The Jeffrey Wells Thread
- FrauBlucher
- Joined: Mon Jul 15, 2013 8:28 pm
- Location: Greenwich Village
The Jeffrey Wells Thread
He probably got bombarded from people who suffer clinical depression and others in the mental health field. I didn't read article and usually don't read much of his writings but from the little excerpts you guys wrote I ain't missing much.
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- Joined: Tue Apr 29, 2008 12:49 pm
Re: The Jeffrey Wells Thread
Well, here's a cache of it, which didn't come up when I checked a few hours ago. Rejoice, you can eyeroll at his bullshit without giving him a click!
- Gregory
- Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 4:07 pm
Re: The Jeffrey Wells Thread
I didn't have time to finish the piece earlier, but the end pays off richly.
THE ENDHe says on his site that he loves pancakes — that indicates that he eats whatever the fuck he wants to eat, and that he probably has other appetites that are doing him no good.
- domino harvey
- Dot Com Dom
- Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm
Re: The Jeffrey Wells Thread
I'm surprised Wells didn't off himself when that director failed to send him Vinessa Shaw nude pix. He's been through the worst lack and loss imaginable and survived, what an inspiration I cry every time share this if you believe in the healing power of JW praise him!!!!!!
- FrauBlucher
- Joined: Mon Jul 15, 2013 8:28 pm
- Location: Greenwich Village
Re: The Jeffrey Wells Thread
He's audacious and clueless at the same time.Perkins Cobb wrote:Well, here's a cache of it, which didn't come up when I checked a few hours ago. Rejoice, you can eyeroll at his bullshit without giving him a click!
- colinr0380
- Joined: Mon Nov 08, 2004 4:30 pm
- Location: Chapel-en-le-Frith, Derbyshire, UK
Re: The Jeffrey Wells Thread
That is quite shockingly silly piece by Wells. So if you drink, smoke and eat junk food, and don't do yoga or lift weights it is your own fault that you are depressed?
And the 'its your own fault' approach to drinking is terribly wrong-headed, but I cannot entirely blame Wells for this it often seems to happen that people treat the 'easy' superficial symptom of being depressed, upset or finding no joy in life (drinking, smoking, drugs, whatever) as a cause instead. Perhaps it is just easier to try and stamp out the symptom, and to make individuals feel guilty for having indulged in it, than to tackle the, perhaps impossible to change, root causes that drive people into despair in the first place, or to a place where they want to lose themselves as the only release?
And the 'its your own fault' approach to drinking is terribly wrong-headed, but I cannot entirely blame Wells for this it often seems to happen that people treat the 'easy' superficial symptom of being depressed, upset or finding no joy in life (drinking, smoking, drugs, whatever) as a cause instead. Perhaps it is just easier to try and stamp out the symptom, and to make individuals feel guilty for having indulged in it, than to tackle the, perhaps impossible to change, root causes that drive people into despair in the first place, or to a place where they want to lose themselves as the only release?
- tenia
- Ask Me About My Bassoon
- Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2009 11:13 am
Re: The Jeffrey Wells Thread
I've just read the Wells article, and it seemed so so so wrong. I don't know what would be worse : that Wells actually believe what he has written, or that he wanted to mean something else and that's all he ended up being able to write.
I totally agree with Colin : it seems amazing that Wells is able to think so narrow-minded things which looks like stuff from 50 years ago ("oooh, you drink too much, no wonder you're depressed").
There is so little empathy in this piece that I understand how Wells would simply take it down because there's no way you can rewrite something like this properly.
I totally agree with Colin : it seems amazing that Wells is able to think so narrow-minded things which looks like stuff from 50 years ago ("oooh, you drink too much, no wonder you're depressed").
There is so little empathy in this piece that I understand how Wells would simply take it down because there's no way you can rewrite something like this properly.
- copen
- Joined: Fri Feb 06, 2015 5:43 pm
Re: The Jeffrey Wells Thread
Gregory wrote:Question about Broadcast News below;
I Googled a few variations of this "well-known quote" to double-check and found nothing....Jeffrey Wells wrote:Albert Brooks‘ character voiced the first in Broadcast News: “Always choose a woman who’s just hot enough to turn you on.”
albert brooks' character says something very close to this in 'defending your life'. he elaborates that his wife was much too good looking for him (inferiority).
- med
- Joined: Tue Mar 17, 2009 5:58 pm
Re: The Jeffrey Wells Thread
I'm fairly certain "breaking up with a girlfriend who was astonishing in bed" was code language for not getting Vinessa Shaw nudes.domino harvey wrote:I'm surprised Wells didn't off himself when that director failed to send him Vinessa Shaw nude pix.
- copen
- Joined: Fri Feb 06, 2015 5:43 pm
Re: The Jeffrey Wells Thread
i've never heard of this guy until today. thank you(?) criterion forum.
i tried to read several entries on his blog, but they weren't able to hold my attention.
i tried to read several entries on his blog, but they weren't able to hold my attention.
- ianthemovie
- Joined: Sat Apr 18, 2009 10:51 am
- Location: Boston, MA
- Contact:
Re: The Jeffrey Wells Thread
Does anybody know at what point Glenn Kenny gave up bothering to be nice to Jeff Wells? I ask because Kenny's Twitter feed would indicate that he, along with most of the rest of the critics' community, has basically has lost all respect for the guy, but I've been listening to Kenny's conversations with Wells from 2012 (recorded for Wells' podcast) and Kenny is totally respectful and generous. They're not exactly chummy, and you can occasionally feel Kenny bristle against Wells during the conversations, but the mere fact that Kenny was once willing to engage with Wells for several hours' worth of conversation about movies suggests that the nature of their relationship has changed dramatically in the last several years. I just wondered which of Wells' faux pas was the one that made Kenny realize Wells wasn't worth his time.
Those conversations, by the way, are completely fascinating for Kenny fans. I could listen to the man talk about movies all day. He has a few verbal tics (like saying "you know" constantly) but he's totally sharp, articulate, and hugely knowledgeable. In the interviews with Wells he goes into depth on most of the big end-of-the-year films, including Django, Amour, Lincoln, etc., as well as discusses the neo-liberal backlash against Zero Dark Thirty, the Criterion Blu-ray of On the Waterfront, the Oscar race, and many other topics. If you can manage to ignore the Wells half of the conversation, it's riveting stuff. Somebody needs to talk him into having his own podcast. I was a fan of the now-defunct Village Voice film podcast but good God, Kenny would be able to talk circles around those guys, to say nothing of the guys from /Film.
Those conversations, by the way, are completely fascinating for Kenny fans. I could listen to the man talk about movies all day. He has a few verbal tics (like saying "you know" constantly) but he's totally sharp, articulate, and hugely knowledgeable. In the interviews with Wells he goes into depth on most of the big end-of-the-year films, including Django, Amour, Lincoln, etc., as well as discusses the neo-liberal backlash against Zero Dark Thirty, the Criterion Blu-ray of On the Waterfront, the Oscar race, and many other topics. If you can manage to ignore the Wells half of the conversation, it's riveting stuff. Somebody needs to talk him into having his own podcast. I was a fan of the now-defunct Village Voice film podcast but good God, Kenny would be able to talk circles around those guys, to say nothing of the guys from /Film.
- bdsweeney
- Joined: Mon Apr 07, 2008 7:09 pm
Re: The Jeffrey Wells Thread
I have no idea if they're available anymore, but see if you can track down his conversations on (now defunct) 'The Film Talk' podcast. All three contributors were erudite and it made for a terrific listen.ianthemovie wrote:Those conversations, by the way, are completely fascinating for Kenny fans. I could listen to the man talk about movies all day. Somebody needs to talk him into having his own podcast. I was a fan of the now-defunct Village Voice film podcast but good God, Kenny would be able to talk circles around those guys, to say nothing of the guys from /Film.
- tenia
- Ask Me About My Bassoon
- Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2009 11:13 am
Re: The Jeffrey Wells Thread
I love the title of his answer.criterion10 wrote:Jeffrey Wells is at it again.
When will people learn not to throw gasoline on the fire and instead focus on discussing the matter which has been tackled ?
I remember when Telerama's French journalist Aurelien Ferenczi negative review of Wall E was deemed as vastly missing the whole point of the movie, focusing instead on irrelevant points (like the movie not respecting Asimov laws of robotics, which would be like bashing Asterix for not respecting La guerre des Gaules). He responded to that by a post titled "Are we allowed to criticize Wall E ?" which actually simply was a compilation of posts made by users on his original review.
But hey, in the case of Wells, he saw that with a female friend ! So he knows what he's talking about based on this wildly representative sample of 1 woman ! Plus, another woman said it was "brutal"!
Joke aside, it's amazing he doesn't realise he's using a compellingly bad argument to make his case. Because a guy say his wife wouldn't last 5 minutes doesn't mean a thing... except what he said. My GF hates SF movies, would I write based on this for the upcoming Star Wars movies "Forget women seeing this" ?
He's extrapolating to the last degree things to justify having written an overly-simplistic generalisation.
And end up his answer with a Godwin point.
- Gregory
- Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 4:07 pm
Re: The Jeffrey Wells Thread
Wells to Iñárritu:
The comment that sparked this was stupid but wouldn't elicit any more than a shrug from me, but what's really pathetic is his using a weak mea culpa to repeatedly cast himself as a bloodied soldier in some kind of culture war, and something akin to a victim of an oppressive dictatorship, just because some people on social media disagreed with his statement and then the Guardian smelled a trivial controversy and picked it up.
Wells continues talking about what a favor he's done for the film through the courageous stand he's taken in the face of the vicious "predators."
The only similarity I see between Hugh Glass and Wells is that he's a Hugh Jass.Happy Thanksgiving to your and yours, but I need to share a thought or two about the hoo-hah of the last two days. You’ll forgive me but I’m feeling a certain kinship today with Hugh Glass. Well, somewhat. Let me explain...
The comment that sparked this was stupid but wouldn't elicit any more than a shrug from me, but what's really pathetic is his using a weak mea culpa to repeatedly cast himself as a bloodied soldier in some kind of culture war, and something akin to a victim of an oppressive dictatorship, just because some people on social media disagreed with his statement and then the Guardian smelled a trivial controversy and picked it up.
Wells continues talking about what a favor he's done for the film through the courageous stand he's taken in the face of the vicious "predators."
Happy to oblige: you're extremely deluded....Now it’s suddenly a hot-button film that is demanding everyone’s attention — certainly the attention of your somewhat younger, Twitter-savvy militants.
Yes, I’m feeling wounded on this Thanksgiving Day. I have been bitten and torn and bloodied by an army of twitter dogs. But because of this The Revenant is now in a slightly better place. Tell me I’m deluded.
All hail the spirit of The Revenant — honor your life and your beating heart by insisting on survival to the very last breath.”
- mfunk9786
- Under Chris' Protection
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- gcgiles1dollarbin
- Joined: Sun Sep 19, 2010 3:38 am
Re: The Jeffrey Wells Thread
Wells wants to see someone naturally exuding the real thing. I invite you all to take that sentence out of context for a moment.
- mfunk9786
- Under Chris' Protection
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- tenia
- Ask Me About My Bassoon
- Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2009 11:13 am
Re: The Jeffrey Wells Thread
Wells also reminds us kindly that he has "judged no female performances based in their weight. Not once."
Of course, "Appatow Funny-Chubby Community's New Member" might disagree (and I forgot about Jennifer Lawrence being "a fairly tall, big-boned lady" and thus "too big" to be a love interest in The Hunger Games.
Of course, "Appatow Funny-Chubby Community's New Member" might disagree (and I forgot about Jennifer Lawrence being "a fairly tall, big-boned lady" and thus "too big" to be a love interest in The Hunger Games.
- EddieLarkin
- Joined: Sat Sep 08, 2012 10:25 am
Re: The Jeffrey Wells Thread
Wells says it's tragic that the new One-Eyed Jacks restoration will be in 1.85:1 instead of the full VistaVision neg ratio of 1.5:1 (and so presumably feels this way about all VistaVision productions?). Much of the extra visual information he desires would of course have never made it to release prints at the time.
- The Fanciful Norwegian
- Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 2:24 pm
- Location: Teegeeack
Re: The Jeffrey Wells Thread
For a time, Wells seemed to believe that any flat widescreen film made before the mid-to-late '60s should be presented in full frame. He offered various justifications, typically some combination of a) filmmakers needed time (roughly a decade, apparently) to properly adjust to widescreen framing, so the films look better with open mattes; b) filmmakers knew that people would eventually watch these films on TV and subconsciously framed for 4:3; and c) headroom is good. He's since realized this is a futile crusade and now pushes for 1.66:1, regardless of how the film was projected at the time or even the director's stated preference—for instance, he complained to Peter Becker about Richard Lester's decision to present A Hard Day's Night at 1.75:1.
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Re: The Jeffrey Wells Thread
Jiminy Glick has nothing on wellshwad
- Dead or Deader
- Joined: Sun May 08, 2016 12:47 am
Re: The Jeffrey Wells Thread
Holy shit...
Wells is now at David Thomson level of creepiness, with the added bonus of good Lesbian stereotyping.
Wells is now at David Thomson level of creepiness, with the added bonus of good Lesbian stereotyping.