|
Author |
Message |
|
bartist |
Posted: Tue Dec 29, 2020 12:31 pm |
|
|
Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Posts: 6670
Location: Black Hills
|
Quote: The Midnight Sky had real potential to be interesting but George Clooney finally made me a believer about his deficiencies as a director....
Though I didn't praise Midnight Sky, I didn't think it pointed to Clooney as deficient in directing. This is the guy who directed Good Night and Good Luck, and The Ides of March, and other worthy films. OK, maybe Suburbicon was a dropped ball, but I think of Clooney as a pretty good director. I do agree with that reviewer about the "halfhearted backstories" and, as I mentioned, the cliches. And I disagree that the twist at the end was "silly, " I just thought viewers of a recent film (mentioned between my spoiler brackets) would be likely to anticipate it. But I don't regret the two hours I gave up to watch. |
_________________ He was wise beyond his years, but only by a few days. |
|
Back to top |
|
gromit |
Posted: Tue Dec 29, 2020 2:32 pm |
|
|
Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 8850
Location: Shanghai
|
Odd that I never even heard of The Ides of March, as I'm a Clooney (the actor) fan and I was watching a lot of films at that time. Ides has quite a cast, which makes it all the stranger that I completely missed this.
Good Night, and Good Luck is well done, but also pretty straightforward without tone changes. I could watch that again. |
_________________ Killing your enemies, if it's done badly, increases their number. |
|
Back to top |
|
bartist |
Posted: Wed Dec 30, 2020 8:49 pm |
|
|
Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Posts: 6670
Location: Black Hills
|
You saw The Ides of March and reviewed it, back in 2011, as did others here. (if you search it, exclude all the posts Syd does every March 14, reminding us to beware...) I cannot seem to cut/paste between open tabs on the tablet I'm using atm.
Wait, got it to work. Here's the Gromit of Jan. 14, 2012...
Quote: Beware The Ides of March -- it isn't that good. I really never believed that Gosling was a hotshot political consultant. A problem is that we are frequently told that he is good, but we don't see anything. He has one idea that he tells his candidate, and frankly it's kind of dopey and oversold. He just doesn't look or seem the part. And then what we see is him making a series of dumb decisions, mistake after mistake (meeting with Giamatti, both telling and not telling his boss, banging the intern). But he's some hotshot political genius. Hmmm.
Also the Clooney candidate never came into focus. Mostly he says a bunch of idealistic platitudes. And doesn't seem to have a clear identity. Also a number of the major premises seemed weak. The GOP is said to be in disarray, so everyone is sure that whoever wins the Dem primary will be the next president. And senator giving his endorsement will shift his delegates and is decisive.
Only Giamatti and Hoffman seemed convincing, and then only half the time. The direction is pretty uninspired and the music cues were annoying. Really all the characters and relationships seemed a bit sketched in.
Okay, I'm a bit harsh. The film is decent enough for a cable watch. But really the intrigue just isn't that intriguing. There's no reason to really care about anyone in the film. or to care which politician or which consultant comes out ahead. |
_________________ He was wise beyond his years, but only by a few days. |
|
Back to top |
|
gromit |
Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2020 12:32 am |
|
|
Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 8850
Location: Shanghai
|
You know, I read the summary on wiki and had a vague feeling maybe I did see it, but I couldn't recall a thing or have any visual recollection. And the title is too generic. And the cover they showed is definitely not the one I had. I do remember dvd covers from years of sifting through racks of unorganized dvd's.
Possibly it never registered that Clooney directed the film, which might have been a reason to remember it
It is funny that there are plenty of films I remember nothing about.
Which makes me an ideal candidate to rewatch films. There's even plenty of thrillers where I don't recall the twist. Now, films that I liked or engaged with, I do tend to recall.
I just watched The Paper Chase the other night. And like Fiddler on the Roof, I was reasonably certain I'd seen it before, but not only was the film not remotely familiar, but it was very different than my vague impression of what it would be like. Unfortunately a lot of the film revolved around the unlikely romance with the professor's daughter, played by a rather wooden Lyndsey Wagner. And it was over-long.
I think what I recall is the 1978 Tv series of the Paper Chase, which i saw some of as a newly minted teenager. |
_________________ Killing your enemies, if it's done badly, increases their number. |
|
Back to top |
|
carrobin |
Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2020 1:18 am |
|
|
Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 7757
Location: NYC
|
Although I remember "The Ides of March" pretty well and liked it, I also have what I call "TCM syndrome"--watching old movies and trying to figure out if I've seen them before. Sometimes the movie is half over before something happens that turns on the light--oh yeah, I remember that Edward Everett Horton bit! |
|
|
Back to top |
|
gromit |
Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2020 2:02 am |
|
|
Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 8850
Location: Shanghai
|
Moving some Ides of March talk to Couch. |
_________________ Killing your enemies, if it's done badly, increases their number. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
All times are GMT - 5 Hours
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
|
|