Long Long Long

Whether it's a book or a movie, if it's long it's gott ab eworth the length.

2001 is on right now. I've seen it before but I don't recognize any of the scenes I'm seeing now. I think that's because the first time I watched it I lost interest and started doing something else (like I'm doing now).

Every time I come across a written description of it I have to laugh when people call it "thrilling" and shit like that- it's boring as fuck. It's long, and there are so many scenes that just aren't needed. There's no point.

I'm not against long movies. Look at the first two Godfather movies- they're long, but there's so much in there. Try to find a wasted scene. Then there's Magnolia. Yes, it tells its stories at its own pace; there's nothing wrong with that. But watching it you too many scenes that go on too long. There's fat that should've been trimmed. I could've done without Tom Cruise's character altogether, but even with him, the scene of him delivering his speech goes on for too long. That goes double for his scene at Jason Robards's deathbed.

When you watch Casino, another long movie, if anything, you wish the scenes would go on longer.

The best exacmple of a book that's too long is Atlas Shrugged. The first time I read it I loved the clarity- every idea was explained very clearly. But over the years I've come to see it as needlessly long. 35% of the text could easily be cut away, maybe even more. Ideas aren't being made clear, they're beaten into the ground. They're over-explained.

I wrote a post here about Atlas Shrugged. I don't know how to post a link but you can easily find it by scrolling through all the content on this blog, RJ Battles.