I understand that the Clam Bake song is stupid, but you two need to stop dragging Carousel, since it’s a deeply moving meditation on the post-WWII national mood. STOP IT!
I really enjoyed Sorry to Bother You and picked up the comparison to slavery, knowing radical leftists call employment “wage slavery”. I didn’t think to compare it to communism, even though I knew Riley is an avowed communist. Now that you mention it, I am reminded of early pro-slavery apologists who criticized the industrial capitalism of the north, decrying it as insufficiently paternalistic toward workers. I suppose the “gig economy” of today would be the more extreme version of that detached relation between employers & employees.
I disliked Infernal Affairs, having seen The Departed first. I just found so many aspects hokey, and the supposedly conflicted nature of the undercover criminal unconvincing, as it was relayed through his fiance’s thudding description of a character in her screenplay rather than through his actions. The Canon set them against each other and the former one (the guest who proposed it was advocating for it), and I argued against it here.
I also didn’t care for the Suspiria remake, and some of that may be because I saw the original first, but this film still fails to present a real throughline with a protagonist. Suzy Bannon basically drifts off during the middle of the film, there’s material on the internal politics of the coven but not enough to actually center a film, and the psychologist really seems tangential for all the focus he gets.
I doubt either of you have seen the really original adaptation of Solaris for Russian tv, or read the book. I sometimes read people saying that version is closer to the book, but the content isn’t that different from Tarkovsky’s (the main thing I recall is that Tarkovsky adds a prologue on earth). Soderbergh’s is the version I’m unfamiliar with and can’t comment on.
I haven’t listened to the episode yet, but I’m psyched that you used Thoroughbreds for the image.
Reese Witherspoon turned a LETTUCE LEAF, not a dragon. Bad movie.
If Predator is the worst film you saw all year you must have had a good year
I understand that the Clam Bake song is stupid, but you two need to stop dragging Carousel, since it’s a deeply moving meditation on the post-WWII national mood. STOP IT!
(Feel free to keep dragging Oklahoma!, however. It’s lame)
I don’t think I personally dragged either one! “This Was a Real Nice Clambake” is a stupid song but “Kansas City” is a great song!
– David
“Kansas City” is a song with a good concept but actually listening to it puts me to sleep, so I guess it’s a wash
I really enjoyed Sorry to Bother You and picked up the comparison to slavery, knowing radical leftists call employment “wage slavery”. I didn’t think to compare it to communism, even though I knew Riley is an avowed communist. Now that you mention it, I am reminded of early pro-slavery apologists who criticized the industrial capitalism of the north, decrying it as insufficiently paternalistic toward workers. I suppose the “gig economy” of today would be the more extreme version of that detached relation between employers & employees.
I disliked Infernal Affairs, having seen The Departed first. I just found so many aspects hokey, and the supposedly conflicted nature of the undercover criminal unconvincing, as it was relayed through his fiance’s thudding description of a character in her screenplay rather than through his actions. The Canon set them against each other and the former one (the guest who proposed it was advocating for it), and I argued against it here.
I also didn’t care for the Suspiria remake, and some of that may be because I saw the original first, but this film still fails to present a real throughline with a protagonist. Suzy Bannon basically drifts off during the middle of the film, there’s material on the internal politics of the coven but not enough to actually center a film, and the psychologist really seems tangential for all the focus he gets.
I doubt either of you have seen the really original adaptation of Solaris for Russian tv, or read the book. I sometimes read people saying that version is closer to the book, but the content isn’t that different from Tarkovsky’s (the main thing I recall is that Tarkovsky adds a prologue on earth). Soderbergh’s is the version I’m unfamiliar with and can’t comment on.
David! From Autumn to Ashes?! I haven’t heard them in years! I remember the song Capeside Rock was a good one