On your suggestions (or maybe someone on twitter), I watched an Indie film called Cashback last night, and I can’t decide what I think of it. Have any of you seen it?
*** Update ***
BTW- I am proud to admit that I have read all of about 8 pages of On the Road, quit then and there, and would choose castration of reading the full collection of the Brontë sisters before reading another page of Kerouac. Having said that, I am still more likely to read the book than watch this abomination in the making.
David Koch
We should have listened to Cenk and Stoller and primaryed him when we had the chance
http://www.theday.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?NewTbl=1&Site=NL&Date=20130408&Category=MEDIA02&ArtNo=408009999&Ref=PH&Item=2&MaxW=700&MaxH=620&q=80
http://ww1.hdnux.com/photos/20/74/22/4441264/3/628×471.jpg
MikeJ
I’ve been out, but I just saw this at Roy‘s:
Mrs. Skink
I think you are gonna like this:
Academy award winning documentary, surprising good.
John Cole
@Mrs. Skink: I saw it and it was wonderful.
YellowJournalism
We’ve paused on that title a few times when flipping through Netflix. The description sounds interesting, but I’ve just never been in a mood to chance it. Watched Another Earth, though. That one is slow but sticks with you.
mclaren
Check out the film The Code (2008). Great heist thriller. It stars Morgan Freeman.
Seriously. Morgan Freeman? Do you really need to know anything more than that?
? Martin
The only thing that can stop a 4 year old with a gun is a sheriff’s deputy with a gun. Or not.
Parade of fucknuts, we are.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@David Koch: I didn’t pay much attention, but did those solons ever come up with a name for that challenge? Dennis? Ralph? Jane!?
David Koch
@MikeJ:
/fixed
David Koch
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: IIRC they actually pushed Papa Doc Ron Paul because he wanted to end the fed and pass out ganja
YellowJournalism
@mclaren: What blows my mind is that he was part of the cast of the original Electric Company. I never connected him to it until a few years ago when someone posted a clip of him on a message board. I watched the reruns as a kid and never made the connection as an adult.
Cain
oh yeah, cashback.. there was a lot of nudity in that if I recall.
? Martin
Anyone still think that the libertarians are going to get any play in the GOP in 2016?
How many state parties have been taken over this way now? I think about half a dozen. I don’t really see any party unity across conservatives/libertarians taking place.
freelancer
Cashback is very English, lots of tits, lots of muddled angst and reflections on modern existentialism, some poignant moments, and overall not a waste of time.
I saw it once, I remember liking it, and I could go the rest of my life without seeing it a second time and not feel I missed out on anything. Take that how you will.
chadwiggy
That was my suggestion. I liked the film because I originally tuned in for the skin but it turned out to have lots of complexity and depth and the nudity did not come across as gratuitous. Double bonus. Shows the potential of independent cinema. All you need is an idea and a supermarket to film in at night.
SatanicPanic
I watched Cashback, thought it was pretty good, but the ending seemed far-fetched. I won’t spoil it for anyone who wants to watch it, but I wasn’t convinced. Enjoyed the rest though.
FlipYrWhig
Books by the Brontës are emasculating now?
dance around in your bones
I’m watching The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel for the second time because I loved it so much the first time.
? Martin
@FlipYrWhig: Well, given that smartphones are emasculating, then yeah, I suppose that Brontes must be as well.
scav
@? Martin: yeee haw! My Umpop’s Party of Sedate Business Prudence and Staid Competence is looking mighty past-tense at this point in time. I will amuse myself by trying to envision him burning a bra while waving a daisy in protest. Man was a Cub’s fan — this might take a little time and imagination on my part.
agorabum
@John Cole: Was just about to recommend it to you in this thread; obviously no need.
Great movie, great story.
Phil Perspective
@John Cole: Greg Mitchell went to see Leonard Cohen are Radio City Music Hall on Sunday night. You’ll never guess what was on the “Upcoming” board for either late Summer or early Fall.
The prophet Nostradumbass
Here is Buzzfeed Politicsin a nutshell.
hilzoy
The Bronte sisters are wonderful. If, for some reason that girly little me cannot hope to fathom, they are emasculating, they would be worth it. Especially Villette.
Irish Steel
@? Martin: The youngest and most energized wing in your party is just out there fucking things up. Not good.
kdaug
@hilzoy: They’re goddamned vampires. Run.
The prophet Nostradumbass
For some reason, the Guardian thought that the comments of Tom Brokaw were worth publishing on their website today.
suzanne
My mother called me at work this afternoon and asked me to come over to explain how she had planned her suicide. I got to her house and she had a stack of suicide notes, the urn that she wants her ashes put in, her cremation paid for, bank accounts emptied, and a wad of cash. Her house is being foreclosed on tomorrow. I had her involuntarily committed.
I am not okay.
Mnemosyne
@suzanne:
Holy crap! I think the only thing worse would have been to get a voicemail from her when it was too late. At least this way you have some hope of getting her stabilized.
The prophet Nostradumbass
@suzanne: Oh my, I don’t know what to say, except to echo Mnemosyne, that at least you got to her before it was too late.
Yutsano
@suzanne: I messaged you back. Hope it was a bit of help.
suzanne
I feel like I’ve been destroyed right now.
brent
I find your post to be a bizarrely hostile reaction to both Kerouac and the Bronte sisters and I would like a little more context. Obviously, everything is not for everybody but why did you dislike On the Road so much? What, in those 8 pages, disturbed you so profoundly? So much so that you seem proud to have avoided the experience of reading a book?
The Bronte sisters are emasculating? How? What are you on about exactly?
Just want to understand a little better where you are coming from.
My Truth Hurts
Netflix suggestion for next time
Once Upon a Time in the West
AT
@brent: i can and do read anything I can get my hands on, on the road was one I just couldnt read, didn’t find it remotely interesting or engaging.
Ted & Hellen
Given that you are a Game of Thrones fan, it is not surprising that you would dislike something challenging like OTR.
NotMax
Kerouac is not everyone’s cup of dharma.
Want a forgotten gripping tale?
The Death Ship by B. Traven (same author who wrote The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.
Howzabout a can’t-put-it-down Gilded Age mystery thriller?
The Alienist by Caleb Carr
History as accessible, popular page-turner?
Undaunted Courage: The Pioneering First Mission to Explore America’s Wild Frontier by Stephen Ambrose
Son of the Morning Star by Evan Connell
A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century by Barbara Tuchman
The prophet Nostradumbass
Anyone watch Lawrence O’Donnell’s show tonight? What a hideous suckfest, in particular his “rewrite”, where he lauded Margaret Thatcher as a good “socialist”. It made me want to punch him in the face, repeatedly.
Yutsano
@The prophet Nostradumbass:
WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT OVER??
The prophet Nostradumbass
@Yutsano: Since she didn’t engage in a frontal assault on the welfare state, and the NHS, but merely fucked it up in the background, with the intent of someone else dismantling it in the future, she was a “socialist”.
Also, she trash-talked Labour a lot by boasting about raw numbers that don’t really mean anything in a historical context.
He was trying to troll right-wingers, and failed, miserably.
The prophet Nostradumbass
Hey, the new Roger Ebert website he mentioned in his last blog post, is now live.
Thor Heyerdahl
@My Truth Hurts: Once Upon a Time in the West
One of the best…funny how it was panned at first but became a standard to be measured by. Also one of the first where they played the soundtrack on the set…you’ll see the Dramatis personæ change their gait to match the crescendos of the music
PeakVT
@suzanne: Hugs.
JoyfulA
@NotMax: The Death Ship is amazing. There’s a lot of history from the bottom in this bizarre, exciting, scary book.
I’ve been meaning to read A Distant Mirror for a long time.
That said, I’m no fan of Caleb Carr.
Valdivia
@suzanne:
I know this is rather late to the thread I just wanted to say I am so sorry. Big hugs to you. Find someone to talk to, for yourself, not just to know how to help her.
Studly Pantload, the emotionally unavailable unicorn
@suzanne: I’m so sorry, Suzanne. My own mom developed the (quite involuntary) ability to go into the classic manic phase when in her 50s (yep, very late onset).
Your mom may possibly be freaking out all the more by the psychward detention, but count it as a blessing that she’s under supervised care.
Blessings to you.
Ramalama
I read Kerouac when I was younger and wanted an adventure. I recently in the last few years picked up On the Road again and could not past maybe 40 pages. Books will do that to you, not just Kerouac. I had a thing with Doris Lessing too. A window opened and then closed and then opened. It’s a little like playing the lottery.
Ramalama
@suzanne: Holy merde. My heart aches for you. Losing one’s home is one of the worst feelings in the world. I know there are a lot of medications out there for this kind of thing. I hope it doesn’t take too too long for the docs to get the right combo that work for her.
Deffrey Jahmer
Cashback featured the narrator disrobing and posing women without their consent. If it’s all in his head, then it’s only creepy; otherwise, the r-word might be appropriate. Much like the sex scene/date rape in Observe and Report, the object is to both titillate and make the viewer squirm in discomfort, imo.
Kerouac is a pretentious windbag, like most of the Beats. Bukowski was pretty much the only one of them that wasn’t a waste of ink.
Johannes
@suzanne: So very sorry; I hope that she is stabilized, and that you can get through this. Prayers, thoughts, and wishes for health to you both.
gogol's wife
@hilzoy:
YES YES YES. How dare you diss the Bronte sisters?
gogol's wife
I mean (won’t let me edit), how dare Cole diss the Bronte sisters?
gogol's wife
@suzanne:
I am so sorry. This sounds horrific. You’re in my thoughts.
Robert
On the Road had nice acting but not enough structure to justify the running time. If you want to do a slice of life/portmanteau kind of thing, you can’t overstay your welcome.
And of all things, Kristen Stewart probably gives the best performance in the film. That’s actually a compliment. She out-acted Amy Adams, Kirsten Dunst, Viggo Mortensen, Elisabeth Moss, and a whole mess of other actors. It’s like Adventureland or Runaways all over again. Stewart give a great performance and no one bothers to watch it, so she’s just that open-mouthed Twilight chick.
thalarctos
@suzanne: I’m so sorry. I wish I had more help than just that to offer.
grins
love Cashback, even with the sexual assaulting.
another indy that makes something wonderful out of not much is 10 Items or Less. don’t forget to listen to the director’s commentary, it was almost as good as the movie for me
Omnes Omnibus
Atlas Shrugged affected me that way.
@suzanne: Jesus. That sucks. At least, you were able to intervene before she went too far.
Maude
@suzanne:
You did the right thing.
Paul in KY
@David Koch: How about:
General George Armstrong Custar will speak at the Little Bighorn on superior firepower of mounted cavalry at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, April 10.
Paul in KY
@suzanne: Very sorry to hear. Hope she gets better, my prayers to your family.
jake the snake
It is mostly taste. I have read the entirety of Dune, even though parts of it are mind numbingly dull. However, I could not ever get more than 10 pages into Portrait of a Lady.
Paul in KY
Would note that if the Neal Cassidy dude had slipped me LSD, I would have shot him, after I came down.
Joel (Macho Man Randy Savage)
Did anyone see Jon Stewart’s interview with David Stockman last night? I saw the opening line and sensed that it was going to be a ten-minute handjob. Were my instincts correct?
Gus
@Ramalama: Read On the Road at 21 and liked it. Reread it at 36 and loved it. Of course, I was on a road trip at the time.
Linus Pickle
I had the same reaction to Kerouac. Maybe it gets interesting on page nine, but I’ll never know because I have better things to do and read.
Cygil
Cashback is just 70 minutes of meandering plot designed to justify 10 minutes of timestop fetish porn — the sort of thing that you read on the Internet erotic mind control story archive, not that I would know what that is.
I guess naked Keeley Hazel is worth the admission price.
Deb T
@FlipYrWhig:
I’ll speak up for the Brontes. I think many modern readers are turned off by the language. Maybe there need to be a Revised Bronte — oh wait, there are movies.
Wuthering Heights – talk about your Gothic romances. Hanged puppies, disinterred body, the desolate moors, the violence, the fatalism. Come on, all it lacks is a transformer.
Jane Eyre – Mistreated orphan claws her way to some kind of professional life as a nanny, only to find herself at the mercy of misanthrope who has imprisoned his insane wife in the tower and tries to marry the very young virgin only to be foiled by his crazy wife’s brother at the last moment. Jane flees across the moors, nearly succumbing to the elements only to be saved by the sisters of a soon to be missionary.
Only a spiritual connection to her true love saves her from a loveless marriage. Lots of intrigue.
Of course the movies are easier to understand. I’m a fan of the funky old BBC Jane Eyre with Timothy Dalton, but there are better versions of course – newer, more to contemporary taste. Wuthering Heights is not for the weak of heart.
Deb T
@Paul in KY:
You never know. You might have had a mind altering trip that made you mellow. Acid trips can be quite pleasant although I always preferred mushrooms.
Deb T
@jake the snake:
Portrait of a Lady? Isn’t that Henry James. He’s a different kettle of fish from the Brontes. The Brontes are wild romantics.
Deb T
@AT:
On the Road. I don’t remember it well, but I did like the driving back and forth across the country eating only apple pie.
dance around in your bones
@Deb T:
Kate Bush Wuthering Heights
eta: maybe better to just close your eyes and listen to the song :)
I loved both of those books. I read them first when I was quite young and romantic.
dance around in your bones
@suzanne:
This must be so scary for you. I think you did the right thing for her safety. I hope you both get through this crisis and come out on the other side with greater hope and love.
Cassidy
@suzanne: Wow. You did good. I hope things turn out okay and give us an update.
Jebediah
@suzanne:
Fingers crossed that you both make it through this OK.
Ramalama
@Gus: When I read OTR the first time I was very jealous. I thought that I couldn’t have had that kind of adventure being female, and the whole nature of meeting strangers while travelling. Fast forward 15 years and I find myself spending a lot of time on the road in a car full of strangers. A wonderful experience. Not sure how that influenced (if at all) my experience of the book. I will say that there’s an eerie prescience in it, talking about Arabs setting off bombs in NYC.
Bubblegum Tate
On the Road was lame, John. You made a wise choice. I even read it at the most choice point in time for me to like it–when I was a college sophomore–and thought it was unbearably stupid.
Paul in KY
@Deb T: Slipping someone (like me) a heavy drug like LSD (which I have tried) is a hanging offense (IMO).
Especially in the doses they used.
E
I regard myself to be a still-quite-virile man, am in my late 40’s, and I love the Brontes. It’s been a little while since I read Jane Eyre, but it’s on my stack (and now moved up a few notches thanks to this thread), and I’ve probably read Wuthering Heights five or six times in my life. God willing, I’ll read both five or six times more. Those women could write novels.
On the Road, yeah, self-absorbed. It’s not a book that ages with most people — it worked for me at 19, not so much at 29, and pretty much not at all at 39.
Czar Chasm
@suzanne My sympathies: I work in mental health, and it’s not easy with the ones you don’t even have a strong emotional bond to the person. She might be angry at you for a little while, but it should pass.
Speaking of Kerouac and movies reminded me of this little nugget I found yesterday, which has a film about Kerouac in its listing:
Ranking Sundance 2013 movies according to Sundanciness
And the Bronte sisters: For most of the English, rural, genteel class (beat me later if I didn’t use the commas appropriately), their books were the Michael Bay movies of the time (h/t to @Deb T), and the sisters were viewed as hot sluts because of them.