Things Behind the Sun (2001) is an Independent film from writer/director Allison Anders, in large part based on her own rape at a very young age. As the film opens, Kim Dickens, drunk, passes out on the lawn of a house. We have no idea why. We soon learn that she doesn't either, but this is the third year in a row that she has done this. Normally, she is kept busy being a drunk, lead singer of a band whose music, in large part, talks about her gang rape as a young girl, and being a pain to her manager and wannabe savior and lover, Don Cheadle.

Meanwhile, an LA music reporter helps his girlfriend champion a project to interview Dickens. The editor wants no part of the travel budget until the writer, Gabriel Mann, mentions that he knows who the rapist is. He is assigned the story, much to the chagrin of his girlfriend who unearthed it, Alison Folland.

So Mann is off to Florida. Along the way, he visits Eric Stolz, who plays his brother, in prison. Through a series of flashbacks, we eventually learn all about the gang rape, actually one of many committed in the house, all spearheaded by the Stolz character. As if gang rape wasn't enough for a 12 year old to endure, she ended up with VD, leaving her sterile. Also, she can only be intimate with men she doesn't know, and then wants to be restrained and have sex with more than one at a time.

This is not a typical rape story where the victim is a sweet, sympathetic character and all of the rapists pure evil (although the Stolz character is pretty much all bad). Rather, we see that the experience turned the victim into a dysfunctional adult, and that she was not the only one permanently affected. The film takes place long after the rape, and shows the long lasting effects of this crime. It is hard to imagine that anyone could watch this film without being moved by it. So much of it has the ring of truth.

Dickens shows breasts in a sex scene, and again in a shower scene. Folland also shows breasts. IMDb readers have this at 7.5. It premiered at Sundance. As it is distributed by Showtime, and garnered an Emmy nomination, I am guessing it went to TV from there. It was shot on a very aggressive schedule on digital, but is technically sound. Since both leads are part of the music business, the songs and sound track were very important, and Anders got clearance on an amazing number of songs for the soundtrack. All of the performances were spot on. The flashbacks where specially adjusted to have a very different look than the current time stuff. They were shot highly saturated, desaturated, then pumped with yellow and red , for a very distinctive feel that was nonetheless very clear. This is not a feel good film, although each of the characters finds all the redemption they deserve, but it is certainly an effective one, and will give most many things to think about. C+

Other Crap:

• 'Riddler' Frank Gorshin dies at 72
• It's obscure fetish time: Pipi - dedicated to women peeing outdoors.
• Class Dissection Of Live Dog Outrages Parents, Students
• Combination sexual cushion and doll.
• 31 Really Bad Masturbation Techniques
• Streaking Skaters In Trouble For Stunt. "Two Waterville, Maine, teenagers are in hot water after one was arrested on suspicion of skateboarding nude through the center of town as his friend videotaped the stunt."
• Free Computer Tutorials and Lessons
• Playstation 3 - Madden 2006 ad
• Sin City 2 is greenlighted
• "Evolution cannot explain female orgasm" Yawn. Call me when you find an article that CAN explain female orgasms.
• iowahawk: Newsweek Lutefisk Story Sparks Fury Across Volatile Midwest
• Happy 75th anniversary to an American institution - and it's not the Cher farewell tour.
• Part Three of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, as reviewed by The Filthy Critic's nephew.
• Obvious finding of the day: Colgate has found it can't sell enough toothpaste to support a factory in the UK.
• University Of Iowa Offers Porn Class. Maybe it's time for me to return to academia. You have to love the unintentional porno joke in the story: " ... all 20 student slots have been filled"
• The trailer for The Da Vinci Code. No, you're not going nuts. They haven't shot a frame of footage yet, but they have a trailer. (Hint, choose large rather than full screen, assuming you want to avoid the iTunes download.)
• Kudzu Covered Houses
• Investigator Confirms Discovery of Nessie's Tooth
  • It was found in the ribcage of a half-eaten deer carcass near Loch Ness.
  • Unfortunately, the tooth is now missing, so it will be impossible to prove whether it is actually part of the deer's antlers.
  • "We could be on the cusp of a great discovery and the fact that local authorities in the Scottish Highlands are refusing to cooperate with this investigation is reprehensible"
• Two trailers and a featurette from Wallace & Gromit - The Curse of the Were-Rabbit  
• Weekly World News: Inventor creates fart-muffling cushion
• Astronomy pic o' the Day, May 18 - Three Kilometers Above Titan
• The Weekend Warrior predicts the upcoming weekend's box office.
  • Even I might be able to predict the winner this week, given the facts that (1) it's the only wide release (2) it winds up the Star Wars saga.
  • The only matter to resolve is "How high can it go?". The Warrior says $93 million.
  • If he is correct, Sith would be in the top five of all time, but still far short of the record - $114 million and change - held by the first Spider Man movie, which also opened in May.
  • We are only four years into the new millennium, but the pre-2000 record of $72 million seems like a quaint and dimly-remembered relic from a lost chapter in history. It's sorta like trying to remember the double feature, or a good movie starring Ben Affleck. That old record has already been bested twelve times in the new century.
  • Amazingly, Sith's screen count of 3661 is far short of Shrek 2's record (4163). Sith's number isn't even the highest of the year, which would be 3776 for Robots.
• This week's movies: Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist. Huh? A prequel to the Exorcist starring Stellan Skarsgård as Father Merrin? Didn't we already see that? Sorta, but no. I don't know if the movie is any good, but the story behind it is great.
  • The Village Voice described it as follows: "In 100 years of movie business goldbricking, impulse production, and high-flying market pursuit, we've never seen anything quite like this: a movie—a prequel and the fourth entry in a decades-old horror franchise—made twice, the two variations on a theme released nine months apart, constructed by two different directors from two disparate screenplays and with minor cast overlap. In a nutshell, astringent moralist Paul Schrader shot, cut, and delivered his Exorcist film—detailing the African backstory of Father Merrin in the years after WW II—to Morgan Creek prez James Robinson, who was reportedly put off by the shortfall in monster F/X and by the surplus of ethical debate. He canned it, fired Schrader, hired Renny Harlin to reshoot, and voilà."
  • Everyone said Shrader's version would end up as an extra feature on the DVD. That was not the case. Instead, hardcore fans are now getting a chance to see it in theaters.
• This week's movies: Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith - 84% positive reviews. When will they stop releasing these obscure films that nobody ever heard of?
• "Quotables" from Late Night with Conan O'Brien
  • Example: "Starbucks announced today that it will not sell Bruce Springsteen's new album, 'Devils and Dust,' because one of the songs is too graphic. Starbucks said, 'We don't want people listening to a song about getting screwed while they're paying nine dollars for a cup of coffee.'"
• Conan introduces some new spring characters.
• Conan O'Brien goes birdwatching in Central Park
• Conan introduces the hot new action figures of Star Wars Fans
• Conan adds a hunky newcomer to boost ratings.
• Spears and Husband Do Letterman's Top 10 List. The couple's Top 10 reasons to check out their new show are ...
• Some 30 Nobel Laureates and other great minds gather for a problem-solving session. You are going to think I made this up, but the list of invitees, supposedly the roster of the world's greatest thinkers, includes Richard Gere.
• Maverick zillionaire Mark Cuban argues that the RIAA's damage suits should be limited to five bucks per month.
• Security Fix: "Before You Fire the Company Geek..."
• BBC announces content download available in pilot market

Other Crap archives. May also include newer material than the links above, since it's sorta in real time.

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MOVIE REVIEWS:

Here are the latest movie reviews available at scoopy.com.

• The yellow asterisks indicate that I wrote the review, and am deluded into thinking it includes humor.
• If there is a white asterisk, it means that there isn't any significant humor, but I inexplicably determined there might be something else of interest.
• A blue asterisk indicates the review is written by Tuna (or Junior or Brainscan, or somebody else besides me)
• If there is no asterisk, I wrote it, but am too ashamed to admit it.

Virginie Ledoyen

Patricia Malvoisin

• First up, the someday future Mrs. Scoopy Jr, Charlotte Ayanna going topless. (1, 2, 3, 4)

• Daryl Hannah, also topless and in incredible shape at age 40! (1, 2, 3, 4,)

• Jennifer Tilly showing off her big'uns.

• TV, B-movie and Internet T-shirt babe (www.justdumped.com) Kristin Bauer going topless and showing just a hint of pubes. (1, 2)

• "Sideways" co-star Sandra Oh topless and shownig some see-thru exposure. (1, 2)

• Sheila Kelley not only co-starred as a topless dancer, but also co-produced "Iguana". (1, 2, 3)

Romane Bohringer
(1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)

Robin Weigert
(1, 2, 3)

"STAR WARS" MANIA IS A MENTAL DISORDER
Prozac, You Need! - The New York Sun reports that people waiting in line to see "Revenge of the Sith" may have a psychiatric disorder. Cornell Prof. Alfredo Nudman said people who skip work to wait in costume for "Star Wars" have "significantly low self-esteem" and are trying to escape into a childish fantasy world where good and evil are sharply defined and they feel safer and more fulfilled than in their own lives. He said they don't have a clear sense of self so they identify with fantasy characters and project onto them an ideal of what they feel they should be and never will. But he said it's only when people start spending their vacations at "Star Wars" conventions or all their money on Yoda collectibles that they really need treatment.

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