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| carrobin |
 Posted: Mon Dec 14, 2009 10:35 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
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Location: NYC
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| Breaking news: I saw a movie tonight! Every three or four months I manage to stumble into a theater. This was "Fantastic Mr. Fox," a lovely little fantasy indeed, and if I didn't already love George Clooney I'd have fallen for his foxy voice here. I hadn't expected it to be so endearingly English, although I knew it was based on a Dahl book. (Never having shaken off my film-class training of sitting through the credits, I was rewarded by seeing that the rabbit chef was voiced by Mario Batali. Cute.) |
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| Earl |
| Posted: Mon Dec 14, 2009 11:27 pm |
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Joined: 09 Jun 2004
Posts: 2621
Location: Houston
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I loved Fantastic Mr. Fox! It is filled with delights of both sight and sound. Throughout the movie I kept being tantalized by the feeling that I missed great visual jokes that would flit by quickly down in the corner of the screen, or great bits of dialogue that I couldn't hear because I was too busy laughing.
I'm not at all familiar with the Dahl book, so maybe he should get the credit for this: I really enjoyed the use of the word "cuss" in place of an actual cuss-word. Very clever. |
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| Marc |
| Posted: Mon Dec 14, 2009 11:28 pm |
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Joined: 19 May 2004
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| The Fantastic Mr. Fox will be in my top ten of 2009. It's a shame it's bombing at the box office. |
Last edited by Marc on Mon Dec 14, 2009 11:30 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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| Earl |
| Posted: Mon Dec 14, 2009 11:30 pm |
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Joined: 09 Jun 2004
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carrobin wrote: Breaking news: I saw a movie tonight! Every three or four months I manage to stumble into a theater. This was "Fantastic Mr. Fox," a lovely little fantasy indeed, and if I didn't already love George Clooney I'd have fallen for his foxy voice here. I hadn't expected it to be so endearingly English, although I knew it was based on a Dahl book. (Never having shaken off my film-class training of sitting through the credits, I was rewarded by seeing that the rabbit chef was voiced by Mario Batali. Cute.)
I kept wondering who was the very familiar voice of Bean, the main baddie out of the humans. Then I learned from the credits that it was Michael Gambon. "Ah, of course," I thought, "I'm not used to hearing Dumbledore sound so sinister." |
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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 Dec 14, 2009 11:43 pm |
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Joined: 09 Jun 2004
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Location: Houston
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| By the way, I know that Willem Dafoe recently took a critical beating here at Third Eye. And I can understand that criticism a lot of the time. But he is hilarious as the voice of The Rat in Fantastic Mr. Fox. Stole both scenes in which he appeared. |
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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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| carrobin |
| Posted: Mon Dec 14, 2009 11:58 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
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Location: NYC
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I've never read any of the Dahl books--always meant to, never got around to it. The film was, indeed, like "The Simpsons" in that there were often three or four items on the screen that I knew were clever but I only saw a couple of them in passing. What really got me, though, was the sensitivity and expressiveness of the faces--tears welling in Felicity's eyes, the quirky corners of Mr. Fox's Clooneyesque smile, Ash's rebellious eyebrows. Yet they looked so realistically foxy. Amazing artistry there.
And yes, I liked the "cuss" word too. I may start using it myself. |
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| Marc |
| Posted: Tue Dec 15, 2009 12:34 am |
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Joined: 19 May 2004
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| Look at my avatar. It's Mr. Fox. |
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| chillywilly |
| Posted: Tue Dec 15, 2009 12:41 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: Salt Lake City
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inlareviewer wrote: chillywilly wrote: Chrisoph Waltz was brilliant. I would pin my hopes on him for the win. He's the front-runner, criticality-speaking for sure. Am just trying to exercise caution until Nomination Morning makes it a fait accompli.
Caution, indeed. But any smart person watching one of those screeners (or after tomorrow, the official DVD or Blu-ray), will find it hard to ignore such a riveting performance. |
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Chilly
"If you should die before me / Ask if you could bring a friend" |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Tue Dec 15, 2009 6:18 am |
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chillywilly wrote: inlareviewer wrote: chillywilly wrote: Chrisoph Waltz was brilliant. I would pin my hopes on him for the win. He's the front-runner, criticality-speaking for sure. Am just trying to exercise caution until Nomination Morning makes it a fait accompli.
Caution, indeed. But any smart person watching one of those screeners (or after tomorrow, the official DVD or Blu-ray), will find it hard to ignore such a riveting performance.
Quite true. The first fifteen or twenty minutes of the movie are basically an acting showcase for him. He holds the attention like a vise by sheer acting skill. Of course, he also manages to make you hate him utterly, which fuels a great deal of the rest of the film. |
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Tue Dec 15, 2009 7:24 am |
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Quote:
marantzo, it was Homer Simpson doing "The Scream."
I don't need to see the picture. I'm laughing already. Thanks. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Tue Dec 15, 2009 7:29 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: New York City
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Marc wrote: Look at my avatar. It's Mr. Fox.
LOL. I thought it was probably Mirgun's dog or something. |
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| Joe Vitus |
| Posted: Tue Dec 15, 2009 7:30 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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| I thought it was the dog he rescued in Taos. |
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Tue Dec 15, 2009 7:41 am |
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Does look like the pictures I've seen of Mr. Fox. Nice dog.
I'm still reading White Fang and learning a lot about wolves and dogs and mixed breed wolf-dogs and some foxes, porcupines etc. London gets inside of the head of White Fang and other wolves and animals of the north. Considering his experience I trust his descriptions of how their minds work. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Tue Dec 15, 2009 7:45 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: New York City
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My feelings about Fantastic Mr. Fox may give a window into why it's bombing. The glimpses I've seen of that stop-action animation make me a little sick to my stomach. And I'm not a Wes Anderson fan.
Because of the praise it's getting I may have to see it. But getting there, I must admit, is like pulling teeth. |
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Tue Dec 15, 2009 8:01 am |
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| Unfortunately it isn't playing here yet, but even if it comes here, animated movies are inevitably dubbed. I guess they do that so the kids won't have to read. |
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