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| Joe Vitus |
 Posted: Wed May 11, 2011 5:02 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 14498
Location: Houston
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billyweeds wrote: I am one of the world's biggest Hitchcock fans, but The Trouble With Harry is IMO not-so-hot. If we're talking Hitchcock black comedy, I much prefer AH's last film, the less acclaimed Family Plot, which features wonderful performances by Barbara Harris and Bruce Dern as well as an interestingly mysterious storyline.
Me, too. |
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Wed May 11, 2011 9:18 am |
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| I saw The Trouble With Harry at one of our neighbourhood theatres and didn't much care for it. THe first time I saw Shirley MacLaine. I didn't know it was a Hitchcock movie till many years later. |
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| bartist |
| Posted: Wed May 11, 2011 9:26 am |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
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Location: Black Hills
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I liked The New World. His other stuff is beautiful -- as I said before, he knows how to capture landscapes, and settings generally -- but I found it hard to connect with the characters or dramatic situations. I really hope Marc is right and that The Tree of Life proves to be mind-altering and metaphysical, but I'm not betting on it.
Malick does seem to get film fans disagreeing wildly, and that is part of what art is supposed to be all about, so maybe this upcoming film will be a flashpoint for some spirited debate -- we could use that. |
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He was wise beyond his years, but only by a few days. |
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| Joe Vitus |
| Posted: Wed May 11, 2011 8:09 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: Houston
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marantzo wrote: I saw The Trouble With Harry at one of our neighbourhood theatres and didn't much care for it. THe first time I saw Shirley MacLaine. I didn't know it was a Hitchcock movie till many years later.
Her first movie. She blinks a lot because the bright lights for the camera hurt her eyes. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Fri May 13, 2011 8:06 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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| If you don't already suspect that I'm going to see Bridesmaids on its opening day, then you don't know me well enough. It sounds like the comedy we've been waiting for--and by we I mean everyone who loves Kristen Wiig to distraction and who thinks the combination of Lisa Cholodenko and Judd Apatow could only benefit both of them. (This movie was described as a wedding between the two of them in the NYTimes Magazine.) The addition of Jon Hamm, Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne, and the very very great, sadly late, Jill Clayburgh are further enhancements. Can. Not. Wait. Until. 6:50 tonight. |
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| bartist |
| Posted: Fri May 13, 2011 8:54 am |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
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Location: Black Hills
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Quote: --and by we I mean everyone who loves Kristen Wiig to distraction...
I'm there. It was good to see her get more exposure last year with "Paul" and "Date Night." And, yes, must see the late great Clayburgh -- would this be her last screen role? |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Fri May 13, 2011 10:04 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: New York City
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Bridesmaids delivers the goods in so many ways I've stopped counting.
First and most impressively, it's perhaps the only movie I've ever seen that succeeds in both being screamingly, farcically, fall-out-of-your-seat hilarious one minute and heart-wrenchingly tear-inducing not a minute later. The shifts in mood are seamless and miraculous.
Second, Kristen Wiig gives a touching, accessible, identifiable performance that is also a comic masterpiece. Already my Oscar goes to her. She plays a woman whose life is falling apart at the seams, whose best friend is getting married and who is asked to be maid of honor. But there's another bridesmaid who is rich and beautiful and who is perfect at planning stuff. The competition is on, and the comic set pieces just keep coming. They are, as noted above, the stuff of hysteria.
The supporting performances by Maya Rudolph as the bride and Rose Byrne as the rival and Chris O'Dowd as the inevitable love interest and Melissa McCarthy as a butch-but-straight bridesmaid are all aces.
And the direction by Paul Feig is absolutely inspired. The movie was over two hours long and I could have sat there for another hour just loving the ride. This is an instant comedy classic for the ages and totally defines the word "must-see." It's absolutely not to be missed. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Fri May 13, 2011 10:39 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: New York City
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| 2011 has already produced the best drama and the best comedy of the last ten years--The Conspirator and Bridesmaids. And in a perfect world, Robin Wright and Kristen Wiig would share the Oscar for Best Actress. I feel confident in predicting in the middle of May that no performances this year will top them. |
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| bartist |
| Posted: Sun May 15, 2011 12:50 pm |
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Location: Black Hills
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| Saw Bridesmaids last night -- everything that Weeds said. The famous tagline for Wayne's World comes to mind, as the range of reactions I had while watching. |
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| Marj |
| Posted: Sun May 15, 2011 1:53 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
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billyweeds wrote: 2011 has already produced the best drama and the best comedy of the last ten years--The Conspirator and Bridesmaids. And in a perfect world, Robin Wright and Kristen Wiig would share the Oscar for Best Actress. I feel confident in predicting in the middle of May that no performances this year will top them.
I'm not one to predict especially when it comes to comedies, but I cannot wait to see both movies. I'm going to have to, but it's damn hard!! |
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| Ghulam |
| Posted: Sun May 15, 2011 7:09 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: Upstate NY
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| Bridesmaids is the female version of Hangover, and it is even funnier. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Sun May 15, 2011 8:50 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: New York City
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Ghulam wrote: Bridesmaids is the female version of Hangover, and it is even funnier.
As someone who was not remotely bowled over by The Hangover, I would say they're in different galaxies. But the comparison is apt. |
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| bartist |
| Posted: Mon May 16, 2011 9:00 am |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
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Location: Black Hills
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A gifted actress named Wiig
Played a bridesmaid out of her league,
Pills and hootch on a plane
Made her go quite insane
And unleash a comedic blitzkrieg. |
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He was wise beyond his years, but only by a few days. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Mon May 16, 2011 2:12 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: New York City
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The Beaver is, as sort of expected, not awful. Neither is it good. It's an ambitious kind of movie that constitutes a nice try. Jodie Foster directs Mel Gibson as a man suffering a mental breakdown who starts talking through a hand puppet with a Cockney accent. It's every bit as gimmicky as it sounds, but there are many affecting scenes, most of them not involving Gibson or Foster as his wife. The movie-stealing youngsters are Anton Yelchin as Gibson and Foster's older son and Jennifer Lawrence as his semi-girlfriend. Yelchin is the linchpin of the movie and Lawrence is about as far from Winter's Bone as she can get, playing a middle-class valedictorian and looking like a typical suburban teen.
Foster is okay as the wife (I liked her better than usual) and Gibson is as good as he's ever been, but neither is mindblowing. The movie is well-meaning and not at all bad--just not genuinely successful.. |
Last edited by billyweeds on Mon May 16, 2011 2:59 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Mon May 16, 2011 2:50 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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bartist wrote: A gifted actress named Wiig
Played a bridesmaid out of her league,
Pills and hootch on a plane
Made her go quite insane
And unleash a comedic blitzkrieg.
Like it! |
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