Everybody's Linking for the Weekend

It may be Saturday night y'all, and quite frankly I've been on vacation for three days from work now (and am starting to get the end-of-vacation-blues), but that doesn't mean we can't get a link roundup out the door!  Let's take a look at some of the biggest stories from the past week (that we haven't already discussed):

On Entertainment...

Julianne Moore

-Listen, I've been trying to avoid the Batman vs. Superman trailer as much as anyone has, but I finally relented today in hopes of getting this post published, and I have to say, "...why?"  This movie looks terrible, right?  Like honest-to-goodness terrible.  I love several of the people involved (gotta love the Holly Hunter and Jeremy Irons voiceovers), and I actually enjoyed Man of Steel far more than I thought (I always thought of Superman as a bit of a disappointment as a superhero but thought this was a very handsome film even if I would have changed one major part), but Ben Affleck genuinely seems wrong for this part in the worst way.  Ben Affleck is not a bad actor (though, admittedly, he's not a really good one either), but he specializes in everyday men, like that found in Gone Girl, not in playing something truly serious.  Combine him with Henry Cavill who is exceedingly bland, and the fact that you have the Christopher Nolan films towering over these movies (they may not all be masterpieces, but they're still fascinating and iconic) and I feel like this is the tipping point for comic book films (also, can we please just leave Spider-Man on the side of the road for a bit?).  Even if this film is setting up the inevitable Justice League movie, I just, I can't.  I'll see it if it's nominated, but otherwise I'll probably just Netflix it for the curiosity.  I'm kind of over superheroes at this point.

-Recent Oscar-winner Julianne Moore took sides in the VOD vs. Theater debate, siding with the theater owners at CinemaCon, saying that "we work very hards as creators to create a theatrical experience."  I definitely side with Moore in theory here-a movie is always better in theaters-full stop, end of sentence, no qualms.  That being said, theaters have continually found new ways to diminish part of the experience, particularly by limiting the assortment of films that are available and by not investing more in lighting (I recently was in a theater and throughout the trailers the screen was barely visible due to garish overhead lighting and even during the movie it seemed a bit bright, stealing away from the actual screen) and trying to only show a select number of pictures.  This past spring has been a death of watchable movies (so few films were remotely any good, and even the ones that were were too hard to find or played in theaters too long), and the movies have to stop treating the Spring season like summer vacation, because that's not how viewing works anymore.  Television doesn't take a hiatus in the summer-the best channels just put out riskier, interesting fare instead (The Leftovers, Halt and Catch Fire).

-Alex Garland sat down with Wired to talk about idea movies in the wake of his critically-adored Ex Machina (I'll be weighing in on Monday with my thoughts on this film).  I do agree with him completely in terms of Sci-Fi giving us leverage for ideas, and I'm so excited about the prospect of a major filmmaker espousing idea films (it seems like only Christopher Nolan has that thought lately), and I love the way that he name-checks films like The Thin Red Line and A Clockwork Orange (rather than your traditional lineup of movies that get highlighted in these sorts of pieces).  As I mentioned above, theater owners and Hollywood need to start taking more chances and do less retreads if they don't want to bore the audience to death, so I am thankful for Garland on that front.

On Politics...

Lt. Governor Kathleen Kennedy Townsend (D-MD)

-In Maryland, a new name popped up this week in the race to replace Sen. Barbara Mikulski: former Lt. Governor Kathleen Kennedy Townsend.  For those who are wondering, yes, she is of those Kennedy's (she is Bobby's eldest daughter).  It'll be interesting to see if Kennedy Townsend enters the race for a variety of reasons, but two principally: one, with Rep. Donna Edwards severely under-performing in fundraising there may be an opening for a strong female candidate to take over the longest-serving female member of Congress (and in a bench that is decidedly male, KKT may have an opening), and two, Kennedy Townsend famously botched her 2002 gubernatorial race (one of the worst run races I've seen in recent memory), losing the contest to Bob Ehrlich (who was the first Republican at the time to win the Maryland governor's race since Spiro Agnew in 1966, though since then Anthony Brown has lost the race to Larry Hogan, another Republican).

-While Bruce Jenner's interview with Diane Sawyer has been one of the biggest entertainment stories of the week, you may have missed that he also had a bit of politics going on in the interview, where Jenner stated that he was a Republican as well.  Considering the place GLBT (but particularly transgender) individuals are treated by many members of the GOP right, this may come as a shock, but I do feel that while I might swing Democratic, you're not going to affect change unless you can shift the thought process of both parties, so I hope Jenner does in fact use his celebrity to push for change in the GOP.

-Jeb Bush continues to run an adult campaign for president (as opposed to, say, Mike Huckabee) with admitting what everyone sort of assumes about him: that he might be the next Mitt Romney, and assured supporters that he won't be.  This is an interesting attack, as it's one that can be levied, quite frankly, at both Jeb and Hillary-they both are parts of longtime political dynasties, both are accused of being out-of-touch, and both come from families that have a famously fractured attitude toward the media.  I quite frankly think both candidates would benefit from putting themselves in some tougher interviews to show a "new side" to their candidacy, though I have to admit that on this front, Bush is trumping Clinton.

Shameless Self-Promotion of the Week...

The truth about the doctor's office.

YouTube Video of the Week...

-A pretty quiet week on YouTube this week, quite frankly, but I do love it whenever Charlie McDonnell, the quintessential adorkable nerd with a heart of gold and the ability to be smart AND not seem like its pandering or condescending (which seems, quite frankly, where Jacksgap has been for months now), puts out a video, and he even has a lovely cause this week (if you don't like any aspect of the process of giving blood, watch this one with only one eye open, though still consider donating):

Just One More...

-If you read no other links from this video, this is the one I implore you to read.  Frightening, yes, but reality usually is, and a look at climate change and the famed "2-degree" question is worth the time investment.  History is littered with people who don't believe facts because they are too scary, but the fact that the media still treats climate change as a debate instead of a problem is the single biggest frustration I have with politics, media, or really any aspect of public policy.