The usual collection of links I found perusing the depths of ye olde internets:
- Please, critics, write about the filmmaking – Matt Zoller Seitz wrote this plea in 2014, and, well, I think things have probably gotten worse:
Q: Jazz critic Ted Gioia recently lodged a complaint that “music criticism has degenerated into lifestyle reporting” because most most critics lack a musical background and theoretical tools. Do movie critics need filmmaking experience or an understanding of film theory to do their jobs?
Gioia’s piece, which was published at The Daily Beast, was the op-ed equivalent of a nun rapping inattentive students’ knuckles with a ruler. It’s mostly an argument in favor of music critics knowing a little bit about the actual process of writing and performing music, and finding a way to work that knowledge into their reviews. “Imagine, for a moment, football commentators who refuse to explain formations and plays. Or a TV cooking show that never mentions the ingredients,” he writes, “or an expert on cars who refuses to look under the hood of an automobile. These examples may sound implausible, perhaps ridiculous. But something comparable is happening in the field of music journalism. One can read through a stack of music magazines and never find any in-depth discussion of music. Technical knowledge of the art form has disappeared from its discourse. In short, music criticism has turned into lifestyle reporting.”
It’s a good piece worth revisiting because the last four years have probably only exacerbated the issue. It’s funny, because I feel like one of the trends we saw in these last few years is a bunch of critics wanting to write about nothing but politics, while political reporters wanted to escape the partisan tribalism by writing about art, movies, tv, whatever. In any case, it’s definitely worth keeping in mind.
- John Swartzwelder, Sage of “The Simpsons” – An interview with a famously reclusive comedy writer, it’s a pretty great read.
- Twisted: Urban Legend or Insane True Story? – Remember that time when a drive-in movie theater got hit by a twister while showing the movie Twister? Or was it just an urban legend? This documentary short breaks it down in an unexpected way.
- How Many Hershey’s Chocolate bars does it take to stop a bullet? – Less than I thought, honestly.
- What it was like hearing Freedom by Rage Against the Machine in 1993 – There’s a bunch of these by the same guy, and they’re all pretty funnny…
- Program Not Responding – Wistful sigh…
- Kate Winslet Describes Being Awestruck By ‘Mythical’ Wawa – I love Wawa and all, but let’s not oversell it. Still, always fun to see celebrities exposed to regional stuff like this. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to walk to my local Wawa and grab a Sizzli breakfast sandwich.
And that’s all for now. I was going to kick off the 1978 Project Kaedrin Movie Awards, but got bogged down with other stuff this week… but it’s coming soon!