Dear Mick:Thank you for your review of “The Creator”。那部电影是坚果,。我喜欢你说明一下好n of it being propaganda for AI. It was what I needed to hear. I am down here in Australia and was shocked at how anti-civilization it was.
Liz Bryant, Australia
Dear Liz:If a movie is trying to sell ideas that are completely nuts, there’s no need for critics to feel squeamish about noticing. In terms of its message, “The Creator” is poisonous, a movie that chooses machines over people, that even endorses saving machines and killing people. And yet, besides me, nobody has seemed particularly annoyed by this.
The movie — spoiler alert — presents the destruction of humanity as the occasion for a happy ending. It has gotten mixed to positive reviews, with most of the negative comments having to do with the film’s lack of clarity and originality. Actually, it’s clear in what it’s saying, and what it’s sayingisoriginal, as in uniquely bad.
Dear Mick:Am I the only one in the world who thinks “Gone With the Wind” is the most overrated movie of all time? I’ve seen the movie three times by now, and I’ve concluded it is an overblown, overacted soap opera that comes across more and more as outdated. Well?
Abby Eller, Menlo Park
Dear Abby:This is like somebody saying, “I stuck a screwdriver into an electrical outlet and got a terrible shock — all three times I did it.” If you don’t like “Gone With the Wind,” and I realize I’m thinking out of the box here,stop watching it. You’ve already spent 12 hours on this thing, and you now have my permission to put down the remote control and back away from the TV set. Although, come to think of it, Ihaveheard that it gets better the 28th time you see it, so you might want to invest another 100 hours to find out if that’s right. But whichever course you choose, I can’t resist pointing out that criticizing “Gone With the Wind” for being a soap opera is a little like criticizing “The Godfather” because there are a whole lot of Italians in it. That’s kind of the idea.
Hey, Mick:Would really love to hear your thoughts on the most boring film I have ever sat through from beginning to end: “Lawrence of Arabia.” I thought it would never end!
Barbara Cleveland, Palo Alto
Hey, Barbara:You and Abby (see above) would probably have plenty to say to each other, but I wonder: Did you see this when you were tired? And have you been dining out on being the only person smart enough to know that “Lawrence of Arabia,” a movie that people have been enjoying for 60 years, is secretly boring? I mean, sure, Anthony Quinn is not the most convincing Arab. But the cinematography, the Maurice Jarre score, and Peter O’Toole’s performance — I wish all movies were that boring.
Hello Mick:Robert De Niro, Robert Duvall, Jack Nicholson, Dustin Hoffman. Please rank in order of acting talent. Now rank them in order of how much you enjoy watching each on the screen.
Leonard Stegmann, Half Moon Bay
Hello Leonard:I wouldn’t presume to rate them in terms of acting talent, because all four are great. In terms of how much I enjoy watching them, the race for first place is close, but I guess I’d go Nicholson, De Niro, Hoffman and Duvall. Ten years ago, I probably would have put De Niro first, but I feel like I know what he does at this point; whereas, Nicholson is always surprising. And Hoffman’s my all-time favorite at awards ceremonies, because he makes the best acceptance speeches. However, you didn’t ask me aboutRobert Redford, who’s my favorite of all of them.
Have a question? Ask Mick LaSalle at mlasalle@sfchronicle.com. Include your name and city for publication, and a phone number for verification. Letters may be edited for clarity and length.