Sunday Recap
• Your weekend at the theater:
The inherent repressed homoeroticism of Jackass. (It's too complex to do a pull quote, so just trust me.)
"And there are some moments here of genuine poetry, glimpses at a country and a way of life that exists more in the nostalgic hearts and minds of storytellers than it ever did in the real world. But it’s marked throughout by a detached coldness, and the film’s reach exceeds its grasp, causing the tale to shrink in the telling until all that’s left is an idea of the movie that might have been."
"For aviation and/or historical enthusiasts, there should be plenty of eye candy to make it worth the effort. For the rest of us, it should be pretty obvious as to why there hasn’t been a movie about this stuff in over 40 years."
"The conclusion of Fearless, of course, is all about virtue, reminding us of the importance of honor and patriotism, using the requisite dissolves and close-ups we’ve come to expect from bad American films. Somehow, in fact, I suspect that if this weren’t an Asian martial arts film that no one would accord it with the kind of respect it will inevitably receive, despite all of its over-the-top Roland Emmerich flourishes — and really, why should we expect better from Ronny Yu, the director of Freddy vs. Jason and Bride of Chucky."
• Everybody's favorite speechifying egalitarian returned to the small screen this week, and I was sufficiently pleased.
• At last, an honest look at the danger that is Elmo.
• The jury's still out on this one, but Will Arnett can do anything he wants as far as I'm concerned. I'll show up.
• Holy frightening fascists. And I thought I knew crazy people. Man. These people are nuts.
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