Read, People!

Dear Ty,

You were right about the previous NYer [clicky]. Full of words. Many of which I am still getting through. The Gladwell piece pretty much explains my life. Especially the part where they tape recorded their dinner conversation.

I have to say, though, I have a new favorite NYer writer: David Denby, movie critic.

Denby wrote the following two opening sentences that seem to simultaneously capture the quality/worthiness of the respective films (presumably anyhow, I haven't seen either one) and deconstruct the critic's dilemma.

On Harold and Kumar:
"Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay," a loosely strung-together collection of sex, race, and stoner jokes, is, by any rational standard, a terrible movie, yet I kept laughing at it, and I came out of the theatre in a good mood.

On Iron Man:
"Robert Downey, Jr., as Tony Stark [Iron Man], billionaire arms manufacturer and playboy, almost completely dominates this whooshing junk pile."

I'll get to the NYTimes article soon [clicky].

Ah, no shit! I read both reviews and totally agree. I almost DIDN'T read the Harold and Kumar piece because I was all, "dang, why did he review that? He's just gonna harsh on it." But, it was all post-race, sign-of-the-times and funny and shit. I may never see either, but I have a new respect and comprehension for both.

In fact, I was just telling someone on Friday about how brilliant Denby has been.

Speaking of literary magazines, I recommend this NYT Sunday Magazine article too: clicky. And this Gregg Easterbrook piece from the Atlantic, by the way: clicky.

Read, people!