As Lost as Ever
Back in November, I fretted that Lost would suffer from what I dubbed the “endless hit-TV-series death march. “Oh, my prescience!
Tagged: Lost, Television
My Father the Hero
It’s been a decade since I read Christopher Buckley’s Thank You for Smoking. I remember it as slight but laugh-out-loud funny, one of the few books I did not hesitate to recommend to anybody. The movie adaptation, written and directed by Jason Reitman, didn’t make me laugh out loud, but I was surprised at its modest depth – and the sources of that richness.
Mr. Pink(‘s) Rules
Funny-lookin’ Steve Buscemi offers his rules for filmmaking.
Tagged: Filmmaking, Steve Buscemi
The Good Book in the Internet Age
David Plotz of Slate is undertaking a fascinating project with a terrible name: “Blogging the Bible.” It starts here and is a mix of snarky commentary and a close reading rooted in genuine curiosity.
An Early Contender for Sentence of the Year
Nominated for its brevity, its simplicity, its expressiveness, and its sonic shape: “They’d boo free pie.”
Tagged: Language
Keeping Your (Emotional) Distance
Filmbrain raises an essential issue: “I have noticed a trend in the film blogosphere of critics who, while talented writers, are so damn clinical in their criticism that I find myself wondering if they actually enjoy film.”
Tagged: Critics, Ways of Watching
Movie Critics Suck: Exhibit A
In the magazine Cinema Scope, David Bordwell demonstrates how a lack of specific examples undermines a potentially intriguing argument.
Tagged: Critics, David Bordwell, Language
On the Mundanity of Spooge
Although obviously Andersonian (Rushmore-ic?), The Squid and the Whale is not a movie that Wes Anderson could have pulled off. Noah Baumbach’s semi-autobiographical film is too raw, naked, painful, and real. It fuses The Royal Tenenbaums and Ordinary People at a genetic level that Seth Brundle would appreciate. Although it acts like a comedy, the movie’s familiarity and truth will be as funny to many people as a slap in the face.
Drunken Commentary Track: I ♥ Huckabees
After choosing I ♥ Huckabees for the second in the Culture Snob “Drunken Commentary Track” series, I can confirm that my thoughts on the movie are less than cogent. You, dear reader/listener, can now hear long, awkward silences and extended digressions as Culture Snob, Bride of Culture Snob, Bad Dog Ginger, and River Cities’ Reader film critic Mike Schulz try to say something of value about the movie. Click to download the audio file (mp3 format, roughly 24 megabytes, 107 minutes), which is intended to be listened to while watching the movie.
Inflammatory Acclamatories*
Jim Emerson twice recently has addressed our cultural tendency to be lazy with language, particularly in marketing movies.
Tagged: Jim Emerson, Language
