Pretentious Popcorn

D.A. Ridgely

D.A. Ridgely holds degrees in philosophy and law. (He doesn't really hold them, they just hang there on the wall or peek out as initials after his name. (Actually, that isn't true, either. Those are mere symbols giving evidence of his possession of those degrees. (“Possession,” strictly speaking, being a metaphor of sorts.))) (He is overly fond of parenthetical expressions.)

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8 Responses

  1. Whenever I tell people in my circle I don’t like Wes Anderson movies, they almost always call me stupid and tell me that only smart people get the jokes, to which I usually reply that I get the jokes, they just aren’t funny.Report

  2. Sharon McEachern says:

    Pretentious popcorn, eh? If you’re really tired and going to the movies, or if you’re going to watch a really ‘tired’ movie, you could try the new popcorn — caffeinated, that is:

    http://www.ethicsoup.com/2010/12/caffeinated-popcorn-the-latest-in-absurdities.htmlReport

  3. William S. says:

    You bunch of assholes. Go watch your Transformers movies. Tell me again how the work of Will Rogers has stood up of the years, now compare “The Third Man” (part of the Criterion Collection). Stop pissing all over Wes Anderson, at least he makes movies that are personal, nuanced, and artful instead of mindless James Cameron CGI blue monkey messes.Report

    • It’s hard even to begin to reply to something that confused. Do you seriously think the only alternative to Anderson is the likes of Cameron? (I am, by the way, currently pitching a movie in Hollywood, log line: “It’s just like Avatar, except it’s a western!”)

      Do you contend that “the [significant] work of Will Rogers” was his movie work; and if you do, are you also of the impression that Richard Pryor’s best work was his movies? Or do you simply dislike the quote, in which case do you argue with jokes all that frequently?

      As for The Third Man, the best argument against longstanding suspicions that Orson Welles was its ‘real’ director is the fact that, but for Welles’ cuckoo clock speech at the end, it’s really not a very good movie. (Just like most of the rest of Reed’s movies, for that matter.)

      Here, by the way, are a few of Criterion’s other selections from the last 25 years: Armageddon, Beastie Boys Video Anthology, Che, Topsy-Turvy and Chasing Amy. Films for the Ages, every damned one of them!Report

      • Rufus F. in reply to D.A. Ridgely says:

        Okay, I agree somewhat with the take on Wes Anderson- there are nice moments there, but not enough of them for me to watch any of his movies twice. I’m in agreement about how strange it is to compare Will Rogers to The Third Man. And certainly I agree that the choice shouldn’t be as stark as Wes Anderson or Michael Bay (which, incidentally, doesn’t even cover the American movies, much less every other film industry in the world).

        But I’m at odds about the Criterion Collection. I agree that their DVDs are probably too pricey, but they’re nice collector’s items. More importantly, I’ve rented a ton of the Criterion DVDs in the last year and have discovered quite a few gems by picking movies that I know nothing about aside from that they’re in the Criterion Collection. Sure, there’s a few Michael Bay’s in there too, but overall I think the selection’s pretty good. Also, I’m not sure what “pretentious” means in the context of a DVD releasing label. Are there self-effacing releasing companies? Is the Criterion Collection just too serious somehow?Report

        • D.A. Ridgely in reply to Rufus F. says:

          Oh, I’m a fan of the Criterion Collection in general, own a number of their releases and I freely acknowledge that their overall quality in general is excellent.

          That said, the company claims to be in the business (at least after its original laserdisc catalog) of selling “important classic and contemporary films,” and they are pretentious and they are overpriced. (Okay, in my opinion.) Now, I like most of Kevin Smith’s flicks as much as the next guy, but Chasing Amy ain’t an important contemporary film and neither are Anderson’s movies even if they are “personal, nuanced, and artful.”

          But, look, the point of the post was to share a laugh over the mock Criterions, really nothing more than that. The Criterion Collection is entitled to market whatever the hell it wants any way it wants at any price it wants. It’s simply not entitled to be immune from criticism and parody.Report

    • @William S.
      I’m more of a Science Fiction snob actually. I prefer Blade Runner and THX1138 to Avatar.Report

  4. Mike Schilling says:

    You honestly didn’t like Fantastic Mr. Fox?Report