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| censored-03 |
 Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2005 10:57 pm |
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Joined: 24 May 2004
Posts: 3058
Location: Gotham, Big Apple, The Naked City
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Yeah man...but...like dig on Coltrane's My Favorite Things from TSOM...brill version of the treacle!  |
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| yambu |
| Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2005 11:41 pm |
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Joined: 23 May 2004
Posts: 6441
Location: SF Bay Area
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bocce wrote: ....Actually, the illustrations used in the movie credits are by Dore.
I was just watching the Beauty and the beast commentary extra, and it said the furniture in Belle's magical bedroom was from Doré illustrations. |
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| yambu |
| Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2005 12:40 am |
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Joined: 23 May 2004
Posts: 6441
Location: SF Bay Area
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North Country, directed by Niki Caro (Whale Rider), has Charlize Theron as one of a handful of women working as coal miners in No. Minnisota in the late '80's. The daily, unrelieved shit they put up with from the other 97% of the work force is believable and enraging, and I quickly fell in behind this predictable but forceful campaign for justice. Theron is pretty much pointed in one direction throughout, yet with her chops she has several great moments. The best role is given to Richard Jenkins (the dead father in Six Feet Under), whose moment before his union brothers at the Local hall may just get him a deserved Oscar nom. And more great work by Frances McDormand (veteran co-worker) and Sissy Spacek (Theron's mom).
Three quarters through, it self-destructs with the worst courtroom drama ever. I'm not a huge fan of Woody Harrelson, who played Theron's lawyer, but I pitied him for having to say those lines and chew that scenery in a way that was insulting to the audience. The legal stuff wasn't even logical within its dumbness. I loved Whale Rider, but Caro could not bring this one home, even with such a superb cast.. |
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| yambu |
| Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2005 12:58 am |
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Joined: 23 May 2004
Posts: 6441
Location: SF Bay Area
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censored-03 wrote: Yeah man...but...like dig on Coltrane's My Favorite Things from TSOM...brill version of the treacle! 8) |
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| shannon |
| Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2005 10:22 am |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 1628
Location: NC
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| Yes, Domino is as bad as they say it is. Thing is, it didn't need to be. You've got Mickey Rourke at his most cool, you've got Keira fucking Knightley , who really is just unbelievable, and you have a script by Richard Kelly, who wrote and directed Donnie Darko, that seems like it could have tremendous potential. Where it did go wrong? Tony Scott has watched Natural Born Killers way, way, way too many times, that's where. Goddamn, dude, it didn't work last time. Man on Fire was excrement. (Domino is better than that movie, mainly because of Knightley and Rourke.) What makes you think it will work this time? Nothing about the story lends itself to this kind of treatment. Come on, Tony, you used to be good. You didn't have a bad film on your resume until last year. Live and learn, jeez. |
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2005 11:10 am |
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censored-03 wrote: Yeah man...but...like dig on Coltrane's My Favorite Things from TSOM...brill version of the treacle!
Way back when I was on the radio, for what turned out to be a very limited run, I listed Coltrane's My favorite Things as one of the pieces to be played. Our producer said, 'Now way, I can't stand that song' and went on to quote some of the diabetes inducing lyrics. I told her that this version didn't have lyrics and the melody and treatment were terrific. I don't remember if it was included though. |
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| shannon |
| Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2005 11:27 am |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 1628
Location: NC
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| I can't imagine any radio producer worth his or her salt not knowing Coltrane's "My Favorite Things" or at least not knowing what to expect when hearing the name John Coltrane. |
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2005 12:31 pm |
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| This was the CBC in 1969. The producer was an intelligent person, but music was definitely not one of her strong suits. Our show was a talk/interview show with a few musical pieces that would relate to the theme of the show we were doing. So, to be fair, it wasn't a music programme that she was producing. |
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| Guest |
| Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2005 12:52 pm |
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| marantzo, did you ever run into glenn gould in your cbc days? |
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2005 1:36 pm |
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ernie wrote: marantzo, did you ever run into glenn gould in your cbc days?
No. He wasn't in my town. |
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| Joe Vitus |
| Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2005 6:33 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 14498
Location: Houston
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Lorne,
I get what you're saying, but I don't much think of "Maria," "Do-Re-Mi," "Sixteen Going on Seventeen," or "The Lonely Goatherd" as "serious songs." They are light and playful, and, yes, not on a level with similar songs in earlier shows, such as "Mr. Snow," "June is Bustin' Out All Over," "The Farmer and the Cowman," or "The Surrey with the Fringe on Top."
Billy,
While I agree with you about the over-all superior quality of Carousel (who wouldn't?), I find "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" as successful a song as "You'll Never Walk Alone." A big difference between the two is the situation. We already know where Maria belongs, and that she will end up there, so the song doesn't have the same pull. When Julie collapses into Nettie's arms, or rises as she hears her dead husband's "I loved you Julie. Know that I loved you." Well...I can't even type those words without my heart fluttering a little. |
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| Syd |
| Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2005 2:45 am |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 12921
Location: Norman, Oklahoma
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I mostly agree with yambu about North Country, although I thought the end of the courtroom scene was fine. Woody Harrelson's courtroom technique should be the subject of parody for years to come. Will you take the red ice or the yellow ice? (Don't go where the huskies go. Don't you eat that yellow snow.)
Outside of that one terrible scene the movie is fine, with Charlize Theron, Frances McDormand and Richard Jenkins likely Oscar contenders. Jenkins reminded me of Peter Boyle, and has several fine moments. His dressing down of the Union is powerful and touching and one of the high points in the movies this year.
Niki Caro is at her best when dealing with family relationships; here shown by the relationships between Theron's character and her parents, her parent's relationship, she and her children, and McDormand's character and her husband.
The movie will be compared with Norma Rae and Erin Brockovich, but I think it's better than either. Not as good as Whale Rider, but then no other movie this year is. |
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| Syd |
| Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2005 3:12 am |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 12921
Location: Norman, Oklahoma
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Stay is firmly in the tradition of such recent movies as Mulholland Drive, Vanilla Sky, Memento, Identity, and The Others, with the philosophy that if you don't make sense, at least fuck with their minds. I'm not being negative here; I like all of these movies, but I wonder afterward whether there was any substance under the flash.
Here we have Sam (Ewan MacGregor) as a psychiatrist who is substituting for Henry's (Ryan Gosling) usual psychiatrist. Henry appears to be delusional, guilt-ridden, self-destructive, planning to commit suicide at midnight on Saturday. He also seems to be psychic. He announces it's going to hail although the sky is clear, and, shortly afterward, it does. Sam is shocked since his girlfriend (Naomi Watts) has a nearly-successful suicide attempt in her recent past, and he is determined to stop Henry. But then Sam finds his reality is also coming apart.
The movie has an odd visual style which gets stranger as we approach the climax. We'll be focused on a face and the background will change behind it, or one scene will become a detail on the next, or one face will morph into another face in another scene. The whole effect is unsettling, and beautifully done. It makes you wonder where the boundary is between reality and unreality.
The visual style is the star of the movie, although Gosling is great and MacGregor and Watts are also good. (Why does Naomi Watts keep winding up in movies like this? Is she a mass hallucination or something?) Whether you'll find the movie good depends on how much you like this sort of game. I found it more satisfying that Identity and The Others and more coherent than Mulholland Drive. |
Last edited by Syd on Wed Nov 01, 2006 6:09 pm; edited 1 time in total
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I had a love and my love was true but I lost my love to the yabba dabba doo, --The Flintstone Lament |
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| lshap |
| Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2005 10:24 am |
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Joined: 12 May 2004
Posts: 4248
Location: Montreal
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We stared at the two marquees - Stay, North Country - and decided to see the latter.
North Country is a very good film, in the sense that it's a semi-historical drama that moves from point A to point B with the ponderous inevitability of real life. In other words - no great surprises, no car chases, no alien invasions. Just solid storytelling and great acting.
Charize Theron is as good as both Yambu and Syd says, good enough to perhaps snag a Best Actress nominee. This dramatic followup to Monster proves she's the real deal. The story is hers, and therefore the thrust of the film falls entirely on her shoulders. It works, and the film moves, almost completely because of Theron's ability to never lose the audience. She's determined, she's in pain, she's vulnerable, and you don't want to miss a second of that journey.
The supporting cast is terrific (Sean Bean was a very odd casting choice for this role, though he acquits himself well), and Richard Jenkins is very good (not great, IMO), but again, the film is nothing but movie-of-the-week schlock without Charlize Theron.
The aforementioned court scene certainly flops on many technicalities, but unless you're a lawyer it probably won't emotionally remove you from the scene. (Yes, Yambu, I recognized Harrellson's legal infractions: badgering a witness, attorney speaking for a witness, evidence not sworn into testimony or even substantiated) Dramatically, the dialogue stumbles into serious cheese, but the pain really doesn't last that long.
North Country's definitely worth seeing for the most powerful family scenes you'll see this year, and for one of those stories that are both very simple and very strong. |
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| lshap |
| Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2005 10:25 am |
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Joined: 12 May 2004
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Location: Montreal
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Syd,
By the way, I've noticed we've agreed completely on most films this year. Congratulations on your superb taste. |
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