FREEBIE AND THE BEAN!

Excited as cinephiles are about Warner Brothers brilliant move to make their entire catalog available online, I and others hoped that one of the titles to be made available soon would be Richard Rush’s anarchist cop satire, FREEBIE AND THE BEAN (1974). Here’s a snippet of my review from Quentin Tarantino’s 1999 Film Fest:

FREEBIE & THE BEAN is still disturbing after all these years. Amid some of the greatest car chases in American film history, our heroes are crude, bigoted and oblivious to their swath of destruction. The film is particularly homophobic, or the attitude is, with lots of “fag” putdowns and the major bad guy is a transvestite. But Caan and Arkin are PERFECT as the bickering team. I’ve never warmed much to Caan, but this might be his loosest and funniest performance. Arkin is as Mexican as Chuck Heston, but he’s always watchable and even funnier. Rush said that the pair did not get along, which doesn’t seem surprising, but that tension fits the combative duo. And Quentin was right, when Arkin grills his wife, the interplay between him and Valerie Harper is magnetic.

What makes the film problematic at first glance is the cavalier way the pair run people over, including a school marching band, or even shoot a nurse bystander. However, the people around these maniac cops actually do see them as dangerous, especially their captain, well-played by Alex Rocco in a terrific scene. Even Loretta Swit verbally slaps down Caan at the end for his brutish idiocy, and she’s right. But honestly, the reason this was a hit and still holds up is the fantastic action, a tribute to the long-gone Hoopers of the era. The car chases are still jaw-dropping, and would never be done today. The gun battles are filmed with quick violence and are very effective, particularly a hardcore “shoot-in” at a bowling alley bathroom. Even Freebie’s homophobia is offset by the fact that “The Transvestite” (as labeled in the credits) kicks the total shit out of him at the climax.

And word from Mr. Beaks over at Ain’t It Cool News confirms our joy. Just to get you in the mood, here is 42 violent seconds of FREEBIE AND THE BEAN:

Twit, Her

Sarah Palin leaps into the 21 Century with a vengeance:

Perhaps this is a tipping point for Twitter -  conservative icon Governor Sarah Palin is now tweeting. Under the moniker @AKGovSarahPalin (not very snappy but there are, by my reckoning, already 32 Sarah Palin twitter accounts) the 2008 Republican vice-presidential candidate has plunged into the social networking maelstrom.

And to prove her backhome meth biker values, our potential VP shows up on AMERICAN CHOPPER:

Q: So you snowmobile?

PALIN: Oh yeah. Snow machine. Yes.

Q: What kind of snowmobile do you got?

PALIN: We’ve got an Arctic Cat. We’ve got a couple of different kinds. Race machines. I inherit whatever Todd rejects from the year prior. … We love those motor sports...You do so many good things for some of the other states, also. You’ve got that patriotism in you that people just so respect. Thank you for that.

Bizarro.

This is some incredible news if it is indeed true:

San Francisco police were looking into a woman’s claim Wednesday that her late father was the infamous Zodiac killer who terrorized the Bay Area in the 1960s and 1970s.

Homicide investigators were checking information provided by 47-year-old Deborah Perez, who said that as a young girl she helped her father write and mail some of the letters that earned him the sensational nickname, SFPD Sgt. Lyn Tomioka said.

Perez of Corona, in Southern California, told reporters that she was seven years old and tagged along with her father, Guy Ward Hendrickson, when he killed two of the known victims nearly 40 years ago — Darlene Ferrin in Vallejo and Paul Stine in San Francisco.

Hendrickson, a carpenter and father of six kids, died in 1983 from cancer, and Perez said she could not keep her father’s secrets any longer.

100 Days of Solidarity

At least with most of America for now. My grade: A. On a curve.

So Right He’s Wrong

Here’s vampire Bill Kristol, one of the architects of the Iraq War and consistently wrong pundit, crystallizing the happy denial of today’s GOP leadership in an essay unironically titled “Good News For Republicans!” Money quote:

I wonder if today’s Arlen Specter party switch, this time to the president’s party, won’t end up being bad for President Obama and the Democrats. With the likely seating of Al Franken from Minnesota, Democrats will have 60 seats in the Senate, giving Obama unambiguous governing majorities in both bodies. He’ll be responsible for everything. GOP obstructionism will go away as an issue, and Democratic defections will become the constant worry and story line. This will make it easier for GOP candidates in 2010 to ask to be elected to help restore some checks and balance in Washington — and, meanwhile, Specter’s party change won’t likely have made much difference in getting key legislation passed or not. So, losing Specter may help produce greater GOP gains in November 2010, and a brighter Republican future.

Arlen Specter Exits GOP Stage Left

“Since my election in 1980, as part of the Reagan Big Tent, the Republican Party has moved far to the right. Last year, more than 200,000 Republicans in Pennsylvania changed their registration to become Democrats. I now find my political philosophy more in line with Democrats than Republicans.”

FOX: “Lie To Me”

If there was any doubt that FOX is nothing but a Murdoch-Ailes propoganda wing of the GOP, this fair and balanced use of public airwaves is the latest ironic proof:

NEW YORK — Fox became the first broadcast network to turn down a request by President Barack Obama for time, opting to show its drama “Lie to Me” on Wednesday instead of the president’s prime-time news conference.

The GOP’s First 100 Days

Let’s just say, EPIC FAIL:

When House Appropriations Committee chairman David Obey, the Wisconsin Democrat who has long championed investment in pandemic preparation, included roughly $900 million for that purpose in this year’s emergency stimulus bill, he was ridiculed by conservative operatives and congressional Republicans.

Obey and other advocates for the spending argued, correctly, that a pandemic hitting in the midst of an economic downturn could turn a recession into something far worse — with workers ordered to remain in their homes, workplaces shuttered to avoid the spread of disease, transportation systems grinding to a halt and demand for emergency services and public health interventions skyrocketing. Indeed, they suggested, pandemic preparation was essential to any responsible plan for renewing the U.S. economy.

But former White House political czar Karl Rove and key congressional Republicans — led by Maine Senator Susan Collins — aggressively attacked the notion that there was a connection between pandemic preparation and economic recovery.

Now, as the World Health Organization says a deadly swine flu outbreak that apparently began in Mexico but has spread to the United States has the potential to develop into a pandemic, Obey’s attempt to secure the money seems eerily prescient.

All Around The World

On The 11th and 10th Anniversary Of Surviving A Fire And A Firing:

All The President’s Henchmen

Joe Wilson hasn’t forgotten what Team Bush did in their illegal rush to the Iraq war:

“The disinformation campaign to manipulate public opinion in favor of the invasion, the torture program, and the illegal exposure of a clandestine CIA agent—my wife, Valerie Plame Wilson—were linked events. In their desperate effort to gather material to whip up public support, Cheney and others resorted to torture, well known in the intelligence craft to elicit inherently unreliable information. Cheney & Co. then pressured the CIA to put its stamp of approval on a series of falsehoods—26 of which were inserted into Secretary of State Colin Powell’s speech before the United Nations Security Council. At the same time, Cheney was furiously attempting to suppress the true information that Saddam Hussein was not seeking yellowcake uranium in Niger. After I published the facts in an article in The New York Times in July 2002, Cheney tried to punish me and discredit the truth by directing the outing of a CIA operative who happened to be my wife.”

Saturday Morning 1977

Coolest Toys Eva. The Micronauts were actually licensed by Mego in the wake of Kenner’s STAR WARS enormous toy success. Originally from Japan (of course) where they were called “Microman” and had a slightly cooler design, the company Takara had actually licensed Hasbro’s iconic GI JOE body moulds for their action figures. The four inch articulated figures were incredibly detailed and fun to put in stop-motion poses. In cultural contrast, here’s an AWESOME commercial from Japan for “Microman.” As one of the youtube comments put it, the ad’s music “is better than sex” — at least until you’re done with Micronauts. I still have a few.

Freed Pirate Hostage Skoolz Limbaugh

Another day, another GOP fail:

Shane Murphy, the second-in-command aboard the American merchant ship seized by pirates, lashed out at Rush Limbaugh for the talk show host’s racial characterization in discussing the rescue of the ship’s captain by the Navy.

“There you have it, three teenagers shot on the high seas at the order of President Obama,” said Limbaugh according to a transcript of an April 14 broadcast on his Web site.

“Just imagine the hue and cry had a Republican president ordered the shooting of black teenagers on the high seas,” Limbaugh said.

Murphy said Limbaugh’s remarks were unacceptable. “It feels great to be home,” Murphy said. “With the exception of Rush Limbaugh who is trying to make this into a race issue. It’s disgusting. You gotta get with us or against us here, Rush…The president did the right thing…And what you said is evil. It’s hate speech. I won’t tolerate it.”

A Boy and His Films: Harlan Ellison at the New Beverly

One of the greatest, most controversial writers of the 20th century and beyond, Harlan Ellison, will be programming a mini-festival of films at the beloved New Beverly from April 23-30. I don’t have the cyberspace to launch into a whole bibliography, but without Ellison, the world of print and imagination would be far more barren. I admire him not only for his literary gifts, but his outspoken manner, which is often overstressed. One of the genuine highlights of my life was interviewing Harlan for three hours (I use the word “interview” loosely — I sat next to him while he teased me and blew the room away) at the Creative Screenwriting Expo in 2002. He was a pussycat and next to Ray Bradbury, the greatest raconteur I’ve ever seen. For your prurient interest, here’s a shaky clip from the CS Expo as Harlan tries to warn screenwriters of the dangers they face in the bidness:

FridaySong: Serge Gainsborough

Nobody does French pop decadence like that lecherous troubador Serge Gainsborough, who gained all kinds of fame and infamy during the 60′s all the way up to the 80′s, from kinky duets with Brigette Bardot and Jane Birkin to love ballads with Whitney Houston. Clearly his coolest period is his musical prime from 1966-1971, culminating in his masterpiece, HISTORIE DE MELODY NELSON. I’m not at all interested in the album’s sordid thematic, only the wonderful epic funk psychedelic soundscape, a Frenchman’s version of Issac Hayes brilliant HOT BUTTERED SOUL from 1969. Gainsborough pulls in a lot of other sonic influences, often cinematic, and for proof, here’s a cool clip from the full-length French TV special with my favorite track, “Ah Melody.” Bon appetit.

Yes He Can

I guess the Tea Party didn’t get enough Americans mad. It’s heartening to see the final epic fail of the GOP Meme Machine:

WASHINGTON – For the first time in years, more Americans than not say the country is headed in the right direction, a sign that Barack Obama has used the first 100 days of his presidency to lift the public’s mood and inspire hopes for a brighter future.

Intensely worried about their personal finances and medical expenses, Americans nonetheless appear realistic about the time Obama might need to turn things around, according to an Associated Press-GfK poll. It shows most Americans consider their new president to be a strong, ethical and empathetic leader who is working to change Washington.