Is the spectacular, recent rise of Atheism due to the imminence of The End Times, President Obama’s dismissal of faith-based reasoning, or just a hipster phase as insubstantial as the popularity of The L Word? While few will bad-mouth lesbians anymore, it has become increasingly fashionable to denounce religion and the ultimate figurehead. Seems every day another prominent celebrity steps up to the bull-E!-pulpit to declare: God is dead. (Friedrich Nietzsche forecast the Lord’s fate over one hundred years ago, though the philosopher’s reports of His death are greatly exaggerated.) And then, there are those who go further, not only trumpeting God’s demise but taking credit for His dispatch. Suddenly, best-seller lists and new-release shelves are awash with possible suspects from Charles Darwin to Christopher Hitchens and the solution appears akin to the climax of Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express: everyonedunit!

Recently, I was invited to appear on KUOW Presents on 94.9FM to showcase three films in which God is murdered or, at the very least, severely annoyed. (It’s just a flesh wound?) You can listen to my conversation with Jeannie Yandel for my take on CREATION, RELIGULOUS and THE INVENTION OF LYING. The first film is a noble failure in theaters now, the second is Bill Maher’s “agnostic” ad hoc-umentary and the last is a brilliant satire co-written and co-directed by Ricky Gervais and Matthew Robinson.  

You needn’t pan for silver to enjoy the luck of the Irish; you may strike gold simply by taking in Irish cinema. The Emerald Isle has given rise to some of the better filmmakers of our day: Jim Sheridan, Neil Jordan and Pat O’Connor. Thank your lucky stars Seattle is home (yet again) to the Irish Reels Film Festival, showcasing the most compelling contemporary works from the land of leprechauns and Bono. You, too, can enjoy this year’s festivities. Read on for details from my good friend, Fidelma McGinn…

Irish Reels Film Festival 2010 ~ March 12-14^th ~ Seattle

Screening venues: Henry Art Gallery, Seattle Art Museum & Seattle Center House

Co-Presented with the Irish Heritage Club

The Irish Reels Film Festival, a forum for award-winning features, shorts, and documentaries by independent Irish filmmakers, is proud to present three days of film screenings in Seattle, March 12- 14, 2010.

Now in its 12th year, the festival kicks off on Friday night, March 12th, at 7:00 p.m. at the Henry Art Gallery with a special screening of Saving Our Heritage: The Irish Georgian Society, a film which presents the work of The Irish Georgian Society in preserving Ireland’s rich architectural heritage. The program includes a lecture & slideshow by the Hon. Desmond Guinness, acclaimed author and authority on Georgian art and architecture, and President of the Irish Georgian Society.

Mr. Guinness is the great, great, great, great grandson of Arthur Guinness who founded Guinness Brewery over 250 years ago. He will be honored as the Grand Marshal of Seattle’s 2010 St. Patrick’s Day Parade, presented by the Irish Heritage Club. www.irishweek.org

The film festival moves location to the Seattle Art Museum on Saturday & Sunday evenings.  

Admittedly, some of my favorite films are more downbeat than rounds in the terminal ward. However, I often find the greatest hope within these dark journeys. Steve McQueen’s HUNGER completed the Aughts as one of the decade’s best (and has since been celebrated by Criterion with a deluxe edition). L.I.E., released in 2001, serves as its complementary bookend. Co-written and directed by the under-achieving Michael Cuesta, L.I.E. is a dramatically ambiguous profile of the burgeoning relationship between a parentally-neglected, sexually-curious young boy who inadvertently befriends an admired community leader… who’s also a pederast. The material is challenging and the execution expert — amazing given it marked Cuesta’s feature debut — but it is the performances by Paul Dano and Brian Cox that cement the suburban saga as a universal, if flawed, landmark. I urge you to rent or revisit L.I.E. then watch the trailer for THE GOOD HEART below. The movie reunites actors Dano and Cox in an on-screen relationship that appears less erotically-charged yet equally compelling. THE GOOD HEART premieres on VOD, Amazon VOD, Xbox Live and Playstation on April 2nd. And, for those who prefer the four-walled anonymity of the local multiplex, THE GOOD HEART opens in theaters on April 30th.

If anything compares to falling in love, it’s the mind-easing, nerve-calming workplace joy of discovering highly-skilled, eminently likable collaborators who can transform overwhelming projects into breezy adventures. Over the past few months, I have had the great pleasure of working with Beth Lyons and Matt Francis of FiveLabs who are directly responsible for the overhaul of The Warren Report website. I am certain you agree this edition of the site is, easily, the best yet. For regular readers of The Warren Report, the benefits of the transition are obvious. In addition to a cleaner, crisper look, functionality has improved a thousand-fold. Categorization is more sensible and searching far simpler. Pages load faster and videos play seamlessly. It is tempting to refer to the upgrade in pat Madison Avenue lingo “new and improved!” yet the truth is, in essence, they started from scratch. The former site was built (by other “designer-developers”) on a shakier foundation than Tracy Pollan’s pancake make-up applied by Michael J. Fox on a trampoline. Consequently, Matt and Beth (with a tremendous assist from the artful Adam Hindman!) threw out their predecessors’ cracked code and awkward aesthetic conceits and re-imagined The Warren Report with an elegance and purposefulness that radically streamlined back-end efficiency and dramatically enhanced user interface. There is no way I can thank Beth and Matt enough, nor sing their praises loudly enough  — though, trust me, you don’t want to hear me croon. So, I’ll let the FiveLabs team toot their own horns; I promise, it’s a beautiful tune. Perhaps, someday soon, you or your company will wish to harmonize…  

Ignore Malcolm Gladwell. Sometimes we Blink and we miss the obvious. I met Travis Senger at a soporific “Career Day” event at the UW a few years back. (I was the panelist chosen to represent local industry cynicism.) He struck me as a good guy, a driven individual, and yet, my first impression neglected the fact that has become readily apparent, Travis Senger is a very promising filmmaker. Check out his music video for The Blakes‘ “Don’t Bother Me” or his sci-fi mash note, CC 2010. These are imperfect pieces yet are still indicative of a bright future. Travis’ latest work, WHITE LINES AND THE FEVER, will premiere at this year’s SXSW and, based on this clip, marks true arrival as a significant, maturing talent. I am excited to see his short doc that chronicles the downbeat life of peer-beloved 80s turn-tablist DJ Junebug. WHITE LINES AND THE FEVER features interviews with Kurtis Blow, DJ Hollywood and other hip-hop heros. By your ticket to ride here.