The Armond White Thread

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colinr0380
Joined: Mon Nov 08, 2004 8:30 pm
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Re: The Armond White Thread

#876 Post by colinr0380 »

Sadly not, it only got on two lists with Sophie Ivan also picking it. The Sight and Sound 2011 poll did produce a top 11 though. I'll spoiler tag the final list below:
Spoiler
1. The Tree of Life
2. A Separation
3. The Kid with a Bike
4. Melancholia
5. The Artist
=6. The Turin Horse
=6. Once Upon A Time In Anatolia
8. We Need To Talk About Kevin
9. Le quattro volte
=10. This Is Not A Film
=10. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
EDIT: Though I'm not sure how they arrived at this result since my tally of the results is giving a different answer!
Last edited by colinr0380 on Sat Nov 26, 2011 3:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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The Fanciful Norwegian
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 6:24 pm
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Re: The Armond White Thread

#877 Post by The Fanciful Norwegian »

I'll bet White didn't see War Horse in time for the S&S poll -- the first LA/NYC screenings were just held on Thursday, and the early November previews were non-press screenings in places like Bethesda, Maryland and Leawood, Kansas. Tintin has had several NYC screenings this month so White could've seen it in time, depending on the poll's cutoff date.
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hearthesilence
Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2005 8:22 am
Location: NYC

Re: The Armond White Thread

#878 Post by hearthesilence »

Sight & Sound ballot:

Armond White
New York Post, USA

Incendies
Denis Villeneuve, Canada/France

A moving post-9/11 vision of our utter connectivity that simultaneously recalls Greek tragedy and the epic-intimate miracles of 70s American films.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Rupert Wyatt, USA/Hungary/UK/Australia/Canada

A spirited re-think of the 1968 original captures the vengeful madness of our times – confirmation that movies can be pop and still be art.

Attack the Block
Joe Cornish, UK/France

A ghetto action flick yet amazingly prescient about London’s long hot summer and perfect antidote to what Morrissey called “the Royal Dredding”.

Paul
Greg Mottola, USA/UK/Japan

Nick Frost and Simon Pegg come to America and find more fun and depth than ever before in our pop culture/sci-fi heritage.

Film Socialisme
Jean-Luc Godard, Switzerland/France

Visionary as ever, titled to note the passing of outmoded technology and philosophy.

Reflections:
You’d expect a major publishing boom about a film critic to be a heartening occasion. Think again: this year’s biography of Pauline Kael and a high-toned collection of her writing has, instead, revealed the sorry, fractious state of contemporary film commentary as critics bash her and her legacy. Yes, the Age of Movies has passed, as the title of Godard’s Film Socialisme slyly jests.

Kael’s way of taking movies personally as a part of a humanist tradition is no longer apparent in the current stumbling into nihilism that pervades the festival circuit and passes for contemporary film culture. Movies that sustain humane values are ignored for political fads and negativity. When Cannes crowned Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life, it was apparent that aesthetics judgment is over, too. It’s more difficult than ever to defend a personal view of cinema, as Godard surely knows. That’s why Kael’s bio has a Once Upon a Time aspect.
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domino harvey
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Re: The Armond White Thread

#879 Post by domino harvey »

A ghetto action flick yet amazingly prescient about London’s long hot summer and perfect antidote to what Morrissey called “the Royal Dredding”.
What the fuck does this even mean
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The Narrator Returns
Joined: Tue Nov 15, 2011 10:35 pm

Re: The Armond White Thread

#880 Post by The Narrator Returns »

I'm kind of shocked that I agree with many of Armond's picks.
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swo17
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Re: The Armond White Thread

#881 Post by swo17 »

domino harvey wrote:
A ghetto action flick yet amazingly prescient about London’s long hot summer and perfect antidote to what Morrissey called “the Royal Dredding”.
What the fuck does this even mean
London's long hot summer = the riots
Royal Dredding = Prince William's wedding
Attack the Block = British movie about kids fighting aliens

i.e. the three times Armond White was reminded of the existence of Britain this year
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MichaelB
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Re: The Armond White Thread

#882 Post by MichaelB »

Apparently Attack the Block only just missed a spot on Sight & Sound's Top Ten - Armond and I were by no means the only people to vote for it.

Which is rather amusing given Nothing's ranting and raving about the film earlier this year. Now that even his beloved Armond has "jumped on the bandwagon", as he put it, I wonder if he ever got round to seeing it?
Napoleon
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 10:55 am

Re: The Armond White Thread

#883 Post by Napoleon »

I'm not sure it would be in my ten best films of the year* but Armond's summary of Attack the Block is perfect. Cornish does a good job of getting inside the odd morality of the gang. It wasn't that warm this summer though!




*That is if I'd actually seen ten films released this year
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tavernier
Joined: Sat Apr 02, 2005 11:18 pm

Re: The Armond White Thread

#884 Post by tavernier »

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The Narrator Returns
Joined: Tue Nov 15, 2011 10:35 pm

Re: The Armond White Thread

#885 Post by The Narrator Returns »

At first I actually agreed with some of his choices. And then I got to Jack and Jill > The Descendants.

This guy really wants attention.
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swo17
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Re: The Armond White Thread

#886 Post by swo17 »

Your Highness, The Sitter > Midnight in Paris
I honestly don't see how any human being could think this, even if they hated Midnight in Paris. (And I consider myself a DGG apologist!)

Also, way to call out Farhadi's "Iranian didacticism."
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matrixschmatrix
Joined: Wed May 26, 2010 3:26 am

Re: The Armond White Thread

#887 Post by matrixschmatrix »

The Narrator Returns wrote:At first I actually agreed with some of his choices. And then I got to Jack and Jill > The Descendants.

This guy really wants attention.
The whole form of that list is really destructive and designed to prevent the possibility of any real discussion about anything. Like... looking at his list, you would think it impossible to enjoy both War Horse and Hugo or whatever. And that's ignoring the comparisons that make no sense in the first place (what on earth does Uncle Boonmee have to do with Paul?)
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James Mills
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Re: The Armond White Thread

#888 Post by James Mills »

MichaelB wrote:Apparently Attack the Block only just missed a spot on Sight & Sound's Top Ten - Armond and I were by no means the only people to vote for it.

Which is rather amusing given Nothing's ranting and raving about the film earlier this year. Now that even his beloved Armond has "jumped on the bandwagon", as he put it, I wonder if he ever got round to seeing it?
Hell, I think it's still my favorite film of the year (albeit I haven't really liked anything yet). Rampart is its only competition for me thus far.
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Mr Sausage
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Re: The Armond White Thread

#889 Post by Mr Sausage »

swo17 wrote:Also, way to call out Farhadi's "Iranian didacticism."
Just before he calls out Weerasethakul's "Asian obscurantism."

Armond White: catching didactic Iranians and inscrutable Asians since 2011.
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joshua
Joined: Sat Jul 11, 2009 9:11 pm

Re: The Armond White Thread

#890 Post by joshua »

I'm having a hard time thinking of a definition of nihilism that would even relate to Cronenberg's body of work, much less one that would provide him with crutch-like excuses to favor. And one-gunmanship? Sheesh, does this guy walk around with the first printing of Roget's Thesaurus or what?
Perkins Cobb
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Re: The Armond White Thread

#891 Post by Perkins Cobb »

You have to give the guy points for longevity. Hoberman's out at the Voice and White is still comparing apples and oranges at ... wait, who the fuck does he write for now?
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Professor Wagstaff
Joined: Wed Aug 25, 2010 3:27 am

Re: The Armond White Thread

#892 Post by Professor Wagstaff »

Is he still head of the NYFCC or did the organization wise up after last year's fiasco?
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tavernier
Joined: Sat Apr 02, 2005 11:18 pm

Re: The Armond White Thread

#893 Post by tavernier »

That's a rotating position, each year there's a new chairman...it was John Anderson this year.
rs98762001
Joined: Mon Jul 25, 2005 10:04 pm

Re: The Armond White Thread

#894 Post by rs98762001 »

The Narrator Returns wrote:At first I actually agreed with some of his choices.
You must be joking. I'd have thought the fact that two of his first three picks are - shocker - Spielberg movies, and particularly mediocre ones at that, quickly tells you all you need to know.
hollyharry
Joined: Sun Jun 19, 2011 7:55 pm

Re: The Armond White Thread

#895 Post by hollyharry »

"College dropout Woody Allen..."

Hilarious. Nobody tell Armond that Fitzgerald dropped out of Princeton and Hemingway didn't even go to college.
stroszeck
Joined: Wed Jun 08, 2005 2:42 am

Re: The Armond White Thread

#896 Post by stroszeck »

Once again he sure loves him some Spielberg...but honestly, being a contrarion is his whole schtick and without that he would be just another guy bitching about movies on the internet and handing out "stars".
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MichaelB
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Re: The Armond White Thread

#897 Post by MichaelB »

hollyharry wrote:"College dropout Woody Allen..."

Hilarious. Nobody tell Armond that Fitzgerald dropped out of Princeton and Hemingway didn't even go to college.
Spielberg was also a college dropout: he finally got his degree in 2002, 35 years later. (B.A. in Film Production and Electronic Arts with an option in Film/Video Production, for the record).
Volta
Joined: Sun Dec 04, 2011 11:31 pm

Re: The Armond White Thread

#898 Post by Volta »

Now, I've been familiar with Armond for a while now.... but this may well be the shittiest "list" I've ever seen! (I was not expecting a Melancholia bash AND a Tree Of Life bash in the SAME article!!) Honestly, I don't think Armond's a troll - he's just someone with an incredibly shitty taste in cinema. He's no different from any other detractors of Melancholia or Tree Of Life - Those people just aren't meant to be watching movie. I value human life, and all.... but I wouldn't be against ridding the world of people like Armond. I know I'm not saying anything that any of you don't already know, but I just have to vent. (Rex Reed should be publicly castrated [drawn and quartered??] to set an example. 8-[) It's funny that nothing Armond's done has pissed me off more than this, but......!!! (I can't even conclude with anything reasonable, so I'll just end with that transcription of a frustrated guttural sound.)

By the way, I offer the possibility not to like either of those movies; but if there's one thing you can't call von Trier and Malick, it's "pretentious" or "disingenuous."

EDIT:
Mr Sausage wrote:
swo17 wrote:Also, way to call out Farhadi's "Iranian didacticism."
Just before he calls out Weerasethakul's "Asian obscurantism."

Armond White: catching didactic Iranians and inscrutable Asians since 2011.
This cheered me up so much! Really got a laugh out of me!! \:D/.... But I'm still for setting an example.... :-|
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Duncan Hopper
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Re: The Armond White Thread

#899 Post by Duncan Hopper »

Volta wrote:Now, I've been familiar with Armond for a while now.... but this may well be the shittiest "list" I've ever seen! (I was not expecting a Melancholia bash AND a Tree Of Life bash in the SAME article!!) Honestly, I don't think Armond's a troll - he's just someone with an incredibly shitty taste in cinema. He's no different from any other detractors of Melancholia or Tree Of Life - Those people just aren't meant to be watching movie. I value human life, and all.... but I wouldn't be against ridding the world of people like Armond. I know I'm not saying anything that any of you don't already know, but I just have to vent. (Rex Reed should be publicly castrated [drawn and quartered??] to set an example. 8-[) It's funny that nothing Armond's done has pissed me off more than this, but......!!! (I can't even conclude with anything reasonable, so I'll just end with that transcription of a frustrated guttural sound.)

By the way, I offer the possibility not to like either of those movies; but if there's one thing you can't call von Trier and Malick, it's "pretentious" or "disingenuous."
I prefer White's post to this one.
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MichaelB
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Re: The Armond White Thread

#900 Post by MichaelB »

Duncan Hopper wrote:I prefer White's post to this one.
Yes, I have to agree - it's one thing being provocative (and I'm not at all sure that I wouldn't agree with one or two of his choices: I haven't seen The Artist yet, but people who really love silent cinema seem to find it insufferable), and quite another to talk about killing and/or castrating people merely for having the temerity to hold different opinions.

I know it was a "joke", but I spend a lot of time studying 20th century central/eastern European history, so you'll forgive me for not splitting my sides at the notion - in fact, only yesterday I was leafing through some early 1950s editions of the English-language The Czechoslovak Film in the BFI library, and stumbled across a fawning obituary of Stalin (who was also on the cover!).

In any case, why is it surprising that there would be a Melancholia/Tree of Life bashing "in the same article", since the article in question is about 2011 releases in toto?
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