Sunday, July 20, 2008

Trumbo: First Blood Part II

Trumbo! Ed Driscoll does a video commentary on the new documentary, pointing out that the movie never says whether Trumbo actually was a member of the Communist party. In its defense (sort of), it implies very heavily that he was, as were the others, because "it was the most liberal thing around". He runs down the lengthy list of movies on the McCarthy era, and searches hard to find a few paltry counter-examples.

There actually isn't anything like "Trumbo" on the other side. Refuseniks, for example, features no celebrities. Andy Garcia's The Lost City was basically buried, and it was about the relatively small awfulness of Cuba's "revolution". Most of the anti-commie action films of the '80s were essentially anti-Nazi films with upgraded hardware.

There's a remarkable wealth of material and ideas that Hollywood simply leaves on the floor. Imagine a movie with a religious hero, where a corporate executive saves the day, where a communist rounds up dissenters and kills them, and so on. Wild, eh?

As for Mr. Driscoll, someone will have to explain to me why he says he's in a movie lobby when he's clearly in front of a green screen. And also whether his suits are too big or his head is too small.

8 comments:

  1. The only person who did any counter intuitive programing was Mel Gibson. But the long knives were out for him and his own demons did him in. I am sure that his breakdown is no worse than what a lot of celebrities do when they are plastered, but the press and the liberal main stream media used it as a bat to beat him down.

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  2. It is really instructive to watch those old shows on NBC.com to see the conventional wisdom of those days gone by. The current movies will seem just as ridiculous to your kids when they see them 30 years from now.

    But I just ask you. Where is our modern day Chad Everett? Theo Kojack a lonely nation turns it's eyes to you.

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  3. Oh, I think Mel's done quite well. Right after the whole "sugartits" thing, Apocalypso came out and did quite well.

    Yeah, the MSM hates him.

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  4. Heh. I've tried to get The Boy to sit through a Rambo movie...no dice.

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  5. Let him check out some Chuck Norris movies such as Lone Wolf Mcquade and the one where he is a cop in Chicago. And his original POW movie before he beat it to death. Thats some good stuff.

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  6. Stallone is a phony conservative. He's just took that mantle because it was popular in the Reagan years.
    He's just an opportunist, and not a talented one at that.

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  7. Stallone's definitely an opportunist, but not talented? I think he's quite under-rated because he went for the easy money in the '80s.

    Also because he played some not-very-bright characters too well.

    Brings up an interesting question, though: Are there liberal action heroes?

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