February 2012
2 posts
MISSING THE POINT on Take Shelter (SPOILERS)
(Spoilers for Take shelter) OMG, please tell me I didn’t just listen to 3 guys talk about Take Shelter for for an hour and a half and completely miss the whole point INCLUDING THE VERY LAST WORDS OF THE MOVIE! It’s the RAIN, dummies! The frickin’ motor oil RAIN that turns you into a murdering zombie if it touches you. You guys seriously need to watch that movie again....
The Afterschool Generation
Dan from New Jersey writes:
Hello Dave,
I was listening to your recent episode of the slashfilmcast and discovered your total loss of hope for this next generation. I usually find myself getting frustrated with my generation and its lack of caring about the future and knowledge. But, after listening to your show I found myself wanting to take the stance of supporting my generation. The podcast...
January 2012
2 posts
The Real Meaning of CERTIFIED COPY
On your blog, it says you may discuss Certified Copy on the podcast. If so, I hope you include spoiler talk because I’d like to contribute to that conversation.
SPOILER - SPOILER - SPOILER for Certified Copy
When I see all the “theories” about this movie, it baffles me that people are treating this well-made relationship drama like it’s LOST or something.
It is, to me,...
Tinker Tailor
Hi guys,
I listened to your Tinker Tailor discussion back in December but wasn’t able to catch up with the film until it (finally!) opened in my town last weekend.
Interestingly perhaps, this film - and your various reactions to it - remind me a lot of Never Let Me Go; your complaints (Adam’s and Dave’s) about both films and the films themselves strike me as being incredibly...
December 2011
3 posts
The Last Shot of Hugo (SPOILERS)
Dave, Devindra, and Adam:
I just finished listening to your review of Hugo and the analysis of the last shot of the movie. Both Adam and Eric D. Snider felt like the final shot of the automaton is designed to play with the audience’s expectations, making the audience believe the automaton is going to come to life and when it doesn’t, it reinforces the reality of the story. While I...
Subscribing to the /Filmcast
Hello, I just subscribed to the /Filmcast for 2 bucks a month, and I’d meant to do it a lot sooner. When I had a horrible job reading mind numbing engineering report after report you guys really made a huge difference. I looked forward to Wednesdays just because that’s when I could download your podcast. It really helped me to get through each week. It may sound silly but in a big...
Breaking Dawn
I wanted to write in about Breaking Dawn, which I know you don’t care about and nor should I. However I saw it this weekend, mainly out of morbid curiosity, because I’d heard some rough plot details about what happens in the movie and it sounded like there would be some insane spectacles to see.
Even with my low expectations, Breaking Dawn was a huge disappointment because they...
October 2011
1 post
Armond White and the Democratization of Film...
Dear Dave, Adam and Devindra, I just listened to the /Filmcast After Dark featuring Armond White and I really enjoyed it. There were some things though with which I don’t necessarily have an issue, but about which I wish I had more clarity. I liked how Adam challenged Armond about his comments on “Toy Story 3” when Armond said that most people were just bowing at the altar of...
September 2011
4 posts
A Scientist Weighs in on Contagion's Accuracy
[Spoilers ahead. Here’s our review of Contagion]
/Filmcasters, Per your curiosity regarding a scientific perspective on *Contagion*, I have an MS in Molecular Biology, and saw the film with a friend who has a PhD in the same field. We were impressed with the scientific language used to describe the virus and its spread, as well as the depictions of BSL 3 and 4 lab work. As far as we could...
More Talk About Racist Cartoons
Hi guys, I wanted to weigh in on the issue of releasing the banned Warner Brothers cartoons. The ones that were racially insensative or racist, depending on your POV. And first off, you should know that I’m a 36 year old white middle class guy originally from South Carolina. I think it goes nearly without saying that most of US…(artists, studiers of art consumers of art...
How Does One Start Watching Doctor Who?
So, you’re interested in watching Doctor Who, but are a bit unsure where to begin. That is quite understandable. Doctor Who can seem like a huge investment of time at a glance. The show began in 1963 and ran until its cancellation in 1989. During that time, the show saw seven different actors take on the role of the Doctor. It reappeared in 1996, as television movie, in an attempt to bring...
A History of Racism
Hey guys I thought I’d drop you guys a line about something I’ve learned about recently. What are your opinions on studios releasing from their archives former works that are racist or otherwise offensive to mainstream audiences? I got thinking about this when I heard that Warner Brothers would be releasing a blu ray version of the complete Looney Toons collection but that this...
May 2011
1 post
Hello
Hi Dave/Adam/Devindra
My name is Nathan and I am an Australian-Chinese from Sydney, Australia. Again, a long time listener but first time writing in. I have been listening to your podcasts for quite a few months now, and actually like a lot of other people, went back to visit all the past episodes. As a film buff/geek, not only do I enjoy your (mostly intelligent but sometimes mindless)...
March 2011
1 post
A Guessing Game
Indulge me for a moment. I’m going to give you several facts about a film, and hopefully by the end you can guess what it is. 1: The movie was released to critical acclaim and box office success in 2010 2: It features a young female protagonist who is artistically gifted but yet unfulfilled 3: There is an oppressive mother, jealous of her daughter’s gifts 4: A character is seemingly...
January 2011
1 post
Some Fuckin' King's Speech 'Round Here
Hey there slashfilmcast and guest if there is one! So its Friday night and i’m looking to take in a flick at the cinema. I decide I want to see the King’s Speech, after all its one of the front runners for 2010 best picture. plus i got a thing for costume drama brit pics. so I go online to check out the times its playing at my two local MULTIplexes. Guess the Fuck what!? NO KINGS...
November 2010
1 post
Scott Pilgrim Contest Entry
When I was 15 I dated a girl who was on the rebound, but I didn’t care. She had just broken up with an older popular jock at our school for cheating on her with half the cheerleading squad, and a perhaps even a few of his football teammates…it was just a feeling I had. She was out of my league and I knew she had called me up from the minor leagues just to help her get over the previous...
October 2010
4 posts
Yes, people think Paranormal Activity really...
Hey guys, big fan of the show.
I just listened to your review of Paranormal Activity 2, and regarding your question of whether people are dumb enough to believe that all of Paranormal Activity 1 and 2 really took place—yes, yes they are. I work at one of the theaters that ran nightly midnight screenings of the first film when it was released, and after every screening a mob of people...
Anti-Catharsis in Never Let Me Go
Hi Dave (and Devindra and Adam!),
Just wanted to write in to protest some of your criticisms of Never Let Me Go. I think, Dave, if you are looking for catharsis in this film, you are watching the wrong film. It’s almost a film of anti-catharsis, if there can be such a thing.
It’s a film the undermines our expectations for what a conventional film should do at so many turns - but instead of...
Objectivism and How To Train Your Dragon
Hey, Is it just me, or is “How To Train Your Dragon” very similar to the short Ayn Rand novel, “Anthem”? For the record, I love both of these things, but while I was watching HTTYD I noticed similarities. Spoilers for both follow. Anthem is about a man who lives in a medieval society where individuality is a non-concept, but who discovers his own sense of identity by...
Armond White has become "Lebowski's" Walter...
Opinion #8,392,558,402 on Armond White and Film Criticism Dear Chen, Hardawar, and begrudgingly (of course) Quigley I thought about writing in after your iconic interview with Armond White (yes I believe the episode is deserving of that hyperbole), but had little hope that mine would be able to lift its head above the countless emails of rage, praise, and nonsense that were sure to follow....
September 2010
4 posts
My View on Takers
Hi there! You asked for views on Takers and I would be happy to share with you. My wife and I went to see this, as it was a largely African American lead cast we try and make it out to support those movies when we can. Takers was so utterly derivative that in the first ten minutes you see them walk away from something in slow motion while it explodes. It has every cliche, the dirty cop, the...
Blockbuster (part 2)
Dear Dave, Devindra and Adam, Love the show. It gets me through my commute, my runs and random grocery shopping trips. It seems like a lot of people are piling onto Blockbuster in the wake of its imminent bankruptcy so I thought for the sake of balance I’d share my own experiences with the chain. I worked at a few stores in the Allentown area in the mid 90s and the employees in those...
Blockbuster
Dear Dave and /filmcast- In regards to your segment about Blockbuster going out of business, I had a couple of thoughts, since I worked at a video store whose business was severely, adversely affected when a Blockbuster opened across the street. First, the people that seemed to work there gave not a whit about movies. They could have been selling CDs, car parts, or shoes for all the staff...
The Ultimate Goal of Cinema Has Been Reached
Tonight I was lucky enough to stumble into seeing Scott Pilgrim vs The World (fourth time) and an advance screening of Machete back-to-back. I don’t want to sound hyperbolic, but everything that has taken place in film from Edison and the Lumière brothers to the present has been leading up to this night. This double feature. This moment. The ultimate goal of cinema has been achieved....
August 2010
6 posts
Dark Knight and Dave Chen and Past Shows
Hi guys:
So - I love the podcast, etc (usual accolades). I actually am working on another email just to let you guys know how much I appreciate the show, etc. To give you a brief sense of how important the show has become to me, I started listening to all your shows from back in the Watchers Day. The other day, I got through the Dark Knight review, and based on Dave’s critiques, and...
Thank you for helping me
Dave, Devindra, and Adam:
I graduated from _____ College in May with a degree in film production. Since then I have moved to Los Angeles to try to find work in the entertainment industry. It has been a very hard time. It isn’t constant rejection that can get you down out here. It is the silence, the total lack of response to your efforts. It’s easy to find yourself drowning...
Toy Story 3 in Japan: a Totally Different...
Hey Slashfilm Crew, Listening raptly to the podcast as usual, guys. Since Hollywood movies typically come out anywhere from 3-6 months later in Japan, I actually just caught Toy Story 3 this past weekend. I have some brief comments, and a question for any and all of you. In short, let me say that I liked the new (and hopefully) last and darker take on the story this time. Like Looney...
Armond White
I am listening to the interview with Armond White right now, and I am flashing back to the Film Studies classes I took 20 years ago.
Film theory is an offshoot of literary theory and that is its greatest flaw. There isn’t one theory of criticism, there is a multitude of approaches one can take to critique a piece of work. It is fundamentally dishonest to critique a film without revealing...
The Passion of Scott Pilgrim
Dear slashfilmcast; It’s saturday night and Scott Pilgrim has bombed at the box office. When my showing ended at 8 PM, the people who walked out of the theater could have filled a single bus. And not a Grey Hound. A short bus. Yet I felt enlightened, and like those blessed with divine knowledge I felt a sadness for the masses. I felt injustice. I had a question for the Powers that Be....
Don't ever have Armond White on your show ever,...
Dear Slashfilm, I hope you all were as offended by Armond White’s comments on Ep. 109 of the slashfilmcast as I was. Despite his nearly personal attacks on Devindra (for reading up on the production of a film to provide context for a review), his fatal flaw is that he seems to approach film criticism as though it is an objective science. The primary example would be his suggestion...
July 2010
1 post
I Did Channel My Anger Productively
So I listened to the Inception episode tonight and it made me furious. Armond White appears to come from an alternate cinematic universe where everything that is bad is good and vice versa. I did, however, channel my anger productively. What appears below is a lyrical rewriting of Michael Jackson’s “Black or White” (fitting considering Armond White’s new book) that ...
April 2010
1 post
Unique Movie Experience
Hey guys, My name is Alex FROM Lansdale, PA. First off I would just like to say thanks for making this awesome podcast, I really enjoy listening and hearing your guys’ opinions on the weeks movies. This morning, while listening to the AFTER DARK episode where you discuss unique movie experiences, got me thinking about an experience that happened to a buddy and I a few months ago. It was...