Knuckle is a documentary about bare-knuckle gypsy fights. For many of you, the people like myself, everything I write after this sentence will be unnecessary and at best, skimmed. I understand.  The short version is, I think I lost a tooth and grew a third ball.  Now for the actual review. Come for the gratuitous Snatch references, stay for the reasoned analysis.

Who knew Snatch was so historically accurate?  In fact, if anything, it undersold how much da Poikeys loike boxing each ovvas in makeshift rings wid a loose grasp of rules.  In Knuckle, documentary filmmaker Ian Palmer spent 12 years following members of The Travellers, a nomadic ethnic group in England and Ireland organized into prideful clans (all distant cousins, of course) who frequently challenge each other to clan-vs.-clan backyard brawls through taunting videos in impenetrable gaelic patois (helpfully subtitled), and bet big money on the outcomes.  Farbeit from me to dislike a film about fat gypsies knocking each others’ teeth out in parking lots, but it could’ve been better.

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The internet is all abuzz today about Madonna getting booed in Romania (where the “Borat’s village” scenes were filmed) supposedly for defending gypsies.  Yes, the same gypsies who stole Borat’s wife plow and touch his horse in very bad way.  Video is above, here’s what she said:

Does anyone know what layla palatootay means?  Yes?  Yes.  Yes?  Yes. Yes?  It’s Romany, for “the madness of love.” Yes.  Because what other kind of love is there?  But mad love.  Right?  Now, I’ve been paying attention to news reports and… it’s been brought to my attention that there’s a lot of discrimination against Romanies, and gypsies in general in Eastern Europe.  And that makes me feel very sad.  Because we don’t believe in discrimination against anyone.  We believe in freedom and equal rights for everyone.  Right?  Gypsies, homosexuals, people who are different – everyone is equal, and should be treated with respect.  Okay?  Let’s not forget that.

Despite what you may read on these other fly-by-night websites (like, say, uh… the Associated Press…), I don’t think it’s quite as simple as people booing her (and it doesn’t sound like too many actually booed her in the video) because of their Borat-like Gypsy hate.  For instance, maybe they booed her because she talks to them like kindergartners.  “And eating paste is very bad, right class?  Yes?  Yes?  Jimmy, what did we say about waving our penises in class?”   Or maybe they booed her because they weren’t sure if she was smart enough to know the difference between Romany (aka gypsy, a nomadic group thought to originate from the Indian subcontinent) and Romanian, and it seemed like a misguided attempt at pandering that ended with her calling everyone in the audience gypsies.  Or maybe they weren’t booing her at all, but rather saying “boo-urns”.  In any case, I think it’s safe to say that Madonna is a condescending bitch.
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The other day I brought you the ridiculous-but-true news that the town of Batman, Turkey was suing Dark Knight director Chris Nolan for infringing on their… uh, I dunno, their batshit craziness, I guess.  Today, the fake head of WB (you may remember his previous response to Harry Potter fans) has issued a fake response, wondering, among other things, why they’re just getting around to suing now.

How convenient.  It just happens to be in the same year when our movie made more than your entire country did in the last f-cking decade.  Now, don’t get me wrong, we think your name is f-cking hilarious.  I mean ‘Batman, Turkey’?  Why don’t you sue turkeys while you’re at it?  Why don’t you sue the Ottomans in one of the living rooms of my several houses, you poor pieces of Turkish shit?  Why don’t you stick to what you’re good at?  Like being a nation of goddamned gypsies.

Huh, I always thought it was Romania that was the nation of gypsies.  Either way, both of those places are probably pretty crappy.  Ha, foreigners.  What are they thinkin.

[Thanks to Rob for sending this over]