We do not talk,

we bludgeon one another with facts and theories gleaned from cursory readings of newspapers, magazines and digests.

- Henry Miller

Competitive

truth-telling

The end

keeps coming.

This way of life

devours flesh. 

There is nothing bad about being wrong

Except the insistence on continuing to be wrong. 

Each pure thing, chained,

find reason to be named a beast. 

- Beast Wagon finale

Techno

illogical. 

And they lived happily ever after.

For a while. 

You told a lie so good

that it became the truth.

He wants the adventure

but not the trouble. 

Not to be fearless,

But to fear less. 

He’s an idea so powerful

that we can’t destroy him by rationality.

Please, lord, let me get one more.

Hacksaw Ridge - 2.5/5
First half sucks, straight cornpone, Andrew Garfield with an accent stupider than his actual speaking voice; but that battlefield's a rager. Mel Gibson's directorial proclivities tend to be less about courage, in particular, but the endurance of courage over time. The difficulty of sustaining faith. Moral torture porn. Spiritual masochism. But he doesn't really talk about belief, to dive in deep; he just wants to show it, and for us to accept it. "Belief'd be a lot easier if, um, nobody'd question it," almost as if to say. There's almost an interesting parallel with the Japanese man's seppuku at the end – a strange belief that we don't relate to, but is true to them – but that just seems odd, other, while Desmond's belief is acceptable, no need to question. Test, yes, but not question. I have a great admiration for the morality at the center of this movie and I think Desmond Doss is an unbelievably heroic human being whom I greatly admire, but I just have this personal thing where I wish a sense of right and wrong didn't come from above.

I've come to bargain.

Dr. Strange - 3/5
That Dark Light Store At The Mall: The Movie. You know how Matrix pulled from obscure sources to make its ideas seem fresh? Dr. Strange feels like it's pulling from obvious sources to make its ideas seem fresh. It's nothing you haven't seen before – but that doesn't mean it's not still fun to watch. A rollercoaster's a rollercoaster, bro-bro. It's the story of most Marvel movies – half good, half 'wish it was better.' More concerned with building a sequel than building a story. But fun to watch.

All ratted up like a teenage Jezebel.

Hairspray (Original) - 2.5/5
What it shares with the musical (which I love) is that Tracy Turnblad is so genuinely enthusiastic. She just wants to dance and she ain't got reason to only dance with one type of person. Beyond that, a lot of the movie just felt like a reason for John Waters to pull out his record collection (which is fantastic). He wants to share his taste with you, good and bad.