http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2008/11/25/loving_citizen_cane Comments On: Loving "Citizen Cane" by Paul Constant en-us Copyright 2009 The Stranger. All rights reserved. This RSS file is offered to individuals, The Stranger readers, and non-commercial organizations only. Any commercial websites wishing to use this RSS file, please contact The Stranger. webmaster@thestranger.com (The Stranger Webmaster) Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:00:01 -0800 Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:15:00 -0800 Foundation http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Thanks for sticking up for me.
Posted by Evan Stewart]]> Sun, 30 Nov 2008 17:38:07 -0800 The Stranger Posted by James B.]]> Wed, 26 Nov 2008 15:25:46 -0800 The Stranger

Posted by an old man with advice for a youngster]]> Wed, 26 Nov 2008 12:01:10 -0800 The Stranger Coyote Ugly.

In The Fifth Element nobody gives a shit about the plot, but they are way into everything else. I'm imagining a meeting where the director says, "What if we just stopped the movie for like five minutes and had it be a giant blue alien lady singing an aria?" And the rest of the creative team responds, "HELL YES." That's why The Fifth Element is awesome.
Posted by Greg]]> Wed, 26 Nov 2008 10:56:31 -0800 The Stranger
I love car chases. I love any movie scenes with car chases. I loved the first two Transporter movies and I'm looking forward to going to the third. But the second was, for the most part, completely terrible, mindless entertainment. But I still love it. So it seems to me it's a subjective point of view and people will love and hate mindless entertainment regardless of how many rotten tomato review it's received. Complaining about it one way or another is just as pointless as trying to explain (the completely objective reasons) why The Fifth Element was better than Episodes 1, 2, or 3 to a Star Wars fan.
Posted by RobotRevolution]]> Wed, 26 Nov 2008 10:51:08 -0800 The Stranger Posted by --MC]]> Wed, 26 Nov 2008 10:46:16 -0800 The Stranger
Thousands in the audience probably thought "nobody in this thing gives a shit" but most of them couldn't pinpoint what makes them think it. What they need is somebody who is able to articulate it.
Posted by elenchos]]> Wed, 26 Nov 2008 10:25:41 -0800 The Stranger The Fifth Element.
Posted by Greg]]> Wed, 26 Nov 2008 10:19:33 -0800 The Stranger
Some random points:

You don't have to LIKE The Rundown/Con Air/etc. (although Gloria @52: I haven't actually seen Con Air in a while because I'm afraid it might hurt now) but you can't watch those movies and then watch Wanted and tell me they're the same thing. Nobody in Wanted gives a shit. Nobody in Twilight gives a shit, either, and it's not necessarily something one can articulate, but you can tell, as a human being, when nobody gives a shit. And when you're the only one who gives a shit when you're watching a movie, it's a sad and lonely thing.

And @18: There is a certain point in which things become objective. There is a line between goodness and badness in entertainment that is real and true. Frankly, not every opinion on an entertainment is valid, because some opinions belong to people who have something invested in the endeavor being a success (e.g. People who claim Twilight is a brilliant, well-constructed movie.)

It's a whole other thing to revel in the badness of something while knowing it's bad, and much has been written about that—there was a great article in The Believer years ago about So Bad It's Good (SoBIG) that everyone who's interested in this subject should read—and that's a whole different topic.


Posted by Paul Constant]]> Wed, 26 Nov 2008 10:09:49 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Greg]]> Wed, 26 Nov 2008 09:53:17 -0800 The Stranger
Anyway, thanks, Paul, for articulating what I keep trying to explain to people when I say I don't like their favourite movie and they act like I strangled their only child.

And I loved Con-Air when it came out and I still recall it with fondness, but I watched it last month and it hurt me. How about Die Hard? Obvious choice, but it's genuinely good and fun, and not a soul in the world can argue it's "intellectual" or "elitist."
Posted by Gloria]]> Wed, 26 Nov 2008 09:50:35 -0800 The Stranger Posted by NapoleonXIV]]> Wed, 26 Nov 2008 09:46:42 -0800 The Stranger
I have it easy; I pretty much hate 99.9% of everything that mainstream Hollywood studios have produced since 1980...almost ALL of it is dreck and nearly any film of value in the last 28 years has been developed and produced independently from the major studios.

Citizen Kane needs to be seen more than twice to appreciate its greatness and it SHOULD be in your top 10.
Posted by michael strangeways]]> Wed, 26 Nov 2008 09:36:33 -0800 The Stranger
And in the vein of silly (but good) cheerleading movies, I recommend:

Sugar and Spice and But, I'm a cheerleader. Both are amazing.


Posted by Original Monique]]> Wed, 26 Nov 2008 09:36:14 -0800 The Stranger Posted by fixo]]> Wed, 26 Nov 2008 09:25:00 -0800 The Stranger Posted by F This Place]]> Wed, 26 Nov 2008 08:15:09 -0800 The Stranger Posted by laure]]> Wed, 26 Nov 2008 07:46:57 -0800 The Stranger
@44: I don't know... I'm pretty sure my life isn't any better for seeing Sargeant Kabukiman, NYPD. It is better for seeing Cannibal the Musical, though, but that wasn't in-house Troma.
Posted by Jessica]]> Wed, 26 Nov 2008 07:27:38 -0800 The Stranger
I do have a soft spot for any in-house Troma film though. Those are so bad that they go full circle to being good.
Posted by Joh]]> Wed, 26 Nov 2008 06:16:36 -0800 The Stranger
http://www.band-together.com/barack_obam…
Posted by Rich in Florida]]> Wed, 26 Nov 2008 05:52:52 -0800 The Stranger Posted by eric burnett]]> Wed, 26 Nov 2008 04:46:11 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Chris in Tampa]]> Wed, 26 Nov 2008 02:38:47 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Lor]]> Wed, 26 Nov 2008 01:09:25 -0800 The Stranger
Plus, who doesn't like The Rock?
Posted by PdxRitchie]]> Tue, 25 Nov 2008 23:48:09 -0800 The Stranger Posted by leek]]> Tue, 25 Nov 2008 23:42:22 -0800 The Stranger