Day: December 17, 2004

At home last weekend, thanks to my wife’s juggling of the DVD queue, we watched Control Room. An eighty-minute documentary about Al Jazeera in the build-up to the Gulf War (2003 version), Control Room did show me things I knew little about, but it wasn’t riveting. Or maybe I was just too tired to keep my eyes open. The most interesting sections featured the American media officer in Central Command, Lt. John Rushing. The military has officers focused on working with the media. Doesn’t that say something? This man was polished, but not slick. He seemed sincere without being naive. He comes off well in the movie. But our military needs press officers?!? From the movie’s website, “Before going to the Middle East, Lt. Rushing worked in Hollywood negotiating script content with big budget studios on behalf of the US military.” Is that a sign of our civilization or something else entirely?

Saw the movie After the Sunset a few weeks ago. Wait for the video. This film feels like a re-make of The Thomas Crown Affair (1999), which itself was a re-make of a 1968 movie by the same name. After the Sunset has Salma Hayek going for it, but otherwise it’s not as crisp or as amusing as the Pierce Brosnan version of The Thomas Crown Affair. Clear as mud? Anyway, wait for the video. It’s pleasant, but not more than that.