I think it's funny that grown adults would find (the) writing style (of Lord of the Rings) too dense or boring when I didn't at eight years old.
–Slythwolf
I think the Wolf has her analysis backwards here, because what she observed coincides 100 % with what I'd expect.
If an adult reads Tolkien, chances are that they have already seen a lot of what's good in Tolkien's books in derivative works, so that the originals will hold much less wonder and surprise – leaving only the bits that weren't so stellar. If on the other hand you're eight years old and Lord of the Rings is one of the first fantasy books you read, it's far easier to get pulled in by universe and forgive the faults (the writing, the absence of women, etc.).
In other words, I think what you think of a work that counts as a milestone depends a lot on how many derivative works you have consumed beforehand.
Some things work only once, and if you had that aha! while consuming a derived work, experiencing the original later will seem much less impressive – it did, after all, not give you an epiphany (as you already got that from the enhanced work or copycat).
By that token, I also find the Beatles mindbogglingly boring, while some people credit them with the musical equivalent of inventing the wheel. Well, even so, their work has been expanded on so much that by now, it looks like one of those wheels they use in B.C. or the Flintstones. You appreciate the historic value, but you wouldn't want to use it on a daily basis. The WalkMan was a great step up in portable music from the ghettoblaster, but I still wouldn't trade you my MP3 player for one.
I had a good laugh when I found this cartoon. Because a) haha, funny, b) ooooooh, fruitbats!¹, and c) haha, Carmen Miranda hat!
And then I thought, wait, what do I really know about Carmen, anyway?
Famous for promoting Brazil all over the world, she was a Broadway star, the highest paid artist in Hollywood and the highest paid woman in the USA.
—Wikipedia
And apparently, she more or less died on Durante's show. I never knew.
This of course is from Vicious Lips, a movie so obscure that I had to write my own synopsis and (1st) comment. It's the sound of the '80s in one long hairotica music video. In a trashy scifi setting. Honestly, who cares at that point about it having no plot? : ) And yes, I'd still really, really like to be able to buy the soundtrack!
OK, the title isn't all that clear, I'll grant you that. Is she talking about Yes Minister? you might be wondering, or did she mean Cracker? Very good guesses indeed; I see I'm writing for an audience with refined tastes. But no. I found in today's mail series 1 (all 22 episodes, 6 DVDs) of PicketFences, a show that often made me laugh, sometimes made me cry, and often made me think. I can't think of higher praise.
Batman Begins (2005). At least in the comic scene, this was highly anticipated, with a mix part hope, part fear. And of course, it's been out a while, so if you're a fan of the franchise, you've already seen the movie. For everybody else, here come the basics (mostly because they go so well with the previous article).
If life sucks, wear a helmet, they say, and judging from how big the cat helmet looks on the DVD's cover, life in Catwoman-world seemed to suck pretty badly.
The rumours seemed to support this, focusing on how little of Selina Kyle, the "real Catwoman", survived.
Yes, but was it good? Read on for no-spoilers look at the Catwoman movie by yours truly, impatient cat, reader of Catwoman comics, and role-player of DC characters.
...wie die Börse einer Oma, in der uralte Bonbons verkleben, so erscheinen mir die Filme Tim Burtons.
Ein die Extreme verbindendes Element fehlt meist, so dass sie für sich stehen und kein schlüssiges Ganzes bilden, von Synergy-Effekten ganz zu schweigen. Schlimmer noch, selbst bei Werken die eine Aussage hätten haben können, verstirbt mancher Zuschauer an der klebrig-vordergründigen Kulisse dieses Inbegriffs des Gruselkitsches.
Ein Tim Burton-Film ist wie allein im dunklen Keller eine Flasche Amaretto zu trinken.
ML schreibt über Dawson's Creek.
Ich habe die Vermutung, daß ich nie wieder Soaps sehen werde. Ich habe damals vier Staffeln Melrose Place gesehen, das wäre zu schwer zu toppen.
Aber wie kommt man überhaupt dazu, sowas zu tun?
Heute habe ich wieder totalen Scheiß geträumt. Das kann man als Start in den Tag kaum unterbieten, oder? Falsch. Es kann nämlich zusätzlich der Henkel unmotiviert von der Teetasse abbrechen, und weil man Mangels Tee nicht wach ist, löscht man das falsche Verzeichnis. Der Server der die Originale haben sollte, ist offline, und aus dem Fön schlagen Flammen. Was macht man an solchen Tagen? Den Blues singen? Einen Beschwerdebrief an Gott schreiben?
