Honestly, I feel that way about a lot of Hughes' teen movies. I like Breakfast Club more than some of the others because it has a more interesting cross-section of characters, and a great limited frame of the single day in detention (no accident that so many TV shows do homages to it), but in general I'm not a huge…

I very much watched the movie with that at front of mind, as I'd seen it more often in bits and pieces on cable than straight through, over the years. And I think that angle of the movie is pretty half-assed. Cameron's problems are ill-defined (and though this isn't a 1986 movie's fault, necessarily, feel downright…

I can easily imagine that being much, much better than the actual Hughes movie, but my opinion of that movie is clearly not the prevailing one!

Thanks so much! What a nice thing to hear/read. I'm hoping it can continue for a long, long time, but it's not all up to me. This may sound cheesy but if you love it, feel free to share it as much as possible. I think it really does help. And there's only so much naked self-promotion I can do. ;)

That was exactly my point. Criticism of a headline isn't really criticism of an article. (That doesn't mean it's invalid; I just don't think it deserves equal weight, any more than a criticism of a trailer has a lot to do with the criticism of a movie. In part because in a lot of cases, different people make/write…

Together Again will be back, but will be appearing somewhat less frequently/regularly for at least a little while. As such, it's not actually settled who the next installment will feature, though I have a decent sized list; it's more a question of timing.

That's an interesting read, but I think it's kind of a leap to describe McAllister, this genial and earnest-seeming high school teacher, as being the same type as a bullshit artist like Ferris. There's self-deception in the McAllister character, and I'm sure that irony enhances the casting a bit, but I don't think…

Can I imagine RDJ in that role and pulling it off? Reader, I can.

No, I'm saying that saying a headline is a big problem with a particular article is akin to criticizing a movie by saying that its trailer is bad.

I don't want to tell you that you're maybe not showing a great understanding of how writing works, so I'll just say that as a writer, you do not sound like my ideal reader. (Not least because — and I'm speaking broadly, here, not just about AVC, where I've sometimes written my own heads and sometimes not — a headline…

"the quality of the writing"… of the headlines? That's what you're talking about, right? Yes, I think it's entirely possible that you're more concerned about the quality of the headline-writing than I am (though I'm not a member of the staff, technically). I'm a lot more concerned with the quality of the essay or…

I bought a ticket to Central Intelligence like a month after it was out because I had a few hours to kill. I probably would have bought tickets to the other two if I hadn't reviewed them, because I always hope comedies starring people I like will be good, even though they often aren't.

Calling a date far in advance is (a.) traditionally seen as confident, not lacking confidence and (b.) so commonplace now that while it's probably more of a neutral tactic, I still don't think it indicates a lack of confidence.

You're able to do whatever you want. I just personally don't put a lot of stock into devastating and razor-sharp critiques of headlines, because I've read too many comments that seem vastly more interested in the headline than the piece it accompanies, often implying or even outright stating that they haven't read…

I don't think genius excuses douchebaggery, and of course I agree that people should be nice and courteous to each other — although humility, while an admirable quality, is not one I necessarily expect from world-famous celebrities, especially ones who are actually good at what they do, like Kanye. I just don't feel…

So you're, you know, about 3% of the way there when it comes to reading all of the words of the whole article.

No, they don't exactly broadcast the precise way studios interfere in movies… which is when I see an extremely consistent set of visual touchstones, thematic concerns, and tonal similarities across Bay's work, saying "well, he doesn't have carte blanche" doesn't mean much to me. No, I'm sure he can't do absolutely…

All films are the result of a ton of different creative voices. I think the idea that auteurs are only the result of artistic purity is kind of a misread of the term.

Awesome! And that's a great point about the Fleet Foxes thing — that'll be a good springboard for a broader discussion that maybe people beyond rabid LC! fans will want to listen to, ha.

So have Spielberg and Nolan and Fincher lost their auteur cred for taking big-budget movies with big studios?