Lots of interesting stuff to talk about today; The Dark Knight, my little sister’s upcoming wedding, a new addition to the Where the Long Tail Ends family and maybe even a review of Petey Wheatstraw: The Devil’s Son-In-Law. Now normally I would have a totally self indulgent opening to bump up the word count before I go into my review, but today I feel like changing things up a bit in honor of the unconventional Petey Wheatstraw. For a brief moment in time I even considered rhyming the review, but I’m quite certain that would have driven me, and possibly you, insane.

But like I said earlier, I have other matters to discuss before I tackle Petey Wheatstraw. First up is the incredibly thick cloud of hyperbole surrounding The Dark Knight. Now I liked the film, quite a bit actually, but for people to make this out like the second coming of The Godfather is more then enough to choke a donkey. Yes Heath Ledger is outstanding in possibly one of the first great performances of the year, but could we hold up on the Oscar talk until, I don’t know, the year is over with? (more…)

I was seriously considering writing a little poem to announce next week’s review, but since I can’t find a trailer for the film at all I figured I would just leave the rhyming up to the star, Rudy Ray Moore. Now I know what you must be thinking, and no, the film will not be Dolemite or any of its sequels, but rather a slightly less well known blaxploitation film. This one involves a kung-fu wielding stand-up comedian who just so happens to be engaged to Satan’s daughter.

That’s right, next week’s film is Petey Wheatstraw.