Stickwick's Comments

Big Hollywood : The Politics of 'Star Trek': 'Patterns of Force'

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 18:43:43 +0000

Or they think it's that spicy green stuff you get with sushi.

Big Hollywood : The Politics of 'Star Trek': 'Patterns of Force'

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 16:13:27 +0000

Leftists don't believe in equality, they believe in equality of outcome -- and even then, only for certain people. Leftists don't call it a class system, but hierarchy is the heart of leftist philosophy. Progressives are above conservatives. Humanists are above fundamentalists. The proletariat are above the bourgeoisie. The power elite in government are above everyone else.

Big Hollywood : The Politics of 'Star Trek': 'Patterns of Force'

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 16:01:28 +0000

Timely topic, given our current accelerated slide into "benign" totalitarianism. I'm very pleased you chose to examine the philosophy of Star Trek, Mr. Price. I'm a huge Trekkie, in no small part because of its philosophical depth -- which these days is usually code for a brave stance on moral ambiguity; but Star Trek was wonderfully unambiguous in its embrace of traditional Western values. I remember being stunned by some lines in the episode, Court Martial, when Kirk's defender says, "Rights, sir – HUMAN rights! The Bible. The Code of Hammurabi. And of Justinian. The Magna Carta. The Constitution of the United States." Can you imagine any writer today giving a protagonist such lines? There was a time when, even if the writers and producers didn't wholly believe this stuff, they knew their audience did.

Big Hollywood : Theater of the Absurd: A Night at a Premium Movie House

Sun, 5 Feb 2012 21:50:08 +0000

That's the brilliance of the Drafthouse -- make an event out of using your cell phone in the theater! Make an event out of the desire to quote along or sing along with the feature! I'm moving from Texas to Washington within the year, and will SORELY miss the Drafthouse.

Big Hollywood : Theater of the Absurd: A Night at a Premium Movie House

Sun, 5 Feb 2012 16:20:58 +0000

Theater owners around the country take note of the Alamo Drafthouse chain, which gets it almost perfectly right. Their theaters are always packed, and personally I won't go anywhere else to see a movie. PROS: - No pre-movie ads. Instead, they put on an entertaining, customized pre-movie show that's sufficiently in the background that you can ignore it and talk to your date. - The optimum number of previews. - Full menu with pretty good food and lots of alcohol choices. - Friendly, efficient waiters who take your order and serve you at your seat. - No talkers or cell-phone users. The constant presence of waiters means they often take care of talkers and cell-phone users before you get a chance to complain. Drafthouses have a reputation for ruthless enforcement of this policy, so most audience members are voluntarily well-behaved. - Innovative content: Quote-Alongs, Sing-Alongs, HeckleVision, classic movies, theme dinners, etc. - No little children allowed except on designated days. - Did I mention no talkers or cell-phone users? Only CON: you have to arrive at least 45 minutes prior to a popular show to get a good seat.

Big Hollywood : Daily Call Sheet: New James Garner Tribute Site, The Truth About the Box Office Blues, and 'Lost' Ru

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 19:48:47 +0000

And let’s not forget Hollywood’s non-stop, 15-year assault against the 70% of their audience that isn’t liberal. The great thing about pop movies when I was growing up in the 70s and 80s was that just about everyone felt like the movies were speaking to them. Take the original Star Wars movies. Everybody -- conservative, libertarian, liberal -- saw themselves as the Rebellion and their adversaries as the Empire. It was a straight-on good vs. bad story that was sufficiently vague about the particulars, and devoid of dialogue that was on-the-nose references to current events, that it could be enjoyed by everyone. Another trilogy came along decades later that had this in common with SW -- The Lord of the Rings -- and it was also a smash success. Why can't Hollyweird figure out that this is a winning formula?

Big Hollywood : 'My Week with Marilyn' Review: Williams Shines as Iconic Movie Bombshell

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 14:50:19 +0000

Sounds like an intriguing film. But the trailer seems to have been made for people with severe ADD.

Big Hollywood : Daily Call Sheet: Weekend Box Office, Why 'Green Lantern' Sucked, and Springsteen Hits the Road

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 21:49:39 +0000

Tower Heist: $7M — Only $53M after three weeks with that cast is a disaster. The trailer was awfully appealing to me, which is why I never predict these numbers in advance. Maybe the heist theme is played out with American audiences. I'm personally done with movies with "Heist" in the title, movies about heists, movies that reference heists, and movies that might even look like they're thinking about heists.

Big Hollywood : 'The Thing' Review: Goofy Monster Flick Remake Adds Nothing to Source Material

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 13:43:34 +0000

As a woman, I gotta say I missed the all-male vibe of JC's version of The Thing while watching the "prequel." Having a female in what is essentially Kurt Russell's role added nothing, especially given that Winstead had only one (1) facial expression throughout the entire movie.

Big Hollywood : The Very Public Implosion of Sinead O'Connor

Thu, 1 Sep 2011 00:11:05 +0000

Yeah. Lemme try one of my own: "Since I suffer from chicken pox do I not think its insane behavior to be drinking straight from the milk carton."

Big Hollywood : The Very Public Implosion of Sinead O'Connor

Wed, 31 Aug 2011 22:17:48 +0000

...“that since I suffer from depression do I not think its insane behaviour to be talking publicly about sex.” I feel insane trying to parse that sentence.

Big Hollywood : Christian Toto: Why Don't Conservatives Support Conservative Films?

Wed, 17 Aug 2011 23:08:47 +0000

I'm staunchly right-of-center and Christian, but I tend to avoid conservative films for the same reason I tend to avoid Christian films: the overtness more often than not compromises both the message and the art-form. There are of course exceptions (e.g. The Passion), but these are rare. It's more effective to portray the philosophy and the values without the formal politics or religion.

Big Hollywood : 'Primetime Propaganda': Confessions of a TV Propagandist

Wed, 1 Jun 2011 14:10:28 +0000

Good article. As someone who has likewise been the token right-of-center person in a liberal bastion, I am wholly sympathetic to your experience. One quibble, however. IIRC, Stalin was primarily starving Ukrainians to death, though Russians and those of other nationalities died, as well.

Big Hollywood : 'Tree of Life' Review: A Triumph for Brad Pitt

Sat, 28 May 2011 20:26:35 +0000

No, it's not wrong. God gave us two books -- the Bible and the book of nature. And as much as atheists would have us believe otherwise, these two books agree with each other. I'm a Ph.D. astrophysicist who converted from atheism to Christianity BECAUSE of what I learned about Genesis and the Big Bang. It may surprise you to know that the physicist who is considered the "father" of the Big Bang is a Jesuit priest who liked the idea because it was consistent with Genesis. It may further surprise you that many atheist scientists initially hated the Big Bang, because it was too supportive of the Christian view of creation. Yes, God created the universe as described in Genesis. But that description is also fully consistent with what modern science tells us about creation. I strongly urge you to read Gerald Schroeder's The Science of God to see how this is so.

Big Hollywood : 'Tree of Life' Review: A Triumph for Brad Pitt

Fri, 27 May 2011 18:51:56 +0000

How on Earth are those things contradictory? God created the universe, and that necessarily means it had a beginning. That's exactly what the Big Bang is -- a beginning.

Big Hollywood : 'Hanna': The Good Guys Are All Liberals, The Bad Guys Are All...

Sat, 16 Apr 2011 16:40:27 +0000

So all conservatives are supposed to think alike and interpret entertainment the same way? Nobody is a bigger fan of Bill Whittle than me, but I mildly disagree with him on this one. For one thing, I thought the music was great.

Big Hollywood : 'Hanna' Review: Strong Cinematography, Right-to-Life Message Makes For Exciting Film

Fri, 15 Apr 2011 05:03:35 +0000

You both missed the point. The right to life message is that doing away with the experimented-on babies was a step too far for the father character, who is sympathetically portrayed as doing the right thing by saving the baby and raising her outside of the lab.

Big Hollywood : Christian Film 'Soul Surfer' Hits 'Home Run' at Box Office

Mon, 11 Apr 2011 01:41:15 +0000

I am a devoted Christian who tends to avoid overt Christian-themed movies. I prefer movies that have Christian values and theology without the formal religion, e.g. The Lord of the Rings. As Ralph Wood pointed out in his book, The Gospel According to Tolkien, overt religious themes usually make for bad art and bad theology.

Big Hollywood : Christian Film 'Soul Surfer' Hits 'Home Run' at Box Office

Mon, 11 Apr 2011 01:33:23 +0000

Liberals do not hate Christians. They hate their "leaders," who try to impose their beliefs on non-believers through changing laws and get involved in politics while remaining tax free ... Hmm, people trying to impose their beliefs on everyone else through changing laws and getting involved in politics while not paying any taxes? You've just described the entire Obama administration.

Big Hollywood : Reviews: 'Soul Surfer' Affirming Tale of Surf & Faith, 'Your Highness' Crudely Wastes Natalie Portma

Wed, 6 Apr 2011 16:37:03 +0000

... a ravishing beauty who also happens to be an ass-kicking adventurer herself ... What a fresh, delightful, completely underused concept in modern entertainment. Did y'all see the trailer for this movie? Did it, like, totally catch you off guard when the big, slobby guy says "With our huge muscles we shall protect you" and then, whoa! the beautiful petite woman with toothpick arms beats the hell out of him? Though it does seem like kind of a rude response. I mean, if a woman said she'd protect a man and he wanted to convey to her that he was up to the task of protecting himself he probably wouldn't punch her and slam her face into a table. Oh, well, that's equality... er, double standards for ya.