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| Ghulam |
 Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2011 2:22 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 4742
Location: Upstate NY
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The French Canadian movie Incendies is set in war-torn Lebanon of 1970's and tells a heart-rending, somewhat improbable but nevertheless appealing story of family disruptions, separations and reunions. It was nominated for an Oscar last year, and has won 23 international awards.
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| chillywilly |
| Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2011 4:49 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 8251
Location: Salt Lake City
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bartist wrote: Red State. In a word: Blecchhh. The writer has it easy, as most character arcs are resolved with a bullet in the head. And most of the characters are crudely drawn -- horny teen boys who stumble into the clutches of grotesque Christian fundamentalists....lurching caricatures who trap, torture, and murder gays. A bumbling local sheriff. An ATF team torn between common decency and inhuman orders from above. It all goes down like Waco until the sudden shift to a cute shaggy-dog story sort of conclusion. This film is gore-soaked garbage, with a puerile joke tacked onto the end. And a monumental waste of such talents as John Goodman, Melissa Leo, and Michael Parks.
Having recently seen Red State, adding my two cents in here.
John Goodman was tops in this movie... even over Michael Parks and especially over Melissa Leo, who I've not been all that impressed with so far (I felt her Oscar for The Fighter wasn't all that deserved). The genre of the movie was a serious departure for Kevin Smith, but I thought it was pretty well written. Lines of dialogue from previous Smith movies found their way mingled into this movie. The violence was a bit over the top at times, but it worked on an extreme level. Stephen Root at the sheriff was good, but the character needed a bit more depth.
I will watch it again at some point, but for now, once is enough and I enjoyed it. |
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Chilly
"If you should die before me / Ask if you could bring a friend" |
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| bartist |
| Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2011 9:41 am |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Posts: 6958
Location: Black Hills
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Agree Goodman was tops, but I still couldn't get excited about the performance. Ah well.
Just saw Horrible Bosses, which makes a great double-feature with Strangers on a Train, for reasons that HB will make obvious. HB has some good comic devices, including one using an onboard navigation system, plus a nice riff off LSOH's psycho dentist. Crude and ridiculous movie, quite enjoyable. Maybe a few jokes a little too predictable....a shlub picks up an open box filled with cocaine during a house search....hmmm, wonder what happens next? |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2011 10:20 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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bartist wrote: Agree Goodman was tops, but I still couldn't get excited about the performance. Ah well.
Just saw Horrible Bosses, which makes a great double-feature with Strangers on a Train, for reasons that HB will make obvious.
Having a senior moment/brain fart/whatever. Anyway, I can't figure out the connection and I've seen both movies. So tell. |
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| bartist |
| Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2011 10:43 am |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
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Location: Black Hills
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| Bruno's suggestion to Guy, on the train, is the "criss-cross" murder, where each murders for the other person, thus allowing each to have a solid alibi for themselves. Jamie Foxx, in HB, references the Hitchcock movie and, as their "consultant," suggests the same strategy to the three oppressed employees who seek to eliminate their bosses. I realize that it's a slender thread, given that the rest of the plot is wildly different... |
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He was wise beyond his years, but only by a few days. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2011 10:58 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: New York City
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| Aaaah. Of course. I've seen SOAT approximately two zillion times, but HB only once and didn't particularly love it, so that's the reason. |
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| bartist |
| Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2011 12:05 pm |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
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Location: Black Hills
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| Kicking myself because the DVD of SOAT I had borrowed had the British alternate version on the flipside, and I didn't get around to seeing it. But I like the U.S. version (which puts a clerical collar on the guy in their compartment at the end -- something Hitch was afraid would rile up the Church of England), so not compelled to see Bruno be more flirtatious and homoerotic and all that. |
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He was wise beyond his years, but only by a few days. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2011 12:28 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: New York City
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| I own the British version and as I recall there's nothing that radically different about it, but I'll take another look-see. |
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| chillywilly |
| Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2011 1:42 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: Salt Lake City
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bartist wrote: Agree Goodman was tops, but I still couldn't get excited about the performance. Ah well.
He has had better performances. I liked his line that was a dig at Westboro without actually naming them. "They are suers not doers" |
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Chilly
"If you should die before me / Ask if you could bring a friend" |
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| chillywilly |
| Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2011 3:34 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: Salt Lake City
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I read some posts back from marantzo about Bridesmaids, which I finally sat down to watch the other night.
Not impressed.
The only bright spot in this movie was Melissa McCarthy, who was funny from start to finish with her Megan character. Kristen Wiig acted her role very well, but I just couldn't connect with her. Annie's constant decline into a horrible mess fell apart for me on so many levels.
This might be one of those movies I need to add to my Second Chance Movie list (Anchorman is already on the list) |
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Chilly
"If you should die before me / Ask if you could bring a friend" |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2011 3:46 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: New York City
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chillywilly wrote: I read some posts back from marantzo about Bridesmaids, which I finally sat down to watch the other night.
Not impressed.
The only bright spot in this movie was Melissa McCarthy, who was funny from start to finish with her Megan character. Kristen Wiig acted her role very well, but I just couldn't connect with her. Annie's constant decline into a horrible mess fell apart for me on so many levels.
This might be one of those movies I need to add to my Second Chance Movie list (Anchorman is already on the list)
chilly--I am shocked. Shocked. And I'm not talking Anchorman. Bridesmaids is one of the funniest movies of my life, largely because of Wiig's performance (and McCarthy's and Byrne's and Rudolph's).
Different strokes. |
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| chillywilly |
| Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2011 4:02 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: Salt Lake City
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billyweeds wrote: chilly--I am shocked. Shocked. And I'm not talking Anchorman. Bridesmaids is one of the funniest movies of my life, largely because of Wiig's performance (and McCarthy's and Byrne's and Rudolph's).
Different strokes.
I was expecting funny because I like Kristen Wiig's work on SNL and she was very funny in Paul.
I will give this another spin at some point because normally, we are pretty even on movies we've liked. Guess there are some exceptions. |
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Chilly
"If you should die before me / Ask if you could bring a friend" |
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2011 4:29 pm |
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Quote: (Anchorman is already on the list)
Another movie that I will never watch again, though if I had to pick I'd pick it to watch over Bridesmaids. Anchorman was very slightly funny while Bridesmaids wasn't funny, it was gross. And outside of the cop all the characters were obnoxious to the nth degree. |
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| carrobin |
| Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2011 4:38 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 7795
Location: NYC
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| Maybe you have to be female--or Billy--to really enjoy "Bridesmaids." My mother, my sister, and I had a great time. |
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2011 4:42 pm |
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If I were a female I think I would have been insulted by the characterization of the women in the movie. My son liked the movie a lot as did his wife. But he is a fan of the Saw movies so you can't trust him.  |
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