Culture Snob Comments

Culture Snob on "Dead Dreams"

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 11:22:18 -0600

Sonartina: (1) Saying the movie in narrow in scope is not a criticism. Generally speaking, I don't want movies to aspire to social commentary; generally speaking, they're terrible at it. (2) "Narrow in scope" is another way of saying it's specific. That is a high compliment from me, not merely "not a criticism." (3) If we're demanding support for our positions, how exactly is Requiem for a Dream not narrow in scope? I didn't support that assertion because it seems to me self-evident. The movie is about a handful of well defined characters much more than it's about drugs; it's about drugs only to the extent that these case studies feel authentic. (4) I find it hilarious that you somehow believe I don't like this movie. (5) I find it hilarious that you somehow believe a broader scope would involve "the happy well adjusted drug addict."

Gautam on "Not One of Us"

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 10:45:17 -0600

Jeff- the 2nd edition of the double bill blogathon begins tomorrow- hope to have your contribution!

Sonartina Audium on "Dead Dreams"

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 00:02:30 -0600

The mark of a good critic is to know that being critical doesn't always require you to criticize. Calling the movie narrow in scope without backing it up by citing specific examples is at best overdone and at the worst not even done well. People aren't getting smarter, they are just becoming more opinionated. I am tired of reading blogs claiming to be reviews but instead are only a laundry list of opinions. Trying to stand out by being the voice of dissent in the review of a movie that is highly praised by both critics and fans alike is not anything new. But being bad at it seems to be getting old. "Narrowness of Scope" ??!!?? Yes the film does lack the other side of the spectrum: "The happy well adjusted drug addict." This film may be fiction but its not fantasy.

rain on "Apple of My I"

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 04:45:15 -0600

bening is one of my favorite actresses and i really loved this movie. the dreams she had , you almost knew they were going to meet, there was the hope that she would survive and when she didnt it was a tad of a let down until you found out she gets her chance for revenge...vivian in turn gets what he deserves! as for aidian quinn i am not a fan and robert downey it was a short part but he delivered as well as can be expected. bening in my opinion stole the show and deserves all the kudos! :-)

Culture Snob on "Best of the Blockbusters"

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 11:37:37 -0600

Squish: Hmmm. I'm pretty Bond illiterate, but I'll see if I can come up with something.

Brad Vidmar on "A Static Film About Transience (and Self-Involvement, and Blowjobs)"

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 17:17:46 -0600

Jeff, I've been wanting to check this film out for some time now, but just haven't gotten around to it yet. But this article makes me wonder: Have you seen any of John Cassavetes' films? I couldn't tell you why, but after seeing "The Killing of a Chinese Bookie" on the Sundance Channel many moons ago, it's become my favorite movie. From what I gather, most hardcore Cassavetes fans were unimpressed with the film (I've only seen bits and pieces of "A Woman Under the Influence" and "Opening Night"). There are two different cuts of the film. The shorter one is probably the better of the two, but the longer version explains more. But judging by this review (and assuming you haven't already seen any of his movies), I think Cassavetes' work might be something you'd be interested in. Same with Monte Hellman. Yada Yada...Existentialism...Yada...

Squish on "Best of the Blockbusters"

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 12:02:05 -0600

Snoborino! I just wanted to let you know about the James Bond-O-Thon I'm planning for the second week of November. Until then, I'll be reviewing all Bond films in chronological order. Enjoy, and please visit from time to time to see how the Old boy is doing. andf of course, you're invited to the november 'Thon.

Culture Snob on "The Misunderstood Blog-a-thon"

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 08:55:34 -0600

jlaw: The blog-a-thon was never intended to be used as a "list" of misunderstood movies. But the article to which you linked is a welcome addition.

Riana on "Apple of My I"

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 03:33:46 -0600

thank you thank you thank you. this movie is in my top ten.

jlaw on "The Misunderstood Blog-a-thon"

Mon, 24 Aug 2009 15:04:54 -0600

Why isn't Pulp Fiction on your list, I truly think it is the least understood movie around and yet one of the most entertaining once you do get it.

Culture Snob on "Canon Fodder"

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 17:56:17 -0600

The bell curve made me highly suspicious of a generational bias in the survey results. I agree that the phrasing of the survey ("greatest" versus "favorite") was one key problem, but like you, I'm retrospectively skeptical that the results would have been much different. Iain's disappointment spurred him to a new project that has the potential to be much more interesting: Beyond the Canon.

blah blah blah blah on "Canon Fodder"

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 15:55:09 -0600

Consensus lists are always gonna' be dull. That's just the truth; no changing it. The reputation of films which have already been canonized insures that everyone has seen them -- after all, you can only pick what you've already seen -- and people feel pressure and some sense of obligation to include a number of these films along with whatever more outre picks they might make, lest their list look amateurish or needlessly contrarian. Voters tend not to overlap in their more outre picks, so when it's all added up, you're staring straight at some awfully typical, humdrum list full of Citizen Kane-type stuffiness. Films need time to be canonized, too. (Yeah, this is a pretty obvious point.) In most cases, you've got to bludgeon people with a film for, like, at least a decade or two before anyone takes it seriously enough for a list like this, and most people don't have the guts to get out ahead of a film and start voicing serious critical support for it before its position has already been established*. Also, the way the project was presented doomed it to exactly the sort of staid, vanilla stodginess that it ultimately fell into, although I doubt it could have ever avoided that fate, even under other conditions. If you want to shake things up, you ask people for their favorite films, not "the greatest", which just sounds like a request for the regurgitation of some bland, impersonal canon. Thumbing through people's personal lists looking for aberrant picks is much, much more interesting -- especially if you've already seen all the standard, set-in-stone selections before -- because the fact that someone would include such an unusual film on their list is often a good indicator that the voter really cares about the movie and isn't including it for the appearance of respectability. As for whether those decades really have a monopoly on great films: like you, I don't know. I've seen some people trying to argue that the conditions during those times, particularly the 1960s, made for especially fertile ground for the creation of great film art -- and certainly there are many very, very good movies from the period -- but it's hard to shake the feeling that it's all a bunch of bullshit surreptitiously directed by some indefatigable 'boomer nostalgia** -- that when they go on and on about the preeminence of the era and how nothing else holds up, secretly it's really just them pining for some glittering memory of their youth. Whatever; like you, I don't know. All I can say is that I'm really excited to see the state of the film canon after they're all dead and buried. No rush. * I was glancing over some lists from other polls. Robin Wood -- who has at least some trail-blazing critic cred for being perhaps the most vociferous champion of Mandingo -- appends his list with the comment: "I was tempted to include La Pianiste (Haneke) but it's too soon to be sure." ** Most of the people I'm talking about: not really representative of the voters who participated in this AFI clone list. For the most part, this is about the Godard, Bergman, Antonioni, Fellini, "I attended university in the 60s! What a time to be alive!" crowd, which is mostly different from the O-LR one.

Culture Snob on "Does Oscar Have a Growing Problem?"

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 08:16:45 -0600

To address the specific issue you raised (the omission of some Oscar-bait titles): The list was originally put together to show that there were many movies with better reviews than Benjamin Button and The Reader, and to ponder what a "better" field might look like. Changeling (61, 63: 124), given its pedigree, could certainly have scored a nomination in an expanded field. But including it didn't suit my original purpose.

Culture Snob on "Does Oscar Have a Growing Problem?"

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 17:18:01 -0600

I don't disagree that most of the new slots will get eaten up by Oscar bait, and smelly Oscar bait at that. But if the new process allows for one or several "nearly universally beloved blockbusters," I think that's enough to justify the expansion. It changes the game significantly, and for the better, in my opinion.

nathaniel r on "Does Oscar Have a Growing Problem?"

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 17:11:59 -0600

i like your optimism but that list of movies omits several titles that could have beat something like THE WRESTLER (which totally deserved it) such as CHANGELING which is more typically an Oscar film (even though it isn't half as good). i fear the top ten list that oscar comes up with will look just like the lists that the BFCA come up with in trying to predict the Oscar 5. and that's basically typical oscar stuff with, last year, two nearly universally beloved blockbusters (but that doesn't happen every year)

Eric on "Box Office Power Rankings: April 17-26, 2009"

Wed, 27 May 2009 01:00:47 -0600

The summer blockbuster season isn't shaping up so well. Star Trek is the only Hollywood product I can recommend so far. Terminator was my next hope but was even more awful than I could have guessed. It's down hill from here.

Anonymous on "Why Are There Frogs Falling from the Sky?"

Sun, 10 May 2009 09:35:37 -0600

falling frogs face first

carl on "I'm Going to Kill Myself Tomorrow"

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 21:53:38 -0600

That's actually a really good comparison, Tony.

Trista DeVries on "Favorite Film Characters"

Fri, 10 Apr 2009 10:24:07 -0600

Finally got it all done! Check out my choices on the site. This was so much fun! Thanks so much Culture Snob!

Culture Snob on "Favorite Film Characters"

Tue, 07 Apr 2009 11:53:03 -0600

The KidsFlix list starts here. Thanks for participating!