Conservative Heritage Times

Take a look at this provacatively titled article from TakiMag: “This Week in Epic Beta Male Faggotry”

First a disclaimer. This is not an endorsement of the amoral “game” concept from which we get the terminology Beta Male, but I’ll leave my Christian objections to ”game” for another post so as not to detract from the main point of this post. Nor is it an endorsement of the author’s use of the other F word, which is unhelpfully provocative. That said…

When did deliberately attempting to look … shall we say … less than masculine become cool? And why is that look cool?

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Fox News continues to jettison some its most notable “contributors”  and when I heard the news Dick Morris joined Sarah Palin on the Fox ash heap (but not Karl Rove? What’s up with that? Does he have pictures or something?) I got Palin’s fate stuck in my head and pondered it.

So I dug around online and saw Game Change for the first time last night and while I still think much of it is a self-serving attempt by people like Steve Schmidt and Nicole Wallace to shield themselves for future political employment opportunities, one could not help but feel sorry for Palin to be thrown into difficult situation. Both she and her family had to deal with a lot they weren’t completely ready for. Had the McCain people been a little more understanding of the situation, perhaps much of the unpleasantness could have been avoided.

That being said, where Palin realy screwed up was  not so much in the campaign but in its aftermath leading up to her now apparent political exile back to Alaska. No can deny she has natural political talents that made her be able to connect to voters on an emotional level very few politicians have not to mention she’s one of the few Republicans, if not the only one, with the kind of star quality which transcend politics to pull the casual citizen into politics and campaign they normally wouldn’t pay attention to.

And yet, she squandered it all to point where not even Fox News wants her around anymore. People assumed she was going to run for President. No one would have begrudged her leaving the governor’s office early in term or any of her TV gigs or her campaigning on the Tea Party Express bus if it all done for a larger purpose, which was for the Oval Office. But when she didn’t run after so much teasing (including the fact she had people in Iowa trying their best to stir up a campaign for her on their own), she destroyed the link she had between the voters who loved her and herself. Not running made her just another celebrity, another talking head, another ex-politician trying to cash in. She made have thought it served her purposes better four to eight years down the road but it wound up wrecking such chances.  And by leaving elected office and not doing anything which would have helped her prepare to be President only made her look less serious. She self-fulfilled everything the Schmidt and Wallace said about her in the book and the movie well after that campaign concluded.

Maybe she’ll get back into politics in Alaska to try rebuild her career but I have my doubts. I vacationed there in 2010 and even at that time I saw very little from Republicans or the public-at-large which wanted to acknowledge her existence outside of a few airport T-shirts. She became a parody of Conservative INC., more interested in profit than policy. That’s fine for her and family, but for those whose hopes and dreams she spoke to from her personal story and background (and I think we all know who I’m talking about), it doesn’t do much for them.  They needed a champion and instead they got Mitt Romney. No wonder turnout was down.  She may dream of comeback but who, even amongst the talk show hosts and other activists who would be her biggest fans, even speaks of her now or takes her seriously? No, Palin can dress fancier now but she’s also shrunk a few sizes in stature.

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This doesn’t bode well for those of us hoping for more 80′s style action flicks starring the old guys. I wonder how Stallone’s new flick is going to fare.

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The way the list is organized here is a bit confusing, but it seems to include organizations, celebrities and then other influential people who aren’t celebrities. I haven’t had time to go through the whole thing since it is long, but it’s interesting (and discouraging) how many of the organizations are medically related. A while back there was an effort to make guns a “public health” issue. I wonder if this list reflects some of that activity. Also, I’m disappointed to see Sylvester Stallone’s name on the list. Not only does it demonstrate hypocrisy (Did anyone see Rambo IV [not actually called that] which Stallone co-wrote, directed and starred in?), but Stallone is often cited as one of the few Republicans in Hollywood.

Update: Here is the list straight from the NRA that makes the divisions in the list more clear. The list is also not new. It is from Aug 10. The attached article is new, and it popped up on my Facebook today.

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Yesterday my daughter and I watched that whole gun control video frame by frame to identify all the participants. I think I did a good job identifying them based on my substantial fund of pop cultural knowledge, if I do say so myself. There were only a few that I didn’t know. My plan was to post the list here, but it turns out I wasted my time, because someone had already done it for me.

The heartfelt clip features Jon Hamm, Steve Carell, Jamie Foxx, Paul Rudd, Jason Bateman, Sarah Silverman, Amy Poehler, Aubrey Plaza, Amanda Peet, Busy Philipps, Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally, Adam Scott, Cameron Diaz, Courteney Cox, Christina Applegate, Zooey Deschanel, John Slattery, Debra Messing, Elizabeth Banks, Max Greenfield, Kristen Bell, Peter Dinklage, Brooke Shields, Joel McHale, Conan O’Brien, Rashida Jones, Will Ferrell, Aziz Ansari, Olivia Munn, Julianne Moore, Jeremy Renner, Jennifer Garner, Jessica Alba, Chris Rock, Ellen DeGeneres, Selena Gomez, Kate Hudson and Gwyneth Paltrow.

As I said below, the two Mad Men actors sting a little. Who knew Roger Sterling was a gun control supporting wuss?

Addendum: This list appears to not be exhaustive. It doesn’t include Reese Witherspoon or Beyonce. Any other omissions anyone has identified?

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And in other news, the Sun rose in the East this morning. What is it about actors that makes the vast majority of them braindead liberals? Some of these really disappoint me, especially the Mad Men guys. Also, I find it a bit hypocritical that the new Bourne guy wants gun control. Has he watched his own movie? Also Jamie “kill all the white people” Foxx. Has he watched his movie? I also find it interesting that they disabled the comments. They knew good and well that they would get slammed if they didn’t.

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One word: SWEET!

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Everyone’s up in arms about Jamie Foxx. Seems he went on Saturday Night Live to promote his latest movie, Django Unchained, and said, “I kill all the white people in the movie. How great is that?”

Ohhh – scary! But has anybody seen Foxx’s character? Take a look at the clown costume he wears:

I busted a gut laughing when I first saw that picture. Yes, he’s trying sooooo hard to look baaad. But THIS is supposed to be a scary black cowboy? Jamie, you’re no Clint Eastwood. Django must be Swahili for, “Wears clothes his grandmother threw out.”

The rules for cowboy apparel are few and simple, all of which Foxx’s character tragically ignored:

1 – Cowboys do not wear jackets from the 1956 JC Penny catalog.

2 – Cowboys do not wear ANYTHING with buttons shaped like that.

3 – Cowboys DO NOT wrap sweaters around their necks. In fact, cowboys do not even own sweaters.

4 – Cowboys only wear gun holsters battered from countless gunfights and cattle drives. No cowboy would be caught dead sporting a holster fresh from the western wear supply store.

5 – Do. Not. Lose. Your. Right. Glove.

But the last rule of cowboy fashion says it all:

6 – A real cowboy doesn’t need to be told the rules of how to look like a cowboy.

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A few things to look forward to as we await the inevitable approaching financial apocalypse. Don’t let anyone tell you that CHT is all doom and gloom. We support healthy diversions to temporarily take our minds off the economic, political and moral basket case that this nation has become.

He’s Baach…

Silvester Stallone continues to demonstrates that there really can be, at least physique wise, better living through chemistry.

And it looks like Bruce has one more in him as well. The last Die Hard was surprisingly good, BTW.)

It looks like we’re in for an entertaining January and February at the cinema.

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I saw Red Dawn last night. It’s the first movie I’ve made it a point to see on opening night in a while. I thought it was good, and judging by the audience reaction, so did they. I’m in the process of writing a longer review, the point of which is that I think Red Dawn actually helps the case for non-interventionism. Some might think it promotes mindless flagwaving, but I’m not so sure. Anyone see where I’m going with this? Consider this a trial run of my thesis.

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We Southerners know that history is on our side. Defenders of the Empire who try to cherry-pick historical facts usually end up looking rather silly. Yes, we say to apologists of empire, let’s debate history. Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln is the latest attempt to justify the president who mounted a counter-revolution to the Revolution of 1776, thus re-establishing the supremacy of the government over the people.

But the reaction of fans and critics hasn’t exactly been what Spielberg expected. For starters, Daniel Day-Lewis’s portrayal of Lincoln fails to create a believable, sympathetic character. One fan echoed the reaction of many others: “Is it me or does Abe Lincoln sound a lot like Mr Burns?”

Rex Reed’s review, entitled, Arid Abe: Lincoln Is as Wooden as Washington’s Teeth, not only rips Spielberg’s clumsy propaganda, but goes on to present facts about Lincoln and the real purpose of his crusade formerly seen only in pro-Southern circles.

The movie, says Reed, is a “colossal bore.” He finds it “so pedantic, slow-moving, sanitized and sentimental that I kept pinching myself to stay awake—which, like the film itself, didn’t always work.” Ouch.

And in response to the film’s heavy-handed Lincoln worship, which is really empire-worship, Reed observes:

In reality, Lincoln believed in equality under the law, but not racial equality; he had no use for blacks and maintained a strong personal belief that whites were a superior race. In his efforts to get his amendment passed, Honest Abe was not so honest either. He and his cabinet of rivals were not above bribery, lies, suspending habeas corpus or bending the Constitution to break the South’s economic infrastructure.

What’s that? Lincoln’s war was NOT about freeing the slaves, but just another war for power and treasure? Do tell.

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I used to be a horror fan during my geek days just to gross out the girls in middle school and see their reactions. Nowadays I try to avoid horror films simply because don’t like sick or scary images stuck in my head for several days. But now and again I’ll partake in film or two, especially around Halloween, which is supposed to be the time to indulge in the macabre. There are a few movies I’ll watch. One I’d like to see again and one I would recommend is Wolfen, a story about a pack of shape-shifting wolves, living in the ruins of New York’s South Bronx in the early. The reasons I like it is that its a good story, scary without being gratuitous and because the best horror films have modicum of reality to them which only makes them scarier to think such things could happen as we are watching.

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I saw The Expendables 2 on the first Friday it was out, but my computer has been on the fritz so I haven’t been able to get around to a review until now. Here it is.

Prior to seeing The Expendables 2, I rewatched the first Expendables on Netflix. If there was a criticism of the original Expendables, it was that it dragged before the climactic action sequence. While I was gung ho about the first Expendables and made my feelings known, on reviewing it, I can see that complaint. What was so great about the first one, however, was that the last 20 minutes or so was one of the best extended action sequences in cinematic history, which redeemed the movie and made you forget about the slow pace getting there.

Expendables 2, likely in response to the criticism of the first one, avoids this issue. It opens with a gun blazing rescue scene and mixes in enough action along the way to avoid dragging. The climactic action sequence, however, isn’t nearly as good as the first one. On the whole, I liked the first one better, but 2 is still a must see.

As for what the second one did well, I think Van Damme makes an excellent villain. The climatic mano a mano fight with Stallone was not as exciting as Stallone vs. Stone Cold in 1, but over all JCVD makes for a very hateble villain. I’m surprised he hasn’t appeared as a villain more often. I also think Chuck Norris was used well if sparingly. I’m not sure why he was used so sparingly (contract and/or age issues perhaps), but the scene when he first makes his appearance was very well done. My theater was cheering. There were also plenty of references to all the stars’ old action movies to keep 80′s action movie fanboys happy. And Jason Statham continues to solidify his place as the number one modern action star.

As for what the movie didn’t do as well, Jet Li had an inexplicably small part. (Was he filming something else?) I think Li brings a comic element to the group that none of the others can pull off as well. Also, I thought there were some pacing/editing issues. I know there was a deliberate effort to keep the running time down, so I’m sure that had a lot to do with it, but there were moments when the movie went from one scene to the next rather abruptly with minimal transition. It left me with the feeling that a lot of the movie must have ended up on the cutting room floor. There were no fatal flaws. The story was discernible, but the abruptness of some of the transitions left me a little unsatisfied. I know executives make a lot of these decisions and the creative people are left to deal with them, but would it have killed them to let the run time go a few minutes longer. (Shorter run times potentially allow for more showings.)

Anyway, go see it if you haven’t already, although I’m sure that the manly men who read this blog already have.

Your thoughts?

Also, I hope to go see the anti-Obama movie tonight or tomorrow. I’ll be back with a review of that after I do.

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Breaking Bad is not getting a ton of love here.

So what are you watching then?

I watch a lot of TV, but I don’t watch a lot of TV if you know what I mean. I have the TV on a lot, but mostly while I’m on the computer posting and commenting. I haven’t until recently routinely watched many TV series. I don’t like being tied down at a particular time, and I find it hard to keep up with a series. Netflix has changed that somewhat. Before Netflix got me hooked, the last series I watched faithfully was the 24 seasons.

I am an AMC mark. I watched seasons 1-4 of Mad Men on Netflix. I watched season 5 on TV. I watched season 1 of The Walking Dead on Netflix. Season 2 on TV. I watched season 1 of The Killing on Netflix. Season 2 on TV. I watched season 1-4 of Breaking Bad courtesy of Netflix. I’m now watching season 5 on TV.

I am currently watching season 1 of Downton Abbey on Netflix, and I have season 2 DVDs in the queue.

Other than Downton Abbey and AMC fare, the only other series I watch is Longmire on A & E. Longmire, unlike the others, has self contained episodes and is not a serial drama, but I am a sucker for Western themed shows.

I don’t get HBO or Showtime, so I can’t watch Game of Thrones, Boardwalk Empire, etc. on TV.

On the recommendation of C Bowen, I’m going to check out Damages. I’ll check out Game of Thrones since so many people have good things to say about it, but it really doesn’t seem like my sort of thing. I don’t much like fantasy. Season 1 is available on DVD.

Anyone watch Hell on Wheels? I’m considering it also.

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#3 this weekend at $16.5 million. It’s budget was $70 million.

I knew it was going to flop, but was still rooting hard that it would. I have been in a couple of movies where there was a trailer for ALVH and the general audience response was not “That looks cool” or “I’ve gotta see that” but “Huh?” and “What?” The movie is based off a popular book, but if you aren’t familiar with the book then the premise just seems stupid.

It couldn’t happen to a better fictionalized President. We already have to put up with the equally farcical Abraham Lincoln as great President and Abraham Lincoln as savior of the nation, do we really need Abraham Lincoln as vampire slayer?

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Hard to believe it was 35 years ago this month that Star Wars premiered. The movie not only popularized Joseph Campbell’s insight that the function of myths is to inspire individuals and perpetuate society, but was itself an example of Campbell’s teaching that ancient myths must be continually modernized so they can fulfill their function.

Talk about inspiration! Star Wars tells the story of the ultimately successful secession of the Rebel Alliance from the Galactic Empire. However, the three prequels that followed The Return of the Jedi focused on the unsuccessful first effort to break away from the Republic. The first conflict arose as the increasingly corrupt Republic was transforming into the Empire. The two opposing forces in the first secession attempt were known as The Grand Army of the Republic (!) and the Confederacy of Independent Systems. (!!!) Here’s a synopsis of each:

The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), also known as the Clone Army, was the main part of the armed forces of the Galactic Republic in its final years, becoming one of the largest armies ever assembled, although not as large as the Separatist Droid Army. After the Clone Wars, it served as the nucleus for the armed forces of the Galactic Empire.

After the deaths of the members of the Separatist Council, some Confederacy-loyal worlds still refused to be absorbed into the new Galactic Empire. These remnants, some organized and unorganized, would continue to fight throughout the Imperial era. The Empire would use these holdouts as justification for expansion of the Imperial Navy. Many of them ended up joining the Rebel Alliance at its formation.

May the Force be with you.

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Yep, it’s true. It is going to be called Machete Kills.

Some of you may remember that CHT reported on (click and scroll down) the controversy surrounding the original Machete which attempted to capitalize on the Arizona immigration law by making a trailer glorifying the killing of whitey.

I’m surprised they’re making a second one because the first one under-performed at the box office. Funny how white movie goers didn’t want to see a movie that glorifies their killing. But because it was made on a relatively low budget, it did make a little money.

Apparently this one stars Mel Gibson. Say it isn’t so Mel.

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If that trailer don’t get your blood pumping you’re testosterone deficient, and the movie is every bit as good as the trailer. The movie is part action shoot ‘em up and part martial arts flick, and it does them both well. As an action flick, it is the best one since The Expendables. As a martial arts flick, it is the best one since Iron Monkey.

And I wouldn’t have even know it was out if I hadn’t seen a comercial while I was watching Bellator Fighting Championship and looked it up on IMDB. The movie was filmed in Indonesia for an incredible 1.1 million dollars. So far it has a sky high 8.3 rating at IMDB.

The movie is subtitled. Be warned that while you obviously won’t be able to understand the language, the subtitles are full of the F word. There is no sex or nudity.

And just to save Kirt the trouble, I’ll go ahead and write his reply here. “The Raid sucked. The Expendables sucked. And Iron Monkey sucked.”

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The Oscar nominations are out. Yawn. Largely another year of Academy naval gazing with complete disregard to what audiences actually like and go see.

The two best movies of the year were, without a doubt, Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Warrior. Drive was also very good. Rise was a very pleasant surprise because I wasn’t expecting much except a routine summer action movie and what I got was a very human story that only became the man vs. ape drama that you see in the commercials at the end. On the other hand, Warrior is the only MMA themed film that actually lived up to its pre-hype among fans of mixed martial arts. Even knowing the very unkept secret of the basic plot (two brothers) and acknowledging the highly implausible scenario (a high stakes tournament that lets in scrubs) the movie grabs you and doesn’t let you go. The fight scenarios at the climax are Rockyesque in their effectiveness. At least Nick Nolte got a best supporting actor nod.

I wouldn’t argue that there is a one to one correlation between movies that are commercially successful and movies that are good. Rise made more money than anticipated based on extraordinary word of mouth. Warrior underperformed despite being an excellent film because I have determined that mixed martial arts enthusiasts are just not very avid movie goers. Notice that Haywire underperformed this past weekend also. But sometimes I get the feeling that the Academy is snobby for snobby’s sake. It is snobby just based on general principles. Why no love for Rise which garnered critical and viewer praise and happened to make a lot of money?

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This is a very good article which first appeared in The American Prospect on how the American Left was tagged with the cultural snobbery/”elitist” label (class warfare anyone?) which I forgot to include in yesterday’s list.

This response letter I found at The Washington Monthly, which had linked to the TAP article, pretty much explains how Hollywood and the mass entertainment industry works as it does. Indeed, you can find the 1% in more places than just Wall Street:

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