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| Joe Vitus |
 Posted: Thu Feb 08, 2007 6:21 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 14498
Location: Houston
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billyweeds wrote: Rod wrote: Inability to sleep this morn causing me to lie in bed watching movies, and inspiring me to make a couple of acting observations.
Charade - one of Audrey Hepburn's best movies, but not, oddly, one of her best performances. Her dry drawl sounds like it came out of a can. The only time she sees to be really warming up is, oddly, when she's pretending to find sixty-plus Cary Grant sexy.
The Philadelphia Story - you know, once upon a time, the dear old Academy could get it right, even if it seemed to be getting it wrong. Jimmy Stewart's Best Actor Oscar is generally clucked over, especially in light of nascent Grant and Kate Hepburn cults, and indeed they're exactly in tune to the material, perfectly timed, like smooht running motors. And that's where Stewart beats them; his rhythms are slightly off, he stretches his bit of the cinematic space like elastic and then snaps it back with a flick of yawing wrist.
Stewart's Oscar for TPS is clucked over mainly because it seemed one year overdue. He lost the previous year for Mr. Smith Goes to Washington only to win the lead Oscar for a supporting role.
Of course his best performance of all was in Rear Window.
marantzo wrote: I am very impressed with Stewart's perfomance in It's A Wonderful Life every time I see it. He has an opportunity to exhibit quite a range of emotional ups and downs and does it with perfection, or damn close to it.
I agree with all three of you. Though I'm not entirely sure Rear Window beats out Vertigo. I like Rear Window better as a movie, just not sure it contains the better Stewart performance. |
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| mo_flixx |
| Posted: Thu Feb 08, 2007 7:06 pm |
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Joined: 30 May 2004
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marantzo wrote: I am very impressed with Stewart's perfomance in It's A Wonderful Life every time I see it. He has an opportunity to exhibit quite a range of emotional ups and downs and does it with perfection, or damn close to it.
Awhile back I noticed what I felt was a physical resemblance between James Stewart and Edward Norton. I could see Norton doing some of Stewart's repressed roles in the Hitchcock films, btw. |
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| mo_flixx |
| Posted: Thu Feb 08, 2007 7:14 pm |
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Joined: 30 May 2004
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Rod wrote: Inability to sleep this morn causing me to lie in bed watching movies, and inspiring me to make a couple of acting observations.
Charade - one of Audrey Hepburn's best movies, but not, oddly, one of her best performances. Her dry drawl sounds like it came out of a can. The only time she sees to be really warming up is, oddly, when she's pretending to find sixty-plus Cary Grant sexy.
Hepburn with Gary Cooper in "Love in the Afternoon" was worse. Cooper was bit younger (late 50's?) but didn't look as good as Grant IMO.
BTW I remember reading an article about Jennifer Love Hewitt trying to duplicate Hepburn's particular accent for a TV movie. Hewitt has always idolized Hepburn. It was her dream to play her in a movie (not that I felt that Hewitt was very good casting, btw). Natalie Portman would have been a better choice.
But Hewitt's description of Hepburn's pronunciation was fascinating. And Hepburn came by her accent naturally IMO having grown up in both Holland and England. |
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| mo_flixx |
| Posted: Thu Feb 08, 2007 7:20 pm |
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Joined: 30 May 2004
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I finally watched the Chinese film, THE BANQUET, loosely based on _Hamlet_. Like THE CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER, it takes place during the Tang dynasty. I was happy that the production designer decided to spare us the bright Day-Glo colors and extreme hairstyles and costumes for a more neutral period look.
I was surprised to see the sweet Zhang Ziyi play a hard-looking villainess. She pulls it off. |
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| mo_flixx |
| Posted: Thu Feb 08, 2007 7:23 pm |
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Joined: 30 May 2004
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jeremy wrote:
I enjoyed New World for much the same reasons you did Rod. I think I posted a review on it someway back. I was particularly taken with Q'Orianka Kilcher performance; innocent, yet knowing and both expressive and understated. I think I fell in love with her a little bit. God, it must have been a good film, I even liked Colin Farrell.
I liked the cast. And the costumes were a leather queen's wet dream! |
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| gromit |
| Posted: Fri Feb 09, 2007 1:54 am |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 9016
Location: Shanghai
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mo_flixx wrote: Awhile back I noticed what I felt was a physical resemblance between James Stewart and Edward Norton. I could see Norton doing some of Stewart's repressed roles in the Hitchcock films, btw.
I just watched Half Nelson and I kept thinking that Ryan Gosling was Ed Norton. But I'm not sure what that has to do with Jimmy Stewart. |
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| lady wakasa |
| Posted: Fri Feb 09, 2007 11:19 am |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 5911
Location: Beyond the Blue Horizon
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mo_flixx wrote: I finally watched the Chinese film, THE BANQUET, loosely based on _Hamlet_. Like THE CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER, it takes place during the Tang dynasty. I was happy that the production designer decided to spare us the bright Day-Glo colors and extreme hairstyles and costumes for a more neutral period look.
I was surprised to see the sweet Zhang Ziyi play a hard-looking villainess. She pulls it off.
There was a whole Banquet vs Curse of the Golden Flower thing going on on imdb for awhile. I haven't been able to see either yet, so haven't followed lately.
And I've recently found out what happens with postings on really active boards over there - they end up getting dropped after a certain point! |
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| mo_flixx |
| Posted: Fri Feb 09, 2007 12:11 pm |
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Joined: 30 May 2004
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lady wakasa wrote:
There was a whole Banquet vs Curse of the Golden Flower thing going on on imdb for awhile. I haven't been able to see either yet, so haven't followed lately.
And I've recently found out what happens with postings on really active boards over there - they end up getting dropped after a certain point!
The two films are _very_ similar in terms of period and plot. Dysfunctional families big time. |
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| ehle64 |
| Posted: Fri Feb 09, 2007 1:24 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: NYC; US&A
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| Speaking of dysfunctional families, Running With Scissors arrived in the mail this morning. As much as I loved the memoir, I'm pretty leery of watching the damn thing. I think it might have been one of the most critically-loathed films of last year. But there's always Baldwin! |
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It truly disappoints me when people do something for you via no prompt of your own and then use it as some kind of weapon against you at a later time and place. It is what it is. |
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| Melody |
| Posted: Fri Feb 09, 2007 1:38 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: TX
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I'm loving Baldwin on 30 Rock.
My mother tried to send me to Vietnam to make a man out of me. I was twelve. |
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My heart told my head: This time, no. |
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| ehle64 |
| Posted: Fri Feb 09, 2007 1:46 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: NYC; US&A
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| I know, I know. Wrong forum. BUT -- when Baldwin was having the affair with Condie Rice??? I lost it! |
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It truly disappoints me when people do something for you via no prompt of your own and then use it as some kind of weapon against you at a later time and place. It is what it is. |
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| Trish |
| Posted: Fri Feb 09, 2007 2:48 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 2438
Location: Massachusetts
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| I love Alec Baldwin he's almost always entertaining to watch _ I have to think hard to find a truly awful performance |
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| Befade |
| Posted: Fri Feb 09, 2007 3:56 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: AZ
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ehle64 wrote: Speaking of dysfunctional families, Running With Scissors arrived in the mail this morning. As much as I loved the memoir, I'm pretty leery of watching the damn thing. I think it might have been one of the most critically-loathed films of last year. But there's always Baldwin!
I loved the book, too Wade........Please write after you've watched it. |
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| gromit |
| Posted: Fri Feb 09, 2007 4:15 pm |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
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Location: Shanghai
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| Running With Scissors was a pretty decent film. It never really went anywhere and in the end seemed rather pointless. But there were some good scenes. And I thought Bening and Brian Cox were Blanche-worthy. At the time, various aspects of the film reminded me of other films, but I'm having trouble remembering the connections clearly. |
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Killing your enemies, if it's done badly, increases their number. |
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| ehle64 |
| Posted: Fri Feb 09, 2007 4:34 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 7149
Location: NYC; US&A
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| I misspoke (?). I got Sherrybaby instead of RWS. And to top all of that off, I put in my copy of Quinceañera. Haven't seen it since the Ptown Film Fest and there was a preview for Volver and O Mio Dios, that is really a great Almodóvar film. Just from a 60 second preview I got to relive 90+ minutes of cinematic heaven. |
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It truly disappoints me when people do something for you via no prompt of your own and then use it as some kind of weapon against you at a later time and place. It is what it is. |
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