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PZ Meyers was kicked out of a screening of Ben Stein’s new “documentary,” Expelled.

I went to attend a screening of the creationist propaganda movie, Expelled, a few minutes ago. Well, I tried … but I was Expelled! It was kind of weird — I was standing in line, hadn’t even gotten to the point where I had to sign in and show ID, and a policeman pulled me out of line and told me I could not go in. I asked why, of course, and he said that a producer of the film had specifically instructed him that I was not to be allowed to attend. The officer also told me that if I tried to go in, I would be arrested. I assured him that I wasn’t going to cause any trouble.

But who DID get in? Richard Dawkins. Read the whole story and the follow up.

Wow, Ben Stein has lost it. He has a new documentary coming out about intelligent design and the way it’s cast aside among real scientists…and how that’s a bad thing. Watch the trailer:

If that’s not enough, there’s a blog, too.

It’s been a banner week here at the BrockLi headquarters. Got in a couple movies screenings, two concerts, and went out with friends almost every night.

On Monday, Schmitty, Fotios, Mace and I saw the screening of Hot Rod. I can’t even describe how hilarious and random it was - I loved it, but you definitely need to go in expecting Super Trooper-style humor.

Tuesday night was a screening of Superbad. Mace and I loved it, Kidder and his friend hated it. Again, you need to appreciate that kind of humor - it’s definitely a Judd Apatow flick. Michael Cera is hilarious and I’ve always loved Seth Rogen

Wednesday night was the Gogol Bordello show at 9:30, which was just as awesome as you would expect it to be. They did all the best songs from the new album and a bunch of my favorites from Gypsy Punks Underdog World Strike. As always, their performance was entirely over the top. I left during a drawn-out marathon version of Baro Faro - I was too beat and dehydrated to handle any more - but apparently they did Mala Vida after that. NPR broadcast the show live, and you can listen to it on their site.

Thursday night, I finally got to use my iSight to chat with Ryan and Sarah for a bit. Fonny and Molly were in Columbia for a wedding this weekend, so we did dinner and drinks Friday night with a bunch of other folks. And last night, my roommate’s friend’s band was playing at the RnR Bar & Lounge. I hate to say it, but they weren’t very good. But, I had a good time hanging out with new people. Today, the Film Club went to see Manufactured Landscapes, which was incredibly disappointing. It was an interesting topic, but terribly presented and pretty boring.

This week should be a little quieter. Thursday night is the Swell Season show, also at 9:30, and that’s about it. Fine by me - I could use a week off.

In (reverse?) chronological order of viewing, for the past month or so.

John Waters: This Filthy World - A I’ve only seen Desperate Living and A Dirty Shame, so I’m not a Waters purist, but I couldn’t believe how entertaining he was in an hour and a half of monologue.

Once - B Equally touching and entertaining, and I loved the music. Still don’t know how I feel about the ending, but I liked it. Might be showing at a local Landmark or other indie theater.

Hang ‘Em High - D Georgetown Film Festival is hosting a series of Clint Eastwood films in a couple parks nearby. Schmitty and I went to see it, and the best part was the entirely random scaffold-dancing before hand - the movie was slow, and it seems I’m not an Eastwood fan.

Diggers - B Less chick-flicky than I expected, and actually pretty entertaining. I might have a little man-crush on Paul Rudd.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest - C Everyone says it just sets up for the third one and re-uses jokes from the first, and they’re right. Kind of funny, though.

Night Watch - D Didn’t like the end, but I’ve never seen subtitles that were well-done in themselves. That may have been the best part, but the middle bit was OK.

Waking Ned Devine - C I really didn’t like this as much as I’d hoped I would - seems like it’s a modern classic - but it WAS entertaining.

School for Scoundrels - C Slightly entertaining, mostly bad.

The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning - D The first Dukes movie was a poor representative of the series, and this movie was an abomination of that. It was a little bit entertaining - a LITTLE bit - but had no bearing whatsoever on the original series.

Jim Gaffigan: Beyond the Pale - B Goddamn that guy is hilarious. I’ve listened to the album like three times through, and there were some extra bits in the DVD.

This evening I went to see Fracture with the Sunday Night Film Club (though it was less “club” and more “me and Brian”). It was alright, but not good enough to warrant a second viewing.

But that’s not the important part. The important part is that one of the previews was for Hairspary, with John Travolta playing the role of the mother.

No, seriously.

I turned to Brian and asked, “What the hell happened to Travolta’s career?”

And I think he summed it up nicely: “Scientology.”

If you liked Shaun of the Dead - and especially if you also liked Bad Boys II - you’re going to love Hot Fuzz. I got to see it last night thanks to a pre-screening and Ryan’s generosity (he won passes and took me along). As the guys on The Totally Rad Show said, EVERYTHING in the movie sets up for the climatic scene, or at least some later joke. I absolutely love the sense of humor these guys have - there were so many subtle jokes throughout the entire flick, and a lot of times I was the only one laughing. It may not be everyone’s taste, but I love it.

I’ll be seeing it again this weekend with the Sunday Night Film Club. We’re going to the 4:45 show at the Georgetown AMC Loews, and you DC folks should join us.

Things I liked about Grandma’s Boy:

• The cute girl from Freaks & Geeks. She’s cute.
• Nick Swardson. He’s a funny guy. His stand-up is hilarious, and I loved him in Blades of Glory.

Things I didn’t like about Grandma’s Boy:

• Everything else.

OK, maybe that’s not fair. A few lines made me laugh pretty hard, but on the whole, it was like a barely-entertaining sitcom that lasted almost two hours. If it were a series, I’d only watch it if it was on and I were too drunk to change the channel. Allen Covert sounds like Jon Stewart (and even looks like a slightly younger version of him), and he may be Adam Sandler’s buddy, but Jesus Christ is he an awful actor. It was sort of like watching a seventh-grade production of Fiddler on the Roof: the script ain’t half bad, but the performance wasn’t “acted” so much as “spoken word for word.” I probably would have liked it more if someone else played Alex (and I was baked out of my mind), but that’s neither here nor there.

I give it a D, because it may have been awful, but it was good for a few laughs.

Also, the scenes with all the tester geeks were hilarious.

Honestly, if you haven’t seen Children of Men, just go buy the DVD. It came out today, and it’s worth it.

I saw it in the theater back in January and never got a chance to see it again while it was still on the big screen, so I had been looking forward to today. I picked up the DVD on my way home from work and watched it tonight, and I assure you, it’s just as good the second time around.

First off, the movie is fantastic. There are a couple shocking scenes early on that keep you on edge for the rest of the film (and rightfully so). It’s the kind of movie where you would never think, “Is this almost over yet?” or, “I need to pee.” Granted, I stopped for a smoke halfway through this viewing, but only because Clive Owen smokes so much (see also: Is It Safe Yet, particularly the bit about Way of the Gun).

The story telling is great, but I left the theater raving about the cinematography. Honestly, I can’t think of a movie that was more impressive in this regard. There are at least three long scenes without a cut, and when I say “long scenes,” I mean a good five minutes each. As anyone who has seen it can tell you, the movie is almost a series of climaxes, but the climax scene - I don’t want to spoil it, but you know the one I mean - is a nine-minute uncut shot. And we’re not talking about an endless monologue; it’s the most intense nine minutes of the film (which is pretty intense as it is).

After seeing it the first time, I read an article saying that the shot was actually five takes spliced together digitally, but now I can’t find it. The IMDB FAQ for the movie links to an article on Access Atlanta (why Access Atlanta?) that says it was all done in one take, and some blood splatters on the lens were digitally removed after the fact (I didn’t notice the blood in the theater, but I was watching carefully for cuts this time through). I was a little less impressed when I heard it was a spliced-together shot, so it’s heartening to learn that the scene really was a single take. For those of you who have seen it - and I wouldn’t recommend this for those of you who haven’t, because you should watch the whole film - the first six minutes are up on YouTube, at least for now.

Also, I added the DVD to Delicious Library, and it gave me some ridiculous “similar to” titles. I’m sure they’re all wonderful, too, but you should start with Children of Men.

Friends, I must confess a grave offense.

Earlier this evening, I supported the box office take on Ghost Rider. It was an irresponsible and regretful act, but I was caught in the heat of the moment. I hope you can forgive me.

I started the evening with the best of intentions; the Sunday Night Film Club was scheduled to see Breach, but it was sold out when we got there. We were left with slim pickins, but we agreed that Ghost Rider would, at the least, make us laugh.

And make us laugh it did. Seriously, I could barely contain myself during some of Nicolas Cage’s serious lines. I mean, I KNEW it would be bad, but this movie reached previously unknown levels of wretch. It’s hard enough to watch Nicolas Cage in a GOOD movie, but this? This was just kind of sad. And Peter Fonda? The goddamn Easy Rider playing Mephistopheles in some low-rent Cage movie? What has become of us, America?

At the moment, Ghost Rider is #1on IMDB’s Tops at the Box Office list. I’ve done a very, very bad thing.