As disappointed we can be in Jimmy Carter for his lack of ability to lead during his presidency, we can't deny him his ideas for being accurate and forward thinking.
He opened the door to the charismatic leadership of Ronald Reagan who had little depth but a lot of smarts and a killer smiler to help get the things done he
and his circle believed in.
This film which you all can and should see on HBO probably takes on too big a subject for an under 2 hour doc. There is much about the pre-president RonaldReagan in the film but it really gets tasty in the White House. There are some very candid interviews in the film which add to the levity that a figure like Reagan would deserve. While the film does touch upon his huge deregulation policies that were the streams turned into rivers for our current economic hardships...the directors makes point that the Reaganites looooved them some Clinton who did nothing to correct that system but only add to them. The director self-admittedly entered into the project ready to take Reagan down piece by piece but instead found a double personality that could not be ignored. He exposed greatly the "Reagan brand" that today is so abused by the Republican contenders. Even Reagan's insiders detest this revisionist history that the Palin's of the world distort to make their own. There is no doubt that there has been a movement to make Reagan the icon in the here-after. There are little to movies like this out there, so time will tell which actually
stick.

Directed by the of so smart, Eugene Jarecki, I look forward to his next.

A very well deserved sale to Paramount for $4 Million plus, this movie was a totally delight. Shot for several hundred thousand dollars in just over 30 days (and 2 countries), LIKE CRAZY proved to be the spirit of Sundance all around. The sale created a lot of buzz and kick-off for films selling.

Amazingly poignant for the advertising industry...even hero'ing Kirshenbaum himself forgetting the first film "sponsor", this movie is thought provoking about the omnipresent
marketing we are exposed to always and how art, in this case actually benefits from it.
Morgan Spurloch supersizes himself once again in a flick that not only revered the film-makers
but the film sponsors.The film even featured 3 customized commercial spots which were applauded.
Now named POM presents, The Best Movie Ever Sold.

Elizabeth Olsen, steps out of the shadow of her twin sisters and shines in the deeply moving and disturbing Sundance premiere of Martha Marcy May Marlene.

Sent from my iPhone

There is always something magical when the lights go down for your first screening
at the Sundance Film Festival. Tonite's was extra special being in famed Egyptian Theater.
There is a good story in this film. The opening 10 minutes really sucked me in as would beexpected from Oscar winning director of Man on Wire.
Edited by our industry's own Jinx Godfrey.
We are exposed to the famed 70s experiment of teaching a chimpanzee sign language. What we find is that
while teaching animals to be more human, we actually become more animal ourselves.
A worthy flick to catch on HBO (who purchased the film).

Sent from my iPhone

Sent from my iPhone

In full disclosure, I'm what some might call a Mac enthusiast if not full on fanatic. I have nearly 100 apps on my iphone and my MacBook Pro is always up to date with extra memory. I subscribe to 3 different Mac magazines and I'm always the one
people come to for tricks and tutorials. I'm also a heavy investor in Apple stock and have been since the mid-double digit days. This last point is justification in my Apple spending because I somehow think I'm just helping my retirement fund with each one-click purchase. (now if i could only feel that way about my Gilt.com habit. but that's another story.)
So, when I was in Austin, TX, at the SXSW Interactive conference this year and I received the email from Apple announcing the pre-orders for the iPad, i didn't hesitate to at least price it out. I thought by the time I got to the FINISH ORDER button, I would think about it and then hold off until I heard some actual feedback on the device. This didn't happen. My finger and touch pad worked its way to the proper button and I was the proud pre-owner of the new 3G iPad. This is where a little bit of panic began. The 3G version wasn't coming out until a few weeks AFTER the WiFi only version, so clearly I made a mistake. SURELY, I would want mine on day number 1. Well the order was in so I had to live by my seemingly patient decision.

Day #1 arrived an thankfully no one too close to me had ordered one. Yes, there was the occasional person in a group or office who had purchased one. Their eyes were always a little wider then everyone else's and they seemed to have a wider grin as well. Some even reached the pad out to me to touch and hold the way a new mother passes her child reluctantly but with the joy of sharing the love. My reaction surprised me. I didn't take it. Much like a person AFRAID to hold babies, I declined the offer and i only looked upon the device with admiration. To hold it and to engage in it would have been too much for me. The owner would not have gotten it back and this i knew. So I waited.

April 29th arrived and i received another promising email from Apple. This one had my Fed Ex tracking number for my very own device which was expected the next day. It would need my signature. Immediately all in-person meetings were cancelled for Friday, and my office was notified I would be taking all calls at home. The day dragged. I looked out the window well over 90 times and I even went to the bathroom with the door open in case Mr. Fed Ex knocked instead of rang. This ended up not being a problem because I somehow detected the sound of the Fed Ex truck on my block when he was about 5 houses away. I ran to the door and waited. The expected sound of the breaks and those clunky noises they make when shuffling thru packages in the back of the truck and then the sound of black ankle high boots walking up my driveway. I didn't want to scare him by jumping up and down at the door, so i walked a bit back from the door. That was my plan but then I make the jump, swung the door open and there I was, looking like my own colorful dancing ipod ad,  hands outreached ready to sign and waiting to hold my very own baby. Mr. Fed Ex slowly pushed his Revos down his nose, and I was ok with him judging me, but instead he said, "I'd say you were the first person to react that way today but I've seen much more...these things must be magic."

And magic it is...

Full review to follow in Part 2 of "Charlie Gets An IPad"