Ixion Movie Reviews - James White

Ixion_SEROV

Aesthetics Uber Alles - Digital Odysseus
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Howdy AgoraRoad, it's been a hot minute since I've posted anything truly special on the forum so I'm deciding to revive an old pastime that I have always been privy to discussing- movies and what I think about them. During my time off work, I'll often explore movies which are either lesser-known or not quite as accessible to common audiences, building a cinematic catalog that I think you might enjoy.

I'm kicking this "series" off with a look at a film which I'd been putting off for quite some time- Josh Mond's character drama "James White."

Released back in 2015, James White is one of those movies that feels like a primer for the "Millennial Condition"- how one man from a generation known for its stunted disposition and mediocre prospects must finally make the decision to grow up as he is faced with true adversity. The titular character- James White- is every bit the trainwreck as one could imagine from a millennial urbanite, a prisoner of both selfishness and longing who lives day by day on the good graces of others before something changes his life course forever.

The most striking aspect of the film to me was how realistic James feels as a character. In most other movies, actors feel like actors. They feel like a persona that's being worn for the sake of a paycheck or social clout. Christopher Abbott's performance doesn't feel like a performance at all but rather someone you would meet in your everyday life. On top of this, the movie isn't long and doesn't overstay its welcome. You're in, you see what needs to be seen, and you're out.

One part Falling Down, one part Stand By Me, shake and serve over the late Obama-era zeitgeist and you have a movie that I think might be worth your time. I want to call it a 'period piece,' but its more fitting to leave it as a character drama about perseverance, hope, sorrow, and finding what matters the most to you.

I intend to keep reviewing movies over the coming months so stay checked in. I'm always open to suggestions and other movies which expand my palette.

Until next time, stay cool.
 

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  • SophiaHaven:
    BarnSwallow said:
    thinking straight is a luxury only neets and youth can afford
    "One of these days, thought Winston with sudden deep conviction, Syme will be vaporized. He is too intelligent. He sees too clearly and speaks too plainly. The Party does not like such people. One day he will disappear. It is written in his face."
    +2
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  • StarBrite16:
    if you think straight for too long, you'll be a depressed and anxious mess
    Link
  • SophiaHaven:
    Still a Youth said:
    Yoy can but ill probably be scared off and run away from technology to smoke a cigerette and not come back to this website for a few days
    You're going to smoke a single cigarette for a few days?
    Link
  • Still a Youth:
    Yes i will make it smolder
    Link
  • Member:
    StarBrite16 said:
    if you think straight for too long, you'll be a depressed and anxious mess
    Being ignorant isn't blissful though
    +3
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  • Link
  • Member:
    You're like a wounded deer who doesn't know why it's feeling pain
    Link
  • Still a Youth:
    Yes i am
    Link
  • SophiaHaven:
    Still a Youth said:
    Yes i will make it smolder
    Well, if you do, take some reading material with you, at least. I know it's a little long at 17,000 words, but I think it'll be worth an hour of your time and might stimulate your imagination. There's some original thought and analysis in it, as well some surveys from Huxley, Popper, de Tocqueville, and Kaczynski.
    Link
  • SophiaHaven:
    Member said:
    You're like a wounded deer who doesn't know why it's feeling pain
    This is such an incredibly apt description.
    Link
  • Still a Youth:
    I need to write about huxley ive been thinking about that for days
    Link
  • StarBrite16:
    sad but true
    Link
  • Member:
    SophiaHaven said:
    Well, if you do, take some reading material with you, at least. I know it's a little long at 17,000 words, but I think it'll be worth an hour of your time and might stimulate your imagination. There's some original thought and analysis in it, as well some surveys from Huxley, Popper, de Tocqueville, and Kaczynski.
    Can you send me this work too?
    Link
  • SophiaHaven:
    I'll do my agoranons one better. I'll send it to the both of you in a common chat.
    Link
  • Still a Youth:
    Will take
    Link
  • Still a Youth:
    Am pdf data hoarder
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  • SophiaHaven:
    PDF? I'm sending it in Agoraformat. What am I, Adobe?
    Link
  • Still a Youth:
    What does that meeeeen
    Link
  • StarBrite16:
    oh shit this site has it's own doc format
    Link
  • SophiaHaven:
    Alack, if only. Maybe one day. I meant whatever HTML and CSS styling it's using to do the functionality it has
    Link
  • SophiaHaven:
    Id est, I'm sending it as DM text.
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  • SophiaHaven:
    Okay sending now
    +1
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  • Still a Youth:
    You might like adornos dialectic of the enlightenment, or if you wanna go full philo-bot Quines indeterminacy of translation arguments
    +1
    Link
  • SophiaHaven:
    Still a Youth said:
    You might like adornos dialectic of the enlightenment, or if you wanna go full philo-bot Quines indeterminacy of translation arguments
    An extremely astute and appreciated recommendation. Indeed, I've been meaning to delve into that for a while. I think it would speak a lot on the issue of closed societies that are nonetheless very abstract (in the Popperian sense of the term, meaning those societies where freedom of thought and discourse are not allowed, and where the laws are against the principles that allow men and woman to live as they please, with only civic or economic engagement with the rest of their peers). Within this category I would include the 20th century authoritarian states of the fascists and communists, as well as maybe some 19th century European polities.
    +1
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  • SophiaHaven:
    I deliberately avoided speaking on these cases in the DM's I sent the both of you. For one thing, it's long enough as-is and a full discussion of the problem would quite literally be novel-length. For another, I believe that the horror and objective inhumanity of modern rational societies where not even the pretext of liberty or open thought is given its due -- such as the totalitarian societies of North Korea, Turkmenistan, the PRC, and increasingly even places like the Russian Federation -- is plain and obvious for all us Westerners and children of the internet to perceive and thus should not merit much immediate discussion.
    Link
      SophiaHaven: I deliberately avoided speaking on these cases in the DM's I sent the both of you. For one...