The League

Culture Wars, Word Play, Summer Movies, and Weekend Open Threads

by Jaybird · July 22, 2011

Jaybird

Jaybird is Birdmojo on Xbox Live and Jaybirdmojo on Playstation's network. He's been playing consoles since the Atari 2600 and it was Zork that taught him how to touch-type. If you've got a song for Wednesday, a commercial for Saturday, a recommendation for Tuesday, an essay for Monday, or, heck, just a handful a questions, fire off an email to AskJaybird-at-gmail.com

RTod says:

July 22, 2011 at 10:03 am

The people in this video are too young, good looking and happy. Make them stop.Report
Russell Saunders says:

July 22, 2011 at 10:09 am

I fear “The Smurfs” may permanently sully what had up until now been a perfectly good crush on Neil Patrick Harris.Report
Elias Isquith says:

July 22, 2011 at 11:15 am

I finally saw “The Tree of Life” this week. There were moments where I felt the same old vague annoyance I often feel when Malick is being his most indulgent. But they were few and when I wasn’t completely engrossed with the story, I was in awe of either the film’s beauty or its ambition — and often both. I don’t know if it’ll end up being one of my *favorite* movies, but — having only seen it the once — I’m reasonably certain that it’s on a relatively short list of the greatest cinematic works of Art (very much a capital-A) I’ve ever seen.Report
- Rufus F. in reply to Elias Isquith says:
  
  July 22, 2011 at 6:07 pm
  
  Agreed. Interestingly, we had about six walkouts when we saw it but, so far, it’s the best I’ve seen this year and I’m still talking about it with other people who have seen it. Speaking of which, what did you make of the predatory dinosaur letting the wounded dinosaur go?Report
John Howard Griffin says:

July 22, 2011 at 5:12 pm

Here’s two quick recommendations for Jaybird (or anyone else), both B&W, randomly chosen from some of my favorites (one for the guys, and one for date night):

Paths of Glory (1957): Arguably Kubrick’s best film, and the best film of WWI warfare in trenches. Kirk Douglas is exceptional, and the cinematography is, as well. Not an easy movie to watch. I’d have to say that Paths of Glory and 2001: A Space Odyssey are tied for my favorite Kubrick films. Both tell complex, riveting stories with cinematography that doesn’t hold back. Don’t expect Spielberg. Expect something much more difficult, yet much better than Spielberg.

Wings of Desire (1987): Wim Wenders tale of angels among humans in Berlin. An exploration of the limits of only having a spiritual life, without the joys (and horrors) of the mortal coil. Another challenging film to watch, that won’t spoon feed what you are supposed to think. In fact, I think the movie is difficult and challenging because it really forces your own thoughts and ideas to become part of the movie. With Peter Falk, in a surprisingly good role. And, if you’re interested, you can see the “sequel” (of sorts) called Faraway, So Close (1993).Report
- Rufus F. in reply to John Howard Griffin says:
  
  July 22, 2011 at 6:08 pm
  
  When Falk died, I posted the scene with him talking to the angel about coffee on my Facebook and about three people emailed me to say, “That was exactly the scene I was thinking of!”
  
  Both great films. I’d agree.Report
Rufus F. says:

July 22, 2011 at 6:14 pm

That’s not rock and roll. That’s a predatory animal that imitates the affectations of rock and roll in order to capture it, kill it, and drain it of its blood.Report
- Murali in reply to Rufus F. says:
  
  July 23, 2011 at 8:28 am
  
  Imitate the affectations… it doesnt even come close enough to resemble anything like.
  
  On the other hand I wanna rockReport