Yes! Kareem, you write great reviews. The line mentioned below and this one "...like Grandpa telling us for the umpteenth time how he got a great deal on his car." both pretty much summed up exactly how I felt watching those two movies.
Or a magnificent mansion bounce house that quickly deflated into a plastic puddle. Love the alliteration. I haven't seen these 3 movies either and most likely won't see any of them. Would much rather travel to a great concert. Thank you for mentioning No Country for Old Men. One of my favorites. Your writing is a pleasure to read. Always look forward to what's on your mind. Thank you.
Haven’t seen any of these yet, but just wanted to say “…like watching drunk friends laughing at everything they say while we just wait for them to pass out” is perhaps the best line I’ve ever read in a film critique. Touché!
I found ' Drive My Car' one of the best movies in many years. Complex, intelligent, informative and emotionally moving. And of course it is a foreign language film tho with roots in the West ( Uncle Vanya) .....highly recommended
The satirist strives to shame the perps as Swift’s hoisting at the English Landlords like Trevellyn (ref. the Irish “protest song” #TheFieldsOfAthenry) during the “Great (Potato) Famine,” and Kubrick’s kick at the Strangelovian #MastersOfWar (ref. #Dylan). The current problem (and opportunity!) is the neoliberal enabling of the #nefariousNewWorldOrder’s money grubbing #BigMediaPowersThatBe’s shamelessly deceitful stoking of the zio-neo-CONS’ warring/occupying/sanctioning/lying/bullying imperialism upon #WeTheSheeple, sorrowfully.
Kareem, thanks for you take on The Power of the Dog, which echoed my own reaction (or the other way around?). Yes, it was a fine movie, but no, it's not the first fine movie to treat repressed homosexuality or toxic masculinity or the volatile combination of the two. After reading your review, I no longer feel stupid. As for Don't Look Up, I agree that it would have made a very funny ten-minute skit on SNL.
I gave up on the Oscars years ago. Expanding the number of movies nominated for Best Picture did nothing to increase the number of good movies being made. The ehtire show is more about who can look the most ridiculous/vulgar on the red carpet. I'll stick to watching the Tournament. (Our Bruins are doin' ok so far!)
You have clearly articulated the reasons for the respect with which I view the Oscars and fellow travelers. Exalt True Grit (the Wayne version), over Midnight Cowboy; the English Patient over Fargo and assorted other travesties and the rea$sonS become quite apparent. It ain't got much to do with fine films.
"10 years late" is a good description of POTD regarding LGBTQ+ themes, though the consequences of suppression would seem even more dangerously perverse back then. Also 'wandering, obscure' but maybe that's just because I quit caring enough to dig for meaning, with insufficient hope of finding any. FWIW, Nomadland, NCFOM, and Parasite were good but hardly gems, IMHO. Just a random, off the top of my head alternative: Pig.
Kareem, I generally agree with you about Power of the Dog and Don't Look Up. But as a climate activist (and with a climate themed screenplay I'm shopping right now, about a Black female climate scientist who rebels against her Oil company exec father) having read testimonials from climate scientists about how positively and powerfully the film impacted THEM - I have to grudgingly say DLU is that rare case of a work of art making a statement - representing an existential threat/mirroring the abject failure of media to cover it appropriately - that transcends the quality of the art itself. So I can agree with you about the quality while saying the importance of the representation is highly significant. Just for fun, I could take this concept to a much higher and more provocative level by applying it to politics (!) I'll let you and your readers guess who I'm referring to, but suffice it to say that political progressives (Cornel West, etc) are and will continue to harshly critique certain Black politicians who turned out to be not much more than neoliberal/pro-corporate/empire supporting nationalists.....while at the same time acknowledging the value to communities of color of the representation aspect - seeing someone who looks like them serve in a position of power and influence.
Yes! Kareem, you write great reviews. The line mentioned below and this one "...like Grandpa telling us for the umpteenth time how he got a great deal on his car." both pretty much summed up exactly how I felt watching those two movies.
Or a magnificent mansion bounce house that quickly deflated into a plastic puddle. Love the alliteration. I haven't seen these 3 movies either and most likely won't see any of them. Would much rather travel to a great concert. Thank you for mentioning No Country for Old Men. One of my favorites. Your writing is a pleasure to read. Always look forward to what's on your mind. Thank you.
Haven’t seen any of these yet, but just wanted to say “…like watching drunk friends laughing at everything they say while we just wait for them to pass out” is perhaps the best line I’ve ever read in a film critique. Touché!
I found ' Drive My Car' one of the best movies in many years. Complex, intelligent, informative and emotionally moving. And of course it is a foreign language film tho with roots in the West ( Uncle Vanya) .....highly recommended
The satirist strives to shame the perps as Swift’s hoisting at the English Landlords like Trevellyn (ref. the Irish “protest song” #TheFieldsOfAthenry) during the “Great (Potato) Famine,” and Kubrick’s kick at the Strangelovian #MastersOfWar (ref. #Dylan). The current problem (and opportunity!) is the neoliberal enabling of the #nefariousNewWorldOrder’s money grubbing #BigMediaPowersThatBe’s shamelessly deceitful stoking of the zio-neo-CONS’ warring/occupying/sanctioning/lying/bullying imperialism upon #WeTheSheeple, sorrowfully.
In watching The Power of the Dog, I agree. I just did not see much there. It was long, slow and I was happy when it was over.
Kareem, thanks for you take on The Power of the Dog, which echoed my own reaction (or the other way around?). Yes, it was a fine movie, but no, it's not the first fine movie to treat repressed homosexuality or toxic masculinity or the volatile combination of the two. After reading your review, I no longer feel stupid. As for Don't Look Up, I agree that it would have made a very funny ten-minute skit on SNL.
I gave up on the Oscars years ago. Expanding the number of movies nominated for Best Picture did nothing to increase the number of good movies being made. The ehtire show is more about who can look the most ridiculous/vulgar on the red carpet. I'll stick to watching the Tournament. (Our Bruins are doin' ok so far!)
You have clearly articulated the reasons for the respect with which I view the Oscars and fellow travelers. Exalt True Grit (the Wayne version), over Midnight Cowboy; the English Patient over Fargo and assorted other travesties and the rea$sonS become quite apparent. It ain't got much to do with fine films.
"10 years late" is a good description of POTD regarding LGBTQ+ themes, though the consequences of suppression would seem even more dangerously perverse back then. Also 'wandering, obscure' but maybe that's just because I quit caring enough to dig for meaning, with insufficient hope of finding any. FWIW, Nomadland, NCFOM, and Parasite were good but hardly gems, IMHO. Just a random, off the top of my head alternative: Pig.
Totally agree. These are all pretentious, bloated films.
The original Nightmare Alley with Tyrone Power is much better than the 2021 version.
Power was much more believable without the over-contrived smarminess that Copper smacked us with throughout the movie.
Power of the Dog was brilliantly acted. But they should grind it down to powder and give it orally as a sleeping aid.
As for Don't Look Up, they should change the name of this agonizingly boing movie to "Don't Look."
Decaprio must have needed the money.
Kareem, I generally agree with you about Power of the Dog and Don't Look Up. But as a climate activist (and with a climate themed screenplay I'm shopping right now, about a Black female climate scientist who rebels against her Oil company exec father) having read testimonials from climate scientists about how positively and powerfully the film impacted THEM - I have to grudgingly say DLU is that rare case of a work of art making a statement - representing an existential threat/mirroring the abject failure of media to cover it appropriately - that transcends the quality of the art itself. So I can agree with you about the quality while saying the importance of the representation is highly significant. Just for fun, I could take this concept to a much higher and more provocative level by applying it to politics (!) I'll let you and your readers guess who I'm referring to, but suffice it to say that political progressives (Cornel West, etc) are and will continue to harshly critique certain Black politicians who turned out to be not much more than neoliberal/pro-corporate/empire supporting nationalists.....while at the same time acknowledging the value to communities of color of the representation aspect - seeing someone who looks like them serve in a position of power and influence.
At least they got this part right.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2022/03/26/samuel-l-jackson-oscar/
Power of the Dog was a hot mess of pretentious, unwatchable boredom.