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| chillywilly |
 Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2009 3:42 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 8251
Location: Salt Lake City
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marantzo wrote: Quote: Given the fact that Julia Roberts and Clive Owen were the lead actors in this movie, DUPLICITY never took hold for me.
Doesn't seem to have taken hold of anyone.
Billy, the few reviews I had read re: Duplicity, were definitely pans. That was why I passed on seeing it.
Fortunately, it was just a queue entry on my Netflix list. |
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"If you should die before me / Ask if you could bring a friend" |
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| Marj |
| Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2009 4:02 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 10497
Location: Manhattan
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marantzo wrote: Quote: Given the fact that Julia Roberts and Clive Owen were the lead actors in this movie, DUPLICITY never took hold for me.
Doesn't seem to have taken hold of anyone.
Billy, the few reviews I had read re: Duplicity, were definitely pans. That was why I passed on seeing it.
I try my best to ignore critics, especially when it comes to DVD's. I definitely should not have this time. This film was a terrible mess and all the cuteness and mugging only made it worse. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2009 4:05 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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marantzo wrote: Quote: Given the fact that Julia Roberts and Clive Owen were the lead actors in this movie, DUPLICITY never took hold for me.
Doesn't seem to have taken hold of anyone.
Billy, the few reviews I had read re: Duplicity, were definitely pans. That was why I passed on seeing it.
Just for starters, here's A.O. Scott in the NYTimes with one of the most outspoken raves he's written in ages.
http://tinyurl.com/ch8vj3
There are many more review just as good. Lucky for you you read the pans; they were definitely accurate. The movie is a real loser. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2009 4:08 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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A reader on Metacritic.com had this (totally right-on) thing to say about Duplicity:
"This movie lacks anything to hold a viewer's interest. The acting is flat, the view of the business world is contrived and wholly imaginary, the characters lack either depth or charm, and the story is convoluted and artificial. I am surprised at how many professional reviewers found so many positive things about this movie. Makes me think that professional reviewers are on the take at times." |
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2009 4:20 pm |
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Boy, it sounded like Scott was on the take. Now that's a rave review and it must have done him a damage concerning his reputation. I scanned the comments below the review and though there are a few favourable ones, there is a plethora of one star ratings.
The people have spoken. I have saved and will save my money.  |
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2009 4:22 pm |
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| Billy, I wrote the thing about being on the take before I read the Metacritic post. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2009 4:53 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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marantzo wrote: Billy, I wrote the thing about being on the take before I read the Metacritic post.
Wow. Interesting. |
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2009 7:05 pm |
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Yeah, I was taken aback when I saw that like minded opinion expressed in the same way.
I just watched Gonzo on TV. I lied down on my bed and as is my habit, I put the TV on because that usually helps me fall asleep. Flicking through the channels to find one in English so I that I could close my eyes and listen and fall asleep. I caught the end of a programme on ARTS (something) and was still awake when Gonzo came on. No way I was going to sleep then.
What an excellent doc it was. I think it was made by the BBC. Wonderful, beautiful and a look at America and it's most bizarre and insightful chronicler ever. An extremely moving piece with fantastic classic songs punctuating sequences that could have inspired them.
Has anyone seen it? |
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| Marc |
| Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2009 10:35 pm |
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Joined: 19 May 2004
Posts: 8424
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| I screened GONZO at my theater in Taos. I saw it several times. It is good indeed. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Tue Nov 24, 2009 7:36 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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| Tried in vain to watch Rendition on HBO on Demand. Promptly fell asleep for the duration, almost, just waking up long enough from time to time to confirm that the film was unutterably dull and glacially paced, taking an important subject, which is...um..."rendition," the immoral practice of torturing people with no lawful reason, and making it snoozeworthy. A potentially dynamite cast (Jake Gyllenhaal, Reese Witherspoon, Meryl Streep, Alan Arkin, Peter Saarsgard) can do nothing under the uninspired direction of Gavin Hood. |
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| lady wakasa |
| Posted: Tue Nov 24, 2009 10:44 am |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 5911
Location: Beyond the Blue Horizon
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| I think a crop of filmmakers have tried to make the definitive War on Terror movie, dating from about 2004/2005. It's just too early to make that movie, yet. (IMO, anyway.) |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Tue Nov 24, 2009 1:40 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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lady wakasa wrote: I think a crop of filmmakers have tried to make the definitive War on Terror movie, dating from about 2004/2005. It's just too early to make that movie, yet. (IMO, anyway.)
The Hurt Locker might seem at first glance to be a notable exception to this rule, being a certifiably great film set during and within the Iraq war, but not really. It's a suspense flick, not a war flick or a message flick. |
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| Befade |
| Posted: Tue Nov 24, 2009 4:45 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 3784
Location: AZ
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Breaking and Entering
Finally saw this film. It had been on my mind for a long time......but no one here ever mentioned and I never read a review. So......I saw it for the actors: Jude Law, Juliette Binoche, Robin Wright Penn, Ray Winstone. Briefly......Jude's a London architect, Robin's his Swedish live-in, Juliette's a Bosnian muslim immigrant, Ray's a police officer. Anthony Minghella directed and wrote. Jude is creating green living spaces in a London slum. Juliette's son breaks in and steals computers. The plot that connects these characters is not smooth......but more of a confusing maze. The reason to see the film is the 2 teenage actors: the autistic acrobatic daughter of Robin and the Tarzanic son of Juliette. Both are compelling, fresh, and fascinating. |
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| ehle64 |
| Posted: Tue Nov 24, 2009 5:10 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 7149
Location: NYC; US&A
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Befade -- I watched Breaking and Entering recently. I liked it and its complications. I also loved the roof-jumping (which inspired a lot of choreography as well as a movement) that the Binoche son's character uses in his thefts and getaways. That doesn't sound worded right, the dance movement was going down in France before the film, the film didn't inspire the dance but showcased it well through the character.
Tonight -- Away We Go -- I've been wanting to see this since it's theatrical debut.
I remembered liking Rendition at the time of viewing, but I don't really remember specifics a year or so later. . . |
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| Earl |
| Posted: Tue Nov 24, 2009 10:08 pm |
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Joined: 09 Jun 2004
Posts: 2621
Location: Houston
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billyweeds wrote: Tried in vain to watch Rendition on HBO on Demand. Promptly fell asleep for the duration, almost, just waking up long enough from time to time to confirm that the film was unutterably dull and glacially paced, taking an important subject, which is...um..."rendition," the immoral practice of torturing people with no lawful reason, and making it snoozeworthy. A potentially dynamite cast (Jake Gyllenhaal, Reese Witherspoon, Meryl Streep, Alan Arkin, Peter Saarsgard) can do nothing under the uninspired direction of Gavin Hood.
lady wakasa wrote: I think a crop of filmmakers have tried to make the definitive War on Terror movie, dating from about 2004/2005. It's just too early to make that movie, yet. (IMO, anyway.)
I also thought Rendition suffered from a case of bad timing when it was released in theaters. But where we diverge is that I thought the movie arrived too late, not too early. My review from two years ago. |
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