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Thanks for your honest answer to the "everything is bad" question. By the way, could you use some sort of name when you post? less confusion. As a student of art you certainly must be frustrated with any/all "popular culture art". I'll bet you feel like an english professor that is forced to read PEOPLE or LIFE magazine. I do not have the training that you do to "judge" filmaking. I have to operate from more of an emotional perspective rather than an intellectual one. In other words: I don't know WHY I may like or dislike something, I just do. I have the same feeling from music or studio art. I can't break down all of the academic reasons why it makes me feel the way I do. As is described in an odd book called "Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance" I have an idea of what "quality" is...but can't describe to you why it is or isn't. That's what your art training is about. I am on target frequently though: I like many things that the coen brothers have done (blood simple, r.arizona, fargo); I think that is more a factor of me being sacreligious and liking anything that is a little rebellious or if I can really recognize quality. I think in the case of LONESTAR that I liked the fact that the story was not thrown at you. The outcome was unimportant because the director was subtile about bringing everything together. Sayles didn't just play with emotions and create a tear jerking movie. The movie was entertaining and meant for entertainment and that takes it out of the realm of "art" or "film art". Those ("art films") have their levels of quality as well. I look for something different when I see movies. With hollywood stamping out "products" just like a factory then I crave something different. That for me is a measure of quality. That is probably why I enjoyed LONESTAR so much.
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