Criterion Year Week 20: Traffic

The Criterion Collection, the last vestige of truly collectible DVD and Blu-Ray movies in existence. These are well produced, fancy pants editions of important and interesting films for the discerning film lover. We continue our journey through Jim's collection of movies with... Week 20: Traffic Spine Number: 151 Director:Steven Soderburgh Genre: Drama One of the most annoying things in the world, to me at least, is when someone addresses a complex issue as if it only has one facet and a simple solution. People do this all the time. Basically, it's the height of egotism. This problem really wouldn't be a problem if people just looked at it the way I did and did this one thing to fix it. The simple fact of the matter is that most issues are far more complex than we think they are and they don't have easy answers or quick fixes. In fact, most of them don't really have a single fix at all. Traffic addresses one of the most contentious issues of our time. The war on drugs. We see multiple points of view from different points along the supply chain. We see how the good guys deal with things from the front lines to the White House. We see how the bad guys do thing, and how they will be able to continue operating. To quote The Wire, "This isn't a war. Wars end." This is the type of issue that we love to talk about. It's complex, misunderstood, and handled in the most incompetent and wrongheaded way imaginable (from a policy point of view). We discuss what can be done to fix a problem that doesn't have a solution. How do you keep people from doing something that people have done as long as people have existed? Next week: Spine number 157: The Royal Tenenbaums Also, check this out. The Life Masters is now it's own show with its own site and own dedicated feed. That's right, we have two completely different shows! Right now check it out at www.thelifemasters.podbean.com. You can also drink in our brilliance on Youtube for both The Film Thugs and The Life Masters. http://fantasymovieleague.com/ Looks like Summer Movie League has officially become Fantasy Movie League. It looks quite fun. Here's how it works. You have an 8 screen theater. Every week you pick movies and have a budget/salary cap you have to stay under. Then you compete against other theaters in your league. It's fantasy football for movie people. Our league is Film Thugs 2015 and the password is Porterhouse. And remember, you can be a part of the show any time you wild like. How's that? All you have to do is call or e-mail us. If you live in the US, or any place that makes calling the US easy, just dial 512-666-RANT and leave us a voicemail. We will read the Google Voice transcript and play your message. It's both funny AND informative. If you live outside the US you can call us on Skype at The_Film_Thugs. You can leave a message, or someone might actually answer. E-mail us at [email protected] and we will read/play whatever you send us, or you can e-mail [email protected] to be part of  an upcoming "Ask the Film Thugs" show, where we answer questions on any subject without having heard them first. Also, we are on twitter @thefilmthugs and on Facebook and Vine. You can also click on one of our sponsor links below and THEY will pay us. That's right. You won't have to pay a PENNY extra, and Amazon/Onnit/Teefury will give us a little taste. Also, be sure to check back often for our new endeavor The Life Masters, where we answer questions to other advice columnists. Thanks for listening, and until next week... Jim out.