Egregious

egregious







Y

 [i-gree-juhs]



D



–adjective 

1. extraordinary 

in 

some bad way; glaring; flagrant: an egregious [mistake]; an egregious [liar].  



2. Archaic. distinguished or eminent. 



—Synonyms 

1. gross, outrageous, notorious.





　 

It's a quick trip from whimsy to silliness in "Be Kind Rewind," a notably ephemeral work by Michel Gondry, whose flights of fancy can't overcome the egregious [illogic] of the premise. 



A few geeks and VHS cultists may cotton [to] the spectacle of two videostore clerks compensating for the accidental erasure of commercial tapes by shooting their own versions of "Ghostbusters," "Rush Hour 2" and "Driving Miss Daisy," but inspiration is as meager as the antics of Jack Black and Mos Def are lame. 



Fact that, after its fleeting theatrical runs, this New Line release will rapidly move to its natural home on DVD -- but emphatically not on VHS -- ironically underscores the film's screwy cultural and technological disjunctures.





　 

Is this comic bricolage a form of criticism? Gondry [privileges] audience devotion over corporate profit and argues that studio movies have grown ever more depleted since the '80s and '90s. (Having studied a successful DVD store, Mr. Fletcher realizes that there need be only two sections: Action Adventure and Comedy.) 



Villainy arrives in the form of an intellectual-property lawyer (Sigourney Weaver, herself a ghost of Ghostbusters), who shows up to enforce the piracy statutes and [levy] a $3 billion [fine]. The loss of the sweded tapes forces the community to produce an original movie—Fats Waller Was Born "Here." 



(Mike and Jerry both assume themselves physically appropriate to play the lead; everything [grinds] to a halt when Jerry shows up in blackface.) Structurally, Be Kind Rewind is a sort of warped Möbius strip—only at the end does it become apparent that we've been watching bits of the Fats docudrama all along.



That's easier said than done. Gondry's fable ends with all Passaic united in shared wonder, transfixed by the spectacle of their collectively produced movie (or, more clinically, the realization of their shared fantasy). Such sentimentality might sound egregiously Spielbergistic, but Gondry strikes another chord: 



This illusion is an illusion. The [studio] that Jerry built is about to be [demolished], and the music dubbed over the shot is Duke Ellington's plaintive "(In My) Solitude."



bricolage 

–noun

1. a construction made 

of 

whatever materials are at hand; something created from a variety of available things. 



2. (in literature) a piece created from diverse resources.

3. (in art) a piece of makeshift handiwork.

4. the use of multiple, diverse research methods.



warp

–verb (used with object) 

1. to bend 

or 

twist out of shape, esp. from a straight or flat form, as timbers or flooring. 



transfix

–verb (used with object)

1. to make or hold motionless 

with 

amazement, awe, terror, etc. 



2. to pierce through with or as if with a pointed weapon; impale. (作為懲罰) 把...釘在尖樁上

3. to hold or fasten with or on something that pierces.





stringent 

vigorously 

stringent [measures] to suppress disorder. 

The musical [demands] of "Benjamin Button" are even more stringent than usual

rigid

unnecassarily or narrowly 

rigid [economy] 

how meticulously Alain Delon treats his hat in "Le Samourai", about a hit man who lives with a code as [rigid] as a [samurai's].

rigorous

action or application

rigorous self-[denial]



ravenous

a famished condition

ravenous wild [beasts].

ravening

adds the idea of fierceness & savagery

ravening [wolves].

voracious

1. 

craving a great deal of food

a voracious [appetite].

2. 

[rapacious], [insatiable]

voracious [readers] 

After all, a moviegoer’s [imaginative] life is voracious.

Beleaguer