Every time I get a Bluray of an older film that’s been Bob Furmanek-ed (i.e., arbitrarily cleavered into a 1.85 aspect ratio), a little part of me dies inside. But an older film that’s been 1.66 aspect ratio’ed always brightens my day. I haven’t time to watch this now as I have a triple-header tonight (a Santa Barbara Film Festival party, a screening of Anna Karenina and then another party) but I’ll definitely watch it around 11:30 pm tonight.

I’m not saying the polls aren’t temporarily accurate (they are), and that Obama and his idiot advisers (David Axelrod, et. al.) who told him to play it cool and easy just before the Denver debate didn’t shoot themselves in the foot — they did. But what’s better from the perspective of news organizations — a Presidential race that is all but decided or a bit of a horse race?

There are several tasty elements and intrigues in David Chase‘s Not Fade Away (Paramount Vantage, 12.21), but my favorite scene occurs in a movie theatre sometime in late 1966. John Magaro and Bella Heathcote are watching the Maryon Park scene in Michelangelo Antonioni‘s Blowup, which is noteworthy for the sound of rustling bushes and tree branches. Magaro says to Heathcote, “What kind of a movie is this? It’s so quiet, and there’s no music telling you what’s going on or what to expect.” Heathcote says, “I think the wind is the music.”

A portion of this clip of a 6.3.64 Rolling Stones appearance on The Hollywood Palace is used in David Chase‘s Not Fade Away (Paramount Vantage, 12.21), which I saw yesterday. There was no cooler guy in the late 1940s, ’50s and early ’60s than Dean Martin, but he suddenly became an asshole in the wake of the 1964 British invasion, making cheap boozy cracks like an old-school fuddy duddy.

Here’s a 3.16.12 post by Rich Kienzle:

“It’s easy to forget how revolutionary the Stones were in, say, 1964. But here’s an example that just about anyone can relate to. It was still the Mad Men era in those days, Beatle haircuts got kids thrown out of school and music that could (and is) played in churches nowadays was considered subversive and sick.

“The Stones’ music, both the hardcore blues aspects and the blues-based rock, was too authentically black-sounding for white picket fence, white bread Mainstream America. Hell, parents were only beginning to cope with the less threatening Beatles.

“The Hollywood Palace, taped in an LA theater, was produced by old-school showbiz types who had little truck with this whole youth movement, preferring instead to present the old farts of showbiz (Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, etc.) and the young farts who followed in their footsteps. The Stones, no less controversial in England than they were here, were anathema to all that.

“Ironically, Dino’s kids came to the rehearsals for the telecast to get the Stones’ autographs, according to then-bassist Bill Wyman.”

Almost as interesting as last night’s New York Film Festival Lincoln screening was the twitter war that immediately followed. The back-and-forth may have been more dramatically stirring than the film itself. The “Hooray for fantastic Lincoln and its guaranteed Oscar noms!” crowd had the early celebrational advantage, but then the mixed-baggers rushed in and starting taking potshots, and before you knew it the mirth had faded and no one had “won.”

You need to imagine it as a paintball shoot-out between two teams. Initially the whoo-hoo Lincoln team (Hollywood Reporter‘s Scott Feinberg, Logan Hill, Coming Soon‘s Ed Douglas, FSLC’s Eugene Hernandez, Matt Patches) rushed in and captured the flag on top of the hill. “Yaaay! Whee! The hill is ours! Lincoln is one of Spielberg’s best films ever! It soars! Oscars all around!” Sasha Stone and Glenn Kenny picked up on this quickly and joined in the gaiety.

And then a paintball fired by David Ehrlich hit Feinberg in the head. “What the fuck was that?,” Feinberg yelled. “Who did that? This movie has turned the Oscar race upside down and somebody shoots me?” And then another paintball fired by The Playlist‘s Rodrigo Perez hit Douglas in the back (“aaaaah!…fuck!”). And then Cinemablend‘s Katey Rich called much of the movie “a bear,” and then another paintball fired by Indiewire‘s Eric Kohn whizzed by Hernandez’s head, and before you knew it the “yay Lincoln!” team had scattered and the mixed-bag contrarians were rushing onto the hill and it was chaos all around. Some hand-to-hand combat resulted but at the end of the night no one had taken the flag or the hill. It felt like a standoff, and it still is as we speak.

It’s a Best Picture nominee but not a winner (L.A. Times columnist Steven Zeitchik called it “wonky“), and the performances are the main strength, even though the betting is that Daniel Day Lewis‘s Lincoln isn’t strong enough to win.

In an article this morning about the completion of Penske Media’s purchase of Variety, Deadline reporter (and former Variety headliner) Michael Fleming has inserted some personal views. “I’m sure my former [Variety] colleagues and the newer staff there will be understandably apprehensive,” he writes. “I’m sure there will be a significant readjustment period for everyone as Variety is redefined, and some of that will undoubtedly involve creating a leaner, more efficient operation.”

In other words, I was fairly close to the mark when I predicted on 9.24 that the likely aftermath of the Penske takeover would be analogous to African lions taking over broods and the killing of lion cubs. I repeated this impression on 9.29. Glenn Kenny made fun of this, but who’s prescient now?

TheWrap‘s Alexander Kaufman and Brent Lang are reporting that Deadline honcho Nikki Finke “will have no immediate role” in the running of Variety, according to insiders. Variety sources have told TheWrap that “tension has arisen between Finke and Penske Media Chairman and CEO Jay Penske because he would not give her a role running the trade. ‘She’s having a major tantrum because he won’t give her the keys,’ one of those insiders told TheWrap.”

The key points in this morning’s Lou Lumenick assessment of Lincoln: (a) “I’m not so sure it ‘turns [the] Oscar race upside down,” as a traffic-seeking headline writer at the Hollywood Reporter claims.” (b) A “raft of Oscar nominations will surely [follow], especially in the technical categories”…Best Pic nom plus Best Actor nom for Daniel Day Lewis, but Tommy Lee Jones‘ portrayal of the grumpy Thaddeus Stevens “steals the picture”; (c) “The first hour threatens to become somewhat eyeball-glazing, but the very deliberately paced 145-minute film gradually picks up momentum,” (d) While pic “is in some ways a 180-degree turnabout from Spielberg’s War Horse, it seems to me this is a deeply-felt passion project (Spielberg’s wanted to make it for years) that ends up engages the mind more than the emotions.”

Many voters out there are blithering idiots, and the allegiance of these low-info swing softies always turns on a dime. They deserted Romney in droves when the 47% video came out, and now they’re back with him in the wake of his shameless lying and Obama’s obliging meltdown during last week’s debate. Obama will still eek out a win, but I long for a leftie president like Bill Clinton who isn’t afraid to twirl his six-shooters and let the opposition have it in spades.

In the view of The Playlist‘s Rodrigo Perez, Steven Spielberg‘s Lincoln “isn’t all slow and dull. It has occasional sparks, some tremendous actors doing estimable work and its climax is perhaps the most dynamic and thrilling representation of a body of people voting on any law in the history of film. But it’s not especially remarkable, enjoyable or wholly compelling.

“This is the first review? This? Fine. I don’t really care what this Perez guy says anyway.”

Lincoln is “characterized by its restraint, passionate convictions and patience. If Spielberg’s worst tendencies are his propensity for the sentimental and overwrought (i.e., War Horse), Lincoln thankfully possesses almost none of those unfortunate traits.

“However, as a two-hour procedural about the ratification of an amendment in the House Of Representatives (does anything sound more appealing as a premise to you?), Lincoln is also not exactly the most engaging nor well-paced picture either.

“Pitched somewhere between the staid nature of Amistad, Schindler’s List and the far less treacly and inspiring latter half of War Horse, Spielberg himself unveiled an ‘unfinished’ screening of Lincoln at the New York Film Festival. But to the untrained eye, it would be difficult to discern what exactly was incomplete other than a minutely-detailed framework that could use a much tighter pace and rhythm.”

“While admirable in its unwavering and committed portrait of an inherently mostly undramatic subject (the approbation of a constitutional amendment, albeit, perhaps the most important one in history), ultimately Lincoln reads like a semi-compelling history lesson; the type teachers showed to you in school when they saw your eyes glazing over prerequisite text (one you need to know, but not one you’re likely going to seek out on your own).

“With 10 Best Picture nominations available, it seems Lincoln should easily procure one of the ten slots, but it would be a surprise to see the film become a threat beyond the actors. Even then Daniel Day-Lewis is perhaps a little too subtle and in-the-pocket for a win and if there’s a stand-out, it’s likely Tommy Lee Jones who should be a sure-fire nominee in the Best Supporting category.”

“Nutty, arcane and jaw-dropping in equal measure, Room 237 is a head-first plunge down the rabbit hole of Kubrickiana. Shot through with wit, wayward intelligence and ample evidence that some people just have too much time on their hands, [it’s] one of the more idiosyncratic blocks in the ever-growing temple devoted to Stanley Kubrick‘s unique talent and legacy.” — Todd McCarthy, Hollywood Reporter review from Sundance ’12.

David Ehrlich: “Lincoln is WAY too dull & prosaic to win big prize. Trio of dynamite perfs, but film has no prayer for Oscar unless all else fails. [This is] Spielberg’s smallest film since Always. Best when portraying a man isolated by incalculable burden. Script divided against itself.”

Logan Hill: “Spielberg’s Lincoln at NYFF was rock solid monument to Abe, a bounce back from War Horse. Oscar noms galore. Tommy Lee Jones FTW.”

Coming Soon‘s Ed Douglas: “Lincoln‘s a real winner. Spielberg’s best movie in years. Lincoln should be good for 12 Oscar nominations and 4 easy wins. But the security at the event sucked shit and really put a damper on the night.”

Hollywood Reporter columnist Scott Feinberg: “Now [it] belongs to the ages.”

Matt Patches: “Spielberg’s Lincoln turns a defining moment in history into a human story. [It’s] heavy on the politics. But I loved all the behind-the-curtain government stuff. Kushner’s playwright roots all over it. Day-Lewis is dynamic, but it’s a great ensemble piece. James Spader steals the show. And man, there is so much comedy in Lincoln! Spielberg doesn’t shy away from the craziness of Congress, even in a dire scenario.” Whoops! “May not be saccharine enough [for the Academy]. Great perfs, but it’s heavy and heady.”

CinemaBlend‘s Katey Rich: “The best parts of Lincoln are the 19th century In The Loop you never knew you wanted. The rest can feel like a bear. I agree with David Ehrlich. It’s got War Horse-level strength [and is] appealing, but not quite there for the win.”

Bilge Ebiri: “Spielberg’s Lincoln is the best film Roberto Rossellini never made. Also one of the best Spielberg did make.”

Kase!!: “It’s actually called LOLincoln, a madcap historical comedy with a lesson! (the lesson is about tall hats).”

Claire Kenny: “Everyone is talking about Lincoln being a sure thing to rake in all the major awards, as if Here Comes The Boom didn’t even exist.”

Scott Feinberg to Wellshwood: “In the future, definitely disregard people who review movies anonymously…Guido Bazin got this one way wrong.”

Wellshwood back to Feinberg: “Guido Bazin discredited, off to the showers? Maybe…but not according to David Ehrlich, the current king of Lincoln naysayers.”