tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post5841408624862886140..comments2024-02-23T05:17:08.682-05:00Comments on The Film Freak Central Blog: Holy Crap, LoisBill Chttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14011398543859221282noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-71379058293554120482009-12-04T05:46:00.219-05:002009-12-04T05:46:00.219-05:00Yay for more ironic review images! It's the An...Yay for more ironic review images! It's the Antichrist!Patrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08178910224548079394noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-64627661540802573682009-12-04T01:03:36.580-05:002009-12-04T01:03:36.580-05:00reading walter's review of 'antichrist'...reading walter's review of 'antichrist' makes me want to go back and rewatch every single film i've ever disagreed with him about, 'cause i can't quite believe we could ever disagree on anything.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-46992299433418712182009-12-03T23:34:01.426-05:002009-12-03T23:34:01.426-05:00I watched the first four episodes of Mad Men too a...I watched the first four episodes of Mad Men too and found myself utterly, completely uninterested in exploring it any further, and nothing I've read about it has convinced me that I'm missing much.<br /><br />--KimAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-20632607668757356542009-12-02T21:22:38.427-05:002009-12-02T21:22:38.427-05:00@ Anon: I'm just going to defer to Matt Zoller...@ Anon: I'm just going to defer to Matt Zoller Seitz on the subject, because he said it much better than I could:<br /><br />"The show presents social compacts (marriage, family, full-time employment in an office—all institutions that Don neglects or abandons when it suits him) as shackles on the freedom of those who are predisposed to do without them. It's a subtle critique of JFhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07577343800808499897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-86538030507031180052009-12-02T20:59:41.460-05:002009-12-02T20:59:41.460-05:00I think Evangelion shits all over Mad Men, and you...I think Evangelion shits all over Mad Men, and you still haven't explained to me what I'm missing about Mad Men either. In my ongoing quest to figure out what it is about this show that people like it for, that makes it worth existing, I'm hitting a lot of these "You're missing the point!!" statements without anyone telling me what that point actually is.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-71522043130731457122009-12-02T20:34:59.515-05:002009-12-02T20:34:59.515-05:00@ Jefferson: I like to think the penguin saw a vis...@ Jefferson: I like to think the penguin saw a vision of its true love and turned into primordial Tang, like the rest of the world did.<br /><br />@ Patrick: Hideako Anno's depression definitely has something to do with the direction the show goes in, and that's part of why I find it so interesting. The story doesn't make total sense, but everything makes sense emotionally, and I JFhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07577343800808499897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-32367580565286300572009-12-02T18:08:04.018-05:002009-12-02T18:08:04.018-05:00I always worried about what happened to the pengui...I always worried about what happened to the penguin in <i>Evangelion.</i>Jefferson Robbinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05356665406917571985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-70711490998076271492009-12-02T14:44:36.029-05:002009-12-02T14:44:36.029-05:00Well, I'm not going to belabor the point of Ev...Well, I'm not going to belabor the point of Evangelion; Prisoner might be a great analogy, or not, all I can remember of the show is that I was waiting with baited breath for something to start making sense, or seem like there was some plan behind it, and then after it was over going online and trying to find some justification, and all I found was (I don't remember exactly) that the Patrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08178910224548079394noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-21529499494624039372009-12-02T13:31:50.502-05:002009-12-02T13:31:50.502-05:00I liked Bullock in that Forces of Nature flick, to...I liked Bullock in that <i>Forces of Nature</i> flick, too.Walter_Chawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14314737706201691225noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-91874266430737963672009-12-02T12:48:20.386-05:002009-12-02T12:48:20.386-05:00@Jefferson: Yes, it did help that the banner scree...@Jefferson: Yes, it did help that the banner screengrab is also my wallpaper. :)Danhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05821524840819117719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-52000593552426019362009-12-02T11:24:05.956-05:002009-12-02T11:24:05.956-05:00@ Anonymous: Yes, I just did. Kind of a random, we...@ Anonymous: Yes, I just did. Kind of a random, weird one to bring up to essentially make a generic judging-books-by-their-covers argument, I guess. As to your Mad Men problem, if you think that's all that's going on, you're just not looking very closely.<br /><br />@ Patrick: Agreed about Sandra Bullock. Incoherent: a bit. Mess: probably. Great: if it isn't, then why won't itJFhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07577343800808499897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-54190042881144165442009-12-02T09:19:21.767-05:002009-12-02T09:19:21.767-05:00Or just the hot ones, Dan? ;)Or just the hot ones, Dan? ;)Jefferson Robbinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05356665406917571985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-17404344362853313742009-12-02T07:41:50.041-05:002009-12-02T07:41:50.041-05:00The banner picture is Mulholland Dr., yes? I'l...The banner picture is Mulholland Dr., yes? I'll scoop the easy ones, ok?Danhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05821524840819117719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-52932966357707856952009-12-02T07:26:04.908-05:002009-12-02T07:26:04.908-05:00Nyarlahotep, well...Bullock does have Demolition M...Nyarlahotep, well...Bullock does have Demolition Man and Speed on her CV...movies that conclusively show that she's a reliable second-stringer when her bubbly charm is played off (sparingly) against monolithic he-men like Stallone and mono-toned (s)he-men like Keanu.<br />Shit happens when it's assumed that you can dial that charm all the way up to single-handedly prop up turgid, KayKayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14658249157364728825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-64340428860680316162009-12-02T04:45:44.944-05:002009-12-02T04:45:44.944-05:00Oh, also, just to throw that out there: no, Sandra...Oh, also, just to throw that out there: no, Sandra Bullock will forever be in shit films, and Evangelion is an incoherent mess that is falsely accused of greatness. There.Patrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08178910224548079394noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-4770728214252895982009-12-02T04:43:47.813-05:002009-12-02T04:43:47.813-05:00Walter: well, I certainly know that I may be total...Walter: well, I certainly know that I may be totally off-base and that I'm basing all of my opinion on the premise of the show (and what I read about it). I didn't want to write a post that says, "here's why Mad Men is bad" – because I haven't seen it, obviously –, but "here's why I am not interested in Mad Men".<br /><br />Just as with your Sons of AnarchyPatrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08178910224548079394noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-84980637107401041942009-12-02T02:40:38.134-05:002009-12-02T02:40:38.134-05:00Having just read Walter's review of The Blind ...Having just read Walter's review of The Blind Side, I've got to ask this: Will Sandra Bullock ever be in a film that isn't venal, terrible garbage?Hasturtiumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11862042252658790443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-64366572528864380062009-12-02T01:30:40.251-05:002009-12-02T01:30:40.251-05:00Really? You're going to bring up Evangelion in...Really? You're going to bring up Evangelion in a conversation about Mad Men? In all of the two seasons of Mad Men that I've seen, I can't think of a single plot thread that hasn't been about those cheap "wow, the 60's looks pretty alien to us, I'm glad we know better!" laughs. What is the show saying about its characters, is what I want to know - what do you takeAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-21505048666504311692009-12-02T00:22:52.966-05:002009-12-02T00:22:52.966-05:00Patrick, Mad Men mostly gets the cheap "heh, ...Patrick, Mad Men mostly gets the cheap "heh, weren't the 60's different" laughs out of its system pretty early on, and afterwards only goes there when it's going to say something about the story and characters. What a good series looks like is rarely what it actually ends up being. I mean, one of my favorite shows ever looks on the surface like a juvenile, silly cartoon JFhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07577343800808499897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-77961906270692269892009-12-01T19:46:48.136-05:002009-12-01T19:46:48.136-05:00@Patrick: I'd be careful about making those el...@Patrick: I'd be careful about making those elaborate judgments/dismissals of things sight-unseen. Can you imagine what the unseasoned viewer of "The Prisoner" thinks of that show from afar? Probably lots of ignorant shit. This is why I'm not taking the "Sons of Anarchy" bait, which, Ron Perlman notwithstanding, sounds absolutely insufferable to me (ick, bikers! And I Bill Chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14011398543859221282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-5330047108843366692009-12-01T10:58:29.661-05:002009-12-01T10:58:29.661-05:00Apropos of Mad Men, here's Betty Draper encaps...Apropos of <i>Mad Men,</i> here's <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ae6l5wQKo54" rel="nofollow">Betty Draper encapsulated.</a><br /><br />And apropos of nothing, a think piece on <a href="http://thisrecording.com/today/2009/12/1/in-which-it-is-really-human-of-you-to-listen-to-all-my-bulls.html" rel="nofollow">John Hughes' women.</a><br /><br /><i>Mad Men's</i> key strength and Jefferson Robbinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05356665406917571985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-68537910669581546072009-12-01T10:10:31.361-05:002009-12-01T10:10:31.361-05:00@Bill: True, but none of those characters can be c...@Bill: True, but none of those characters can be considered all that important to the show. Of course they're not going to kill off any of the Griffins (Francis Griffin aside), but that still robs the idea of mortality of anything resembling weight for everyone else. If Peter can survive all of the things he's survived in the course of the show, can you really feel anything when his Jasonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04083579664415040205noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-5701975658311568822009-11-30T21:23:42.824-05:002009-11-30T21:23:42.824-05:00Mad Men, for me, is a lot like the character of Do...Mad Men, for me, is a lot like the character of Don Draper. A fascinating, undeniably handsome exterior, an air of brooding mystery and deliberation -- and absolutely nothing at the core. No one knows who Don is or what he really wants. Even Don doesn't know. Same with the show. It's a (gorgeous) milieu, (superbly crafted) dialogue, and (well-acted) characters in search of anything to sayAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-10938690524860090762009-11-30T19:55:53.352-05:002009-11-30T19:55:53.352-05:00Let me add that by setting it in the sixties, even...Let me add that by setting it in the sixties, even if Mad Men talked about sexism and the like (which it probably does), it would defeat itself by virtue of its setting. People can watch Mad Men and say, "gosh darnit, that's downright horrible. What a good thing the Sixties came along and ended all that, and now with a black president everything's just jolly. Let's watch a littlePatrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08178910224548079394noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-33954300575244112182009-11-30T19:50:25.654-05:002009-11-30T19:50:25.654-05:00I admit that despite all the love, I have hesitate...I admit that despite all the love, I have hesitated to watch Mad Men for the following reasons:<br /><br />– I have a really hard time getting over sexism, racism, homphobia, etc. in the media. Really hard time. And I feel that Mad Men chose its setting because you "can't be sexist" on modern TV thanks to evil political correctness. It is their license to be assholes. This may be Patrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08178910224548079394noreply@blogger.com