjust my recollections of the George W. Bush presidency and perhaps even offer an historical upgrade because (a) Bush has just released a thoughtful and compassionate video about the pandemic, (b) he’s now being profiled by a new PBS “American Experience” documentary, and (c) he was a somewhat more responsible and conventional-minded president than Donald Trump has shown himself to be…if you think I’m about a give this second-rate man a pass, you’ve got another think coming.

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In yesterday’s comment thread under “Says Wrong Thing, Works Anyway” post, Grandpappy Amos wrote that Woody Allen‘s Crimes and Misdemeanors (’89) qualifies as an ethically flawed artistic success because it “shows that evil seems to get actually rewarded.”

This morning I replied as follows: “Incorrect. Crimes and Misdemeanors is about negotiating an arrangement with ‘the eyes of God.’ It’s about the ability of a wealthy and respected man (Martin Landau‘s “Judah Rosenthal”) to lapse into panic and rage and finally evil in order to protect his status and income. It’s also about how guilt can drive a person half-crazy until, like a fog lifting, it all seems to lessen and then more or less evaporate. So evil isn’t ‘rewarded’ but afforded a certain accommodation.”

Wiki slice: The universe is a dark and indifferent place which human beings fill with love, in the hope that it will give meaning to the cavernous void.

The latest anti-Trump ad by the Lincoln Project good guys (George T. Conway III, Steve Schmidt, John Weaver, Rick Wilson).

From “Full Disclosure: An Interview with standup comedian and former Celebrity Apprentice talent handler Noel Casler,” by PREVAILS’s Gregg Olear (posted on 5.1):