The critics* agree! "Is 2012 art? Absolutely not. It reminds us that cinema exists not only to make art but also to expertly create sensation like no other medium. When done well, that can be just as valuable and just as astonishing. But is 2012 a sublime example of the kind of huge-budget entertainment that Hollywood does best-indeed, the only kind of moviemaking at which Hollywood continues to excel? Yes. It is certainly the best movie of its kind ever made." (*NB: the only two critics that matter.)
i can juggle ping pong balls from my ass.
i am the best who has ever lived at doing this.
I like Kois's (Kois'?) review better than Mary's, mostly because I'm either too old, or too lame to handle her writing without getting dizzy. Also, it seems like maybe Kois is being earnest, but with Mary it's obvious she's playing at being intense for the entertainment value. Can you trust her not to INTENSELY LIKE everything bukkaki-style?
Mary's very clear about when she dislikes something!
Also, I have a first-hand report from the screening on Mary. Basically she looked like an 8-year-old on Christmas morning the entire time.
I feel reassured. I wouldn't want to get dizzy for no good reason. I've got booze for that.
THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT I WANT FROM THIS MOVIE. Yes. Please.
I'm glad Dan Kois is writing movie reviews for wapo now. He used to do great Television without Pity recaps.
Mary is the second coming of AWESOME.
Well here's something embarassing.
I thought bukkake was Yiddish for some sort of casserole. Why I thought this, I have no idea.
But based on that belief, I showed my 12 year old the review because the movie is so "sick/nasty" and he can't wait until it "drops" at our local theater. Also, I thought showing him that review might make him think I was slightly less lame as a mom (sadly, no).
Anyway, I've since looked up the word "bukkake" and found that it is NOT a Yiddish hotdish.
Thinking this puts me ahead of Tom Scocca in the poor parenting category and quickly gaining on Sandra Tsing Loh.
You mean it's NOT a method of preparing cold Japanese Udon!?
Don't worry about it. Knowledge is power. I've never understood why parents try to keep facts away from their kids. Kids are a lot more resilient and wise than society gives them credit for. They do suck at decision making though. That's where good parenting comes in.
To be fair, "Yiddish Hotdish" does sound like something a 12 year old would laugh at.
Your first two sentences have made me laugh uncontrollably so I will never be reading the rest of it.
Oye we're not having that fakakta bukkake again tonight!!! Jeez Honey that is all you ever want to eat.
Do I ever love me some Mary! But you know who I also love? Seth Colter Walls. Check out his review a few over from here and tell me that Mary's are any different, albeit it delivered in a different key?
Mary HK Choi goes from being Senior Cinema Critic to Arbiter of Taste in 24 hours. Ahead of the curve, her.
OMG, for just a second I saw the Washington Post link and got all scared that you were calling Stephen Hunter, perhaps the worst writer about film of this or any other decade, a critic who matters.
Don't do that!
I was fearing Medved.
Ebert liked it, because he is one of the few reviewers able to understand that you should not compare a movie like 2012 to Schindler's List.
I love Mary! I think of her as the female Vern, and I mean that with the greatest affection.
Worlds been had colliding!
Hey wait ! I may not be a critic that matters but like Dan & Mary, I totally loved 2012 (and "an 8-year-old on Christmas morning" is no doubt a dead-on description of my expression throughout the screening.) http://www.slate.com/id/2235468/