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Head to Head
"Itsy-Bitsy Spider" in the style of Beethoven? Oh, Duncan, you wag. That is too clever, by half. Bear in mind, however, that Mozart did compose a set of variations on "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star." If you're curious: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMhYomyVYGs— March 6, 2010 4:04 p.m.
Tennis, Anyone?
Problem is though, tennis is not exactly a "boom" sport anymore. There's not the public interest in the sport to support this kind of free infrastructure. It's simple economics -- as demand goes down, price goes up.— January 5, 2010 7:24 p.m.
Something Done
This one put me in mind of P.T. Anderson -- whatever happened to him? -- specifically his "Magnolia." As in "A Serious Man," the P.T.A. film begins with a story, a fable almost, which informs what is to come. Further similarities -- the biblical references, both from the same book of the Bible -- Exodus. In "Magnolia," the reference is to Exodus 8:2, the Plague of Frogs, whereas in "A Serious Man," the Exodus reference comes at the very end. The final shot of "A Serious Man" is the approaching tornado, which may be understood as the vengeful God coming to exact his penalty for Gopnik's moral lapse (and his son's blasphemy of his Bar Mitzvah). The tornado is a dark, twisting column of smoke. In Exodus, God guides the Israelites to the promised land by manifesting as a pillar of smoke in the day (and a pillar of fire at night).— November 18, 2009 11:13 a.m.
None
As someone else put it -- humanity's greatest movie is merged with its greatest art form. I give you, "Le Wrath di Khan": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xga_wchTpW8&featur…— May 10, 2009 2:53 p.m.
Wild and Woolly
The irony of joshb's reply is that, unable to find fault with Mr. Shepherd (other than Shepherd's parsimony with the adjective "great"), he instead bashes Rogert Ebert's analyses. Basically, joshb has conceded that the only problem with Shepherd's reviews is that he doesn't throw the adjective "great" around enough. Back in my sophomore English class at U.C. High (as well as from a cursory perusal of Strunk & White), I learned that adjectives don't have the same force as nouns and verbs. I wonder what joshb's English teacher taught him.— January 29, 2009 7:20 a.m.
The Man Who Wasn't There
I've never understood the music score for this one. Why Beethoven? Why his sonatas? Why not imitate the blaring brass and surging strings of a Dimitri Tiomkin here? Or even the more psychologically astute Bernard Herrmann?— January 18, 2009 4:58 p.m.
The Comeback Clint
Although Mr. Sheperd's usage and grammar are usually flawless, I notice in this article a slight mis-step (by no means, a fatal one) when he refers to a "long-postponed trip to confessional." A Catholic might refer to a "trip to confession", or less frequently, "a trip to the confessional," but the article is necessary here -- perhaps this was a type-setting error.— January 10, 2009 2:42 p.m.
Got Smart
Actually, I found this to be a major drop-off in quality from previous Coen efforts (well, pace the strange "Man Who Wasn't There"). Maybe it needs another viewing. First of all, I detected a bit of a Homeric nod with regard to the CD-ROM, the principal MacGuffin of this thing. We aren't really told what exactly is on the CD, so when Pitt and McDormand discover it, the assumption is that only the "mem-wah" is present on it. However, in the scene in the law office, when the paralegal realizes its missing, we are then told that the CD contains (also contains?) financial records. At that scene, I was scratching my head -- "Were there two CD-ROMs?" I asked myself. Mr. Shepherd perhaps explains what happens a bit more clearly than the Coens were themselves. I'm not sure we're ever told exactly what the CD was supposed to contain. Also, Pitt's and McDormand's herky-jerky performances, endearing at first, became a bit tiresome after repeated exposure. The Coens, usually such sure-footed directors vis a vis their actors, seemed to be giving everyone freer rein in this one. The funniest part of this movie? Carter Burwell's overdone, percussion-laced score, perfectly satirizing the usual government intrigue/spy/thriller sort of "suspense music."— September 17, 2008 1:56 p.m.
Seasons Go
The commenter above me seems to have missed Shepherd's point. That is, there is a certain kind of moviegoer (a lot of them, actually) for whom movies serve as fetish, or religious totem. These are the sorts of people who refuse to acknowledge failures -- even tiny surface defects -- in their "anointed" movies. They are even more intolerant of the critic who dares to point such failures out. Mr. Shepherd's piece is a fine piece of psychoanalysis of this type of fan. Perhaps the commenter misses the point because it hits a little too close to home.— September 4, 2008 6:03 p.m.