Absent Too Long: The Critic Regrets

It's been quite a while. And though I've continued to see films and have feelings and opinions about them, it's been difficult to set aside the time to write about them. Why? I don't know. Maybe I was too shell shocked after Munich. Or maybe it's tiring reviewing films from the Dick Flick perspective. Honestly, it's like I'm always looking for something wrong or bad to say about films when I review them for this purpose.

Then again, I want to remember that there's a reason for this. There's a reason I was passionate about this topic, am still passionate about it. That's because the rampant sexism is still just that in the culture I see around me. Hollywood is still just as much a promoter of this reality as any other mass media. I couldn't possibly catch enough of what floats on America's airwaves to make a critical dent. So film is what I focus on. As misguided and as off-base and out of touch as Hollywood often is, even the worst films ("Honey" for instance, starring the Up-and-Coming-It-Girl Jessica Alba, was a-bys-mal) reach someone. Sadly, it's usually the least sophisticated viewer who would likely benefit from having their mind stretched a bit. I bet they'd like it, too. Imagine if your whole life someone was lying to you about what reality was, about your place in the world. Wouldn't you be as thirsty for the other side of the story as you could be?

I hope that continues to be my role here in movie-review land. I will do my best.