What's Better? Umberto Eco or The Insider?

Today's semi-final features an intriguing match up. Say Michael Mann and many think "Genius, cool, hip, and surprisingly deep." Say Umberto Eco, and many people think, "confusing, dense, and impenetrable."

Then again, say Umberto Eco, and many people think, "Genius,cool, hip, cool, and surprisingly deep." Say Michael Mann and many think, "confusing, dense, and impenetrable."

So who's the real deal and who's the emperor with no clothes?

"What's Better": The Insider or Umberto Eco?

What's Better? "Living on a Thin Line" or Days of WIne and Roses?

Ah nothing like a good voting scandal to really rock the house. Malick was in the lead and even declared the winner by one exit poll, but late reports from the precincts pushed The Kinks ahead. No hanging chads here, and the Supreme Court refused to hear the case, allowing the certification to stand.

Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick had their own battles to fight...over a band of zombies. So, all due apologies to the Malick multitude. This semi-final asks:

"What's Better?": "Living on a Thin Line" or Days of Wine and Roses?

Gregory of Nyssa: The Life of Moses (Prologue)

I'm excited to be reading this book even though it is a busy time of year and I don't know how quickly I can progress.

In the prologue Gregory is making a comparison about how the measurable is precisely that because it has limits, whereas the attributes of the divine are without limit and hence cannot be said to be achieved through measurement. He says:

Just as the end of life is the beginning of death, so also stopping in the race of virtue marks the beginning of the race of evil. Thus our statement that grasping perfection with reference to virtue is impossible was not false, for it has been pointed out that what is marked off by boundaries is not virtue.

This quote is heavy and kind of deep, but the first half resonated with me especially. The whole context of this discussion provides a framework for me to undertand why it is that pursuing good and filling one's life with good can be easier or more successful than eliminating evil.

I think it was either Willard or Foster who tied our lack of understanding of the disciplines to the fear/rejection of salvation by works. We are creatures of habit, though, and sometimes the good in an activity can be extrinsic as well as intrinsic.

Many sayings or proverbs have foundations of truth in them. "Idle hands are the devil's playground." Well, no and yes. Doing nothing is better than doing evil. But it may be easier to not do evil when you are focused on doing something good (or even neutral) than when you are simply trying to avoid whatever it is you are tempted by.

What's Better? Umberto Eco or Echo and the Bunnymen?

You know, I'm a literature person. It's high time a blog battle had a literature enrant. Umberto Eco has done philosophy, literature crticism, even literature of his own. Foucault's Pendulum, The Name of the Rose, and The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana are titles that just reek culture.

Echo and the Bunnymen may have a funny name, but their talent is dead serious. "Enlighten Me" may be their highest chart topper in the U.S., though they did a ripping cover of "People are Strange" that ought to be familiar to anyone who saw the movie The Lost Boys.

So, "What's Better?": Umberto Eco or Echo and the Bunnymen?

What's Better? The Thin Red Line or "Living on a Thin Line"

Okay, so I said I learned in the last blog battle not to underestimate the power of music. (The two finalists were musical despite a majority of entrants from the world of film.) Couldn't have round two without some musical choices.

The Kinks may be better known for "Lola," and I was tempted to run a "Lola" v. Lolita match, but why pass up a chance to let you all torment me by voting on one of my favorite whipping boys?

Yes, Terence Malick enters the arena as the 800 pound gorilla/heavy favorite, fresh off a recent work (A New World...hmmm...could have matched that against the Aladdin song "A Whole New World") that was so good, even I had to grudgingly admit I liked it. The Kinks...well hard to vote against the band Pete Townsend called "much more quintessentially English." (And give him props for using "quintessentially."

So, "What's Better?": "Living on a Thin Line" or The Thin Red Line?

What's Better? Days of Wine & Roses/Night of the Living Dead?

Now here's a pair of heavy hitters. On one side there is Jack Lemmon at his peak, Lee Remick, Jack Klugman, direction by Blake Edwards, music (which one an Oscar, I think) by Henry Mancini. Social importance! Actorly moments.

On the other side, we have perhaps the best zombie film ever made. Mmmmm...zombies.

Did Todd say two things with no business being compared? Well, let's compare them..."What's Better?": Days of Wine and Roses or Night of the Living Dead?

What's Better? The Insider or The Outsiders

Well, time for another blog battle. We'll do eight items this time, so we should be done in one week. We'll see how many replies we get or if everyone is bored by this yet.

Today's match features Director Michael Mann and Russell Crowe in an Oscar nominated performance. In the opposite corner we have young stars, Oscar winning director Francis Ford Coppola, and a beloved young-adult book. So web surfers, "What's Beter?": The Insider or The Outsiders?

The Devil Wears Prada

My review of The Devil Wears Prada was recently uploaded at Jeffrey Overstreet's Looking Closer site.

Ritz Waltzes to Victory

Well, thanks to everyone who voted. If I do that again, I think I'll make it shorter (8 entries instead of 16).

In honor of the winner, here are the lyrics from Song365.com. (See hyperlink below)


Puttin' On The Ritz Lyrics

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Have you seen the well-to-do
Upon Lennox Avenue
On that famous thoroughfare
With their noses in the air

High hats and narrow collars
White spats and fifteen dollars
Spending every dime
For a wonderful time

If you're blue
And you don't know where to go to
Why don't you go where Harlem flits
Puttin' on the Ritz
Spangled Gowns upon the bevy of
High browns from down the levy
All misfits
Puttin' on the Ritz

That's where each and every lulu-belle goes
Every Thursday evening with her swell beaus
Rubbin' elbows

Come with me and we'll attend their jubilee
And see them spend
Their last two bits
Puttin' on the Ritz

------ short instrumental break ------

(Boys, look at that man puttin' on that Ritz)
(You look at him, I can't)

If you're blue
And you don't know where to go to
Why don't you go where Harlem flits
Puttin' on the Ritz
Spangled Gowns upon the bevy of
High browns from down the levy
All misfits
Puttin' on that certain Ritz

That's where each and every lulu-belle goes
Every Thursday evening with her swell beaus
Rubbin' elbows

Come with me and we'll attend their jubilee
And see them spend
Their last two bits
Puttin' on the Ritz

------ piano solo ------

Come with me and we'll attend their jubilee
And see them spend
Their last two bits
Puttin' on the Ritz

What's Best?: Learning to Crawl or Puttin' on the Ritz?

Well, if I've learned anything from this experiment it's...that I shoulda made a shorter, 8 entry tournament instead of 16 (over in a week).

But if I've learned anyhing else, it's don't underestimate the power of music, even when polling people you mostly meet on a film forum. Beating up on Buford Pusser is one thing; beating up on Natalie Portman (with hair) is something else. And I didn't think anything could stop Se7en (though the Dixie Chicks sure gave it a shot). So, for the record....

"What's the Best of the Betters?": "Puttin' on the Ritz" or Learning to Crawl?

"What's Better?" Semifinal #2; Se7en vs. Learning to Crawl

This one is hard to call. Se7en lingered in a dead-lock with the Dixie-Chicks, actually trailing in OT before a late equalizer sent it through on goal differential.

The Pretenders have been methodically dispatching of the competition, but are people really going to want to musical works in the final? That's anyone's guess.

"What's Better?": Learning to Crawl or Se7en?

P.S. And yeah, I know this isn't the album cover for Learning to Crawl, but I was getting tired of the same visual.

What's Better Semifinal: Puttin' on the Ritz v Inconvenient Truth

On paper, this looks like a mismatch. "Puttin' on the Ritz" rolls into the semifinals with the most cumulative votes of any entry, An Inconvenient Truth seems to be following the Jim Valvano mantra of "survive and advance." Still, we all know what happened when Valvano's Wolfpack took on the mighty Phi-Slamma-Jamma, don't we? I think it may take that kind of upset.

Nevertheless, for a spot in the finals, I ask:
"What's Beter?": An Inconvenient Truth or "Puttin' on the Ritz"?

What's Better? Quarterfinal #4: Penguins v Pretenders

Ah, thought I had forgotten about those pesky Penguins, did you? No, I just needed to give the Pretenders a break in between their first set and their first (and last?) encore. The Penguins may have marched past the Flight of the Phoenix, but the Pretenders crawled all over Walking Tall So who's the favorite to take the last semi-final slot? Let's find out...

What's Better?: Learning to Crawl or The March of the Penguins?

"What's Better?" Quarterfinal 3: Dixie Chicks vs. Se7en

Well here are a pair of heavy hitters. It seems like even those who begrudge the Chicks their political views grittingly admit they make some good music. And even those who find Fincher's flick full of nihilistic despair still think it professionally and artfully made.

So, "What's Better": The Dixie Chicks or Se7en?

What's Better? Quarterfinal #2: Portman v. Truth

Quarter-Final #2 pits Natalie Portman in Revenge of the Sith v. An Inconvenient Truth.
Now, granted, one is an actress who appeared in what has to be one of the twenty or so highest grossing movies of all time, but the other features a man who did receive more votes for president than the man currently residing in the oval office. So to even things up, I pulled up another publicity photo, one without those honeybun hair braids.

Okay, let's make this official. Web surfer's, "What's Better?":
Natalie Portman in Revenge of the Sith or An Inconvenient Truth?

Let Us Now Praise Dying T-Shirts...

Found a rip in my Kudzu Film Festival 2000 T-Shirt while folding laundry today.

How very sad.

The T-Shirt always strikes me as a poor way of trying to commemorate a memory you don't want to forget. It rarely lasts longer than the memory itself.

"What's Better?" Quarterfinal 1: Redick v Ritz

Today's quarterfinal match pits one winner that went through unopposed and one of the higher vote getters in the first round. Incidentally I drew all the winners out of a hat to have a totally random draw for the the second round.

So today's question is, "What's Better?": J. J. Redick or "Puttin' on the Ritz"?

What's Better: Round 1: Match 8 (Learning to Crawl v Walking Tall)

Well, for me this is a no-brainer, but I'm only batting about .500 in this tournament, so who knows the eclectic tastes of the surfer's by.

On one hand we've got (is it fair to call this) the breakout album of Chrissie Hynde & Co, featuring such memorable ditties as "Watching the Clothes Go Round" and "Middle of the Road."

On the other hand we have the original Buford Pusser biopic anchored by the peformance of Joe Don Baker in the role many think he was born to play.

So, to close out the first round, I ask, "What's Better?"
Learning to Crawl or Walking Tall?

What's Better: Round 1: Match 7 (24 v 7)

Here's a battle of two works that generally are well respected amongst people whom I otherwise consider sane.

I got about 1/2 way through 24 Season 1 and found it outlandishly silly. I watched Se7en and found it morbidly gross. Yet each work has passionate fans that insist that it elevates the genre it inhabits.

So I ask, "What's Better?"

24 or Se7en?

What's Better: Round 1: Match 6

We've had the Dixie Chicks, we've had J.J. Redick, so what else engenders strong emotions? Al Gore and the Vietnam War for two.

An Inconvenient Truth is described on IMDB as follows: A documentary on Al Gore's campaign to make the issue of global warming a recognized problem worldwide.

A Bright Shining Lie is described on the same site this way: True story of Army man John Paul Vann, whose military success provided him the fulfillment he never found in his personal life.

Like in the battle between Takin' it to the Streets and Puttin' on the Ritz, though, this one isn't just about the individual works of art. It's about whether or not what is represented by each title, conceptually, is preferable to that which is symoblized in the other.

So, I ask, "What's Better?"
An Inconvenient Truth or A Bright Shining Lie?