another maniacal Armond White review, this time "Fahrenheit 9/11"

I don't wanna derail this thread, but Jesus kinda strikes me as one of the least socially adept people ever... Like, the guy attacked the freaking temple in Jerusalem, that was quite clearly a social no-go...

accuses Variety of sedition!

Citizenfour is not about Snowden’s change of heart (if such ever occurred) and not an examination of his untroubled disloyalty. Poitras’s stylized presentation makes Snowden’s covert activities accord with the atmosphere of annoyance and resentment — the same liberal smugness that ruined Brian De Palma’s Redacted.

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/391061/paranoid-and-visionary-armond-white

wow...snowden checks his hair before being interviewed...that IS damning

the George Clooney anti-capitalist Ocean’s Eleven franchise films

the fun clarity of the military testimonies in Costa Gavras’s Z

alright it's been a while since i saw Z, but...

fun?

Clarity!

i'm pretty bummed he was forced to go to actual acclaimed "classics" from the past, and couldn't make negative comparisons to Son Of God or a D'Souza doc.

no "if you want to see someone truly stand up for an idea from a place of righteousness, consider God's Not Dead"

"Robert Downey Jr in The Judge, now there's a man who can navigate a moral dilemma without abandoning our national code"

The cat and mouse games of costa gravas's breezy caper 'missing'

xpost "not to mention a movie that realizes the inferences one can make from hair products"

then in the second review he goes on to say that ppl who were "fooled" by Grand Budapest will be "astounded" by Alain Resnais' swan song. Wouldn't they be too dumb for that?

Snowden says “in the history of man” a lot — to measure his alarm and his audacity; the phrase is his password to Benedict Arnold, the Rosenbergs, and Daniel Ellsberg‘s martyrdom.

wtf?

that nimble trickster Wes Anderson~~!

had no idea AW was pro-Benedict Arnold

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/391061/paranoid-and-visionary-armond-white

Beautiful url.

the inferences one can make from urls

In praise of Godard, the Mekons' "derelict charm," and dissing Gyllenhaal's "bug-eyed nosferatu." The best column of his I've read in awhile.

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/391512/goodbye-language-godard-goes-3d-armond-white

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/banned-critic-new-york-film-761089

In this age of conformity, unanimity hides bias and truth-tellers get ostracized. Film criticism has lost its independence. Group-think not only removes honor from consensus opinion, it also promotes hostility to the practice of journalistic criticism. This was proved by the Circle's attempt to demonize my singular, intimidating position as a critic.

my upcoming book, Critic Without a Culture

the other day my subway sandwich artist asked me "who was that guy who made those documentaries? about columbine and stuff?" and i just looked at him blankly before realizing back in the car 20 minutes later oh yeah, michael moore. i'd almost suggested gus van sant.

If Sandwich Artists don't know who Michael Moore is, than Armond Has Won.

Is the better-than list for '14 up yet? I only ask because I have no real clue where I might find it anymore (National Review? Out? Somewhere else?).

'Better Thans' go live in mid-January, no?

well he's gotta wait to see how the critical consensus about a movie shapes up before he can decide if he likes it or not. That usually takes until well after the new year.

Crossing fingers for "Penguins of Madagascar > Birdman"

Did Paul W.S. Anderson release a movie this year? 'Cause that's always an easy one.

Pompeii (referred to in marketing as Pompeii in 3D) is a 2014 German-Canadian
historical disaster film produced and directed by Paul W. S. Anderson.

my upcoming book, Critic Without a Culture

― Don A Henley And Get Over It (C. Grisso/McCain), Tuesday, 6 January 2015 Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I'm feeling it.

Well he has a point about conformity and consensus and that's the reason I've argued he's important and that I hope he inspires other critics to follow him. And then write better than him. But it's increasingly hard to believe someone will stand out and get the same platform as film critics get fewer and consensus aggregates rule the day.

PWSA has plenty of supporters tho

Trying to anticipate AW's take on Selma. I somehow think it will turn on the scene with the Kings and the FBI sex tape.

so weird that he chose the year in which they give the top prize to "goodbye to language" to pen a screed about how the NYFCC is a shill for the studios. and by "weird" i guess i mean "typical." this megalomaniacal asshole cannot go away faster.

i mean, they gave the prize to a film that barely even got distributed! what more does armond white want?

uh, that was the Natl Society. The NY crix gave it to your fave Boyhood.

oh... wow. i don't think i've ever known the difference! well, score one for armond. actually, no.

i mean, they gave the prize to a film that barely even got distributed! what more does armond white want?
--I dunno. (amateurist)

he'll come up with a troll take for pretty much any outcome/scenario/critical opinion/etc. it literally does not matter what it is, he just needs to oppose it. apparently he's also piss drink more often than not and his copy is impossible to edit, according to a critic friend

*piss drunk

I've heard he's also into drinking piss, actually.

Chased with vinegar, et al.

I'd believe it tbh

He usta be good. Once or twice a year he still is.

I don't get the hubbub. I remember his year end lists being tasteful. It's not like a new Transformers movie came out.

And when he was editing himself for the city paper or whatever it was, his copy was raw, but it wasn't uneditable.

It's here: http://www.nationalreview.com/article/396040/tenth-annual-better-list-armond-white

I think I had the same reaction to last year's list - none of it really "shocked" me, in so much as these things (or Armond) could.

Its probably a credit to him that after all these years we might expect him to "shock us" on any level.

Never sure why he bothers with the picks that are so obvious as to be redundant. Don't know why it needs to be said that Journey to the West is better than Maleficent.

whether or not i'm shocked, i felt his phrasing deserved a poll

Best Succinct Film Pan From Armond White's 10th Annual Better-Than List

Korengal > Citizenfour

Sebastian Junger honors the risks of Afghanistan soldiers while Laura Poitras celebrates Edward Snowden’s anti-American paranoia.

300: Rise of an Empire > Interstellar

Noam Murro and Zach Snyder raised 3D pulp to a level of sensual, visceral astonishment but Christopher Nolan couldn’t get past nerdy, boring imitation-Kubrick space oddity.

Wrong Journey to the West...

Throughout 2014, movie culture, as we used to know it, collapsed. Old Masters Godard, Bertolucci, Resnais and Troell kept the faith yet went ignored.

Best not to open your annual screed by citing a film that has been lauded with awards as "ignored."