Here’s some fun stuff vaguely related to the worlds of movies and video.

First, I just have to comment on the reaction to this particular movie trailer :

People are oohing and aahing over the thing, saying “it’s a movie trailer that’s like an entire movie about life” and saying how wonderful it is, and how they can’t wait to see the movie, and so on.

I mean, the New York Times reviewer quoted said “it reinvents the very act of perception”.

Well pardon my cynicism, but what the fuck have you people been smoking, and are you sure you are lighting the right end?

To me, admittedly judging purely from this miracle trailer, it seems like a rather thin and pretentious meal. Perhaps I am less impressed by philosophical poetry than the average critic, or I lack their deep and weary cynicism borne from watching so many bad movies that makes them vulnerable to sprouting into verdant bloom at the first movie that comes along that treats them like a grownup, but I cannot help but wonder how much of their impression is the material and how much of it is the admittedly very cool old Italian man doing the voiceover. (Presumably the auteur, but you can never be too careful about that. )

Maybe if I saw the whole movie, I too would be blown away. I am certainly open to beautiful poetry and a fresh, new, warmer approach to film. I am a big fan of movies like Shortbus and Hamlet II that embrace a new warmth, gentleness, and sincerity.

But come on, movie critics. Could you be a little less obvious in your train response to anything that seems impressive and European? Wipe the drool off your chin and try to seem objective.

Moving right along, here’s another form of film criticism : the damning clip compilation.

“You Just Don’t Get It, Do You?” – A Montage of Cinema’s Worst Writing Cliche from Jeff Smith on Vimeo.

Some lines do get used too much, Jeff Smith on Vimeo, and I consider it a perfectly valid point to put together clips of over used lines as a way to draw attention to the crime and hopefully put a little pressure on the system to avoid it.

But come on, Jeff Smith from Vimeo…. “You just don’t get it, do you?” as “the worst movie cliche of all time”? The worst? Seriously? You honestly think that is the worst one?

It doesn’t even make the top ten!

And some things are cliches in movies because they are cliches in the real life, and they are cliches in the real wold because they are phrases that work. They express a genuine sentiment in a fluid and succinct way, and hence they enter the language and stay.

In fact, honestly, the whole paranoia about cliches has lead to a lot of stilted, unnatural, and just plain ugly writing as diligent followers of the rule constantly try to reinvent the wheel, or as they might say, “once more conceive of a rolling vertical solid circle as a means of locomotion. ”

Admittedly, this particular phrase, “you just don’t get it, do you?” has been quite rightly identified as one of the most hostile and alienating things you can say to a person. There is good reason to regard it as being like “shut up” : a phrase you do not use casually because its potential rudeness and insensitivity makes it rather like dynamite, and hence, only to be us in exremis.

In fact, “you just don’t get it, do you?” is a lot worse than “shut up”.

But still, people do say it, and sometimes it’s even entirely justified, and so to label it as one of the worst movie cliches of all time, let alone the very worst?

Please. Give me a break, Jeff Smith of Vimeo.

And finally, completing today’s tryptic, we have this bit of film par excellence, a dramatic reading of a highly important passage ripped straight from the headlines of today and sure to take its place amongst the most august and respect works of history as it happens.

It’s also NSFW as all hell. or at least the audio is, so listen with caution!

Plus it has Jane Lynch, who has the magical powers of awesomeness, and Bill Maher, who I think was famous back in the 90’s for something maybe.

I kid, I kid, I still like Bill Maher and him losing his job over daring to suggest that maybe the USA had done something to provoke the events of 9/11 was a tragedy and a farce and a crime.

I was a huge fan of Politically Correct back when it was on. It was the only show I can recall of in recent history where you could get actual intelligent debate on issues, you know, back when the sides actually engaged one another.

And I am glad Maher is still out there doing his best to provoke.

But seriously, who watches that show?