The sweet embrace of schadenfreude

My own personal Greg Lindley-Jones says his new movie is about “the power of dreaming.” If that doesn’t dissuade you from seeing Dustin Lance Black’s directorial debut, perhaps the uniformly bad reviews will.

There are so many moving parts spinning in so many directions that this movie’s purpose is inscrutable and the noise of its grinding parts distracting.

Stephen Holden

New York Times

Shotguns so many elements onto the screen that it’s difficult to know which to follow, cheer for or hate.

Billy Tatum

Paste Magazine

Black’s overactive melodrama is more than a representation of schizophrenia; it’s the embodiment of it.

Eric Hynes

Time Out New York

Give a young auteur some indie pull and look what happens: Strictly recommended to anyone who needs to see a schizophrenic single mother robbing a bank in a gorilla mask and housedress.

David Noh

Film Journal International

 

Will Smith, Scientology brainwasher

Will Smith has gotten plenty of mileage out of being non-threatening, but before you plunk down $10 for the “Men in Black” threequel consider how he spends his money (oh, and his movies mostly suck):

Smith donated $1,235,00  to the school in 2010 from his WSJ Trust, not from his publicly scrutinized foundation. That’s why it never showed up before.

Basically, Smith’s donation almost covered the $1.4 million non specific salaries listed for the school. Under salaries, NVLA lists just two educators, both with Scientology backgrounds. The head of school is named Franca Campopiano, but the school confirmed that she is also known as Piano Foster. She was paid $200.000 in 2010. As Piano Foster, Campopiano has been listed as a past student of Scientology. She’s married to a Darryl Foster, also a past student of Scientology. Foster/Campopiano succeeded the school’s original head, Jacqueline Oliver, who left in a dispute with the Smiths over the Scientology teaching at the school.

The other educator listed is Carol McGuire, listed not as a teacher but “Technology Specialist.”  She was paid $120,000 in 2010. McGuire also goes by Carol Ann McGuire. On the NVLA website she’s listed as a “employee/teacher” but on the form 990 it’s quite specific. And that’s important because Scientology’s basic curriculum is something called Study Tech. On its website, NVLA stresses “technology” as one of the most important parts of its lessons.

Now, a clip from one of Smith’s worst flicks, “Seven Pounds,” in which he commits suicide by getting into a tub along with his pet jellyfish.