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| Joe Vitus |
 Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2009 4:06 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 14498
Location: Houston
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I can see that.
By the way, glad you've returned from the dead. |
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| Joe Vitus |
| Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2009 4:08 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 14498
Location: Houston
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Marj wrote: Very good, Joe. Normally I think the same way. I don't know why I missed it this time.
Thanks. |
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You've got a great brain. You should keep it in your head.
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2009 5:30 pm |
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| Is Away We Go a song from Oklahoma? I don't get the connection. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2009 5:36 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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marantzo wrote: Is Away We Go a song from Oklahoma? I don't get the connection.
I had the same reaction as Joe, and I think I commented on it weeks ago. Away We Go! (with the exclamation point) was the original title of Oklahoma! on the pre-Broadway tryout tour. It was a nothing title then, and it's still a nothing title. Why? |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2009 5:41 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: New York City
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billyweeds wrote: Haven't seen Jarhead, but I agree that Road to Perdition was ice cold. It was a pseudo-intellectual's idea of what a crime drama should be. Just as American Beauty was the same vis-a-vis a social satire and Mendes's Cabaret was vis-a-vis a Broadway musical. Sounds like Jarhead was pretty much the same vis-a-vis a war movie.
And Away We Go vis-a-vis a road movie.
Wonder if the protagonists ever visit Oklahoma. (That's an in joke; bonus points for deciphering it. Joe?)
Here's my original post, from June 5. Note the final paragraph. Joe never picked up on it. |
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| Marj |
| Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2009 6:54 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 10497
Location: Manhattan
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| Had I seen that I hope I would have picked up on it. You certainly gave us good enough clues! |
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| Joe Vitus |
| Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2009 8:09 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 14498
Location: Houston
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billyweeds wrote: billyweeds wrote: Haven't seen Jarhead, but I agree that Road to Perdition was ice cold. It was a pseudo-intellectual's idea of what a crime drama should be. Just as American Beauty was the same vis-a-vis a social satire and Mendes's Cabaret was vis-a-vis a Broadway musical. Sounds like Jarhead was pretty much the same vis-a-vis a war movie.
And Away We Go vis-a-vis a road movie.
Wonder if the protagonists ever visit Oklahoma. (That's an in joke; bonus points for deciphering it. Joe?)
Here's my original post, from June 5. Note the final paragraph. Joe never picked up on it.
Must have missed your post. |
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| Befade |
| Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2009 8:45 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: AZ
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Quote: I mostly liked Jaglom's Always (But Not Forever), which mixes very personal reenactment of his life with some fictional storytelling. It features one weekend when his real ex-wife brings the divorce papers for him to sign, and he attempts a sort of lost puppy-dog reconciliation. Very self-indulgent, but also raw and sentimental. I thought there was a better film lurking underneath if a few different choices were made, but it's still an interesting personal style of hybrid filmmaking.
Gromit... that's the film I just saw and I found it interesting but 2 problems for me: Why on earth would anyone want to make a film with their almost ex about whether to divorce or not. Jaglom said it was agonizing.....but he wanted to show the truth about American marriage and relationships......still. And why did his soon-to-be ex wife who still loved him but couldn't live with him smile so much? By the way......a remake of that film is in progress. (imbd.....no known actors). I really did like Irene in Time. Alot of music in that one and a fun ensemble cast.
Carrobin.....that class sounds like fun. I think I'd like him. |
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Lost in my own private I dunno. |
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| Earl |
| Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2009 11:05 pm |
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Joined: 09 Jun 2004
Posts: 2621
Location: Houston
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Joe Vitus wrote: I can see that.
By the way, glad you've returned from the dead.
The Wimbledon tennis tournament, which lasts two weeks, ended yesterday. It wasn't so much that I was dead. Think of it like you would a jury that has been sequestered. |
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"I have a suspicion that you are all mad," said Dr. Renard, smiling sociably; "but God forbid that madness should in any way interrupt friendship." |
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| Earl |
| Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2009 11:41 pm |
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Joined: 09 Jun 2004
Posts: 2621
Location: Houston
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Chéri
When it's done well, as it is in this movie by performers who know how to handle it, I love hearing dialogue in which characters are saying hurtful things while making them sound like polite things. "My dear, you're the only one I know who could pull off that color!" or "Don't you find, when the skin is looser, that it holds the perfume better?" are examples. That verbal warfare under the guise of civility provides Chéri with some of its best scenes.
Almost all of the characters in this movie are either courtesans or clients of courtesans. They are rarely seen associating with anyone not a part of that world. And again director Stephen Frears has made a film in which the characters are outsiders in some way. It's a subject matter which has long fascinated him and he does it well here.
Much has been made of Michelle Pfeiffer's bravery in "playing her age," whatever that was at the time of filming. I don't want to get into Hollywood's (or society's) double standard about "older" men and women and how they're viewed. That's a debate for another thread on another day. But whatever her age was or is, Pfeiffer remains a woman of uncommon outer and inner beauty. There are several scenes in this movie in which she looks great almost naked. Plus, she has a knowing look in her eyes here. Playing a courtesan, she convincingly conveys the impression that she's seen and done much and would have fun sharing what she knows. I'll take this Pfeiffer over the stick figure I recently saw in Scarface any day.
Perhaps it could be debated whether Pfeiffer's character, Lea, really does fall in love with the titular Cheri, a young man she mentors in the ways of love and carnality, or maybe that she simply...but I don't want to say more without spoilers.
A note: All throughout the movie I was convinced that the voice of the narrator was that of British actor Stephen Fry. It wasn't until after I saw the movie and started reading reviews that I discovered the narrator is actually the movie's director, Stephen Frears. You Stephen Fry fans out there, if you see Chéri, tell me if you don't think the two voices sound remarkably alike. |
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"I have a suspicion that you are all mad," said Dr. Renard, smiling sociably; "but God forbid that madness should in any way interrupt friendship." |
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| Marc |
| Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2009 11:55 pm |
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Joined: 19 May 2004
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| Please somebody other than me and syd go see PUBLIC ENEMIES so we can talk. |
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| Earl |
| Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2009 11:59 pm |
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Joined: 09 Jun 2004
Posts: 2621
Location: Houston
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| It's the next theatrical movie I'll see, honest. |
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"I have a suspicion that you are all mad," said Dr. Renard, smiling sociably; "but God forbid that madness should in any way interrupt friendship." |
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| Marc |
| Posted: Tue Jul 07, 2009 12:05 am |
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Joined: 19 May 2004
Posts: 8424
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| you better! or don't be comin' round here no more. |
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| Earl |
| Posted: Tue Jul 07, 2009 12:47 am |
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Joined: 09 Jun 2004
Posts: 2621
Location: Houston
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The Brothers Bloom
Every now and then I am drawn to a movie primarily because of the cast. Adrian Brody, Mark Ruffalo and Rachel Weisz were enough to get me in the door of The Brothers Bloom, a stylishly decorated picture which can't seem to decide which style it should be. That's a shame, too, because the filmmakers' inability to settle on a genre is what makes the movie a disappointment. In various scenes they seem to be going for any of the following: off-the-wall comedy, serious drama, goofy romantic charm or con game hijinks. If they could have narrowed it down to only two of those (my preference would have been the last two) that would have been a huge improvement.
The movie's budget certainly wasn't a problem when it came to things like location shoots and costumes. As near as I could tell, they really did travel to places like Montenegro, Mexico, Romania, a steamer ship and even New Jersey to film. And not that I'm a fashionista or anything, but the clothes are almost as much the stars of the movie as the actors wearing them. They have a glamorous '30s look, but updated slightly for modern times. That combined with the subject matter of cons and romantic ocean voyages on steamer ships to collect valuable (or not?) antiques gives the movie a Noirish feel. But, see? There's another genre, Noir, crashing in. It's all too much in the end.
In spite of being disappointed by the overall effect of The Brothers Bloom, I may rent the DVD again just to see the almost completely wordless performance of the Japanese actress Rinko Kikuchi as Bang Bang, a demolitions expert. Those who saw Babel a few years ago may remember her poignant portrayal of the deaf Japanese schoolgirl whose mother has recently committed suicide. In The Brothers Bloom she speaks only three words. One of them, early in the movie, is "Campari" when she orders a drink at a bar. I wouldn't dream of spoiling the other two. Her expressive face and body language are pure pantomime delights. When I get the DVD, I'll just fast forward and stop every time I see her. It will be worth it. |
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"I have a suspicion that you are all mad," said Dr. Renard, smiling sociably; "but God forbid that madness should in any way interrupt friendship." |
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| Marc |
| Posted: Tue Jul 07, 2009 1:16 am |
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Joined: 19 May 2004
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Rinko Kikuchi
Earl, she's terrific in BABEL. |
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