Not Dead Yet, but Bailing

Despite the dearth of recent new content, the Culture Snob is still alive and relatively well. I’ve been watching the original television version of Pennies from Heaven, the first season of Murder One, and Heat; avoiding seeing Million Dollar Baby; spending far too much money on iTunes; and tending to a sick wife. (Really. I’ve even cooked. Several times!)

I’ve pulled Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow and Big Fish off the coming-soon list, mostly because I have little to say about them. Neither is worth my or your time.

I started to write about Sky Captain. I opened: “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow beautifully shows the difference between a movie director and a visionary — with ‘visionary’ having plenty of negative connotations. Like George Lucas — .” That’s as far as I got, and I think it’s enough.

Big Fish might be Tim Burton’s only movie with a genuine emotional pull, but it’s a botch job. The script is awful, and it avoids dealing with real issues by letting fantasy take over — not unlike Adaptation. If you’re looking for a whimsical end-of-life remembrance that’s not nearly so cheap, try Antonia’s Line or The Barbarian Invasions.

Speaking of the latter, here’s what I wrote about it many months ago before I aborted it: “Poised somewhere between reality and fantasy, The Barbarian Invasions represents how most of us would like to die if faced with a fatal illness. Our friends and family would mostly be there, having forgiven transgressions major and minor. We’d have a hospital floor all to ourselves. We’d spend our last days with said friends and family on a house on a lake, drinking wine and laughing. We’d have a steady supply of heroin to ease our pain. And we’d have a rich son who pays for it all.” That’s as far as I got, and I think it’s enough.