Ed Memed me again.
List five things that people in your circle of friends or peer group are wild about, but you can't really understand the fuss over. To use the words of Caesar (from History of the World Part I), "Nice. Nice. Not thrilling...but nice.".
1. Buffy. I hate bad dialogue. I don't like ugly people. I don't give a shit about genre TV. They come together in this show.
2. The Big Lebowski. What a self-important, egotistical film. Stoner artistes looking down their noses at everyone else. Utter crap.
3. Lost/Alias. See number 1.
4. Knights of the Dinner Table. I just don't get it, if there really is a joke.
5. Warren Ellis comics. Cut-rate writing with an attitude and a sneer. It's still cut-rate.
TEN random things about me:
10. Unlike Ed and Alan, I have an almost nonexistent olfactory sense. Which helps, especially after I eat a lot of Spanish food.
9. Someone once stole footage of me lit very provacatively in tighty whities.
8. I wore red Chuck Taylors for four years of my life.
7. I was a Lacoste fiend as a young lad. Would be today were I rich.
6. I've given up on being a writer, thankfully.
5. My cousin recently became a Mormon.
4. I hate the taste of Cool Ranch Doritos.
3. I used to wear an army helmet everywhere I went.
2. I have a high debris tolerance and a low whining tolerance.
1. I was a really fat baby.
NINE places I've visited:
9. NYC.
8. Las Vegas
7. Philadelphia, PA
6. St. Pete's Beach, FL
5. Dallas, TX
4. Omaha, NE
3. South Shore, NJ
2. Myrtle Beach, SC
1. Louisville, KY
EIGHT things I want to achieve in life:
8. See one of my students graduate college
7. Affect real change in the public education system.
6. Making Lisa happy. Really, really happy.
5. Get my PhD.
4. Live somewhere from which I'll never have to move.
3. Convert someone.
2. See friends publish their work/get their movies made, etc.
1. Find a politician I actually like.
SEVEN ways to win my heart:
7. Give a damn.
6. Feel things deeply, even if they're silly emotions.
5. Make fun of me.
4. Be open to thinks I like.
3. Let your guard down.
2. Wear a green t-shirt.
1. Have beautiful eyes.
SIX things I believe:
6. I believe in God the Father, maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only son our Lord (and so on).
5. Humanity is a shitty thing, but it can do amazing good.
4. Beauty can be found anywhere, and should be.
3. Jack Daniels is Tennessee swill.
2. Corporate capitalism is evil.
1. Rock and roll is a gift from God.
FIVE things I'm afraid of:
5. Sharks.
4. Things touching my eyes.
3. Losing my temper in class.
2. Hurting someone I love.
1. Losing someone I love.
FOUR of my favorite things:
4. Yasuda Sushi.
3. Great writing.
2. Beautiful girls.
1. My Gran.
THREE things I do everyday:
3. Get angry.
2. Laugh.
1. Fantasize.
TWO things I'm not trying to do right now:
2. Be depressed about my kids.
1. Get all writer-y.
ONE person I want to see right now:
1. Lisa.
posted by Mr. Rice @ 6:21 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
"What a self-important, egotistical film."
The Big Lebowski? Have you SEEN it? I can think of a lot of criticisms, but self-important and egotistical? It's one of the least self-important films I've ever seen.
They're not trying to make any point at all in that movie. They're telling a funny story about funny characters. What about it is self-important? It's funny and when it tries to be and funny when it doesn't. And even when it is trying to be funny, it's not trying all that hard. The actors seem to all be having a blast and I don't see any ego or self-importance at all.
And aren't you the guy who likes The Thin Red Line, a film that defines self-important, a film about nothing that so desperately wants to be about EVERYTHING that it's a complete mess, a film that screams THIS IS IMPORTANT in every single scene when everyone in the theater is alternating between trying to stay awake and saying "Hey, look, George Clooney!"
DEFEND YOURSELF!
The Big Lebowski just LEAKS the kind of prep-school, rich white kid snottiness that most of the Cohens films (other than Oh Brother) have. They don't respect their characters. Everything is just a dumb joke. The Cohens tend to look down on such things as "emotional content" and "normal people." Their tone irritates me and the "humor" in this film falls completely flat.
As for The Thin Red Line, it is what it is. Sorry you don't like it, but it's got nothing to do with Lebowski. At least Malick doesn't try to sell snobbish humanism as comedic populism.
I can't smell anything either.
I'm glad to know I'm not the only one.
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