Absolution Corner |
with Horton Veal, Ombudsman
|
Josh Bell's review of Clint Eastwood's Million Dollar Baby drew a strong, decidedly mixed response:
Re: your review of Million Dollar Baby: on the money! What's up with most critics? Soft in the brain? Bravo!
Your review of Million Dollar Baby was right on. I sometimes wonder how it is possible for me to be in disagreement with seemingly everybody else on the planet about a particular film, but since it doesn't happen very often, I'm not too worried. It's still nice to know that someone else agrees with me in those dark moments. I'm a Ph.D student in film studies, occasional reviewer and obsessive moviegoer, in case that gives me some sort of cred. Just thought you might want to know you're not alone.
Wow, Josh, I read your review of Million Dollar Baby. What's it like to work in a job you're blatantly unqualified to do? Your intellectual grasp of the emotional content of this film is amusing. Congratulations, you've publicly humiliated yourself. Out of all the tripe I've sat through this year, this film is a cool drink of water in a long creative drought in Hollywood.
Just a quick note on your review of MDB. My wife and I saw MDB yesterday.
While some parts of your review are spot-on, we felt the movie wore like an old pair of jeans that we don't ever throw away. Comfortable. Warm. Feels good. Familiar faces telling a good story. The last third of the film took our breath away. While something was coming, neither of us expected what followed. From Maggie's injury to Eastwood's heartbreaking decision, this film left us truly speechless. One of the best we have seen in years. When the credits rolled, there was not a single sound as a sold-out theater made for the exits. Thanks.
Last week, a trio of writers chronicled their activities on January 24, which, according to a British psychologist—we hardly have to say "consider the source"!—is the most depressing day of the year.
It's hardly surprising that January 24 is at least among the most depressing days of the year. Any decent weatherperson could probably tell us this.
Despite the fact that the Earth's perihelion occurs about the 2nd of January, the Northern Hemisphere experiences its coldest, rawest days about a week before the end of January. The only people who might not be aware of this are those blessed to live near the equator. We didn't need any psychologist to "inform" us of this, much less a British psychologist.
The only thing worse is that despite it being summer in the Southern Hemisphere, temperatures at the South Pole NEVER rise even to 0 degrees. So much for "concerns" about global thawing.
Mahalo D'Aura
As careful readers of the letters page know, our January 6 story on 10 great local sandwiches has prompted a hearty back and forth on the authenticity of Jersey Mike's subs. In the last round, Jersey Mike's franchisee Dan Kempf defended his chops.
Dan Kempf is absolutely right about Jersey Mike's. I was born in Point Pleasant, New Jersey, and grew up on the Jersey Shore. Two things you could always rely on in Jersey were great subs from Jersey Mike's and great pizza just about everywhere.
I went to college in Florida; terrible subs there. After college I went to Los Angeles ... awful subs there, too. After years of dreaming of a good sub and the occasional trip home, where I always made it a point to eat at Jersey Mike's, I moved to Las Vegas. I could not believe how amazing it was to see Jersey Mike's here in Vegas near my home. Even better was another location near my office. I must have eaten two or three subs a week since I've been here.
They are the best, not only in Vegas, but in the U.S. Viva Jersey Mike's!