SLL contributor Richard Hobby is becoming the site’s unofficial movie guy. He has an extensive knowledge of movies and original, clever insights. From Hobby at thosewholovemecantakethetrain.substack.com:
I lifted Pauline Kael up off the ground and—holding her in my arms—carried her across a large section of mud at the Cleveland airport. I was chairman of the film society at Oberlin College and I had invited her to speak. A year later I visited her at her West End Avenue apartment in New York and continued our conversation. But I never saw her or talked to her again. She was a breath of fresh air but in the end I went my own way.
And then just yesterday a friend—who had driven me to the Cleveland airport to pick her up—sent me a piece by Richard Kramer in which he quotes Kael as saying: “An opinion is an action, a flag planted, a flare shot to the sky. Movies and love and life are one.” (1)
My opinions are indeed actions. I do plant my flag. I shoot my flares into the dark night sky and hope I will illuminate the landscape. And yes: movies and love and life are one!
There are three kinds of films:
1. the mainstream
2. pathological rebellion against the bourgeoisie
3. the third way
The mainstream upholds the norms of society. It can be a little boring and conformist and thin in content but it has decency and reasonable goodness.
The rebels are like selfish children who throw tantrums while proclaiming to the world that they are superior to the bourgeoisie. They think breaking the rules and mocking the conformity of the mainstream is a sign of superiority. But any idiot can throw a rock and smash a window. This is a dead end and is pathological. Luis Bunuel comes to mind. And a lot of people making “Indie” films. And the Coen brothers, who have obvious talent but unfortunately use it to send the cynical message that life stinks and nothing matters. All of them would do well to listen to Flaubert: “Live like a bourgeois during the day so you can write like a madman at night.”
STRAIGHT LINE LOGIC 
The Cohen sisters (?) stole the first Matrix which is why the others aren’t so great.
Sometimes rebellion is necessary as the greedy rapacious vampire squid parasites just won’t stop.
I like the George Carlin quote about the obedient don’t consider themselves as cowardly but virtuous.
Hopefully they don’t know about Punishment Park and some other obscure gems.
Films tell a story and those that don’t usually flop.
It is for morale, inspiration, culture, history, art, philosophy.
Some favorites of mine are Patton, Cross Of Iron from Peckinpah, Thief with James Caan, Excalibur 81, Das Boot, The Godfather I, Animal House, The Blues Brothers, Mad Max II, Skyfall 007, and many more.
Films started to stink after the Year Zero reign of the immaculate Chicago jesus messiah, the one!
Didn’t know about that George C. Scott, thanks for the tip (h/t)
Breaking from Les Dudek:
City Magic
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