The "Mick LaSalle is an Idiot" Thread

[Tinka Cat]

love these letters-to-the-Chon in re: Mick...

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/06/19/MVJQ186AR1.DTL

not the last one.  Ebert & LaSalle in the same breath!?  Ebert would be a great writer in any medium, he just happened to be a film buff.  Mick?  Not so much.

His writing is pretty straightforward and plain, which I appreciate, but Ebert, for example, seems like a better writer. 

I used to hate Mick's reviews.  It seemed most of what he liked I hated and vise versa.  Lately, though, I've found myself agreeing with his opinion more than before.  Perhaps it's b/c I don't see that many first release movies and I just hit an extended streak that gibes with his opinions, maybe there's something in the building (we work in the same building -- although he also works in screening rooms more than I me, dangit.).  Maybe my opinions have been colored by reading his opinions before I see he movie, which is why I generally avoid reviews before I see a movie.   I usually seek them out afterwards.  But if I see something like the Critical Consensus, I will  usually scan it, and notice esp what's at top and bottom, and I do think those aggregated critics' ratings do affect my choices.

Mick's area of expertise is early cinema, specifically the pre-code era -- I believe he's written books on that subject.  Not many pre-code movies being released these days though --    

[RGMike]

Mick sez he feels sorry for Mark Sanford, but the comment-posters (so far) are having none of it...

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/mlasalle/detail?entry_id=42501&o=2#commentslistpos

[RGMike]

So of course, Mr "I don't know anything about music but I'm happy to give my opinion anyway" had to whine about Woodstock.  The comments section is priceless, as usual.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/mlasalle/detail?entry_id=45196&o=1

[urth]

Too bad Mick wasn't in Union Square a couple days ago. He might have seen this and shot himself in anguish:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHakN-JlBa8

[Tinka Cat]

Too bad Mick wasn't in Union Square a couple days ago. He might have seen this and shot himself in anguish:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHakN-JlBa8

pretty cool.  Wolfgang's Vault -- who sponsored it and filmed it with several HD cameras -- called it a "flash mob" action, but since it was obviously rehearsed shouldn't it be called something different?   aren't Flash Mobs more spontaneous?   

[urth]

Too bad Mick wasn't in Union Square a couple days ago. He might have seen this and shot himself in anguish:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHakN-JlBa8

pretty cool.  Wolfgang's Vault -- who sponsored it and filmed it with several HD cameras -- called it a "flash mob" action, but since it was obviously rehearsed shouldn't it be called something different?   aren't Flash Mobs more spontaneous?   

I was kinda thinking the same thing--that a flash mob is more participatory than it is a performance, which this certainly was. Like the word "blog," it seems like the term has been co-opted to mean something entirely different than its original intent.

[RGMike]

Leave it to our Mick to go with this oh-so-classy opening sentence to his review of a new-to-DVD Mama Cass special:

"Over the past few years, I've come to appreciate Cass Elliot and move beyond the ham-sandwich urban legend to admire the unique place she occupied, for a brief time, in our popular culture...."

The special itself sounds pretty great.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/08/30/PKDC19ATS3.DTL

[darryl]

Too bad Mick wasn't in Union Square a couple days ago. He might have seen this and shot himself in anguish:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHakN-JlBa8

pretty cool.  Wolfgang's Vault -- who sponsored it and filmed it with several HD cameras -- called it a "flash mob" action, but since it was obviously rehearsed shouldn't it be called something different?   aren't Flash Mobs more spontaneous?   

I was kinda thinking the same thing--that a flash mob is more participatory than it is a performance, which this certainly was. Like the word "blog," it seems like the term has been co-opted to mean something entirely different than its original intent.

Yeah, I too object to it being called a Flash Mob, but PR folks love latching onto that kind of shit.

It's much closer to ImprovEverywhere's stuff, specifically the Food Court Musical:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkYZ6rbPU2M

Which is not to say it wasn't also great.

[Tinka Cat]

Too bad Mick wasn't in Union Square a couple days ago. He might have seen this and shot himself in anguish:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHakN-JlBa8

pretty cool.  Wolfgang's Vault -- who sponsored it and filmed it with several HD cameras -- called it a "flash mob" action, but since it was obviously rehearsed shouldn't it be called something different?   aren't Flash Mobs more spontaneous?   

I was kinda thinking the same thing--that a flash mob is more participatory than it is a performance, which this certainly was. Like the word "blog," it seems like the term has been co-opted to mean something entirely different than its original intent.

Yeah, I too object to it being called a Flash Mob, but PR folks love latching onto that kind of shit.

It's much closer to ImprovEverywhere's stuff, specifically the Food Court Musical:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkYZ6rbPU2M

Which is not to say it wasn't also great.

Yeah, those are great.  I love musicals!  But here the name "ImprovEverywhere" is a misnomer:  They rehearse all those scenes.  If any "civilian" ever jumped in and tried to sing along or "assume a role" in the midst of their theater sports they'd be flummoxed.

[darryl]

Too bad Mick wasn't in Union Square a couple days ago. He might have seen this and shot himself in anguish:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHakN-JlBa8

pretty cool.  Wolfgang's Vault -- who sponsored it and filmed it with several HD cameras -- called it a "flash mob" action, but since it was obviously rehearsed shouldn't it be called something different?   aren't Flash Mobs more spontaneous?   

I was kinda thinking the same thing--that a flash mob is more participatory than it is a performance, which this certainly was. Like the word "blog," it seems like the term has been co-opted to mean something entirely different than its original intent.

Yeah, I too object to it being called a Flash Mob, but PR folks love latching onto that kind of shit.

It's much closer to ImprovEverywhere's stuff, specifically the Food Court Musical:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkYZ6rbPU2M

Which is not to say it wasn't also great.

Yeah, those are great.  I love musicals!  But here the name "ImprovEverywhere" is a misnomer:  They rehearse all those scenes.  If any "civilian" ever jumped in and tried to sing along or "assume a role" in the midst of their theater sports they'd be flummoxed.

Fair point about "Improv", however they have done other stunts involving civilians, including:

- Best Gig Ever
- Surprise Wedding Recption
- McDonald's Bathroom Attendant

They're also the mad geniuses behind the MP3 experiments.  Check 'em out:

http://improveverywhere.com/

[RGMike]

Mick's got a blog post about old movies (shocker!) and how he discovered/became obsessed with Greta Garbo when he was 20.  And at one point he says:

"I made friends over the phone with the guy who programmed the Late, Late Show in NY, and he either started running one or two Garbo movies just for me every month or it was one heck of a coincidence"

BWAHAHAHA! I couldn't resist making this comment:

"Er, dude, that guy was gay and probably assumed you were too -- not too many 20-year-old straight guys in 1980 were obsessed with Greta Garbo. ROTFL!"

[Tinka Cat]

Mick's got a blog post about old movies (shocker!) and how he discovered/became obsessed with Greta Garbo when he was 20.  And at one point he says:

"I made friends over the phone with the guy who programmed the Late, Late Show in NY, and he either started running one or two Garbo movies just for me every month or it was one heck of a coincidence"

BWAHAHAHA! I couldn't resist making this comment:

"Er, dude, that guy was gay and probably assumed you were too -- not too many 20-year-old straight guys in 1980 were obsessed with Greta Garbo. ROTFL!"

good one.  Mike, you need some sort of awesome avatar for your SFGate username!

[RGMike]

missed this post on Friday: Mick prefers the No Doubt cover of "It's My Life" to the Talk talk original. Safe to say he's in the minority on that one.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/mlasalle/detail?blogid=38&entry_id=50227

[Tinka Cat]

missed this post on Friday: Mick prefers the No Doubt cover of "It's My Life" to the Talk talk original. Safe to say he's in the minority on that one.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/mlasalle/detail?blogid=38&entry_id=50227

Mick has gone on record as saying he usually prefers more youthful pop performers, as he thinks the energy and vibrancy they bring are better suited to what many a pop song is trying to say.  I'm mind reading here, of course, but I think that explains his preference for No Doubt over Talk Talk.  Plus Gwen is sexier that the Talk Talk dude.

[Lightnin' Rod]

missed this post on Friday: Mick prefers the No Doubt cover of "It's My Life" to the Talk talk original. Safe to say he's in the minority on that one.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/mlasalle/detail?blogid=38&entry_id=50227

Mick has gone on record as saying he usually prefers more youthful pop performers, as he thinks the energy and vibrancy they bring are better suited to what many a pop song is trying to say.  I'm mind reading here, of course, but I think that explains his preference for No Doubt over Talk Talk.  Plus Gwen is sexier that the Talk Talk dude.

If you got a thing for Gwen Stefani, it definitely improves the song.  What's not to like?

ETA:  Of course, no amount of sex appeal is going to make me prefer Madonna's "American Pie" over Don McClean's... wait, I'm not sure I phrased that right.