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| Trish |
 Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2012 10:07 am |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 2438
Location: Massachusetts
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I thought Magic Mike was a huge disappointment ... I don't get the Channing love in general in Hollywood but I will say he was the "better" of the ensemble...
Savages was more enjoyable, although not academy-worthy, as a summer flick the movie worked- it moved and kept my attention. Blake Lively didn't annoy me as much as she usually does... |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2012 11:08 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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carrobin wrote: Billy--no kind words for Matt Bomer? If I went to see the film (which I almost certainly won't have time for), it would be for him. He's so rakishly charming on "White Collar."
The stripper ensemble is somewhat underused, and I've never seen White Collar. If I had I'd probably have zeroed in on Bomer. He's definitely worth looking at. |
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| grace |
| Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2012 11:20 am |
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Joined: 11 Nov 2005
Posts: 3210
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| Matt Bomer was a serial killer on Guiding Light way back when. He's come a long way. |
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| carrobin |
| Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2012 11:45 am |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 7795
Location: NYC
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| He's one of those actors who's recently come out. Good thing I wasn't counting on marrying him anyway. |
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| carrobin |
| Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2012 1:04 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 7795
Location: NYC
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| Joe Vitus |
| Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2012 1:09 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 14498
Location: Houston
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| Well, I thought the first two were total crap, so I feel for the guy. But I think it's pretty obvious a charismatic franchise attracts partisans so swept up in their ideology to react logically to perfectly fair criticism. No, this comment has nothing to do with any other conversations going on around here. |
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| gromit |
| Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2012 1:20 pm |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 9008
Location: Shanghai
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Herzog's Into the Abyss is pretty good.
He doesn't really delve into innocence or guilt, but it seems that the state proved its case pretty clearly.
It's really a story about stupid people with too much time on their hands engaging in the most senseless of crimes.
The one guy is lucky to have gotten only 40 years, and found a sympathetic woman to marry and have a child with. You can see how Werner liked revealing that homey/odd detail.
There is an interesting look at whole families incarcerated -- or at least the male lineage -- something we usually don't stop to consider.
There are some moments of unintentional macabre humor.
Like when the surviving sister talks about how her father was a preacher and was supposed to marry her, but died 6 months before her wedding. He was hit by a train. (pause while that oddity sinks in). Along with my older brother. (short pause). And the family dog.
I felt bad to start laughing and thinking about Holly Hunter and how many respectable people have been hit by trains.
It seemed a bit unfortunate that Herzog is rather restrained in his questions and comments. I assume this was to get the people to cooperate, but you feel Werner holding back when he really wants to ask something like, How does it feel to kill another human being?
Anyway, it's kind of sad how uneducated and aimless many of these people are/were. But I really couldn't manage any sympathy for the jailed killers. In some ways, I felt the kid was lucky that he got to live 11 years longer than his victim before the death penalty was finally carried out. I'm not in favor of the death penalty, but I'm also not in favor of the horrible conditions in most max and medium security US prisons either. And the real issue is the vast majority who will be released back into society and the same problems and milieu, but that's getting away from the film.
I find it interesting how Werner always gets professional people (police, a coroner, an executioner) to talk about their jobs and what happened. You get the feeling these people are just dying to have soemone listen to their stories and perspective. From Tv and such, we're pretty used to victims and perps wanting to tell their stories.
Into the Abyss is definitely soemthing worth catching on cable TV. Not essential, but interesting and sad and a turn-over-the-rock bit of sociology on rural Texas. |
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Killing your enemies, if it's done badly, increases their number. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2012 1:26 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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| I've got a sort-of freebie to The Dark Knight Rises, so I'll probably go, but my reaction to Batman Begins was meh at best, and although I didn't dislike The Dark Knight, nor did I love it, and I detested Inception with almost indescribable vehemence, so I'm expecting to be underwhelmed if I'm lucky and quite possibly repelled by TDKR. |
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| Befade |
| Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2012 10:07 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 3784
Location: AZ
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Quote: Herzog's Into the Abyss is pretty good.
Gromit.........I saw this recently and thought it was a stunning film. If you've ever watched a 48 hours type mystery you can appreciate the depth and breadth Herzog gives to this true life murder.
A couple of things.........he couldn't have asked the killers how it felt to kill someone because they both denied doing it.
The whole phenomenon of death row inmates attracting wives and multiple interested women could be a film by itself. My personal conclusion for this common draw for a romance is that a woman would always know where her man was and would never have to worry about him being unfaithful.
I think there are a lot of people like those portrayed in this film. Aimless is a good word for the type. I'm not sure about stupid, but one stupid move the two convicted guys chose was to leave the house to throw the murdered woman in the lake. Why? And why didn't they take the car they wanted with them.......that whole business of them having to go back to the gated community to get the car caused 2 more murders. |
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Lost in my own private I dunno. |
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| gromit |
| Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2012 5:37 am |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
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Location: Shanghai
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Befade wrote:
A couple of things.........he couldn't have asked the killers how it felt to kill someone because they both denied doing it.
I know, but Werner's prone to asking things like, So these 3 people were indeed murdered. How do you think it would feel to have killed them?
But my point is that Werner seemed real restrained in his questions.
Quote: I think there are a lot of people like those portrayed in this film. Aimless is a good word for the type. I'm not sure about stupid, but one stupid move the two convicted guys chose was to leave the house to throw the murdered woman in the lake. Why? And why didn't they take the car they wanted with them.......that whole business of them having to go back to the gated community to get the car caused 2 more murders.
I'm sure.
First off the guy who was executed comes off as borderline impaired if you ask me. And that's after 10 years of prison education. Think of the acquaintance who was illiterate until he his prison stint.
Second, it's pretty ridiculous to just shoot and kill a woman to steal a car. Then they don't even steal the car but dispose of the body and get locked out of the gated community where the car is. Then after a triple homicide and double car theft, they joy ride around in the cars for the next week, giving everybody rides and raising suspicions about where these unemployed idiots got these nice cars.
Didn't they realize that the cars could be easily traced to the now dead family?
So they get caught within a week, and help convict themselves by telling where the bodies are.
It's a completely senseless crime, committed with stupidity aforethought, and then they hold on to the cars/evidence until they are quickly caught. Hard to imagine lamer criminals. The guy who got 40 years has a smoother style, normal IQ, and rugged good looks. But this is of course 10 years later and he's in a different circumstance.
It was really effective to use the police video of the crime scene. Sad to see a cracked egg shell and cookie dough on a tray in a normal kitchen and then blood splatter on the walls and ceiling. |
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Killing your enemies, if it's done badly, increases their number. |
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| bartist |
| Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2012 8:30 am |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Posts: 6948
Location: Black Hills
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Quote: Another commenter said he would like to beat Fine “with a thick rubber hose into a comma [sic].”
I'm surprised he wouldn't be going more for an exclamation point.
Re The Abyss - I think Befade you are right that the romantic attraction, for the women, is about control.
I like "turn-over-the-rock bit of sociology." |
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He was wise beyond his years, but only by a few days. |
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| carrobin |
| Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2012 9:42 am |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 7795
Location: NYC
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| I haven't seen the film, but it sounds intriguing. And I think one reason people (like me) are fond of murder mysteries is that the villains are usually very smart and the detectives are even smarter. That's extremely rare in real life, where killers just sort of go with their gut (and often the detectives do too). |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2012 10:18 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: New York City
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| Definitely gonna see Into the Abyss, which for some reason I'd never heard of. |
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| gromit |
| Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2012 10:41 am |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 9008
Location: Shanghai
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Werner Herzog dropped two docs in pretty quick succession both of which got some reviews and notice but didn't generate as much buzz/interest as I would have expected.
The other was Cave of Forgotten Dreams (in 3D even), ancient cave paintings down a hole in France I believe.
Maybe part of the problem is that Herzog's last three feature films -- Rescue Dawn (2007); Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009); My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done (2009) -- were all pretty terrible. Though I suppose opinions vary.
Into the Abyss started out as part of a 4-part PBS Tv series Herzog made called On Death Row.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Death_Row |
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Killing your enemies, if it's done badly, increases their number. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2012 11:19 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: New York City
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gromit wrote:
Maybe part of the problem is that Herzog's last three feature films -- Rescue Dawn (2007); Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009); My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done (2009) -- were all pretty terrible. Though I suppose opinions vary.
Opinions certainly do. Haven't seen the other two, but Bad Lieutenant... was an almost-great movie. Terrible? Not even close. Amazing is more like it. |
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