Comments on: No Concessions: Summer Hits and Misses

By: BobCashill

BobCashill — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 21:04:04 +0000

Listen to me, Jon. If I say it's bad, it's bad. Leave it alone.

Choices, choices: I missed AWAY WE GO (underwhelming reviews) and (500) DAYS OF SUMMER (Zooey Deschanel aversion, unmitigated by my continuing admiration for JG-L). And there's a few things I'd wanted to see, like FUNNY PEOPLE and some foreign films, that went toes-up before I could get to them on my reduced schedule. That's why God invented Netflix.

By: BobCashill

BobCashill — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 17:04:04 +0000

Listen to me, Jon. If I say it's bad, it's bad. Leave it alone.

By: BobCashill

BobCashill — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 16:04:04 +0000

Listen to me, Jon. If I say it's bad, it's bad. Leave it alone.

By: DwDunphy

DwDunphy — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 18:41:55 +0000

There's a reason why I won't even see Taking Woodstock on DVD, and that is because I saw Flashback with Kiefer Sutherland and Dennis Hopper in a theater. I won't get fooled again.

By: JonCummings

JonCummings — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 16:17:31 +0000

Despite your repeated admonitions, I took myself to Taking Woodstock yesterday–and, yeah, it sucks. It's too bad, really–the sections of the film that are actually about Woodstock are nice, but the personal story at the center could hardly be less interesting (or more poorly acted, for that matter). I liked how the film blended in references to the Woodstock documentary, and the acid-trip effects are kinda groovy. But otherwise, it's hard to believe it was possible to make such a downer of a movie about Woodstock. (Actually, it's not that surprising, considering the source material, which is generally acknowledged as the least credible of all the I-created-Woodstock accounts; it's a shame Ang Lee didn't choose to just tell Michael Lang's story.)

As far as the rest of it goes, I'd trade every blockbuster of the season that I saw (except The Hangover, Star Trek and Inglourious Basterds) for another viewing of (500) Days of Summer or The Hurt Locker or even Away We Go, which I liked more than most people. But then, that's usually the case–somebody's got to camp out in the art houses during the summer.

By: BobCashill

BobCashill — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 14:58:29 +0000

I really should buy CARS, if just to complete the set. I love the Simpsons parody, CARDS, which thoroughly lampooned the Pixar style. (When you get right down to it, I just don't dig cars, period. Trucks–those I like.)

That's Peter Capaldi, by the way, in the top photo (yelling) and Jeremy Renner (HURT LOCKER) in the second. You can guess who the guy in the third one is.

By: Boy Twink » No Concessions: Summer Hits and Misses | Popdose

Boy Twink » No Concessions: Summer Hits and Misses | Popdose — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 14:41:34 +0000

[...] post is by AKAWilliam [...]

By: David_E

David_E — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 13:51:11 +0000

Bob, you have to give "Cars" another chance. Then maybe even another. I thought it minor the first time, too, though in retrospect I think a good deal of that had to do with casting (in my case, Owen Wilson and Larry TCG left me cold on principle alone).

Repeated (and repeated) (and repeated) viewings, though, have put that movie in my Pixar top 3 (I've got 'em all, too). The slow, lazy middle section ... I dunno, it just makes sense over time, and makes the final race scene that much more climactic. The animation is drop-dead gorgeous. Yeah, the message is blunt, but this might be the first Pixar movie where the message was aimed squarely at kids (vs. their parents) (paging Nemo).

Eh, I'm not as eloquent as you. Never mind.