The Lint Screen

Author: PD Scullin

  • Django Off The Chain

    Oh boy, looks like trouble's come to town.
    Oh boy, looks like trouble’s come to town.

    Like Orson Welles, Quentin Tarantino will live in the shadow of an early masterpiece. His Citizen Kane is Pulp Fiction, a movie that like Kane broke so many rules it will stand as enduring art.

    Tarantino’s latest film, Django Unchained, is an incredible film that like Inglourious Basterds, is history re-imagined and staged for maximum entertainment. Whereas Steven Spielberg spent his creative energy this year making Lincoln, a well-acted rather dry history lesson (“Don’t go to the theatre, Abe– the play’s not that good!”), Tarantino goes for a fascinating tale driven by unforgettable characters and riveting plot points.

    Yes, there’s gratuitous blood and guts, this is Tarantino after all, but it’s the story that makes Django Unchainedsuch a kick. Jamie Foxx is terrific as Django, the slave who becomes a bounty hunter to gain his freedom, but the film really belongs to Christoph Waltz, the German actor who also played “The Jew Hunter” in Inglourious Basterds. Here, he is a dentist/bounty hunter, and his performance is certainly one of the year’s best. He owns every scene he appears in, resplendent facial hair and all.

    You’ll also enjoy Leo DiCaprio as a sadistic Mississippi plantation owner, and oh my goodness golly how Samuel L. Jackson delivers an incredibly fun performance as his sycophantic manservant. Ummm ummm ummm, mighty fine acting.

    See Lincoln as your civic duty, then treat yourself to Django and set yourself free.

  • The Truth Behind The Legends

    What becomes a legend most? Some fanciful story that warms the cockles of your heart. But sometimes cockles need to be jump started with truth. Here’s an animated defibrillator.

    Happy, merry to you and yours from us and ours at The Lint Screen.

  • Santa Busts Out Of Jail

    Santa escaped from "The Den" in the Monroe, LA jail.
    Santa escaped from “The Den” in the Monroe, Louisiana jail last night.

    The Monroe, Louisiana city jail is known for one quirk: a jail cell called The Den, complete with leather furniture, wall of books and a fireplace. Unfortunately, this was the cell used to confine Santa Claus, and the convict escaped some time after the midnight bedcheck.

    “I reckon he went up the chimney,” said Sheriff Terrance Tarbuttoun. “I believe that big ol’ boy might have some substantial experience in the chimney-squeezing department.” When asked why the jail has a cell with a fireplace, the Sheriff laughed and said, “Why, that cell was constructed when C. Morris Rawdeal was mayor, and when he was convicted of fixing elections, collecting kickbacks and other such shenanigans, C. Morris served his hard time in that very cell. Of course, back then it also had a wet bar, home entertainment center, massage table and a jacuzzi.”

    There are no clues as to Santa’s whereabouts, and local officials are warning residents to keep all doors and windows locked. “I’d also suggest plugging your fireplaces,” said Sheriff Yarborough, “that Santa is one sneaky ol’ cuss, he is.”

  • Santa Attempts Plea Bargain

    Santa allegedly will sing like a canary to get sprung from the joint.
    Santa allegedly will sing like a canary to get sprung from the joint.

    It’s not over until the fat guy sings.

    The latest from the jail holding Santa Claus is that the merry man has made overtures through his attorney to the district attorney that the convict would like to plea bargain for reduced sentencing.

    Rumors are circulating that the big man is prepared to drop a dime on Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer and tell officials how the antlered wonder developed his famous cherry red snorter through sniffing snow, and not the cold kind.

    Also, Claus apparently has heavy dirt to tell about the sexually deviant behavior of his elves and how they have secretly outsourced most of their labor to China where working conditions are deplorable and pay is pitiful.

    When confronted by reporters, the attorney for Mr. Claus, “Mugsy” Talkinfine said, “Say, get outta my way, see? Don’t make me slug ya inkstains in yer kissers, see? I ain’t talkin’ to no one no how, my lips are zippered, see?” The legal beagle walked away in what one observant reporter described as “a huff.”

  • Children Unfazed by Incarceration of Santa

    Kids don't seem to care there'll be no Santa in 2012.
    Kids don’t seem to care that there will be no Santa in 2012– they’ll just get an app for that.

    The journalistic community of Earth is crestfallen by the indifference of children worldwide. The news goon squad was expecting a dramatic narrative of crying kiddies and despondent youth saddened by Santa Claus being sequestered in an Louisiana jail cell on a stalking/sexual deviancy rap, where he’ll be until well after December 25th. But, the world’s youth could seem to care less about the news.

    “Whatevs,” said a 7-year old boy in Mapleton, New Jersey, “I’ll still get all the stuff I want, even if my old man has to buy it.”

    An 11-year boy in Lima, Peru said “That old dude always kinda creeped me out anyway. It’s really no biggie he’s not coming. I got Blacks Ops II on order. It’s all cool.”

    A 5-year old girl in Nagoya, Japan said “I’ll just get my toys sent directly to me from China.”

    An 8-year old girl in Perth, Australia said, “I always thought it was freaky that some old guy would want youngblood to sit on his lap. I’m not going to miss that tradition–– not at all.”

  • Santa Claus Is Not Coming to Town

    Santa swaps his red getup for an orange one.

    Is Ol’ Nick a Saint… or a demented perv? That’s the question billions of people are asking themselves today as news broke of the jolly fat man being thrown into the hoosegow where he’ll stay over the holidays.

    Santa Claus (a.k.a. Earl “Pudgy” Vartondablatt) was arrested today outside of a house in Monroe, Louisiana. He was lurking in a bush when officers wrestled him and slapped a pair of security bracelets on his wrists.

    “I saw that creep peeking through my window,” said home owner Sheila Jambars, “I was getting undressed for my shower and I heard some moaning outside my window. I turned, and there he was, that fat, bearded degenerate. He smirked and winked at me. I screamed and called the cops. My daughter, who’s only 16, has been saying for weeks that she felt like someone had been watching her.” The young woman entered the room and agreed with her mother. “The dude’s totally a freak! I know the fat slob’s been stalking me.”

    Claus in an official statement issued through his attorney said that “I need to know who’s been naughty or nice and surveillance is essential to doing my job. It’s not an invasion of anyone’s privacy. I was simply doing my job. I’m innocent.”

    No bail has been set in the Claus case.