So what is it about the Rock and Roll Cycle biopic that has to include the big fall? I can’t think of any of the records from my youth that made me foolishly spend money on a ‘68 Gibson SG in my high school days that I never really learned to play, that made me think “Wow, someday I am going to OD at my peak and so many of my followers are going to learn the lesson that it is the craft and not the commerce that made us all take up the two minute thirty second fucking rock opus and don’t be fooled again the man is gong to step on you, so give it up now.” Nope. I listened to rock and I loved the whole fucking genre because of the fight for youth’s silly concerns, and not the loss that maturity can sometimes bring. I didn’t see the sense of most rock biopics and Factory Girl is like one and the same. I see the rebellion of youth. I see GREAT FUCKING performances of Guy Pearce and the gal that plays Eddie Sedgwick, but again I am left with Rock and Roll (or pop culture) is the path, the empty road to ruin. GOD DAMN! That isn’t the case for any 17 year old. I beg for the days of a rock film or pop culture flick that gives us the sense of power and the glory that is youth. That is three chords and the truth. That doesn’t pre-damn us to sell-out or to fall to the temptations of or marketeers. Rock deserves a better film and while Factory Girl is a good actor’s exorcise it once again damns the rock spirit.

The 22^nd annual Santa Barbara Film Festival got off to a big start last night. This year there are bigger sponsors (The New Yorker, Chrysler) and big stars (Will, Smith Helen Mirren) and again big lines. Get there early to any shows you want. Today’s hard ticket will be the screening of Borat with special guest Sacha Baron Cohen. He has finished his tour of promoting the film in character and will be their as himself.

Last night at the opener, festival director, Roger Durling challenged the audience to shake off their fears and try new films. Good advice for a film fest. I have found the best tactic is just pick films at random and gamble on new titles. Most of the established films by big studios will be in SB or at least in regular distribution later. I am also gravitate to the shorts programs. This year my short list of short recommendations are: Avatar, Checkpoint, I am an Apartment and Don Hertzfeldt’s new film- Everything Will Be OK.

Children of Men has restored my faith in dystopic Sci-Fi. I haven’t felt this giddy since watching Gaff’s spinner land on the police station in Blade Runner. To be fair, this isn’t REALLY science fiction — it’s not about new technology. But it takes place in the future, and that’s what counts!

Children of Men is wonderfully harsh. Take all the funny out of Brazil and see what you get. It also carries some of the same political weight that V for Vendetta does. But its greatest wealth is sheer filmmaking prowess. Alfonso Cuaron has wrought some of the most delightfully suspenseful scenes I have ever experienced. This fucker knows when to turn the soundtrack off and focus on the terrifying moment of possibility when you see the danger and extrapolate in your mind the only very bad way it can end. And sometimes it doesn’t. Tee-hee!

The other thing that struck me was how much the film reminded me of Half-Life 2, first in setting, and then in the “first person shooter” sense of feeling like what you are experiencing is your own reality. I think the hand-held and Kubrick-length shots played heavily in this. So, uh … yeah. Go see it.

I just heard about Wolfgang’s Vault over Chriistmas and if the news is right it might not be with us long. But for a short time you still have a chance to stream a few classic shows from Bill Graham’s vault of concert recordings from the Filmore East and West, Winterland, some Forum shows, and more. The T-shirts and Posters for sale are all out of my price range but free music never is.

I was pleased as punch to find one of my all time favorite Bruce Springteen and the E Street Band shows “Live at Winterland” and an early Pink Floyd show from 1970 that has the band working out material for Ummaguma. There is also an Elvis Costello gig from 1978 (clocking in at what seemed like a long show in those days at 57 minutes) and then a another much longer more free formed show from the Good By Cruel World tour.

Over the years I used to drop far too many a pretty penny for bootleg recordings of these shows or hard to find pressings of the King Biscuit Flower Hour shows, and now here they all are for free.

But not for long though. Many of the bands presented here are fighting over the rights to Grahams’s recordings and so this may go away all too soon. Until then I guess I will set controls for the heart of the sun.

In no particular order here are ten movies that stuck with me this year.

The Proposition: I have never seen the wild frontier actually look like something I had never seen before - like an actual new frontier. This is the loudest and most violent film on the list and has perhaps the best music. Nick Cave’s script of the brutality of the coming of civilization and the wiping out indigenous people is countered by his haunting score.
Borat: Once again, the Thursday night free movie at Comic-Con delivered one of best comedies of the year. I never thought they could top the experience of previewing Shaun of the Dead. I am SO GLAD we didn’t try to leave this movie to sneak into the secret screening of The Fountain.

Slither: Brings the fun back into horror. This has the best balance of quirky gags and jolting thrills I have seen since American Werewolf in London.

Casino Royale: I have never been a Bond fan but this is great ruthless cold action entertainment.

The Good Shepard: The polar opposite of Casino Royale for pace and action - but I think this gives you a possible glimpse into what spying might really be like.

A Scanner Darkly: I was never stoned enough to appreciate Waking Life and I hope I am never stoned enough to identify with Scanner. This is one of the best paranoid adaptations of Philip K. Dick since Blade Runner.
V For Vendetta: Edges out the Donner Homage Superman Returns for comic book adaptation this year. Though it was close.

Pan’s Labyrinth: Dark storytelling - a fable for adults through the eyes of a child. Del Toro is one of the funniest, inspiring and most irreverent guests I have heard at Comic-Con.

Duck Season: Just simple film making and low key humor with a heart.

Little Miss Sunshine: As awkward a family comedy as we are likely to see for a while.