1. We located the cavernous AMC multiplex within the humongous Mayfair Mall, bought a bag of popcorn bits, and found our way to theater 4 where we chose seats in the crowd of about 50 mostly older people.
2. There was no cheering or laughing during the movie, but in the end there was a big, enthusiastic round of applause.
3. As we left the theater, we encountered a man who asked us if we liked the movie and handed us a glossy card with a picture of Sarah Palin and a list of her political positions: "Drill Now, Strong Defense, Stop Spending." In the sort of way that you say "fine" when a stranger ask how are you, I said "Great!"
4. The filmmakers did not film Sarah Palin, so we see only stock footage of Sarah Palin along with some audio taken from the audio version of her book "Going Rogue." That meant we saw a lot of grainy film that made us wish we could just be home watching it on TV. (Or not watching it.) The old family-movie stills and video were nice, and Meade said they were the best part of the movie.
5. We mostly hear various Palin associates telling us about things, including quite a bit of technical material about how she dealt with the oil and gas business and politics in Alaska. I would have preferred to read about these things, because I couldn't trust that I was getting the story straight. There was never, for example, a professor in his study explaining things in a seemingly neutral way... not that I would have trusted him.
6. Throughout there was a pounding, driving music soundtrack that seemed like it wanted to make sure we were excited, but it was extremely annoying and distracting. There were also metaphorical visuals like black oil pouring into water or bombs dropping or lions chasing zebras. These visuals were undoubtedly intended to add interest and drama, but they seemed pretty amateurish. We glanced at each other and laughed a few times. But the music was no laughing matter. At one point, I leaned over and said, "This music is killing me." If I had been in that movie when I said that, you would have seen a lion leap onto a zebra.
7. The movie tried to make it seem as though the Tea Party grew out of Palin's seeming defeat in the '08 election and the Tea Party was a continuation of the Reagan revolution and Sarah Palin is a continuation of Ronald Reagan. Reagan, Palin, and the Tea Party stand most emphatically apart from establishment Republicans, who are good for just about nothing. A closeup of Mitch McConnell's waxen face makes that rather obvious.
8. There were some pretty good montages of Palin antagonists saying mean things about her. They seemed insane (and misogynistic), in part because we weren't seeing any of her supposed gaffes. It would have been interesting to explore how well the attacks matched up with her missteps, but it was nevertheless entertaining to see all that stuff strung together. Entertaining like a good YouTube video. But this, of course, is a movie in a movie theater...
9. ... which I saw for you, dear readers. I hope this list of 9 items pleases you.
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137 comments:
So, which ranks higher on the propaganda meter? This or the Moore thing Meadehouse viewed.
I would say "thank you for watching this so we didn't have to", but I don't know anyone who felt a need to watch it.
Why would anyone, even someone who liked Sarah Palin, pay to see this movie?
Sounds as bad as that Al Gore personal fundraising movie from years back.
a movie in a movie theater...
... which I saw for you, dear readers.
I'm guessing we owe the professor big time.
..or the Moore thing Meadehouse viewed.
On second thought ;)
@Althouse:
Thank you for the "cypress tree" review.
Were you and Meade "acting together" on that one?
If not, I would like to read the "oak tree" review.
"So, which ranks higher on the propaganda meter? This or the Moore thing Meadehouse viewed."
The "Moore thing" ("Capitalism") was much more competently done, more entertaining, and, most importantly, didn't torment us with a pounding, driving soundtrack.
I have no desire to see it but I am a fan of hers. I think she is not running and it is just as well. We need Paul Ryan to make the case about the fiscal situation.
Why do I think it wasn't Mrs Meade, but Mr Meade who wanted to spend Friday watching this?
Ann Althouse said...
which I saw for you, dear readers.
What, Althouse watched for our sins?
"The "Moore thing" ("Capitalism") was much more competently done, more entertaining, and, most importantly, didn't torment us with a pounding, driving soundtrack."
For me, being tormented by bad, dangerous ideas is just as painful as bad music. Eventually the bad music stops, but the bad ideas seem to go on forever.
@chickenlittle LOL. I didn't remember right away what that referred to, had to Google, then laughed hysterically. The Abrahamson poetry thing!
If Meade has something to add, let him do it. These are my 9 points, written after driving home, which took more than an hour. So we did bat ideas around.
Meade was particularly critical of the visual metaphor stuff. We talked about whether it's acceptable for a documentary to do that and I gave an example of Errol Morris doing some things like that. I think it's okay if it's good, but the zebra stuff and so on was... bad.
You had such a lovely vacation and you ended it like this? My goodness, I don't know quite what to say? Thanks???
I should add that the movie did not cause me to think less of Sarah Palin. It did make me like her more, in fact. But it was not movie-theater quality. It was infomercial quality.
"Why do I think it wasn't Mrs Meade, but Mr Meade who wanted to spend Friday watching this?"
It was definitely Meade's idea, but it had to do with writing the blog.
He did all the driving, btw.
My understanding was Palin was not involved in the making of the movie and (I believe) was skeptical when she first heard about it.
I have no desire to see it but it is interesting to see someone not clearly trying to make a campaign/propaganda film end up with a positive picture of Palin.
"For me, being tormented by bad, dangerous ideas is just as painful as bad music. Eventually the bad music stops, but the bad ideas seem to go on forever."
Bad ideas may be more damaging, but the problem is that they are out there affecting other people. It's not so much a problem to confront them yourself. I find bad ideas that attract other people to be extremely interesting, because I want to understand why people are drawn in. So, for example, I watched a documentary about Nazis yesterday.
A music soundtrack is something you are just hearing about and thinking about. You have to experience it. I don't subject myself to torture, though I might be interested in learning about torture.
Heh. Sounds like it was about what one would expect.
"You had such a lovely vacation and you ended it like this? My goodness, I don't know quite what to say? Thanks???"
Hit the PayPal button in the sidebar! $5... $10... show me that you care!
Question for anyone:
What was the last movie you saw that made you want to run from the theater out of embarrassment for the people who made it?
Triumph of the Won't.
How much did you pay to go in?
And, what are "popcorn bits?" Is this the kernels that drop to the bottom of the bag? What holds the butter?
At least you saw this film, so now I don't have to ...
But to be fair ... At least you didn't have to see Katie Couric's waxen face. Or Pelosi's.
While it seems the four leaders (Pelosi, Boehner, Reid, and McConnell, must show up at the White House tomorrow morning!)
And, we're supposed to see them all agree on "lifting the debt ceiling until after the November 2012 election.
I just wonder who is smart enough to carry in a flask in their jacket pocket. Being sober tomorrow morning should be an "option."
What kind of movie will we get when tomorrow's meeting ends? Lions jumping on zebras? Pelosi's face melts?
I just wish Boehner would approach a microphone and begin singing like Dean Martin.
What was the last movie you saw that made you want to run from the theater out of embarrassment for the people who made it?
My wife and I both got bored with "Milk" and didn't finish it. And it wasn't a political reaction.
"... though I might be interested in learning about torture."
Not first-hand you wouldn't.
"And, what are "popcorn bits?" Is this the kernels that drop to the bottom of the bag? What holds the butter?"
It's when you try to buy popcorn but what you get isn't the whole kernels, but a massive pile of the nubs that the kernels are composed of when they aren't reduced to bits.
Do you have a better term?
"A music soundtrack is something you are just hearing about and thinking about."
I mean: A music soundtrack is NOT something you are just hearing about and thinking about.
"Not first-hand you wouldn't."
Yes, that's the point I was trying to make (in response to Palladian) about the music soundtrack.
I saw it in a less-progressive enclave surrounded by hundred of miles of the most true-believing leftists to be found anywhere.
On about 5 occasions, people started whooping it up when they played actual Palin speechifying. She said stuff that to me were part of the standard American catechism, and the audience here gasped in delight and started cheering. And quite a lot of cheering at the end. It's like they had been starved for a long time, and suddenly a banquet appeared.
And then we walked outside, to be depressed by the knowledge that everyone else we see wants to destroy that American, and replace it with progressive grey goo. Haiti, move over, we're coming to join you, the grifters are in power now.
What was the last movie you saw that made you want to run from the theater out of embarrassment for the people who made it?
"The Spanish Prisoner" by David Mamet.
I was disappointed. Without any real reason to expect a better produced movie, I thought it would at least be a good documentary film but it wasn't.
Using my patented "how many times did I look at my watch" method for rating movies, I gave it a 4 (with 5 being the highest number I can endure before actually getting up and leaving the theater. The music really was insane.
But I agree with Ann - the movie caused me to like Sarah Palin more not less.
I'd watch it again but only on TV and only if it meant keeping my 85 year-old mother company so she could see it and there are no good baseball games on.
It's true that we didn't have to look at Katie Couric's waxen face but Pelosi's does show up. And Boehner's, and Reid's. Those faces alone brought on 3 of my 4 watch checks.
After all 9 points I still don't have the foggiest what YOU, Madame Cruel Neutrality, thought about the movie's claims for Palin.
"I saw it in a less-progressive enclave..."
Less progressive than Wauwatosa? What do you know of Wauwatosa?
We were not in Madison. We drove over an hour to get to the theater.
"What was the last movie you saw that made you want to run from the theater out of embarrassment for the people who made it?"
Velvet Goldmine. But I generally don't go to the movies unless I'm already sure I'm interested and will probably like something.
I think the last picture I watched in a theater was a new print of "Metropolis"... 6 years ago maybe?
"After all 9 points I still don't have the foggiest what YOU, Madame Cruel Neutrality, thought about the movie's claims for Palin."
I hope you appreciate how much I am benefiting you in precisely this.
That seemed like a reasonably fair presentation.
But what are "popcorn bits"?
"We were not in Madison. We drove over an hour to get to the theater."
So there's a one-hour-drive-wide aura of fauxgressive lefty silliness around the city of Madison?
Shorter AA:
1. The production values were terrible.
2. It wasn't fair and balanced.
Let's see, 3 years of grinding Palin criticism and attacks from all sides, then one little pipsqueak of a movie comes out, showing a suppressed, revisionist history, and the complaint was it was advocacy.
Palin, what a loser! Can't even get people to open their wallets for a decently-made movie. Feh, it's obviously her message, we can safely ignore it now.
Did it make the case? That Palin is a far more competent executive, and a faithful American, than our dope-smoking, America "they are not my people" hating, Grifter-In-Chief?
Were there lots of snake flags?
So there's a one-hour-drive-wide aura of fauxgressive lefty silliness around the city of Madison?
Depending on traffic, yes, it can take that long to get to another suburban population dense enough to support a theater complex.
*ducks*
"I have no desire to see it but I am a fan of hers. I think she is not running and it is just as well."
On the contrary I think she's running. She's just waiting until after Labor Day when people really start paying attention to politics to launch her campaign.
"... though I might be interested in learning about torture."
Dan Pearl was lucky. Margaret Hassan was not.
US SF maintains a resisting torture course, as do other branches of service. No harm in asking them for observer or participant status. Plenty of Pashtun females would be happy to oblige, but that would be in subject status and you wouldn't write about it.
I know, it's a cheap shot. It's a nugatory wish, out of character.
The last detestable movie I saw was Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd. That was it for me, I won't support Hollywood any more. I was physically grossed out for days. The critics, including Terry Teachout, of course adored it.
From now on, for me, the movies died with The Shootist.
"A music soundtrack is something you are just hearing about and thinking about. You have to experience it. I don't subject myself to torture, though I might be interested in learning about torture."
Music torture I've endured:
Les Troyens by Hector Berlioz at the Metropolitan Opera. Length of torture: 5.5 hours.
The Voyage by Philip Glass at the Metropolitan Opera.
Length of torture: 3 hours.
Cats by Andrew Lloyd Webber at the Winter Garden Theater.
Length of torture: 2 hours.
Turangalîla-Symphonie by Olivier Messiaen at Avery Fisher Hall.
Length of torture: 1.5 hours.
Huey Lewis and The News in concert. Venue unremembered.
Length of torture: 1.5 hours.
garage mahal said...
Were there lots of snake flags?
_______________
And the Althouse woman said to the Gadsden serpent: 'We may eat of the fruit of the trees of Olbrich garden; but Garage said, "You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of Olbrich garden, whence all State blessings fall; neither shall you blog it, lest you die.' But the Gadsden serpent said to the Althouse woman, 'You will not die. For Garage knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like Garage, knowing good and evil.' So when the Althouse woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, Meade and he ate.
Genesis According To Garage, 3:2-6
"Were there lots of snake flags?"
No, but when you show up there are lots of flake snags.
Excuse my ambiguity. "Less progressive enclave" refers to where it was shown, as compared to the sea of surrounding greater progressivity.
I know nothing of Wauwatosa. All I know of WI are the rocks of Devil's Lake. I expect that wherever you go in this once-great land, the majority of people want two things: 1. your money for themselves, and 2. to tell you how to live, that you are doing it all wrong. Hence, lesser and greater.
Wow, you got all that from the movie?? Wow, loud music and what? Sounds like you just watched the trailer because that's what I saw in the trailer over on Big Hollywood. No mention of how she beat the oil big wigs and what she did to secure AK in the short time she was there? Why she stepped down and exactly who was behind all the lawsuits?? Nothing about the campaign and how she gave that old man the boost he needed? No shots of the crowds or how big those crowds were?? Nothing about how she secured the state with 12 billion for there security because she knew what a ratbastard Obama was and what he was going to do to us?? Why did you waste your time and the gas?? Well, I loved it and if you see it you will too, it gives you that feeling like when you're around decent, good, patriotic people that love something and stand for something. I think I might go see it again!!
Hey, I'm from Wauwatosa! Scott Walker was my state representative. He showed up at all of my Boy Scout troop's Courts of Honor, including my own.
Anyway... um, go Tosa? Did you go to The Chancery? There, the popcorn is free!
I did abort a torture session once; I was taken to a Peaches performance but left 5 minutes in to an extended version of "Lovertits".
Ann Althouse said...
"Why do I think it wasn't Mrs Meade, but Mr Meade who wanted to spend Friday watching this?"
It was definitely Meade's idea, but it had to do with writing the blog.
He did all the driving, btw.
I know what you mean. The Blonde drives me.
You didn't have to see it for me; I saw it for myself at the same theater, later in the afternoon.
Your review is hilariously full of bullshit.
It is a very good movie; a documentary filmed without the bleary lens of political correctness.
"without the bleary lens of political correctness"
That's true - it used a whole new lens of political correctness.
Sorry. It is a poorly made movie. Sarah Palin deserves better.
Hometown pride!
@Meade @Michael_Haz
Your disagreement makes me want to see the movie to decide for myself!
Doesn't seem to be playing near O'side though.
I like Palin but have no desire to see a movie about her. Conservatives usually make mediocre movies so I'm not surprised by your review.
What does Meade think? Sorry, he does not have a vote to defend and I think he is less biased.
I can understand people being indifferent to Palin; I am. I can understand people liking her; I used to. I can sort of understand why some folks totally fanboy out about her, since the field of national-level Republican personalities is kind of meh.
What I cannot wrap my mind around is being SO far gone that it is impossible, in one's mind, to make a film that is both pro-Palin AND a bad movie. It reminds me of Hollywood communists' reactions to pro-Soviet cinema: "Mission to Moscow? GENIUS!"
More cowbell.
Reagan, Palin, and the Tea Party stand most emphatically apart from establishment Republicans, who are good for just about nothing.
Now stop holding back, madam! Tell us how you really feel.
BTW, be sure to let us know how you feel about establishment Democrats. Seriously. I'm interested in the (possible) contrast.
Thanks for taking one for the team.
So, has anyone explained the title?
I hope you enjoyed your visit to my fair city and home of Governor Walker. Meanwhile, I was in Madison....
didn't torment us with a pounding, driving soundtrack.
Must wear earplugs for HP 8. Thanks for the reminder.
Bayfield to Madison by way of 'Tosa is not a straight line.
What I cannot wrap my mind around is being SO far gone that it is impossible, in one's mind, to make a film that is both pro-Palin AND a bad movie.
I should expand my earlier comment about "MILK". Years ago now, when that movie came out, it was talked up excitedly on these very pages as the best thing since sliced bread. link. I watched this movie on Althouse's recommend here. I mentioned earlier that both me and my wife thought it was dull enough to not even finish watching. Was not possible to make a make that was both pro-gay rights and a bad movie?
Give you another example: "My Dinner With Andre." Now everyone is of course entitled to their very own opinion regarding movies, but I have to say, and I'm being candid here, that Althouse's take on movies very rarely jibes with my own. So when someone says that a movie is bad who also says that a movie I thought was bad is so good...do you see the connection?
We're not really arguing about objective things here, revenant, so it's really not worth a dispute. Too each his own.
_________
I do have to thank Carol_Herman here for suggesting to me to listen to Mark Twain audiobooks. These are an absolute delght!
That's not my favorite John Wayne movie.
But I bet Meade likes Rock Hudson.
I did dig the fake Catwoman. She was hot.
But she liked old guys like Barnaby Jones and stuff.
I bet Titus had a Roman Gabriel poster on his wall when he was a kid.
He always liked Indians. Just sayn'
Glad to read the review. Based on what you wrote, I do wish they would have explained why she had to quit as Governor.
Bring the quitting business up with a Palinista causes fits of rage and all sorts of chants that remaining as Governor would have brought her financial ruin even though of course I know of no other Governors who had to step down because of some lawsuits. Did they at least explain how such lawsuits magically disappeared right after stepping down? Or did they address how those five different colleges harassed her out before she could finally get her degree from the sixth?
Two things:
There was never, for example, a professor in his study explaining things in a seemingly neutral way...
Yeah, that's just what I would've needed to sell me. Fucking hilarious.
There were some pretty good montages of Palin antagonists saying mean things about her. They seemed insane (and misogynistic), in part because we weren't seeing any of her supposed gaffes. It would have been interesting to explore how well the attacks matched up with her missteps, but it was nevertheless entertaining to see all that stuff strung together.
I repeat: you love deviance.
"Milk," bad.
"My Dinner with Andre," good.
The likelihood of "The Undefeated" being a good movie, low.
Note that that's not a reflection on Palin.
I watched a documentary about Nazis yesterday.
Was that on the History Channel? If so, it was good - superficial, but good.
"At one point, I leaned over and said, "This music is killing me." If I had been in that movie when I said that, you would have seen a lion leap onto a zebra."
That got me. I'm still laughing.
Also, I can't really understand why nobody close to the production of this film ever said - "er.. Maybe turn/ tone it down just a bit. Because you're giving people the Clockwork Orange treatment here."
Or *why* for goodness sake, once the guy who made this movie showed it in previews to Conservative (friendly) previewers who said "Hey, we like the idea but turn/tone it down a bit." He just said: "Nah. It's Gold! Mind-Raping Gold, Jerry!"
The built-in Palinista audience was already going to come see this, schlock or not. But, If it was really good - maybe others would too... (note: I have not seen this movie, but most reviews read like Ann's).
Where did you have dinner?
Jakes could take the bad taste away...
For what it's worth, this bloggers trip to the Palin movie, regardless of her "points"...the real point..and only point that counts is that it appears she felt compelled to comment here in this thread more often than she normally comments. Palin seems to draw a response unlike any other.
And then we walked outside, to be depressed by the knowledge that everyone else we see wants to destroy that American...
So, everyone other than those in that theater at that time wants to destroy America, have I got that right? Or, to put it slightly less literally: So, everyone other than those who go to see "the Undefeated" wants to destroy America?
Or, what? What are you really trying to say--or, to choose a perhaps better term--express?
Would having gone to see "The Undefeated" be a good, shorthand litmus test for you? Seriously, would it?
Man, one just has to wonder what Sarah Palin would think about something like that.
Me, I suspect she'd have some reservations (and, no, I'm not referring to the ticket-type).
And, what are "popcorn bits?"
It's when you try to buy popcorn but what you get isn't the whole kernels, but a massive pile of the nubs that the kernels are composed of when they aren't reduced to bits.
Do you have a better term?
Old maids is what we called them.
I suppose the PC folks have a better term.
Sort of like sitting "Indian Style" is now called "Criss-Cross apple sauce"
F'n teachers.
@ Crack:
"I watched a documentary about Nazis yesterday. Was that on the History Channel?"
That reminded me of this Ricky Gervais bit on Sharks and Nazis and the History channel:
http://bit.ly/rcWN4G
Okay, okay, fair review. I can't see it close to me, so I am going to have to wait till TV/Netflix probably.
Sort of like sitting "Indian Style" is now called "Criss-Cross apple sauce"
Heh. We got corrected re: that going on seven years ago, when my son started full time at a private school.
Especially since we started full-time homeschooling three years ago (the start of the fourth year is upon us), that has been something of an ongoing joke.
And, no, this doesn't mean--at all, at all--that we are anything less than respectful of native peoples or of history. It does reflect a thinking that there are better ways to focus on and teach things (not to mention to teach things and focus on them).
The Music Man versus My Fair Lady.
A long time ago, I had an aunt and uncle who lived in Manhattan. And, for a dollar or two, they'd take "standing room only" at a Broadway play.
They loved My fair Lady! Who didn't. And, holding hands they walked home singing what they could remember from the show.
A little bit later the next hit was the Music Man. "Oh, how disappointing,!" said my aunt and uncle.
Then they added ... walking home they sang what they could remember from My Fair Lady.
Is the UNDEFEATED a good movie? It's probably not going to move someone to vote for Sarah Palin, who hasn't already scored her as viable.
While the real test ... isn't the #9. But whether or not there are bits and pieces you'd recall.
Was there anything about Sarah Palin that stood out? Why did McCain pick her?
And, didn't she, in fact, add to his 2008 chances? What if McCain's numbers could have been worse? Would it have taught the stupid party anything?
Steve Austin said...
"...why she had to quit as Governor.
Bring the quitting business up with a Palinista causes fits of rage and all sorts of chants that remaining as Governor would have brought her financial ruin even though of course I know of no other Governors who had to step down because of some lawsuits. Did they at least explain how such lawsuits magically disappeared right after stepping down?"
They were not lawsuits. They were a coordinated campaign by the Democrats to file a ton of frivolous "ethics charges", most of which were completely laughable, like wearing something with a tiny designer logo on it in an official appearance. She was cleared of every one of them, IIRC.
By Alaska law, the state does not pay for the defense costs of those charged with ethics complaints. I believe there is also something in Alaska law that prevented her from setting up a defense fund and taking contributions. She had racked up about $500,000 in legal bills when she quit. While she is wealthy now, she was not then.
This is part of the leftist strategy, destroy your opponents no matter what it takes or how you have to do it.
But to tell the truth, it's pretty obvious from your tone that you already detest her anyway. I'm sure you think she's just a quitter.
At least she left honorably, unlike the Community-Organizer-in-Chief, who started running for president six months after he was elected Senator, and spent a lot of time voting "Absent".
I'm not a Palinista, but I do think she and her family were despicably brutalized by the left and the media (but I repeat myself), far beyond what I have ever seen done to any other single person in my long lifetime.
A ditty from my own (long-ago) childhood says:
Criss-cross,
Applesauce.
Spiders crawling up your back.
Spider bite here. Spider bite here.
Sharp squeeze,
Cool breeze."
It loses translation without the physical movements to go with it.
Awwww...those olden "camp" days.
; )
Is it just me being hopeful or is some of the wind going out of the Palin balloon these days?
geokstr said...
"They were not lawsuits. They were a coordinated campaign by the Democrats to file a ton of frivolous "ethics charges", most of which were completely laughable, like wearing something with a tiny designer logo on it in an official appearance. She was cleared of every one of them, IIRC."
The Blanchflower investigation, which was commissioned by a bipartisan panel, found that she had abused her office in attempting to get her brother-in-law fired.
She also had to pay back per Diem she collected while living at her home in Wasilla and expenses for using unauthorized government transportation for her family.
Okay. Let me see if I have this straight, now? At the movie theater where you ordered popcorn ... the bag was full of nibs ... As if the movie theater wasn't even popping new corn. But scraping up the bits and pieces at the bottom of the tray. And, still charging you $4?
I'd have scattered those nibs on the floor. And, for good measure would have used my feet to grind them into the floor.
Then, I'd have complained to the management about the INFERIOR NOISE. (Not blaming the movie.) But asking for my money back.
I think you reviewed the AMC Movie theater. And, not the film, itself. Where someone who voted for Obama ... could have gotten lost seeing this ... Instead of, let's say, Harry Potter.
Ebert didn't review this film well, either.
But that's expected.
Dunno what kind of a car trip it is to get to Wauwatosa. My guess is that no theater in Madison will show it. Because it won't draw in an audience. Like Harry Potter would.
How'd they get away with serving you "mostly nibs?" That's very discouraging.
Let alone, if you asked for extra butter, it would drip out of the bottom of the bag.
How hard is it to make fresh popcorn?
How come you didn't go to the management and show them what you got? Nibs aren't acceptable.
And, traveling far to see a movie you knew ahead of time you wouldn't like ... just begs the question: "Why get disappointed?"
The best way to avoid being disappointed by the snacks on sale anywhere, including but not just limited to movie theaters, is not to buy the snacks.
Natch.
(If hunger is the issue, don't go hungry. If habit is the issue, it'd be better to get over that, anyway. Right?)
Steve Austin said..."I do wish they would have explained why she had to quit as Governor.".
They did. Easily ten minutes of it. In both her words, and her loyal and won-over associates.
But we all know now she's a cowardly quitter who can see Alaska from Wasilla. It doesn't matter that we're hearing from people who finally had a chance to have their say. That ship has sailed. So what these people have to say is unremarkable, of no import, and since it wasn't presented fair and balanced, is not credible.
Also, depending on how the batch was produced from which the popcorn bits/nub were left, the bits/nubs might be the worst or they might actually be the tastiest.
Althouse never actually specified, did she?
Jolin! That was a potent brew. I mean see Little Diomede Island from v' Roccia!
Hey Trooper, it was a good bookend. End of an era. I can't think of anything past it that keeps up in class. Released in the Bicentennial Year, the last one he made, with the glorious Lauren Bacall, who despite their personal differences, treated each other with such respect. Eastwood's last movie Gran Torino is a pale homage.
jeaneeinabottle said...
No mention of how she beat the oil big wigs and what she did to secure AK in the short time she was there? Why she stepped down and exactly who was behind all the lawsuits?? Nothing about the campaign and how she gave that old man the boost he needed? No shots of the crowds or how big those crowds were?? Nothing about how she secured the state with 12 billion for there security because she knew what a ratbastard Obama was and what he was going to do to us?? [...] Well, I loved it and if you see it you will too, it gives you that feeling like when you're around decent, good, patriotic people that love something and stand for something. I think I might go see it again!!
7/22/11 7:36 PM
Yes. Jeaneeinabottle is addressing the political substance.
If "Palin deserves better," as Meade said, then why not say that Palin deserves better, and talk about her career, instead of all this round-about review of the aesthetics. The aesthetics, the quality of the production values, are a footnote. Michael Moore has been shown to be intentionally deceitful in his films (see: "Michael Moore Hates America"). The production values are not the central issue, are they?
Here is a link to a review by a left-leaning reviewer at The Huffington Post, who apparently was able to focus on the political meaning of the film. She says she wishes this were the film Hillary Clinton had made: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/amy-siskind/the-undefeated-the-movie-_b_871600.html
There is a line of American conservatism that is, in out time, perhaps most brightly expressed by Ronald Reagan, and some aspects of that bright, hard-working, optimistic, deeply-felt, principle-based, idealistic-and-yet-practical conservatism do appear in the Tea Party and in Sarah Palin, among others.
All this hatred and disdain against Palin, I think, is triggered by that--
Because people love that Reagan-like goodness, clarity and putting the country first, and this demoralizes the Left and causes them to lose elections, power, patronage, and, hence, their incomes. This, of course, is intolerable to the Left. Ergo, the hatred and disdain.
YMMV, but that's how it looks to me, and I say thank you to Jeaneeinabottle for her warmth & enthusiasm.
Oh, and also a huge thank-you to Meade and Ann for their reporting during the seige of Madison. Althouse became a go-to blog for me during that time.
And -- an aside to any who may be toying with the notion that Wisconsin is formerly-great: we're fighting this "unions' last stand" thing, and Wisconsin is entering a newly-great again time, IMHO. Wisconsin's going to be ok, which means it's going to be great.
Oh, and also a thanks to Ann for the wonderful photos. So nice to have something sublime, beautiful, poignant, funny, sweet as a contrast. And for being willing to think, and for asking others to think.
People only watch one movie anymore: the small human who must face down monstrous political figures, who'd usher in a different form of governance. The template was set by Star Wars, with Luke playing the American interest, to the larger Nazi threat. Palin debuted against the end of Potter, another Star Wars/Nazi tribute, as "The Undefeated" was widely mocked by liberals in reference to "Triumph of the Will." They were all saying that, as if Palin is a new Hitler. The Nazi vs. hero plotline is a cultural obsession. Potter is over now, but even after everything he did & suffered, there's no feeling that the evil is finished. We'll go see the same struggle again next week, and the week after that.
reader_iam want's to know why I have very poor opinion of my neighbors.
I live in a State financially on the ropes, shedding businesses and people at a horrific rate to its neighbors. The very few remaining Republican districts are very competitive. The vast majority of Democratic districts win with crushing margins. The State and local governments are hopelessly corrupt, still hiring workers and voting themselves raises and bonuses, They spend public wealth on their friends, while refusing to perform their sworn duties. It is like the darkest days of Anbar province in 2005 and 2006. This can only end badly.
The only thing you can conclude from my watching The Undefeated, is that I want information. What my opinion is, is unimportant. Our family's fate is entirely at the mercy of our neighbor's scruples. We can only move away and give up on our chosen careers, which can only be done here.
If you must know, I consider the DoI and CotUSA to be the noblest legal documents ever produced by the hand of man. We will not see their like again.
constant reader said...
"...idealistic-and-yet-practical conservatism"
You mean what we are seeing with this debt ceiling issue? No concern shown for the damage that will be done to the country if the government defaults.
"...Because people love that Reagan-like goodness, clarity and putting the country first..."
When Lee Atwater, mentor to Karl Rove and one of the gurus of Reagan and then Bush I's campaigns, was dying of brain cancer, he had such an epiphany about the world he helped to create. He called the umitigated greed of the Reagan/Bush era a "spiritual vacuum at the heart of American society, this tumor of the soul."
People only watch one movie anymore: the small human who must face down monstrous political figures, who'd usher in a different form of governance....
Oh, nonsense. That is pure BS.
The most (though not only) nonsensical and "bullshitical" part of that comment rests most heavily--poor thing!--on one specific word:
anymore.
---
My bloomin' ass, people didn't and haven't watched stuff like over decades. Are you kidding me?
wv: winglet
How the heck American-culturally literate are you anyway, you pop-cult virgin, you?
; )
"When Lee Atwater, mentor to Karl Rove and one of the gurus of Reagan and then Bush I's campaigns, was dying of brain cancer, he had such an epiphany about the world he helped to create. He called the umitigated greed of the Reagan/Bush era a "spiritual vacuum at the heart of American society, this tumor of the soul."
Man, those brain tumors really do a number on people's sanity.
Lee Atwater was the Kar Rove of his day. The Svengali/evil Pied Piper who led the lumpen proletariat and even some members of the gilded working class away from the left-liberal vanguard.
Poor leftist authoritarians. If only the people would listen! What's the matter with Kansas?
andinista:
You make the gravest of assumptions--actually, outright mistakes--if you think my family doesn't know something about hard times, economic hard times, and even unemployment.
Our family's fate is entirely at the mercy of our neighbor's scruples.
If you say so.
We can only move away
Join the club! It's a venerable one, and assuming you know something about American history, a longstanding one.
and give up on our chosen careers
Well, hell, that shit happens. Right? We've been told for years that's normal, and in recent years, precisely what people need to do, when and as necessary.
which can only be done here.
Must not be a growth industry, much less something sustainable. Hey, it's a global economy! Get over it. Pick something else you can do there or move.
----
Listen, andinista, I'm far more sympathetic, empathetic, knowledgeable and understanding than, clearly, you know. That said, if you want me to take you more seriously, you need to demonstrate that you appreciate the likes of me and my family--who will move where we have to, take the work that we have to, in order to remain independent and as self-sufficient as possible--before we'll accept that you are a better example of conservatism than I.
For the record, my reference to "unemployment" was not to "benefits."
Never fear, guys. You aren't, and haven't been, supporting me or my family.
reader_iam wrote: you need to demonstrate that you appreciate the likes of me and my family--who will move where we have to, take the work that we have to, in order to remain independent...
Heck, she's no Tom Joad, but I have followed reader_iam all over the blogosphere: from here to Trooper York and back again, to Twitter hell and back again...
...at least believe her on that.
Palladian said...
Man, those brain tumors really do a number on people's sanity.
In 1981, Atwater talked about the GOP's Southern Strategy and Ronald Reagan's version of it:
"You start out in 1954 by saying, 'Ni**er, ni**er, ni**er.' By 1968 you can't say 'ni**er' — that hurts you. Backfires. So you say stuff like forced busing, states' rights and all that stuff. You're getting so abstract now that you're talking about cutting taxes, and all these things you're talking about are totally economic things and a byproduct of them is that blacks get hurt worse than whites. And subconsciously maybe that is part of it. I'm not saying that. But I'm saying that if it is getting that abstract, and that coded, that we are doing away with the racial problem one way or the other. You follow me — because obviously sitting around saying, 'We want to cut this,' is much more abstract than even the busing thing, and a hell of a lot more abstract than 'Ni**er, ni**er'."
Yes, those abstract terms "forced busing", "states' rights" and... "real America".
I wonder if Palin believes the airman of the 332nd Fighter Group and the soldiers of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team were real Americans?
@chickenlittle:
Honestly, chicken, that's not very far, after all--given the way you put it, and all.
Still. That's OK.
@reader_iam: You're so mean.
A raspberry for you!
Also, chicken, "Thanks for the clarities."
: )
reader_iam: a better conservative than I
I reckon you are. I don't vote for conservatives. Conservative politicians take public money and spend it on their friends, while refusing their duty. Then try to tell you how to live your life, what you can and can't do and think, what is right and wrong, That's how I see it, I'm afraid. I'm not sure the distinction between conservative politician, and personal conservative. The one votes for the other. I don't doubt your rectitude and honor, and yet ...
This State is dying. I won't run. I do what I can to work for a rebirth.
I wonder if Palin believes the airman of the 332nd Fighter Group and the soldiers of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team were real Americans?
No you don't.
@reader
I hope your furtive fingers 3:04 was not a response to my 3:03...
@reader
I understand
I reckon you are.
You reckon I am--what, exactly. State it.
I don't vote for conservatives.
I vote rather specifically. This is a thing that confounds all sorts of people. Trust me, you're in good company if you find me irritating.
Conservative politicians take public money and spend it on their friends, while refusing their duty.
That's a general bug. Yes, conservatives do that. Yes, liberals do that. Yes, progressives do that. Yes-OMG, shoot me now!--tea-partiers are doing that, too.
You'll never get realistic, accountable government responsible for actual "deliverables" from 1000s miles away and from people--any sort of people--who live on a different planet.
Then try to tell you how to live your life, what you can and can't do and think, what is right and wrong
I've never been about this, I've never done this, and have spent plenty enough virtual ink advocating quite the opposite.
Full stop.
I'm not sure the distinction between conservative politician, and personal conservative.
With regard to this, we have common ground.
The one votes for the other.
Clearly, I've already questioned that notion.
---
As for the rest ... I find it interesting, for various reasons and on a number of levels.
Yeah, when they make a movie about you its usually after the apex of your career.
Its probably a swan song.
Prof. Ann
Believing greatly in Gov. Palin, I was initially disappointed at your post seeing that you reserved the critique strictly to stage-craft and such.
Finding comments by yourself and Meade stating the positive impact the movie had on your affinity to the governor, I am actually quite pleased. and grateful.
Thank you for taking the time, and for keeping your head, both in the evaluation and in the presentation of your "verdict". The latter is quite a performance in keeping all of our readers happy, withouth betraying your true feeling.
Best Regards.
"…Palin seems to draw a response unlike any other."
You're obviously new around here.
As someone who:
Is favorably disposed to Palin
but not for President
and who almost never watches or reads this kind of production/book
thanks for taking one for the team.
It would be fun to make a movie filled with examples of left-wing hate and misogyny. There are endless examples from Bill Maher, Olbermann and many hardcore leftist blogs. Pepper the movie with pro-commie Hollywood spittle, and some Jane Fonda action and, well, America would be stunned. Someone could read a Paul Krugman NYT opinion piece as an over-lay. Viola - the modern hardcore whack job left.
I never forget you're an Obama voter, Althouse. That accounts for why you go heavy on negative criticism but totally fail to explain why this really horrible documentary with its annoying music made you like Palin at the end. If it truly did that, then the documentary was effective because what you never touch is that Bannon did what he set out to fo: set the record straight on Palin's record, and, by extension, the Obama Socialists demonization of and sheer lies about her.
Palin engenders an incredible amount of snobbery.
What's more important restoring the nation or being a snob? Answer being a snob
Is Palin worth defending? Not if you have to stop being a snob.
Maybe the sound track was aimed at a different audience. Certainly it has engendered different responses. Maybe the music was aimed at different demographic than those 50 year old viewers.
The choices are narrowing: Obama, Romney, Perry, Palin. Pick one soon.
Very soon Obama will pull the 14th Amendment trigger. Without loud music.
andinista said...
Hey Trooper, it was a good bookend. End of an era. I can't think of anything past it that keeps up in class. Released in the Bicentennial Year, the last one he made, with the glorious Lauren Bacall, who despite their personal differences, treated each other with such respect. Eastwood's last movie Gran Torino is a pale homage."
You are mixed up. "The Shootist" was the movie you are recalling.
"The Undefeated" was with Rock Hudson, Merlin Olsen, Roman Gabriel and Lee Meriwether. It was direct by Andrew V. McLaglen who was the son of Victor McLaglen and who direct much of the Duke's later work. They include several of John Fords old stock company like Ben Johnson, Harry Carey Jr, John Agar and Dub Taylor as well as the ubiquitous Jan-Michael Vincent.
It is loosely based on the attempt by Confederate General Shelby's attempt to go to Mexico to join with Maximilian's army that was in Mexico.
An entertaining but pedestrian flick it is still much more entertaining family viewing that 99% of the crap that Hollywood passes today.
Although I do have high hopes for "Captain America."
"Glad to read the review. Based on what you wrote, I do wish they would have explained why she had to quit as Governor."
Actually, they explained that very well.
"Where did you have dinner? Jakes could take the bad taste away..."
Popcorn was lunch. It was the 1:20 show. We left without even shopping at the many mall stores -- except to the extent that, exiting through Barnes & Noble, we glanced at a few books and magazines. We went right to the car and drove home. Later, we cooked dinner at home. It wasn't really a big Friday out. We just wanted to see the movie... and not really for fun. It was mostly part of the long art-politics project called "Althouse."
Althouse provides what she went there looking for. Things that she could comment on that would plese her readers.
Althouse totally misses the story, it seems, of an ordinary woman who has done extrordinary things in her life. Certainly Palin has achieved much more than critic Althouse, who I am shure would pleased to share her accomplishments.
The movie is also makes clear what vision, passion, and commitment can do. Even Ann Althouse's meaningless "review" shows that.
I do agree that the music is a bit music at times, but in the second viewing it seemed to fit better. Maybe second looks do provide a different experience.
viator said...
Palin engenders an incredible amount of snobbery.
What's more important restoring the nation or being a snob? Answer being a snob"
Hey pal!
My friend Seven Macho's resembles that remark.
Cut it out.
Stephen K. Bannon should have hired Alexandra Pelosi to make the movie.
A lame duck president
After listening to the President’s press conference today, let’s keep in mind the following:
This is the same president who proposed an absurdly irresponsible budget that would increase our debt by trillions of dollars, and whose party failed to even put forward a budget in over 800 days! This is the same president who is pushing our country to the brink because of his reckless spending on things like the nearly trillion dollar “stimulus” boondoggle. This is the same president who ignored his own debt commission’s recommendations and demonized the voices of fiscal sanity who proposed responsible plans to reform our entitlement programs and rein in our dangerous debt trajectory. This is the same president who wanted to push through an increase in the debt ceiling that didn’t include any cuts in government spending! This is the same president who wants to slam Americans with tax hikes to cover his reckless spending, but has threatened to veto a bill proposing a balanced budget amendment. This is the same president who hasn’t put forward a responsible plan himself, but has rejected reasonable proposals that would tackle our debt. This is the same president who still refuses to understand that the American electorate rejected his big government agenda last November. As I said in Madison, Wisconsin, at the Tax Day Tea Party rally, “We don’t want it. We can’t afford it. And we are unwilling to pay for it.”
Now the President is outraged because the GOP House leadership called his bluff and ended discussions with him because they deemed him an obstruction to any real solution to the debt crisis.
He has been deemed a lame duck president. And he is angry now because he is being treated as such.
His foreign policy strategy has been described as “leading from behind.” Well, that’s his domestic policy strategy as well. Why should he be surprised that he’s been left behind in the negotiations when he’s been leading from behind on this debt crisis?
Thank you, GOP House leaders. Please don’t get wobbly on us now.
2012 can’t come soon enough.
- Sarah Palin
Friday, July 22, 2011 at 10:11pm
Freem--
Atlas Shrugged, Part I.
Though it was a bizarre mixture that had more of a traffic-accident quality.
Never has something so relevant--so frighteningly descriptive of current events--seems so laughably stilted. It was like fan-fiction, complete with a Mary Sue.
We're not really arguing about objective things here, revenant, so it's really not worth a dispute. Too each his own.
I'm not saying the movie is bad, and I'm not saying it is good either. I haven't seen it and don't plan to.
I was referring to the people who responded to Althouse's review by basically saying "how dare you criticize this movie, Sarah Palin is awesome".
I just returned from a special showing in Chicago, at the Siskell film center, no less. I confess I had expected to see a poorly produced movie, but was impressed with the production value. Is it possible the sound issue is a theatre issue rather than production issue?
Regarding the story/message--again I expected to see much more of a politcal tract, but was impressed at a simple story of a normal child of the 70s who decided, multiple times, to not "go along to get along" but, instead, stand up and put everything on the line for what's right.
Steve Bannion, the director/producer, did a Q&A afterwards. He, too, was not the fiery idealouge I had expected but rather a fairly humble, unassuming guy with a story to tell.
I do agree that there were too many TV video clips that end up looking grainy on the big screen. I think doing a split screen / quarter screen thing would have been more effective. It definately will look better on the small screen.
Overall, I came away convinced that not only will Sarah Palin run but that her whole life has prepared her for such a time as this. She may win this time, or maybe the next, but I'm convinced she'll not only end up as president some day, she'll help steer the country back to its roots.
Rob Decker said...
"Overall, I came away convinced that not only will Sarah Palin run but that her whole life has prepared her for such a time as this."
Based on the interviews and debate, Palin didn't seem that prepared during the 2008 campaign. And that was while she was a sitting governor. Since she is no longer in an executive position, how is she increasing her experience as a political (not cult)leader?
"She may win this time, or maybe the next, but I'm convinced she'll not only end up as president some day, she'll help steer the country back to its roots."
Given her approval rating, would be surprised if she did run. I don't think she will win the independent vote. What roots will she steer the country back to?
"The Blanchflower investigation, which was commissioned by a bipartisan panel, found that she had abused her office in attempting to get her brother-in-law fired."
Branchflower did not have jurisdiction to discipline Palin. The board that did have such jurisdiction cleared her and said Branchflower completely misapplied the law. That was a political show trial. You can look at the email trove for corroboration: Monegan was insubordinate on multiple occasions and she was well within her rights to fire him.
"She also had to pay back per Diem she collected while living at her home in Wasilla and expenses for using unauthorized government transportation for her family."
This has several errors in it. She did not pay back (and was not asked to) per diems collected while living in Wasilla instead of 500 miles away in Juneau at the Governor's Mansion. She didn't have to repay travel and per diem charges for family members traveling with her, but she did anyway to settle that charge without admitting fault. It should be noted that it was commonplace for her predecessors in the governor's mansion to have family members travel with them at taxpayer expense, and that Palin's expense budget was 80% less than Murkowski's. But she cared about getting it right and agreed to repay some of the charges.
On no charge was she "convicted."
"Based on the interviews and debate, Palin didn't seem that prepared during the 2008 campaign."
She was well prepared for the debate. I would like to see the hours of uncut footage from the Couric interview to see why the tone was so hostile between them but CBS will not release it.
"And that was while she was a sitting governor. Since she is no longer in an executive position, how is she increasing her experience as a political (not cult)leader?"
You betray yourself with the adjective "cult". Her problem in 2008 was not that she was an incompetent leader but that she was up only on issues that affected Alaska, not necessarily issues affecting the rest of the nation. She has read, written and spoken extensively on national political issues over the past two years and is ready for a presidential run.
alwaysfiredup said...
“Branchflower did not have jurisdiction to discipline Palin. The board that did have such jurisdiction cleared her and said Branchflower completely misapplied the law. That was a political show trial. You can look at the email trove for corroboration: Monegan was insubordinate on multiple occasions and she was well within her rights to fire him.”
The Alaska Legislative Council, which commissioned Branchflower to conduct the investigation into Monegan's dismissal, is a bipartisan body of state House and Senate members who can convene to make decisions when the full Legislature is not in session. They can certainly initiate an inquiry to determine the facts of a given situation. In this case the Branchflower report determined Palin abused her office in attempting to get her brother-in-law fired after he had already been disciplined for the incident Palin claimed he should be fired for. The other panel that investigated this issue and found that Palin had done no wrong was composed of three individuals who all served at the pleasure of the governor and could be fired for cause. There was a lot of conflict of interest with that investigation.
“This has several errors in it. She did not pay back (and was not asked to) per diems collected while living in Wasilla instead of 500 miles away in Juneau at the Governor's Mansion. She didn't have to repay travel and per diem charges for family members traveling with her, but she did anyway to settle that charge without admitting fault. It should be noted that it was commonplace for her predecessors in the governor's mansion to have family members travel with them at taxpayer expense, and that Palin's expense budget was 80% less than Murkowski's. But she cared about getting it right and agreed to repay some of the charges.”
Actually Palin had to pay taxes on the per diem she collected while living at home: http://www.accountingtoday.com/news/30790-1.html
My point is why did she double dip on the tax payers? She was provided a mansion in the capital at tax payer expense. She elected not to use the governor mansion for her own reasons and colleted per diem while living in her own home. Per diem is for travel purposes, not for living in your own quarters. She doesn’t look very fiscally responsible.
Palin was also hit for not paying taxes for several years on her vacation lodges that ended up being appraised at over $100K. You would think a governor of a state would know about paying her property taxes, unless she was deliberately trying to avoid doing so.
“On no charge was she "convicted."
Neither was O.J. Simpson. I would suggest, that although she may not have been formally “convicted” by the ethics board, she has been convicted in the public eye. She doesn’t come across as being very honest.
alwaysfiredup said...
“She was well prepared for the debate. I would like to see the hours of uncut footage from the Couric interview to see why the tone was so hostile between them but CBS will not release it.”
I respectively disagree. She appeared to be spouting talking points vice thoughtful answers to the questions posed during the debate. As far as the Couric interview, why so much difficulty with relatively simple questions? She couldn’t even remember the Exxon Valdez case which occurred in her own state and which the Supreme Court just decided that summer?
“You betray yourself with the adjective "cult". Her problem in 2008 was not that she was an incompetent leader but that she was up only on issues that affected Alaska, not necessarily issues affecting the rest of the nation.
Yes, I think this Palin fascination is almost cult-like. If she wasn’t up on issues that affected the rest of the nation, maybe she shouldn’t have been picked as a candidate for Vice President which could have led to her becoming President. Hence my belief this is more of a cult following then a following based on rationale thinking.
“She has read, written and spoken extensively on national political issues over the past two years and is ready for a presidential run.”
If she’s ready, then why does she never appear on any of the Sunday panels where she will have to address issues without the benefit of prearranged questions? What is she afraid of?
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