CBK's Comments

Big Hollywood : Lady Gaga Bores Us With Her 'Bad Romance' With Sacrilege

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 23:31:22 +0000

I like Gaga's music - went to the OKC show last night, wasn't impressed with the live product, whatever. Unlike what appear to be many of her critics, I like club music in general, and Gaga delivers good club music. Doing things that will outrage Christianity is boring, I agree. Best way for it to stop? Quit getting outraged by it, pretty simple really (calling her an ugly, no-talent, hell-bound slut probably isn't the best way to start). As for wondering when celebs will start bashing Islam, ask Theo van Gogh. If you think it's so easy, write a one-man Islam-mocking show, tour the country, and do your worst. If there was any Christian-bashing last night, I didn't catch it. She was a gracious performer, repeatedly thanking the Okies who bought tickets and came to the show. Hard to ask for much more, really.

Big Hollywood : What Country Music Looks Like in 2010

Wed, 21 Apr 2010 22:02:22 +0000

Uh, Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton live on a ranch outside a tiny town in southern Oklahoma - I happen to live in the same area. As D.A. Coe once sang, "If that ain't country I'll kiss your a**." Lambert is the most quintessentially country artist working the female side of the industry. So she wanted to look pretty and racy? Are Okies and our country bretheren supposed to show up at these shows sporting overalls, a mouth full of chew while nibbling a hay straw? There's are lots of fakers in country music right now, but she's not one of them.

Big Hollywood : The Top Ten Greatest Directors of All Time

Sun, 24 Jan 2010 23:25:14 +0000

Most of the directors in the fav - er, "best" list - are products of the studio system. Doesn't mean they weren't great (I like a lot of the work of most of the directors included, 'Best Years of Our Lives' is one of my favorite movies) but it does illustrate that the author has an AMC sense of what "great" is in terms of movies. There's nothing wrong with that except... When one goes about trashing some of greatest directors in the history of film and then produces a list of "The 10 Greatest Directors" that, with few exceptions, is a list of directors from the studio system, well, let the digital lynch mob form. Big Hollywood, from what I remember, was supposed to be a place for people who love movies and television to enjoy well-though pieces about the respective areas while avoiding the liberal claptrap that infects most other places discussing the same things. Shaprio's two pieces reinforce the false stereotype that Conservatives have vanilla taste in what's good and what's not while having zero respect or understanding for a film canon that didn't just happen by accident. Shapiro is only one voice at BH, but just because everyone is entitled to an opinion doesn't mean they don't come off like a twit when expressing it. BH has done better and can do better than this. Any critic who says that Stanley Kubrick and Alfred Hitchcock are overrated doesn't deserve a spot making judgments about film at a heavily-trafficked site. This is the kind of thing that one would find at, I dunno, LiveJournal. Finally, after looking at the overrated and great lists (and those omitted from the greats list), I see one thing that ties almost all of them together: Shapiro is not a fan of R-rated films, realistic violence, nudity, sex scenes and other things most of us don't want to watch with our parents sitting next to us. With the exception of a few of Spielberg's films, Shapiro's likes and dislikes are predictable based upon his aversion to the seedier sides of life being portrayed, which squares pretty well with his two books that I've read. Nothing wrong with that, but not really a guy in a position to be declaring which artists are "great" and which ones aren't.

Big Hollywood : Top 10 Most Overrated Directors of All Time

Sun, 17 Jan 2010 22:33:55 +0000

Note to Ben - you're supposed to troll in comments, not in your actual post. You may get over 9000 comments, but you shredded whatever credibility you had left as a cultural critic with this, um, post. Having read most of your published work here at BH as well as having bought and read two of your books, I don't often agree with you, but I've never had cause to say the following in any comment section of any site about any writer - I happily break that streak today: You sir are an idiot.

Big Hollywood : I Wish Russell Simmons Were an Atheist

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 00:47:37 +0000

MW - as another conservative atheist, I've always found it best to avoid talking down to believers, and the 'man in the sky' thing just as insulting to them as the 'teabagger' term is to tea party activists - moreso, actually, and understandably so. While I agree with most of the piece, trying to convince a believer on this topic is futile and counterproductive, and tends to lead to the lulz-worthy comments said piece has thus-far received. The hardest thing for any atheist to grasp - especially a conservative one - is that if one talks/writes about believers, one immediately risks sounding like a zookeeper talking about animals. For obvious reasons, this is insulting to the believer and doesn't help the smear against atheism in conservatism a whit. The best atheist-believer interaction I've seen came from Htichens debating Dr. Timothy Jackson in a Tennessee church - funny, respecful, good-natured, and thought-provoking.

Big Hollywood : BIG HOLLYWOOD INTERVIEW: Quentin Tarantino, a Glorious 'Basterd'

Sun, 27 Sep 2009 16:30:47 +0000

An unexpected but wonderful interview. I also loved Death Proof, and have said here before that one should watch the director's cut DVD without the first movie and the fake trailers. One thing that is extremely refreshing about QT is his films aren't political - he doesn't take cheap shots at contemporary political issues. BH might be a conservative site, but it's also an entertainment site, and to score such an interview with QT is refreshing. Also, regarding QT hatred, it's rather funny - like those obsessed with hating Palin, QT haters can't leave well enough alone. Don't like his films, don't go, but whether one likes it or not, he is one of the most influential modern directors working.

Big Hollywood : Mamas, Papas and Daughters: Acid is a Helluva Drug

Sat, 26 Sep 2009 23:07:10 +0000

MP's revelation of incest reminds me of the closing moments of Mommie Dearest, only a lot, lot more twisted. Having done my share of teenage drugs, I must confess that it never occurred to me to be attracted to a relative, much less one of my parents. Famous people really are different.

Big Hollywood : 'Don't Stop Believing' in 'Glee'

Sat, 26 Sep 2009 02:26:33 +0000

I DVR'd it, tried to watch it tonight - yeah, not so much. Sorta sucked. Sorta. Didn't watch the whole thing.

Big Hollywood : Daily Gut: Dave Matthews

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 20:42:09 +0000

Why do I like DMB? They're a great band. If people don't like them, I don't have a problem with that, but to say that they suck as a band or that their music sucks is just silly (you didn't say that, but many commenters have). Some of my favorite songs are DMB songs (#41, Two Step, Grey Street and Grace is Gone are my personal favs) and some of my best memories come from DMB shows. I'm not a dirty hippie jam band guy, either - I'm a lifelong Conservative who prefers Sarah Palin to all other leaders at the moment. What DM said was patently stupid, and if you go to www.antsmarching.org and go to the forums, you'll see that most other DMB fans feel the same way. Like I tell everyone - if you ever get a chance to go to a show, then go and see what it's about. This doesn't matter to me, but the band does a lot of philanthropic work, free shows for worthy causes, the Bamaworks project etc.

Big Hollywood : Daily Gut: Dave Matthews

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 01:15:44 +0000

I'm in the odd position of being a huge DMB fan and appalled by his comment. I've gone to 5 shows so far this year and will finish the season in Tulsa - hella-disappointing, but not exactly a shocker, and I like the music too much for it to be inexcusable. But Dave, grow up bud.

Big Hollywood : The Tragedy of the Unconstrained Vision

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 03:50:26 +0000

I've read most of his 40+ books,and still think "Basic Economics" is his best - as I've said many times before, if it were taught to a decade's worht of high school students, there would be no modern Democrat party. Sowell is a national treasure.

Big Government : Exposing ACORN: Introducing James OâKeefe

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 14:08:02 +0000

Wow, this is one of the more nauseating and sadly believable stories I've come across in some time. Way to start with a bang Andrew, and congrats on another great site.

Big Hollywood : There Is Something Wrong With My Television

Fri, 4 Sep 2009 23:27:20 +0000

VH1 Classic actually does - they have their show "Totally 80s" which is perpetually running 80s videos and such. Fuse is good for current music specials - they had a week of Dave Matthews, including a 3-hour, commercial-free live show from The Beacon Theater when the latest album came out (as a DMB fan, this got a lot of goodwill from me, and I tend to watch Fuse more than I used to, which still isn't very much). Your point is well-taken and I get where you're coming from - my point was that there are things out there if you look for them. Personally, I wish there was a channel that showed nothing but Roger Corman/Russ Meyer/Chop-Socky/Blaxploitation/Sexploitation flix all day.

Big Hollywood : There Is Something Wrong With My Television

Fri, 4 Sep 2009 01:13:38 +0000

MST3K - excellent. Regarding music videos, I get Fuse, CMT, Fuel, VH1-Classic, CMT and Great American Country. There's plenty of channels to watch music videos on (if you *must* get your vids on MTV, they show them most mornings around 4-7 or so). Regarding movies of various quality, I - like 99 percent reading this - have access to AMC, TMC, IFC, Sundance, Fox Moive, and for almost nothing, six Encore genre options. I think if TV gurus think something could be remotely possibly, they would put it on the air. Like many, I do miss SciFi.

Big Hollywood : Gay Marriage and Homophobes!

Fri, 4 Sep 2009 01:04:59 +0000

I don't think the State should be in the marriage game in the first place - let churches marry who they want, but the government should not deny civil unions to whatever a) adult and b) couples who want to get married.

Big Hollywood : Natalie Portman Finds Recession 'An Exciting Time'

Tue, 1 Sep 2009 02:35:11 +0000

I always thought a lot of her until I saw that silly round of interviews she did with Scarlett-J for M-A; after that, I figured, ah, just another ditzy actress. Though the girl can act, I'll always give'r that.

Big Hollywood : 'Halloween II': Bleak, Brutal and Numbing

Sun, 30 Aug 2009 15:08:10 +0000

Zombie does linger far too long on suffering. I made it about halfway through Devil's Rejects before turning it off because there's only so much sadism I can endure, especially when there is zero point to it. Even in that s****y sequel to Hostel, at least there was a vague metaphor about American foreign policy. I've seen three of Zombie's films, and all are sadistic and nihilistic, full of style while have no sense of humor - even the Wiley Coyote ending to Devil's Rejects lacked ... something.

Big Hollywood : Open Thread Sunday

Sun, 30 Aug 2009 15:00:10 +0000

I can't believe I'm admitting this, but I watched "17 Again" while sober, and thought it was hysterical. Leslie Mann is slowly creeping up on Maura Tierney as my favorite random actress who makes every film much better than it otherwise would be. This was originally the Jeremy Piven Rule. Then came Entourage. Now he sucks.

Big Hollywood : Sarah Palin: One Year Later

Fri, 28 Aug 2009 19:14:35 +0000

I think Liz Cheney is smarter than 95 percent of the people in politics. I wish she would run for POTUS just to see her debate Pres. Obama, to say nothing of how much her last names drives libs berzerk.

Big Hollywood : Sarah Palin: One Year Later

Fri, 28 Aug 2009 18:53:59 +0000

I don't know if anyone caught it, but George Will was on The Laura Ingram Show yesterday and they were talking about the vaccuum of leadership in the GOP. Will named off about 10 older white males - Romney, Huck, Crist, Barbour et al as potential leaders/influncers of the party. He didn't mention Palin, Bobby Jindal, Elizabeth Cheney and a group of other up-and-coming non-white-male Conservatives. I guess he (and Ingram,who didn't offer any of the non-white-males) doesn't think that Sarah Palin, using only her Facebook page, managed to kill Section 1233 of HB3200 - I don't know what Will's conception of leadership and influence is, but when she wants it, Sarah Palin steers the debate. They're still going at her - like Rush said, look at who liberals go after most viciously, and you'll find who they're most scared of. As a white male and a Conservative (not a GOPer though), it's time for the party to quit pushing the same interchangeable white men. We need new blood, and people like Palin and others are there. Palin hits back, and she hits hard.

CBK's Comments

Big Hollywood : Lady Gaga Bores Us With Her 'Bad Romance' With Sacrilege

Big Hollywood : What Country Music Looks Like in 2010

Big Hollywood : The Top Ten Greatest Directors of All Time

Big Hollywood : Top 10 Most Overrated Directors of All Time

Big Hollywood : I Wish Russell Simmons Were an Atheist

Big Hollywood : BIG HOLLYWOOD INTERVIEW: Quentin Tarantino, a Glorious 'Basterd'

Big Hollywood : Mamas, Papas and Daughters: Acid is a Helluva Drug

Big Hollywood : 'Don't Stop Believing' in 'Glee'

Big Hollywood : Daily Gut: Dave Matthews

Big Hollywood : Daily Gut: Dave Matthews

Big Hollywood : The Tragedy of the Unconstrained Vision

Big Government : Exposing ACORN: Introducing James OâKeefe

Big Hollywood : There Is Something Wrong With My Television

Big Hollywood : There Is Something Wrong With My Television

Big Hollywood : Gay Marriage and Homophobes!

Big Hollywood : Natalie Portman Finds Recession 'An Exciting Time'

Big Hollywood : 'Halloween II': Bleak, Brutal and Numbing

Big Hollywood : Open Thread Sunday

Big Hollywood : Sarah Palin: One Year Later

Big Hollywood : Sarah Palin: One Year Later

Big Government : Exposing ACORN: Introducing James OâKeefe