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| bartist |
 Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2011 1:10 pm |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Posts: 6958
Location: Black Hills
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Nope. (in answer to query (pun int.) regarding Brokeback Mountain viewing) Was in the multiplex where it was showing, but my companion wanted to see Chronicles of Narnia, and then I never got round to it. Oddly, I have a copy of Wendy and Lucy right now, twas on the shelf at library a coupla days ago. Maybe I'll do a Williams double-feature.
Norwegian thing is funny. Haven't met that many actors....Winger seemed as pretty and magnetic as she does on screen. Sigh. Jeff Daniels seemed (in the early 80s) exactly like himself. Steve Martin, who I met for about two seconds while he was doing a sound check, seemed quieter and more reserved than I would have expected....he looked kind of tired and did not have "happy feet." |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2011 1:20 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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Steve Martin is reportedly (from many, many, many sources) as dull as dirt off stage and screen. He might as well be a CPA as the "wild and crazy guy." Which, of course, just illustrates the enormity of his talent--but doesn't make him someone you'd necessarily want to hang out with.
Btw, Wendy and Lucy is unwatchable IMO. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2011 1:26 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: New York City
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| Seeing two new films today--Like Crazy and We Need to Talk About Kevin. Will report. |
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| Syd |
| Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2011 5:55 pm |
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Location: Norman, Oklahoma
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billyweeds wrote: bartist wrote: People of half-Norwegian descent, like Williams, can be terribly unphotogenic. I know this from personal experience. Haven't seen Williams in anything but a small bit in Shutter Island; keep meaning to see Blue Valentine.
You never saw Brokeback Mountain?
Or Dick or Wendy and Lucy? (Kidding here.)
Or The Station Agent. I always thought she had a bit of a chipmunky look; I always like to see her in a movie. She's going to play Glinda the Good in Sam Raimi's Oz: The Great and Powerful, a prequel to The Wizard of Oz. |
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| Joe Vitus |
| Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2011 7:09 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 14498
Location: Houston
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billyweeds wrote: Steve Martin is reportedly (from many, many, many sources) as dull as dirt off stage and screen. He might as well be a CPA as the "wild and crazy guy." Which, of course, just illustrates the enormity of his talent--but doesn't make him someone you'd necessarily want to hang out with.
Don't know if this is still true (or ever was true) but someone I know who worked with him in the early 90's called him the nicest alcoholic they ever met. |
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2011 7:23 pm |
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| He's obviously not a bit like Chevy Chase. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2011 9:21 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: New York City
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We Need to Talk About Kevin was overbooked, so I didn't see it and can't report. Like Crazy I saw--and loved. It's a story of young love, as a couple (Anton Yelchin and Felicity Jones) meet and fall helplessly in love with each other. They have a hard time getting it together, and more I will not say, partly because there isn't all that much to say. Story-wise this is slight, but the emotional weight is strong and soulful, and the leads are marvelous--as is everyone else.
The story's arc reminds me of The Fantasticks, but there's more sex, and more sadness. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Tue Nov 15, 2011 7:29 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: New York City
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| J. Edgar is a long and often boring slog, but there are bright spots, not least of which is DiCaprio's very fine performance in the title role. There are nice scenes between him and Armie Hammer as maybe-lover Clyde Tolson and him and Judi Dench as his very homophobic mom. We also get a suspenseful take on the Lindbergh kidnapping. But too much of the movie is like a History Channel show-and-tell, and as noted it's very long. Not particularly recommended despite DiCaprio's yeoman work. |
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| chillywilly |
| Posted: Tue Nov 15, 2011 7:54 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: Salt Lake City
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billyweeds wrote: DiCaprio has never particularly rung my chimes, even when he's good--as he often is. I fail to see the "greatness" so frequently attributed to this very competent actor.
The last two DiCaprio movies I saw that he excelled in were The Aviator and Inception. Shutter Island was good and his performance was good, but not quite on the levels of the previous two movies.
I'll see J. Edgar at some point. Eastwood movies are mixed for me, but I have to thank most here for their praise of MDB, which I'm glad I eventually saw the week before Oscars/Blanches that year. |
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"If you should die before me / Ask if you could bring a friend" |
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| Ghulam |
| Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 12:54 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: Upstate NY
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The much praised movie Meek's Cutoff, directed by Kelly Reichardt tells the true story of three pre-Civil War families migrating to the West. The harships of travel in those days are presented in great detail and at a very slow pace. The camera dwells and dwells on three women crossing a river, or four men talking to each other for five or six minutes, but you can't make out a word of what they are saying. The screenplay and dialogue are weaker than the grand scheme of the film. It has its merits but it is flawed.
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 6:11 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: New York City
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chillywilly wrote: billyweeds wrote: DiCaprio has never particularly rung my chimes, even when he's good--as he often is. I fail to see the "greatness" so frequently attributed to this very competent actor.
The last two DiCaprio movies I saw that he excelled in were The Aviator and Inception.
Inception was one of the worst movies I've ever seen (one-third of), and DiCaprio did nothing to make me like it more. I liked Leo in The Aviator. I almost loved him in The Departed and Blood Diamond. He was okay in Titanic and fine in Revolutionary Road and Catch Me If You Can. But DiCaprio's "greatness" escapes me. I think he's been dining out on Gilbert Grape for decades. He's very good in J. Edgar, for instance, but great? No way. That would be Michael Shannon in Take Shelter. |
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| gromit |
| Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 6:46 am |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
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Location: Shanghai
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To say he's been living off Gilbert Grapenuts is pretty silly. Obviously, Titanic made him a household name and teen heartthrob. That's where his hype came from. But he's been pretty versatile, hasn't been in any bombs, hasn't given a bad performance, and got through that awkward phase where he looked awfully boyish while in his early 30's.
I thought DiCaprio best in The Basketball Diaries and Revolutionary Road. Can't point to any film where I thought he was bad, though I skipped Blood Diamond and Inception and probably some others, and thought The Departed was an awful film. |
Last edited by gromit on Wed Nov 16, 2011 2:03 pm; edited 1 time in total
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| bartist |
| Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 10:04 am |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
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Location: Black Hills
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| Ghulam, I was curious about Meek's Cutoff (having actually traveled along the Oregon Trail route a couple times -- you can still see wagon ruts near Scott's Bluff). The pacing makes it sound like an art film in the true sense, a study of people moving through an immense landscape. Will look for it. Cast includes the recently chatted-about Michelle Williams, whose western roots (Kalispell, Montana) might have helped her get into the role. |
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He was wise beyond his years, but only by a few days. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 1:24 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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gromit wrote: ... and thought The Departed was an awful film.
A lot of people agree with you about this, and I can't for the life of me understand where they're coming from. I thought it was one of Scorsese's top five. |
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| Ghulam |
| Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 7:05 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: Upstate NY
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bartist wrote: Ghulam, I was curious about Meek's Cutoff (having actually traveled along the Oregon Trail route a couple times -- you can still see wagon ruts near Scott's Bluff). The pacing makes it sound like an art film in the true sense, a study of people moving through an immense landscape. Will look for it. Cast includes the recently chatted-about Michelle Williams, whose western roots (Kalispell, Montana) might have helped her get into the role.
It has visual authenticity but it is not well written.
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