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yambu |
Posted: Sat Dec 03, 2011 8:07 pm |
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Joined: 23 May 2004
Posts: 6441
Location: SF Bay Area
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billyweeds wrote: The first fifteen minutes of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and the resulting snooze it brought about reminded me of why I dislike John le Carre's work. Talk, talk, talk with a lot of multi-syllable names and code numbers. I even disliked Alec Guinness back in the day in the role of George Smiley, and Guinness is arguably my favorite actor ever.... Maybe you should try reading the book. You will realize what all the talking is about. Smiley's nemisis in Russia is his quarry; and he, Smiley, must get inside his brilliant head.
He can only do that by talking about him with about a dozen others. Once he knows his man, he sends him a one-page letter which brings this Russian spy into West Berlin. Ah, now I want to see it again! |
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marantzo |
Posted: Sat Dec 03, 2011 8:07 pm |
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I mentioned this before, I read one book by le Carre and that was more than enough for me. It was The Little Drummer Girl.
Quote: Meanwhile, SAG is not allowing me to nominate Ezra Miller, a brilliant young actor who knocks it out of the park in Another Happy Day and hits a solid double in We Need to Talk About Kevin.
What was their reason. Was it in the wrong year or something? |
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whiskeypriest |
Posted: Sat Dec 03, 2011 8:12 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 6916
Location: "It's a Dry Heat."
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yambu wrote: billyweeds wrote: The first fifteen minutes of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and the resulting snooze it brought about reminded me of why I dislike John le Carre's work. Talk, talk, talk with a lot of multi-syllable names and code numbers. I even disliked Alec Guinness back in the day in the role of George Smiley, and Guinness is arguably my favorite actor ever.... Maybe you should try reading the book. You will realize what all the talking is about. Smiley's nemisis in Russia is his quarry; and he, Smiley, must get inside his brilliant head.
He can only do that by talking about him with about a dozen others. Once he knows his man, he sends him a one-page letter which brings this Russian spy into West Berlin. Ah, now I want to see it again! Well, I've never been a fan of the "You have to read the book to "get" the movie" type of movie. Stand on its own, fall on its own. No homework. |
_________________ I ask you, Velvel, as a rational man, which of us is possessed? |
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yambu |
Posted: Sat Dec 03, 2011 8:23 pm |
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Joined: 23 May 2004
Posts: 6441
Location: SF Bay Area
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marantzo wrote: I mentioned this before, I read one book by le Carre and that was more than enough for me. It was The Little Drummer Girl. .... The movie starred Diane Keaton, and it sucked eggs. The book was disappointing, too. |
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yambu |
Posted: Sat Dec 03, 2011 8:37 pm |
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Joined: 23 May 2004
Posts: 6441
Location: SF Bay Area
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whiskeypriest wrote: Well, I've never been a fan of the "You have to read the book to "get" the movie" type of movie. Stand on its own, fall on its own. No homework. This is one of those endless arguments. I recently Read Dashiell Hammett's Maltese Falcon, and finally understood what a heel Miles Archer was. the movie should have brought it forward.
What viewing of Shakespeare cannot be enhanced by a reading of the text? |
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whiskeypriest |
Posted: Sat Dec 03, 2011 8:53 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 6916
Location: "It's a Dry Heat."
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yambu wrote: whiskeypriest wrote: Well, I've never been a fan of the "You have to read the book to "get" the movie" type of movie. Stand on its own, fall on its own. No homework. This is one of those endless arguments. I recently Read Dashiell Hammett's Maltese Falcon, and finally understood what a heel Miles Archer was. the movie should have brought it forward.
What viewing of Shakespeare cannot be enhanced by a reading of the text? That's not quite the same thing. If you have to read Hamlet to understand a production of Hamlet, than the production was a bad one - well, unless it was, like, an original pronunciation production or something, which I have seen scenes of. The book is a separate experience from the movie. The movie version of Miles Archer is not the book version; he was more of a heel in the book, but that does not translate into his being more of a heel in the movie. |
_________________ I ask you, Velvel, as a rational man, which of us is possessed? |
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billyweeds |
Posted: Sun Dec 04, 2011 7:35 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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marantzo wrote:
Quote: Meanwhile, SAG is not allowing me to nominate Ezra Miller, a brilliant young actor who knocks it out of the park in Another Happy Day and hits a solid double in We Need to Talk About Kevin.
What was their reason. Was it in the wrong year or something?
No, they just manufacture a pre-chosen list of possible nominees and demand that you choose your nominees from that list. This automatically locks out certain people. Meanwhile, however, Ezra Miller is mentioned on the screener for Another Happy Day as a suggested nominee. The whole thing is very confusing and I will call SAG for an explanation. I certainly will nominate Miller if at all possible. Whatever happens nomination-wise, however, he has a brilliant career ahead of him. |
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marantzo |
Posted: Sun Dec 04, 2011 10:22 am |
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Billy, they actually make a list of the people eligible for nomination? That doesn't sound kosher to me.
Yam, of course I didn't go to see the movie. Sounds like I didn't waste a couple of hours.
I read The Maltese Falcon a long time after I'd seen the movie many times. In the movie, Spade makes it clear that Miles Archer is not a good guy and Spade didn't like him but he was his partner and you have to do the right thing for your partner. So before ever reading the book I knew that Archer was an immoral character. What did strike me was that the movie was so faithful to the book and even had a lot of the dialogue that came straight from the pages of the book. |
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bartist |
Posted: Sun Dec 04, 2011 4:33 pm |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Posts: 6949
Location: Black Hills
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Could not get into LeCarre when I read TTSS years ago. A film version might be something that works for people like me. The Richard Burton one wasn't bad, TSWCIFTC.
RIP Bill Kinney. Disturbed the hell out of me when I first saw Deliverance. Don't know if it would now, given that the scene has been referenced so many times in so many ways, sometimes jokingly. I regret that stuff becomes cultural iconography and is then somehow denatured. |
_________________ He was wise beyond his years, but only by a few days. |
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chillywilly |
Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2011 4:02 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 8250
Location: Salt Lake City
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daffy wrote: I just can't stomach Absolut Kurant or any of the espresso flavored or root beer vodkas and the like. Having said that, Absolut Mandarin is pretty good. And a few of them do pretty well if you mix them. Stoly Raz and champagne is nice, and Stoly Orange shaken with OJ and a touch of triple sec is quite refreshing. That second one is known as a Holly Special, after the bartender at Matts Grill on 8th Ave, & 55th St. (preemptive strike: There's no apostrophe in Matts, billy).
Stoli is a consistent commercial vodka that is a safe bet at most bars. I've not tried the orange flavored vodkas yet, but your mention of the Stoli brand makes me want to try it with OJ now. |
_________________ Chilly
"If you should die before me / Ask if you could bring a friend" |
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chillywilly |
Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2011 4:05 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 8250
Location: Salt Lake City
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billyweeds wrote: ... and (just 'cause I wanna) We Bought a Zoo.
I anticipate your review and thoughts on WBAZ. |
_________________ Chilly
"If you should die before me / Ask if you could bring a friend" |
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marantzo |
Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2011 4:38 pm |
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I always buy the cheapest vodka I can find. Never drink it straight so it's just throwing away money to buy an expensive vodka for your Bloody Mary or Caesar or Screwdriver etc. But people are suckers.
One should always use Cointreau instead of Triple Sec in Margaritas. Of course there is a big difference in price, but there is also a big difference in quality. |
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chillywilly |
Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2011 4:52 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 8250
Location: Salt Lake City
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marantzo wrote: I always buy the cheapest vodka I can find. Never drink it straight so it's just throwing away money to buy an expensive vodka for your Bloody Mary or Caesar or Screwdriver etc. But people are suckers.
One should always use Cointreau instead of Triple Sec in Margaritas. Of course there is a big difference in price, but there is also a big difference in quality.
Quality is worth it for just about any alcohol brand. I used to drink cheap no-name well vodkas years ago and got headaches galore. Once I switched to a better quality, headaches went away. I could drink all night with nothing but happy drunk smiling feelings.
And of course, a much higher bar tab. |
_________________ Chilly
"If you should die before me / Ask if you could bring a friend" |
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marantzo |
Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2011 5:08 pm |
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I'm lucky I guess, because I never get headaches from hard liquor. Liqueurs are different though. I found that out many years ago when I drank Southern Comfort all night as if it were scotch and I had the worst hangover and headache the next morning than I'd ever had. It's the sugar content that does it. My favourite liqueur is Cointreau but I don't sip more than a shot of it at end of my drinking or dinner, though sometimes, rarely, I have a shot and a half or two. |
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bartist |
Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2011 5:51 pm |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Posts: 6949
Location: Black Hills
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