Wanna watch Michael Moore bitchslap Wolf Blitzer? Trust me, you do

I was going through my regular workday earlier this week and trying in vain to ignore what was on TV when Michael Moore came on and it became simply impossible to resist.

The afternoon airspace on CNN is usually a pretty peaceful place. There's an understanding, I guess: People get to come on and plug their movies, TV shows, etc., and in exchange they have to answer a series of truly sycophantic queries.

But when you have Michael Moore on, of course, the normal rules simply don't apply. I'm not sure how many times he's been on this week, but yesterday's installment was just a doozy. He was apparently set off by "Dr." Sanjay Gupta's (I'm sure he really is a doctor, but once you play one on TV I just can't take you too seriously) revealing that the average American spends only just over $6,000 a year on health care instead of the $7,000 Moore claims in his new movie, "Sicko." Way to go there with the hard-hitting reporting, Sanjay.

What I like about Michael Moore (and it certainly can't be that he always sticks to the facts) is that he's a lethal combo: A genuinely angry guy who also just loves to be in the spotlight. And this week, he took full advantage of that spotlight to say what we all already know: CNN and just about every other TV news outlet present a very skewed version of reality, especially when it comes to what's happening in Iraq.

Now, I don't much like getting into politics here, but I do like to see Wolf Blitzer turn several shades of red as he's called a liar over and over on live TV. I found the best of their long exchange on YouTube, and have posted it below for everyone to enjoy.

It shows exactly what's great and at the same time rotten about Michael Moore. He's a bomb-thrower who has more weapons in his arsenal than he has targets, so he occasionally misfires badly. I've enjoyed all his movies so far, but he really crossed the line badly in "Bowling for Columbine" when he went to Charlton Heston's house to torment the poor old guy. It was just painful to watch and thoroughly inappropriate.

But, at least as often, he makes the points that everyone else ignores, and for that I can only say thanks. I have yet to see "Sicko," but since it's hanging tough in the top 10, I'm still holding out hope it will come to my little corner of the world sometime in August. If you have seen it, please feel free to let me know if it's any good or not.



Pixar, say it ain't so

If it seems like I write about Pixar a lot here, well, I do, because I love animation and noone else out there simultaneously takes the chances and delivers quality pics at a rate like these guys.

"Ratatouille" is easily the best movie I've seen this summer, and the next two years should bring more really fun stuff. After that, however, the studio may be heading into dangerous territory: Sequel-land.

The next three years are set: for 2008, "Wall-E," Andrew Stanton's tale about a robot who's sent down to clean up our defiled planet and then goes on an interplanetary adventure; for 2009 it's "Up," about a geriatric superhero who, like me, surely likes to eat his dinner before 5 p.m.; and for 2010, Tom Hanks and Tim Allen are back for a surefire hit with "Toy Story 3." From there, however, it might just be going downhill fast.

According to another, even more pixar-obsessed blogger, 2011 will bring, God forbid, a "Cars 2."

Now, I've loved almost all the Pixar movies, but "Cars" was, while beautiful to look at, more than a little lame. It was boring for long stretches, and never as funny or magical as Pixar's best work.

So I can't say I'm looking forward to any kind of "Cars" sequel. "Toy Story 3"? To that I can say yes, but I'm hoping this other rumor just isn't true. But I'm more than a little afraid we'll find out in the next few days that it will be. Peace out.