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Tarantino
I have to admit, I’ve liked all of Quentin Tarantino’s movies. I contrast his movies with the Coen Brothers’. I go up and down with the Coen Brothers. I just saw BURN AFTER READING, and a more pointless movie I can’t imagine. Despite a great cast, and some funny scenes, the movie ended up pretty much as a series of coincidences that could have led anywhere other than where it did end up. Maybe that’s the point. There was no interaction between the various story threads. It was like a farce without the central elements of farce. Contrast it to IN THE LOOP, the best comedy I’ve seen in ages, in which it is made clear at every step how the interactions between moral idiots can lead to global disaster.
And then there was the Coen Brothers’ much praised previous movie, NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, which I haven’t seen. I read the book. I’m a huge admirer of Cormac McCarthy, but I thought that book was total jive – giving us this outre pyscho central figure and trying to have us believe that he stood for some kind of central Evil in the Heart of Man. He was just a pyscho with a thingie that stuns cattle! The whole book was, like, effectual psycho does something horrible, ineffectual hero tries to salvage something from life, ineffectual Sheriff pontificates. Pfui, as Nero Wolfe might say. I suspect the movie was pretty much the same.
Wait, what was I talking about?
Tarantino!
I’ll wait on INGLORIOUS BASTERDS until it hits what used to be called “video,” but as I understand it, it’s about a bunch of undercover soldiers killing Nazis, and eventually killing Hitler himself.
This, no doubt, will prove controversial. But I’m wondering if the time has come, too soon perhaps, when Hitler and Nazis enter the realm of HAGAR THE HORRIBLE, when Hitler and Nazis become a cartoon, a bedtime story to scare your children into proper behavior, a dim evil figure that can be swatted about, and broken like a pinata at birthday parties. And from Hitler’s broken body: candy!
From the dress code at Bob Jones University:
“Abercrombie & Fitch and its subsidiary Hollister have shown an unusual degree of antagonism to the name of Christ and an unusual display of wickedness in their promotions. In protest, articles displaying their logos are not acceptable to be worn, carried, or displayed (even if covered or masked in some way).”
Svedka Vodka
It has come to my attention that Svedka Vodka runs ads featuring some kind of hooter-heavy “female” robot called Svedka that… does something. People are outraged! We’re supposed to be sexually attracted to a robot? And drink vodka? That is just wrong.
Trend?
Chicken farming in the city. It’ll make you feel good about yourself, and irritate the neighbors.
Death panel alert!
Oh please. Can we just stop this now? I just visited my folks (88 and 82), and they’re not living in fear. Really.
I have to admit, I’ve liked all of Quentin Tarantino’s movies. I contrast his movies with the Coen Brothers’. I go up and down with the Coen Brothers. I just saw BURN AFTER READING, and a more pointless movie I can’t imagine. Despite a great cast, and some funny scenes, the movie ended up pretty much as a series of coincidences that could have led anywhere other than where it did end up. Maybe that’s the point. There was no interaction between the various story threads. It was like a farce without the central elements of farce. Contrast it to IN THE LOOP, the best comedy I’ve seen in ages, in which it is made clear at every step how the interactions between moral idiots can lead to global disaster.
And then there was the Coen Brothers’ much praised previous movie, NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, which I haven’t seen. I read the book. I’m a huge admirer of Cormac McCarthy, but I thought that book was total jive – giving us this outre pyscho central figure and trying to have us believe that he stood for some kind of central Evil in the Heart of Man. He was just a pyscho with a thingie that stuns cattle! The whole book was, like, effectual psycho does something horrible, ineffectual hero tries to salvage something from life, ineffectual Sheriff pontificates. Pfui, as Nero Wolfe might say. I suspect the movie was pretty much the same.
Wait, what was I talking about?
Tarantino!
I’ll wait on INGLORIOUS BASTERDS until it hits what used to be called “video,” but as I understand it, it’s about a bunch of undercover soldiers killing Nazis, and eventually killing Hitler himself.
This, no doubt, will prove controversial. But I’m wondering if the time has come, too soon perhaps, when Hitler and Nazis enter the realm of HAGAR THE HORRIBLE, when Hitler and Nazis become a cartoon, a bedtime story to scare your children into proper behavior, a dim evil figure that can be swatted about, and broken like a pinata at birthday parties. And from Hitler’s broken body: candy!
From the dress code at Bob Jones University:
“Abercrombie & Fitch and its subsidiary Hollister have shown an unusual degree of antagonism to the name of Christ and an unusual display of wickedness in their promotions. In protest, articles displaying their logos are not acceptable to be worn, carried, or displayed (even if covered or masked in some way).”
Svedka Vodka
It has come to my attention that Svedka Vodka runs ads featuring some kind of hooter-heavy “female” robot called Svedka that… does something. People are outraged! We’re supposed to be sexually attracted to a robot? And drink vodka? That is just wrong.
Trend?
Chicken farming in the city. It’ll make you feel good about yourself, and irritate the neighbors.
Death panel alert!
Oh please. Can we just stop this now? I just visited my folks (88 and 82), and they’re not living in fear. Really.
posted by Merle Kessler at 5:56 PM
2 comments
