comment #1

SpinDozer says ...

clap, clap

comment #2

Jason says ...

I lean pretty far to the left but I still love Jimmy Stewart, John Wayne, and even Ward Bond, who was a rabid anti-communist witch hunter.

You might say that I would feel differently if they were contemporary stars, but no; I like Kelsey Grammer, Ron Silver, Bruce Willis. Even Jon Voight. Nothing's going to make me forget how good he was in Midnight Cowboy or Deliverance.

Dirty Harry can put a sock in it.

comment #3

Deathtongue_Groupie says ...

It's looking more and more like there will be some giant surprise upsets in the South in the election. Not only Obama, but Senate races that should have been cake walks for the GOP are within danger zone.

Meanwhile, polls show the public thinks the best solutions for the health care, economic and Iraq issues are to be found in the Dem party (yesterday's CBS/NYT poll). Those "Dirty Harry" base types are shrinking away.

I've said this for years - George Bush was the best thing that happened to the Country and the Dems. He has single-handedly so damaged the Republican Party that the Dems might be able to finally drown it in the bathtub.

comment #4

gruver1 says ...

Nobody loves Jon Voight's performances like I do. I can skate figure-eights around any right-wing Voight defender in this regard. I can drink them under the table with one hand tied behind my back. I worship Jimmy Stewart (especially in his tough period after It's A Wonderful Life), I love John Wayne in North to Alaska like an uncle, I loved Ron Silver in Speed-the-Plow on B'way and in Reversal of Fortune, and Bruce Willis has always been cool in my book. I even like friggin' Adolphe Menjou in Paths of Glory.

comment #5

charles says ...

I'm sorry, I actually appreciate your site, but this post was ridiculous. You are a straight white male from New England who now splits his time between New York, California and Europe and has the dream job of watching movies, interviewing actors and writing about film. These people don't have anything to do with your life and if push comes to shove, you know they wouldn't touch *you*. You have the luxury of fantasizing about being persecuted by the 'red state horde' without ever knowing how it feels to actually be threatened by them-try being a racial minority, gay, a woman (three groups you have occassionally dissed on here IMO) an immigrant, or just plain poor in the face of these people.

And instead of trashing them, you should turn off the computer one weekend and go canvass for Obama in either Nevada or Pennsylvania, or phone bank for him. Trashing people who don't agree with you is not actually *doing* something about stopping them from taking power yet again (which could happen, this election will be close) and driving this country deeper into the ditch.

comment #6

gruver1 says ...

Wells to Charles: Are you saying there's no such thing as a rabid-red element? That's all I was talking about. A minority group these days, thank fortune, but you can't say they don't exist. I'm not trashing people who don't agree with me. I'm trashing the Incorrigible Ugly Hammers. What's so bad about that?

comment #7

NotImpressedYet says ...

I think canvassing in purple territory could be a real character building exercise for Mr. Wells, and would definitely provide some hilarious material for the blog...

comment #8

Michael says ...

I'm a conservative, but I love movies (or more broadly, art) more than I love politics. Actually I don't love politics at all, but I digress.

There is no actor out there whose politics I wouldn't look past if he gave me the sheer joy I get from watching a good film. The example I use a lot is Tim Robbins...I find his politics somewhat laughable, and almost unserious. But he was Andy Dufresne. Which, to me, closes the book on Tim Robbins. I could go on and on, but there is little more important to me culturally than experiencing a work or art.

comment #9

Michael says ...

*of*

comment #10

frankbooth says ...

Way to not address Charles's point about canvassing/phone banking.

(pause)

You know, now that I think about it, that might be a VERY bad idea.

"Listen to me, you mouth-breathing, low-thread count red-state gorilla, you don't wanna vote for McCain, and here's why..."

Stick to the blog.

comment #11

TheJERMSguy says ...

Funny responses here.

I enjoy movies, politics, sports, but this election season has made me sad. Election years are the years the bigots come out and accuse others of bigotry. It's the year the Machiavellian "campaign managers" take over history. I like Obama and Biden and McCain and Palin as people. I can't believe there are Obama supporters wearing "Palin is a c**t" shirts at rallies in PA.

America isn't as divided as Fox News and MSNBC and the entrenched Congress want you to believe. Posts like this don't necessarily help. I think the best thing about McCain winning would be the morning-after look on Keith Olbermann's face.

Congress. 9% approval, 90+% incumbent reelection. You watch. Anyway...

I can't think off-hand of a celeb whose political views have made me not watch them anymore. (Or religious, as I think about it... Still love T Cruise in movies, even if I don't want to see him interviewed.)

What percentage of this country do you believe is rabid-red? Do you hate everyone that votes for McCain? I mean he's still going to get at least 45% of the popular vote, so do you hate 45% of the country, or do you perceive as more like 20%?

The Obamacan is the new Reagan Democrat.

comment #12

LexG says ...

Jeff/Gruver, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for acknowledging that article.

Dirty Harry's site is appalling and that article had me seeing red. That stretch about "Atonement" suckering in the heartland bumpkins with a swooning epic then giving them -- GASP!!!! -- foul language! Who ARE these people?

That site is NOT a site for film lovers. It's a site for limp-dick, petty douchebag DIRTY HARRY to air his belligerant, didactic, joyless political opinions, which mostly consist of raking over the coals any actor that votes Dem, or any film that isn't a soaring, patriotic tribute to the joys of Jesus, the troops, apple pie, football, and Reagan.

His regular commentors are all like-minded neocon sycophants who like to take actors to task for not being MANLY enough -- as if DIRTY HARRY himself is some font of testosterone.

There's a real ugly, homophobic hint to all their cutting barbs. And at Libertas, Bitch Harry, who cannot take a dissenting opinion, WOULD ACTIVELY BUTT INTO POSTS AFTER THE FACT and insert his own commentary.

At DHP, he just deletes or bans whatever he doesn't agree with.

All I know is if he's married, that dude's wife must get soooooooo sick of his fucking old-school, men-first, I'm-a-Cowboy sexist patriarchal BULLSHIT.

Dirty Harry (the blog critic, not Clint of course) is a WORLD-CLASS humorless hardon.

comment #13

LexG says ...

Oh, and it cracks me up how BITCH HARRY never says "Jon Voight," but rather "The Mighty Jon Voight," always accompanied by a picture of the actor toting a shotgun in "Transformers."

THE MIGHTY JON VOIGHT. I think when referring to this failed screenwriter prick, I will always preface him as "THE BITCH-ASS DIRTY HARRY."

(Can you tell that rod used to give me shit at Libertas? And I only went there because Govindinidnidnnidininiddini Murty is the Hotness.)

comment #14

Rich S. says ...

I thought the point of the Stalinist Purge was to get rid of folks like Dirty Harry. So why the heck are you linking to his blog?

You miss the guy, don't you? Or do you miss the spirited debate that used to go on 'round these parts (instead of the echo chamber we get nowadays)?

Instead of linking to the blog and saying, "look what a douche this guy is! Discuss!" why don't you just rescind the purge?

Come back, rightie knuckle-dragging mouth-breathers. All is forgiven.

comment #15

D.Z. says ...

http://crooksandliars.com/logan-murphy/christopher-buckley-resigns-national-
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=12379
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/los_angeles_metro/la-fi-econpoll15-2008oct15,0,4856761.story?track=rss

charles: "These people don't have anything to do with your life"

They have everything to do with the kind of brainwashing of the masses which led us voting for a guy who flooded New Orleans and inciting WWIII with Iran. And if his children get drafted after a hypothetical McCain win, those jokers have everything to do with his life.

comment #16

D.Z. says ...

Sorry, I meant "voting".

comment #17

D.Z. says ...

http://crooksandliars.com/silentpatriot/snap-polls-obama-wins-cbscnn-indepen

comment #18

frankbooth says ...

Lex, you deserve what you get if you go to those sites.

I had totally, happily forgotten Harry. Thanks for nothing, guys.

Rich S.: speak for yourself. If you miss that crowd, you know where to find them.

comment #19

Rich S. says ...

I don't miss "that crowd," per se. I miss honest debate, which has become more-or-less nonexistent since the purge.

Most of all, I miss in-depth discussions about the type of MOVIE topics Jeffrey used to routinely discuss. A lot of the guys Jeffrey ran off know a heck of a lot more about film than some of the people that stayed or showed up for the lefty ego stroke.

Once the election is over, and Obama wins, this site is going to be very dull, if it can continue to exist at all. What's Jeffrey going to do then? "Did you see that appropriations bill Congress passed yesterday? Obama really put the cherry on top with the infrastructure provisions." Yeah, that's going to push up the post count.

Most of all, my comment was intended to point out that I think Jeffrey misses these guys and recognizes his mistake. Since he ran them off, they can't post any more to stir up discussion. So he has to manufacture it by linking to their blogs. We're up to 19 comments now. How many would it have been if Dirty Harry himself had been involved in the discussion? 75? 90?

comment #20

Howlingman says ...

I was never a fan of Jeff's Stalinist purge for those very reasons, Rich -- Sobchak et al added flavor to the heated discussions and debates -- and despite the politics of the individuals posting, it was evident they all LOVED movies.

If DH and the rest were still around you can bet there'd be more than 20 comments here -- but when they were around, routinely the articles with the most feedback were the ones about movies, not politics.

comment #21

Pelham123 says ...

If nothing else (& this is mighty indeed), if Obama wins the election, it will stop, dead in its tracks, the diseased spread of the radical far right wing across America.

comment #22

Griff says ...

"Unclean! Unclean!"

(just wanted to let the faithful know that one of the rabid was among them).

However, in all seriousness, in the spirit of honest inquiry, I ask of Jeff and the rest: what values do you hold dear? Can you articulate them, please?

I swear I left my troll outfit at home, and I am sincerely interested in knowing what is important to the passionate readers and writers on this site.

With all due respect, thanks for taking the time.

comment #23

Joshua Mooney says ...

Oh, thank Christ! For a minute there, Jeff, I thought you meant THE "Dirty Harry."

[Doctor: Sure, Harry. We can save the leg.
[takes out some scissors]
Harry Callahan: What are you going to do with those?
Doctor: Going to cut your pants off.
Harry Callahan: No. I'll take them off.
Doctor: It'll hurt.
Harry Callahan: $29.50, let it hurt. ]

Anyway, Griff, in answer to your question, I CAN articulate my values, as I've spent some 40 years trying to live them on a daily basis, and often failing. The ability to admit my failings honestly was not one of my original values, alas, but I learned its importance the hard way. I won't delve into my values at length here, because no one wants to hear them, but some are from the Bible-- both Old and New Testaments. Others are from elsewhere. Pretty basic stuff, really.

comment #24

LexG says ...

The "Dirty Harry" gang "loves movies"?

I don't think so. Check his blog. None of the regular commenters there appear to go to movies. DH reviews them according to their adherence to his political lines, and is offended by everything. Hates just about everything. Well, except, you know, for "American Carol."

EVERYTHING is part of the left-wing Hollywood attack on his morals and the heartland. He warns his reader away from 99% of what he reviews, and the extent of his comments section is "YEE-HAW, DH, THANKS FER TAKIN THAT THERE BULLET, THE HUBBY AND I AIN'T SEEN A MOVIE SINCE TITANIC BECAUSE WERE SICK O' THE LIBERALS MOCKIN' OUR RIGHT TO POP OUT A NEW KID E'RY NINE MONTHS!

GOD BLESS FOOTBALL, YEEEEEEEEHAW!"

DH is a huge fucking tool.

comment #25

frankbooth says ...

Gotta concur with Lex.

Right-wing guys who like movies: Mgmax, Massey....uh....maybe one or two others, but I they don't come to mind.

Massey's still here; Mgmax will probably turn up after the election. And once the threat of McCain/Palin is gone, we can all go about our business and go back to film.

comment #26

Howlingman says ...

Massey, yes, Mgmax, yes, I recall Sobchak also -- DH was and is a special case (that's Special Olympic, not special "unique").

comment #27

janee says ...

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