This weekend was Movie Weekend: four movies in two days, three of which were watched on Saturday. First up: Tarnation. Remarkable. Heart-breaking. Make sure you have something funny to watch right afterwards as the ensuing depression is nearly intolerable. So right afterwards I cued up A Dirty Shame. I ended up with an edited version (thanks Blockbuster) called "The Neuter Version," which was kind of annoying, but oh well. Not one of his better ones, but it still had its moments ("I'm Viagra-vated and I'm not gonna take it anymore!"), and Chris Isaak is hilarious as Vaughn Stickles, Tracey Ullman's horny husband. Next, Schultze Gets the Blues. This had me hooked the whole way through, but the ending was lame. It was, however, shot so beautifully it's worth seeing for that reason alone. The whole movie was extremely photographic, not much dialogue at all. Ultimately, recommended.

And lastly, McLibel, a documentary about two Londoners who, after handing out flyers critical of McDonalds, refuse to apologize for the contents of the flyer (as demanded by McDonalds), and instead end up defending themselves in a libel suite that McDonalds brings against them. Helen Steel and Dave Morris are heroes in my book, along with Kier Starmer, the barrister who provided legal guidance free of charge to Steel and Morris throughout the trial, as the British legal system at the time did not provide legal aid to defendents in a libel case. After the McLibel case, Starmer again helped Steel and Morris, this time to argue that Steel and Morris did not receive a fair trial because of their denial of legal aid, and the European Court of Human Rights agreed. Talk about fighting the good fight!

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