Beginning Sunday, MTV is airing a new documentary series called How’s Your News. Based on the 1999 documentary of the same title,  HYN features reporters with physical and cognitive disabilities interviewing various politicians and media figures. The original film was well-regarded by both critics and the disability community. It didn’t make cheap appeals to sentimentality and, based on the clips I’ve seen, the series maintains that tone. Check out this cooking segment featuring an uncensored Amy Sedaris:

Kudos to MTV for greenlighting the series and reviving a great concept.

The rush is on to make a quick buck off the upcoming release of the new Star Trek movie. And in the world of tie-in marketing, there’s no such thing as a bad idea. One company is creating a set of Trek-themed fragrances with names like Tiberius, Pon Farr, and Red Shirt.

Why would anyone want to smell like a horny Vulcan? I’m not even sure I want to know what a horny Vulcan smells like. But I can guess what Tiberius smells like. Aqua Velva and Saurian brandy with dickish undertones.

I’ll stick with my CK One, thank you very much.

Adapted from the novel of the same name, The Reader spans forty years of the Holocaust’s aftermath as experienced by two people whose paths briefly intersect before diverging in wildly different directions. Michael is a teenager growing up in postwar Germany who, purely through happenstance, meets and falls in love with an older woman, Hannah. They enter into an intense physical relationship, but Hannah is a deeply guarded woman who carefully maintains a certain distance from the enthusiastically lovestruck Michael. But the two develop a routine in the course of their affair: Michael reads to Hannah from assorted literary works before they make love. Hannah eventually drops out of Michael’s life only to resurface several years later when he is a law student and he discovers that she is on trial for war crimes she allegedly committed as a guard at a concentration camp.

The film masterfully explores the consequences of that short relationship on both their lives, even long afterwards. To say much more would spoil the story, but it does avoid predictability and cliche. These characters are both deeply wounded and there will be no Hollywood ending, which is as it should be. Kate Winslet delivers a fine performance and it’s good to see Bruno Ganz–the star of Wings of Desire–make an appearance here.

What am I listening to? So glad you asked.

“Collapsing at Your Doorstep” by Air France–In the unlikely event that I ever find myself zooming along a Pacific Coast highway in a convertible with the top down, this is the song I want playing on the stereo. It’s a propulsive mix of lush electronic arrangement, distorted vocals, and fragments of sampled dialogue. Just the thing to ward off my seasonal affective disorder.

“Believe the Hype” by Lookbook–Lookbook is a local band that I’ve grown to love over the last few months. The lead singer, Maggie Morrison, has a rich, seductive voice that blends perfectly with the dark, smoky beats. I almost want these guys to sell out and have their songs featured on some television show, just so more people can hear how great they are.

“My Delirium” by Ladyhawke–This New Zealander has crafted some irresistible pop music that riffs heavily on the Eighties. She captures the pure fun of that decade’s music without cheesing it up. And I read somewhere that she has Asperger’s Syndrome, so she’s got disability cred to boot.

Dear Hollywood,

Let’s get something straight. I’m not your tool. Sure, like a lot of geeks, I was excited to hear that you were planning a movie based on Isaac Asimov’s Golden Age space opera Foundation. A film that combines a cerebral tale of a galactic empire’s fall with healthy doses of eye candy would be like a big box full of awesome wrapped in win. But then you go and sign Roland Emmerich to direct it. Have you seen Roland Emmerich’s movies? All the man knows how to do is direct splashy scenes involving the destruction of famous landmarks. There’s nothing wrong with that, but letting him adapt Foundation is a little like letting an American Idol finalist sing the lead in Carmen. It’s just not a good idea.

Then I hear that some other hack is trying to pitch a sequel to Blade Runner. No, no, a thousand times no.

I’ve cut you a lot of slack over the years. The Star Wars prequels. The Matrix sequels. But I’m starting to think you’re taking me for granted. If you keep it up, you’ll leave me no choice but to avoid the cineplex until you can give me a little respect.

Sincerely,

Mark