"War of the Worlds" vs "Children of Men"

In both "War of the Worlds" and "Children of Men" there is a scene that takes place in a moving car where the camera and the action is very, er, active.

In "War" the camera work is very showy but not very meaningful. The camera moves from inside the car to outside the car in a big circle. Physically impossible to do in a car that's moving in traffic. It draws attention to itself. I wondered why the camera was doing that.

In "Children" the camera is perched in the back seat and pans from one person to another, following the action. The scene is showy, not for what the camera is doing, but for what is taking place in front of the camera.

Wait until '08

"Battlestar Galactica" will not have new episodes until 2008. Okay. I can wait.

If only the presidential horse race would give it a rest until 2008.

Sea cruise

Watched 45 minutes of "Poseidon" on cable yesterday. Whew, it was brutal. I don't mean it was a bad movie or anything, it was very well done. But I was astonished the way the bodies were thrown around and left scattered all over the sets. Yeech.

I guess I shouldn't have been surprised -- I mean the thing was directed by the guy who directed "Das Boot" -- but I was surprised.

Also, it was a drag to see Kurt Russell looking so bloaty and old. Come on! He looks like a million bucks in "Escape from L.A." And he looks darned good in the stills for the upcoming "Grindhouse: Death Proof." I think the problem in "Poseidon" is they tried to make him look younger with makeup and dyed hair. And he looked awful. Painted-over wrinkles. Richard Dreyfuss, with totally gray hair and regular wrinkles, looked good. Weird.

District of Complainia

Okay, I get that residents of Washington D.C. are ticked that they don't have a couple senators and representatives in the national government. But look at the slogan on their license plate. Grouchy or what.

How about complaining slogans for state license plates?

Minnesota: "The mosquitos'll eat you alive."

South Dakota: "The wind never stops."

Wisconsin: "So much cheese you'll puke."

California: "Waiting for the Big One."

Seattle: "The rain never stops."

Thanks for the info

I get cable TV through a satellite dish. It's pretty cool. What I like best is the on-screen info. The movie's name, who's starring, a brief synopsis.

The synopsis got briefer recently. The last two lines are taken up with these words: "TV Listings (c) Tribune Media Services." Those words are on bottom of every info nugget, in the same size as the info you want to read.

Klunky.

I'm thinking they will eventually figure out a way to say the same thing, but in smaller type. But for now -- klunky.