avclub-717729ce391c20ef3e722c3e6ef79a58--disqus
The Elusive Robert Denby
avclub-717729ce391c20ef3e722c3e6ef79a58--disqus

(Panics, pushes nun into seat)

I played Pitfall 2 on the Commodore. You're right: that was a ridiculously fun game.

It says a lot about Steve Jobs' power of self-mythology that early PC history is seen as a binary fight between Apple and IBM. Innovators they were, but their machines were crazy expensive for the average family of the time. They were the Mercedes that showed proof of concept; the Commodore 64 was the Model T

I remember being very fond of the Imagic releases on the system. My dad was a fan of Utopia, which was way too advanced for me but arguably the first widely-available God game.

Intellivision for life. Mourn ya till I join ya, keyboard component.

Good point. I'm jaded, because my bar for racism among the characters of Mad Men is whether or not they've put shoe polish on their face, or enjoyed a performance delivered in such a manner.

Oh, Harry, hands down. Pete is awful, but he has good qualities like his progressiveness on race. Most of Campbell's worst aspects stem from his obliviousness to what he's doing and it's impact on others. Harry chooses to be a sleazy himbo.

I literally cringed at that Smoove C line.

Pete's knowledge of Don's past has made him want to emulate it. His utter failures to do so (the clumsy affairs, the less-than-sleek bachelor pad) have been comic high points.

The gangster-as-capitalism metaphor works if you're actually criticizing capitalism, which requires showing it trampling on otherwise innocent people. The first two Godfathers work because Michael's seduction into the criminal life is the tragedy of a good man turning evil, but it's also Kay's tragedy and how

Jordan gets a lot of money, a lot of drugs and a lot of sex with basically no negative consequences, despite destroying thousands of lives and treating women like carpets. It's a two-and-a-half-hour male adolescent fantasy with an unconvincing coda nailed to the end. If the movie was really trying to be satire, some

I stand with Will. The Wolf of Wall Street is frat-boy wish fulfillment that thinks it's social satire. There are some funny moments, but like many Scorcese pictures, it wants to celebrate what it's allegedly condemning.

Liked for teaching me something I didn't know, not the fact itself.

"Ground control to Captain Ron . . ."

I remember David Spade breathing hatred of that kid on SNL. Never knew the connection before.

I'll give you the first two. But Buddhism?

Horshack declared SP.

Lawrence Wright's book notes that Travolta doesn't share Scientology's views of homosexuality and, possibly in contrast to Cruise, seems to be well-liked by those who know him and not at all a power-tripper.

"We have a Hulk."
"How appropriate. You fight like a cow."

Help me.