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| billyweeds |
 Posted: Sun Jan 07, 2007 7:35 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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chillywilly wrote: bart wrote: Saw History of Violence on the small screen, which definitely muted some of its visceral punch and let me focus more on virtues like the absolute perfection of its pacing. I didn't fully register this the first time I saw it. Also some of the contrasts in the Viggo/Maria relationship before and after her knowledge of his past were sharpened for me -- as when she dresses up as a cheerleader and he's all "wow, this is so wild and sexy" and you think this is hugely transgressive and licentious for them...compare to their angry wild sex on the stairs later, when she knows what he's capable of.
Always amazed at how Cronenberg makes me aware of how we know the world through the body, and how the body reveals truths about ourselves. was a great movie, with Viggo and Maria (especially Maria) putting in some great performances.... even Maria getting down and dirty in more ways than one (using guns and gams).
One of my favorite films of 2005 (that I didn't see until 2006).
Don't forget the slammin' late-entrance Oscar-nominated performance by William Hurt (his best turn in over a decade). |
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| bart |
| Posted: Sun Jan 07, 2007 1:20 pm |
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Joined: 05 Dec 2005
Posts: 2381
Location: Lincoln NE
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That was great. He does this whole ambiguity thing so well, where you can see him trying to figure out how to love his brother, how to have some moment of affection with him but not be deflected from what he feels he needs to do.
Yambu: Agree on BoP as best comedy of last year, or whichever year it was actually released first. What did you think of Stephen Rea, and the whole scene with him telling Kitten he could fall in love with a girl like her, i.e. an actual girl? I thought it played off his character in The Crying Game in a droll way. |
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| yambu |
| Posted: Sun Jan 07, 2007 2:01 pm |
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Joined: 23 May 2004
Posts: 6441
Location: SF Bay Area
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bart wrote: ....What did you think of Stephen Rea, and the whole scene with him telling Kitten he could fall in love with a girl like her, i.e. an actual girl? I thought it played off his character in The Crying Game in a droll way.
IMDB has a page of great quotes. My favorite: "If I wasn't a transvestite terrorist, would you marry me?"
I like the way Jordan keeps portraying the IRA as the nihilist savages that they are. |
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| chillywilly |
| Posted: Sun Jan 07, 2007 3:38 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 8251
Location: Salt Lake City
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billyweeds wrote: Don't forget the slammin' late-entrance Oscar-nominated performance by William Hurt (his best turn in over a decade).
Oh yes... brought back some great memories of his work, of which BROADCAST NEWS and ACCIDENTAL TOURIST came to mind. |
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Chilly
"If you should die before me / Ask if you could bring a friend" |
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| Earl |
| Posted: Sun Jan 07, 2007 8:42 pm |
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Joined: 09 Jun 2004
Posts: 2621
Location: Houston
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I saw A History of Violence just recently, so I appreciate these comments. Had forgotten that William Hurt was Oscar-nominated for his performance.
Mild SPOILER below if you've never seen the movie.
I grew up in York, PA and visited Philadelphia a handful of times. I also have a couple friends from there. While watching it I was struck by how Viggo Mortenson's accent gradually changed from a mostly non-distinct speech pattern with slight mid-West tones to, by the time he returns to Philly at the end, a flat-out Philly accent, like someone who grew up in a rough neighborhood there might have. It was a wonderfully subtle part of his performance made all the more impressive when one realizes that most films are not shot in sequence.
Also, I smiled when he walked into a bar in Philly and order a "Genny Creme," which is how people from PA (and probably a few neighboring states) refer to Genesee Cream Ale, a regional brew. That was nifty touch. |
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| jeremy |
| Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2007 8:30 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 6794
Location: Derby, England and Hamilton, New Zealand (yes they are about 12,000 miles apart)
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I really wanted to Revolver to work, but unfortunately it was not equal to its ambition. In fact it was so busy looking at the stars that it tripped and ended up face down in the gutter. Guy Ritchie is a talented and stylish filmmaker, and had he welded his Kabala-ising onto a half decent crime flick, he could have created a cult classic (which is not necessarily the same thing as a good film) perhaps after the fashion of one of those Hong Kong, martial arts films playfully sprinkled with faux philosophising and gravitas. However, Revolver took itself far too seriously and both plot and character were submerged under an ever increasing (and irritating) flood of metaphysical hogwash.
I guess its back to the baby minding for Mr Ciccone. |
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2007 8:44 pm |
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| His films used to be so screwball funny, it's a shame he started trying to get serious. I hope he's getting great sex because his marriage seems to have smothered his creativity, |
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| mo_flixx |
| Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2007 8:49 pm |
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Joined: 30 May 2004
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marantzo wrote: His films used to be so screwball funny, it's a shame he started trying to get serious. I hope he's getting great sex because his marriage seems to have smothered his creativity,
Hmmmmm. I thought you were talking about Woody Allen for a minute. |
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2007 10:53 pm |
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| Woody Allen is still good. And I know that it offends some righteous feminists, but from all the evidence, he and his wife seem to be very happy together. And she's no bimbo. Mia Farrow is the one with the screw loose. |
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| Ghulam |
| Posted: Tue Jan 09, 2007 1:35 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 4742
Location: Upstate NY
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| Having sat through three hours plus of Warren Beatty's Reds 25 years ago made me approach a re-viewing with trpidation, but my fear was unfounded. It is an intelligent, well directed (Beatty got an Oscar for direction) and thoroughly absorbing epic. It has a rich historical background of World War I, the Russian Revolution and the nascent American Communist Party which is very authentic. But it is essentially a remarkable love story. And what a love story it is! Both Beatty and Diane Keaton are excellent as lovers, as well as writers and activists. Jack Nicholson as Eugene O'Neill and Maureen Stapleton as Emma Goldman are superb. I had fully expected it to get the best picture Oscar, and I still do not understand how Chariots of Fire was considered the better movie. |
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| Marj |
| Posted: Tue Jan 09, 2007 1:43 am |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
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Location: Manhattan
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Wow, Ghulam -- Are we ever on the same page. I love Reds and remember how disappointed I was when it didn't win the Oscar.
I recently saw it again as well, and found it held up wonderfully. And I agree that Reds is first and foremost a love story. |
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| mo_flixx |
| Posted: Tue Jan 09, 2007 3:04 am |
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Joined: 30 May 2004
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marantzo wrote: Woody Allen is still good. And I know that it offends some righteous feminists, but from all the evidence, he and his wife seem to be very happy together. And she's no bimbo. Mia Farrow is the one with the screw loose.
Woody hit his stride again...but was definitely in the doldrums for a long time. Thank God he finally gave up trying to play his own romantic leads. |
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| mo_flixx |
| Posted: Tue Jan 09, 2007 3:06 am |
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Joined: 30 May 2004
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Ghulam wrote: ... I had fully expected it to get the best picture Oscar, and I still do not understand how Chariots of Fire was considered the better movie.
2 guesses:
"Chariots" was about sports AND the Vangelis soundtrack (which sounds dated today). |
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| Ghulam |
| Posted: Tue Jan 09, 2007 9:24 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 4742
Location: Upstate NY
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mo_flixx wrote: Ghulam wrote: ... I had fully expected it to get the best picture Oscar, and I still do not understand how Chariots of Fire was considered the better movie.
2 guesses:
"Chariots" was about sports AND the Vangelis soundtrack (which sounds dated today).
Also it seems a story about Communists would be the pits, even less interesting than say a story about the Mafia. |
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Tue Jan 09, 2007 10:06 am |
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mo_flixx wrote: marantzo wrote: Woody Allen is still good. And I know that it offends some righteous feminists, but from all the evidence, he and his wife seem to be very happy together. And she's no bimbo. Mia Farrow is the one with the screw loose.
Woody hit his stride again...but was definitely in the doldrums for a long time. Thank God he finally gave up trying to play his own romantic leads.
True that, but I never really understood the problem people had with him playing the romantic lead. It's not like he makes himself out to be some sort of heart throb. He's always some neurotic, insecure misfit. |
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