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| lissa |
 Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2009 7:31 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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| Have yet to see The Reader but from what I know about it, I believe it cannot be compared to Schindler's List on any scale of equity. It isn't a Holocaust movie, it is a story that centers around the Holocaust as a plot device for the people in the story. Schindler's is a movie that focuses directly on the events of the Holocaust. |
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| Syd |
| Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2009 7:53 pm |
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| None of the events depicted in The Reader take place before the mid-fifties. The events that took place during World War II are described in the courtroom, but actually shown to the audience. |
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| lshap |
| Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2009 8:33 pm |
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mo_flixx wrote: lshap wrote: Neeson is very appealing and charismatic, as well as being really big, at 6'4". His physical strength notwithstanding, it still looked silly for him to be running, jumping, dodging and diving like a speedy 25-year-old. Taken would've been a much better film had the focus been more on brain power and less on superhuman physical stunts. Neeson is too good an actor to be jumping through the same old action-hero hoops.
If you substitute "John Wayne" for "Liam Neeson" above, you'll see why I think this comment doesn't make a lot of sense. Why can't a 6'4" guy be an action hero?
Neeson is the rare actor who can play both kinds of parts, cerebral _and_ physical. His "The Big Man" was an excellent movie about boxing.
[An aside. I forgot that John Wayne was only 72 when he died of lung cancer. A lot of his physical ailments were incorporated into his onscreen persona. Today things have changed. This came up when we discussed the real life heroine of "Changeling," who, though in her 30's, could have been in her 50's. Perhaps it is not a stretch to have the mature Neeson performing what seem like superhuman stunts.]
Mo - John Wayne's stunts involved lots of ass-time on a horse and lots of punchin'. That kind of action hero suited him. Now imagine him as a lithe martial arts assassin. Not quite as effective. Not all action is created equally.
Neeson's a formidable physical presence, but his large, 56-year-old body doesn't exude the supple perfection and fluid speed required to dodge dozens of bad guys shooting hundreds of bullets.
I'm happy to suspend disbelief. I'm not willing to blindfold it and shoot it through the brain. |
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| mo_flixx |
| Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2009 9:35 pm |
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lshap wrote: ...
I'm happy to suspend disbelief. I'm not willing to blindfold it and shoot it through the brain.
The action heroes of today are much different from those of earlier years. As you put it, suspending disbelief and even blindfolding it and shooting it thru the brain is more or less a _requirement_for current action pics. |
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| carrobin |
| Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2009 9:58 pm |
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| I must admit, I don't see a lot of action movies these days. I loved "Die Hard" mostly because Willis and Rickman were terrific and the tension between their characters was exciting. I love "24" on TV. But car chases are cliches now (for those of us who saw "Bullitt" and "The French Connection" when they first came out, the rest have just been efforts to top each other ever since), and I don't find fist fights particularly interesting. It's the guy at the center of the plot who keeps me interested, and "Taken" made the grade. |
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| mo_flixx |
| Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2009 10:07 pm |
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| Speaking of "big guys," thank God "The Taken" didn't feature Arnold Schwarzenegger (who at 6'2" has moved on to another occupation these days) or Aikido or Kendo master Steven Seagal (6'4"). |
Last edited by mo_flixx on Fri Mar 13, 2009 11:26 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2009 11:01 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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| Just realized that Liam Neeson is the star of both Schindler's List and Taken, two of the best films of their respective genres. He's having quite a terrific career. |
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| Earl |
| Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2009 11:38 pm |
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billyweeds wrote: Just realized that Liam Neeson is the star of both Schindler's List and Taken, two of the best films of their respective genres. He's having quite a terrific career.
He talked about that once. Sort of. He said in an interview a long time ago (so long ago that I've long since forgotten where the interview was printed) that, for a while after Schindler's List, he had trouble picking his next part. He'd read scripts, toss them aside and think, "That's not on the same level as Schindler's List!" He said he eventually realized that he had to stop comparing other roles to Oskar Schindler, that it was the kind of part that comes along maybe once in an actor's career. And even then only if the actor is very lucky. So he just got on with the business of being a working actor.
I wonder if other performers have gone through something similar. Denzel Washington after playing Malcom X comes to mind. Probably there are many more. |
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| lissa |
| Posted: Sat Mar 14, 2009 9:57 am |
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Quote: The action heroes of today are much different from those of earlier years. As you put it, suspending disbelief and even blindfolding it and shooting it thru the brain is more or less a _requirement_for current action pics.
Yes, but mostly because of the CGG and FX that today's movies can afford. In an action film featuring no superhero-type figure, the central character has to be able to pull it off.
In his heyday, Ahnuld did a great job of pulling it off. Big and all, but he did it with a flair.
Not being a Seagal fan, I can't speak for that big guy. But True Lies remains a guilty pleasure. Not many people can hang from the reins of a horse over a skyscraper hotel precipice the way the Gov could. |
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| Rod |
| Posted: Sat Mar 14, 2009 10:04 am |
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Location: Lithgow, Australia
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Double bill:
Slumdog Millionaire
Cliched, often ludicrous, cheapjack melodrama with a gimmick framework attached to a hole-riddled tale worthy of an old Cagney/Bogart vehicle and a dishonest patina of third-world-friendly filmmaking stolen from City of God. I almost walked out from all the endless kickings and beatings liberally used only to make us like the good guys. Even the final Bollywood dance routine is amateurish. A.R. Rahman's score's good, though.
Watchmen
Disjointed, disresputable, and builds to an anti-climax. Also has endless kickings and beatings but will not be mistaken for an uplifting fairy tale. Also has better filmmaking, infinitely more ideas, and deeper, more interesting characters then Slumdog Millionaire. |
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| carrobin |
| Posted: Sat Mar 14, 2009 12:03 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
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Earl wrote:
He said he eventually realized that he had to stop comparing other roles to Oskar Schindler, that it was the kind of part that comes along maybe once in an actor's career. And even then only if the actor is very lucky. So he just got on with the business of being a working actor.
I just realized that I saw Neeson play Oscar Wilde on stage in London once. Somewhat odd casting, but he was excellent. |
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| mo_flixx |
| Posted: Sat Mar 14, 2009 12:38 pm |
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Joined: 30 May 2004
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lissa wrote: Quote: The action heroes of today are much different from those of earlier years. As you put it, suspending disbelief and even blindfolding it and shooting it thru the brain is more or less a _requirement_for current action pics.
In his heyday, Ahnuld did a great job of pulling it off. Big and all, but he did it with a flair.
Not being a Seagal fan, I can't speak for that big guy. But True Lies remains a guilty pleasure. Not many people can hang from the reins of a horse over a skyscraper hotel precipice the way the Gov could.
I was speaking specifically of CGI -- lissa, you read between the lines. The other kind of action hero are the Asian action stars like Jackie Chan, who's now a bit long in the tooth, and the younger generation (Jet Li, who's also not so young now).
[I forgot to mention 6'4" Dwayne Johnson, a.k.a. The Rock, or 6 ft. Vin Diesel.]
Frankly, I have started to burn out on CGI and wouldn't mind going back to the days of Buster Keaton or Harold Lloyd, actors who were remarkable athletes in their own right. |
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| carrobin |
| Posted: Sat Mar 14, 2009 12:43 pm |
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| I do love Jackie Chan. Jet Li is efficient, but lacks that mischievous edge. |
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| mo_flixx |
| Posted: Sat Mar 14, 2009 2:28 pm |
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Harrison Ford, at 6ft. 1 inch and age 66, is perhaps the most long-lived of the current crop of American action heroes. He seems like a genuinely athletic guy and is not as huge as Neeson...but it is becoming increasingly necessary to suspend some degree of disbelief when our beloved "Indy" wows us with his stunts.
Perhaps the only action star emeritus who competes with Ford in the 'senior' department is James Bond himself (Indy's 'father') Sean Connery (age 78; 6 ft. 2-1/2 in.). |
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| lshap |
| Posted: Sat Mar 14, 2009 2:42 pm |
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Connery's no longer an action figure, although he did League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen only a few years back.
But every other Action Star Emeritus (good title, by the way) includes plenty of age references to aching backs, lack of wind and generally increasing physical difficulties, as they huff and puff their way in and out of danger. Ford was mocked mercilessly about his age in Crystal Skull ("What are you, like, 80?"), which helped ground his ridiculous heroics a bit. |
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