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| mo_flixx |
 Posted: Sat Mar 14, 2009 3:17 pm |
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Joined: 30 May 2004
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lshap wrote: 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.
Somehow the public continued to accept Connery as an action figure even after he was ready to call it quits. I remember one of the bakeries in town called the day old goods "Sean Connerys." 
The references to being over the hill are exactly what I was referring to about John Wayne (born 1907) in my earlier post. I believe there were references to aches and pains in "Rio Bravo," well before his lung cancer diagnosis. A decade earlier in "Red River," he was obviously playing "mature" to Clift's leading man.
BTW, Robert Mitchum at 6'1" was another "big guy" who seemed like one tough septuagenarian. |
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| lshap |
| Posted: Sat Mar 14, 2009 5:55 pm |
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| It'd be very interesting to see how these tough guys would've fared in real-life physical challenges. DeNiro was supposedly a natural fighter when he was in training for Raging Bull, and most of today's under-50 action stars appear to be in good shape. But most of the over-50 tough guys strike me as potentially strong but ploddingly slow. |
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| Joe Vitus |
| Posted: Sat Mar 14, 2009 6:01 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: Houston
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If O.J. could get away with his activities alone...
Guess that's a hazy if... |
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| mo_flixx |
| Posted: Sat Mar 14, 2009 6:46 pm |
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lshap wrote: It'd be very interesting to see how these tough guys would've fared in real-life physical challenges. DeNiro was supposedly a natural fighter when he was in training for Raging Bull, and most of today's under-50 action stars appear to be in good shape. But most of the over-50 tough guys strike me as potentially strong but ploddingly slow.
Obviously MANY stunt men (with different skills) are used to double any older action star.
Chuck Roberson (6'4", born 1919) doubled John Wayne for 30 years. Woody Strode (6'4", born 1914) was an amazing stunt player (and actor) in many John Ford movies.
I doubt that Liam Neeson, even if he were in the greatest of shape, would be allowed to do too much in "Taken."
The risk of injury to a star is just too serious and could cause major production delays.
BTW it is interesting to read Mickey Rourke's bio. at the imdb.com . It goes into great detail about his real life boxing career which was much more successful than I'd ever realized. |
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| Syd |
| Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 2:25 am |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
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Watchmen is an excellent (and mostly faithful) adaptation of a graphic novel that I thought could never be adapted to the big screen. I don't know how people who haven't read the original will react, but the producers and directors did better than I expected. And they changed the climax, but I think the new climax (or anticlimax) is actually better. It follows better from the rest of the story, and is more poignant.
When you get a long complicated story like this, devoted fans will complain that their favorite bits will be omitted. But like Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azbakan and especially Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, you have to tighten it up and will sometimes equal or improve on the source. They did a great job adapting what I expected to be a failure, and I want to see it again to see the details.
PS: Did you notice how the sound was a bit tinny and the visuals seemed a little bit off? The film is set in 1985, and the sound and visuals are a bit artificial to reflect the alternate universe. We're in an alternate, much scarier universe. They knew exactly what they were doing. |
Last edited by Syd on Sun Mar 15, 2009 3:21 am; edited 1 time in total
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| Syd |
| Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 3:08 am |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
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I thought the most difficult character to play was the human Rorschach. Jackie Earle Haley didn't quite pull if off (Alan Moore didn't succeed in the comic, either), but he came closer to doing it than I ever thought possible. It's an impossible part. He did quite well as the masked Rorscharch.
Although Matthew Goode's Adrian Veidt was even better. Fearsomely intelligent, immensely capable, vaguely homosexual (like his idol, Alexander) and intellectual as an iceberg. And three steps ahead of anyone else in the movie. Until the SPOILER. |
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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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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 6:40 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Syd--Guess you liked Watchmen better than Kabukiman. Well, there's no accounting for taste.  |
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| lshap |
| Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 8:16 am |
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I've been reading lots of viewer reviews of The Watchmen, and there's a wild division of responses between the approx. 65% who loved it (10/10 - Amazing!) versus the rest who HATED it (1/10 - the worst!). Very few people rated it ambivalently in the middle. The haters are divided between idiots complaining - believe it or not - that the film wasn't suitable for kids, and others who found it incomprehensible.
Granted, it is a lot more dense than most comic book tales, but that's one of the reasons I loved it. And remember - I went in knowing nothing of the mythology. That it amazed someone like me and a Watchmen geek like Syd shows how great this film really is. |
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| lshap |
| Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 8:17 am |
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| Jackie Earl Haley was great. Interesting career/non-career he's had. |
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| Syd |
| Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 10:18 am |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
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lshap wrote: Jackie Earl Haley was great. Interesting career/non-career he's had.
I thought Rorschach was scarier without the mask than with it. |
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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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| Joe Vitus |
| Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 4:12 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: Houston
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Lorne,
Why do you keep referring to it as The Watchmen? |
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| Earl |
| Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 5:59 pm |
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Joined: 09 Jun 2004
Posts: 2621
Location: Houston
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Ghulam wrote: Laurent Cantet's The Class won the Palm D'Or at Cannes and was nominated for an Oscar. It takes place in a school in Paris, and describes some poignant, difficult and frustrating interactions between a committed teacher and his tough multiethnic and multiracial students from a variety of backgrounds. Superbly directed and superbly acted by a real teacher and real students, watching it was a moving and unforgettable experience.
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Thanks for this review, Ghulam. I saw the movie this afternoon and agree with you about it.
In addition to the things you said, I also enjoyed the scenes when the teachers are talking amongst themselves, either casually or in official meetings. They want to do what's best for the students, but their choices aren't always clear cut. They know that the decisions they make will have consequences for the kids. Those scenes do a splendid job of explaining the various points of view the teachers must consider. |
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| Rod |
| Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 7:55 pm |
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Joined: 21 Dec 2004
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Location: Lithgow, Australia
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| Ghulam |
| Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 12:29 am |
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Location: Upstate NY
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Mike Leigh's Happy-Go-Lucky is a light hearted character study of a cheerful, breezy, always laughing 30 year old school teacher played admirably by Sally Hawkins. Leigh does well in sharp portrayals of ordinary lower middle class women, and has brought awards to actresses who play these roles, as in Secrets and Lies, Vera Drake and now Happy-Go-Lucky. Good movie.
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| Syd |
| Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 12:41 am |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
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Maybe we should have a forum sometime on very, very British directors. To qualify, Americans would need subtitles to understand the film. Leigh would be a prime example. Ken Loach is apparently another one, but I haven't seen any of his films.
This isn't intended as a criticism of Leigh. He's one of four or five directors where I have to watch every film he directs because he so often makes excellent films. |
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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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