2013 Off Topic Thread

[SPX]

Jesus . . . Lee Priest's arms are fucking ridiculous in the off-season. . .

[Mr. IWS]

Zak, I'm here to call you out faggot.

I went to see GI Joe tonight and actually thought it was pretty cool. The story was interesting and coherent and I thought the action scenes were all really well done. Plus it had some cool ass ninja action.

Personally, I didn't like he first one. This one was much better, in my opinion.

I liked the first one myself.

[SPX]

Okay, well fine, then you're just really dumb.

[SPX]

Really solid Machida highlight if you haven't seen it:

[Mr. IWS]

Okay, well fine, then you're just really dumb.

[SPX]

Damn. RIP Roger Ebert.

He was a titan.

[zY|]

Yeah I was pretty upset when I read about Ebert.

[SPX]

It's pretty crazy. I've been reading his reviews for years and usually look for his before anyone else's.

I doubt anyone will ever fill his shoes. I think film criticism is just in a different place now. The Internet has given everyone a voice and has taken away from the prestige and authority of established film critics.

[Svino]

It's pretty crazy. I've been reading his reviews for years and usually look for his before anyone else's.

I doubt anyone will ever fill his shoes. I think film criticism is just in a different place now. The Internet has given everyone a voice and has taken away from the prestige and authority of established film critics.

Yeah, I think you're right. I usually check Rottentomatoes or something to get a general feel for critic opinion, but other than Ebert, no one really stands out anymore.

Sad that he's gone.

[Luke]

Jesus . . . Lee Priest's arms are fucking ridiculous in the off-season. . .

Which one is Lee Priest?

[zY|]

I've always read Ebert and Berardinelli from Reelviews.

[SPX]

Yeah, I think you're right. I usually check Rottentomatoes or something to get a general feel for critic opinion, but other than Ebert, no one really stands out anymore.

Sad that he's gone.

The only other film critic who I think is particularly notable is Armond White. If you get a chance, read up on him. He's super-educated about film but has some of the most contrarian viewpoints. A lot of the films that are the most dearly loved or that receive the most positive critical reception, he hates. And a lot of the films that most critics trash, he loves.

I heard him on the Slashfilmcast (awesome podcast, BTW) not too long ago talking about why Zero Dark Thirty is not a very good film. His reasoning was very interesting, as it usually is, whether you agree or disagree.

[Svino]

Armond White is a gimmick. He just writes reviews that go in the opposite direction of any given movie's actual quality. He claims to like all bad movies and hate all good ones for the sake of getting attention.

It's actually kind of a clever stunt, and sometimes his reviews are amusing, but I don't think he's sincere at all.

[SPX]

I disagree. It's sort of an urban myth that he is always at odds with popular opinion. In many cases he is not. And if you ever listen to him actually have a conversation about why he believes certain ways about certain movies, you will realize that he is indeed sincere and holds opinions that, agree or disagree, are well-reasoned. He's appeared on the Slashfilmcast three times I think. I would suggest listening to all three episodes.

[MMA_scientist]

My dog woke me up at 2:30 last night, and I couldn't go back to sleep, so I watched a couple documentaries- "The Imposter" and "Into the Abyss." I actually didn't get to finish Abyss because my son came trotting out at 6:00. "The Imposter" is fascinating, highly recommend, just for the story which is absurd. The film making aspects probably wont interest SPX that much (but they did do one kind of neat thing where the interviewee spoke and the actor playing the younger version of the person mimed it).

I will report back on "Into the Abyss"- but it is a Werner Herzog death penalty doc. I have actually worked on a couple death penalty cases, so it didn't grab me as much, but I am sure it will be good.