In retrospect, the most surprising thing about something like Into the Wild is that it wasn't the total disaster it could have been. Penn is a trash director who deserves the ridicule.

Gotcha - thanks!

Was there a review of the Kore-eda anywhere? I saw it rated in your twitter capsules, was hoping to read more about it here.

We could all pitch in for his tombstone:

What, no Terror Firmer? It extends the meta conceit even further by making a Troma film about Troma filming a Toxic Avenger movie! Maybe he's not the main character, but at least a shout-out?

I don't think it's very fair to other viewers, though. Cinema's a complex art: people get different things out of it. He not only preemptively dismisses anyone who might not hate the movie, but then insults these imaginary defenders for being elitist snobs. Doesn't give you much to work with, if you happened to like…

It is definitely that!

I can't/won't defend Mendoza because I haven't seen any of his movies, but Ebert's reaction to Kinatay is my least favorite thing he ever wrote, arguing that the only people who would like the movie/defend it were dishonest or snooty academics who don't understand human beings, like himself. Maybe let people make…

Even then, there's nothing in even the most tepid reviews so far that has lessened my interest in the movie. Reactions so far range from tepid to great, and I'll take a lesser Dardennes over most of what's out there. It's just that the bar for them is so damned high.

It's a line from Entourage. It wasn't funny in Entourage, either.

I appreciate they're going the "let's do something else" route instead of the "let's not pay anyone" route, but yeah. Freely accessible online content is going to keep taking down good websites: everyone's competing for limited page views.

I may be misremembering, but even re: Transformers I thought the bulk of negativity towards the actors was thrown, disproportionately, toward Megan Fox. I hated the first movie (never bothered with the others), but she wouldn't have been in the top ten things I hated about it.

I found the "film about filmmaking" aspect less interesting than the "trying to navigate life/work in a foreign country where you haven't adequately prepared yourself and very few people seem to be helping you adjust" aspect, which… been there, and it's so spot on it makes me uncomfortable to watch. Having her float…

Soon to be "was," since they're signing off for good in a few weeks. Dammit.

Hey, we all have our gaps. It's not like anyone who's not paid to do it can be watching movies all the time. But yeah, it wouldn't have been the entry point I'd have recommended (though as you can see from this thread, Assayas' diversity as a director means that people have radically different opinions about him,…

Wouldn't begrudge anybody that opinion - it's a great film.

I'd say Summer Hours is the perfect palate-cleanser for that: it's a gentle look at family, memory, and nostalgia that doesn't pull its punches as far as family drama goes, but delivers a great amount of depth and nuance along the way. But Irma Vep is tops for me: a playful and polemical look at cinema starring the…

Ha! Irma Vep is my favorite - and the same person who made Demonlover also made Summer Hours, so I could never knock the guy for lack of ambition or diverse perspective.

I saw! I'm a fan of many movies in the booed-at-Cannes club, though, so … Still excited to see it!

My favorite movie of all time (Tropical Malady) is in the loud-boos-and-walkouts club at Cannes, so this doesn't bother me at all, especially given the very strong praise from a number of critics.