The great Gene Hackman retired 19 years ago at age 74. Obviously he’s a recipient of rugged genes and has taken good care of himself. (Still driving, still shuffling around town.). We all understand that fat-asses and french-fry eaters don’t last into their 90s as a rule, but Hackman is reminding us anyway. That said, I’ll be ordering a Greek salad + french fries later today. (Not kidding.)

“We can observe a clear-cut trend in the early 21st Century. Before then [strong] box-office and critical acclaim moved concurrently. But around 2005 there was a Great Divorce. Critical acclaim and box-office grew further and further apart with each passing year. 2005 is also the year when Crash came out.

“So are Best Picture winners getting worse? As far as the general population is concerned, yes. There was once a time when the industry produced Best Picture winners that also drew audiences to theatres and received rave reviews, but it appears that that time has passed.

“Audiences have lost the kind of movie designed to appeal to cinephiles and consumers alike while the Oscars have turned into a navel-gazing contest with no relevance to an average audience. Because in the wake of the Great Divorce, what’s the alternative? Giving a Best Picture Oscar to Black Adam because it made a lot of money? Or withholding a Best Picture Oscar from Tar because Uncle Rico’s never heard of it?” — posted yesterday by “By The Numbers” and Fandom Entertainment. Based on a 12.5.22 post by Daniel Parris.

I was all set to revel and luxuriate in the attitude of a nice Daniels-hating contrarian or at least a skeptic of some kind, but no…THR’s Scott Feinberg throws a chickenshit Daniels lover at me…a nerd from the short films and animation branch…just what we needed, Scott! Keep it coming!

Kathryn Bigelow‘s Zero Dark Thirty is an immensely satisfying real-world, fact-based thriller and easily one of the greatest films of the 21st Century…a touchstone that everyone has to see and re-see and think about often.

I’ve seen it a good six or seven times, and I could easily watch it again tonight with pleasure. I admire it so much that a part of me wants to purchase the 4K version, even though I know it’s not that much of a bump from the 1080p Bluray.

And I really get infuriated when I run into people who bring up the torture content as something that undermines the basic quality of the film (it doesn’t in the slightest) or who say they found it somehow boring or uninvolving.

From Todd McCarthy‘s Hollywood Reporter enthusiastic review: “Whether you call it well informed speculative history, docu-drama recreation or very stripped down suspense filmmaking, Zero Dark Thirty matches form and content to pretty terrific ends.

“And yet [pic] will be tough for some viewers to take, not only for its early scenes of torture, including water boarding but due to its denial of conventional emotionalism and non-gung ho approach to cathartic revenge-taking.

McCarthy’s suspicion is that ZDT‘s “rigorous, unsparing approach will inspire genuine enthusiasm among the serious, hardcore film crowd more than with the wider public.”

“Even though it runs more than two-and-a-half hours, Zero Dark Thirty is so pared to essentials that even politics are eliminated,” McCarthy goes on. “There’s essentially no Bush or Cheney, no Iraq War, no Obama announcing the success of the May 2, 2011 raid on Bin Laden’s in-plain-sight Pakistani compound. [And yet] the film’s power steadily and relentlessly builds over its long course, to a point that is terrifically imposing and unshakable.”

The forthcoming 2023 Telluride Film Festival will celebrate its 50th anniversary, and will run an extra day in honor of that — Thursday, 8.31 thru Monday, September 4th. And of course, the price-gouging locals are charging even more than the usual arm and a leg for habitats.

A friend who was looking to rent a three-bedroom condo reports that “it’s worse this year than ever…I wasn’t going to lay out 10 grand for four days…okay, that’s a slight exaggeration…when I was looking around the rates were from $6K at the cheapest up to $15K. $15K for four days! The cheaper stuff was up at Mountain Village.”

Telluride friendo who attends every year: “The housing thing is infuriating and happening everywhere. Price gouging is among the most horrific of sins. Weird fees, surge pricing and monopolies need to be regulated. Capitalism is fine but not as it’s currently constructed.”

Hollywood Elsewhere has always stayed at the Mountainside Inn, aka “the poor man’s Telluride flophouse.” I haven’t checked the ’23 rates, but I’m guessing it’ll be something in the vicinity of $1500 or $1600. That’s a lot for a glorified Motel 6 room that would run $110 per night in any rural part of the country.