"That is pretentious" is the critic announcing "I don't like this and need a big word to justify my negative reaction without having to actually think about it." If I were being ironic, I would say the only example of something being pretentious is the statement "that is pretentious." If I were being uncharitable, I'd…

It's you. It's all you.

Because academics like to study things and see how they fit into a culture, how they reflect certain traditions or break them, et cetera. Scholars take everything seriously, in the sense that human endeavor is by definition worthy of study and intelligent consideration.

How on earth do you know the motivations of people to like or make music? And why are those motivations something for you to cast judgment on? The fact that someone is trying to "curry the favor" of some other group would seem to indicate that said group does indeed appeal or matter to them.

Was the budget for this show so low that they couldn't even afford real-looking guns? Those are freaking air-rifles. Not-Woody Harrelson is carrying a sawed-off toy.

Thank you, @avclub-ad834430749e78c48a6092f873a96dca:disqus . It surprises me a bit that people seem to miss this. BOB, Mike, et al. function more as embodiments or metaphors of the pain that is caused against us and that we cause. They exist because we exist, they feed on us because we give them food.

Godfather III is a horrible movie. Coppola's lost all sense of rhythm in his staging of scenes, and he clearly had no idea about what to make Michael's resurgent humanity believable (seriously; when we last saw him, he was alone but content because he'd killed or alienated everyone who reminded him of his previous…

You mean he's infecting the French?

Wow, @avclub-b63f73301fe289a7c258eb2e3f4986ce:disqus . I'd never realized how shameful my behavior was. No wonder you stubbornly insist that there is no meaning if you can't see it, as though others were just making it up to make you feel stupid. I will cease thinking about Lost and Prometheus as anything other than…

@avclub-f62296b9393b6ab9229ebde91ed8469f:disqus , I love the final episode of Lost, though I know I probably shouldn't; the way the series came down on the side of faith seemed genuine and novel to me. I appreciate what Prometheus is trying to do, and like the idea of the xenomorphs as a kind of biological weapon, but…

You certainly can bypass the director's intentions as long as you admit those intentions are beside the point of your interpretation. I do this with Donnie Darko, and think the film is a hell of a lot better for it.

@avclub-b63f73301fe289a7c258eb2e3f4986ce:disqus , I don't recall saying that the production history of Mulholland Drive has nothing to do withwhat it is; I just don't think it's the only, or even the most important, aspect that needs to be considered.

I'm still not entirely clear on what happens to Parker. I think the alien teeth-punches him in the brain, but when did Parker's forehead get that big? Did the alien shave his head before killing him?

There's a lot more to Mulholland Drive than that. Off the top of my head, I'd list the confusion of identity, the perversion of power dynamics, the fluidity of sexuality, the deconstruction of the mystery genre. Probably others.

In other words, fuck everyone who disagrees with you. Rock solid argumentation, there.

Adams — and, to be fair, the critics he… criticizes, I guess — make the mistake of assuming that meaning is intentional. I don't much care for The Shining; I think it is Kubrick's only complete misfire. But I don't begrudge those who like it or find references to genocide in it because they have performed the hard…

I've shown Network to students, and they seem to realize that things have gone down hill even since then. Infotainment and Fox News-style packaging is so commonplace to them, so they haven't thought that they were the result of cynical decisions. Of course, I doubt any of them want to act on that knowledge.

Exactly. Hell, I wouldn't even date someone with that attitude.

Escape from N.Y. is extremely hacky — the gang members are all dressed up like someone flipped through some copies of Kerrang! and Punk to see what edgy people looked like, the bad guys are black, Kurt Russell does some macho bullshit as only he can…. That movie was cool when I was 13, and now I'm ashamed of myself as…

You clearly didn't get my point. For the record, I've seen all of Zombie's films, all of Solendz's films, five Von Trier films (not Melancholia, as I need more time for the bad taste of Antichrist to pass), and three Korine films. I've seen a lot and don't consider myself better than any director.