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| Joe Vitus |
 Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 11:02 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 14498
Location: Houston
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Indeed.
It would have been so easy to play him as the schleppy, misplaced Jewish boy, a Woody Allen-lite. I liked that he was aggressive and frustrated. And somewhat with good reason, but also somewhat neurotically, and also somewhat selfishly.
I felt with both characters that we were seeing real people, and that's rare in a romantic comedy. They were sometimes likable, sometimes dislikable, sometimes moving, sometimes hilarious. They were both really well rounded. I think that's why the ending really got to me. |
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| mo_flixx |
| Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 2:12 pm |
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Joined: 30 May 2004
Posts: 12533
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Joe Vitus wrote: Indeed.
It would have been so easy to play him as the schleppy, misplaced Jewish boy, a Woody Allen-lite. I liked that he was aggressive and frustrated. And somewhat with good reason, but also somewhat neurotically, and also somewhat selfishly.
I felt with both characters that we were seeing real people, and that's rare in a romantic comedy. They were sometimes likable, sometimes dislikable, sometimes moving, sometimes hilarious. They were both really well rounded. I think that's why the ending really got to me.
Delpy goes into this in her "extra."
The characters were based on real life -- for example, her parents are like that...but they ARE also actors. Originally she was going to film it guerrilla-style; but after she got more financing, she sat down and wrote out a script. She said cabbies love to rant to their French-speaking customers. There is no barrier in the cabs, unlike NYC - so the drivers are free to play THEIR choice of radio stns., go on tirades, etc. The friends were loosely based on people she knows.
The characters are presented warts and all. I didn't find any of them hateful (except for the racist cabbie)...just terribly human.
The film also makes an interesting add'n. to the 2 Delpy/Ethan Hawke films which cover similar territory but aren't nearly as witty. |
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| Trish |
| Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 2:45 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 2438
Location: Massachusetts
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| Hmm - I'll have to see this film to judge the merit of that last comment - The two Delpy/Hawke films were very well written and acted |
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| mo_flixx |
| Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 3:01 pm |
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Joined: 30 May 2004
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Trish wrote: Hmm - I'll have to see this film to judge the merit of that last comment - The two Delpy/Hawke films were very well written and acted
I'd characterize the two Delpy/Hawke films as _romantic, poignant, and bittersweet_.
2 DAYS IN PARIS covers the same landscape but with a different viewpoint. [ie. excuse the mixed metaphor, but the tongue is heavily in cheek.] |
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| Joe Vitus |
| Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 3:36 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 14498
Location: Houston
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I really disliked Before Sunrise and never saw Before Sunset. I agree with your description, though.
I didn't know about the parallels with Delpy's life, or her original intentions. I need to rent the DVD to catch the extras. At the time I saw it, I found the parents a little over-the-top. They were too close to Meet the Parents. But knowing that her parents are actually a lot like this makes me think more generously of the characterization.
By far my favorite scene was that in the restaurant, with Delpy taunting her ex-boyfriend. A classic. The scene with the racist cab driver (you're right, the only out-and-out jerk in the cast) was great, too. But then, there was also the great failed-sex scene and...so many others. I think this is a movie that will age well. |
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| mo_flixx |
| Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 3:59 pm |
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Joined: 30 May 2004
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Joe Vitus wrote: ...
By far my favorite scene was that in the restaurant, with Delpy taunting her ex-boyfriend. A classic. The scene with the racist cab driver (you're right, the only out-and-out jerk in the cast) was great, too. But then, there was also the great failed-sex scene and...so many others. I think this is a movie that will age well.
Yeah, Delpy's encounter with the jerk ex-boyfriend in the restaurant was a classic. Go girl! |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 6:37 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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| I thought Adam Goldberg was terrific, a perfect match for Delpy. They were, btw, former lovers, so it's conceivable this was their story. In any case, I thought Goldberg (as Joe said) was brave in not making the character cuddly and cute. He was obnoxious, but I still liked him. |
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| yambu |
| Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 8:19 pm |
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Joined: 23 May 2004
Posts: 6441
Location: SF Bay Area
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All the King's Men (2006)
Despite a mostly weak script and ordinary to bizarre directing, I loved Sean Penn, especially in his demagoguery. The rest of the cast should've stayed home. |
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| Syd |
| Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 10:24 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
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Location: Norman, Oklahoma
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Finished Paris, Je T'Aime, the Parisian anthology film, which I liked most of the way through. There are about 20 segments and I liked about 17 of them, which is not bad. There's a little bit at the end that ties the segments together to the tune of "We're All in the Dance." Some familiar faces, including Steve Buscemi, Natalie Portman, Bob Hoskins, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Juliette Binoche, Gerard Depardieu and Margo Martindale, but mostly unfamiliar. Probably not to everybody's taste like some people don't like short story anthologies, but it's a nice movie and you can watch a few segments at a time.
PS: Forgot to mention Catalina Sandino Moreno in one of the simpler, poignant stories. Hadn't seen her since Maria Full of Grace although she's been busy.
PPS: I complained earlier about one segment that was narrated that I thought would be better acted. The last segment is also told in voiceover, by Margo Martindale telling her French class in elementary, badly accented French about her stay in Paris, showing her as she wanders around Paris. This segment about perfect, funny and moving, and Margo Martindale's face does half the work (since she only speaks in the voiceover). This was directed by Alexander Payne, and is as good as anything he's done, considering the length. |
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| Befade |
| Posted: Sat Feb 09, 2008 1:29 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: AZ
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Quote: Finished Paris, Je T'Aime,
If I had remembered it, I would have nominated that for a foreign Blanche. I know I'm going against the flow......but I hated 2 Days in Paris.
Down in the Valley is quite good......not plotted the way I expected from the previews. It's an unusual story......It's a little like The Misfits in that Edward Norton's character wants to be a cowboy but he's in the wrong place at the wrong time. It also reminds me of another film.......with Sissy Spacek playing the girlfriend to Charles Starkweather (I think).
The focus is on Ed Norton and he's good.
A movie to avoid at all costs (nothing redemning whatsoever) is I Know Who Killed Me. |
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| Syd |
| Posted: Sat Feb 09, 2008 1:41 am |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
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Befade wrote: Quote: Finished Paris, Je T'Aime,
If I had remembered it, I would have nominated that for a foreign Blanche. I know I'm going against the flow......but I hated 2 Days in Paris.
I would have nominated it too. Possibly Margo Martindale for supporting actress, too, although she's the lead in her own segment. I guess nominating it for best 22 directors would be a bit much.
I liked the one about the blind man (translator?), Melchior Beslon and the actress (Natalie Portman), too. |
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Rocky Laocoon foretold of Troy's doom, only to find snaky water. They pulled him in and Rocky can't swim. Now Rocky wishes he were an otter! |
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| mo_flixx |
| Posted: Sat Feb 09, 2008 3:44 am |
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Joined: 30 May 2004
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Befade wrote: Quote: Finished Paris, Je T'Aime,
If I had remembered it, I would have nominated that for a foreign Blanche. I know I'm going against the flow......but I hated 2 Days in Paris.
Down in the Valley is quite good......not plotted the way I expected from the previews. It's an unusual story......It's a little like The Misfits in that Edward Norton's character wants to be a cowboy but he's in the wrong place at the wrong time. It also reminds me of another film.......with Sissy Spacek playing the girlfriend to Charles Starkweather (I think).
The focus is on Ed Norton and he's good.
A movie to avoid at all costs (nothing redemning whatsoever) is I Know Who Killed Me.
The movie is Terence Malick's BADLANDS with Martin Sheen.
[Malick on working with Martin Sheen on "Badlands"] "Martin Sheen was extraordinary. He's a very gifted man. He's from a working class family, so he had all the moods down for the film. And when he wasn't before the cameras, he was helping in the background, wrapping cables, packing up light reflectors. One day I found him going around a gas station and picking up aluminum snapback lids from soda cans. He knew they didn't exist in 1959." |
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| gromit |
| Posted: Sat Feb 09, 2008 4:12 am |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 9016
Location: Shanghai
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Befade wrote:
A movie to avoid at all costs (nothing redemning whatsoever) is I Know Who Killed Me.
That's patently false. I like the title a lot.
Know nothing about the movie and have avoided picking up the Dvd.
I'm curious why many have seen the Paris, Je T'Aime anthology, but few Chacun Son Cinema (the Cannes 60th Anniversary short film tribute).
Is it based on availability? word of mouth? |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Sat Feb 09, 2008 7:36 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: New York City
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I too forgot about Paris Je T'Aime and would also nominate it for Best Foreign Film.
I Know Who Killed Me is almost incredibly bad. |
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| Befade |
| Posted: Sat Feb 09, 2008 1:50 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: AZ
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Gromit.........the title's bad, too.
SPOILERS........nobody got killed in the movie. |
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