"Cal" is what it's called. Not just the "University of California," though, that will only irritate people.

Yeah, it's super dumb. He could have hidden more effectively with a lot less work and a lot less half-submerged in a chilly stream and a lot less "I'm totally here in the open where I can't move anything or give myself away" but just, like, hiding behind a tree or something.

Cracker Jackers, a prize in every box.

That is so writer-of-Forrest-Gump-and-Benjamin-Button.

That's a lot of objections. I liked reading your post, because they're specific and make sense.

I must respectfully disagree with you about the awesomeness of sharks.

See, you might have had me at just hating the movie, but "every single thing"? That seems like unthinking "nuh-uh"-ism.

They did actually do a lot of practical things with Gollum, for example, I always thought the shot of him going after the fish was really well done, because that was Serkis in that stream going after the fish, splashing in the water, being looked at by Frodo and Sam; and then replaced by Gollum.

I also give the edge to the kitchen sequence, possibly because it builds to one of the most awesome cavalry moments ever (and oh wow, am I a sucker for cavalry moments). Perhaps the trench attack in Star Wars, even though the action in that is so linear, it really is just so well-done (and not a Spielberg moment).

There was a time when there was this brilliant new metal, and rather than boring silver or gold, if you really wanted to impress people, you'd serve them dinner using table settings made from the stuff. It was synonymous with the newest, latest, most impressive and most expensive.

I saw it in regular release 2D and I thought it was beautiful.

You kind of have a point, especially in the particular instance, but the absoluteness of your generalizations is wrong. It's totally possible to guess at the function of "soft" structures based on fossil evidence; soft structures are fossilized anyway. We have lots of fossils of creatures with no hard parts at all.…

I would elevate Clash of the Titans in a category above just "other Harryhausen movies", because of the variety of effects and approaches and the pinnacle (I think) of character-oriented stop-motion in that one.

I like the quote from the director of the original Fast and Furious about how people would thank him for "not using CGI" and doing so many real stunts, when so many of the car stunts were CGI.

I made the same promise when my son didn't exist yet, to not give him bullshit explanations, to not lie to make myself seem smarter or less flawed than I am, &c. Hm, maybe I'm the real life equivalent of a cookie monster gimmick account.

I think Mad Men is a soap opera, but that's not a strike against it. I don't necessarily agree with your definition of that… in particular, soap operas try really hard to be unpredictable (which is what makes them predictable), and things like a secret identity, a surprise remarriage at the end of a season, a rape in…

I also agree it's a tough situation. I put up with or ignore stuff all the time for social reasons, but at the same time I think that people who spread hate should more or less be social pariahs and some things I can't stand. I left a barbecue recently with people from work because I couldn't stand what was being said…

Actually, I think among the people who pay $50 for the experience, they're almost forced to relate a positive result. It's self-justification.

Yup.

I agree that it was also wrong but not equally wrong.