Moonchild

I apologize for not commenting on the movie in question since I haven't seen it, but I felt a bit of a surge of frustration noticing the lack of regard for The Counselor. Moreover, since I haven't entered here since 2007, I didn't even know you could reply to a comment, so I wasted time talking to myself. Professional loser.

In my opinion, The Counselor is one of the most underrated films of the last ten years, and the only real flaw is Ridley Scott's over-the-top directing and the super colorful, pop style of cinematography that somewhat distorts its pessimism. What really works, in my view, is what various critics like Fofi and Pontiggia despise: a film that makes its metaphysical and transcendental message its strong point, and thus doesn't need to be credible.
Translated, gentlemen, Mr. Cormac McCarthy (who is not the best living writer out of sympathy), who has never had a screenwriting manual in his hands, and has set out to paint incredibly powerful images in his own unique way. Because The Counselor is nothing more than his sunburnt gothic spine-breaker at the end, or maybe some would dare to say that the diamond scene is long and tedious? Or that the speech about Bolito only gave me goosebumps knowing it was nothing more than a Chekhov's gun that would eventually make one of the protagonists shit himself? Or perhaps that the cartel boss's monologue is ridiculous and senseless?
Scott's great merit was (perhaps unintentionally) to not distort anything of the metaphysical treatment that the writer wanted to convey to the film, and it is the only moment of Scott as a director from 2008 to today that isn't embarrassing. I don't think it’s a coincidence.

I've been following Jeff Nichols since Shotgun Stories, and I remember that after seeing Mud, I noted his name in my personal list of risky directors/authors (a list that destroyed a young promise like Neil Blomkamp). Too clever or too honest? This film deserves a coming-of-age story in pop style where literary stereotypes (Lansdale, Faulkner, maybe McCarthy, and even Dickens within those youthful dynamics) are dissolved in elongated broths of stylistic and geographical cleverness (which I, in any case, hold dear). The choice to use such capable actors with a certain aesthetic quality like Michael Shannon and Sam Shepard (and even McConaughey) can be truly spot-on or overly opportunistic when one wants to make life easier when they don't quite know what to tell (hence the cleverness I mentioned). I received Take Shelter as a visionary masterpiece, but after years of revisits, I now see it as an aesthetic gem, much less substantial than it pretends to be. As soon as I catch up with the much-snobbed Midnight Special (a Spielbergian sci-fi with a worthy budget and the authorial pull he has, too clever or too honest?) and Loving (in competition at Cannes this year), maybe I'll be able to have a clearer idea about him.

A robust work. As you rightly point out in the review, it is important to highlight how the new current of which Barron is a part slightly diverges from the classic Weird matrix, yet is not forgotten by contemporaries. In this case, an in-depth exploration of social and more earthly themes is implemented, much like the unsettling relationship between the protagonist and his wife, and the anxious resurfacing of memories within the realm of normalcy, leading to an ancestral delirium that proudly declares its roots. Personally, the only and curious case of an author who has firmly claimed and embraced the legacy of the greats, and whom I would not compare to anyone else, is Dr. Thomas Ligotti, in fact the best living prose writer of Weird fiction.
PS: A few months ago, the news came that the collection Burnt Black Suns by Simon Strantzas will soon be translated, again by the excellent Hypnos.

my sweet fleur de mai, many of you are missed by me, one day I will return.

damn infected but why is this reading reviews from almost 5 years ago written by a lost nineteen-year-old, criticizing form, syntax, and content? what’s going on? are there still people like this in 2009? This is why you don’t listen to this poor long-haired band anymore. damn?

Strangely, I let it pass right before my eyes despite my adoration for certain sounds. White Rainbow is cool, yes, but very ouroboros; it tends to eat its own tail, becoming boring in the long run, despite having nice instrumental finds (including the percussion). Then, Prism Of Eternal Now is part of that list of albums that are "beautiful but really lasts too long (boredoms?)" which diminishes the appeal, from which at least some have lately been distancing themselves (see Mark McGuire, Pocahaunted, and Sun Araw, who tend to split the number of pieces since they average about 12-13 minutes per song). Then I say a ton of crap, just move along.

my favorite album of 2008 probably, alongside the new (now old) Barn Owl and Mark McGuire (even though these two are definitely more droning and less pop-oriented). Spacemen 3 yes, but more electronic and machine-like, synthesized garage. Too Much Honky Tonkin is danced to even better than Justice.

Mazzete, here nothing goes to waste, my favorite of theirs.

beautiful is beautiful, at first listens more than robotic it’s quite a stuggioso mix of mercuryrevvoso, for me eh, listening to it last night I thought the reason was another, but now that I'm at work I confirm the thesis... with a bit of robot yes.