True, but for malevolent motherfuckerness, Max Cady in Cape Fear is hard to beat. Not a shred of decency there. Sheer hatred.

Robert DeNiro
In Scorsese's remake of Cape Fear.

Enkidum's right. We need to avoid looking for the underlying meaning of things, at all costs! Stay on the surface, that's my motto, though sometimes I forget. My apologies.

My point (and I think Morris') is that the facts are the truth, period. Interpretation comes after; whether you agree or disagree doesn't change the facts. Either Randall Adams killed the cop or he didn't. It's true that we're inescapably trapped in our perceptions and preconceptions (Hume), so we can never be…

truth
This is one of my top 5 favorite movies, largely because of its fundamental statement (at least the fundamental statement I took from it): THERE IS TRUTH, contrary to what some post-modernists would have you believe. It's not ALL "relative," it's not ALL about "where you're coming from." Some things…

Another favorite not mentioned, and an 11 on the Country Heartbreak scale: "Mommy for a Day."

Yes, nice piece indeed. Especially liked this:

I will miss your avatar.

mail-order completism
I'm too lazy to be a completist, but I let the Bear Family do the work for me by buying their 5-CD set of Vernon Oxford recordings.

a suggestion
Perhaps Neil could do "Campaigner" and substitute Jeff Zucker's name for Richard Nixon's.

thanks, Kate
"Talk to Me of Mendocino" is one of the saddest and most beautiful songs I ever heard. It brought me comfort in many a down time.

For me the "homework" of watching silents is very true, even though some of my very favorite films are silent — Murnau's Sunrise and Nosferatu being the two best examples. I do think it's more than just the acting that requires the extra effort, though. I know this is hardly an original point, but the *pacing* of the…

Two silent voices
Interesting to note that we have heard nothing from Lorne Michaels on this. He always was smarter, and more politically astute, than Ebersol.

Now there's a combination I would not have thought of.

prime time soaps
I don't think I'd try to convince anyone to watch them, cause I'm well aware they're a waste of time, but I really enjoyed Dallas when it was on, and get a kick out of catching an episode of Desperate Housewives now and then. I was going to include the Real Housewives of Orange Country/Atlanta/New…

I find that a lot of women, including my wife, hate Steely Dan and dismiss them as a guy band. Not sure why.

I agree, Capt. While everyone complains about the factuality of JFK, or the lack thereof, they overlook the fact that it's brilliant CINEMA! So much fun to watch. As for meaning, I always thought it was about the whole impossibility of knowing what the truth is.

I love that whole album, starting with that song. "A man can use his back or use his brain/but some just went stir crazy, cause nothin ever changed," or something like that. The reprise is beautiful, too. Also a favorite on that album: Saturday Night. I know the whole outlaw cum rock star thing is a cliche, but damn,…

nope

brilliant
A very nice write-up, Nathan (and good to see this feature back). What an oddball Roger Miller is! "What is/what isn't country" discussions can get boring fast, so let's just say he is definitely unique in country music. I once spent a bad acid trip walking up and down a beach in Oregon singing "King of the…