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Re: Rewatchability

rudy — Sun, 19 Oct 2014 23:31:38 -0000

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Re: Scattered Thoughts on Guardians of the Galaxy

melissa — Mon, 11 Aug 2014 11:18:28 -0000

I do feel the need to point out (as others inevitably will) that Batman is DC, not Marvel. Wasn't sure if you were implying it was or comparing it as an example of a superhero film with a different style, but just to get in before the real pendantics ;D

Re: Scattered Thoughts on Guardians of the Galaxy

Jon Fuller — Mon, 11 Aug 2014 10:48:55 -0000

Pedantic Comic Nerdery: Groot's regrowth is 100% comics accurate, and was completely expected by the Marvelites in the audience. From a film perspective, I wish there had been more reaction as well, but it does keep in line with the source material. In fact, one of the earliest iterations of the Guardians of the Galaxy action figures was a set that included a tiny potted Groot figure, and was released years before the movie was optioned. Still, your point stands.

The biggest change from source in regards to characterization is a toss-up between Ronan, who is canonically much more of a Lawful Neutral Kree General, and Yondu, who is more Last-Of-The-Mohicans-In-Spaaaaaaace, but the changes were, in my opinion, perfect for a film translation. It was important that the first half of the movie wasn't taken up by detailed explanations of Kree/Xandarian politics, and maybe more will be explained in future director's cuts, but that's not usually Gunn's style.

Finally, the after-credits sting is a double troll. There is something that is hidden in the scene, something that sharp-eyed and completely obsessed fans will pick up, but will be completely obscured by the Howard the Duck cameo. In the Thor: The Dark World sting, we're shown a central piece of the Collector's menagerie, a giant cocoon-like object, placed in a fashion where the slave girl's line of motion forces her to weave around the glass case. In the GotG sting, the case and cocoon are broken, and are visible when we get a look at Howard. As more of the Infinity Gems, or Stones, or Plot-Drivers, are revealed, this will come into play.

As always, wonderful review.

Re: Every Movie I’ve Ever Seen

danielwcarlson — Wed, 06 Aug 2014 17:12:37 -0000

Movies that I've seen in their entirety.

Re: Leslie Knope and the Limits of Resistance

sianiscool — Fri, 25 Jul 2014 05:11:58 -0000

great article. i think you've really nailed what's been missing in seasons 5 and 6. and i love your final line. the time jump at the end of season 6 has actually given me a lot more hope for 7

Re: Every Movie I’ve Ever Seen

simone — Sun, 29 Jun 2014 09:48:37 -0000

hi there was just wanting to ask if you know the name of a kids move, its about a young boy at the start he breaks a vase he has to do odd jobs at the summer to pay for it as he likes the girl who moved in next door but he and his friend end up having to save the girl and his brother before his brothers soccer game starts, the brother and the girl were kidnapped by 2 men in a dounut shop- and van his father is very tight with money and always hates spendng money on anything but they are not poor and there was a bit were the little boy invites the girl round and hes wearing a red dressing gown and has a pipe he then burns the meatloaf. it is an american kids movie and i think it came out in the 90s but can not be sure been searching for it for a few years can not find it any where

Re: My Literary Year In Review, 2012

Writerman — Mon, 16 Jun 2014 02:57:52 -0000

In regard to 11/22/63, I must disagree with you.

No insult intended, understand; but in your review you speak of the main character, Jake Epping, as being close to your own age. You therefore assume that you should identify more with Jake, the two of you being of the same generation and all. Frankly, this is presumptuous of you; and if such is your stance, then reading must not be as edifying for you as it could be.

Everyone is different in what he or she thinks, and age and generational connection (or disconnection) have nothing to do with it. It's about character and personality; it's about how our perspectives, while sometimes being familiar, are at bottom dissimilar: no two people think exactly the same way. It's one of the reasons I'm such an avid reader, and something I do in my own writing: I enjoy considering the world and those who populate from a point of view that is not intrinsically my own. In this way I am able to think about myriad elements -- life, conflict, events, etc. -- as filtered through other people's eyes and earn a broader sense of and understanding in the human condition.

When I read a book in which the characters are tailor-made; in which they follow a staid formula (the protagonists always do and say the right things; the antagonists, the opposite); in which the messiness of life is assuaged by tidy, happily-ever-after endings -- when I read such a book, it is with an understanding and sadness that the writer produced a lazy, paint-by-the-numbers story peopled with like characters.

The best writing does not merely entertain; it also informs, challenges, vindicates, infuriates, moves, comforts, and illuminates what it means to be human. It's about earning the experience, not having it cut to suit what you, the reader, prefers one hundred percent of the time.

For this reason, I found 11/22/63 to be a wonderful, thoroughly engrossing story. As for vernacular, King does not present the characters as being one-dimensional. He did much research about the historical aspects of the story, and it shows. He writes of people and represents vernacular that is indigenous to the places from which they come -- in this case, primarily Maine and Texas.

If you didn't connect with Jake one hundred percent, that's all right: Jake isn't you, nor are you him. Mr. King didn't make you the main character of his novel; it just so happens that the character and you are close in age. Based on this, why should the two of you think in the same way? There are plenty of people my own age with whom I do not agree, nor they with me. Which is fine. We're each of us individuals, after all.

As I stated, that's rather the point of reading: to view the world from perspectives dissimilar to your own, and doing so, learn something about yourself and others.

You mentioned American Pastoral elsewhere on your page. It is Mr. Roth's best novel, I think (he has written many wonderful books). I needn't be Jewish or living in New Jersey to connect with the characters and their various conflicts because Mr. Roth was writing of universal truths with regard to the human condition. Much as Mr. King did in 11/22/63.

Above all, the two writers mentioned challenge us as readers; they force us to consider aspects of life that can discomfit and even devastate. They show our species for what it is: fallible, imperfect, well-meaning, but not altogether triumphant. Concessions have to be made; the realization that thoroughly pat and easy resolutions are scarce indeed. Bottom line: both writers told the truth as they saw it to be. We don't have to accept it without reservation; it does help, however, that we make an effort to understand it, for that is how we grow as individuals.

Re: Review: The Place Beyond the Pines

Gary Rhodes — Sun, 01 Jun 2014 09:18:58 -0000

Just stumbled upon this review while reading another one of yours. Great review. I really wanted to like this movie quite a bit because there is some really good stuff there, especially Gosling's story, but in the end I felt like I had been presented with parts of three different movies that all had the potential to be very good if the stories had been presented on their own.

Re: Not This Crude Matter

dukeroberts — Wed, 21 May 2014 23:22:03 -0000

Yes! You have nailed it, sir! Thank you for this love letter to this glorious, glorious film.

Re: I Love Movies, and I Never Go to See Them

Leslie Farnsworth — Wed, 21 May 2014 14:00:38 -0000

My main reason for not going to the theater to watch movies: I get bored.

I tie this back to the time commitment you mention under "Environment" above. Going to see a movie is a half-day commitment, if you count parking, purchasing, previews, and overly long film times. (Seems like everything is at least two hours these days. In a former era, these films would have intermissions.) When you think about it that way, for the ticket price (not concessions), you get a lot of bang for your buck. Yet I have a lot on my plate and a lot of stuff I love to do with my limited free time. To get me to commit to a half-day of mutely sitting in front of a screen, you have to REALLY entice me. And then when I get there, you'd better really engage me. An very few movies do either, these days. The last film I saw in the theater I only saw because a friend really wanted to see it. During the screening, I was dying to check my phone to see how much time had passed so I could guess when it would be over and thinking about all the stuff I needed to do that I couldn't get done because I was trapped in a dark room with a bunch of strangers, where I had to sit still and be quiet.

Re: It’s Jimmy Fallon’s World, and Thank God For It

Connoiseuse — Thu, 27 Feb 2014 20:19:28 -0000

You are right. Fallon is all about fun and games, not a serious thought in a challenged mind. I think high school and college fun when I think of his show, all part of our dumbed down culture. As a standup, ARGH!
On balance, his skits are good.

Re: How Long Should You Stick With a New TV Show?

sotoodi — Thu, 21 Nov 2013 21:52:09 -0000

Recently I was REALLY low on cash and debts were eating me from all sides! That was UNTIL I decided to make money.. on the internet. I went to surveymoneymaker dot net, and started filling in surveys for cash, and surely I've been far more able to pay my bills! I'm so glad, I did this! With all the financial stress these years, I really hope all of you will give it a chance. - o5o9

Re: Hang In There Friends Forever, In Memory Far Away

Eamon Doyle — Mon, 18 Nov 2013 19:21:49 -0000

But I like wolves.

Re: Every Movie I’ve Ever Seen

Griffin Shaer — Fri, 11 Oct 2013 12:05:27 -0000

Wow, I only just started started my list 3 days ago, and I'm at 501. By the way, are you listing all the movies you've seen, or finished? (I have about 100 or so movies I can't add because I fell asleep, or just never got around to finishing.

Re: King of the Rain

LizBR — Tue, 03 Sep 2013 14:15:58 -0000

Over the Rhine does this with the literary landscape of Ohio in their more recent albums. "Ohio" itself creates a picture of the state throughout the record, but I see it even more in their new release, "Meet Me at the Edge of the World."

From the Ohio double album's title song:

Hello Ohio, the back roads
I know Ohio, like the back of my hand
Alone Ohio, where the river bends
And it's strange to see your story end

Now you've got "All Over Ohio" on the Edge of the World album, which repeats the state-based emphasis over and over, including lines like:

I’m gonna kiss you all over Ohio...
I’ll just name all the birds in Ohio...
Shipwrecked with you in Ohio...
Goddam you right here in Ohio...

The title track, "Meet Me at the Edge of the World," has:

That lone tupelo soon will be on fire
For all I know with God’s desire
As Autumn in Ohio spirals
Off of the edge of the world

"Don't Let the Bastards Get You Down" has:

Feel the ache of Ohio
Through the veins of Illinois
Mine the seams of West Virginia
Land of buried joy

The song "Highland County" is about a specific county in OH.

"Cuyahoga" lacks lyrics but is titled for the OH county.

These, of course, are the explicit references. If you start including the implied allusions to Ohio, then the landscape they've created in their music absolutely explodes. You have "Baby, If This Is Nowhere" on the new album, which alludes to the Nowhere Farm, which is the name of the farm where Linford and Karin of OTR live in Ohio. The same is also referenced in "Live from Nowhere," their series of live albums. I can also remember back to a number of Linford's late 90's, early 2000's poems that seemed to exist in this same world.

Re: King of the Rain

TylerDFC — Sat, 31 Aug 2013 15:33:21 -0000

Interesting topic. The only one I can think of off hand is in the song Volcano Girls from "Eight Arms to Hold You" by Veruca Salt. Not only do they reference their first hit Seether from "American Thighs lyrically, but the song actually changes back to Seether for this part: "I told you about the seether before/and the one who's either or nor/here's another clue if you please/the seether's Louise(Post)"

Re: King of the Rain

TylerDFC — Sat, 31 Aug 2013 15:09:43 -0000

Det. Munch was also on The X-Files as well as The Wire. That rabbit hole goes DEEP.

Re: King of the Rain

Kester — Sat, 31 Aug 2013 14:27:47 -0000

It's not the same thing, exactly, but I've always liked how "Mary" keeps showing up in Bruce Springsteen songs, throughout his career.

Re: Review: The Place Beyond the Pines

Pragya Jaiswal — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 07:08:15 -0000

good one

Re: Every Movie I’ve Ever Seen

Kester Smith — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 10:20:45 -0000

You ever consider organizing these into best-worst?

Re: Every Movie I’ve Ever Seen

danielwcarlson — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 10:07:04 -0000

No, they're on there. You can do a Find for 2012 and tab through.

Re: Every Movie I’ve Ever Seen

Travis Leamons — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 10:05:26 -0000

Hmmm, this list seems a little short, Surely you've seen movies released in 2012. Or do those get added after the calendar year?

Re: The Asshole Quotient

Rob Payne — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 19:53:41 -0000

To expand on my Facebook comment: Boom goes the dynamite.

Re: The Asshole Quotient

gp — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 18:04:57 -0000

plus, better snacks at home. and you can pause the movie if you have to pee.

Re: Every Movie I’ve Ever Seen

danielwcarlson — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 17:24:44 -0000

Whoa. That's impressive. My ~1,675 feels tiny now.

Are you asking for ways to break out and organize the data? You could do directors who appear most, actors/actresses who appear most, decade from which you've seen the most movies, movies never released on home video, movies by language, movies by country of origin, running time; there are probably plenty more, but those are the ones that just occurred to me.