And again the award goes to...

Well, the Oscar nominations are in...finally. Let's see how well we do this year!

The only nominated movies that I saw were APOCALYPTO, STUPORMAN RETURNS, CARS and MONSTER HOUSE. My in-theater cinema experience is heavily skewed towards kid movies these days and my in-home viewing of Asian exploitation cinema, B-movies, spoofs of B-movies, and kung-fu flicks didn't seem to be the kind of cinema fare that the Academy usually rewards. Hopefully GRINDHOUSE will change their minds!

So, folks...vote early and vote often! And, damn the Academy for not giving SNAKES ON A PLANE an Oscar nod. I'd much rather see the visual effects in that flick than have to suffer through STUPORMAN RETURNS ever again! SNAKES was what it was and didn't pretend to be anything more. STUPORMAN aspired to be something great and didn't deliver. The best thing about STUPORMAN was the SPIDERMAN 3 trailer that ran before it! It was all downhill from there.

BLACKBALLED ON DVD

Anyone who has seen Comedy Central's The Daily Show knows Rob Cordry. Before he worked for Jon Stewart, Cordry made a film about paint ball: Blackballed.

Paul and I saw it at the Lake Placid Film Festival a few years back. It's finally out on DVD. Check it out. It's well worth it.

Ken Park

Well Paul, I watched "Ken Park" the other afternoon. I've put it on the shelf next to "Thirteen"...I figured they would make a great "dysfunction junction" double feature!

Since I've worked in social services and mental health for so long the subject matter didn't shock me all that much. I've heard from women who are sleeping with their daughter's boyfriends and I've heard about the way people use religion to find solace after a tragedy but twist it to the point where it is stifling for their children. I've worked with a mentally ill kid who is being raised by his grandparents whom I won't be surprised to hear has killed someone someday in the future (he threatened to use the internet to find and kill me and my family someday when I've forgotten all about him...the people in the psych unit told me not to take his threat too seriously even though his father is in prison for strangling a prostitute he didn't want to pay...I didn't take their advice and looked into buying a gun because I don't think the apple ever falls too far from the tree and I don't want to end up as the lead-in story on the evening news). I've heard from the kids who have left home because of sexual abuse from parents and step-parents. I've read the files of a girl whose parents would organize family orgies and invite their friends to join in. I've heard about the drug and alcohol filled orgies that are taking place in upscale neighborhoods when the parents go away for a few weeks and leave the kids at home with no supervision. All this stuff, and more, happens in real life and all too often for most people to want to believe or accept. For me, the movie operated almost on the level of a documentary.

The only thing that shocked me was the actual climax of the autoerotic asphyxiation scene. Considering everything else that was in the film I figured he would go all the way and show the "money shot"...I just wasn't sure that he would.

All in all I say it was bold filmmaking and the kind that I would actually like to see more of. If half of the stuff that my wife, who is a clinical social worker, tells me about from her family sessions were put into a film it would never be allowed in a theater and people would say that it was too over the top and exagerated. Everyone accept for the parents who found their daughter's MySpace.com website with a pic of her drunk and giving blowjobs. They know this stuff is for real. And, I'm sure they wish someone would have given them a heads up before it was too late.

The 2006 Independent Spirit Awards on IFC

For all of those who could care less about the Oscars here's the link to the 2006 Independent Spirit Awards which will be airing this evening at 5pm on IFC .

Yes, it's a new post.

Dominic here. I'll be travelling north to pig farm country to visit Paul next weekend to (1) watch the Oscars in Paul's most excellent home theater, (2) make a new podcast -- or videocast -- with Paul, and (3) play lots of Halo.

Actually, we better not play Halo as it's a huge timesuck.

Sorry there haven't been any new podcasts lately. We've had a combination of technical difficulties and scheduling conflicts. Those should be cleared up soon, and we will take advantage of being together to make at least a quick podcast, although I've got my sights set on a nice high-def videocast, courtesy of Paul!

As for the Oscars, be sure to send your predictions to dorkcast@gmail.com. We'll be sitting there with our jujubes and fresh made caramel popcorn seeing who guessed better than us.

In the meantime, here's a couple tidbits for you all:

1. NightWatch has opened in New York, and it's a crazy ride. www.moviephone.com said the running time was 3:38, and so I prepped my wife and friends who went with me to expect a four hour russian vampire movie. When 1:30 had elapsed, and it felt like the movie was coming to a head, I leaned over to my buddy and said, "It's not even half way over!" But, alas, moviephone did me wrong, and it turns out that NightWatch is only 1:40 or so long. But it was lots of fun while it lasted, and I'm definitely ready to buy my tickets to the two sequels, DayWatch and DuskWatch, when they come out.

2. Silent Hill, the PlayStation game (yes, I know it's on other platforms, but Sony had it first!), is being made into a movie. I'm creeped out already.

See you soon.

Dominic

And the award goes to...

The 78th Annual Academy Award nominees are in! www.oscar.com/nominees/list.html

I won't be able to make it to the North Country on March 5th for Blue, pizza and movie debates...but, I think we should hold some kind of contest. How about, whoever wins gets a virtual case of Blue...the official beer of PF Local 101?!

Too Much XBOX -- Not Enough Love And Choco-Milk?

You gotta check out this video ...

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7153152098207965240&q=9+year

WARNING: PRE-PUBESCENT FOUL LANGUAGE ALERT