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Post by indy2003 on Jul 29, 2008 11:12:09 GMT -8
Hey folks, Some of you may know that one of my heroes is film critic Roger Ebert. There are others that have greater strengths in terms of film analysis, but there is no critic whose writing I love as Mr. Ebert's. I read absolutely every single review, essay, and blog entry that the man writes, just because I love his unique, wise, and thoughtful voice. I was reading his reviews this weekend, and was particularly struck by his review of "Step Brothers" (a film that he disliked, and so did I). Here is his review: rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080723/REVIEWS/611265921I felt compelled to respond to what he had written, and sent him an e-mail. He wrote me back and told me that he was going to publish it on his website, which just made my day... well, month... year. rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080728/LETTERS/809123236I'm curious to know if anyone else has any thoughts along those lines... agree/disagree/don't care? Back at ya later
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Post by Jon Broxton on Jul 29, 2008 11:33:31 GMT -8
I seem to remember you and I having this same conversation via MSN after we both saw The Brave One and were both stunned by the fact that our respective cinema audiences had the same terrible reaction to the finale.
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Post by Hook on Jul 29, 2008 11:42:44 GMT -8
I love reading Ebert as well and I was saddened to hear about his illness a few years back (and now the show is being plugged!). I remember watching a lot of movies trying to figure out what Ebert would think. As with other film critics, I enjoy his thoughts and writing style, but I don't go to him for (regular) my movie watching schedule or to learn right from wrong. Still, I can't shake the feeling that ever since his hospital stays, Ebert has been very, VERY soft on movies and I take his recommendations with a grain of salt nowadays. On his site, I greatly enjoy his editor's blog, too. More recently, he's had discussions on how Comic-Con has become yet another marketing tool for film companies and how blockbusters come a dime a dozen each summer. I love that stuff, mainly because I've been thinking along the same lines.
I was very interested to see Step Brothers after seeing interviews with the leads, but then I saw the connection between this and Judd Apatow, and now I'll stay far, far away from it. I usually stay far from such fare, but what gets to me is when I'm watching films I enjoy, and I seem to be enjoying them more than the other people in the theater. Take Wall-E. That film is critic proof. Everyone likes it. But there are bits and pieces where I'm laughing and I feel bad because no one else is. Case: Wall-E runs through his garbage collection to find a replacement eye while EVA is startled to see the mechanics of his shelves and threatens them point blank with her ray gun, an escaped robot signals Wall-E to play a song by tapping beeps and boops on himself, and the "Captains over the years" intro shot of the cockpit in which you see them getting fatter and fatter as time goes by. Not to mention how the ship's commanding robot is shaped like a ship's steering wheel. I swear I was the only one who laughed at those things. Was I the only one who noticed those things? Did everyone else think they weren't funny?
I don't know. What I do know is most people seem to react at slapstick. Where it be vulgar, comedic, or horrific, it's something of a cue for them. Eh, what do I know?
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Post by christopher on Jul 29, 2008 14:08:43 GMT -8
Cool that you got your comments posted by Ebert, Clark. I like the guy, and anyone who has seen and critical thought about the sheer volumes of movies that he has deserves to be taken seriously. As far as the state of modern films goes and the gradual moral decay of society evident therein, I agree with you completely.
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Post by Chris Tilton on Jul 30, 2008 9:19:03 GMT -8
I wrote Ebert a number of years ago and he emailed me back. I don't think he published my comment on his website though.
I too was annoyed at the emptiness of WANTED though. I found the ridiculous action, and the movie's relishing in its own ridiculousness, fun, but was particularly shocked at the train scene where all the characters care about is their silly mission, and not the hundreds of innocent people they just sent to their death.
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Post by tharpdevenport on Jul 30, 2008 9:57:02 GMT -8
Agree with your comments, indy.
And what bugs me most, which wasn't necessarily mentioned, is films with no plot, little plot, stupid plots, and movies that you have to "turn your mind off" to have "fun". At least when "The Twilight Zone" required to have suspension ofdisbelief, it delivered in qaulity. Can't say the same about today's films...
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Post by indy2003 on Jul 30, 2008 11:35:20 GMT -8
I was very interested to see Step Brothers after seeing interviews with the leads, but then I saw the connection between this and Judd Apatow, and now I'll stay far, far away from it. I usually stay far from such fare, but what gets to me is when I'm watching films I enjoy, and I seem to be enjoying them more than the other people in the theater. Take Wall-E. That film is critic proof. Everyone likes it. But there are bits and pieces where I'm laughing and I feel bad because no one else is. Case: Wall-E runs through his garbage collection to find a replacement eye while EVA is startled to see the mechanics of his shelves and threatens them point blank with her ray gun, an escaped robot signals Wall-E to play a song by tapping beeps and boops on himself, and the "Captains over the years" intro shot of the cockpit in which you see them getting fatter and fatter as time goes by. Not to mention how the ship's commanding robot is shaped like a ship's steering wheel. I swear I was the only one who laughed at those things. Was I the only one who noticed those things? Did everyone else think they weren't funny? I don't know. What I do know is most people seem to react at slapstick. Where it be vulgar, comedic, or horrific, it's something of a cue for them. Eh, what do I know? For what it's worth, I also found the scenes in "Wall-E" you're talking about very funny. However, I took my kid brother to the movie (age 8), and asked him what his favorite scene was. His reply: "The part when the fat man tried to walk." You're probably right about slapstick... I like slapstick when it's well-done, but I confess I'll take some well-timed comic dialogue over a guy getting hit with a frying pan nine times out of ten. Back at ya later
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