SDG here. Argh. My hosting provider, BlueHost.com, is currentlyhas been having technical difficulties, and Decent Films has been down all daymorning, with no immediate end in sight.
FWIW, I’ll be doing Catholic Answers Live tonight at 4pm Pacific / 7pm Eastern (the second hour slot). Up for discussion: Miracle at St. Anna, The Lucky Ones, Igor, Burn After Reading, The Godfather trilogy (newly restored editions available this week on DVD and Blu‑Ray) and more.
UPDATE: Just in time! Decent Films is back up and running. An update or two was lost since the last backup, but with the help of Google cache I was able to pull the missing content out of the ether and all should be well with the world.
Stuff to check out since my last JA.o Decent Films update:
- My most recent Decent Films Mail column covers some history on the Legion of Decency and American Catholic film criticism; there are also a couple of Dark Knight emails (one from Sandra Miesel) and one on The Last Temptation of Christ.
- The previous Decent Films Mail column is pretty interesting too: different perspectives on The Wicker Man, more Dark Knight, a critique of Pixar including WALL*E and Finding Nemo, and a query about ClearPlay technology, among others.
- Burn After Reading, the Coen brothers’ latest.
- Short takes of movies on DVD: Mr. Bean’s Holiday and Bee Movie.
Enjoy! CA Live coming up soon…
You mean they’re making me buy the Godfather again?!!!
These studios have no shame.
Dude. You haven’t bought The Godfather yet. Trust me. :‑)
I take it the anti-Catholic “Godfather III” is included in the set?
That’s right, but you can buy them individually too.
I am likely the last person left on the planet who hasn’t seen any of the Godfather movies…
As a matter of fact, you are. I was actually second-to-last myself until only last year or so (!), but now that I’ve seen them too, you’re pretty much alone.
OTOH, I still have not seen Raging Bull or Pulp Fiction. There. I said it.
Margaret, I haven’t seen any of the Godfather trilogy. 🙂
Margaret & JoAnna & me makes three 😉
I wish I could be part of the group.
As long as we’re admitting to films we haven’t seen:
I haven’t seen either Titanic or Footloose.
Or the last two parts of The Matrix series. After Part 1, I just couldn’t do it.
Cajun Nick —
My advice is to not see them. I still wish I could get the 4ish hours of my life back.
(blink blink)
Right call. Wrong reason.
Hi SDG,
I’m very glad to hear that your site is back up, but…
but with the help of Google cache I was able to pull the missing content out of the ether
You probably should have your site backed up locally too, if possible. I manage two web sites (though neither of them is nearly as large as yours), and I have all of the files (HTML, images, CSS, etc.) saved on my hard drive. When I need to do a site update, I update my local copy of the site, and then FTP the updated files to the web server. This may not work for you, depending on how you do your updates (e.g., you probably don’t edit the HTML manually as I do, since that would be unwieldy for such a large site), but you may be able to find a more convenient way create a local back-up.
Not meaning to be nitpicky, but I love your site and would hate to lose it due to a possible future technical problem with your web hosting service.
I’ve parts of Godfather, FWIW.
SDG,
Wow. Looking over your mailbag, I can see that some didn’t like a certain ‘Dark’ film’s ending. May I offer my 2 cents?
(SPOILERs) Personally, I think it made sense. In fact, Gordon and Bruce could have done what they did with lying.
Think about it. Gordon saw Bruce kill Harvey Two face, and he wasn’t certain Dent had killed Wuertz et al. He thought he had. Therefore, Gordon could have said ‘Batman is our primary suspect,’ and it wouldn’t constitute lying. I know Batman told Gordon to lie, but we don’t know that Gordon didn’t just omit some of the truth.
I’m not defending their lying. I am saying that the film’s end wasn’t Satanic and that the Bruce wasn’t an egomaniac for not slaying the Joker. 🙂
I meant “I have seen parts of the Godfather.” huh.
Well, I haven’t seen much of anything, including The Godfather series, The Dark Knight, Iron Man, any films with boxing or football. I really miss the popcorn 🙂
On a serious note, is it still worth it to pay $10 to watch a film, once, on a large screen with tens of children and young adults in the audience, occasionally mocking said film? For the same $10 I can buy the film on DVD when it comes out. That way, I have a time censor so that I am not rushing to see the merely over-advertised films, as opposed to the really enduring ones. Then, I can watch the film at my pace and more than once. I could buy popcorn for cheaper and invite the neighbors over for a film night.
I do thinks some films can benefit from the large screen and the audience, but how many and how does one know, these days?
Any opinions. If I simply must see films in a theater, perhaps I can use this “duty” as an excuse to invite some of my friends.
That reminds me of an old Groucho Marx line – what would my friends think…if I had any friends…if they could think…
The Chicken
I’m so glad to know I’m in good company re. The Godfather Trilogy.
OTOH, I still have not seen Raging Bull or Pulp Fiction. There. I said it.
Me neither.
And Masked Chicken– a lot of the time, I do wait for DVDs. But for the “big spectacle” movies– Star Wars, LOTR, I am Legend, Dark Night, etc.– I feel it’s actually worth shelling out the bucks to see it on the big screen with really good sound. Romantic comedies, dramas, etc. I always just put on my Netflix queue…
Hey SDG,
Thanks for always being a trustworthy source to go to regarding how movies jive with our faith.
I have to agree with your response about Finding Nemo from the previous mail. Everytime I watch it, I am more convinced that it is Pixar’s best film and one of the best stories ever put on the screen. I am always struck by how Pixar can consistently make films that appeal to both adults and children without resorting to easy jokes or potty humor.
TMC,
The Dark Knight demanded to be seen on IMAX (it was partially filmed in IMAX). It was a great film as it was, but seeing it on a two story screen added something. 😉
SDG,
Let us know what you think of “Flash of Genius” and “American Carol”, both of which are being released Oct. 3.
So, you going to see Bill Maher’s “Religious”?
Don’t buy popcorn if you do, as I’m sure you’ll vomit it.
I too haven’t seen any of the Godfather movies, and don’t have any plans to do it in the foreseeable future.
Oh, and Cajun Nick, I envy you! I wish I had not seen the 2 Matrix sequels and could have those hours of my life back. What makes it worse is that even though Matrix 2 sucked big time, I still saw Matrix 3 (against my better judgement). Unforgivable. The Wachowsky brothers should get sued for this!
“a lot of the time, I do wait for DVDs. But for the “big spectacle” movies– Star Wars, LOTR, I am Legend, Dark Night, etc.– I feel it’s actually worth shelling out the bucks to see it on the big screen with really good sound. Romantic comedies, dramas, etc. I always just put on my Netflix queue…”
Heh, that’s exactly what I do. Movies are way too expensive nowadays to go see every movie that comes out regardless of genre. In the case of dramas and romantic comedies, I actually think it’s better to see them at home so you can laugh or cry at your heart’s content. Big budget movies like “Iron Man” on the other hand, should be seen at the theater to fully appreciate their utter awesomeness. 🙂