Edwin MacPhisto

Wikipedia does a fair job of it: And that's the barest of summaries.

I'm not sure you really want a big name star (which Depp qualifies as these days) in the movie. Even Ledger wasn't on that level, and everyone else in the movie still has the ability to blend into a role without difficulty and without ever seeming like they're just playing themselves. This was especially true of Ledger and Oldman in this one. Adding a big name for the sake of it is too close to the failings of the 89-97 Batman series. Back on Oldman: I was really amazed by his performance, as even moreso than in the first movie he was just part of the scenery, perfectly unrecognizable and expert. Behind that mustache he's 100% Gordon, and there's nothing close to an inkling of the more flamboyant Oldman of The Professional/5th Element/Harry Potter/Dracula/etc. Remarkable work from one of the best, even by his standards.

THERE ARE FOUR LIGHTS

Really? Watchmen? Swamp Thing? Miracleman? They're all gorgeous. I mean, they're not big Alex Ross vistas and watercolors, but the composition is impeccable and the art style consistent, engaging, and appropriate for all of them.

And, um, regarding your 4th:

Try the Sennheiser brand. I have a great pair of big over-the-ears from them.

Really, really loved this. I honestly bit the . Probably the loudest ovation I've ever heard in a theater when , to the point that I couldn't make out a single word of his line of dialogue there. The big chase through the tunnel was a tremendous setpiece. I agree with some of the pacing flaws gtd pointed out earlier in the thread. It's the Joker's film, and anything that comes after him in it suffers by comparison. Ledger, Oldman, and Eckhart were off the charts good.

I really don't like it. I found them tolerable when I first heard the album, but that's waned. Shit sounds like an antiseptic Maroon 5 b-side.

Well, artistic integrity (whatever that actually means in this case) kind of goes out the window as mattering if the product isn't very good. Also, given the tremendous number of musicians that have been involved in this project, then booted and replaced, I think "desperate perfectionism" is a more likely cause than any sort of artistic integrity.

It'll still probably be terrible, but it sure looks gorgeous.

Sure, but is that really make or break for you? I think the FISA thing is terrible too, and the Democratic congress has embarrassed itself by allowing it all to pass largely unmolested after the initial rebuke in March. I'm still voting for Obama, because even though he's drifting towards the center or the inexcusable on some issues, I still agree with the majority of his platform and his party. There's no perfect candidate in the race, and I really doubt there's even something like a 75% perfect candidate for most people. I don't think any of the third-party candidates had to make an actual accountable decision to support or reject the FISA bill, so I wouldn't give that a whole lot of value in my determination of who was the most right candidate for me.

Smith probably ends up staying in Atlanta with a deal a bit better than the $9 million per he was offered last offseason. Free agency has played out to a point where Atlanta's in a solid situation now; they can get him below max but still give him enough money to keep him happy and keep him in town another 5 years. Maybe $60 million? If they blow it and he ends up on a one-year deal, I fear for Ripper's well-being.

Hey, the Bears signed Kevin Jones to a 1-year deal. I think that's good.

Haha. You just want a Brett Favre to call your own.

I really wanted that page to load up a .wav of "I'm here to play the Dolphins, ya dumbass" upon visiting.

Yeah. I agree that "PARTY BRAH!" is a weak justification, though it's certainly the attitude that informs the music-making and this (very small) genre, so I give it a little more credence than usual in this instance. I think the best example of something meaningful and impressive that he's done is the Biggie/Elton John + other assorted scratching and beats on Night Ripper (not exactly a controversial opinion, I admit). There, he does in fact let it ride on out through 1) one of the best piano loops ever, and 2) one of the most famous/jubilant single rap verses ever, and the sum actually does vault the tone of its various parts to another stratosphere. Earlier on that same track, he also does the pretty remarkable job of turning two different Jeezy songs into one song with the help of "Fireman" and "Scentless Apprentice," and thus actually gives one of the more aggressive/gritty-sounding rappers of our time the sort of nasty and threatening backing track he should have more often. So, "Smash Your Head" is probably the best argument that the guy can coalesce really well and make meaningful things, but I agree that he sometimes undermines that sort of achievement with an insistence on keeping the mix moving. It doesn't lessen my overall enjoyment of the product, but the peaks can set higher expectations for the bulk of the work.

I think he's worth much more of a shot than Boller, who really hasn't gotten it together in several attempts. I think I've mentioned it here before, but Troy Smith reminds me much more of Drew Brees than the spread-option mobile quarterbacks I feel he gets lumped in with. They're practically the same size, very accurate, and they're mobile without being scramblers. In his best season at Ohio State, Smith dialed down the rushing significantly and only ran 62 times. When your choices are 1) Kyle Boller, 2) a guy who sounds like Kyle Boller did coming out of college, and 3) a guy with high career completion percentage, versatile physical ability, and a whole lot of games won, I'd at least entertain giving the third guy a few starts.

Cause then you've wasted 3 years of development on a guy who you've very clearly selected and invested in as your quarterback of the future. And now you waste a 4th. And if Favre decides to stay for another year after that, then you basically end up doing what Atlanta did with Matt Schaub--let him walk and use your 4-5 years of training somewhere else, because there's no way you give him a decent contract after his rookie deal's up if he's never even played for you. There's no point to grooming a guy for this long and keeping him off the field. It's a waste of resources and a potentially very damaging move for the team in the mid-term future, when Favre actually does decide to truly pack it in (or, more likely, gets hurt and can't actually return). And, as alf says, really boring if you're trying to read about something else.

Oooh, he tricked you into sort of caring. Sucka! I think the problem with that review is that it kind of misses the point. Or rather, it gets the point, but tries to craft a "but if you look at this way it's different" argument anyway. "Girl Talk’s music works well in a party setting, and there’s a reason his shows devolve into mayhem—with a few drinks in your system and a room full of sweaty people, every new, recognizable sample is cause for fresh revelry" is totally accurate, and I'm not sure any understanding of the album needs to go beyond that. It's a dance album, and its primary function is to work at parties, clubs, whatever. Like I said, the "oh god" factor of putting something retardedly awesome like "Low" alongside "Sunday Morning" is about as close as this gets to any sort of statement--this dumb pop-rap hit is just as cool as the indiest band of all-time or whatever--if you even want to give it that much credit. Comparing/contrasting it with the Avalanches or DJ Shadow is doubleplus reaching for a critical anchor, as I think the only thing the artists have in common is heavy reliance on samples. I think it goes many steps above Jock Rock vol. 6 because the construction is a lot more varied and clever than that sort of Miami booty-bass masterpiecing, and because the source material is a lot stronger too. And I get your concerns about how it's frequently repurposing rap music that the target audience would never touch into a more palatable/ironic form, but I actually genuinely like pretty much every song he uses in these melanges, so I could give a shit about appropriation. Shit is fun, and there is a bit of art in even conceptualizing and then carrying out a lot of these multi-song combos.

The Cranberries are mixed with M.I.A. The Big Country/Tag Team pairing gets me every time, too. On the same track, the audacity of Flo Rida with the Velvet Underground is also worth a spit take or two on first listen. I was at a party last Saturday where we ended up with Feed the Animals and Night Ripper playing in full by 1 am or so. Best dancing of uncoordinated white people and honorarily white uncoordinated minorities I've seen in a while.

Back as Virginia. Hopefully I can maintain my grades for the season, unlike the rest of the team.

I love me some True Life, but there's no way that guy was straight.

I continue to fear Cuban Linx.

Speaking of Bill Simmons, I clicked his podcast thing today because I was interested in what someone who's gone to Clippers games regularly and seemed to be fairly dialed in to their fanbase had to say about the Elton Brand thing. Holy crap, that guy has the most irritating and snively voice I've heard in some time. Off after about 25 seconds.