Hmm I was recently talking about this on some other MR stories, and I noted that I found it odd that the movie set up the idea that the third act was all a dream but never explicitly addressed that possibility later on. But reading your analysis, it sounds like maybe it does, just using the “language” of cinema…

Yeah I think it’s important to realize that not all instances of unacceptable behavior are the same, and I think your “cool (nerdy) kids” vs everyone else analysis rings true. As much as race and sex may have played in Whedon’s actions (and I believe they did), I think pettiness and “thin-skinned guy who eventually got…

Exactly. I learned this while prepping a lecture I give on the politics of (dis)ability. A lot of generalized insults we have come from medical terms that once had specific meanings, either referring to physical disabilities (“dumb”=unable to speak) or intellectual disabilities.
If I recall correctly (and this is just…

I often wonder about these humongous streaming deals. $100 mil just for the rights to a movie that could easily cost another $100 mil or more to make (with the big name stars plus special effects, etc). I get that it’s supposed to attract new subscribers and all but is there any way that this actually grosses over…

There’s an old episode of Family Guy where a random character (a cow) makes a concentration camp joke, and then Brian (voiced by McFarlane) calls the cow out for making a “Holocaust joke.” That became emblematic of why I stopped watching Family Guy. It swims in the most offensive stuff (racism, misogyny, homophobia,…

I hadn’t thought about how difficult it would have been for any 90s sitcom (especially one revolving around someone who is single and dating) to essentially have to be PG (maybe even G) as far as the central character goes.

“Though even the premiere wasn’t as bad as the episode in SVU’s latest season where Benson redeemed the man who groomed and abused her in her youth.”
Wait, what? I haven’t regularly watched SVU in many years, but:
1. Since when was Benson abused as a child?
2. Redeemed her abuser? What the...?

Good point. Backlash against her coming out vs. lost ratings/ad revenue are not mutually exclusive. That being said, I watched her sitcom, I think for most of its run, though like most 90s sitcoms I barely remember the details. I do remember having the impression that the post coming out season was much less funny,…

I watched her original sitcom (before and after the coming out) but didn’t know much of her standup before watching her “Relatable” special, which I thought was hilarious. Silver lining may be her returning to standup and incorporating the partial fall from grace into her material. Plus, she could in theory be…

I’ve interviewed some decently notable people, and sometimes I have a particular angle for a larger piece or a separate story that’s different than the one they’re showing up to talk about. I usually try to be upfront about it (“hey, we’re interviewing you because X” or “hey, I’m also working on a story about [thing…

I’m one of the few people who didn’t love Logan-it’s just so bleak, and Professor X’s death is perhaps the bleakest part. So I’d love for that not to be the last word on the character (and particularly Patrick Stewart’s version).

Carmichael, Haddish, Howery, Grier and Devine - dang, when was the last time a sitcom (or any show for that matter) was that stacked in its main cast? (Loretta Devine is high on my list of most underrated actors - she has incredible range and absolutely demolishes every role she takes on).

“Mr. Farhadi is this great master of Iranian cinema. He used that power he had over me to get me to sign.”’
That could mean many things. It could mean she signed over the rights to him freely but later regretted it (even in that case, as others have pointed out, such a contract might be unenforceable if she received…

I’d say Ye is actually up there with the other musical greats you mention (and others like them), in two ways:
1. He’s responsible for some of the best songs and albums of his generation in his respective genre, and
2. He appears to be coasting off of the goodwill of his older work in getting Grammy noms for new stuff…

Ok this made me laugh out loud. Star well earned.

A combo of untreated mental illness (by his own admission), narcissism (maybe literally), and unresolved grief over the loss of his mom, who seemed to be both his best friend and the only person to keep him grounded. I suspect now he only surrounds himself with yes-people and folks looking to get something from him…

He also (spoiler I guess) starts a riot that directly leads to the Waynes’ murder in that movie, even though he has no idea that this happens. Which was a very weird thing to throw into the end of a movie that almost certainly doesn’t want to actually go down the route of becoming a Batman franchise.

I thought Eisenberg’s character was a decent villain, just not a good “Lex Luthor.” I know that adaptations are just that, and there’s something to be said for judging the performance on its own merits, but I also feel like the performance has to be good enough to justify the deviation from the source (for example,…

“The Dark Knight Rises linked the three films with a retconned arc: Batman was always looking for a way out.”
I don’t think this arc is a retcon; I think it naturally develops throughout the three movies:
Batman Begins: Bruce begins on a quest for vengeance, but eventually finds a way to channel his energy into justice…

I agree with you and VolunteerProofreader. I think it would have been better to either have a tight Matrix-style explanation that made everything make sense (which admittedly is really hard) or a much looser, handwavey solution (but one that still made sense). Having a solution that tries to make sense and fail is…