Red Mosquito

Will you people go see Mud already. For pete ske.

Harry Lime wrote:Will you people go see Mud already. For pete ske.

Wednesday or Thursday motherfucker, gees.

Is it blasphemy to say Raising Arizona might be my favorite Cohen brothers movie?

Whitey McTeeth wrote:Is it blasphemy to say Raising Arizona might be my favorite Cohen brothers movie?

yeah, but probably not for the reasons you think

Gatsby.

And I loved every operatic frame of the thing.

durdencommatyler wrote:Gatsby.

And I loved every operatic frame of the thing.

Harry Lime wrote:

durdencommatyler wrote:Gatsby.

And I loved every operatic frame of the thing.

I KNEW that would be your reaction!

Roll your e-eyes at me all you want, Orson. It's good. It surprised me how much I enjoyed it. I was ready for a shit-show.

I have decided that durdencommatyler is the exact opposite of spenno.

saw the place beyond the pines and thought it was pretty good actually. maybe the 3rd act was a bit too much though.

theplatypus wrote:I have decided that durdencommatyler is the exact opposite of spenno.

If you mean what I think you mean you're wrong, but I'll take it!

durdencommatyler wrote:

theplatypus wrote:I have decided that durdencommatyler is the exact opposite of spenno.

If you mean what I think you mean you're wrong, but I'll take it!

But seriously folks, isn't enjoying yourself more fun than not? I spent a long, long time being hyper critical of everything and I started hating everything.

I like to think I've found a good balance. A message board, especially one that's already turned against a piece of art, isn't probably the best place to pontificate on said art. Is Gatsby perfect? Heavens, no. But there's a lot of merit there. And Baz surprised me by reigning in his MTV style and choosing a more MET Opera style. It was refreshing and not at all as obnoxious or distracting as I fear it could be.

Hey! I guess this is a good place to pontificate!

Greenberg...I love this movie. Cinemax runs the movie everyday pretty much, and I can watch from any point in the movie. Great soundtrack too.

Whitey McTeeth wrote:Greenberg...I love this movie. Cinemax runs the movie everyday pretty much, and I can watch from any point in the movie. Great soundtrack too.

Never seen that one. I should add that to my list.

Is Gatsby a musical? Because i don't do musicals.

BurtReynolds wrote:Is Gatsby a musical? Because i don't do musicals.

Not a musical.

I am not proud of myself for two reasons:

1.) I still haven't seen Blow Out or The Red Shoes
2.) I'm prepared to watch both of them on youtube.

They probably wouldn't make much money, but more movie theaters should show the classics. Different classics every week. That'd be nice.

durdencommatyler wrote:

durdencommatyler wrote:

theplatypus wrote:I have decided that durdencommatyler is the exact opposite of spenno.

If you mean what I think you mean you're wrong, but I'll take it!

But seriously folks, isn't enjoying yourself more fun than not? I spent a long, long time being hyper critical of everything and I started hating everything.

I like to think I've found a good balance. A message board, especially one that's already turned against a piece of art, isn't probably the best place to pontificate on said art. Is Gatsby perfect? Heavens, no. But there's a lot of merit there. And Baz surprised me by reigning in his MTV style and choosing a more MET Opera style. It was refreshing and not at all as obnoxious or distracting as I fear it could be.

Hey! I guess this is a good place to pontificate!

I have to be critical, or a pop culture connoisseur. Will certain people dislike that side of me? Sure. But if I decided to enjoy everything without reason, then I'd be an enabler. And I don't like lying to myself.

I admit that I have a desire to see Gatsby. As much as I don't like to admit it, the adolescent in me identifies with the title character (desiring success in order to get "the" girl). It's just this whole appealing to modern audiences is what bothers me. I'm imagining a studio's discussion with Baz Luhrmann: "We're not wasting money on a period piece unless we can appeal to Generation Y." It's the same reason why Frank Darabont's script for "Fahrenheit 451" was rejected. According to Darabont, the studio executive told him it was one of the best screenplays he has ever read, but they wouldn't produce it, because how would they get young adults into the theater? I know, it's the system today. But that sucks.

durdencommatyler wrote: But seriously folks, isn't enjoying yourself more fun than not? I spent a long, long time being hyper critical of everything and I started hating everything.

Sure, but you act like liking something or otherwise is completely within my control, like a button that can be switched on or off. I wish I liked everything because everything was good.

Also.

Harry Lime wrote:I have to be critical, or a pop culture connoisseur. Will certain people dislike that side of me? Sure. But if I decided to enjoy everything without reason, then I'd be an enabler. And I don't like lying to myself.

I admit that I have a desire to see Gatsby. As much as I don't like to admit it, the adolescent in me identifies with the title character (desiring success in order to get "the" girl). It's just this whole appealing to modern audiences is what bothers me. I'm imagining a studio's discussion with Baz Luhrmann: "We're not wasting money on a period piece unless we can appeal to Generation Y." It's the same reason why Frank Darabont's script for "Fahrenheit 451" was rejected. According to Darabont, the studio executive told him it was one of the best screenplays he has ever read, but they wouldn't produce it, because how would they get young adults into the theater? I know, it's the system today. But that sucks.

Nothing wrong with being critical. And I hope people don't really think that I enjoy everything without reason. That's far from true. However, I have made a choice in my critical life to try and focus on positive aspects of other people's art, rather than the negative. That doesn't mean I don't openly dislike things for good reason.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding your second point, but Gatsby -- by which I mean Baz's version -- is absolutely a period piece. The scenes in which any modern influences are woven into the story are very intentional and deliberate. I don't think -- of course, I could be way off, having never spoken to Baz or anyone else on the production team -- that this was less about strictly appealing to a modern audience than it was about artistic choices. But the thing is produced by Jay-Z, so what do I know? And of course the studio wants to make money. But even if it is, the movie doesn't feellike a cash grab, or a manipulation, to me.

Baz deals in myths and fairy tales. I think he saw something of a universality and modern appeal in the novel The Great Gatsby (and he isn't wrong, there) but I think he also saw a connection to old myth, and to fairy tale, and to some shared aesthetic. And, in what I would call an operatic-cinema style, he explored that connection. And I think it really works, on the balance.

theplatypus wrote:

durdencommatyler wrote: But seriously folks, isn't enjoying yourself more fun than not? I spent a long, long time being hyper critical of everything and I started hating everything.

Sure, but you act like liking something or otherwise is completely within my control, like a button that can be switched on or off. I wish I liked everything because everything was good.

Also.

When have I ever acted like that?

In that post you said "isn't enjoying yourself more fun than not?", implying it's a choice. Maybe I misunderstood.