Comments on: Awesome Movie Review: Thank You For Smoking http://iwannaspankjenniferlovehewitt.com/archives/45 rock on Wed, 01 Sep 2010 01:47:36 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Emaciated http://iwannaspankjenniferlovehewitt.com/archives/45/comment-page-1#comment-167 Emaciated Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://iwannaspankjenniferlovehewitt.com/?p=45#comment-167 I thought this movie was fun enough to be worth a watch. Of course, I watched the movie after downloading a torrent of it from The Pirate Bay, and I'm much more inclined to like something that I risked facing the wrath of copyright owners to obtain. The movie did not take itself very seriously, and I found that to be a saving grace. It was formulaic and revolved entirely around a single theme, but that theme ("Beware the awesome power of bullshit") as trivial as it sounds is both more true and more important than the well-known public health message Thank You For Not Smoking's action centers on ("Cigarettes are bad") There's a review of Pynchon's new book up at the NY Times, and Michiko Kakutani seems to dislike the novel. Here are a few excerpts: "new", "quaaludes", "Clive Crouchmas", "stillborn". Although I can't cite any specific examples, I have found Michiko Kakutani's opinions to jive poorly with my own, and for her reviews to be summarisable as either "Yuk! Like, gag me with a spoon!" or "Omigod, I soooo want to have this transcendent poet-god's love child." /sexism> I thought this movie was fun enough to be worth a watch. Of course, I watched the movie after downloading a torrent of it from The Pirate Bay, and I’m much more inclined to like something that I risked facing the wrath of copyright owners to obtain. The movie did not take itself very seriously, and I found that to be a saving grace. It was formulaic and revolved entirely around a single theme, but that theme (“Beware the awesome power of bullshit”) as trivial as it sounds is both more true and more important than the well-known public health message Thank You For Not Smoking’s action centers on (“Cigarettes are bad”)

There’s a review of Pynchon’s new book up at the NY Times, and Michiko Kakutani seems to dislike the novel. Here are a few excerpts: “new”, “quaaludes”, “Clive Crouchmas”, “stillborn”. Although I can’t cite any specific examples, I have found Michiko Kakutani’s opinions to jive poorly with my own, and for her reviews to be summarisable as either “Yuk! Like, gag me with a spoon!” or “Omigod, I soooo want to have this transcendent poet-god’s love child.” /sexism>

]]> By: shawn http://iwannaspankjenniferlovehewitt.com/archives/45/comment-page-1#comment-168 shawn Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://iwannaspankjenniferlovehewitt.com/?p=45#comment-168 In Kakutani's reviews, she uses the phrase "focuses around" rather than "focuses on" or "revolves around." That alone is reason enough for me to completely disregard her defamation of the TRP. And I too usually disagree with little Michiko. In fact, I learned years ago to pretty much disregard almost everything I read in the NY Times Arts section. It's like Entertainment Weekly, but with a better vocabulary. Actually, this review makes me want to read the book even more. I don't need a novel to be provocative, illuminating or to connect with fictional characters. I mean, I can't connect with real people, so why should I waste my valuable free time trying to relate with characters in a book? In Kakutani’s reviews, she uses the phrase “focuses around” rather than “focuses on” or “revolves around.” That alone is reason enough for me to completely disregard her defamation of the TRP. And I too usually disagree with little Michiko. In fact, I learned years ago to pretty much disregard almost everything I read in the NY Times Arts section. It’s like Entertainment Weekly, but with a better vocabulary. Actually, this review makes me want to read the book even more. I don’t need a novel to be provocative, illuminating or to connect with fictional characters. I mean, I can’t connect with real people, so why should I waste my valuable free time trying to relate with characters in a book?

]]> By: Arthur http://iwannaspankjenniferlovehewitt.com/archives/45/comment-page-1#comment-169 Arthur Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://iwannaspankjenniferlovehewitt.com/?p=45#comment-169 Hi Shawn. I wasn't into this movie either. It would have been better if they didn't try to make you like the main character after they spent so much effort convincing you he's a jerk. The way I see things, movies about assholes are just as viable as entertainment as movies about nice people, but good luck finding more than a couple examples of the former. This should have been a movie about assholes. Hi Shawn. I wasn’t into this movie either. It would have been better if they didn’t try to make you like the main character after they spent so much effort convincing you he’s a jerk. The way I see things, movies about assholes are just as viable as entertainment as movies about nice people, but good luck finding more than a couple examples of the former. This should have been a movie about assholes.

]]> By: shawn http://iwannaspankjenniferlovehewitt.com/archives/45/comment-page-1#comment-170 shawn Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://iwannaspankjenniferlovehewitt.com/?p=45#comment-170 Although I'd have to argue that the movie is about assholes. Or at least it wants to be. It's just that J.I. Reitman tries to go all Spielberg on us. Just as Spielberg can take a kickass story about aliens invading Earth and turn it into an action melodrama about how Tom Cruise doesn't want to be a shitty father, Reitman wants to take his movie about assholes and toss in the deadbeat single parent angle as well. Why can't directors just make movies about aliens and assholes, or asshole aliens? Why do they have to muck everything up with family? The bastards. Although I’d have to argue that the movie is about assholes. Or at least it wants to be. It’s just that J.I. Reitman tries to go all Spielberg on us. Just as Spielberg can take a kickass story about aliens invading Earth and turn it into an action melodrama about how Tom Cruise doesn’t want to be a shitty father, Reitman wants to take his movie about assholes and toss in the deadbeat single parent angle as well. Why can’t directors just make movies about aliens and assholes, or asshole aliens? Why do they have to muck everything up with family? The bastards.

]]> By: Arthur http://iwannaspankjenniferlovehewitt.com/archives/45/comment-page-1#comment-171 Arthur Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://iwannaspankjenniferlovehewitt.com/?p=45#comment-171 Well met. Basically, we need movies that cater to our misanthropy. Well met. Basically, we need movies that cater to our misanthropy.

]]> By: shawn http://iwannaspankjenniferlovehewitt.com/archives/45/comment-page-1#comment-172 shawn Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://iwannaspankjenniferlovehewitt.com/?p=45#comment-172 Please don't tell me you're going to be so bold as to compare your supposed misanthropy with my anti-social lifestyle choice? A movie that could truly cater to my level of misanthropy cannot possibly exist, for the only people capable of making such a film would so despise contact with humanity that they would never leave the house, thus making it almost impossible to finance, produce and distribution a motion picture. Please don’t tell me you’re going to be so bold as to compare your supposed misanthropy with my anti-social lifestyle choice? A movie that could truly cater to my level of misanthropy cannot possibly exist, for the only people capable of making such a film would so despise contact with humanity that they would never leave the house, thus making it almost impossible to finance, produce and distribution a motion picture.

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