Christopher Nolan is Making a Movie About Robert Oppenheimer, and Variety Wants Me to Care

See how far you can get into their marketing gibberish before you give up. There’s so many things wrong with this. First of all, Robert Oppenheimer was not an heroic figure, however poetic his turn to the Baghavad-Gita was upon viewing what his science had wrought. He was a lab coat surrounded by lab coats.… Read More Christopher Nolan is Making a Movie About Robert Oppenheimer, and Variety Wants Me to Care

19 Nov 202119 Nov 2021 AndrewLeave a comment

An Encomium of Pankot – In Defense of Indiana Jones and Temple of Doom

I’ve written on the Indiana Jones series before, explaining the problem I had with Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. A lot of people complained about the tiredness of that movie, the strain of it, and they were right to do so. But for me the problem was theological: So sure, say the movies, Indiana Jones,… Read More An Encomium of Pankot – In Defense of Indiana Jones and Temple of Doom

7 Oct 2021 AndrewLeave a comment

Content Blues, The Podcast – Episode 3: Poems, Prose and Princes

As promised, a new episode of friendly rambling. I plan what I talk about with these, some notes I want to make, and then I just let the ramble happen. It gives me ideas and let’s me talk out loud about where my thoughts are. This one covers new readings and old movies. Available on… Read More Content Blues, The Podcast – Episode 3: Poems, Prose and Princes

13 Jun 2021 AndrewLeave a comment

Oh Good, a New Indiana Jones Movie

Time for Low-Rent Clint Eastwood to Ride Again. The only question is Why, and there’s only one answer. No one is going to enjoy this. Harrison Ford is too old for this. He was too old for it in the last movie. It’s going to be regurgitated trash, that will almost but not quite pay… Read More Oh Good, a New Indiana Jones Movie

27 May 2021 Andrew2 Comments

Shallow & Pedantic 13: Let us Now Abuse Kevin Smith

Not really. I think I had that in mind when I conceived the episode, but when it came time to do the recording, we were far more even-handed. Kevin Smith has moved beyond his View Askew films from the 90’s, and although he’s done other things the universal critical consensus is that he’s never really… Read More Shallow & Pedantic 13: Let us Now Abuse Kevin Smith

14 May 2021 AndrewLeave a comment

Doing Things For a Reason: Miller’s Crossing and the Friend/Enemy Dynamic

Carl Schmidt was a German jurist and political philosopher of the Weimar and Nazi eras. True to the time, his writings contain very strong critique of what he called “the liberal critique of politics.” He phrased it that way because to his mind there was no such thing as true liberal politics, as the essence… Read More Doing Things For a Reason: Miller’s Crossing and the Friend/Enemy Dynamic

30 Mar 202122 Apr 2021 AndrewLeave a comment

Do They Even Have Movies Anymore?

The joke of the year (decade?) is they don’t, and I’ll have to explain to my grandchildren that long ago there were these big living rooms with hundreds of seats that people used to pay half the price of a DVD (what’s a DVD, grampa?) for one ticket, and by kitchen snacks for, and sit… Read More Do They Even Have Movies Anymore?

26 Jan 2021 AndrewLeave a comment

I Don’t Care If Cuties is a Good Movie

It seems that people have been left by their education unable to put values in the correct order. People who consider themselves intelligent and sober are defending twerking 11-year-olds for no better reason than to annoy conservatives, because apparently child exploitation doesn’t count if it’s done on the set of a movie in France. Let’s… Read More I Don’t Care If Cuties is a Good Movie

12 Sep 202015 Sep 2020 Andrew3 Comments

Criterion Collection Lust and Other Class Settings

I haven’t watched a single thing on my art-house bucket list, but I’ve subscribed to the Criterion Collection subreddit, because displays of aesthetic approval from an institutional source matter more in the Matrix than actually developing aesthetic sense. Which is fine, as most people have no idea what aesthetic sense even is. I include philosophers… Read More Criterion Collection Lust and Other Class Settings

29 Feb 2020 AndrewLeave a comment

Some Thoughts on Once Upon A Time in Hollywood

Finally sat down and watched it. I would put it squarely in his Western Phase, that he’s been on since Django Unchained. It’s more of a meta-Western, but it has that tone and that feel to it, and the main character is a down-on-his-luck Western Star. Anyway, here are my thoughts: Quentin Tarantino is the… Read More Some Thoughts on Once Upon A Time in Hollywood

22 Jan 2020 AndrewLeave a comment