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— Rachel Carter

Listen here.

Here's where we are in 'Sup land:
— Two two-star reviews: "The Strangers" and "Priceless."
— And a Pop Life piece where I remind people that this week's overhyped summer flick did, in fact, come from a book.

I didn't have a critic's pix column this week, but there is one thing happening that's worth mentioning:
Flicker will be having its fifth-annual "Attack of the 50" Reels" shooting day tomorrow. If you feel like spending a whole Saturday making a short, Super-8 film (which will be shown at a Flicker screening next month), head over to Durham so you can get a roll a film and go nuts. It starts at 11, and the fee for filming is $15. For more info, go to the Flicker web site.

Washington Post film critic Desson Thomson recently announced that he and fellow critic Stephen Hunter (whose departure may make a few people jump for joy) have taken buyouts and are stepping down as the paper's film guys.

Well, I guess it's time for me to punch up my resume — you know, just in case.

After the jump . . .

=> Read more!

D.C. rapper (and new La Lohan pal) Wale will finally drop his "Seinfeld"-inspired "Mixtape About Nothing," which some of you know I've been anticipating, tomorrow. It'll be available for download over on his Elitaste blog.

That's what Jeff calls it.

If I can find my way to Greensboro this evening, you'll be able to hear me on WUAG's "The Movie Show" once again with Joe Scott and Mike Compton. I'll be spinning old soundtracks and talking movie news. You can listen live on the station's Web site at 7, or wait until Joe posts the broadcast on his site.

Yeah, he's gone too.

In case you haven't heard, Sydney Pollack died over the weekend. As I've said before on this blog, I'm not good with making profound tribute posts. So, I'll just let these YouTube clips show you know that we'll be missing now that the versatile, veteran director (and rather engaging character actor) is gone.

Here's my favorite opening-credits sequence from a Sydney Pollack movie, the seductive espionage thriller "Three Days of the Condor." (A shout should also go to Dave Grusin for the gorgeous score.) Coincidentally, the film comes on tonight on TCM.

Here he is, stepping in front of the camera to go back-and-forth with Dustin Hoffman in his peerless "Tootsie."

And finally, here he is in "Michael Clayton." Although it's in this recent, rom-com flop where he gave his last performance, I like to think this was his last performance in a great movie.

It was fun having you here, Sydney.

Man, what's up with the zombie movies around here? First, it was this flick. Now, it's this certain-to-creep-out offering from Brockton McKinney and Jordy Dickens, a couple of cats from the Chapel Hill/Carrboro area. No doubt they'll be in attendance to show this movie off. For more info, you can go to the movie's Web site or the trusty Carolina Theatre site.

It looks like everybody and their momma has got something to say about "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done, On Earth As It Is" — whatever you call it. I've already posted my review, so here are a few more perspectives on this Memorial Day movie monster, from some of my boys and colleagues.

Ridley Dug It: "It may suffer from a script that’s both overstuffed and underdeveloped, but at its best—in happily preposterous action scenes staged with speed-demon verve, punctuated by slapstick punchlines—the jolly Indiana Jones offers the pleasure of a master horsing around with a long-stored train set, tickled to see he can still make the thing run."

Burns Thought It Was OK: ". . . 'Crystal Skull' turns out to be a serviceable little nostalgia piece. I’m not sure there’s any compelling reason for it to exist, but nowadays the summer movie landscape has grown so cluttered with gargantuan, visually incoherent behemoths, Indy’s relative modesty is disarming. It’s a fun night out at the movies, no more than that—but certainly no less.'

Neil's Lukewarm About It: "'Crystal Skull' is not a bad movie; in fact, it is a rather enjoyable one when judged in a vacuum . . . Hamstrung by Lucas’ meddling – from an over-reliance on CGI-saturation (last seen eroding the Star Wars prequels) to such hokey gimcracks as multiple animal reaction shots – and another dog-eared Spielberg foray into father-son relationships and extraterrestrials, the whole spectacle emits an air of homage to the Indiana Jones series and beyond."

Bergeron Wasn't Impressed: "You won't be disappointed seeing 'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull' but it certainly isn't the home run over the fence movie that everyone has been waiting for in 2008 . . . Frankly, I want Speilberg to get back to 'Munich' and 'A.I.: Artificial Intelligence' territory."

Joe (Leydon) Liked It, Naturally: "The immensely entertaining 'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull' gives you the same sort of pleasurable rush – a potent mix of nostalgia-fueled glee and in-the-moment excitement -- that you can get from a really great concert by a favorite band that first started charting in the 1980s."

Joe (Scott) — Not So Much: "The Spielberg and Lucas who worked on this film aren't the ones who crafted 'Raiders of the Lost Ark.' Instead, we got the guys who made 'Hook' and 'The Phantom Menace.' The Indiana Jones series that Spielberg/Lucas created had a slow-cooked matinee quality to it, but 'Kingdom of the Crystal Skull' feels comparatively rushed and poorly planned. It's as if neither of them tried."

I also wanted to throw in a couple of quick, positive Twitter blasts courtesy of Matt and Dignan. And I couldn't leave without linking to Wacky Army's obviously positive take, considering the man is basically a Spielberg stalker.

In yesterday's Sup, all I had was:
- A review of "Son of Rambow."
— And a list of war-themed flicks to rent for everybody who'd rather stay in than pay four dollars for gas this Memorial Day Weekend.

But, of course, I also reviewed you-know-what on Thursday, which prompted this strange response from a reader:

"People like you are the reason the communists, Nazis, etc. were able to kill all their victims: Too many people didn't give a damn and called people who did 'paranoid.'
By the way, I doubt you are smart enough to name one bomb dropped anywhere in the world in the 1950s."
—Mike

He's right; I'm not smart enough to name one bomb. But luckily, I can go on the Interweb and post a rundown of bombs dropped at U.S nuclear test sites in the '50s. This proves that when some person challenges another, they should really do it face-to-face — and far away from computers.

Anyway, Happy Memorial Day!

Amber and Suzanne, it's been nice working with ya.

To get you prepared for the soul legend's newest album, which is everything they say it is and then some, I thought I'd post this seven-minute live performance (from "Soul Train") of a broken-armed Reverend Al singing "Jesus Is Waiting." This is a performance in every sense of the word. The man delivers the song with all the redemption-seeking desperation of a lost soul testifying in church for all his sins. (The fact that Green might have been high as a mink coat during this, which would definitely explain his woozy behavior, makes the performance all the more powerful and emotional.)

But this is still a priceless piece of live R & B. Enjoy.