With the second season of AMC’s ‘The Walking Dead’ returning this week, I’d like to recommend a different kind of zombie movie. The 2008 film ‘Pontypool’ is more of a psychological thriller akin to Hitchcock’s ‘The Birds’ than a pure zombie feature. And if you love zombies, talk radio or smart horror films, this one’s for you.

THERE BE SPOILERS BELOW. . . and braaaaaains!

Based on the Tony Burgess novel ‘Pontypool Changes Everything’ and inspired by Orson Welles’s radio broadcast of ‘The War of the Worlds,’ ‘Pontypool’ combines two modern crazes – talk radio and zombies. The film centers around Grant Mazzy (Stephen McHattie), a shock jock who lost his job in the big city for pushing things a little too far.

Mazzy has a new job in the small town of Pontypool, Ontario, where he and his producer Sydney Briar (Lisa Houle) clash over the best way to run his broadcasts. As they argue their way through his first broadcast, they start getting reports of a riot at a local doctor’s office. The nature of the riot is unclear as the rioters seem to be shouting gibberish about the disappearance of Honey the cat. Soon, the reports get more ominous until the radio broadcasters themselves come under attack.

‘Pontypool’ differs from other zombie movies because it disdains what has become the standard undead formula. Almost without exception, the films involve a small group of people trapped by zombies forced to shoot their way to safety. These films invariably turn into gross-out fests and shooting galleries almost from the opening scene. ‘Pontypool’ doesn’t. You don’t even see a zombie for a long time, and you never see a gun. Instead, you watch Mazzy and his staff of two (Sydney and Laurel Ann) struggle to make sense of what is going on based on the sketchy reports they are getting. And it is gripping! (more…)

George Lopez, the left-wing comedian who recently made headlines after threatening to move to Canada should Governor Sarah Palin become president (and once called her a “bitch” on his now-canceled “Lopez Tonight”), is now just another unemployed statistic in his precious Obama’s failed economic “recovery.”

The Wrap:

TBS has reached the difficult decision not to order a third season of Lopez Tonight,” the company said in a statement. “Thursday will be the final episode of the show. We are proud to have partnered with George Lopez, who is an immensely talented comedian and entertainer. TBS has valued its partnership with George and appreciates all of his work on behalf of the network, both on and off the air.”

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When movie director James Cameron descended upon the Athabasca oil sands a while back, Albertans were subjected to the predictable but nonetheless aggravating media blitz of misinformation that occurs when a mega-star chooses a cause to elevate.

The elevation came in the form of a supercilious warning to put the brakes on the world’s second largest proved oil reserve. It could, he feared, become a curse if not properly managed.  This revelation came upon reflection via a government sponsored helicopter tour and a token chat with a group of not-so disenfranchised First Nations peoples in the area. (In 2009, oil sands companies contracted more than $890 million for goods and services from Aboriginal owned businesses and employed 1600 Aboriginals in permanent jobs).

And with that, Mr. Cameron and the media were able to close the case on the oil sands, as Mr. Cameron purportedly had to jet.  It’s not Mr. Cameron’s fault, completely. The oil complex is just that – complex.  It’s not the kind of business one just picks up as a hobby horse.  Sure, Cameron can regurgitate the technical terminology if he likes. It would be difficult for a techno-geek of titanic proportions to resist a sexy term like steam gravity assisted drainage (SAGD).

Here is where I suggest “putting the brakes on.”  Perhaps a moratorium on incendiary statements by celebutantes or politicians a-la-Pelosi who are not able to, because of their lack of training, do the type of deep comprehensive assessment required for these matters.

There are a few facts that cannot be disputed and you will get those out of Mr. Cameron, the enviro-statist and their press sycophants.  In this case it can be narrowed down to just two: the area containing the deposit and the size of the estimated reserves in Alberta.  Then it’s down the rabbit hole we go. (more…)

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Tonight: (more…)

The Trews’ guitarist John-Angus MacDonald didn’t look too far into the future when he first helped form the band. “We were 15 year-old high school students trying to have a wicked show whenever we had one booked,” MacDonald says of his once-modest goals.

Flash forward to today and The Trews boasts two gold records, 10 top-10 singles and opening gigs for the likes of Robert Plant and The Rolling Stones.

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The hard-rocking quartet – lead vocalist Colin MacDonald; brother John-Angus, cousin, drummer Sean Dalton, and long-time pal bassist Jack Syperek – delivers uncomplicated rock that flies in the face of today’s electronica-saturated age.

The ascent has been gradual, the lead guitarist tells Big Hollywood, but with sign markers along the way.

“Hearing yourself on the radio for the first time … the tip of the hat from some of the older guard, like The Rolling Stones … selling out our own tours,” he says. “It’s an extremely special thing.”

The Stones tour revealed the pragmatic side of classic rock. (more…)

It’s getting worse people.

Last night I told you about the SF mayor banning city employees from traveling to Arizona. But now, in a move meant to bring the state to its knees, the Montreal pop band “stars” has tweeted that until its “racist new immigration law is repealed,” they will boycott the state.

Arizona’s reaction? One of devastation.

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Wow, they’re taking it harder than I thought.

Look, I love Canada for many reasons (it’s where I keep my winter clothes), but they don’t share a porous border with a troubled country with limited opportunities for its hardworking people. In 2008, do you know how many people illegally immigrated to Canada? I could count it on my hand, if I had 120,000 fingers.

There are almost five times as many already in Arizona. (more…)

Canada, it is a silly place. Yes, I was raised there, and yes I acknowledge it. Sadly, in recent years it seems that Canada has gone from silly to downright dangerous. This is particularly true if you are a Conservative or dare to ever even think of speaking out against the politically correct, sub-zero establishment.

You’ve no doubt heard about Ann Coulters’ escapades in the Great White North. College leftists (who’d had no qualms with terrorist sympathizers speaking at their school in the past) were so offended with the idea of what Madam Coulter might say ,that they attempted to ban her from the premises. When that didn’t happen, the young Green-Day liberals decided to stage a protest. Of course (as is often the case with liberal protests) things got out of hand, with protesters becoming so unruly that the situation had become not only a safety hazard to Ann herself, but for the myriad people who were there to hear her speak. Woodstockers would be proud! So students thirsty for knowledge and debate have to deal with all of this hooplah because many Canadians forecasted that Ann Coulter might engage in –cue dramatic chipmunk– hate speech! (more…)

A from the New York Times, September 9, 2008:

The actor Viggo Mortensen has apologized to Canada after inadvertently accusing the country of policy misdeeds for which he meant to chastise political leaders of the United States. The go-round occurred Sunday night at a Toronto International Film Festival panel discussion introducing ”The People Speak,” a documentary about dissent and resistance to power based on the book ”A People’s History of the United States” by Howard Zinn. Mr. Mortensen wore a T-shirt that read: ”Impeach Remove Jail.” By way of explanation Mr. Mortensen, in Toronto to promote the movie ”Appaloosa,” began a plaint about things ”that have been happening in the last eight years in this country.” He was checked by the moderator, Tom Powers, the festival’s documentary programmer, who asked if Mr. Mortensen was referring to Canada. ”Ladies and gentlemen, the angry left,” said a laughing Matt Damon, who was joined on the panel by Josh Brolin and Marisa Tomei, among others. Mr. Mortensen allowed that Canada may have committed misdeeds of its own, without leveling a specific charge against either country. ”My apologies,” he concluded. (more…)

That’s right, a 1979 television movie starring The Fonz as Ebenezer Scrooge is ranked ahead of White Christmas. (Or, if you’re younger than a hundred, the Coach in “The Waterboy.”)

I have nothing to say in my defense and await your wrath.

Well, I do have one thing to say: Henry Winkler is a marvelously talented and underrated actor, and any opportunity to boost his Winkler-ness I’m taking. See also: Night Shift (1982) and an under-appreciated masterpiece called The One And Only (1978).  

Besides, Adam Sandler loves the guy. You want to argue with that?

Other than The Disco Ghost of Christmas Past, shifting the Dickens’ classic from Victorian England to Depression-era New England was an inspired idea that adds a nice spin to the story’s familiar template. Though the characters are given Americanized names (Scrooge becomes Slade), they’re all there including a very effective Tiny Tim. Another terrific spin is making the child Scrooge/Slade an orphan after the death of his parents. This added subplot not only helps to explain why Slade whould grow into a lonely old miser but adds something different and effective to his Christmas day reformation. (more…)

According to PolitiFact.com the Obama administration has thus far appointed twenty-eight czars! You may have missed some of these but we now have a Great Lakes Czar, so those lakes stay in line and don’t opt for moving to Canada.  Come to think of it, some of the Great Lakes already belong to Canada. I wonder if Canada has their own Great Lakes Czar? If they do and there is a conflict would it be Czar Wars?

We now have a Sudan Czar. I thought they had their own Czar, but hey, if it helps improve our image in the Arab world I am all for loaning them a Czar or two. We have a Health Czar despite the fact we have a Surgeon General and to be honest I’m not sure who’s in charge of health. You might think a Czar would outrank a general but a number of third-world countries with tons of Generals are run by colonels. (more…)

It only makes sense that if ObamaCare’s passed employers will opt out of providing private insurance and millions upon millions, 85 million by some estimates, will end up herded into the President’s public plan. But that’s okay with millionaire actor Steven Weber because he know what’s best for us he and his loved ones will never ever have to worry about being the victims of the government run health-care system he’s so eager to see the rest of us shoved into against our will. Weber’s motives don’t come off as entirely pure, either. This is an angry guy eager to stick it to the rich (who don’t work in the entertainment industry).   (more…)

Now before you get all upset and point the “canuck-bashing” finger, please note that I am using the term “Dumb, Liberal Canadians” quite literally.  As a matter of fact the same title can apply to dumb, liberal Americans so simmer down and hush your lips. Have you ever noticed how hell-bent Liberals are at making the United States seem inferior to other countries… to any country? Combine that with a jealous “Jan Brady” mentality that is all too commonly bred in the Great White North and my God… You’ve got a Great White Lie on your hands.

For those of you who haven’t seen the recent healthcare video, let me re-cap the one running theme throughout the piece: Canadians are MISERABLE with their healthcare. Very few Americans are aware of this and that’s because of one simple reason.

See Canadians (again we’re talking about the liberal variety here)… Like to lie. Shhh, don’t tell anybody. It’s a secret. (more…)

In May of 2004 the New York Times published an article entitled “Health Care Leads Other Issues in Canadian Vote.” The substance of the article was that in the elections that were upcoming, the future of the Canadian health care system was the predominate issue. On the one side were liberals seeking to reverse the trend of privatizing diagnostic services and increase federal aid to provincial governments. On the other conservatives were trying to increase private sector involvement as a way to lower costs and increase service. In spite of the Canadians patriotic zeal for their system, the article makes it clear that there was a growing recognition among citizens and politicians that the system was in the words of the Times, “ailing.” The waiting times for care were growing longer not shorter, the availability of doctors and nurses was becoming sparse especially in rural areas, opinion polls during the previous decade indicated a rising dissatisfaction with medical services and most significantly the cost of delivering medical care had grown so expensive that many provinces were being forced to “trim their budgets for education and other vital services.” Mind you this information came not from the Heritage Foundation but the New Liberal paper of record: The New York Times. (more…)

If you’re like most asinine leftists, you’ve probably been a long time advocate of “Universal Healthcare” without ever having had the opportunity to experience the crappy, decrepit system first-hand… Well here’s your chance… And you better hold on tight, Buttercup, because it’s going to be a bumpy ride.

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My son was confused. “Why does everyone hate America?” Sadly he wasn’t referring to Iran or even France. He was talking about the other children in his class. Apparently during his 6th grade class discussions a great many of his classmates expressed hatred for their country. Not only did they blame America for everything that was wrong in the world and condemn this nation for its greed and materialism, a great many of them expressed a desire to live someplace else. They believed New Zealand or Canada would allow them the opportunity to grow up without the stain and humiliation of being an American.

Now I was confused. I suspect the sentiments expressed by these children were more reflective of their parents beliefs than they were of any deep thought by the children themselves. Yet I am puzzled by such vitriol coming from children (and parents) advantaged with more liberty and opportunity than any other people in the history of the world.

I am, however, not discouraged. I know that in spite of the inclination of his classmates(and their parents)the majority of Americans love their country and love being Americans. No offense to New Zealand, but I suspect there are only a small number of Americans aspiring to live as ex-pats in Auckland. The truth is that even those that are critical of America love her dearly. (more…)

I went to the post office today.  I know, there was no way to avoid it, I’d rather have a root canal, but I had to mail this very large package.  So I’m standing in this long line…watching as the three pleasant but weary postal workers attended, very slowly, to the customers.  Each new customer was greeted with a forced-pleasant, “Hi, how are you?” and then attended to the customer’s request.  This one had three odd-sized packages.  That one wanted to buy some of those new stamps.  Another wanted to send a registered letter.  The line slowly moved along.

On the up side, it gave me a chance to study all the people in line.  An occupational habit, I study people wherever I go, particularly when I’m a captive to some long, slow-moving queue.  The line moved so slowly, in fact, that I had the opportunity to memorize what all 32 line-standers were wearing, the color of their hair, the shape of their faces, my best guess at their ethnicity, their height….and as I was starting to indulge myself with guessing each person’s weight and how I would do working at a carnival, my thoughts began to wander.  (Did I mention the line in the post office moved very slowly?) (more…)

This week’s Washington Times column:

Mario Lavandeira, the mean-spirited impresario behind the celebrity-obsessed mega-Web site PerezHilton.com, was left scratching his pink-tinged pompadour last week, wondering aloud in a campy cry-baby YouTube classic why, after being physically assaulted in public, he is now universally scorned and widely considered the villain of an incident that left him appropriately “black eyed.”

Aside from the basic rules of karma, here’s why: The calculus of political correctness is like roshambo, the “rock-paper-scissors” game. Different identity groups hold specific levels of power over others when their battles play out in the media. To wit: Black beats white. Gay beats white. Black beats gay.

Don’t ask why. It just is.

For those not paying attention to this tawdry tale, Mr. Lavandeira, aka Perez Hilton and the self-proclaimed “Queen of All Media,” referred to Will.I.Am, the black frontman of the platinum-selling Black Eyed Peas, by an anti-gay slur at an after-party of the MuchMusic Awards in Canada.

This interlude was born of the L.A.-based hip hop trio’s displeasure over critical comments about their recent album on the Perez Hilton Web site. The affair later culminated in the band’s black manager, Polo Molina, reportedly slugging Mr. Lavandeira after an evening of silly ego- skirmishes between the two parties. (more…)

Here’s something you don’t hear from bloggers very often:  “I was wrong!” 

Back in January I wrote about the announced revival of “Ragtime” at the Kennedy Center.  I described the extreme leftist views of E. L. Doctorow upon whose novel the musical is based.  I also described the central character’s story arch which follows his path from hopeful, young and talented African-American to spiteful, vengeful domestic terrorist. 

A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to see the production and I was delighted that although the script remains unchanged form the original, some slight nuances in staging, focus and character inter-action has softened the radical nature of Doctorow’s dogmatic cynicism and has illuminated truly hopeful and inspiring visions of an America to be proud of.  (more…)

Watching this video, I know that many of you will have a few questions; “Canadians dislike Americans?”, “Why do they speak so weirdly?” and of course “… There’s a country to the North of us?” As merely a half-Canuck, I’m afraid that I cannot answer all of these questions. You’ll have to head up to the Great White North and find out for yourself. Folks, Canada is a great place to visit but (despite what Obama will tell other nations), there is no greater land than the U.S of A. and I’m grateful to live here… It’d be better if we could boot Sean Penn, though.

Note: If you do decide to visit, Beware the Canadian brew… Moonshine’s got nothing on that business.