| Author |
Message |
|
| Marc |
 Posted: Thu Dec 03, 2009 8:13 pm |
 |
|
Joined: 19 May 2004
Posts: 8424
|
Billy,
I know. A Single Man is getting good reviews too, but for a film critic to mix up the two is unprofessional. |
|
|
| Back to top |
  
|
| Marc |
| Posted: Thu Dec 03, 2009 8:14 pm |
|
|
|
Joined: 19 May 2004
Posts: 8424
|
Billy,
he's corrected it. He must have gotten my e-mail...or perhaps several. |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
| Befade |
| Posted: Thu Dec 03, 2009 10:48 pm |
|
|
|
Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 3784
Location: AZ
|
Quote: nor can I quite do the ThrowYourselfInTheRiver leap that my instincts tell me Precious will require.
SPOILER ALERTS:
I liked/enjoyed Precious but then I was an inner city teacher and the familiarity was comforting. I did NOT have a sentimental reaction probably because Precious is a huge girl with a huge presence. I did not see her as pure victim. Quiet as she was and obedient as she was to her cruel mother, she could hit back with sudden appropriate protective sharpness. I have to say I think the film actually celebrates those rare big black girls among us. They express something primal. Mo'Nique was definitely exposing very boldly the unpleasant reality of a self-centered welfare mother. The main problem I had with the film was at the end when Mo'Nique revealed the reasons for her behavior. She just went into TOO much detail. I don't want to hear about how the boyfriend sucked milk from her brestes and touched her baby girl.
I'd like to see more of Gabourey Sidibe the actress who played Precious. You don't want to take your eyes off her. You'd never guess she's in college........and as unlike Precious as a person could be. |
Last edited by Befade on Thu Dec 03, 2009 10:59 pm; edited 1 time in total
_________________
Lost in my own private I dunno. |
|
| Back to top |
|
| Marc |
| Posted: Thu Dec 03, 2009 10:54 pm |
|
|
|
Joined: 19 May 2004
Posts: 8424
|
|
| Back to top |
|
| inlareviewer |
| Posted: Fri Dec 04, 2009 12:07 am |
|
|
Joined: 05 Jul 2004
Posts: 1949
Location: Lawrence, KS
|
Always late to the party. Marc wrote: Inla, from the article you just linked to:
"Besides “Precious” and “Nine,” such well-regarded films as Tom Ford’s “A Serious Man,” John Hillcoat’s “The Road” and Michael Hoffman’s “The Last Station” were not mentioned."
What's wrong with that sentence?
Since the misidentification of Tom Ford and A Single Man has already been rectified, will take a leap and say that "were not mentioned" verges on passive construction -- "didn't receive mention" is more active.
Befade, will be seeing Precious next week. Having read Push, am heartened more than unnerved by what I'm hearing, but I still need sufficient time to steel myself, because the book sort of thrashed my heartstrings. Thanks heaps for the heads-up -- Mlle. Sidibe is coming off wonderfully well on the talk show circuit, can't wait. Also, J&J review is almost done, really. It would be done already except I had an overnighter last night for Druid Theatre of Galway (amazing), and:
I saw The Road. Was right to be nervous. Viggo! and The Kid are unselfconsciously excellent. It surely does its utmost to replicate the post-apocalyptic bleached-nihilism of what is essentially an unfilmable novel. And it was for me a wildly wearying, single-note-directed, negative-returns experience. How I wish I'd gone to Bad Lieutenant, or The Messenger instead. Well, that'll larn me. |
Last edited by inlareviewer on Fri Dec 04, 2009 12:13 am; edited 1 time in total
_________________
"And take extra care with strangers/Even flowers have their dangers/And though scary is exciting/Nice is different than good." --Stephen Sondheim |
|
| Back to top |
|
| billyweeds |
| Posted: Fri Dec 04, 2009 12:13 am |
|
|
Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
|
Speaking of Bad Lieutenant, just saw it. Can't honestly describe it as a really "good" movie, but it's one of the most riveting, entertaining pieces of trash I've seen in quite a while, with a crackerjack turn by Cage.
It's not exactly a "guilty pleasure," either--it's too artistically done for that. The trash is exquisitely presented by the great Werner Herzog, with certain scenes that really have to be seen to be believed. Cage has a confrontation with two old ladies that is shocking and hilarious beyond my imaginings, and his scenes with iguanas are funny, too. With all the shits and giggles, though, he manages to portray a convincing sleazebag, one who disgusts you but who you root for anyway. |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
| Marc |
| Posted: Fri Dec 04, 2009 12:23 am |
|
|
|
Joined: 19 May 2004
Posts: 8424
|
| Bad Lieutenant is barely getting a release. I guess the studio behind it doesn't have much faith in the film. Hard to believe considering Cage is in it. I can't wait to see it. It's one of the few films that is currently on my must see list. |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
| billyweeds |
| Posted: Fri Dec 04, 2009 12:36 am |
|
|
|
Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
|
Marc wrote: Bad Lieutenant is barely getting a release. I guess the studio behind it doesn't have much faith in the film. Hard to believe considering Cage is in it. I can't wait to see it. It's one of the few films that is currently on my must see list.
And should be. It's loads of fun as well as being a tribute to the dual talents of Herzog and Cage. They make a great team.
I have heard people who absolutely loathe this film, and I guess I understand. It certainly isn't for all tastes, but I loved it. |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
| inlareviewer |
| Posted: Fri Dec 04, 2009 1:36 am |
|
|
|
Joined: 05 Jul 2004
Posts: 1949
Location: Lawrence, KS
|
| Now, am really regretting not seeing Mad Nicky as Bad Lieutenanty, not least since the original with The Keitel is still carved somewhere in the back of my brainpan, and am so looking forward to seeing what Herr Herzog does with it. Oh, pook. It's not so much that The Road was awful as that it didn't really justify its having been made. Deep sigh. |
_________________
"And take extra care with strangers/Even flowers have their dangers/And though scary is exciting/Nice is different than good." --Stephen Sondheim |
|
| Back to top |
|
| Marc |
| Posted: Fri Dec 04, 2009 4:17 am |
|
|
|
Joined: 19 May 2004
Posts: 8424
|
Quote: It's not so much that The Road was awful as that it didn't really justify its having been made.
my reason for not rushing out to see it. |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
| billyweeds |
| Posted: Fri Dec 04, 2009 6:20 am |
|
|
|
Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
|
| The Road just sounded seriously snooze-inducing to me, even though I love Viggo Mortensen. I had no desire to see it, ever. |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
| billyweeds |
| Posted: Fri Dec 04, 2009 6:40 am |
|
|
|
Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
|
There's much more to say about both Up in the Air and The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, and I hope to say a lot of it in the days to come.
One thing I can say about TBL:POCNO is that it features a small supporting role by the amazing Jennifer Coolidge that is so far removed from her usual (and fascinating) campy persona that I didn't recognize her. She plays the functional-alcoholic wife of Cage's drunk of a father. She's convincingly shrewish and pathetically drunk and very vivid. Coolidge is some kind of a great actor.
About Up in the Air, I can say that Vera Farmiga is a genuine star presence, not just a fine, fine character actress. She may be headed for true iconic status. Clooney, meanwhile, equals and perhaps--perhaps--tops his great perf in Michael Clayton. Up in the Air cuts across genres and emerges as a real, honest-to-goodness instant classic. |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
| marantzo |
| Posted: Fri Dec 04, 2009 8:07 am |
|
|
|
Guest
|
| Won't be seeing The Road, or Precious, or The Messenger. Not because I think they'll be bad, but because they don't seem like movies I'd enjoy sitting through. Besides they may not even make it here. |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
| billyweeds |
| Posted: Fri Dec 04, 2009 8:17 am |
|
|
|
Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
|
I will see (and am very eager to see) both Precious and The Messenger, the latter partially because my wife Dolores did extra work in it and partially because it sounds terrific. Meanwhile, here's a link to a Stephanie Zacharek semi-pan of Up in the Air, one of the few negative reviews it will get but one I have little respect for even though I agree with some of the negatives. Zacharek at her worst (here) is the nightmare result of the Pauline Kael effect. (If you know what I mean you'll understand.)
http://tinyurl.com/ydggcmz |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
| marantzo |
| Posted: Fri Dec 04, 2009 8:22 am |
|
|
|
Guest
|
| I may go to The Messenger if it gets here. |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
