Re: Summertime!

Another potentially pleasant discussion devolves again. I'm beginning to dread starting this thread.

So, my question is, "what are you looking forward to," not "you're an uneducated idiot that can't appreciate the amorphous reasons I wish to argue over trivial issues of taste." I usually don't call out people individually, and I think many here can attest to the fact that I try very hard to be diplomatic and civil, but Loverboy, you strike me as simply trying to be contrary. Not in general, simply to what Eddie posts. You certainly do call him out specifically in many of your posts, so I can only assume that you have some personal grudge against him.

Your argument is one of semantics, an argument you cannot win because the criteria of the argument is highly subjective. Eddie doesn't agree with you. Give it up. He's not going to agree with you. And knowing Eddie somewhat, I am pretty sure that your combative nature simply goads him into continued posts more out of recreation than anything else. He's going to egg you on because of your seemingly irrational need to argue minutiae and taste. You've fallen into his trap again.

This is a public forum. I would think that even though we can't see each other we would act with a modicum of decorum. Loverboy, if we were all standing in the same room together, would you still be as bombastic as you are here, or is the anonymity of the Internet emboldening you?

What's wrong with enjoyable discourse? If someone doesn't agree with you, then who cares? If someone is wrong in your eyes, let them go on being deluded. That's their choice.

There's enough room that we can all play in the sandbox together, but time and again all I see are people kicking sand.

sean (...certainly not ass...)

sean,

did you like matt damon in "the departed"? i thought that he (and mark wahlberg) were both better than dicaprio. i thought that dicaprio was buried by the acting chops that everyone else had.

anyway, i've yet to see "the good shepherd"...maybe i'll catch it on tv one lazy saturday afternoon...

eddie

eddie --
"The Departed" is non-commercial cinema and so is Orson Welles ! LOL.

ranjan,

dude, orson welles did "transformers". :-)

eddie

Orson Welles did wine commercials, for cryin' out loud.

John

Welles also did those frozen peas commercials. Greatly parodied in "The Critic" show.

Full of country goodness and green peaness...wait that doesn't sound right.

I think we should all pass the hat and buy Tim an HD player. :)

Actually, I can understand the confusion someone might have, looking at the "Latest Posts" column and not realizing which ones of them were originally posted in the "HD" category.

I also realize how frustrating it might be to some readers at the site that other readers are so interested in something they are not. But it's sort of like my own review posts of late. The last four or five have been HD-DVD reviews, not necessarily of choice but because that is what the studios send me.

As for some of our site readers being rude, I would take exception. I think we're all reasonably civilized here, despite some minor annoyances with one another. I remember ten years ago when I first started that we had to delete any number of Message Board posts because people were using such foul names for one another. I think we've made considerable improvement over the years in decency and tolerance of one another's views.

John

[Post edited by John J. Puccio on May 17, 2007]

Eddie,
I thought Damon was quite good in "The Departed," and Wahlberg truly lucked out with his part. It's somewhat of an actor's dream. You get to be honest and an ass without being the bad guy. That's a beautiful thing for an actor.

However, I thought DiCaprio did a fine job in "The Departed." I wouldn't go to a movie just because he's in it (like I would Damon for example), but I feel he's really trying to elevate his talent, and I think he's doing a good job of that. I feel like he's holding his own better than I thought he would.

The person who really seems to have gone unnoticed for his performance in "The Departed" was Alec Baldwin. This guy's been turning in great work, even on network TV.

As for "The Good Shepherd," I greatly enjoyed it. My wife and I watched it later in the evening one night and couldn't turn it off. It is almost 3 hours long, but we were pretty well into it. I know some others have had issue with its length and pacing, but it felt very deliberate in its storytelling to me and Damon and Baldwin again give some great performances.

John,
I agree that the boards remain civil. I recall a couple of rude incidents over my years here, but they have been brief and well-handled. It's just funny to me when folks get so wrapped up in a personality dispute like this. It's one of those things the Internet has fostered. The anonymity it brings tends to drop our inhibitions, so arguments that we might have looked to settle differently in a face to face confrontation take on a whole other aspect on the web. I'm still getting used to it, but I always come back to how I would treat someone if I were face to face with them rather than staring into this lifeless monitor as I spew my vomited thoughts for the public to scrutinize.

I am vomiting words again, right?...

sean (...orson welles is my wine-guzzling, pea shilling, transforming dad...)

[Post edited by skspence on May 17, 2007]

sean,

your review of certain actors' acting reminds me that i'd still like to see you review dvds for a website if you have the free time. even one review a month would be nice. remember when tim and i praised your review of "hulk"? (Y)

it's nice to hear from you again. your comments don't have any gas. :-D

eddie

Eddie,

Ah yes, back in the days of yon... I would like to review sometimes, but I don't ever feel I have the time. I always feel too busy, but that strikes me as an excuse. Perhaps I should just put the spurs to the horse and take on the challenge. But where to begin?

sean (...why, at the beginning of course!...)

[Post edited by skspence on May 17, 2007]