July
2
Longworth vs. Goldstein
I enjoyed my various encounters with New York Spout blogger Karina Longworth at the recent LAFF. (Who knew she was a Valley Girl?) Here she skewers Patrick Goldstein's
recent entry on hack movie producer Avi Lerner.
UPDATE: Interesting how Longworth's commenters perceive Goldstein as establishment and old school. It's the new world order in a nutshell. She's a 28-year-old critic/blogger/festgoer in search of the new, calling it like it is, resolutely not interested in playing the old PR game. At Cinematical, she helped to invent the kind of blog that Goldstein is trying to figure out how to do, under pressure from a dying newspaper that now values frequency of contributions over well-read weekly columns. Goldstein and my boss Peter Bart have strong voices that work well in blog form, but they're still writing stories.
Longworth recognizes the value of interaction, of call and response, of being fast on the draw. On some level, at a time when everyone is wondering about the future of film criticism, Longworth is the next-generation Manohla Dargis. On the other hand, Longworth still has to build Spoutblog's traffic. What better way than to call out her newest competitor?
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How is it that there is more drama in blogging than in high school?
Still, I'm addicted. *click*
Posted by: Liz | July 02, 2008 at 11:45 PM
I've never met Karina Longworth, but I think I'm in love. Nobody champions the cause of the film critic better, and there's no question in my mind that she represents the future of our field.
As for Goldstein, he proves the limits of his intellect in a separate posting on Wall-E, in which he shares his theory that critics "missed" the movie's critique of the direction American culture is headed:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/the_big_picture/2008/07/wall-e-a-stealt.html
To Anne Thompson's credit, her blog entry on the film engages with the prevailing discussion on the web, which objects to the number of critics who "gave away" the detail that humans have devolved to couch potatoes in the distant future. (We critics are an endangered lot as it is, but I'm growing impatient with writing spoiler-free analyses of movies. Personally, I prefer to read reviews and see what others think after seeing a film, and I'm not much interested in a discussion of, say, There Will Be Blood or No Country for Old Men that doesn't take into account the issues with their endings.)
But back to Goldstein, most upsetting about his facile interpretation is that it doesn't acknowledge the grace with which Pixar manages to have it both ways. On one hand, they indict the "devolution" of the species (in a far less crass way than Mike Judge did with Idiocracy), but they leave room for that characteristically upbeat Pixar sensibility that the human race will find a way.
Variety's own Todd McCarthy put it best: "A major distinction in message and tone between this and most related sci-fi is that, for a story rooted in an apocalypse, 'Wall-E' is very optimistic. Yes, the worst will come, whatever it is, but humanity will, no matter what, be able to reconnect with its roots. This is good to know."
In my opinion, the subplot between Kathy Najimy and John Ratzenberger, who don't discover what their life has become until the lovestruck robots force them to lower their visors, is the real soul of the film. But you can see that simultaneous appreciation of American culture (in all its Hawaiian shirt-wearing tackiness) when the captain discovers dancing and pizza.
Posted by: Peter Debruge | July 03, 2008 at 11:49 AM
Mike Judge may be crass, but he's a crass genius. Every frame in "Idiocracy" is packed with gags, like a vintage Will Elder story. If "The Violence Channel" actually existed, I'd get cable.
Posted by: David C | July 03, 2008 at 01:28 PM
http://www.madprofessor.net/Will_Elder_Restaurant.jpg
Posted by: David C | July 03, 2008 at 02:37 PM
Where have you found any actual criticism by Karina Longworth? All I see on the Spout blog are the usual snarky links to other people's reporting. And her prose! A "consumptive interest"? Buy this girl a dictionary, please!
Posted by: mizoguchi | July 04, 2008 at 09:09 AM
Longworth is the next-generation Manohla Dargis
Really? Anne. Really?
In what way exactly? Is it her spunk and spitfire or is it merely their common gender? It sure as hell 'aint her criticism, which, truth be told, brings new meaning to the word sophomoric.
She's a 28-year-old critic/blogger/festgoer in search of the new, calling it like it is, resolutely not interested in playing the old PR game.
What?!? I guess if you look past the appearances on G4 and CNN, and the tendency to spew forth more words about herself than about any film.
Exactly how many TV shows has Dargis appeared on?
Posted by: Boy in Company C | July 04, 2008 at 08:50 PM
Manohla, to her credit, hates appearing on TV. I'm saying Katrina's where it's going. Let's see if she gets there.
Posted by: anne Thompson | July 05, 2008 at 12:27 AM