comment #1

NDH says ...

Such people are better off sticking with mediocre fare, like Deception or What Happens in Vegas. You can't force a brain upon the masses. If this were possible, The Assassination of Jesse James would've been a smash hit last year. Why do I get the feeling that Che will be similarly discarded? Jeff, I was curious about the style and tone of the film. What other biopic, if any, might you equate it with in this regard?

comment #2

Josh Massey says ...

If Che is half the film Jesse James is, I'll eat my own thumbs.

comment #3

Kristopher Tapley says ...

I think the real issue of importance here is that no one even took a second to breathe before offering an opinion on the matter, including you, Jeff. Granted, you get off easier, because you tossed out a one-off and, I expect, are planning a lengthier piece for later. But a lot of these opinions flew out of the gate without pause, and that's somewhat treacherous, I think.

comment #4

JHRussell says ...

Jeff, I agree completely with your point, but I am pretty certain I could reel off a list of movies that I feel as passionately about yet you derided...I don't keep track of all your "likes and dislikes" but I do know that I have read many negative things on this site about about a couple of my favorite movies from last year, including LARS AND THE REAL GIRL and JUNO, for instance..

Conversely, you and others raved about ZODIAC but I found it tedious and not very compelling cinema. Another one that I thought was dreadful: GONE BABY GONE.

Not sure my point other than to say "to each his own" but maybe the bigger point reveals why film critics are worth less than a dime a dozen these days...

comment #5

Indeed says ...

I think that, just maybe, it says that different people have different tastes.

Of course, this is just conjecture.

comment #6

Rich S. says ...

Art is personal to the viewer. One man's trash is another man's treasure.

There are people who try to force their views of what is acceptable and preferable upon the masses. They are called advertising men.

comment #7

jackfly11 says ...

Agreed Rich S.

I adored Speed Racer. I'm not a moron, buffoon or jack-ass.

comment #8

JHRussell says ...

I agree with Kris Tapley's comments above - there is such a rush to be "first" in this business that reviewers don't take the time to reflect or to let the movie soak in...

A personal example: I know that for me, NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN required a second viewing to fully appreciate it - the themes, etc. The first time I saw it, all I could see was the Bardem's brilliant performance. Second screening, I saw the rest of the brilliant movie.

comment #9

Edward says ...

Good points JH. Sometimes you do have to let a film simmer inside you before you can truely respond. Our society is so geared to respond instantly, that sometimes the instant response isn't the true response. Of course there a some films that on first viewing you don't get at all. When I first saw "A Clockwork Orange" I despised it. I saw it again a couple weeks later and loved it.

comment #10

Dave Polands Gut says ...

Going to be a film that delivers strong reactions.

But makes about 3 dollars.

comment #11

p.Vice says ...

Jeff, what you just typed here is completely negated by your dismissal of the Dardennes film because you just didn't like the main character. You can't stake yourself as a bastion of independent thinking when you're stuck in the shallow end.

comment #12

Josh Massey says ...

Here's a fun game. In every article or post about Che, replace its title with The Passion of the Christ and pretend you're reading something written by a far-right religious conservative. The mindset is strikingly similar.

comment #13

Josh Massey says ...

The iPhone plays hell on HTML.

comment #14

candidate says ...

It's true -- that last things I want to see in a film are emotional moments or striking plot turns!

comment #15

Richardson says ...

"Jeff, I agree completely with your point, but I am pretty certain I could reel off a list of movies that I feel as passionately about yet you derided"

The last time I remember Jeff being this passionate about a movie that every other critic completely dismissed, it was 'Miami Vice'. He used pretty much the same language to describe people's reaction to that (except that, obviously, it did have a lot of "movie moments"); ie, "Why don't people accept that this is the movie exactly as is?"

I'm hoping Jeff is a little more on the ball on this one, because 'Miami Vice' is very much of a terrible movie.

comment #16

Richardson says ...

Sorry, that's not entirely fair to 'Che'; it hasn't been widely seen enough to yet be dismissed by all the critics, but with Variety sounding its guns, I'm guessing most critics will follow suit blindly and go into the screenings pre-determined to dislike it. [Just as Jeff was talking before he saw it about how much he was sure he'd like it.]

comment #17

televisiontears says ...

The reviews, while reactionary, officially pushed me into the "can't wait" camp. McCarthy's review is particularly revealing. He seems to lament Soderbergh for denying him tired biopic convention. That excites me to no end.

For a life as mythologized as Guevara's, is there really a need to further, perhaps artificially dramatize? It seems the most logical, most interesting road to take is stripping the man of the mystical grandeur often attributed to him.

Also, when's the last time a quasi-mainstream American filmmaker had the gaul to craft a four-plus hour story? Kill Bill and Lord of the Rings don't count.

comment #18

Bob Violence says ...

something intensely scrupulous and honest and, as far as it goes, as "real" as it gets'?

So it's a four-hour film about an unreconstructed Stalinist? No wonder people are calling it "uncommercial," that'll freak the hell out of the "hasta la victoria siempre” crowd.