It seems that Scott Tobias, like so many other film critics, still feels butt hurt after getting lambasted by progressives for extolling the virtues of "Zero Dark Thirty", a fancy live action sequel to the latest edition of Call Of Duty (without the amoral fun and with all the boring cut scenes). That progressive…

There is also something weasely about film critics who chide movies or documentaries for being (openly) politically tendentious. Especially if they claim to agree with the actual political content. Not only do they lack the backbone to stand by their beliefs, they also find these beliefs to be embarrassing and they…

I wholeheartedly agree. One of the best documentaries I've seen is
"Outfoxed" which is undoubtedly a partisan submission in the contemporary
debate about media concentration. It is also stylistically barren and looks
like a low rent TV-documentary. But it is factually impeccable and as you
mention edits hours and hours of…

I believe that most film critics are untrained to properly assess documentaries (except pop culture docs) or movies with clear political themes (or with underlying ideological messages). The whole ZDT debacle is a blatant evidence of that critical deficiency. There are exceptions of course, there are always exceptions.

What can i say? Yeah… hogwash! The particulars of the fuzzy pseudopsychological portrait of the character might be of academic interest for some but for most of us "regular" viewers (and I'd wager for Hitchcock himself) Bates is simply a disturbing guy and his "craziness" is straightforward and made to instill fear.

I agree with you but not with this little sentence on the review above:

Jaaaaaaaaaay!

You really should read the essay instead of just skimming it. Yes, it is long but definitely worth the read. And you should pay attention to what it is aiming at. BTW, the political spectrum out there is broader than what the O'Reillys and Stewarts would make you believe. A self-important blowhard like Stewart might…

I wasn't expecting to talk (write) so much about the Exiled as I've done here and I linked the essay because it was so well written, and yes acidic. But it's the Exiled's job to expose hypocrites and write about the pressing issues of our time, even if it involves vapid pop culture icons like Stewart. Those guys are…

I guess that you prefer the detached snark on this website than the (albeit) funny but almost similarly snarky scribblings on the Exiled. And i sincerely hope that
the pop culture writing on the AV Club makes you happy. But forget about your
personal and political thoughts on Ames (I believe that he and Taibbi parted on
b…

Ugh, anyone who doesn't read the actual comment-thread he attacks must lack the patience of a regular person and have the eyesight of a 90-year old coot with macular degeneration.

Quotable quotes from that Mark Ames essay:

"… but Jon Stewart has become one of the most trusted voices of his generation—comedic or otherwise—precisely because The Daily Show is powered by his fierce convictions…"

For a simple takedown of Bigelows paperthin op-ed read Taibbi's latest blog post:

Aaawww! Aren't you gonna read the philistine and anti-art column i mentioned? That makes me sad.

Aaawww! Aren't you gonna read the philistine and anti-art column i mentioned? That makes me sad.

You should read (or re-read) the column. He has a thing or two to say about the art excuse.

You should read (or re-read) the column. He has a thing or two to say about the art excuse.

Glenn Greenwald's Guardian column concerning this movie should be essential reading.
It masterfully and preemptively deconstructs most of the unconvincing arguments
used on this review. Can't wait to see the movie though. It will probably dazzle me even more than Bigelow's equally  amoral "The Hurt Locker".

Glenn Greenwald's Guardian column concerning this movie should be essential reading.
It masterfully and preemptively deconstructs most of the unconvincing arguments
used on this review. Can't wait to see the movie though. It will probably dazzle me even more than Bigelow's equally  amoral "The Hurt Locker".