tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217427319662074458.post687311438610261275..comments2024-03-27T15:16:57.305-05:00Comments on F This Movie!: Riske Business: Room 237 and The ShiningPatrick Bromleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00771837625286775607noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217427319662074458.post-46833358247177050462013-11-12T20:47:01.636-06:002013-11-12T20:47:01.636-06:00I agree.I agree.Luke Cianciohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13341348650523272729noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217427319662074458.post-80946665703221187812013-04-12T19:54:58.528-05:002013-04-12T19:54:58.528-05:00(for some reason you can't reply here when usi...(for some reason you can't reply here when using an android tablet)<br /><br />BTW you realize that all of these things they find so significant in this documentary - changing carpets, doors not matching, missing chairs, typewriters that change color - if this was a Corman film or Ute Bole (sp?) or a good first time director everybody would be laughing their asses off at the mistakes.<br /><br />But you know in the meantime there's been something bothering me about the movie, Sleepaway Camp. Then I finally realized what it was! If you look at the shelves in the kitchen you'll see several cans of vegetables under the brand "Lil Brave". The most prominent one is of yams but there's another one that's pumpkin. Meanwhile, James Earl Jugs is preparing corn. Corn was what the Native Americans taught the settlers to grow so that they wouldn't starve and inspired a national holiday. Then we see a guy who tried to show a young girl his "man meat" dies by the corn...<br /><br />I've come to believe that Hiltzick was using this movie to promote Vegetarian Thanksgivings. The strongest evidence of this is that the murderer is a girl with a "sausage". The message: "Meat Is Murder!!!!"<br /><br />Or it's just a really f'd up movie. :PKathynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217427319662074458.post-24611326075087608512013-04-11T16:16:32.996-05:002013-04-11T16:16:32.996-05:00Ha...you must be watching USA because you just got...Ha...you must be watching USA because you just got a Burn Notice :)GDiddyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04257406584729047550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217427319662074458.post-84014399816904552942013-04-11T16:13:08.027-05:002013-04-11T16:13:08.027-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.GDiddyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04257406584729047550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217427319662074458.post-26049863448676619672013-04-11T14:31:19.067-05:002013-04-11T14:31:19.067-05:00Then apparently you never paid attention during th...Then apparently you never paid attention during the infamous typewriter scene in The Shining...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217427319662074458.post-52311728195312700072013-04-10T18:30:48.714-05:002013-04-10T18:30:48.714-05:00I don't get the referenceI don't get the referenceAdam Riskehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01165600746796326821noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217427319662074458.post-14332446470311131302013-04-10T13:01:40.147-05:002013-04-10T13:01:40.147-05:00All work and no play makes Adam a dull boy All wor...All work and no play makes Adam a dull boy All work and no play makes Adam a dull boy All work and no play makes Adam a dull boy All work and no play makes Adam a dull boy All work and no play makes Adam a dull boy All work and no play makes Adam a dull boy All work and no play makes Adam a dull boy All work and no play makes Adam a dull boy All work and no play makes Adam a dull boy All work and no play makes Adam a dull boy All work and no play makes Adam a dull boy All work and no play makes Adam a dull boy All work and no play makes Adam a dull boy All work and no play makes Adam a dull boy All work and no play makes Adam a dull boy All work and no play makes Adam a dull boy All work and no play makes Adam a dull boy All work and no play makes Adam a dull boy All work and no play makes Adam a dull boy All work and no play makes Adam a dull boy All work and no play makes Adam a dull boy All work and no play makes Adam a dull boy All work and no play makes Adam a dull boy All work and no play makes Adam a dull boy All work and no play makes Adam a dull boy All work and no play makes Adam a dull boy All work and no play makes Adam a dull boy All work and no play makes Adam a dull boy All work and no play makes Adam a dull boy Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217427319662074458.post-702472420118435732013-04-09T23:49:36.415-05:002013-04-09T23:49:36.415-05:00Heheh - we do - too greasy but their sauce is my f...Heheh - we do - too greasy but their sauce is my favorite!Sol O.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217427319662074458.post-47423655004891581882013-04-09T23:48:01.296-05:002013-04-09T23:48:01.296-05:00I'd add that I too really liked Cinemania and ...I'd add that I too really liked <i>Cinemania</i> and as strange as some of those characters were, I never felt like I was just there to laugh at them. I started reading some of the many POSITIVE reviews (@#$&!) of this movie and the only real positive point they seem to have is that the people and their theories are so <i>funny</i>. So laughing at people with mental problems, that's cool now? That's kinda like walking out of <i>The Bully Project</i> saying you loved it because the bullying victims were so hilariously nerdy.<br /><br />Urge to kill...rising!Sol O.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217427319662074458.post-72091555798829484532013-04-09T23:41:01.088-05:002013-04-09T23:41:01.088-05:00I feel like a Dad after his son hits a homer in li...I feel like a Dad after his son hits a homer in little league. Let's go to Pizza Hut! Do they have those in Canada?Adam Riskehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01165600746796326821noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217427319662074458.post-31003112054660522042013-04-09T23:25:10.242-05:002013-04-09T23:25:10.242-05:00I just watched Room 237 and fuck fuck fuck this &q...I just watched <i>Room 237</i> and fuck fuck fuck this "movie". Being a fucking MOVIE should mean something. This is some TLC fuckin Hoarders Honey Boo Boo let's laugh at the crazy people schadenfreude bullshit - which I admit occasionally appeals to the stupid lizard part of my brain that also "enjoys" watching people fall on their ass, but it doesn't deserve to be called a movie. A collection of creepy weirdos rambling on about barely comprehensible nonsense with well-timed clips in the background does not a MOVIE make. Their retarded interpretations of the movie (and I'd say you're being too generous saying any have any plausibility) are so far removed from what a normal person would see that it's barely even a movie about <i>The Shining</i>. Their insipid theories are so personal and so much about other weird shit that it's not really about looking too deeply into movies - they're somehow seeing everything but the movie. And their personalities are so bland it's not even an interesting movie about obsession. It's a big piece of crap, and I'm with you Adam, it's made me a little angry at it, and rarely do I bother being angry at a movie, or in this case, an insult to movies.<br /><br />The ONE interesting thing I found in the whole thing were some of the shots of the movie being played simultaneously from the beginning and backwards from the end, but I have a feeling that the handful of kinda cool juxtapositions of scenes they showed us would not make up for what is probably mostly a jumbled-up mess (and almost certainly nothing Kubrick ever thought about).<br /><br />Nice article, Adam - I too love <i>The Shining</i> and it deserves a deep critical analysis from people like you - you know, crazy in a <i>good</i> way.Sol O.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217427319662074458.post-52452882918369266162013-04-09T11:33:19.836-05:002013-04-09T11:33:19.836-05:00Room 237 is the angriest I will be at a movie all ...Room 237 is the angriest I will be at a movie all year. It would be the worst if The ABCs of Death did not exist.<br /><br />@ Greg - Your reason for liking Room 237 is the only one I can wrap my head around - you were entertained. Just like how humor is completely subjective, so is what makes us entertained. For example, I like the movie White Chicks.<br /><br />@Steve K - I like your comment. I personally am fine leaving The Shining as it is but your point about the social worker is solid. The reason it's solid is because it's actually part of the dialogue and the focus of a scene in the movie. It's there in the text. <br /><br />@Jake B - They should change the name of Room 237 to Shi**ing on a Classic. I hate this movie with the fire of 1,000 suns (I want that on the poster). The critical reception to this movie depresses me. It's inspired some great writing for a movie that does not deserve it at all. This movie represents to me the 'party line' mentality of too much of the film critic community. Rather than go out on a limb, they parrot each other. <br /><br />If Stanley Kubrick wanted to make a movie about the genocide of the American Indian don't you think (with all his talents and pull in Hollywood) he would have made that movie? And why in the hell would the director of Dr. Strangelove participate in faking the TV broadcast of the Apollo moon landing? Adam Riskehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01165600746796326821noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217427319662074458.post-49944954900989034582013-04-09T11:05:53.269-05:002013-04-09T11:05:53.269-05:00Great article Adam, I don't think I could agre...Great article Adam, I don't think I could agree with you more.<br /><br />The thing that still eludes me is the widespread critical praise for this doc. Almost as if the vast majority of people who praise it are getting the same pleasure out of it they would a freakshow or reality television. That just seems silly to me.<br /><br />There seems to be a problem with, like you said, people refusing to critique movies as movies. Subtext that serves the point of the story or "feeling" of the story as opposed to harebrained theories that do nothing to increase the appreciation for the film. Afterall, the point of most film criticism is to increase the appreciation for film, even if you have to F them sometimes.Jake Bnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217427319662074458.post-38137786520408585632013-04-09T10:46:43.296-05:002013-04-09T10:46:43.296-05:00I haven't seen Room 237, but The Shining is on...I haven't seen Room 237, but The Shining is one of my all-time favorite movies. Theories about underlying meanings can be interesting, but they do sometimes take the fast track to crazytown. Kubrick messing around with spatial relationships (i.e. the phony window in Ullman's office) may have been for no other reason than to screw with the audience perception - which is more than enough, in my opinion. What I find compelling about this movie in the end is its portrait of a profoundly dysfunctional family, which was hopelessly damaged long before they got to the Overlook.<br /><br />I keep coming back to the scene early on between Wendy and the pediatrician. It could be shown to social workers as a demonstration of how to gradually pull information from reluctant parents. And look how Wendy has the same vacant smile plastered to her face throughout, even when talking about how her husband broke her son's arm. The movie may nominally be about the paranormal, but the emotions we see are as true-to-life as they can be.Steve K.https://www.blogger.com/profile/02141959251034133806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217427319662074458.post-42936248401715661112013-04-08T22:17:25.204-05:002013-04-08T22:17:25.204-05:00Adam,
Loved the column. Thanks for writing about...Adam, <br /><br />Loved the column. Thanks for writing about this film.<br /><br />I think Kubrick films invite a lot of critical analysis, and that primed my interest in this film. I can't say I loved it, but I did find it thoroughly enttertaining. <br /><br />You write “a major problem with Room 237: it is not about unveiling the mysteries of The Shining or how we watch movies as film lovers (because 99.9% of people don’t watch movies like the people in Room 237). So it’s dishonest”. I agree that it doesn't unveil the mysteries. Like yourself, I thought the theories held little salt, and the mountains of craziness piled up as the theories went on. Kubrick created fake moon footage of the moon landing, and hid it from his wife? This guy is not only zanny, he's put himself on a government watch list.<br /><br />As a viewer, I enjoyed seeing how far people could a benign detail, and how make this crazy story out of it. The obessiveness that these people would view, and create a fantasy was just riveting to me. Who counts the number of cars in an aerial shot! Their personal stories were twined into their lunny theories – for instance in the beginning when the narrator was in Europe and thinking about America from a foreign perspective, and started with this native american autrocity theory. Viewing this with an audience (Musicbox), there were moments of unbridled laughter at points. So my defense of the film is from an entertainment point of view, even though it doesn't have the hard documentary chops to give a viewer detail into a critical analysis. Also with a psychology background, I just like crazy people a little more than the next guy.<br /><br /> One last thing, I would love to hear an FthisMovie perspective on Kubrick. That would be a critical analysis we can all agree is worth hearing!<br />Greg_Talbothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09401630835576874239noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217427319662074458.post-50067103099772478382013-04-08T21:13:15.945-05:002013-04-08T21:13:15.945-05:00I'm still holding out hope for a 2001: A Space...I'm still holding out hope for a 2001: A Space Odyssey column or (preferably, in a perfect world) podcast someday. I know a lot of it would probably be a lot of "2001: A Space Odyssey is amazing, and here's why," but I think it would make for a fascinating discussion or write-up. Just my two cents. John Murphyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08810774557887719483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217427319662074458.post-22958222692273526562013-04-08T20:04:59.662-05:002013-04-08T20:04:59.662-05:00Hi Kathy. Thank you for commenting. We love you.
...Hi Kathy. Thank you for commenting. We love you.<br /><br />I completely agree with you about Room 237 being a movie about what the viewer brings to it from their own experiences. That doesn't mean it's a good movie.<br /><br />For example, I like ice cream and could read a bunch of stuff into The Shining too. They eat ice cream, it's cold outside, snow looks like ice cream, Jack if frosty to his family like ice cream. All of these things are true but that doesn't mean The Shining is about ice cream. What I just said is nonsense and that is Room 237 in a nutshell. Again, these are just my opinions.Adam Riskehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01165600746796326821noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217427319662074458.post-70730092206668757572013-04-08T18:44:28.784-05:002013-04-08T18:44:28.784-05:00Barry Lyndon is one of my favorite Kubrick movies,...Barry Lyndon is one of my favorite Kubrick movies, and yes there is a lot going on in that movie.GreyWeirdohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15331536600171674300noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217427319662074458.post-81606190194367228032013-04-08T18:20:43.808-05:002013-04-08T18:20:43.808-05:00I'm a bit intimidated to write about 2001. In ...I'm a bit intimidated to write about 2001. In short, it's my favorite movie because it deals with existence which is such a huge topic for a 2+ hr movie. The fact that the movie has a theory on that and works at all is amazing to me. I can't believe something like it exists. And it gives you time as the viewer to sit and think about these topics for yourself. I think it's very deliberate why Kubrick gave so much time to that imagery and classical music - he wants you to have your mind wander a bit and think about things you don't usually consider.<br /><br />I love Barry Lyndon. I think it's very underrated. The photography and music alone make it a great movie. Adam Riskehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01165600746796326821noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217427319662074458.post-70039324387201177422013-04-08T18:15:26.253-05:002013-04-08T18:15:26.253-05:00Nice homage to the Jack losing his sh*t at Wendy s...Nice homage to the Jack losing his sh*t at Wendy scene!Adam Riskehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01165600746796326821noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217427319662074458.post-14798512984777381702013-04-08T15:36:11.729-05:002013-04-08T15:36:11.729-05:00Great column Adam! I heard good things about Room ...Great column Adam! I heard good things about Room 237 when people first saw at film festivals and what not but reviews have been coming out, lately, that are making the same points as you. From what i gathered, it's basically the 'Loose Change' of film/shining documentaries. I'll probably still check it out (probably on demand, when made available). <br /><br />Also, i find it really interesting that your favorite film is '2001'. You dont seem like the kind of guy who loves that kind of stuff. I have no problem with that (i love '2001') but i dont know, weird. <br /><br />Also Also, speaking about Kubrick, i watched 'Barry Lyndon' recently and really liked it. But i definately feel like i need to rewatch it cause, like all of Kubrick's work, there seems to be more than meets the eye (cue transformers sounds). And maybe that's me, like you said, overanalyzing the work because it was made by an "important filmmaker" but i dont know.<br /><br />Once again, great article! I'd love to see you write about '2001' and why you love it but hey, it's your world man, i'm just visiting... Mike Onoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217427319662074458.post-83476107338001531032013-04-08T14:50:49.649-05:002013-04-08T14:50:49.649-05:00I am soooo going to watch the Shining again after ...I am soooo going to watch the Shining again after reading this. So, if you come into my house and you hear me typing or if you don't hear me typing, or whatever the heck you hear me doing, it means I'm watching this movie. That means don't come in...can you handle that truth? GDiddyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04257406584729047550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217427319662074458.post-14361808181187848252013-04-08T14:32:27.349-05:002013-04-08T14:32:27.349-05:00See my comment on the PotA pageSee my comment on the PotA pageKathynoreply@blogger.com