Prometheus was as ambiguous as a self-administered robo-abortion.

Exactly. See: the "everybody returning to the egg pod cavern where the two guys died, with their helmets OFF"- scene.

Even with all it's flaws, it had subtlety. You have to put something into The Master to get something out of it.  It wouldn't ever win, but it deserves to be recognized.

Still, with 10 slots, there should have been plenty of room for both of them on the list of nominees, over some of the things that got picked. And you don't think The Master even deserved to be nominated, just to award the ambition, flaws and all? A movie of it's kind comes along…never.

Yeah, I'm not usually a paranoid conspiracy type, but…. this, this, this.

Weirdly enough, talking 70s-era Best Pictures, I find Godfather Part II to be more depressing than either of those movies.

The actual film to compare Argo to is Apollo 13:

An unbeatable cast for sure, and the movie itself is a rarity - a light-hearted comedic caper from William Friedkin.

It's funny, some of my DVDs are grouped thematically, and The Seven Ups is right next to Eddie Coyle on my shelf.

Definitely influential, and the man himself has admitted it. You might even say he owes much of his career to it. My copy of Eddie Coyle has an introduction by Leonard where he calls it the best crime novel ever written. I believe he says at the time Eddie Coyle came out Leonard was coming out of his Western-writing…

Yeah, I love George V. Higgins books, and one thing I've noticed is that they are all about economics.

Indeed. That article is essential reading for all Mitchum fans.

What a cast! - Michael Keaton, Christopher Lloyd, Peter Boyle… and… Flounder.

"…whose book Coogan’s Trade was recently adapted into Killing Them Softly"

"How did he do such fantastic stunts…with such little feet?" - Hedley Lamarr

Yes! That was the first thing I thought of when I saw this review.

re: Koayashi's Human Condition:
Yep. Criterion released it a few years ago:

Would he try to force feed you a squirrel full of dysentery?

"This is something you do for a billion years or not at all."

Great article. If you like this stuff, add these to your "country funk" playlist, as I think they fit the bill extremely well…