The Indie Spirits clash with The Razzies

Probably the most useless award

For those who didn't catch the subtle difference, that, above, is a golden raspberry. That award, commonly known as a "Razzie" is designated for the worst of the worst in film releases and is meant to be the antithesis of the Oscars (which air tonight). Traditionally, or it has been so for the last handful of years, both the Film Independent Spirit Awards and the Razzies are held the day prior to the Academy awards. The Razzies honor what everyone hated, and the Indie Spirits honor - as John Waters once prophetically stated - "the movies that come in sixth at the Oscars". Since the expansion of the Academy's Best Picture category to ten nominees, he was apparently exactly right. Not long before they're relegated to honoring what comes in eleventh.

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In Defense of M. Night Shyamalan

Recently in the Chicago Sun Times website, a letter was published by Roger Ebert - the letter was open and to M. Night Shyamalan from one of the Times' foreign correspondents Omer Mozaffar. In the open letter, Mozaffar explains himself as a student of theology, and a film lover, as well as "a fellow Desi" from the same generation as M. Night. He refers, and defers (in a way) to their shared ethnicity as some sort of common ground and an excuse to open this dialog. 

Thanks for the tip, Jack.

I'm sure M. Night will write him back. Just as I'm sure Omer will read this post and follow my blog.

It is critical to understand something about criticism - it's all subjective. If there is any ounce of objectivity to a film review, it's that we can all agree on the name of the film, the basic plot, and the people responsible for it. 

The open letter is here. 

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