Filibuster
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So Long
Truly sad news for me, Duncan, but all good things must come to an end. I grew up in San Diego, and though I left nearly two decades ago, I continued to read your insightful, beautifully crafted essays in the online Reader on a weekly basis. None of the reviewers "aggregated" on Rotten Tomatoes, including the so-called "top critics" (says who?), offer the kind of contextually rich analysis you have always provided, and seriously assess films as works of art rather than as mere vehicles of entertainment. I once lamented your absence on Rotten Tomatoes, and found it inexplicable that you were being ignored or shut out, but I have come to realize that most reviewers aren't even fit to be in your company. Ironically, I have rarely accepted your starred ratings, which are so low or inflated as to make me seriously wonder whether their intent is mischievous rather than informative, but your words have always been truthful, witty, and engaging. While I will no longer be able to hear your voice in the Reader, I will continue to ask myself every time I leave the theater, "What would Duncan think of that?" Is there a greater tribute one can pay? Take care, and a long and happy life to you.— November 11, 2010 1:39 p.m.
Got Smart
Duncan's ebullient praise for the Coen Bros. reminds me of Fox News anchors' reflexive defense of the Bush administration. He holds up a few golden nuggets he's managed to scrounge from a played-out mine and cries "Eureka!" BURN AFTER READING is a pedestrian, uninspired effort that is rarely funny, often tedious, and continuously mean-spirited. Playing for laughs the violent murders of two characters, one involving repeated thrusts of a hatchet, are indeed "lapses in tone" that leave a decidedly bad aftertaste in what is falsely marketed as a "screwball comedy." The direction isn't particularly noteworthy, given the Coens' famous use of storyboards, and the dialogue isn't as clever as they obviously intended to be. Carter Burwell's excellent score is wasted.— September 18, 2008 2:59 p.m.