I know young people who are living on the margins in more or less the same way today. While I totally agree about the travesty of the Bush years, I also think that some of us (me included) are looking at this from an older person's perspective and knowing we will never be that unfettered again. Until, of course, we…

I agree, Thizzy, except that I dug the movie quite a bit the first time out. But what I dug about it (as opposed to Reality Bites, a good contrast) is that it presented a warm, generous, unvarnished picture of bohemian life, where some people are kind of pretentious (the disappearing postcard guy) or annoying (the…

I doubt he's suffering for a paycheck, but I wish him all health, wealth, and happiness. When he is on, there is nobody funnier or sharper. Plus he seems like a truly decent human being.

Maybe you had to be there, but I love Slacker. It holds up just fine (streaming on Netflix!).

Yes, Clowes' real target is not so much Jim Belushi as the "Jim Belushi type". For what it's worth, I'm drawn to his self-deprecating manner, where even when he's railing on something you get the sense that he doesn't really think he's superior to his target. I like David Cross, but I do think he is self-righteous in…

Well, yeah, I do — are you in England though? I'm in California.

Thanks for the clarification. "Based on the book you wrote about … Meat Is Murder" was a bit ambiguous.

If you'd read the review the other day you would have already known it was his first book. Just like a gorilla not to do the research. You just think you can grunt, beat your chest, and throw your feces around and everyone will be so impressed.

I thought his nemesis was Larry the Cable Guy. I thought Dan Clowes' nemesis was Jim Belushi. I just can't seem to get my nemeses straight.

Wow. Thanks for the tip, dan.

I see you wasted no time in filling my seat hole.

… and wasted the opportunity. It's his first book, man! His. First. Book. Aaargh!

More importantly … a screenplay based on Meat Is Murder? What chance does this have of being a good idea? I'm guessing 7%.

Melancholia has many levels. In my own case I would distinguish between the general "I can't go on, I'll go on" day to day world-hating but somewhat entrenched and durable version and the "OK, maybe I won't" pit of despair version. I have a lot of experience with the latter but, as I've gotten older, I find that I've…

That wonderful falling cadence in "Heroes and Villains" has a similar effect: http://bit.ly/4BbvRw. Any song with the line "Sunny down snuff, I'm all right" is proof against melancholy. For a few minutes anyway.

Gotta put in a word for "Sir Duke" by Stevie Wonder. That horn line comes in at the beginning and this rhythm challenged white boy is instantly groovin'. The loopy off-kilter timing in that song actually makes me laugh out loud. Totally ruins my typical foul mood.

OK, but he has a point. I was already thinking about a list of truly uplifting songs that actually make you feel better when you're down, as opposed to ridiculously trite anti-suicide songs (arguably a message that is always ridiculous when conveyed in the form of a pop song). My list would include any Al Green song,…

It is worth mentioning that Polyester is much tamer than Pink Flamingos. Polyester is pretty solidly in the subgenre of social satire comedies of the late 70s/early 80s, like Eating Raoul. Whereas Pink Flamingos is in a "holy crap" genre unto itself.

@Sheesher — De gustibus non disputandum should probably be implied in any declaration like the one I made. Yes, the technical and some of the aesthetic aspects of filmmaking were set back by talkies, but the exuberance of those early sound films is so catching that I do not feel the lack. James Cagney in Blonde Crazy…

Because there will never be another film era as great as the 1930s. With the introduction of sound movies came into their own, and the rush of creative energy in the first ten years created a greater percentage of highly watchable films than any subsequent decade.