course description included Archives: little
next page · previous page
13 March 2010
Fishing with John: Willem Dafoe (1991)
Willem and John go fishing in Maine. Ice fishing is hard work, and they are very cold in their little ice house out there on the ice. During the day, they eat peanut butter crackers and wait for the fish. They have not planned appropriately, and are very hungry because the fish are not biting. [...]
continue reading... » 0 Comments
11 March 2010
Fishing with John: Matt Dillon (1991)
Matt Dillon’s episode is the worst of the bunch. He doesn’t really fit into the quirky mold of the other adventuring fisherman, and the subsequent conversation between John and Matt is a little awkward. Maybe this awkwardness was intentional, but it works against the flavor of the show and when the narrator bursts out excitedly [...]
continue reading... » 0 Comments
9 March 2010
Fishing with John: Tom Waits (1991)
John and Tom go fishing in Jamaica for snapper. There are long periods of waiting before either of the men gets a bite. Tom finally catches a fish. Upon catching the fish, the men discuss catch and release, and Tom decides to put the fish into his pants. It is unclear whether this is what [...]
continue reading... » 0 Comments
8 March 2010
Fishing with John: Jim Jarmusch (1991)
The first episode of Fishing with John is by far the best. You are simply not prepared for the interplay between the fishers and the narrative (Oh. My. God.), particularly given the whole tone of the fishing sequences is correct, minus the fisherman. They have quiet, introspect conversation while fishing. Jim and John are fishing [...]
continue reading... » 0 Comments
5 March 2010
Battlestar Galactica: The Miniseries (2004)
I finally succumbed to all the pressure about this show being second to none and checked out the miniseries. For the most part, it was pretty good. But it still feels like a television show, mostly in the way dramatic queues are framed around commercial breaks. It’s also great to see a show commit to [...]
continue reading... » 0 Comments
4 February 2010
Planet Earth (2006): The Plains
Why is it when I randomly choose a disc of Planet Earth to watch, do I invariably pick the third disc? I must have seen these episodes four or five times, and always think: “Surely I haven’t seen the Plains episode yet!”. That shot of Shamu lurching out of the water to swallow a sea [...]
continue reading... » 0 Comments
7 June 2009
Watchmen (2009)
If you’re holding out for something to a be a complete train wreck (think Quartermain’s fatherly scene on the poop deck with the spry Tom Sawyer), does its defiance on that level deem it a success? And while I revere Watchmen, it must be pointed out that some of its line-to-line writing (in the case [...]
continue reading... » 0 Comments
9 March 2009
Appaloosa (2008)
Ed Harris’ western reminded me of some other recent revisionist Westerns, like 3:10 to Yuma and Unforgiven. But it’s bogged down by a pretty bizarre perforamnce from Renee Zellweger, and a muddled third act, largely propelled by Zellweger’s character. That said, Viggo Mortensen gives a great performance as Ed Harris’ buddy, Everett. They have the [...]
continue reading... » 0 Comments
20 February 2009
The Great Debaters (2007)
I was only half watching this on a ski trip, so I may not be fully cognizant of the particulars of the screenplay, which was far better than it deserved to be. It’s the same zero-to-hero type story about nurturing young minds and creating passionate individuals set in a different context. But here are a [...]
continue reading... » 0 Comments
18 February 2009
Freaks and Geeks (1999-2000)
It’s kind of a shame that more often than not a show this good languishes in obscurity until its inevitable cancelation. But saying that is an easy thing, looking back. I’m not sure I’ve ever been invested in a TV show on the brink and been forced to reconcile that disappointment with what’s-not-coming. Here, we’re [...]