In the Cannes

IN COMPETTION - FEATURE FILMS
Palme d'Or
ENTRE LES MURS by Laurent Cantet

Grand Prix
GOMORRA by Matteo Garrone

Prize of the 61st Festival de Cannes
Catherine Deneuve for UN CONTE DE NOËL by Arnaud DESPLECHIN
Clint Eastwood for L’ÉCHANGE (The Exchange)

Award for the Best Director
ÜÇ MAYMUN (Three Monkeys / Les Trois Singes) by Nuri Bilge Ceylan

Jury PrizeIL
DIVO by Paolo Sorrentino

Prix d'interprétation masculine (Best Actor)
Benicio Del Toro for CHE by Steven SODERBERGH

Best Performance for an Actress
Sandra Corveloni for LINHA DE PASSE by Walter SALLES, Daniela THOMAS

Award for the Best Screenplay
LE SILENCE DE LORNA by Jean-Pierre et Luc DARDENNE


IN COMPETTION - SHORT FILMS
Palme d'Or
MEGATRON by Marian Crisan

Jury Prize
JERRYCAN by Julius Avery

CAMERA D'OR
HUNGER by Steve McQueen (Un Certain Regard)


UN CERTAIN REGARD
Un Certain Regard Prize
TULPAN by Sergey Dvortsevoy

Jury Prize
TOKYO SONATA by Kurosawa Kiyoshi

I'm a big fan of Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Cure, Seance, Bright Future, Doppelganger). Nice to see the bigwigs think he's award-worthy but is he still trending toward goofy comedy and away from those crazy intense thrillers? I like the humorous touches of his films and his oeuvre in general but I don't speak Japanese and wit often fails to translate (my best guess as to Pulse). And his thrillers are tight and creepy when the Japanese tendency has already Hollywood-ed itself into overkill.

Do the Dardenne Brothers win every year? And I take it that's not the Steve McQueen that's dead?

Benicio Del Toro's award-winning performance will have to wait for the DVD, apparently the 4 hour cut that played Cannes won't be making the rounds at your local cinema. Will the DVD be a sought-after classic or dud on arrival? With Soderbergh that could go either way, huh?

Laurent Cantet's The Class takes the top prize, the first time since 1987 a French film has won. And before you go 'wait a minute, the Dardenne Brothers win every fuckin' year!--oh yeah, they're Beligan. The last French film to win was Maurice Pailat's Under the Sun of Satan, a film I caught a few years back in one of my viddy store tours of duty. The premise was interesting: A priest (Gerard Depardieu) has the ability to heal but rather than using it for good, he thinks its a sign from Satan. No, he doesn't become a carefree cat burglar rather he sits around and feels sorry for himself because of this 'gift'. The film was pretty boring, as I recall, lots of brooding and soundtrack swells and never developed any action, visual style or intriguing ideas. Hopefuly Cantet's work is better than that. Never seen any of Cantet's films, though Time Out has been on my gonna-watch list for years.

'I wrote birthday boy for you babe'

Rock star on the road with a camera. The guy's a master of light as well as mood. Enjoy.

.

Gene Wene's Slideshow -- 'Washington DC to Atlanta GA (2008)'
Gene Wene's Slideshow -- 'Ween in Texas, August 2007'

I've got something to put in you

Here's a look back at one of the very first postings on the old music editor's blog. As I wrote on 1.17.7: I've wondered why Electric Six aren't more popular. They rock, they're funny and they rock--what's not to like? Well, the sense of humor is a little over the top perhaps. How over? If you can get down with homoerotic overtures from the 16th president of the USA then you can hang with the Electric Six. They've got a new(ish) record and a DVD that has already been de-listed on AMAZON but they're still not your favorite band and it makes me hurt inside. It really does.

Celtics-Pistons (2-2 after 4 games)

Game 2 - Rondo killed the C's, a lot of bad passes, bad fouls, just wasn't his usual well-composed self. Ray Allen almost started to get going but then got in foul trouble and disappeared all over again. Rodney Stuckey was money off the bench. Where was Sam Cassell? Rondo was killing you guys and you bring in Eddie House when you know he can't handle the ball? What the hell was that? What kind of doghouse is Cassel in that you don't hand him the ball and say go score some points? That game was made for him! Was he hurt or something?

Game 3 - All the Pistons were off. Chauncey was isn't in to it, Rip wasn't getting position, Tayshaun wasn't hitting his jumpers. I didn't think the C's played that great, I thought Detroit just stunk it up at home. Rondo was fine, Posey, PJ pitched in, they stole one on the road.

Game 4 - Didn't see it but it looks like the Pistons came out hot--damn, Maxiell's block on KG will live on in beer commercials for years to come!--and the C's mailed it in.

Game 5 -- What's next? I think the Celtics have regained control of this series. The Celtics are at their best when Rondo plays well. When Rondo's right they're all right, but when he's off they're out of sync and its up to KG to go for 30, which isn't really his game. Going back to Boston I think Rondo plays mistake free, Allen gets off enough to be a factor, Pierce goes nuts and C's cruise in the 4th. Or maybe not, we'll see. I don't see McDyess coming on the (fake) parquet and going for 20 again so until Chauncey really rises up the Pistons just aren't quite the Pistons.

Air Traffic Art

This was making the viral rounds last week or so, a cool little time lapse video of all the flights in America. I'm just now getting around to experimenting with uploading video on here so this is the test.

You got to enjoy the ride

There are a handful of albums you look back on and realize they were exactly what you wanted to hear at that moment and Pharcyde's debut, Bizarre Ride, was truly one of those records. One of the first easy-going rap records I ever really loved. The cadences and beats and samples, the lyrics and themes, everything was perfectly pitched and it hit me at just the right time. Joyously funny without being slight. There were a handful of videos from that record available out there but the sound wasn't right on any of them so I'm settling for the comeback single with a classic Spike Jonze video. Not bad for a fallback.

Pharcyde -- 'Drop'

Syracuse 13-10 Johns Hopkins

If you're only going to watch one lacrosse match a year it might as well be the 2 all-time greatest teams squaring off for the championship. Lacrosse is a good game, fast-paced and entertaining when two competitive squads are matched, though I was a little lost on all the various lines and zones and how they affected play. The score was deceptive because I thought Syracuse really dominated this game from the 2nd quarter on. Their one weak link was the goalie who struggled and was clearly getting frustrated out there. Johns Hopkins, on the other hand, had a fine goalie who was just overwhelmed by the constant Orange onslaught. They did well to keep the game close, it really wasn't over til the last minute or so, but they just didn't firepower that Syracuse brought. Stephen Keough had 2 brilliant goals in the first half--dude, the behind the back rebound shot was amazing! I thought the ESPN highlight package was a little skimpy considering how much really good action this game generated.

Libertarian Party Convention

Knowing that the Dems will be rocking Denver's Pepsi Center (that house that Sakic built) and the Reps will be setting up shop in St. Paul (Wellstone territory), it was for a grin that I peaked in on Multi-Purpose Room B at the airport Sheraton where the Libertarians were holding their big powwow. C-Span covered it with all their energy but this just wasn't a TV friendly concoction.

Since the Indy 500 failed to grab me (I'm not a rabid fan of open wheel racing), yeah, I watched quite a bit of Lib action on Sunday. The delegate roll call was informally amusing stuff where any mention of on-line gaming, legalization of marijuana, gun ownership and gay marriage brought many hoots and hollers from the rabble. The mood was decidedly anti-Iraq War as well. (Alaska: 'The state that welcomes global warming with open arms.' Vermont: 'Where the 2nd Amendment is your gun permit.' Kentucky: 'Home of bourbon, tobacco and another unmentionable cash crop.' New York: 'Home of Hillary Clinton…yeah, I'm sorry.')

There were some fireworks when Christine Smith, a candidate who failed to make it to the second ballot, angrily denounced Bob Barr as 'a Republican rubber-stamper' of the welfare and warfare society'. While she ostensibly welcomed newcomers to the party, she growled with deep suspicion of the man who went on to win the nomination.

The big party conventions lost their relevance decades ago and are now just hyped up springboards for the propaganda-fest that is a presidential election. But the third parties actually need conventions to cement their ideologies and to re-establish a network of support. It was like a civics lesson in what political conventions must have been like: grand standing, flesh pressing, drunken hooting and utterly dull bean counting. The collection of potential nominees made for a lively and informal discussion in their debate on Saturday night. I'm not sure I was enlightened as a citizen but I was amused here and there and by golly these fringe-y types speak with an authenticity and urgency that Dems and Reps can only summon up like thespians. (Though I must admit my first thought was 'Shouldn't these guys be wearing fezzes?')

I grew up in a Libertarian household and I've never had any allegiance to Republicans and the Democrats, so it was an all-good ceremony in my eyes, even if I wouldn't dream of voting for Barr, Ruwart, Paul or any of the other political interlopers from this crowd. That's less on ideological grounds and more on plain laziness and a deep disgust with anything political in America--especially voting. I don't vote because I don't particularly care for any of the candidates or their passions. They don't inspire me and the idea that it is my responsibility to vote is pure bullshit, a guilt trip that just doesn't work on me. As an economic determinist, coercing me to choose between competing producers of political rhetoric is akin to making me buy beer against my will or bicycle tires or knitting needles or any other product from multiple brands. Oh yes, political rhetoric is a product. You buy it, you support it with your dollars. It is a choice not a responsibility and when the choice is between insipid and dull, I choose to watch from a distance. Why would I bother to vote? I assert my American-ness every time I reach for my wallet, voice my opinion or venture out into the public space. America isn't the government, it's the people. The government doesn't control the culture or the economy--though politicians like to think otherwise--and I don't need to vote to be involved.

History lesson: Ever wonder where the Libertarian Party came from? The fact that this guy was the best thing the right had to offer after 1964 is pretty much your starting point.

Red Wings 4-0 Penguins (game 1)

My initial prediction was Red Wings in 6. I thought the Pens had a decent shot at stealing a game in Detroit, particularly game 1, but then the Red Wings would put the clamp down and squeeze the Pens out. Didn't start off that way.

Saturday night the Wings came out sharp and looked good on both sides of the ice. The D was tight and allowed the Pens attack little margin for error; the offense was disciplined and made the most of their advantages ('tight but aggressive' as my old poker coach used to cryptically say). The Penguins looked a little overwhelmed, not so much nervous as taken aback by the Red Wings intensity.

The Wings certainly looked capable of winning 4 straight but in hockey momentum swings very quickly, the Penguins are by no means out of it. I can still see the Pens bouncing back Monday night and taking a game in Detroit.

Game 2 just started and I'll stick with the Pens to sneak a win in the Joe.

U-23 Soccer Tourney (Toulon, France)

USA 2-3 Turkey
USA 0-1 Ivory Coast
USA 0-2 Italy

It was a sorry display for American soccer which virtually never looked in control in any minute of these three games. Turkey (who brought their U-21 team incidentally) played with great pace and aggressively pushed the ball forward keeping the Americans on their heels for 90 minutes. None of the Americans were particularly impressive though Sammy Ochoa had a brilliant volley goal near the end (seriously, it was a fucking rocket!). USA played Ivory Coast a little closer and were on their way to a scoreless draw until a foul in the box (no complaints, clearly a foul, easy call) led to a PK goal. Ivory Coast played with great flair but didn't play much of a team game and developed few scoring opportunities. Italy controlled the entire first half and went to the break with a 2-0 lead. USA had their moments in the 2nd half but nothing terribly noteworthy.

USA had no punch up front, no creativity in the mid-field and no discipline in the back. Frankly USA sucked. Hopefully the next stage of development will show these guys moving forward.

(I caught USA playing the Ivory Coast in the U-17 World Cup of 2004 and I wondered how many players from that tourney were playing in this one. What I remember from that match was that the Americans were much taller and wider, thicker than their Ivorian counterparts who all looked like they were about 14. For the first 10 minutes or so of that match the bulky Americans simply imposed themselves on Ivory Coast and scored early on a corner kick. Ivory Coast controlled the ball with ease for the rest of the match. Once they got the ball to their feet, they neutralized the American size advantage and dominated the game, though as I recall USA made that 1-0 lead stand)

This week's economic events

Leading Indicators Apr (0.1%)
PPI Apr (0.2%)
Core PPI Apr (0.4%)
Crude Inventories 05/17 (-5317K)
FOMC Minutes Apr 30
Initial Claims 05/17 (365K)
Existing Home Sales Apr (4.89M)

Wilshire 5000, 5.23.8

-469.28 for the week

Crude speculators ruled the Street this week.

Weak dollar + rising demand + war in the middle east + rampant speculation + presidential election year = we get screwed.

Russell 2000 (May 16-23)

.........741.17 (5.16.8) ......................724.10 (5.23.8)......

............................-17.07 for the week.......................

She's a voodoo doll

You can't beat a guy rocking out with a big ol' Gretsch and a grass skirt. These guys are going to be entertaining my local honky tonk this evening with their songs of psychobilly and I plan to be there with a beer in my hand and a goofy grin on my grill. They look like they're gonna put on an interesting show. (Hopefully the public access TV crew won't be along)

Snakeout -- 'Scary Mary'

UPDATE:

The bluegrass band was playing when we first walked in. Brad and I went downstairs to smoke before the show. The green room is always a better place to have a smoke but especially on a cold rainy night like this one. Quis was there talking to some smoking hot girl who was a hanger-on of the big fat lead singer ('from Canned Heat') from the bluegrass band.

Quis and Brad and I smoked while Earl and Luallen were hammering out a set list over on the couch. The bluegrass band finished up and they came streaming in, big burly corn fed kids from the sticks layered in denim. I only watched them for a few minutes but they seemed pretty good. They looked and sounded right--and not surprisingly, they've got a lot of competition around these parts. I think they were hoping for more of the romantic back stage life and got the harsh reality of a handful of drugged out slugs lazily taking up space and not paying any attention. Oh well.

I split to grab a beer before Snakeout took the stage. Turns out I had plenty of time because as they did take the stage Len (the mad scientist) blew a fuse on his amp. Earl appeared, then Hendricks, then Blaine and there was quite a crowd standing around the dead amp poking and prodding from all angles. Though he was the most knowledgeable of the amp (for he built it), Brad was actually the last one to arrive and the one least likely to give his input. Len switched to Blaine's amp and played on.

Man, Snakeout absolutely flat out rocked. Len's energy was superb, the songs were all cool and funny and the bass and drums were able and ready. The bass player told me later on that they hardly ever practice, they all have day jobs and families and the band tends to only play a handful of dates each year. Len was a cool dude, very smart and a very friendly fella. And he flat out rocked on stage.

9 Pound stormed the stage after that and rocked well into the evening. The mosh pit threw me to the right at first over by Earl. After gathering a bit of permanence over there, I was shoved back towards the right of the stage and soon enough I was able to get all the way up to the stage itself between Blaine and Luallen. It was a good thing. There was a crowd behind me of amateurs just bashing into each other and generally being dumbasses. Someone would get up to the stage and try to take more space than they needed or could hold and would eventually get usurped and thrown back into the roiling pit. They were all a bunch of idiots and it even felt like Blaine was getting pissed at them for being so unnecessarily pugnacious. There was also some dude who kept running on stage and diving off into the crowd that would invariably step aside and let him plunge to the floor--he did this 3 or 4 times!

It was a killer show.

Brad and I drifted back down to the green room and waited for everyone to sift back in hoping weed would be available. All the Snakeout guys were there, all the 9 Pound guys, even a few of the bluegrass guys were hanging around and there were, predictably, a handful of other just taking up space. We smoked a bit, argued over whether Brenda Lee was better than Patsy Cline or Bad Company better than Queen. I got locked out front (as my hand stamp had long since been sweated off) for 20 minutes or so as '80s night dance party revelers filled the street. A coupla older broads from another bar drunkenly chatted me up for a while. I squeezed back in and got back downstairs in time to grab a coupla tall boy Budweisers and catch up on the conversation. Earl was putting on a show on the washtub bass, Snakeout chatted about the Red Wings, Blaine told wild and crazy stories of partying too much in Europe (or maybe it was Texas).

Eventually we all went out to Perkin's, a good time was had by all. My ears were ringing for 2 days and my neck was sore for more than a week. I'm getting old but not too old.

Lakers 89-85 Spurs

Missed the first half but caught all of the second. Coming out of half the Lakers looked lethargic, their attack was lazy and unfocused and on the other end Ginobli got a little hot allowing Duncan to wheel and deal effectively. The Spurs added to their halftime lead and while I knew the Lakers had a run in them, I thought the game was just about out of control. But of course right then as the Spurs got the lead up to 20, Kobe took over and that was that. Even with a 20-point lead you could see the Spurs were in trouble. Ginobli wobbled, Parker didn't control the game the way he usually does (and probably has to) and while Duncan was in classic form (he still sucks at FT's), the rest of the supporting cast didn't show. Pau Gasol got off--he and Kobe make a formidable tandem.

But the supporting cast is best at home--my theory as to why the home team always win in the NBA--and the Lakers got good performances out of Vujicic and Radmanovic (each chipping in 10 pts/5 reb), which they'll be hard pressed to duplicate back in Texas. The Spurs on the other hand didn't get the increase in marginal production out of Ginobli's extra minutes that they were looking for and Michael Finley went 0-5. Those trends won't hold and the Spurs will get their points from those two over the course of this series.

I failed to get my full series prediction in before game 1 but here it is: Lakers in 7. Like the Celtics in the east, I think the resurgent old-timey power pulls it out against the recent conference dominator. Unlike the east, however, I don't think the home team wins every night. The Spurs will win in Cali, the Lakers will win in Texas (I like the Spurs in game 2, Lakers in game 3). But once it's down to the last game, I'll stick with the home team. In this case, I'll even make the further prediction that the Lakers will be down in the 4th quarter of game 7 and have to rally. That said, one of my other thoughts about this series, that each game would be close from beginning to end, has already been blown. I didn't think either team would have a 20-point lead at any time in this series and while the Spurs didn't have it for long, they did have it. But both of these teams can score plenty of points quickly so perhaps leads and runs are in the cards.

Man U 1-1 Chelsea (6-5 PK's)

I didn't make a prediction for this game because I just couldn't decide. Man U is loaded up front and they've been rolling all year long, with Cristian Ronaldo on his way to Footballer of the Year very much playing the role Kaka played for AC Milan last year on their way to the championship. Chelsea, too, is loaded (good god, Shevchenko doesn't even play!), but the Ballack/Lampard/Drogba trifecta disappoints as often as they succeed. I think my final thought was that Ronaldo would be the deciding factor, that his playmaking up the middle would spring Tevez or Rooney and that would be enough. Actually that didn't come to pass.

Rather than being the set-up guy, Ronaldo scored the one goal, a nice header in the box. (Incidentally Cech didn't even make a move on Ronaldo's header, not that he could've gotten it anyway, but even though his momentum was already moving in that direction, he didn't dive. Strange) Man U attacked well in the 1st half but did more to dominate time of possession more than the scoreboard. Without much possession Chelsea's attack never quite formed but Lampard was able to finish on a busted play, an example of perseverance and timing more than skill, just before halftime to even it up.

For the first 30 minutes or so of the 2nd half, Chelsea dominated the ball and Man U's attack effectively disappeared. The great Ronaldo was neutralized and Tevez and Rooney barely sniffed the action. Chelsea still couldn't score even though they had a handful of good opportunities. Michael Ballack alone shanked 4 or 5 good scoring chances (I'm not a Ballack fan, I find his game to be rather lumbering and imprecise, odd for a German midfielder).

In the 1st OT, there was kooky action galore with each team getting some wide open play in the box but neither converted. The 2nd OT was marred by a lot of chippy play as the rain picked up. Drogba got tossed, Tevez probably should have too and there were many yellow cards as the frustration really started to mount. The game started at 11pm local time in Moscow--amazing they'd start so late just to keep that time slot--and after 2 OT's and extended penalties, it must've been like 2 in the morning by the time it was all said and done.

The real story for me was John Terry failing to convert on the 5th PK that would've won it. The PK's were tight but Ronaldo's stutter step move didn't phase Cech and his lack of momentum made for an easy save. After that it was just a matter of Chelsea finishing off their chances. But Terry slipped on the wet turf and put the ball wide. Man, what a finish. From there the momentum shifted back to Chelsea and they took a few kicks later. PK's suck and that's a horrible way to finish the frickin' Super Bowl of Euro soccer but I gotta say this was about as exciting as PK's get.

I would've preferred that the weather held up a little better and obviously everyone wants more goals. All in all though a good game, an exciting match and in the end I reckon the better team won. There was plenty of heartbreak though. Terry, the English captain, failing to take the championship served up for him; Drogba getting tossed going into PK's; Ronaldo didn't have his usual impact; Tevez and Rooney were virtually invisible.

Who ya got?

The Celtics were 31-10 on the road in the regular season, 0-6 in the playoffs. Will they get the trend back in their favor in Detroit? I'm not betting on it.

It's in the match-ups. Wallace has to shoot effectively from the outside to neutralize KG in the middle; he'll do it at home but not on the road. Tayshaun has to stop Pierce; he'll do it at home but not on the road. Billups can outscore Rondo even with a gimpy leg but at home Rondo will get the calls and that first step might be all he'll need to be successful. The benches are suspect, each bringing an uninspiring mix of re-treads and greenhorns. Bench players always play better at home though its hard to see either bench making too much of a difference (unless Billups ends up hurt and the Pistons have to go to Rodney Stuckey but I don't see that happening).

The X-factor is Ray Allen. He's been virtually invisible so far but matching up with Rip Hamilton will bring out the best in him. In the first round Joe Johnson ran him ragged and in the next Wally Sczerbiak gave him no inspiration. He's ready to bust out and now is the time.

I'm taking the Celtics in 7. Home team wins every game? Yup, I'm sticking with the Celtics even though they've given me no reason for my faith. By game 7 the Celtics will be mentally and spiritually wrecked but I think at their lowest point is when they'll finally get over the nerves and just play some ball. This game 7 will be a classic.

Spurs 91-84 Hornets (game 7)

The Hornets came out tight and even though they made it close with a flurry of points in the last few minutes, this was classic San Antonio. West was such a star throughout the series but he disappeared in this game, just never got into the flow. Chris Paul, too, was short-arming his shots in the lane, not crisp on his passes. Jannero Pargo filled it up in the 4th but he took every shot instead of getting the team into a scoring groove, so rather than lifting his team he kept them stuck in place.

The Spurs are badasses. They grind away, year after year and even though I thought this year they looked lackadaisical this regular season, here they are agan. As much as everyone loved the Paul and Hornets, doesn't Lakers-Spurs seem like the match-up we wanted all along?

A love like that won’t last

I dig Sade. Her voice makes my spine shiver--I said it! She's got a spine-shivering voice! How can you not dig that? She's a cutie, she puts a solid band behind her and the visual design of her live show is intriguing. The sound is excellent and the visual is obviously home video quality.

Sade -- 'No Ordinary Love'

Watch your world burn

Prong was a guilty pleasure for me back in the day. Their sound is…I don't know…mook punk? Mook thrash? I saw them years ago, probably the emptiest show I've ever been to. Dude, the guy stage-diving into a crowd of 5 or so people cracked me up! But, Prong showed up and rocked the hizzy just the same, a good show by unfazed professionals. 'You guys got that Southern mentality!' Who knew they had so many videos? (Or any at all)

Prong -- 'Whose Fist Is This Anyway?'
Prong -- 'Unconditional'
Prong -- 'Looking for Them'

Bonus -- Tommy Victor talks about life on the road
Good to see they've jettisoned the keyboards and gone back to the pure hard rock trio sound. And clearly they're into that stage where they're only playing because they still love it and have nothing better to do. I can dig that. Love the dude who jumps up on stage and starts wailing. 'Prong's the shit, dude!' (hiccup)

Now your look has changed

This is a homemade short film called 'Necktie Fighters' that uses a Trail of Dead tune over footage from Head and SLC Punk. Looks entirely illegal but its You Tube, man, what are you gonna do?

And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead -- 'Intelligence'