Eric Wareheim (Tim & Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!) directs this music video for "The Youth" by MGMT.

We're living in a powderkeg and giving off sparks!

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There he goes. One of God's own prototypes. A high-powered mutant of some kind never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, and too rare to die.

- Hunter S. Thompson

Double Dip Demands is a column in which I propose films that deserve a re-release on DVD/Blu-Ray with more special features, better transfers and other nerdy bits. Some of the films have no DVDs out there for Region 1 viewers, and some of them have a really crappy version that's bare bones or poorly put together. Who speaks for these films? I do.

The Film: Southland Tales (2006)

Cast & Crew: Richard Kelly (writer/director): Dwayne Johnson, Seann William Scott, Sarah Michelle Gellar, John Laroquette, Wallace Shawn, Wood Harris, Lou Pucci, Christopher Lambert, Jon Lovitz, Justin Timberlake, Mandy Moore, Cheri Oteri, Amy Poehler, Kevin Smith, Nora Dunn

Plot Synopsis (via IMDB): Southland Tales is an ensemble piece set in the futuristic landscape of Los Angeles on July 4, 2008, as it stands on the brink of social, economic and environmental disaster. Boxer Santaros is an action star who's stricken with amnesia. His life intertwines with Krysta Now, an adult film star developing her own reality television project, and Ronald Taverner, a Hermosa Beach police officer who holds the key to a vast conspiracy.

Is it Out Currently? Yes on DVD (with some extras) and Blu-Ray (with a bit more).

Why Does it Deserve Special Features? Richard Kelly's magnum opus, Southland Tales, is a complete disaster. It premiered to scathing reviews and lots of booing at Cannes. Then it trimmed down about 15 minutes, reshot a few scenes, added some dialogue and effects and was re-released on the world - to scathing reviews and lots of booing. So why does a film that Nathan Rabin labeled a "Fiasco" deserve another release? Because it's utterly unique. Southland Tales is a weird synthesis of Philip K. Dick, Douglas Copeland,Robert Altman, Raymond Chandler, Jonathan Lethem, MTV, Saturday Night Live and a slew of college freshman political science, philosophy and sociology courses - often taking the weakest aspects of each of these influences when adding it to the stew. But here's the thing: it has a lot of good stuff in that abominable amalgamation. From the (oft mentioned) Justin Timberlake lip synching scene, to the semi-clever sci-fi aspects, to a lot of the visuals and a many of the characters - Kelly created a rich world that was intriguing and, if taking piece by piece, would be ultimately rewarding. Unfortunately, each piece belongs to the work as a whole, and so a scene played for comedy runs up against deadly serious characters, and vice versa. But it covers a lot of ground - from the energy crisis, to Patriot Act, to worshipping of celebrities, the way media manipulates reality, the impotent protestations of the Left, the need for drugs and escape...each of these elements stays with the viewer for many nights afterwards. Unfortunately, it usually culminates in "If only Kelly hadn't then done..." but still - it's always more impressive to find films that stay with you and vex you than forgettable movies that are lost in a sea of apathy.

What Should Be on the Disc?

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Today's word of the day is Recurrent:

re·cur·rent

[ri-kur-uhnt, -kuhr-]

–adjective

Bill Maher comparing the thought processes of Casey Anthony jurors to those of the Republican base:

(via HuffPost)

Speed has EVERYTHING to do with it.

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From a single crime know the nation.

- Virgil

Fisticuffs is when you tell me who would win in a knockdown, dragout, physical fight to the death between two people or groups.

The 80s Cartoon Throwdown You've Been Thinking About for 20 years. Who would win in a knockdown, drag out, no holds barred fight between the Smurfs and the Snorks?

Smurfs have the numbers and appear to be embedded, like an azure version of the VietCong. They have managed to evade genocidal attempts of eradication at the hands of Gargamel and his cat, Azrael. So they are tough, hive-minded and have huge numbers on their side. On the other hand, they are Belgian.

Snorks have tactical advantage of being underwater, remote and more technologically advanced than the hillbilly Smurfs. They have managed to evade creating any main enemies despite being around since at least the 17th century (seriously - the wiki entry has them going to the surface in 1634 to rescue a sea captain). It's unknown how many Snorks there are - so the numbers game is hard to figure out. The Snorks' main weak spot is their obvious, incredibly vulnerable snorkel.

Who would win? Vote! Explain your vote in the comments!

News organizations tend to report on the debt ceiling negotiations as if reducing the deficit is the main concern for both parties. Unfortunately that is not really the case. I say unfortunately because if Democrats and Republicans had the same overall goal, it would be much easier to get a deal done (and as previously discussed, a deal to raise the debt ceiling is absolutely necessary).

If reducing the deficit as much as possible was the goal of both parties, a deal could be struck in which spending cuts that Republicans covet would be traded for revenue raisers (tax increases, elimination of tax breaks, etc) that Democrats desire. The resulting deal would reduce the deficit by a certain amount and both sides would declare victory. This is the type of deal Reagan and Clinton enacted to reduce the deficit and it’s similar to what I expected to happen in this case.

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From 1989's Teen Witch. Yikes.

(Via Let's Be Friends Again)

Every week, we list our recommendations of new music, books, comics, movies and TV to check out. This is Recs in Effect:

New Movie

Tabloid

I know people are going to all go see Harry Potter this weekend. But personally, I hate most of those movies. I like the books (well, all but the first 2) and I like Goblet of Fire and Order of the Phoenix as well as elements of some of the other movies, but mostly I just find them so boring and poorly made. So, in a bit of counterprogramming - I'm asking you to go see Errol Morris's latest film: Tabloid, which concerns former Miss Wyoming Joyce McKinney who may or may not have chained up a mormon missionary in the 70s. It appears to be Morris's meditation on fame and a similar look at how diverse the multiple chapters in our lives can be. Errol Morris is, to me, the best documentary filmmaker of all time (his attempts at subverting the truth are more apparent to me than Werner Herzog's, and so I appreciate Morris more) who has done much to not only shape the visual language of modern documentary filmmaking but also to fundamentally alter the way we think about documentary films. Read a review (and explore more about Errol Morris) here.

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Today's word of the day is Mind-blowing:

I love this song and this video...please to enjoy "Frontier Psychiatrist" by The Avalanches.