Catoii's Comments

Big Hollywood : THR: Oliver Stone's 'Secret History' to put Hitler 'in context'

Sun, 10 Jan 2010 08:17:52 +0000

Sorry, MovieBob, but sometimes skewed knowledge can be worse than none at all. The problem with "revisionist" history nowadays is that most people don't know the basic history being revised. For example, Oliver Stone may argue that he is merely trying to put Hitler in "context" by giving his "side" of the record a fuller hearing. Unfortunately, as you point out, many people don't know many facts on the anti-Hitler side of the ledger. So if all they see is Stone's defense, then they will conclude Hitler indeed wasn't such a bad bloke after all. It's like revealing only one side of a mathematical equation. An observer will get the wrong answer. And in this case, the side Stone will emphasize is by far the less weighty one, greatly skewing the results.

Big Hollywood : THR: Oliver Stone's 'Secret History' to put Hitler 'in context'

Sun, 10 Jan 2010 07:14:13 +0000

I just Googled the professor, Peter Kuznick, that is cited as the writer of Stone's new miniseries. Here is his Rate My Professors page: http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/ShowRatings.jsp?t... A few choice comments: "Fun class. Kind of a joke. A very revisionist history course but if you keep an open mind it's pretty fun. It's cool how he ties pop culture to history. The books are not necessary but good reads if you're interested. You can get an A and put no work into it if you want. Half of his speakers cancel." "Peter Kuznick teaches a polemic, not history. He then expects you to exclude anything resembling a polemic from your papers. His lectures are not structured and make no sense the way they are laid out...." "Terrible class! I was expecting this class to be amazing but it quickly turned into one giant conspiracy! Interesting that he thinks because he is a professor he can just create historical facts without providing any reliable sources! He is so wrapped up in himself he is blinded by his own ego! I left this class not believing anything he said." (That last one sounds just like Oliver Stone.) One final observation: There are 40 ratings on his page, but his "hotness" total is: 0.

Big Hollywood : THR: Oliver Stone's 'Secret History' to put Hitler 'in context'

Sun, 10 Jan 2010 06:47:31 +0000

Let me see if I've got this straight: Hitler wasn't really such a bad guy. And Stalin wasn't really such a bad guy because he fought against Hitler. But if Hitler wasn't a bad guy, then why does fighting Hitler serve as an excuse for Stalin's monstrous crimes? However, if fighting Hitler is exonerating, then shouldn't America be excused for its monstrous (in Stone's eyes) crimes because, after all, America also fought Hitler? It's so nutty, it would make my head spin -- that is, if I took Stone's line of "reasoning" remotely seriously. Oliver Stone, master of the theatre of the absurd.

Big Hollywood : Cameron's 'Avatar' Shows Hollywood How to Trash America and Make a Profit Doing So

Wed, 6 Jan 2010 10:20:37 +0000

As Hollywood self-servingly trumpets one "record-breaking" box office return after another, one should always remember that these totals are not adjusted for inflation. Here are the real box office records: http://boxofficemojo.com/alltime/adjusted.htm So I doubt Avatar has a chance to be the actual biggest-grossing movie of all time. That distinction belongs to Gone With the Wind ($1.485 billion domestic gross, in today's dollars) followed by the original Star Wars ($1.309 billion). Adjusted for inflation, Titanic ($943 million) is ranked 6th all-time. For Avatar to place in the top 10, it would have to make a total domestic gross over $800 million. Pretty unlikely, I'd say. Of course, you'll never hear this from the Hollywood press, which are mere extensions of the studio PR machines. Why hamper a feel-good business story with actual context? Speaking of context: Like most mindless-spectacle Hollywood product, Avatar is doing even better overseas than Stateside. (I'm sure the anti-American subtext doesn't hurt there, either.) But one should keep in mind that the studio only sees about 50-60% of these returns, as middlemen distributors keep a larger share.

Big Hollywood : Secularismâs Drones âStingâ Brit Hume

Tue, 5 Jan 2010 22:14:31 +0000

MovieBob: Well, at least we've got you on record endorsing corporal punishment for children. To the larger point: I think the reason the rest of the media are invoking separation of church and state is that they believe the media are a branch of the current government. (They certainly act that way.) And so, in their minds, Brit Hume's comments were a violation of the Constitution.

Big Hollywood : Open Thread New Years Eve

Thu, 31 Dec 2009 20:32:33 +0000

An open letter to President Obama: Here is a simple plan for how to resolve the problem of Gitmo. It takes advantage of a bizarre contradiction in your moral compass. Step 1: Release Gitmo prisoners to the border area of Afghanistan/Pakistan. Step 2: Launch unmanned Predator attack on Gitmo prisoner drop zone. Problem solved! (Don't worry, I don't expect a public expression of thanks. The knowledge that I helped you destroy terrorists while keeping your conscience unsullied is reward enough.)

Big Hollywood : Will Ben Mankiewicz Be Allowed to Destroy Turner Classic Movies?

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 22:41:01 +0000

I second your thoughts on A Face in the Crowd. One of the wonders of that brilliant film is that it never tips its ideological hand. Lonesome Rhoads could just as easily be a leftist as a right-winger, just as demagogues come in all shapes and flavors. The movie is a cautionary tale about putting a demagogue on a pedestal, and no demagogue stands higher in the eyes of the media today than Obama. Great art is a Rorschach test, everyone sees something different. A great critic acknowledges that, and doesn't try to compartmentalize it in order to score points with his ideological compatriots.

Big Hollywood : Will Ben Mankiewicz Be Allowed to Destroy Turner Classic Movies?

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 22:23:19 +0000

maatkare - Really? I have full digital Time Warner in LA too, but no sign of TCM-HD anywhere, on my TV or in their channel listings. Pray tell, what channel number is it??

Big Hollywood : Top Ten Greatest Christmas Specials of All Time

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 19:38:42 +0000

The Snowman is a sadly underappreciated masterpiece, at least in the U.S. My European wife says that they showed that every year at Christmastime, and it was a family tradition to drop everything and watch it. The Snowman is an achingly beautiful, bittersweet story that will put a lump in your throat no matter how many times you've seen it.

Big Hollywood : Not a SNL Skit: Al Gore Reads Poetry (W/Palate Cleanser)

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 18:57:01 +0000

I love how he also says, "I'm not a real poet" -- then proceeds to read his poem on national TV. That's like someone saying, "I'm not a real pilot" -- just before he takes off in an airplane loaded with passengers.

Big Hollywood : Not a SNL Skit: Al Gore Reads Poetry (W/Palate Cleanser)

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 18:53:52 +0000

"Want me to tell you what it's about?" -- the surest sign that the person about to read his poem is not a real poet.

Big Hollywood : Meghan McCain: Why Does Hollywood Hate Our Troops?

Tue, 8 Dec 2009 21:23:23 +0000

Maybe Big Hollywood should consider replacing Carl Kozlowski with Meghan McCain as its movie reviewer.

Big Government : REVEALED: ACORN, NBC Worked Together in 'Undercover Video Sting'

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 21:06:43 +0000

This should be filed in the same folder as "New York Times Deplores Theft of Global Warming Emails: How Dare Anybody Publish Something That Wasn't Properly Obtained?!"

Big Hollywood : A Clue for Megan Fox: Trashing Your Audience is a Bad Idea

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:59:50 +0000

Congratulations, John Nolte! Your piece yesterday, on why actresses are worse off today than in old Hollywood, was just completely confirmed by Megan Fox's own words. To wit: "I think all women in Hollywood are known as sex symbols. That’s what our purpose is in this business. You’re merchandised, you’re a product. You’re sold and it’s based on sex. But that’s okay. I think women should be empowered by that, not degraded." Women as sex symbols only - check! Women objectified - check! Acceptance of liberal spin on this - check! This would be hilarious, if it weren't so sad.

Big Hollywood : Review: Clooney's 'Men Who Stare at Goats' Biased but Amusing

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 20:23:30 +0000

In the first place, I've read that the book is based on dubious sources and its veracity is suspect. But even if were accurate, the issue is, the choices made by the film industry as to which stories to tell. There are literally thousands of tales of extraordinary courage and sacrifice that have occurred in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. And yet the industry chooses to make movie after movie after movie that portrays our troops as either (take your pick): rapacious bloodthirsty racists, traumatized regret-filled victims, or bumbling insensitive idiots. Does this paint an overall truthful picture of our military? Or does it say more about what Hollywood thinks of our troops? I'm not asking Hollywood to depict our troops as flawless saints. But saying that it has to be one or the other is a false dichotomy. There are tales to tell that would reveal the best of the human spirit. Instead, they insist on showing only the worst. Is it too much to ask for a little balance, a little (dare I say it) nuance?

Big Hollywood : Review: Clooney's 'Men Who Stare at Goats' Biased but Amusing

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 09:52:39 +0000

What's with this "reviewer" Carl? Is he some kind of liberal mole in the Big Hollywood ranks? He's never met a left-leaning movie he didn't like. It's obvious to everybody here that this Goat movie is an attack on the US military. And yet because it might have a laugh or two, he gives it his golden seal of approval. Why bother posting here? This review could find a congenial home at the Huffington Post. I remember an early ad for the Goat movie showed Clooney running over an Arabic-looking man while Clooney shouted, "We're from America! We're trying to help you!" (Yes, I had to hold my sides in, I was laughing so hard at that one.) But more recent iterations of the ad omit the "We're from America" part. Apparently the focus groups, or common sense, or whatever, told them that mocking the blood sacrifice of thousands of US soldiers doesn't necessarily go over all that well with Americans. So they cut that line out (of the ads, at least -- I'm sure it's still in the movie, waiting like a mugger in a dark alley). The newer ads try to make Goats look like a zany, apolitical comedy, rather than the latest version of such box office smashes as Rendition/Lions for Lambs/Valley of Elah/Redacted/Syriana. All box office evidence to the contrary, Hollywood continues to invest millions in the notion that Americans are so stupid, they will flock to movies that spit in their own eye. Want an easy prediction? The Goats movie bombs. And I don't need any special powers to figure that one out.

Big Hollywood : Sean Penn Off To Interview Uncle Fidel

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 19:05:54 +0000

I wonder if Sean Penn will go in character as Harvey Milk. After he enjoys the ministrations of Castro's re-education camps, he can take the character on the road to Iran, where a very special necktie awaits him.

Big Hollywood : 'Not Evil Just Wrong' Premiere Big Hollywood Live Stream

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 19:04:34 +0000

I bet dollars to donuts that global-warming fanatics crashed it on purpose. If true, it reveals much about the weakness of the GW message. Instead of engaging with their critics, they'd rather shut them up. Hopefully Phelim or someone else will get on here and let us know if they've been hacked?

Big Hollywood : 'Where the Wild Things Are': Beautifully Realized By a Visionary Director

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 23:01:12 +0000

Sorry, but the kid in this movie reminds me too much of the Balloon Boy in the news lately. Is anybody else tired of our culture's relentless celebration of rebellion and wildness? It's gotten to the point where the most rebellious thing a kid can do is to sit quietly and read a book.

Big Hollywood : Dancing with the Hammer: Tom Delay's 'Dancing' Journey

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 00:14:01 +0000

Gillian is an idiot (i.e., wrong on every single count). But as a free-market conservative, I'm no fan of DeLay. He engineered the Republicans' deal with the devil of pork-barrel spending. He is a big reason why the GOP has no credibility left on spending.

Catoii's Comments

Big Hollywood : THR: Oliver Stone's 'Secret History' to put Hitler 'in context'

Big Hollywood : THR: Oliver Stone's 'Secret History' to put Hitler 'in context'

Big Hollywood : THR: Oliver Stone's 'Secret History' to put Hitler 'in context'

Big Hollywood : Cameron's 'Avatar' Shows Hollywood How to Trash America and Make a Profit Doing So

Big Hollywood : Secularismâs Drones âStingâ Brit Hume

Big Hollywood : Open Thread New Years Eve

Big Hollywood : Will Ben Mankiewicz Be Allowed to Destroy Turner Classic Movies?

Big Hollywood : Will Ben Mankiewicz Be Allowed to Destroy Turner Classic Movies?

Big Hollywood : Top Ten Greatest Christmas Specials of All Time

Big Hollywood : Not a SNL Skit: Al Gore Reads Poetry (W/Palate Cleanser)

Big Hollywood : Not a SNL Skit: Al Gore Reads Poetry (W/Palate Cleanser)

Big Hollywood : Meghan McCain: Why Does Hollywood Hate Our Troops?

Big Government : REVEALED: ACORN, NBC Worked Together in 'Undercover Video Sting'

Big Hollywood : A Clue for Megan Fox: Trashing Your Audience is a Bad Idea

Big Hollywood : Review: Clooney's 'Men Who Stare at Goats' Biased but Amusing

Big Hollywood : Review: Clooney's 'Men Who Stare at Goats' Biased but Amusing

Big Hollywood : Sean Penn Off To Interview Uncle Fidel

Big Hollywood : 'Not Evil Just Wrong' Premiere Big Hollywood Live Stream

Big Hollywood : 'Where the Wild Things Are': Beautifully Realized By a Visionary Director

Big Hollywood : Dancing with the Hammer: Tom Delay's 'Dancing' Journey

Big Hollywood : Secularismâs Drones âStingâ Brit Hume