Oh, one cool thing about I, Robot was the Chicago skyline. There were a whole shitload of new skyscrapers, but I recognized the Hancock building (2nd tallest building in Chicago, and the tallest building in the world for about a year) and I'm pretty sure I saw the Sears tower too.

eta: I have given up on St. Elmo's Fire and am watching a documentary of the Soviet shootdown of a Korean Air 747 in '83.

I also liked "I, Robot." I thought it worked as an action film, and didn't over explain everything. I liked the restraint they showed in a lot of places. For example, Spooner, Will Smith's character is divorced, but they don't have his ex-wife being a beautiful woman who is put in peril, or a famous robot scientist, or or tragically killed to spur him forward or anything, he's just a divorced guy who may be wary of women because of it. And it was a good ride--funny where it needed to be, and exciting where it needed to be.

I want Will Smith's Audi, with the spherical tires so it can drive sideways.

Jessica, I got the distinct impression from the background material that the Forgotten Silver doc was not promoted as a fiction. I remember PJ giggling maniacly about the ruse and then sobering slightly when he and Costa Botes related the outcry.

This morning, I found a site with all sorts of quotes both positive and negative from the public. Here is one:

All the elaborate lead-up to the documentary before and during the weekend declared it was a portrayal of McKenzie's brilliance as a film-maker, that all New Zealanders should be proud of him, and that he should be appropriately remembered.

  There was no suggestion whatsoever that any of the film was not true. The viewing public has been cruelly deceived.      

It is all very well for Richard Pearse enthusiast Gordon Ogilvie and TVNZ spokesman Roger Beaumont, who were in on the hoax, to say it was "a lot of fun ... a crazy idea ... quite hilarious". It was billed as a documentary of fact, not fiction.

Regardless of the intent and/or impact, it's great theatre both on the screen and in life.

I am looking forward to the future day when I can have Spooner's Audi. But if the parking garage turns my car on its nose for storage, all the crap in the backseat will bust the windshield.

I just saw O, which is actually really good. Ten Things I Hate About You showed that Shakespearean comedy could work in high school, but what about tragedy? Yup.

It all works surprisingly well, from the setup of Hugo's jealous motives and Emily's becoming an accomplice to the escalation of Odin's emotions and the inevitable deathapalooza. There are, of course, a few missteps (somehow Iago is less menacing when he says things like "I would give my left nut to be in your shoes"), but it's well worth seeing for fans of Shakespeare and modern adaptations. And also, it's one of the few DVDs I've seen where the deleted scenes are worth watching as well.

The obligitory Blade Runner question: Which version did you watch? The original theatrical release, or the director's cut?

I just wanna point out that there are actually two different director's cuts of this movie. I've only seen one of them.

In some ways Aliens is retrograde politics, because it turns Ripley's base reason for living/surviving/fighting into Mother Defending Her Child. I still think that movie could have been more interesting if there had been no child at all, or if it had been one of the other (male) survivors who had been cast into the parent-role.

While I usually scoff at blatant attempts at emotional manipulation, there was something very satisfying about Ripley's primal conflict with the outside force threatening "her" child. I don't think Cameron could have tapped into that much emotional intensity had the story just been about Ripley trying to survive for her own sake.

So I watched Chinatown. It was, of course, excellent. My one question: why on earth is the Chinese butler guy named Khan?

Didn't ya know that's a Chinese name?

Maybe they thought Genghis was Chinese?

Maybe because he had wrath?

Cereal upcoming.