Comments by user: joshb
You're right that there were rock elements on Shooter's past albums (which I refer to as "outlaw country and Southern rock"), but nothing compared to what he does here. And there's a big difference between a song like "God Bless Alabama," which is country laced with a few electronic elements, and most of the rest of the album, which is full-on rock/industrial (and a pretty poor example of it).
But that's all a matter of opinion. One thing that's not is who wrote the words that King says. That all comes from Shooter. As King told the L.A. Times: "He sent me a draft, and it was just about perfect. I altered a few things and expanded some of it, but he knew exactly what he wanted." (http://articles.latimes.com/2010/feb/27/...)
I have reviewed Up:
http://www.lasvegasweekly.com/news/2009/...
Not my favorite Pixar movie, but certainly not a waste of money, either.
I certainly don't approve of inciting people to violence (or a lot of the things Anselmo has said in the past), but to dismiss an entire genre of music as "ugly" is completely ignorant.
I was commenting more on Strait's age than on his gender, and I didn't mean it as a slight against Taylor Swift or Carrie Underwood, both of whom I like. I'd love to hear more women on country radio, whatever their age.
The very first sentence of the review notes that the movie is a work in progress, and the next sentence describes the elements that are still unfinished, so it's not like we are being disingenuous about the movie's status. Furthermore, this is a mixed review that is far from "trashing" the movie.
We've reviewed works in progress at CineVegas in the past; if you're putting your movie out for public consumption at an event attended by loads of journalists, I think you have to be prepared for people to write about it. If you don't want the movie seen and discussed, then don't show it until you're ready.
Thank you, bordersedge, for embodying every possible cliched attack on film criticism. Contrary to your assertion, I have in fact been involved in the production of a handful of short films, one of which played the Dam Short Film Festival in 2006. I know very well the amount of hard work that goes in to producing even the most awful movies, which is why I am even more impressed when local filmmakers like Tom Barndt and the Thompson brothers (who've been showcased at DSFFs past) turn out high-quality work with limited resources.
It's not the job of film critics to pat people on the back for simply completing movies; I take for granted that filmmakers have worked hard and put their best efforts on the screen, and I respect them enough to judge their movies on the merits of what I see, not what happened behind the scenes. You say that "Not every Nevada filmmaker has the ability nor the opportunity to create a polished work of art," but if these filmmakers have neither ability nor opportunity, then what, exactly, is deserving of praise? Merely the fact that they showed up?
I would love nothing more than to proclaim the greatness of local film, and I go into every local showcase at the DSFF or CineVegas, or every local feature I see on DVD, with the hope of high quality. All I have to offer as a critic is my honest assessment, which I hope filmmakers can respect just as I respect the efforts they put into their work.
Hey, being a critic is great, no matter how many crappy movies I have to sit through. That doesn't mean I have to pretend to like those movies, though.