Volume 3, Issue 19
September 13 - September 26, 2001

OFF TOPIC

I'm not much for writing venomous 'complaint' letters to local rags, but I feel impelled to drop you a quick line regarding the one element of your magazine that repeatedly annoys me-- that Josh Tyson guy. He epitomizes the unfortunate 'Hunter S. Thompson wannabe'syndrome that seems to affect a good portion of young writers (usually puny suburban white guys wearing floppy hats and sunglasses while chomping on plastic cigarette holders they bought at Walgreen's). I've grown used to hearing this kind of brazenly self-referential 'reporting' while stuck in Journalism 101 classes at Auraria, but to see it continually printed in an actual magazine is beyond irritating. It makes your otherwise enjoyable paper seem bumbling and amateurish.

The best illustration of the lameness in Tyson's reporting comes in [a recent issue]: the Ghost World review. After a short introductory paragraph which actually mentions the movie itself, Tyson goes on a pointless spiel about himself, disregarding the review completely in order to focus on his own oh-I-was-so-drunk persona. Not only that, but he blatantly rips off a Thompson story in which Thompson gets drunk and kicks a bunch of beer bottles down the slanted floor of a theater. I mean, it's not even bordering on plagiarism, it's straight out theft.

Someone sit this dork down and tell him that these days, even when Hunter Thompson himself takes the Thompson approach to a story, it seems somewhat bogus and dated. To see some guy working for a tiny Denver newspaper attempt the same thing is nauseatingly laughable. --Eric J. Brock

EARTH TO PAUL

Sometimes we get letters that clearly weren't meant for us. How they got here is a mystery. Here's a writer whose intended receiver I still haven't managed to discern.

Hi Jimmy,

Me and John just watched Exotica at your recommendation. We have several questions/ comments:

1) I think we should address the pregnancy kiss taboo ... that is so random. Why do you think Egoyan chose to include this in the storyline? Maybe Zoe represents a different facet of Christina ... they look so much alike. That isn't a coincidence, you know what I mean?

2) We notice that many of your selections on your top 10 lists include loss of innocence themes/incest/child abuse. Is this simply a topic you find interesting, or are you drawn to films that portray it a certain way? I know many people whose twins have died.

3) I hope to be through all of your four star movies by Halloween. This is what I have left: Star Wars, Forrest Hump, and The Marriage of Maria Braun. --Paul

Trust me, nobody named Jimmy has reviewed Exotica in these pages. And I find it very disturbing that this Paul guy has never seen Star Wars. Or that a man named Jimmy would give four stars to Forrest Hump (let's hope that's a typo). "I know many people whose twins have died." Huh?

--Chris J. Magyar