[thegreatbeast]

I agree with Stix far more than I disagree with him but he digresses quite a bit from Million Dollar Baby. How can an actor be a life force as he would have you think of DeNiro? It is a silly appellation to hang on an actor.
Clint Eastwood is an amazingly complex guy; I really admire him and his work but what people are saying about him and his latest film dismays me. It reminds me of what is simultaneously happening to Tom Wolfe. Too many people, against all they have ever seen, expect to see an artists' career as forever ascendent. Recently I saw a symposium on Wolfe's Charlotte Simmons on C-SPAN where some of the participants criticized him for conjuring up a fictitious take on modern college life. Perhaps Charlotte Simmons isn't the priceless gem that The Right Stuff was, or Million Dollar Baby isn't the work of art that Unforgiven was but why let that disturb your appreciation of what these two genuine auteurs are offering us? Yes, these two elderly men may have lost a few miles off their fastballs but they still possess enough finesse to get the batters out.

The Oscars can't be taken seriously. My only interest in them is to ogle the comely young actresses doing the red carpet bit.

[mrustow]

I agree with Stix far more than I disagree with him but he digresses quite a bit from Million Dollar Baby. How can an actor be a life force as he would have you think of DeNiro? It is a silly appellation to hang on an actor. Clint Eastwood is an amazingly complex guy; I really admire him and his work but what people are saying about him and his latest film dismays me. It reminds me of what is simultaneously happening to Tom Wolfe. Too many people, against all they have ever seen, expect to see an artists' career as forever ascendent. Recently I saw a symposium on Wolfe's Charlotte Simmons on C-SPAN where some of the participants criticized him for conjuring up a fictitious take on modern college life. Perhaps Charlotte Simmons isn't the priceless gem that The Right Stuff was, or Million Dollar Baby isn't the work of art that Unforgiven was but why let that disturb your appreciation of what these two genuine auteurs are offering us? Yes, these two elderly men may have lost a few miles off their fastballs but they still possess enough finesse to get the batters out.

The Oscars can't be taken seriously. My only interest in them is to ogle the comely young actresses doing the red carpet bit.

I just reprinted your post, because I like what you had to say.