The Road to Guantanamo Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Welcome to yet another edition of Cinematical's podcast, Coming Distractions. As ever, I'm your host, Cinematical editor-in-chief James Rocchi, and this week's guest co-host is Lisa Rosman of Flavorpill. Lisa and I talk about a whole lot of everything this week -- from Marie Antoinette to Halo, The Departed to The Road to Guantanamo -- as well as longing for the old-school B-movie, watching movies during wartime and much more. Also, this edition comes with free stuff -- be one of the first five people to mail james.rocchi AT cinematical.com with the answer to our trivia question, and you'll win a Cinematical t-shirt. All you have to do is answer this question: Name the director Lisa Rosman mistakenly thinks directed King of New York. That's all you have to know; the answer's within the podcast -- and you'll get one of our lovely orange Cinematical T-shirts. You can download the whole podcast right here, and, as ever, let us know what you'd like more of -- or anything you think we should be talking about!

(Music: "Overdose," Dumb.)

Obsession. What does it mean, why does it happen and why can't we stop it? I never asked Burger King to invent chicken fries, but now that they're here, those delicious little fried pieces of heaven have destroyed my life. Now, every time I pass by a Burger King, I must stop in and grab an order of chicken fries. Even if I just had some the day before, I wonder, "What if there's a new dipping sauce and others have tasted it before me? What if this new dipping sauce is only out for one day? What if I miss this golden opportunity?"

I'm sure there are other chicken fry addicts out there who feel my pain. And, trust me, it's okay to come forward -- we need your support. However, the need to consume fast food constantly is only one type of obsession. We can obsess over people, places, events -- I know one person obsessed with a chair. Don't ask.

This week, we're taking a look at films that have themes of obsession running through their veins. Though I'm not sure whether or not we'll become obssessed with these films once we've watched them, I will admit that, after staring at those fries in the picture above, I'm suddenly craving, um, you know. Welcome to another fantastic edition of Trailer Park:

Just a day after we reported on censorship in other parts of the world (assuming, perhaps, that films in the US escape such restrictions) comes the news that American authorities are getting into the act, as well. Fan-freaking-tastic. According to press reports, the MPAA has objected to the poster that Roadside Attractions was planning to use to promote their American release of The Road to Guantanamo. The original poster depicts a prisoner hanging from chained wrists, with a burlap bag over his head -- nothing more, said Roadside president Howard Cohen, than a reflection of "what it is we are doing to people in Guantanamo." While the MPAA, not surprisingly, was unwilling to comment on its decision, Cohen indicated that the board's problem stemmed specifically from the bag on the man's head -- in the board's interpretation, the image was one of torture, which children encountering the poster shouldn't see. The new poster is cropped, and shows only the man's chained arms.

What do you guys think of this move by the MPAA? Are they really just protecting the innocence of kids, or is there a political element to the decision? We have, after all, seen countless, horrifying photos of prisoners in Iraq in much worse situations than simply sitting with a bag on their heads -- why should a poster not be allowed to reflect this reality?

Edit: FYI, The Guardian reports that the film itself has received an R-rating.