Feel free to disagree.
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'hoop dreams"
"marley & me"
popular posts / most comments
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fran to bud: "shut up and deal"
a fan's notes by joe baltake devoted to movies neglected and mostly misunderstood
hits per page view ~ 2,000,000
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about this site, a collection of movie-fed daydreams...
Life is simply one grand excuse to watch movies and then sit around and think about them. While my education was honed by reviewing films for Gannett, Tribune, McClatchy, The News Corporation and Knight-Ridder, my personality - or rather my taste - was shaped largely in my old neighborhood movie theater and on my parents' living room floor. Watching movies. And falling in love with the unacclaimed. Passionately.
(the passionate moviegoer ® is a registered trademark)
(the passionate moviegoer ® is a registered trademark)
welcome
quote unquote
"Blog looks fabulous, just what the net needs: less about Michael Mann, more about Delbert Mann!"
--dave kehr/reports from the lost continent of cinephilia
"There is no better evidence of Joe's passion than his subject matter, defending and remembering the more obscure titles from cinematic history. No matter how much you think you might know about movies, odds are you will learn of new ones if you check out Joe's site."
--edward copeland/ on film
"Joe ... devotes himself to those myriad neglected figures and movies seemingly left by the roadside in our societal rush toward cultural amnesia. Whether he is trying to find the source of Jack Lemmon's quicksilver appeal or understand Vincente Minnelli's valedictory films or express just why we miss Jack Carson, Joe is consistently thoughtful and knowledgeable without being ponderous."
--moira finnie/skeins of thought
"The title The Passionate Moviegoer is not an exaggeration. Joe is the real deal, covering films that have been overlooked for far too long."
--roger ebert
"Philly lives, Joe! Love your blog!"
--dave kehr/reports from the lost continent of cinephilia
"There is no better evidence of Joe's passion than his subject matter, defending and remembering the more obscure titles from cinematic history. No matter how much you think you might know about movies, odds are you will learn of new ones if you check out Joe's site."
--edward copeland/ on film
"Joe ... devotes himself to those myriad neglected figures and movies seemingly left by the roadside in our societal rush toward cultural amnesia. Whether he is trying to find the source of Jack Lemmon's quicksilver appeal or understand Vincente Minnelli's valedictory films or express just why we miss Jack Carson, Joe is consistently thoughtful and knowledgeable without being ponderous."
--moira finnie/skeins of thought
"The title The Passionate Moviegoer is not an exaggeration. Joe is the real deal, covering films that have been overlooked for far too long."
--roger ebert
"Philly lives, Joe! Love your blog!"
--joe dante/trailers from hell
"Joe's blog is notable for his crisp, stylish writing and is dedication to promoting obscure and lesser-seen films."
*********Awards**********
'hoop dreams"
~ joe baltake accommodation: first place for commentary / Society of Professional Journalists / 1995
“For his strength as a storyteller, pulling powerful imagery with smooth transitions into a tapestry of opinion, observation and dialogue, his voice resonating throughout his reviews."
"marley & me"
~joe baltake accommodation: performing animal welfare society ( PAWS) / 1995
"for his sensitive coverage of animal use in films in a column on the mistreatment of animals, both simulated and real, on screen."
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popular posts / most comments
- jennifer aniston / 79 comments
- gypsy / 54 comments
- at long last love / 54 comments
- melancholia / 47 comments
- black girl / 38 comments
- nineteen-sixty-two / 38 comments
- llewyn davis / 36 comments
- les miz / 36 comments
- an education / 36 comments
- not a major motion picture / 32 comments
- isadora / 31 comments
- how to marry a millionaire / 30 comments
- thoroughly modern millie / 30 comments
"north by northwest"
and eight decades later...
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quote unquote
- jean cocteau said of film, "Etonnez-moi!" ("Astonish me!")
passion posts / joe's favorites
- ashby's the landlord
- cinema obscura
- claire & patrick & fred & ginger
- daryl chin
- diary of a mad housewife
- greg kinnear
- guard brothers' SPDR spot
- huston's annie
- indelible moments
- les critiques de cinéma: anton, addison et les autres
- lonergan's margaret
- marley & me
- pierce brosnan
- schlesinger's biffle & shooster
- stephanie von buchau
- wilder's "the apartment" / the film that defines me
quote unquote
- henry miller said, "This film is alive and it speaks to me."
each and every single post / the complete passion archive
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2007
(91)
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December
(13)
- the movie year. 2007. the top twelve
- the movie year. 2007. a baker's dozen
- the movie year. 2007. acting up
- overrated
- Wanted - Film Advocates
- The Secret to Making a Successful Film Musical
- Tim Burton and Stephen Sondheim's "Sweeney Todd"
- Joe Wright's "Atonement"
- Jake Kasdan's "Walk Hard - The Dewey Cox Story"
- Cheers to Dave
- Tamara Jenkins’ "The Savages"
- "I Am Legend"/"Juno"/"The Great Debaters"
- Alert! "At Long Last Love" and "The Victors" sigh...
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December
(13)
quote unquote
- e.l. doctorow said, "I like movies, but I hate the culture of movies..."
cinéssentials
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pauline kael said, “Great movies are rarely perfect movies”
book archive
joe on amazon
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dvd archive/commentary
joe's bio
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Followers
Who? What? When? Where? Why? How? Question for Joe? post it as an essay comment
fade out
fran to bud: "shut up and deal"
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copyright © 2006-2020 joe baltake - all rights reserved
5 comments:
Fascinating list!
"Norbit" and ""There Will Be Blood" on the same list? I'm loviing it.
I think "Southland Tales" rocks. Thanks for acknowledging it.
Of your list, I've seen Atonement, Michael Clayton, Death Proof, Zodiac, No Country for Old Men, Sweeney Todd, Norbit and Ratatouille. Of those, all but Norbit will likely make my own best list.
As much as I wanted to give Norbit the benefit of the doubt after your defense of it (I'm a big Tashlin fan, too), I simply loathed it. And not just because I didn't think it was funny. As Sherman Klump in The Nutty Professor, Eddie Murphy gave an exceptional performance as an overweight man who, though the butt of many jokes, was treated sympathetically. But his characterization of Rasputia in Norbit is so depressingly insensitive, it's hard to believe it's the work of the same man. In terms of the story, Rasputia need only be vile on the inside. But it would take great writing to make such a character funny, so bring in the fat suit!
Unfortunately, comedians know they can insult and demean the overweight and rarely catch the same kind of flak they'd get for jokes about race or disability. As you may have surmised, I have some friends who struggle with major weight problems, and it's honestly hard for me to see how anyone who calls at least one overweight person a friend could find anything amusing about this film.
Then again, I've certainly laughed my ass off at plenty of "politically incorrect" humor, and I do believe everything is fair game in comedy. But it comes with risks, and Murphy and company simply lost me with this one.
jbryant--
Comedy is strictly personal. Frankly, I surprised myself when I liked/enjoyed "Norbit." I saw it begrudgingly at the end of its run and, well, loved it, unapologetically so. I disagree with you on the depiction of Rasputia which, yes, is insensitive and even mean-spirited but also bracingly brave and, for me, very, very funny. I'm not only tired of political correctness, which has made Hollywood wishy-washy, but especially annoyed by selective political correctness. Yes, Judd Aapatow, for some reason, gets a waiver to do anything he wants on screen, no matter how juvenile, sexist or unfunny, and he's applauded by even the most discerning critics, while other less beloved filmmakers have to watch their step. Jeez!
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