All Up On Pixar's Incorporated Nuts...

Time Magazine recently released it's Top 10 Greatest Movies of the Millennium (Thus Far) and I casually went through the slide show with no problem until I got to numero uno (umm, mild spoiler alert if you truly want to be surprised by the slide show)...

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You good now? Cool. Ahem...

It was Wall*E. Bet that picture  above probably spoiled it already, huh? Alas.

I'm not one of those cinematic purists that have a fundamental problem with animated movies being lauded and winning awards. Pixar has been truly revolutionary and constantly puts out great pictures. It's borderline mystifying I sold my soul to the devil type shit. I'd be lying if I said that I didn't tear up one or five times while watching Up. I did not, however, care for Wall*E. It didn't help that the first time I watched it was after coming home from an event called "Hoboken St. Patties Day," held a week or two before actual St. Patrick's Day, that people of a certain, age, location and social proclivities are known to hang out at. When I got back that evening I had Wall*E waiting for me. At that point, I could not have been less equipped to watch that particular movie and found it unbelievably boring.

As people kept raving, however, I felt like I had no choice but to give it another, more clear minded, chance.  It went a bit better, but not THAT much better. I thought it was an interesting bit of social commentary on where our society is going, i.e., fat, stupid, and pollute-y, but, unlike others, I found the "emotional core" of the movie in the relation between Wall*E and EVE, unlike almost every relationship in Up, to be weird and creepy and discombobulating. I just really didn't get why this was supposed to be so sweet.

Anyway, I never got on board the Wall*E train and I find it insane that Time ranked it the #1 movie of the millennium thus far. But, then again, maybe I don't have a heart.


Image from: WALT DISNEY / EVERETT

Nein, nein, NEIN!

With a nod to Stephen Colbert, I have to object to the new GOP candidate fad of introducing a flat tax. Clearly this stems from the Hermanator's recent surge in the polls due, at least partially, to his 9-9-9 flat tax plan. Though these candidates try to paint these plans as a "fair" tax because everyone would be paying the same rate and loop holes would be removed, the truth of the matter is that just about any flat tax would lead to a massively regressive tax system that would negatively impact the lower and middle classes. On the flip side, as you go up the tax bracket, the benefits of the system get greater and greater. The United States could clearly benefit from a simplified system of taxation but, especially with a mind towards our current economic situation, there should still be an eye towards fairness. A system of taxation that leads to a precipitous drop in revenue while disproportionately effecting the middle and lower classes would seemingly have a devastating effect on an already strained economy. If House Republicans are so worried about class warfare, maybe they should consider buying dinner for the least fortunate in this country  before trying to screw them...

EDITORS NOTE (spoiler... Editor is just me): Rick Perry unveiled his "flat tax plan" which is a completely optional plan that has the added bonus of not simplifying the tax code at all since no one has to choose the flat tax. Basically, the lower classes can continue paying their current taxes, the upper classes get a tax cut by choosing a flat tax, and spending somehow goes down by 10%. Yaaaa, sounds like its going to work like gangbusters to me! Kudos Governor Perry.

UPDATE 2: Perry's all about the 1%, yo.