Cowboy Carter

I'm through "Alligator Tears" so far. Like Taylor, she's a pop star. That means despite her ballyhooed genre-bending she's basic. That means I can tell exactly what she's doing. I don't like understanding an artist so well, unless the art is piercingly perfect. When Beyonce raps, it sounds like a non-rapper trying to rap. When she tries country it sounds like she's trying country. I say the same of Taylor attempting anything but pop or country-pop. I can see too much of the artist in the art. I said years ago art needs an air of effortlessness. Sylvia Plath was my negative example then. Beyonce is more negative. Her efforts are painfully overt. They don't sound authentic. The first track was the worst so far. I hated it. It sounded so high-effort low-intelligence.

Obviously her physical talents remain. She's a real singer. But the songwriting is rough.

I don't think her country inauthenticity is racial. After all, I said the same things when Hootie went country. (lol)

Almost done now... I almost hate the album. I wonder who wrote the songs. Beyonce must not be a great songwriter, otherwise she would have written these and they'd be good. If she didn't write them, then why couldn't she get better songwriters? She has entirely the fame and finances. She must not have great taste in songwriters.

Well, if the album is no joy to me, I hope at least it injects some soul and dimensionality in the world of country.

Pulp Fiction

Losing luster after 30 years and repeated viewings, Pulp Fiction still stands tall like an oxidizing icon.

3.5/4

Kaufman's "Faust" translation

First scene ("Night")

Disclaimer: I don't know German and I haven't read or seen Faust in any format.

Kaufman is as loyal in technique as any translator -- of any work -- I've identified. When Goethe breaks his pentameter, this way or that, Kaufman follows, this way or that. He rhymes the right lines. It's astounding. I know English is Germanic, but Kaufman leaps through many hoops when the languages lose phase.

German:

Der Herr: Kennst du den Faust?

    Mephistopheles: Den Doktor?

        Der Herr: Meinen Knecht!

            Mephistopheles: Furwahr!

English:

The Lord: Do you know Faust?

    Mephistopheles: The doctor?

        The Lord: Aye, my servant.

            Mephistopheles: Lo!

This is iambic hexameter in both languages (as far as I can interpret the German), and Kaufman shuffles syllables between speakers to make sure of it. This can't be easy, yet he sustains it through many pages.

But it's not just metric loyalty that's impressive; considering that constraint, Kaufman's poetry is a technical achievement. Rigid to the German, it reads like English poetry. Again, I know English is Germanic, but this can't be easy. Kaufman finds rhymes and style to make it all work.

However, a critical caveat lurks: it's hard to follow. Kaufman takes his technical constraints seriously, as I would, at clarity's expense. I almost need SparkNotes. A year ago I might have blamed my own reading comprehension, but I've endured some tough classics lately, and I don't think Faust should be my hardest. Maybe Kaufman is too deep in his heritage of German philosophers.

This makes Faust slow going, for an already slow reader, but I'm not sure I would ask for anything different. Indeed, when I read modern "readable" translations, I ask for technical loyalty or traditional style. Now I have those, and I won't complain about the readability. A translator can hardly achieve it all. But I will acknowledge the readability.

Maybe it will improve. If not, I'll see if I can digest enough of the story to continue, and I'll appreciate the formal achievement. I used to say I was more interested in Shakespeare's language than his drama. Kaufman's Faust is so far an exhibition of the former interest, but I'll see if I can indulge the latter as well, as I proceed.

Killers of the Flower Moon

Great movies are great by a combination of pleasure and profundity. Killers of the Flower Moon is moderate in both.

The performances weren't as satisfying as they should have been. Expectations are sky-high for a DiCaprio-De Niro-Scorsese collaboration. The last couple of times I've seen De Niro I couldn't get into him; he's almost too iconic to act anymore. DiCaprio also needs a challenge, and this role was pretty straightforward. Straightforward is what I'd call Gladstone's role too, which was disappointing after I heard her praise. She mostly just had to be miserable, conveying basic familial instincts.

2.5/4

Napoleon

The movie doesn't earn its title. If the goal is definitive Napoleon biopic, I need three and a half hours of precisely selected material. Either Scott didn't select his material precisely or his title doesn't reflect his goal. If Shakespeare in Love was called Shakespeare; if At Eternity's Gate was called Vincent; if The Last Temptation of Christ was called Jesus... you get it. They'd feel like failures. They're simply a take on a sample of a character. Napoleon was a take in that it used Joaquin Phoenix. Choosing Joaquin to depict any character that he isn't originating feels like a take. Napoleon is the movie where Joaquin dramatizes some events in Napoleon's life -- it isn't the definitive biopic the title suggests. I resent titles nowadays. Every movie has to sound definitive; every song title has to be all uppercase or all lowercase.

Do I need to say Joaquin felt weird? He's too unique as an actor; he can't blend in. He needs to originate characters according to his style; he isn't believable otherwise. He didn't even try an accent for this movie -- he's just Joaquin in an ugly hat, trying to sound formal. I don't feel like I understand Napoleon any better now.

2.5/4

Someday You'll Die (Nikki Glaser)

I hope this is a turning point, from which Nikki increasingly introduces serious reflections beyond her own libido. This special considers suicide and death in an apex of poignancy for Nikki. Despite her mastery of the art of the joke, the minimal dimensionality of her subject matter has kept her from greatness in my opinion. Her jokes are as good as anyone's, all about one topic. I hope she expands her persona and takes a seat among the greats.

A lot of her jokes try too hard and are too repetitive, thus predictable. Sometimes I can tell based on the setup how Nikki will milk a joke. Then it feels forced without reward. But I can't expect every utterance to be fresh. There are plenty of fresh ones.

The Roast of Tom Brady

Since I made the terrible mistake of watching the entire thing, I feel like I have to say something about it.

Winners (roughly in order):

1. Nikki Glaser. I was sad and angry at her new look, but she's the roast god. For commentary on such a look, see roast god Greg Giraldo at the roast of Joan Rivers.
2. Kevin Hart. After his last few specials I was worried he was washed up, not as a celebrity but as a real comic. He delivered as roast host beyond comedy, as a man, bringing people together. He was warm and funny and genuine when everything else was unpleasant.
3. Sam Jay
4. Belichik
5. Drew Bledsoe. Decent delivery, all things considered.

Losers (roughly in order):

1. Rob Gronkowski
2. Ben Affleck
3. Randy Moss
4. Bert Kreischer. I have never heard of this guy. He was painful.

Hercules (2014)

I haven't seen a bad movie in quite a while. I almost forgot it was possible. Hercules is like Spirited, the last bafflingly bad movie I remember: it's not just bad bad, it's bafflingly bad, meaning it had the elements to be okay, but it managed to be bad in some unspeakable way.

I wonder why adults figured they should write a Hercules movie as though they were tweens rather than competent adults. I think I could have written this movie in 9th grade. But surely I would have chosen an interesting piece of the Hercules story? Why in the world would I have chosen this plot? It eschews the obvious storylines, not for unexpectedly profound side plots but for expectedly boring side plots. The Hercules story is great; why would you ever choose this plot?

And having chosen this plot, you need to write some dialogue like this is a real movie. It cost $100M to make -- just write like it's a real movie.

I didn't enjoy The Rock at all. He has the arms for it; everything else feels phony.

Dogtooth

I started Dogtooth at least once around high school. I watched up to half (one of the more graphic sexual scenes) and found it too upsetting. Overall I liked it this time. I understood more of the dynamics. While it was still upsetting, I can endure those things better now, in service of an interesting movie.

I sort of hate the movie, but I like it. I'd watch more of it, especially if they keep pushing their limits, venturing out, now that we've thoroughly established their prison life. I'd like to explore the consequences of such insulation.

I wonder the father's motivation? To protect or possess?

I preferred it to The Lobster: more intense and more focused.