tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724552330122407809.post8970683385271281721..comments2023-11-03T01:50:13.028-07:00Comments on He Shot Cyrus: District 9elgringohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16856962746924193109noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724552330122407809.post-29682659141034544702009-08-19T23:12:32.753-07:002009-08-19T23:12:32.753-07:00I'm sickened that a reviewer's words have ...I'm sickened that a reviewer's words have overtaken the story of the film and its relative merits and demerits. It's like it's an afterthought anymore, and I just want to stop feeding the beast. We're all critics here in some way, shape or form, and I'd feel the same way if it were my words. Not placing blame on anyone in particular, though it's really, really, really, really hard not to put some in the corner of the obvious publicity hound that shall not be named.<br /><br />I'm really glad that Tarantino's flick is coming out in two days, as it will no doubt conjure up similarly strong reactions and perhaps kill the story here.Fletchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17299302086449086987noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724552330122407809.post-33148583425201561162009-08-19T08:18:58.869-07:002009-08-19T08:18:58.869-07:00I would like to get your contact email to send a p...I would like to get your contact email to send a promotional DVD.<br />My email is lilfilm@gmail.comSean Bakerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08084259353147448610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724552330122407809.post-59236464069630978452009-08-18T14:52:00.304-07:002009-08-18T14:52:00.304-07:00Agree with all, and I think Ed captures my thought...Agree with all, and I think Ed captures my thoughts really well here (even though I haven't seen True Blood). I had a good enough time watch D9, but never was I accepting of any message it was trying to deliver. All sense of meaning was abandoned after the first 10 minutes. Nice set-up, but let's call it what it is - a set-up.Danielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05222052132452709301noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724552330122407809.post-34461487248046932632009-08-18T11:58:39.967-07:002009-08-18T11:58:39.967-07:00I'm a big fan of Armond White's (I think h...I'm a big fan of Armond White's (I think he's the best film writer/culture critic we have), but I don't find any of y'alls objections to him outlandish. We disagree, but we do we <i>not</i>? <br /><br />A writer that provokes as much as White does - and I think he does it in a healthy way - should expect blowback, and I have no problem with all of the fierce, thoughtful, arguments made against his opinions. (Again, I believe that's part of what makes him valuable... the debate he creates).<br /><br /><i>My</i> problem with the commenters on White's <b>District 9</b> review, and also with the comments on his <b>GI Joe</b> review (where I totally I disagreed him), and most horrendously on the <b>Funny People</b> review (where I <i>again</i> disagreed with White) is that people got so angry and just started calling him names instead of arguing merits.<br /><br />Most horribly - and I dont know if anyone has brought this up yet - was when some commenters got racial in the comments to his <b>Funny People</b> review. That's one reason why I don't like unsupervised comment sections, especially when anonymous/John Doe people comment. <a href="http://www.nypress.com/article-20144-stand-up-falls-flat.html#" rel="nofollow">Here</a> is the link. Hopefully a site administrator has cleaned it up, but two people used the "N" word and another accused him of waving his "gorilla arms" (I feel gross even typing that) around.<br /><br />White challenges me, and I like that. If those commenters can't handle it and they can only resort to "you suck" arguments, then it only reinforces how correct he is about many of the fans of the movies he rips.Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08067136509248849744noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724552330122407809.post-82253676986015691692009-08-18T07:50:51.767-07:002009-08-18T07:50:51.767-07:00Good post, and thoughtful comments.
Elgringo: &qu...Good post, and thoughtful comments.<br /><br />Elgringo: <i>"The scene is reminiscent of the James Bond film Live and Let Die as well as countless older films and cartoons in which the dark man is depicted as savage."</i> Indeed!<br /><br />Tommy: <i>"It doesn't matter if your story alludes to historical events we abhor or revere, it has to be intelligent about it."</i> Indeed, again!<br /><br />Ed: That's a great summary of White. Thanks to the link here, I just read his review, and what's so telling is that it's riddled with a contrarian spirit that cheapens what are some smart observations (not always smartly argued) about the film. What we're left with, as usual, is the sense that he's more interested in being "right" by being different than in being "right" based on his analysis. He's exhausting...and not just because he frequently writes sentences that are only illustrative to him.Jason Bellamyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18150199580478147196noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724552330122407809.post-41441137377477579632009-08-17T19:14:10.204-07:002009-08-17T19:14:10.204-07:00I have to say, I enjoyed District 9 for roughly th...I have to say, I enjoyed <i>District 9</i> for roughly the same reasons as I enjoy <i>True Blood</i>: it's vibrant, slightly goofy, visceral fun that loosely riffs on important social issues only in order to deliver thrills. Do I think anyone who finds real deeper substance in this film is badly misguided? Yeah, its attempts at allegory are a total mess. But it doesn't mean I can't enjoy it for a simple, well-made thrill ride, despite my problems with it.<br /><br />I have to say, though, the only thing sillier than thinking <i>District 9</i> is a coherent social parable is thinking Armond White makes coherent arguments for anything. He has spurts of logic mingled with whole paragraphs where he does nothing but drop names of other filmmakers more or less at random, including the obligatory Spielberg reference that I swear is in EVERY REVIEW I've ever read by the guy. The funniest reference in this is a random hat tip to <i>You, the Living</i>, a film I liked a lot myself, but I just can't see any plausible connection whatsoever between a deadpan Scandanavian dark comedy and a mainstream alien action blockbuster. I don't know, he's fascinating in a trainwreck kind of way, and he's not even really wrong about this film, but I just can't take him seriously as a critic at all.Ed Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18014222247676090467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724552330122407809.post-63158743465931005692009-08-17T16:06:41.591-07:002009-08-17T16:06:41.591-07:00I think the same people who trumpet District 9 as ...I think the same people who trumpet District 9 as having more depth than Lethal Weapon 2 are the same folks who think True Blood is important because vampirism is an allegory for homosexuality, or whatever. It doesn't matter if your story alludes to historical events we abhor or revere, it has to be intelligent about it. <br /><br />Armond White is obviously a gadfly who likes riling people, but he's not crazy, or stupid. He can make cogent arguments for his opinions, which I don't often agree with, but I usually read. Why? Because unlike the ravings of online fanboys and the "entertainment minded" critics of the MSM, he details his arguments and knows why he likes or hates something, even when he's wrong.Thomas Pluckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17008022962076648740noreply@blogger.com