THUMBNAILS: 6/3/2013
1. "Ten Things Movie Critics Won't Tell You," by Charles Passy, for The Wall Street Journal's "Market Watch"; Danny Bowes' rebuttal "10 Ridiculous Things Finance Writers Think About Movie Critics," for Movies by Bowes.
Bowes: "Movie critics constantly talk about individual critics not having the cultural reach they once did. Every single eulogy of Roger Ebert longer than about two paragraphs mentioned that. We all know the monoculture is dead. Most of us actually like it better that way...Also, [Passy's] generalities about amateur critics are outdated by about ten years and misunderstand the actual meaning of the word 'amateur' (his difficulties with the English language present themselves at other points as well). An 'amateur,' going back to the root of the word, is one who does it for the love."
"You see, Cheerios has committed the heinous crime of 'acknowledging that interracial families exist,' and also that 'sometimes interracial families need to eat breakfast.' ... I am biracial. My mom is black and my dad is white. My family often had the audacity to eat breakfast even though cereal was not being specifically marketed to us. When I was growing up, there were no families on television that resembled mine."
3. "In Omit the Logic, Richard Pryor crucifies himself again and again." By Alan Scherstuhl of LA Weekly.
Chunks of the swift-moving film—Pryor’s appearances on Ed Sullivan or The Tonight Show—do feel like suggestions for further, fuller research. But Zenovich’s narrative takes on tragic power as it surges through Pryor’s ascent to stardom, his seven marriages, his debilitating addictions, his whorehouse upbringing, and the sometimes cheery, sometimes ferocious ways he smashed his kind of blackness into the American mainstream."
4. Four reviews of Arrested Development, season four.
James Poniewozik, Time: "The New Arrested Development is Dark, Uneven and Frustrating; Can We Have Another?" Alan Sepinwall, HitFix: "Arrested Development on Netflix is hilarious at times, misconceived at others." Willa Paskin, Salon: "The imperfect new Arrested Development is still good enough." Matt Zoller Seitz, Vulture: "A Puzzle Show Perfectly Calibrated for the Internet Age."
ing about the original series, but was not because its ingredients were kept in their proper proportions. Just as you want a pinch of salt in your cookie dough, not a pound, you only want ten lines of Ron Howard narration in an episode, not fifty ... Loosed upon us in greater quantities than before, it is clear George Sr., Lindsay, guest roles and being clever for cleverness’ sake were only not aggravating in the past because they were used in moderation. And the
n in episode five, Tobias Funke reads the 'Eat, Pray' parts of Eat, Pray, Love, decides he wants 'a new start' and gets the phrase 'ANUSTART' put on his license plate, heralding the first of a dozen jokes revolving around the phrase 'anus tart.' I laughed at every single one."5. "Drive-Ins Soon Face Hollywood's Digital Switch." By Brenna Angel, for NPR.
IMAGE OF THE DAY:
VIDEO OF THE DAY: The Cheerios ad (see #2, above).