Letters to the Editor. Commentary. My View. Issue # 3

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Tampa, Florida and around the country!

The week of April 2--8, 2000

For Vol. 1, No. 3

Mike's Rant

Matt's Rail

Leavenworth's own movie badboy, Mike Smith, who has graced these pages since the beginning, says he is planning to contribute a regular column to this commentary and letters page and I couldn't be happier. He jokingly called it "Mike's Rant." So mote it be. The missive below arrived 4-7-00.

The main man in Massachusetts speaks out in what we hope will also be a regular column! Matt touches on a few "sore points" from last issue as well as some lighter ones. This one arrived 4-9-00. Rail on, my friend.

Hello all....

What better way to begin this column than by touching on the stupidity of today's youth. I don't want to get too deep, but I find sucking aerosol out of whipped cream cans just a bit much.

We all shake out heads in amazement and wonder when kids are going to understand the sanctity of life, when in reality, they are only the creation of what we've allowed to progress in this nation over the last 15 -20 years. Follow along with me on this.....

We tell kids they shouldn't kill, and yet they see abortion after abortion ripping at the fibers of decency and humanity, and while I understand that there are many who feel abortion is "okay with them", it's NOT abortion I'm pointing to, it's the lack of self- preservation we're teaching 2, 3, 4, and 5 year olds. So really, why should they give a crap.....and hey, why not kill, it happens legally every day. Now, not only can we kill unborn babies, it's close to being okay to commit suicide!?!?!? Except we're

calling it euthenasia, because that sounds prettier. GIVE ME A BREAK.

Unfortunately, we're cascading down the dark hole of ruination as we further distance ourselves from what are the two most important aspect of this life: love and forgiveness. Without a MASSIVE, GLOBAL reteaching of these two all but forgotten methods, I'm sorry to say, in the words of Doctor Smith, "we're doomed".

Enough of that......now on to lighter fare...

I, too, am very excited about Mission Impossible II. I was under the impression that my wife and I were the only ones who really enjoyed the first one. Nice to know that my home boy, Mike, also found entertainment value---although I'm sure he'll agree not as

entertaining as driving thru orange crops in Land O' Lakes...huh,huh,huh,huh.

Just like millions of other Star Wars fanatics, "Phantom Menace" was in my collection mere moments after it's release. I know I kind of blasted it in the Awards critique but hey....It's part of the collection. This is how I justify also owning "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (or Shame), which I partly watched last month, got bored, and put in the original "Raiders". Maybe one day I'll finish "Temple", but it'll have to be a day of "personal punishment". The GOOD news is that I understand Harrison Ford committed to doing another Indiana Jones and is just waiting for George and Steven to get the ball rolling. Yeah!!!!!!!

On the music front, I saw Elton John last nite at UMASS and he was excellent. Amazingly, he played for 3 hours, which I was not expecting, and played EVERY SINGLE HIT. It was a festive bunch of collegians dominating the masses and he was just eating it up. He doesn't have a backup band with him, and it made it much more personal. If he hits your town, go see him, you won't be disappointed.

I will close with a suggestion for the youth of today who are seeking fun and danger: if you really want to have fun things to reflect on in the future, don't try to blow out your brains with a can of whipped cream; instead, go to Krispy Kreme and borrow a coat

hanger (can anyone say "panic bar rebellion"?).

Later, Matt

Matthew,

You've gotten into some heavy stuff here, but I guess I asked for it with the Redi-Whip article.

I, too, share your sense of near-despair at the reckless behavior of today's youth in their insatiable need of the next cheap high. Or any high. The examples set by the previous generation are cetainly nothing to brag about, I agree, altho I see you're particlularly sensitive about abortion. There, we differ somewhat.

Since I want to keep this forum primarily focused on pop-culture and not politics (that may change), all I have to say about my abortion views is this: I am pro-choice WITH the following qualifications--

1: We as a society must decide, scientifically and rationally, not just when life begins, but when it's considered "human". The Constitution grants rights to those BORN here. To call abortion "murder" relies more on belief in religion.

2: I support a mother's right to choose up until the start of the fourth month of pregnancy. I believe the father MUST be allowed say. If she/they haven't made a decision by then, a decision must be forced legally. After this time, no one would argue (I believe) that the fetus is anything but human. Therefore,

3: I am vehemently opposed to partial-birth abortions. Except, of course, to save the life of the mother.

I'm afraid I disagree with you that any of this has any bearing on youth violence.

Now the lighter stuff! I'm glad you enjoyed the Elton John concert. I enjoyed ALL 3 Indiana Jones movies, and finally, I'm afraid I wasn't hip enough to get the "panic bar rebellion" or the wire hanger gag. Sorry. (It must refer to a movie everyone on the planet saw but me.)---Nolan.

Howdy!

Just got back from Baltimore where I saw my beloved Orioles lose to the Indians on Opening Day. Of course, they've won the 2 games since then that I missed, so maybe it's me!

A quick thought on the Redi-Whip episode mentioned last week. I am not surprised at the length of which kids will go to in order to have "fun." I can only hope that the hidden video camera in your local Publix captures the first case where a kid's head explodes "Scanners" like from the aerosol. I did some pretty stupid things as a teen (I know Matt will agree, he was doing them with me), but sucking on a can of whipped cream wasn't one of them!

WHOOP DE DOO! "Episode One" is out on tape. For an extra 10 bucks you get a snippet of film. No wonder Fox made everyone send their trailers back. Well, not everyone, if you get my meaning. I rag on this film for no particular reason.............if it had been Jar Jar free I'm sure I would have enjoyed it more. I think my main disappointment was that they hyped the hell out of Darth Maul, and then he's only in about 10 minutes of film. However, they are a great 10 minutes. Plus, I like the ET people in the Senate scene. If you're going to pay tribute to someone, you may as well do it right!

Some trailers you will want to catch at your local bijou:

Mission Impossible 2: All I can say is............COOL! Tom Cruise and John Woo have come up with what looks like the best action film I have seen in years. In fact, if the movie sucks, I'll just watch the trailer over and over. Has all the great Woo touches...........and apparently a story this time.

Xmen: Let me start this by saying that, unlike many of my friends, I never really got into funny books (my dad's term!) When we hung out at the local book store, I'd grab one to look at on occasion, but could never get into the concept of collecting them. Of course, a lot of people may question why I have over 2000 movie posters gathering dust in my house! To each his own. However, this film looks great! Lots of action, and from comments I've heard, the characters are very true to life. What with the proposed Nicolas Cage "Superman" being shelved (Thank you God) and the "Batman" franchise on hold (tho I did hear that if it picks up soon, Kurt Russell is next in line to wear the pointy ears), this could be the best chance to merge comics and film and do it right.

STAY AWAY FROM: BATTLEFIELD EARTH! You'd think that after starring in such stinkers as "Chains of Gold" and "Shout" that John Travolta would by now know that if it looks like shit and smells like shit, it's probably shit! I'd rather see another talking baby movie then this thing. Just because you're a scientologist..............

Oh well, all for now! Cya!

Mike,

1: I'm not a sports fan, but sorry about that Orioles game. Since you have evidence that you jinxed it, the team might appreciate a more...uh, long distance relationship with you.

2: Re: Redi-Whip. Great. Now you've blown the plot of the next "Scanners" movie for everybody.

3: I might as well confess now: I didn't really like "The Phantom Menace" as much as I crow about; I hold in contempt the rabid fans that made it # 2 box-office champ of all time while secretly "dissing" it. So I try to provoke people with "Episode 1, Whoopee!!" comments to get some kind of explanation as to why this happened. Salesmanship over substance? Marketing alone? The 15-year suspense? Does it even matter if Episode 2 has a story?

4: I have never been that big a Tom Cruise fan (OK, villify me), but I'll probably drag out to Mission Impossible 2, because I did like the first one.

5: I'm very happy the X-Men movie looks good to you, because I've seen no trailers--just fanzine publicity. But, yeah, I've got high hopes for this one! The Nick Cage Superman saga is a twisted wreck of a story in itself (some other time, perhaps--remind me by saying "Kevin Smith's Superman") and the less said about the Schumacher/Clooney disembowelment of the Batman franchise, the better. That could've been so good! Kurt Russell certainly couldn't do any worse, I'm actually a fan of his. I think he's a little short for the role, but then again, so was MIchael Keaton.

6: Due mostly to the reasons you stated most eloquently, I have no interest in "Battlefield Earth." 'Nuff said! -----Nolan.

"Mike's Rant" column is � 2000 by Michael A. Smith. "Matt's Rail" column is � 2000 by Matthew Drinnenberg.

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