Anthony Weiner and Junk Politics
By Kyle | April 14, 2013
Should Anthony Weiner run for Mayor of New York? Sure, why not. Why on Earth wouldn’t he? More in my Sunday column.
Topics: New York City, Politics | 81 Comments »
Review: “Scary Movie 5″
By Kyle | April 12, 2013
Why you should bring an iPad to see it….My review is up.
Topics: Movies | 2 Comments »
Review: “Disconnect”
By Kyle | April 12, 2013
“Disconnect” is a “Crash”-like dramatization of some of the issues I wrote about in my column on “Present Shock.” I respected its aims, but it turned a bit melodramatic in the end. My review is up.
Topics: Movies | 5 Comments »
Review: “To the Wonder”
By Kyle | April 11, 2013
I was caught up in Terrence Malick’s latest woozy reverie “To the Wonder.” My review is up.
Topics: Movies | 6 Comments »
End of the Iron Age
By Kyle | April 8, 2013
UPDATE: My appreciation of Mrs. Thatcher is running in today’s Post.
The greatest woman of the twentieth century has died.
Topics: Politics | 19 Comments »
The End of “The End of Welfare As We Know It”
By Kyle | April 7, 2013
The number of people collecting disability has doubled since the mid-90s. What happened? One big change is that private firms have been enabled to crusade on behalf of those who claim they’re unable to work. More in my Sunday column.
Topics: Politics | 1 Comment »
Review: “Trance”
By Kyle | April 5, 2013
I was exhilarated by Danny Boyle’s “Trance,” my new favorite film of the year. My review is up.
Topics: Movies | 5 Comments »
Review: “Simon Killer”
By Kyle | April 5, 2013
“Simon Killer” is a chilling neo-noir about an aimless young American in Paris. My review is up.
Topics: Movies | No Comments »
Review: “6 Souls”
By Kyle | April 5, 2013
The laughable thriller “6 Souls” features Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Julianne Moore doing their best “Silence of the Lambs” shtick. My review is up.
Topics: Movies | No Comments »
On the Passing of Roger Ebert
By Kyle | April 4, 2013
UPDATE: My obit of Roger Ebert is running in today’s Post.
Wow. Roger Ebert certainly blew up Twitter when his death was announced this afternoon. I do believe he is the most famous critic of any kind in the history of the U.S. (Not counting people like Mark Twain who were not primarily known as critics.)
Politically, Ebert could be, shall we say, a little misguided. He was in pretty much full agreement with Michael Moore and repeated a claim advanced by Moore that the 2nd Amendment was ratified to protect slavery. He said that “the Americans who complain about ‘negative’ news are the ideological cousins of those who shoot at CNN News crews.” (Huh? Doesn’t practically everyone complain about the negativity of the news? Are practically all of us terrorists?) He tried to tie Sarah Palin to “Mein Kampf.” And how exactly is it Mitt Romney’s fault that his great-grandfather was a Mormon polygamist? Ebert would be the first to call foul if someone suggested not voting for Barack Obama because his father was a Muslim polygamist.
But as with most people writing about culture, you have to roll your eyes at the juvenile nature of the political stuff. Same with Gore Vidal.
But just take a look at some of his one-liners about movies. There is a lot of brilliance there. (I am quoting some of them in my obit for the Post tomorrow.) Though I must disagree with the Twitter consensus that his review of “North” is a fine example of a takedown. In fact, it’s mostly just meaningless hyperbole (”one of the worst films ever made” doesn’t tell us very much, especially when you’ve said similar things many other times) and relies heavily on a lot of different ways (maybe not so different) of saying, “I hated it.” Don’t believe me? Here’s an excerpt that sounds like a middle-school newspaper:
I hated this movie. Hated hated hated hated hated this movie. Hated it. Hated every simpering stupid vacant audience-insulting moment of it. Hated the sensibility that thought anyone would like it. Hated the implied insult to the audience by its belief that anyone would be entertained by it.
Okay, so Ebert hated it. That’s not very interesting or witty. He often seemed to hate the idea that others might like a film he hated. Why begrudge others their enjoyment? Especially when your life’s philosophy is, allegedly, to spread the love:
“Kindness” covers all of my political beliefs. No need to spell them out. I believe that if, at the end, according to our abilities, we have done something to make others a little happier, and something to make ourselves a little happier, that is about the best we can do. To make others less happy is a crime. To make ourselves unhappy is where all crime starts. We must try to contribute joy to the world. That is true no matter what our problems, our health, our circumstances. We must try. I didn’t always know this and am happy I lived long enough to find it out.
Here, though, is what bothers me very slightly. Ebert said he reviewed 306 movies last year. That’s more than I did, and I’m not even dying (as far as I know). He died with his boots on, I guess, but some of his last published writing was…a review of “The Host.” I almost went to “The Host” last week, but at the last minute decided, “Why bother? We knew it was going to suck because the studio wouldn’t show it to us until 36 hours before it opened. We knew it was going to suck because it’s based on a Stephenie Meyer story. OK, maybe I’m a little curious about how bad it’s going to be, but then again to slake my curiosity is going to cost me two hours of my life. There are a lot of zero-sum decisions in life: If you’re doing X, you can’t be doing Y at the same time. If you’re in the final days of your life, should you spend a couple of hours on “The Host”?
Topics: Movies | 17 Comments »