# Fuck "Michael Clayton," elder kino god of the new adult boredom epoch **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 26, 2008, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-michael-clayton-elder-kino-god-of-the-new-adult-boredom-epoch/439164 "2008-02-26T01:14:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2008, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-michael-clayton-elder-kino-god-of-the-new-adult-boredom-epoch/439164/41 "2008-02-26T14:43:17Z")
I saw Michael Clayton a couple days ago on DVD. While I did enjoy it I’m not sure how it got into Academy award territory. It could have easily passed for a John Grisham book turned movie. And not even one of the better ones. Put it up against something like Runaway Jury and it’s not as good. It wasn’t as “deep” or “intelligent” as some would have you believe but was rather a typical lawfirm thriller with lawyers and corporate american trying to hide their dirty secrets after sticking it to the little man. Even though the ending was done well it wasn’t anything you haven’t seen before Aha! I just made you confess to everything and got it all on tape. You’re finished! I thought it was fun, light, entertaining, and hit the right emotional buttons but nothing we haven’t already seen before. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2008, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-michael-clayton-elder-kino-god-of-the-new-adult-boredom-epoch/439164/42 "2008-02-26T14:58:11Z")
The OP is complaining because the title is just a name? Gimme a break! Don’t you realize that there’s a long history of books (and movies – but more in printed literature) of naming the work after the title character? This tells you nothing about the story itself – what it’s about, or how good it is. **Oliver Twist Ethan Frome Moby Dick Hector Servadac** You['d never guess from the title that “Hector Servadac” is a science fiction work about people hitching a ride on a comet by Jules Verne 9which is probably why they changed the title to “Off on a Comet” ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2008, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-michael-clayton-elder-kino-god-of-the-new-adult-boredom-epoch/439164/43 "2008-02-26T15:05:16Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] Don’t you realize that there’s a long history of books (and movies – but more in printed literature) of naming the work after the title character? [/quote] Isn’t the character after which a book is named by _definition_ the title character? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2008, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-michael-clayton-elder-kino-god-of-the-new-adult-boredom-epoch/439164/44 "2008-02-26T15:13:39Z")
> [@](#): > > Isn’t the character after which a book is named by definition the title character? Sorry – meant to say Main character. But you see my point, despite the quibble. And you can argue about whether or not Moby Dick is a character. ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2008, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-michael-clayton-elder-kino-god-of-the-new-adult-boredom-epoch/439164/45 "2008-02-26T15:27:17Z")
[QUOTE=Boyo Jim] This really should have stayed in the Pit, as I’m unable to post my opinion of the OP in this forum. [/QUOTE] How is that at all relevant? Don’t you have better things to do than follow **TLDR** around and complain about his posting? Grow up. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2008, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-michael-clayton-elder-kino-god-of-the-new-adult-boredom-epoch/439164/46 "2008-02-26T16:04:38Z")
[QUOTE=Simplicio] Is “I’ve never seen this movie, but the name sucks” really a review? [/QUOTE] If we can’t rant about movies without sitting through them, the terrorists have already won. To be fair, “the name sucks” was only one of the OP’s points, the other one being “all the clips I’ve seen from this movie have been really, really boring.” And, to be fair, does the movie have any explosions or car chases in it? No? Well, there you go: boring! ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2008, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-michael-clayton-elder-kino-god-of-the-new-adult-boredom-epoch/439164/47 "2008-02-26T16:05:25Z")
Tarzan, Robin Hood and Capote all walk into a bar. . . ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2008, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-michael-clayton-elder-kino-god-of-the-new-adult-boredom-epoch/439164/48 "2008-02-26T16:12:01Z")
[QUOTE=Thudlow Boink] And, to be fair, does the movie have any explosions or car chases in it? No? Well, there you go: boring! [/QUOTE] There is actually a nice explosion. And, they got the sound right; your POV is with characters some distance away, and you see the explosion before you hear it. In terms of plot, it’s nothing new and not very plausible, but the main characters are so well brought out by the actors that I got drawn in. Tom Wilkinson is one of my favorite actors, and I found his character the most interesting one in the movie. There’s also one of the best-done murder-for-hire scenes I’ve seen, showing how acts of pure evil are carried out in an utterly banal, callous fashion. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2008, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-michael-clayton-elder-kino-god-of-the-new-adult-boredom-epoch/439164/49 "2008-02-26T16:25:41Z")
Saw it last night and enjoyed it. But the end left me scratching my head: His car blows up, he throws some personal belongings in the fire - a watch, a wallet - etc. and we are supposed to believe that folks are convinced he is dead, despite the fact there is no body? ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2008, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-michael-clayton-elder-kino-god-of-the-new-adult-boredom-epoch/439164/50 "2008-02-26T16:39:22Z")
[QUOTE=Gangster Octopus] Saw it last night and enjoyed it. But the end left me scratching my head: His car blows up, he throws some personal belongings in the fire - a watch, a wallet - etc. and we are supposed to believe that folks are convinced he is dead, despite the fact there is no body? [/QUOTE] My assumption was that[spoiler]only a few hours had passed between the time of the explosion and the time Clayton shows up at the convention center. Since his brother was part of PD, I thought that the calls to Clayton’s partners at the firm notifying them of Clayton’s death had been arranged so that word would spread quickly enough. I don’t think the guys who blew up the car were going to be caught getting close enough to the car to make a thorough examination.[/spoiler] ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2008, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-michael-clayton-elder-kino-god-of-the-new-adult-boredom-epoch/439164/51 "2008-02-26T16:48:00Z")
[QUOTE=Gangster Octopus] Saw it last night and enjoyed it. But the end left me scratching my head: His car blows up, he throws some personal belongings in the fire - a watch, a wallet - etc. and we are supposed to believe that folks are convinced he is dead, despite the fact there is no body? [/QUOTE] He had a brother on the New York City police department. Perhaps the brother spread the word that the car bomb was effective in killing him. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2008, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-michael-clayton-elder-kino-god-of-the-new-adult-boredom-epoch/439164/52 "2008-02-26T16:50:56Z")
[QUOTE=Asimovian] My assumption was that[spoiler]only a few hours had passed between the time of the explosion and the time Clayton shows up at the convention center. Since his brother was part of PD, I thought that the calls to Clayton’s partners at the firm notifying them of Clayton’s death had been arranged so that word would spread quickly enough. I don’t think the guys who blew up the car were going to be caught getting close enough to the car to make a thorough examination.[/spoiler] [/QUOTE] I assumed that too but I still don’t know why He threw his watch and wallet into the car? ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2008, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-michael-clayton-elder-kino-god-of-the-new-adult-boredom-epoch/439164/53 "2008-02-26T16:55:46Z")
[QUOTE=Hampshire] I assumed that too but I still don’t know why He threw his watch and wallet into the car? [/QUOTE] Good point.I think the best we can do is assume that Clayton hadn’t full thought out his plan at that point. _shrug_ ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2008, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-michael-clayton-elder-kino-god-of-the-new-adult-boredom-epoch/439164/54 "2008-02-26T17:48:26Z")
OMG, page two of this thread looks like Valerie Plame’s new book. ---
**Author:** ![Slypork](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc29f/32.png) [@Slypork](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slypork)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2008, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-michael-clayton-elder-kino-god-of-the-new-adult-boredom-epoch/439164/55 "2008-02-26T18:17:31Z")
Hey, it looks like the OP writes music reviews for [Maxim magazine](http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080226/ap_en_ot/music_black_crowes_maxim) , too! ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2008, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-michael-clayton-elder-kino-god-of-the-new-adult-boredom-epoch/439164/56 "2008-02-26T19:23:09Z")
[QUOTE=mike ahndembroak] Forrest Gump is an even dumber name and looked how that turned out! [/QUOTE] Wow, two posts in a year and _this_ OP pulls out of the woodwork? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![lilflower](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecccb3/32.png) [@lilflower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lilflower)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2008, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-michael-clayton-elder-kino-god-of-the-new-adult-boredom-epoch/439164/57 "2008-02-26T19:36:06Z")
[QUOTE=Bryan Ekers] Well, I gave _The Astronaut Farmer_ a fair shake. This movie is stoooooooopid. [/QUOTE] I haven’t seen this movie but I’m going to give it a great review. I mean, how could you NOT like a movie about someone who grows astronauts? ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2008, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-michael-clayton-elder-kino-god-of-the-new-adult-boredom-epoch/439164/58 "2008-02-26T19:38:15Z")
**TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW** , may I please have more reviews of movies you haven’t seen. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2008, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-michael-clayton-elder-kino-god-of-the-new-adult-boredom-epoch/439164/59 "2008-02-26T20:09:34Z")
[QUOTE=lilflower] I haven’t seen this movie but I’m going to give it a great review. I mean, how could you NOT like a movie about someone who grows astronauts? [/QUOTE] I dunno, I was kinda misled by _A Man For All Seasons_, too. I assumed it was about a chef. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2008, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-michael-clayton-elder-kino-god-of-the-new-adult-boredom-epoch/439164/60 "2008-02-26T20:11:15Z")
Now I know what the OP reminds me of- after learning that _Johnny Tremain_ has a deformed hand, Bart Simpson proudly announces, “They should call this book _Johnny Deformed!_” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-michael-clayton-elder-kino-god-of-the-new-adult-boredom-epoch/439164.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-michael-clayton-elder-kino-god-of-the-new-adult-boredom-epoch/439164.md?page=4)