Posted on 09/02/2022 4:18:40 PM PDT by sphinx
It's no secret that we are in the midst of a cultural slump rife with bad films, television, music, and books. Fortunately, there hasn't been a complete absence of great modern art, as evidenced by these three films.
(Excerpt) Read more at youtube.com ...
Many of us are already familiar with Andrew Klavan. I've enjoyed many of his YouTube offerings over the years, but I don't follow him and hadn't seen anything recently. It was a complete surprise, and a complete accident, to discover this.
The linked review makes the case that three relatively recent films -- Hail Caesar (2016), Tropic Thunder (2008), and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019) -- should be considered conservative films. I've only seen Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. I had not thought much about it and had not added it to my conservative movie list, but I see Klavan's point.
Klavan offers an interesting reason that these three films run counter to the general Hollywood trend. There are, of course, more conservative movies than these among the recent fare, but Klavan picks these three because they are all movies about movies and the movie industry. They are therefore films about something the writers and directors actually know a good deal about, and it is notable that they are all extremely critical of the industry. Self-criticism is interesting. Klavan may have a point.
Here's another Klavan recommendation: Dead Man Walking -- Andrew Klavan review
If you watch one of these pieces, take a moment while you're on YouTube and browse Klavan's other reviews. He has a lot posted. You don't have to agree with him, but he seems to be one of us, he knows a lot about films, and his stuff is well-reasoned and well-presented.
I was unaware of Klavan's movie reviews until yesterday. Another blind spot revealed. I now have another go-to source. If you're looking for a good movie to watch, here's a source to consult. Or if there's really nothing on your streamer that catches your interest, watching a few of these reviews by themselves is better than watching most of the tv movies on offer.
Klavan has a consistent point of reference. He argues relentlessly that reality is conservative and if filmmakers, or any other cultural producers, want to tell honest stories, they will end up giving conservative themes fair play. By the same token, running everything through a woke filter will kill creativity and be the death of art. Once again, the left destroys everything it touches.
Andrew, if you lurk here, thanks.
Your thoughts on these four films? Other recommendations? Other critics to whom you pay attention? And as always, recent recommendations are particularly encouraged, because a lot of us will not have heard of them yet.
Blind spots, I suppose.
I’ve seen and liked all three, but I realized I don’t pay as close attention as he did.
The problem with seeing movies on video is we are multitasking and not paying attention to all the subtle details.
When he showed the clips of Tropic Thunder, it was heartbreaking how far race relations have been set back since Obama was president. That was pure comedy that everyone can laugh at, now you can’t make it without some militant wokester cancelling you. Even Robert Downy Jr. says he wouldn’t do it today.
Tropic Thunder?? Maybe if you take Jack Black’s part out...
Tropic thunder was funny stuff. Not politically correct at all. And normally I shy away from Ben Stiller.
Yep. I avoid Jack Black movies.
Hail Caesar: one of my favorite things about that movie is that the Coen boys have the nads to actually mock the so-called “Hollywood Ten” (commie sympathizers like Dalton Trumbo) and that they not only pull it off by making those pretentious jackasses look like total goofs, but apparently they do it without being black-balled by the lefty element in Movieland.
Jonathon E is quite analogous to Donald Trump.
James Caan's best movie.
Moses Gunn's best as well.
Same goes for John Houseman. Who plays New World Order personified.
Still a favorite movie.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood was a great movie. It was very tough on hippies.
Almost all Quentin Tarantino movies are great and conservative in their way. I did not like Inglorious Basterds when I first saw it, but it has become one of my favorites.
I'm not going to bother watching the review at this time but I will say, after seeing it, that I think this film covers bother sides.
The film features both Sean Penn and Susan Sarandon, well-known Hollywood lefties as well as R. Lee Ermey, a Hollywood conservative.
And both sides are portrayed.
Penn, as the remourseless killer who deserves to die, Sarandon as the bleeding heart liberal nun who wants to save him, and Ermey as the slain girl's father who wants and deserves to see justice served.
Hollywood doesn't make movies like this anymore. Everything has to be totally one-sided.
Tropic Thunder is such a great film, from beginning to end, but no way in hell could they make make it today.
And it's not even that old.
It's not like we're talking "Raging Saddles" here.
+1 on Once Upon A Time in Hollywood. It was so good I had to watch it twice. I wish it had been twice as long just to enjoy the vibe of Los Angeles in the late 1960s.
Klavan’s review hammers Susan Sarandon, Sean Penn and Tim Robbins pretty hard, in a good natured kind of way. He has a great line about how he thinks God is above politics: God even loves liberals; Klaven doesn’t understand HOW God can love liberals, but he is sure that God does. The burden of the review is how a group of nutball leftwingers could still end up making what Klaven regards as a great Christian film. Reality is conservative, and talented artists, if they are honest, will be pushed that way if they tell honest stories about real people and real moral challenges.
I’ve not seen the movie so I appreciate hearing what others have to say.
It’s a terrible premise for an article, for anyone who just loves to watch movies. There’s been tons of good movies made in modern times, as long as your number one concern isn’t that you are also attending church while you watch.
I wish it had been twice as long just to enjoy the vibe of Los Angeles in the late 1960s.
The best thing about Tropic Thunder was Tom Cruise as Les Grossman. I still get a kick out of watching those clips.
People are ga ga about Top Gun II now, but I still consider that to be Cruise’s best performance. Many people weren’t even aware that Criuse was the one playing Grossman.
I returned from overseas in 67 and went to work in LA. The riots had just cremated a rather pleasant Watts and led many large businesses (I recall Royal Rubber with 150 employees) to leave that section of LA. Freeways were beginning to drive people nuts. The war in Vietnam had its effect. The one benny, it was an enjoyable drive to Tijuana where one could load up on cheap Mexican booze and authentic tamales, or Temecula where one could purchase good cheap wine and locate nearby fine picnic grounds.
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