What the hell was that?

After being told by many people that Napolean Dynamite was funny, we rented it. I now feel like we were the victims of a sick joke.

While I would call it interesting, and certain scenes were funny, it was not what I would call a funny movie. It was also not what I would call a good movie. There was barely a plot, the characters were largely unlikeable, and the message of the movie would seem to be "If you're an outcast, it's probably because you deserve it." Or maybe "Some people are fucking weird."

If you liked it, more power to you.

(no subject)

Why is it that every grammar community I join becomes an elitist "We know better than you, you stupid fuckers!" community, full of people who want to proclaim their superiority by reprinting other peoples' mistakes while contributing nothing at all beyond their own smug bullshit? You want to mock folks? Fair enough, but do it in your own journal, eh? Leave the community to those who want to have discussions, not mockery.

Grrr

I hate reviews like this one.

The reviewer's first mistake is dismissing the FF comic because not all the characters are angsty. Excuse me? That's a bad thing? He says:

It's Ben Grimm (a.k.a the Thing) that makes the comic worth visiting. He's the one with the giant case of acne (so to speak), who can't go out in public without feeling looked at.

Never mind that Thing is largely loved by the people. Never mind that his "hideousness" is really only in his mind, as most people have long since gotten over the "eeek!" response to ol' Ben.

Of course, I don't read FF, so I'm going on what I know from back when I did -- I may be wrong. But the point of Ben Grimm's appearance was never that he was all that frightening to those around him, but that HE thought he was hideous.

Then there's this:

But that's where the movie's quality stops. Right from the start the movie smells like a stinker because of its Z-grade casting. Worst of all is Julian McMahon, overacting as a Kevin Spacy-ish Dr. Doom. Both he and Ioan Gruffudd as Reed Richards look like they were poured from a white plastic mold -- rejects from Paul Verhoeven's ultra-Aryan Starship Troopers cast.

Now, that just pisses me off. First of all, Z-grade? Ioan Gruffud may not be a Big Name here in the states, but in the UK he's one of the best, and has done a lot of well-received work, the Horatio Hornblower movies among them. Michael Chiklis is an emmy-winning actor. And Julian McMahon? NOT ALL THAT ARYAN. The man looks Italian, and his skin? Not so aryan white.

Hey, the movie may be a stinker -- I don't know, I haven't seen it -- but idiots like this guy don't help.

(no subject)

I love Roger Ebert. This essay manages to ridicule Fundamentalist attitudes without insulting actual Christians.

( An Essay on Film and Fundamentalists )

This excerpt from his review of To Live (one of my all-time favorite films) actually brought a tear to my eyes:

( No spoilers here )

(no subject)

( What I normally play )

For my StarDrive players:

New posting to the stardrive community regarding the first session. Join the community!

Second: Let me know when you're available for the next game.