@johndavismalloy.bsky.social
I’d be interested in any critique of why “Gigi” is an unfavorite itself. Apart from relative to its competitors that year or to other Best Picture winners.
December 15, 2025 at 7:46 PM
I’d be interested in any critique of why “Gigi” is an unfavorite itself. Apart from relative to its competitors that year or to other Best Picture winners.
Reserved seating is a pet peeve of mine. It has some advantages, but (beyond the cash grab) it’s a barrier to movie-going as a social experience. I.e. proposing a movie outing to various friends who can decide separately then sit together.
December 11, 2025 at 9:14 PM
Reserved seating is a pet peeve of mine. It has some advantages, but (beyond the cash grab) it’s a barrier to movie-going as a social experience. I.e. proposing a movie outing to various friends who can decide separately then sit together.
I don’t know about the assemblage of scenes with and without live audience. Many tight closeups then audible laughter and applause. Wished for a curtain call, especially to acknowledge players other than the 3 billed stars.
December 4, 2025 at 7:48 PM
I don’t know about the assemblage of scenes with and without live audience. Many tight closeups then audible laughter and applause. Wished for a curtain call, especially to acknowledge players other than the 3 billed stars.
Criticism can be totally scathing without homophobic tropes.
November 20, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Criticism can be totally scathing without homophobic tropes.
I didn’t hear that. It has the ring of Bill C. But I remember Hillary C. saying about Obama that “we still don’t know exactly what he was doing [in Indonesia] between age 5 1/2 and 6.”
November 4, 2025 at 10:24 PM
I didn’t hear that. It has the ring of Bill C. But I remember Hillary C. saying about Obama that “we still don’t know exactly what he was doing [in Indonesia] between age 5 1/2 and 6.”
Plus, I understand from professional musicians that the piano music audible through much of the film is generated by electronic keyboard. The filmmakers could have shown enough respect for what the film is nominally about to invest in a real instrument.
November 4, 2025 at 5:52 PM
Plus, I understand from professional musicians that the piano music audible through much of the film is generated by electronic keyboard. The filmmakers could have shown enough respect for what the film is nominally about to invest in a real instrument.
But I’m an admirer of Linklater and will probably see “Nouvelle Vague” with higher hopes.
November 3, 2025 at 7:26 PM
But I’m an admirer of Linklater and will probably see “Nouvelle Vague” with higher hopes.
I was disappointed with the info dumps and name drops in “Blue Moon.” The exposition felt forced, at least in such a realistic real-time setting. It could’ve shown more than told how interesting and important these people were.
November 3, 2025 at 7:26 PM
I was disappointed with the info dumps and name drops in “Blue Moon.” The exposition felt forced, at least in such a realistic real-time setting. It could’ve shown more than told how interesting and important these people were.
How recently did the term “franchise” come into use for multiple sequels? I feel like that context would be telling re what they are and do.
October 9, 2025 at 7:08 PM
How recently did the term “franchise” come into use for multiple sequels? I feel like that context would be telling re what they are and do.
99% nailed it! (I just hold back from using “unwell” to denigrate.)
October 2, 2025 at 5:33 PM
99% nailed it! (I just hold back from using “unwell” to denigrate.)
When I was a young adult I especially valued reading older culture writers. This is not a generational conflict.
October 2, 2025 at 5:29 PM
When I was a young adult I especially valued reading older culture writers. This is not a generational conflict.
When eulogizing of a public figure piles on, however, it’s fully appropriate to point out the full reality of what he really did. But saying that the killing didn’t make the world any better is more than an obligatory disclaimer.
September 23, 2025 at 9:16 PM
When eulogizing of a public figure piles on, however, it’s fully appropriate to point out the full reality of what he really did. But saying that the killing didn’t make the world any better is more than an obligatory disclaimer.
In the immediate aftermath, I’d still lean toward the respect-the-dead impulse. When some mass shooter kills strangers in a parking lot, the tragedy doesn’t get qualified by whatever politics or statements come to light re any of the victims. That’s also true for getting killed for ideas.
September 23, 2025 at 9:14 PM
In the immediate aftermath, I’d still lean toward the respect-the-dead impulse. When some mass shooter kills strangers in a parking lot, the tragedy doesn’t get qualified by whatever politics or statements come to light re any of the victims. That’s also true for getting killed for ideas.
In these skewed “debates” that are described so well, did Kirk mock or encourage the crowd to mock, individuals who took the bait and almost inevitably came off as less polished and knowledgeable? I don’t have the stomach to watch footage, but I hear that he didn’t do that. Kinda civil, I guess .
September 23, 2025 at 7:07 PM
In these skewed “debates” that are described so well, did Kirk mock or encourage the crowd to mock, individuals who took the bait and almost inevitably came off as less polished and knowledgeable? I don’t have the stomach to watch footage, but I hear that he didn’t do that. Kinda civil, I guess .
Not Adam and Daniel?
August 22, 2025 at 5:56 PM
Not Adam and Daniel?
Alexandra Petri: “these museums are the worst! not a single mention of success or brightness anywhere and there is a horrible whirring fan noise and a loud flushing sometimes and the lights go out if you don’t move in too long and there are no exhibits and someone keeps pounding on the door”
August 19, 2025 at 10:52 PM
Alexandra Petri: “these museums are the worst! not a single mention of success or brightness anywhere and there is a horrible whirring fan noise and a loud flushing sometimes and the lights go out if you don’t move in too long and there are no exhibits and someone keeps pounding on the door”
Everyone reacting to this should make a priority of advocating for DC statehood.
August 16, 2025 at 4:31 PM
Everyone reacting to this should make a priority of advocating for DC statehood.
It's all too tempting, when someone who's not a favorite is targeted, to react like it's not such a big deal.
August 14, 2025 at 10:27 PM
It's all too tempting, when someone who's not a favorite is targeted, to react like it's not such a big deal.
Assuming they don’t overturn Obergefell with this, there’ll be a sigh of relief at how reasonable the Court is, but they’ll leave breadcrumbs in the opinion to cite when they do overturn it.
August 12, 2025 at 5:46 PM
Assuming they don’t overturn Obergefell with this, there’ll be a sigh of relief at how reasonable the Court is, but they’ll leave breadcrumbs in the opinion to cite when they do overturn it.
Ah! The little trick they use in bashing residents of the District of Columbia is to tap bone-deep, unapologetic racism then conflate it with familiar anti-elite hostility to “Washington.”
August 12, 2025 at 5:40 PM
Ah! The little trick they use in bashing residents of the District of Columbia is to tap bone-deep, unapologetic racism then conflate it with familiar anti-elite hostility to “Washington.”
I don't disagree. But doesn’t "readers don’t engage with [book reviews] enough” mean not enough reader comment or reactions relative to other published items?
August 11, 2025 at 9:49 PM
I don't disagree. But doesn’t "readers don’t engage with [book reviews] enough” mean not enough reader comment or reactions relative to other published items?