Saw Skyfall, which, after the kind of overlong/wobbly/stupidly titled Quantum of Solace, was surprisingly great! I mean, obviously the Daniel Craig movies are kind of retreads of the Bourne movies (which are retreads of other things), but after years of Pierce Brosnan killing that series, it's nice to be able to enjoy Bond movies again.
It's a catch-22 as far as comments are concerned, for me, because in general my favorite posts are the ones that require no comment and/or don't invite a ton of back and forth. Also I don't comment very often. But the stuff I read and love, in roughly descending order:
- Heartfelt social commentary (Nike video, Ain't No Such Thing as a Free Louis CK show, etc.)
- Political commentary (Sarah Palin did not Cause the Arizona Shootings but is still an Asshole, etc.)
- Duh Aficionado Magazine entries of all stripes (duh)
- WMOAT
- Recaps (True Blood and Top Chef were my favorites, though I hesitate to encourage you to watch more bad TV)
I realize, reading this list, that everything here probably requires the most possible effort, but I love the writing on video gum, and that's why I come back - not so much for the trampoline accidents (although everything has its place).
I have never watched and will never watch these shows, and I rarely comment, but I will log in specifically to say these are my favorite ongoing feature (as long as TWMOAT is on hiatus but still a close second even when it isn't). And closely followed by YCMIU.
It's just there isn't usually a ton to say about them - I read and laugh and move on.
Just think about how sad Boondock Saints would be if it didn't have so many loyal lovers of cinema to defend it, in such colorful language, no less.
Heartbreaking.
Sorry - I actually didn't mean this thread in particular (I had barely even read it) - just read through the other and it was very... contentious when compared to most of the commentary now.
That's all.
Reading the comments on that linked Natasha Richardson post, I was amazed by how many more dick commenters there used to be. Thanks for being decent, monster community. It's nice.
Not that I need other people to validate my opinions, but I guess I need other people to validate my opinions, because it's nice to know that other people like Out of Sight. However, I'm pretty sure that the Jennifer Lopez in the movie is a replicant that Jlo Mk II destroyed as a threat to her "musical" empire.
I have actually considered/assumed that, but honestly I'd take fewer random posts during the day in exchange for more recaps. Not an UNREASONABLE amount - just more.
Some thoughts:
- I think facebook is always going to be tough sledding because of the nature of the site. It's built around the idea of a commenting community that exists on the site, so I'm never that surprised when the active members aren't spending a lot of time commenting on Facebook. That being said, I share stuff whenever it's awesome (often) and would think other devoted readers should (and probably do) the same.
- I'd love to see more recaps, which I think play to Gabe's strengths (and to be honest I think social commentary is the other thing he's particularly strong at), but I also realize there are only so many seasons of True Blood or whatever you can watch before your soul corrodes. I might suggest a more active rotation of shows (both good and awful) to recap. I love Top Chef recaps, but I wouldn't be surprised if they don't pull the masses in. Recap Outsourced! Recap the new version of Two and a Half Men with Charlie Sheen's replacement. Recap Sherlock! Or whatever. Maybe do them in four episode bursts where you can bail out when/if you want to. But more recaps, for sure. I visit the site throughout the day, but save recaps for when I can really savor them.
And I'll try to think of more. But honestly I mostly don't have any complaints.
Agreed - like I said, I was being unfair in my backlash. I read the first part of the first book and it had a very James and the Giant Peach kind of feel. Obviously there's a lot more to it than that.
haha - fair enough. But I'm really not trolling or disliking just to be Winwood or whatever. Bob's Burgers is great! Arrested Development is the best show ever! The Office is pretty funny sometimes although it used to be much better! Christopher Guest makes really funny movies! Etc.!
I have nothing against populist opinions - just wasn't able to get on board with this one.
I looked through the linked comments too, and it's sort of blowing my mind a little how many people love this. I always felt a little (completely undeserved, admittedly) backlash towards the books, because, you know, people have been writing good kid's books for decades, so what makes JK Rowling so special just because she figured out how to rip off Roald Dahl and not get sued?
But of course they're kids books and who cares and I got over it. And since I wasn't invested in the books, I watched the first few movies sort of eagerly because a) I didn't know what happened in them, and b) fun fantasy series of movies! Why not?
And I came out of them feeling much as Gabe does in this post - like, what? They're dull and lifeless and poorly plotted and nearly free of any real sense of adventure and they have WAY too many child actors who aren't particularly good at their jobs and... whatever. My biggest complaint as a complete non-fan is the extent to which Harry is a total cipher that I find it nearly impossible to care about. Through the first three movies at least, he doesn't DO anything - stuff happens to him and he almost gets killed and someone saves him. Whatever.
So bring on the downvotes, I guess.
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