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| Joe Vitus |
 Posted: Sun Feb 18, 2007 5:03 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 14498
Location: Houston
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| You're right about the movie, but there was a good staging recorded for the Broadway on Showtime series with Jason Robards and Colleen Dewhurst. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Sun Feb 18, 2007 5:11 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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| In the spirit of full disclosure, I must admit that after reseeing Little Miss Sunshine, I have upped my rating of it several notches. I think I overreacted to its suddenly being declared the Oscar favorite. It's a lovely little movie with wonderful performances. Oscar-worthy? That's debatable at the very least. But excellent? Absolutely. |
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| Trish |
| Posted: Sun Feb 18, 2007 5:34 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 2438
Location: Massachusetts
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ehle64 wrote: Trish, honestly. Running With Scissors is not as bad as everyone claims it to be.
Half Nelson is away from me for one day and I am still high.
I heard the book is excellent and I am still looking forward to that. But other than a couple scenes with Jill Clayburgh that were rather sweet, I found it boring and unconvincing. Evan Rachel Wood - a waste, Joseph Fiennes - other than his interesting New York accent - dullsville. The actor who played Augusten has this very cute cherub face - but was a little too undisturbed by his parent's abandonment - he didn't make me care about him. The person who was the most sympathetic was the doctor's wife. Bening did not deserve any actor nomination (and didn't get it it sans a golden globe nom) - she was overthetop, a characterature which I guess is how Burroughs saw is Mom - but it doesn't make for a very fascinating character/performance IMHO.
Once again, it was an intriguing trailer and an ultimately disappointing film
but thanks for mentioning the tile in your post - I knew way I wrote it looked wrong
I'm too lazy to fix all these spelling and grammatical errors - horrors |
Last edited by Trish on Sun Feb 18, 2007 10:49 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Sun Feb 18, 2007 5:54 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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| Trish--I had forgotten how interesting the trailer made the movie look. It was that rare instance where a trailer was almost too good. It made the movie look--in addition to "good"--hilarious. False advertising to the max. The movie's one claim to fame is that it is legitimately disturbing from time to time. Bening is so vivid she made me want to climb into the movie and strangle her personally. |
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| mo_flixx |
| Posted: Sun Feb 18, 2007 6:26 pm |
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Joined: 30 May 2004
Posts: 12533
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billyweeds wrote: Trish--I had forgotten how interesting the trailer made the movie look. It was that rare instance where a trailer was almost too good. It made the movie look--in addition to "good"--hilarious. False advertising to the max. The movie's one claim to fame is that it is legitimately disturbing from time to time. Bening is so vivid she made me want to climb into the movie and strangle her personally.
TRAILERS???? OMG.
I endure multiple viewings of the same trailer for so many films...and I hate it. Usually the trailers telegraph the plot (and ending) so that by the time I see the actual film, it just isn't much fun anymore. I blame these ridiculous trailers. |
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| Marj |
| Posted: Sun Feb 18, 2007 6:41 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 10497
Location: Manhattan
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Quote: As to the current trend toward movies about quirky, dysfunctional families; what I was trying to say is that everytime there's a breakout hit in a "new" genre, Hollywood starts cranking out more of them ad nauseum. And at this point, I've pretty much had enough of this genre.
Excellent observation Mo. And one I happen to agree with. I didn't include what you said about Sideways but clearly this was a film on another level completely.
I saw American Beauty again recently. I think although it might have been overhyped at the time, it does hold up better than I had remembered. Again it had a good script, and wonderful performances. Was it Oscar worthy? I doubt it, but it was certainly better than a lot of the dysfunctional family movies that are being churned out over the last few years.
Now, I'm off to watch my movies. |
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| mo_flixx |
| Posted: Sun Feb 18, 2007 6:56 pm |
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Joined: 30 May 2004
Posts: 12533
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Has anyone seen a film called A TOUT DE SUITE by Benoit Jacquot? I don't recognize any of his other movies listed at the imdb.com.
A TOUT DE SUITE evokes the Nouvelle Vague with its low contrast b & w photography, interior car shots, and Paris street life. The story is reminiscent of Godard's BANDE A PART (even BREATHLESS) or Malick's BADLANDS. The script is based on the true account of an 18-yr. old art student from the bourgeoisie who falls in love with a bank robber and is drawn into his life on the run.
The film is cast with unknowns. The young student's naivete, the adrenaline rush, and a few expensive trinkets seem all that's needed to make her a perfect accomplice. Predictably her world begins to fall apart as the robber's psycho partner self-destructs and a series of misadventures ensue.
The movie has a low budget look and engaged me with its apparent simplicity. I was impressed with what it _didn't say_. The lead actress has an interesting look; not conventionally beautiful but very expressive.
On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd give this film a 6.5. Worth renting. |
Last edited by mo_flixx on Sun Feb 18, 2007 7:26 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Sun Feb 18, 2007 7:04 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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mo_flixx wrote: billyweeds wrote: Trish--I had forgotten how interesting the trailer made the movie look. It was that rare instance where a trailer was almost too good. It made the movie look--in addition to "good"--hilarious. False advertising to the max. The movie's one claim to fame is that it is legitimately disturbing from time to time. Bening is so vivid she made me want to climb into the movie and strangle her personally.
TRAILERS???? OMG.
I endure multiple viewings of the same trailer for so many films...and I hate it. Usually the trailers telegraph the plot (and ending) so that by the time I see the actual film, it just isn't much fun anymore. I blame these ridiculous trailers.
Most trailers are horrible. The theory seems to be that the potential moviegoer must know exactly what s/he is going to see in advance. Great trailers of the past decade can be counted on the fingers of one hand, and include The Sixth Sense (absolutely brilliant--intriguing without telling one thing about the real gimmick of the movie) and...Running With Scissors (made me see the movie on the pretext that it was a side-splitting comedy, not a drecky drama). |
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| ehle64 |
| Posted: Sun Feb 18, 2007 7:19 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 7149
Location: NYC; US&A
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| What can I say, I laughed a few times during RWS. |
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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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| Rod |
| Posted: Sun Feb 18, 2007 7:59 pm |
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Joined: 21 Dec 2004
Posts: 2944
Location: Lithgow, Australia
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| A Good Woman is a film of Oscar Wilde's Lady Windemere's Fan re-set in Brideshead Revisited-era '30s Amalfi. A virtual quote fest of Wilde and an effortlessly winning performance from Tom Wilkinson (and a fairly good stab by Stephen Campbell Moore playing the compulsory Wilde stand-in, Lord Darlington, who gets most of the best lines) make the otherwise fairly asinine treatment a pleasant enough experience. Helen Hunt and Scarlett Johansson are competent. |
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| Rod |
| Posted: Sun Feb 18, 2007 8:31 pm |
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Joined: 21 Dec 2004
Posts: 2944
Location: Lithgow, Australia
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Melody wrote: Rod, excellent Superman Returns review. "Passion of the Clark" is perfection.
I remember watching Superman as a teenager, but not the sequels, so my question is, has Clark always been a stand-in for the Jesus? Because it occurred to me, as I was sitting next to my Southern Baptist aunt in the theater last summer, that maybe THAT's why she's so enamored of these films.
Although that wouldn't really explain her fascination with Star Trek....
Anyway, please send your review to Lorne for the Reviews section. It hasn't been updated in quite a while.
1. Thanks.
2. No, Superman hasn't always been a Jesus stand-in. As cultural historians before me have argued, particuarly Michael Chabon in the essaystic chapters of Kavalier and Clay, Superman, being the creation of two Jewish boys, owes much to the Moses myth; set adrift in his infancy with a cloth that becomes his clothing, growing up in a foster home as an insider who must one day become an outsider, a vastly powerful defender of the faith, a classic Old Testament savior. His "miracles" are of the physically mighty kind Moses specialized in. Part of why Superman has survived so long, so vividly, is because the figure channels background mythology in such a perfectly Joseph Campbell-ian way.
Also, it's been noted the irony of said two Jewish boys Seigel and Shuster creating a hero who exhibits the kind of chauvinistic perfection of Nazi myth, but of course it's totally inverted. Superman fights tyrants, and to look at he is, especially in Clark mode, rather a Jewish stereotype; dark curly hair, glasses, a weak and intellectual manner, hiding the heart of a real mensch. |
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A long time ago, but somehow in the future...It is a period of civil war and renegade paragraphs floating through space. |
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| jeremy |
| Posted: Sun Feb 18, 2007 8:38 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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| Well Superman might not be a stand-in of that wimpy, turn the other cheek Jesus, but he could be seen as a proper kick-ass Jewish Messiah. |
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I know the meaning of life, it doesn't help me a bit.
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Sun Feb 18, 2007 8:39 pm |
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Billy wrote:
Love the Sideways love. Great, great film--and ridiculously underrated on this forum.
Not by me. |
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| yambu |
| Posted: Sun Feb 18, 2007 9:12 pm |
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Joined: 23 May 2004
Posts: 6441
Location: SF Bay Area
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mo_flixx wrote: I endure multiple viewings of the same trailer for so many films...and I hate it. Usually the trailers telegraph the plot (and ending) so that by the time I see the actual film, it just isn't much fun anymore. I blame these ridiculous trailers. |
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| yambu |
| Posted: Sun Feb 18, 2007 9:18 pm |
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Joined: 23 May 2004
Posts: 6441
Location: SF Bay Area
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Marj wrote: ....American Beauty .....was certainly better than a lot of the dysfunctional family movies that are being churned out over the last few years..... |
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