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AdamL (Adaml)
Cinematographer
Username: Adaml
Post Number: 2014
Registered: 08-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, February 11, 2007 - 08:31 am: | 
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Music and Lyrics is the worst Hugh Grant film I've seen, though Hugh Grant makes even poorly scripted and directed films like this watchable. There's precisely one funny scene where he pulls a muscle whilst performing. As I was watching it I couldn't believe how dreadful the jokes were but I'll be damned if I can't get the lame 80s songs out of myu head. I'm scarily close to buying the soundtrack. D+ |
Monterey Jack (Monty)
Movie Star
Username: Monty
Post Number: 3322
Registered: 10-2002
| | Posted on Sunday, February 11, 2007 - 08:39 am: |
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A bad Hugh Grant movie? Perish the thought...!
The Jack Bauer Power Hour Has Recommenced
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Nicola_D (Nicola_d)
Key Grip
Username: Nicola_d
Post Number: 670
Registered: 05-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, February 11, 2007 - 01:14 pm: |
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He does have one of those inexplicable careers. I guess Hollywood likes certain "types". A one-note, one-dimensional actor. |
Son Of... (Docscribe)
Studio Mogul
Username: Docscribe
Post Number: 8105
Registered: 05-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, February 11, 2007 - 01:57 pm: |
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Still doing my pre-Oscar/AFFA mop-up...
T-h-e G--o--o--d S---h---e---p---h---e--r---d
Why was this movie s-o d--a--m--n s---l---o---w??? Worst pacing of the year for an otherwise good picture. Damon, whom I usually like, had basically two expressions: dour, and less-dour...and for everyone else around him, yack, yack, yack, yack, yack. Maybe this ponderous, leaden narrative would have played better as a 2-part HBO mini.
Note to Mr. DeNiro: You're not Bertolucci, and this wasn't 1900!
"Never thought I'd get around to changing my siggy, did ya?"
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Jeff Vorndam (Jeff)
Key Grip
Username: Jeff
Post Number: 1023
Registered: 12-2002
| | Posted on Sunday, February 11, 2007 - 01:57 pm: |
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He's the best at what he does.
You want to be fooled.
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Son Of... (Docscribe)
Studio Mogul
Username: Docscribe
Post Number: 8106
Registered: 05-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, February 11, 2007 - 02:03 pm: |
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Acting?
Seriously Jeff, this is the classic complaint about actors turned directors: needlessly distending scenes and double-quoting even the most mundane throwaway moments to give their actors a 'stage' to ply their 'instrument'. DeNiro has acted in enough great films by A-list directors to know better.
"Never thought I'd get around to changing my siggy, did ya?"
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Jeff Vorndam (Jeff)
Key Grip
Username: Jeff
Post Number: 1024
Registered: 12-2002
| | Posted on Sunday, February 11, 2007 - 02:26 pm: |
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I think we x-posted there. I was referring to Hugh Grant and the niche he's carved out for himself.
I enjoyed the leisurely pace of The Good Shepherd though.
You want to be fooled.
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AdamL (Adaml)
Cinematographer
Username: Adaml
Post Number: 2015
Registered: 08-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, February 11, 2007 - 02:30 pm: |
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Hugh Grant is terrific. I wont hear a bad word said against him. If Cary Grant was alive today would he be similarly slagged off? Perhaps Hugh isn't quite as charming, but he's in the same ball park and they both have the same sort of hit to miss ratio.
Four Weddings, About a Boy and Notting Hill are all excellent. |
Son Of... (Docscribe)
Studio Mogul
Username: Docscribe
Post Number: 8107
Registered: 05-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, February 11, 2007 - 02:38 pm: |
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Unintentional X-post or not Jeff, your comment was weirdly appropriate for The Good Shepherd.
"Never thought I'd get around to changing my siggy, did ya?"
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Nicola_D (Nicola_d)
Key Grip
Username: Nicola_d
Post Number: 671
Registered: 05-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, February 11, 2007 - 02:47 pm: |
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.....Re: Hugh Grant and his trio of excellent films: Oh, yes, he exhibited such a dynamic range in those films. Actually, as an actor, Cary Grant wasn't that much better, but he had more charisma and star-presence in his left toenail than Hugh.... |
Kathy (Kk1024)
Cinematographer
Username: Kk1024
Post Number: 1803
Registered: 12-2002
| | Posted on Sunday, February 11, 2007 - 03:03 pm: |
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Ahh... One of my favorite scenes in one of my favorite movies of all time involved Hugh. Edward returning to Eleanor Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility. |
AboutFilm host (Carlo)
Moderator
Username: Carlo
Post Number: 6985
Registered: 07-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, February 11, 2007 - 03:43 pm: |
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Let The Good Shepherd simmer a bit. It improves the more you think about it.
As for Hugh Grant, he is a disaster in American comedies. This was an American comedy.
He is perfectly fine in British comedies, and has in fact played successfully against type. He always appears to be Hugh Grant, but he has gone convincingly from shy stammerer and to total sleazeball and every point in between.
AboutFilm President and Sugar Daddy (www.aboutfilm.com); OFCS Member (www.ofcs.org)
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AboutFilm host (Carlo)
Moderator
Username: Carlo
Post Number: 6987
Registered: 07-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, February 11, 2007 - 04:02 pm: |
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Yes, folks, it's time for our annual Beg-A-Thon** to support the AboutFilmBoards!
You may have noticed no new reviews have appeared on the site in six months, so I probably won't be claiming any business deductions now to offset my costs.
So please, use the Amazon link below to purchase your brand-new copy of The Departed and keep using it whenever you shop at Amazon! Commissions are WAY down lately so this would be a big help at no cost to you.
Or, make a small donation via Paypal!
Thanks guys. Sorry for the spam.
**NOTE: I call it the Annual Beg-A-Thon only because I do not hold it every year.
AboutFilm President and Sugar Daddy (www.aboutfilm.com); OFCS Member (www.ofcs.org)
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AdamL (Adaml)
Cinematographer
Username: Adaml
Post Number: 2016
Registered: 08-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, February 11, 2007 - 05:06 pm: |
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quote:.....Re: Hugh Grant and his trio of excellent films: Oh, yes, he exhibited such a dynamic range in those films. Actually, as an actor, Cary Grant wasn't that much better, but he had more charisma and star-presence in his left toenail than Hugh....
I totally disagree. Hugh has tons of star-presence and charisma. Obviously he can't match Cary's but then who can. Cary's range was just as limited as Hugh's but that does not mean they cannot act. Not everyone is able to play both Gandhi and Don Logan in Sexy Beast but both Grants utterly convince in the characters they play and possess impeccable comic timing. Is either Grant as good an actor as Ben Kingsley? Probably not. Are they good actors? Undoubtedly.
quote:As for Hugh Grant, he is a disaster in American comedies. This was an American comedy.
Agree with this. |
i am marshall. (Kermie)
Cinematographer
Username: Kermie
Post Number: 2126
Registered: 06-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, February 11, 2007 - 07:18 pm: |
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I very much loved Hugh in "Love, Actually." Although I very much loved the whole movie and it gets better every time I watch it.
http://wearemarshall-themovie.warnerbros.com/
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Jeff Vorndam (Jeff)
Key Grip
Username: Jeff
Post Number: 1025
Registered: 12-2002
| | Posted on Sunday, February 11, 2007 - 07:48 pm: |
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Last twelve new (to me) movies:
Gabrielle (2005) - Based on Joseph Conrad's The Return, Gabrielle charts the dissolution of a marriage over a couple of days. The setting is the drawing-rooms and dining-rooms of turn of the century France, and the couple, played magnificently by Pascal Greggory and Isabelle Huppert, are more invested in keeping up appearances than loving one another. When Huppert's feelings are aroused for the first time, Greggory's world is shattered. Director Patrice Chereau employs a battery of cinematic devices that unstuff this chamber drama: switches between black and white and color film stock, dramatic crescendos in the score, and blazing intertitles that express the gushing forth of emotions long held in check. B+
Idiocracy (2006) - I liked the premise and after the shameful way this was un-released in theaters, I was really hoping this would be good. Trouble is, it's just not that funny, and the satire runs dry of ideas about halfway through its meager 84 minute running time. C
Find Me Guilty (2006) - I guess the reason why Lumet unabashedly potrays mobster Jackie DiNorscio as someone to root for is because he's the only person with integrity (excepting perhaps the judge), and because he wants us to see DiNorscio as the jury saw him --as a big goofball who loved his friends, despite whatever criminals activities he was up to. Lumet doesn't delve very deeply into how aware DiNorscio is that he's deceiving himself, as his mob boss clearly wants him out, and as a result it makes him more pathetic than anything else. Also, I still say Vince Diesel bears an uncanny resemblance to Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer. B-
Sylvia Scarlett (1936) - Deservedly the least well-known of the four films that Katharine Hepburn made with Cary Grant, Sylvia Scarlett is now mostly known for its gay subtext (not just the obvious surface stuff with Hepburn dressing as a boy and kissing another girl, but the whole theme of finding a life outside of society). Grant, unfortunately, gives one of his worst performances, and there's no real motor to the story either, which just kind of putters along until the screenwriters decided it was time for Hepburn to hook up. C+
This Film Is Not Yet Rated (2006) - Though it's great at pointing out the (mostly obvious) inconsistencies and failures of the rating system, the film gets taken over by Kirby Dick's obsession with finding out who the members of the MPAA (and its appellate board) are. This is not as interesting or entertaining as Dick seems to think it is, and tilts the film away from an examination of morals and censorship and into Super Size Meish stunt territory. B-
Iron Island (2005) - It's not too hard to guess that the sinking ship in Mohammed Rasoulof's Iron Island is a microcosm of modern Iran. The fun lies more in the details than the broad strokes. B-
The Illusionist (2006) - Handsome visual design but lazy plotting and characterization give The Illusionist a stylish but empty feel. Due to the desire to withhold information until the all-important last-second rug-pulling, the protagonist is an uninteresting character, and not at all mysterious. It was much easier to get into the relationship between the Police Inspector (Paul Giamatti, excellent as always) and the Crown Prince (an affected but entertaining Rufus Sewell), which at least had the benefit of transparency. C+
Sorry, Wrong Number (1948) - Too high-strung to really work effectively as suspense. There's nowhere to go, dramatically, when it's pitched at hysteria right from the start. That said, the restrictive use of location works well. B-
The Science of Sleep (2006) - Unlike most people, I didn't really see this as cute and fun or whimsical. It felt melancholic to me; Bernal's character, though possessing the charm of the actor, is essentially a disturbed and creepy man, and his inability to connect with reality is really sad. There's too much quirk to provide the movie with the grounding it needs to leave a mark, but as messy as it is, it does reflect Stephane's state of mind. B
Flags of Our Fathers (2006) - Despite Eastwood's methodical approach, which comes off at times like an adult who speaks slowly to you because he thinks you won't understand, this is a mostly effective story about the men involved the famous flag-raising at Iwo Jima, and on a larger scale, about the concept of heroism itself. It doesn't present war from a perspective we haven't seen before, but it hits the expected notes and plays them well. B
Letters from Iwo Jima (2006) - Stronger than Flags of Our Fathers --the focus is tighter, the performances are better, and the overall gravity gives the film more oomph. Eastwood doesn't lead you by the nose so much this time, but it's debatable how accurate some of the events are. The depictions of two soldiers who'd had exposure to America are unambiguously heroic, perhaps as a deliberate counter-point to the previous film. B+
Sands of Iwo Jima (1949) - An iconic and charismatic performance from John Wayne is all this rote war film has going for it. I feel kind of ripped off that they don't even get to Iwo Jima until the last twenty minutes of the movie. The build-up is a tiresome establishment of the cardboard cast of characters, often shockingly lazily conceived (I like the single woman who takes Sgt. Stryker to her place, apparently leaving her infant to fend for himself while she prowls the bars). C
You want to be fooled.
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AboutFilm host (Carlo)
Moderator
Username: Carlo
Post Number: 6995
Registered: 07-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, February 11, 2007 - 08:11 pm: |
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quote:This Film Is Not Yet Rated (2006) - Though it's great at pointing out the (mostly obvious) inconsistencies and failures of the rating system, the film gets taken over by Kirby Dick's obsession with finding out who the members of the MPAA (and its appellate board) are. This is not as interesting or entertaining as Dick seems to think it is, and tilts the film away from an examination of morals and censorship and into Super Size Meish stunt territory. B-
I just saw this too. Agree with all this; furthermore he misses a fundamental point, which is that the MPAA is less to blame for censorship than the large theater chain owners who are either too cowardly or too puritanical to carry an NC-17 movie. No-children rated films are carried by major theater houses in most European countries, why not ours? It is no accident that the members of the appeals board, to whom he devotes only a few minutes, represent mostly the theater chains. THEY want this rating system, because THEY don't want to picketed or boycotted by various vociferous "pro-family" groups.
The ratings board's obsession with sex and laissez-faire attitute toward violence is interesting. But the problem is so much broader than them.
AboutFilm President and Sugar Daddy (www.aboutfilm.com); OFCS Member (www.ofcs.org)
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Monterey Jack (Monty)
Movie Star
Username: Monty
Post Number: 3323
Registered: 10-2002
| | Posted on Sunday, February 11, 2007 - 10:29 pm: |
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The Woods: Spooky chiller about a disturbed young girl (Agnes Bruckner), circa 1965, who's bundled off to a remote boarding school by her distraught parents (horror movie stalwart Bruce Campbell, playing it straight for once, and Emma Campbell, no relation). There, she's put under the care of the institution's headmistress (an eerily placid Patricia Clarkson), and as she begins to adjust to her new surroundings and her snobby classmates (who bequeath upon her the charming nickname of "Firecrotch"), she also begins to hear ghostly whispers eminating from the nearby woods and suffer from vivid, blood-soaked nightmares. Do these nocturnal activities have anything to do with the scary stories passed along by her fellow students about the school's sinister past? Director Lucky McKee, who made the sleeper horror flick May a few years back, has a genuine eye for striking visual compositions, and he gets fine performances by his talented cast. He also doesn't stinge on the gore, which fans of the genre will appreciate. The film's overriding mood of unease doesn't quite hang together until the end (with a somewhat confused wrap-up), yet this is still a remarkably good spine-tingler, and it's a shame it's been basically dumped straight-to-DVD due to the legal battles over it's title (which M. Night Shyamalan wanted for his film The Village). Worth hunting down for those looking for a good shriekathon. B+
The Jack Bauer Power Hour Has Recommenced
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Frances Nicole (Midge_wood)
Key Grip
Username: Midge_wood
Post Number: 1013
Registered: 05-2001
| | Posted on Monday, February 12, 2007 - 03:55 am: |
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Octopussy Fun while it was on the screen, but even then I had to stop and wonder why they wasted film to record this. It's been intriguing to see how the producers have tried to adjust the Moore films from ridiculous to serious and conscious of the feminist movement, here making the titular Bond girl (woman, really) a business woman who still needs to be saved by Bond in the end despite making earnest efforts to fend for herself. This is indicative of all the steps the producers have made to "improve" Moore's films, in my view: earnest, maybe a little interesting, but ultimately a failure. I'm probably the only person who thinks the Moore Bond films are at their best when they're utterly ridiculous. Roger Moore's tendency to have rather comedic facial expressions is better suited when the things around him make no sense, rather then when they do. Plus, for me, there's something charming about the films when they're unhinged and campy. The attempts to make serious bidness out of Roger Moore's James Bond wind up being laborious.
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb I almost thought I wouldn't like this movie. The beginning was slow, not very engaging, and not very funny. I had the feeling, however, that this was building up to something, and I was not disappointed. Dr. Strangelove is a brilliantly written film, a brilliantly written, directed, performed, shot, everything film. Made me genuinely laugh while I was feeling terror at the situation the film presents. Was a little disappointed in the way the film ended, though. But then, when you throw in a lot of technical jargon into the mix, it's easy to lose my attention.
Peace be with you.
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C.J. (Thief)
Movie Star
Username: Thief
Post Number: 3277
Registered: 07-2001
| | Posted on Monday, February 12, 2007 - 03:10 pm: |
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Pan's Labyrinth (El Laberinto del Fauno) is simply an excellent, almost flawless film. Excellently directed and written by Guillermo del Toro, with excellent performances by most of the cast (especially Ivana Baquero, Sergi Lopez, and Maribel Verdú), and with a mistifying cinematography, the film grabs you into its multidimensional story of fantasy in the midst of the horrors of war. I would love to see this one again. Grade: A
JUST MARRIED! -- If you see me posting, my wife must be working.
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Oh yeah? (Thezookieman)
Movie Star
Username: Thezookieman
Post Number: 4692
Registered: 06-2001
| | Posted on Monday, February 12, 2007 - 03:57 pm: |
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Hey, if Sly Stallone can do Rocky X and Bruce Willis can do Die and Stay Dead This Time, God Damn It!, then why shouldn't the Oscar-nominated Eddie Murphy try to get in on the sequelitis action?
quote:E! Online, "Axel Foley Lives!"
Paramount has signed up Eddie Murphy to reprise his role as wisecracking detective Axel Foley for a fourth installment in the Beverly Hills Cop saga, the studio confirmed Thursday.
The sequel will be supervised by former Warner Bros. head turned producer Lorenzo de Bonaventura, who's currently locking down writers. No director has been named.
There's no word on a plot, although the film is expected to stick to the fish-out-water formula of the first three films, in which Murphy's ace Detroit police officer finds himself in unfamiliar territory conducting a murder investigation in the 90210.
Paramount is also hoping the sequel follows the box-office formula of the earlier films—at least the first two, which did bang-up business.
The 1984 original, helmed by Martin Brest (Midnight Run, Meet Joe Black) and released in 1984, was a massive hit, grossing $234.7 million in the U.S. and $81 million internationally. The 1987 Tony Scott-directed sequel, Beverly Hills Cop II, fared even better, raking in $153.6 million in domestic ticket sales and another $146 million overseas.
However, 1994's Beverly Hills Cop III, tanked. The film which saw Murphy reunite with his Trading Places and Coming to America director John Landis, featured Foley taking down a counterfeit money ring operating out of a Los Angeles amusement park. But it was a yawner with moviegoers, who shelled out a meager $44 million domestically.
The third film suffered from the absence of Top Gun über-producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, who oversaw the first two movies, as well as several MIA key players (Ronny Cox, John Ashton and Paul Reiser) and the trademark '80s synthesizer score by Harold Faltermeyer....
"Axel Foley is one of the great action-comedy characters, a character that Eddie loves. I'm lucky enough to help bring it back," the producer told the trade. "This genre is missing from the landscape."...
Standing in the shadow of the One True City...
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James (James)
Production Assistant
Username: James
Post Number: 284
Registered: 11-2002
| | Posted on Monday, February 12, 2007 - 08:12 pm: |
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Finally I got to see Last King of Scotland, yes the acclaim for Forest Whittaker is very well deserved and totally elevated this movie from the shortcomings that James McAvoy's character development and performance did. Gosh I can't remember two leads being so opposite since Amadeus (IMO I thought Tom Hulce was miscast while F. Murray Abraham nailed it).
One performance besides Whittaker that was great was Gillian Anderson's performance as Sarah. Gosh I wish she would work more, I miss her.
The movie really doesn't start taking off til about the last 45 minutes of it and then Whittaker goes from charasmatic to absoutely scary. I didn't care about McAvoy at all in the movie he definately gets one of my votes for the "You ruined my movie award".
Grade: B- |
AdamL (Adaml)
Cinematographer
Username: Adaml
Post Number: 2018
Registered: 08-2001
| | Posted on Monday, February 12, 2007 - 08:21 pm: |
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Everyone seems to be in agreement over that film. Except that is BAFTA, who inexplicably gave McAvoy a nomination for supporting actor and also decided it was the best British Picture of the year, when it was easily the worst of the nominees (United 93, Notes on a Scandal, Casino Royale, The Queen.) |
Tim (Tim)
Cinematographer
Username: Tim
Post Number: 1084
Registered: 06-2001
| | Posted on Monday, February 12, 2007 - 10:13 pm: |
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Greetings AF'ers. I have not posted here in many months. So let me be the first to welcome me back. Welcome Tim!
I managed to go back and read all the January and February archives. Here is my response to movies that have been discussed recently and I've also watched;
Last King of Scotland; Ok, I'll be the first to admit a devils advocate position here, but I wonder about actors who portray such eccentric and over the top real life character - and then get championed for such brilliant performances. Ray Charles, Truman Capote, Idi Amin...are we starting to develop a pattern similar to recognizing people who play characters with severe handicaps? Oh, the movie...I'd say a B- for many of the reasons discussed.
Children of Men; By the looks of AF, I loved it more than most. I thought it was fantastic, and really don't have any criticisms of it. You can fill in the blank on what causes the infertility (hey, Global Warming!?!), but what I really liked is how it shows us a world that is plausible in 20 years based on what we see in the news every night. Doesn't have to be infertility, could be disease, terrorism, no more oil...really, anything. A-
Little Miss Sunshine; I would probably have liked it better as a quirky little independent film that went straight to video that no one else saw. Seeing it after everyone else and all the nominations made me feel a little underwhelmed. B
Lady in the Water: Whoever (I think Carlo) said that they really hated this train wreck...I agree! It sucked buckets. It didn't even have the ability to suck enough to be intriguing. It just simply sucked. I don't care the Giamatti was in it...it's still a giant F.
The Departed: I'm ready for Scorsese to win a stinkin' Oscar. Mostly because I think all the debate about it has gotten tired. I have a feeling if he wins he can go back to making smaller films that most don't pay attention to and won't even get nominated - I'm fine with that. A-
An Inconvenient Truth; Good message to get out...but I really don't know how one would critique this as a documentary.
Cheers! and good "reading" you all again. |
AdamL (Adaml)
Cinematographer
Username: Adaml
Post Number: 2019
Registered: 08-2001
| | Posted on Monday, February 12, 2007 - 11:13 pm: |
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Hey Tim. Welcome back. Would be good to have your votes in the AFFAs. You have til Saturday, check out the nominees and send me your votes by email.
As for playing larger than life figures, I agree there is a tendency to praise these sorts of roles, but in Whitaker's case he thoroughly deserved it. I thought Hoffman was overpraised and, although I haven't seen it (too busy eating glass), imagine Foxx was too. |
AboutFilm host (Carlo)
Moderator
Username: Carlo
Post Number: 7000
Registered: 07-2003
| | Posted on Monday, February 12, 2007 - 11:27 pm: |
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quote:One performance besides Whittaker that was great was Gillian Anderson's performance as Sarah. Gosh I wish she would work more, I miss her.
A friend of mine wondered, as we were watching this screen, if Anderson had had some sort of surgical procedure to become English.
AboutFilm President and Sugar Daddy (www.aboutfilm.com); OFCS Member (www.ofcs.org)
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Monterey Jack (Monty)
Movie Star
Username: Monty
Post Number: 3329
Registered: 10-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 13, 2007 - 12:33 am: |
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As a former X-Phile, I too have missed seeing Gillian Anderson since the show ended.
The Jack Bauer Power Hour Has Recommenced
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Son Of... (Docscribe)
Studio Mogul
Username: Docscribe
Post Number: 8113
Registered: 05-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 13, 2007 - 01:04 am: |
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...perhaps Anderson never got over The House of Mirth?
As for my award-straggler viewing, it continued tonight with Venus, which I guess proves that Peter O'Toole never really got over being...well...Peter O'Toole.
What on earth would they have done if O'Toole had decided not to play this role - or was too ill to play it? I suppose they could have rewritten it for any old near death geezer, but it wouldn/t have been quite the same without the 60s penultimate, perpetually-besotted rake, rogue, and roué ripping holes through every line? The thing played like a career valentine to the guy simply for surviving both Hollywood and his own life! And he was still in pretty good form in an frail, cantankerous, and vaguely creepy sort of way.
He also had good support from not only his off the street unknown Venus - her name escapes me as it will everybody - who ably held her own in a rather thin part with a difficult arc, but also Vanessa Redgrave who just elevated the film during all - count 'em - three of her brief but powerful scenes. Ultimately though, the film just didn't feel substantial enough on its own to make any of this spring-august angst really matter...the typical Miramax award gerrymandering was too apparent throughout in both the writing and direction...always angling...always angling. The tale simply didn't breathe enough unassisted to live on its own as an unconventionally compelling or touching love story. I more or less liked it, but not in any compelling or deeply moving way.
In the end, Venus just felt like some kind of post modern obit in motion and sound. Ironic then, that O'Toole will likely finish his career as he started it with yet another splashy, heralded Oscar nomination...and no win.
"Never thought I'd get around to changing my siggy, did ya?"
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AdamL (Adaml)
Cinematographer
Username: Adaml
Post Number: 2021
Registered: 08-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 13, 2007 - 07:57 am: |
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quote:A friend of mine wondered, as we were watching this screen, if Anderson had had some sort of surgical procedure to become English.
I thought she was English! Well sort of - I thought she grew up here. Checking IMDb all I could find was this...
"Lived in London, England, from age 2 to age 11, then moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan, where she was teased for her English accent."
I seem to remember several interviews where she mentioned growing up in Liverpool but maybe IMDb just presume anyone living in England lives in London.
In any case she lives here now and has done for a few years so she has plenty of opportunity to practise her accent. |
Jeff Vorndam (Jeff)
Key Grip
Username: Jeff
Post Number: 1026
Registered: 12-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 13, 2007 - 11:37 am: |
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Tim re: Children of Men:
quote:You can fill in the blank on what causes the infertility (hey, Global Warming!?!), but what I really liked is how it shows us a world that is plausible in 20 years based on what we see in the news every night. Doesn't have to be infertility, could be disease, terrorism, no more oil...really, anything
That's exactly what's wrong with this movie in my opinion. Its non-specificity is a cop out-- a cheap device to claim relevance, even when it doesn't particularly make sense.
You want to be fooled.
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Monterey Jack (Monty)
Movie Star
Username: Monty
Post Number: 3331
Registered: 10-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 13, 2007 - 12:14 pm: |
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But COM is more interested in exploring how society would crumble in the wake of a worldwide plague of sterility than giving some technical gobbledeygook explaining the how of it. It's like, would Night Of The Living Dead have ibeen improved if we got a definative explanation as to why the dead were rising from their graves? By the time Day came out, George Romero basically thew up his hands and had a character sensibly say "You ain't never gonna figure it out!"
The Jack Bauer Power Hour Has Recommenced
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Jeff Vorndam (Jeff)
Key Grip
Username: Jeff
Post Number: 1027
Registered: 12-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 13, 2007 - 01:14 pm: |
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But its own explanation doesn't make sense. In a world facing massive de-population, why the big fuss over immigration? Oh right, because it's a hot-button issue today. Cheap points for Cuaron.
The problem isn't that the plague isn't explained, it's that the film trades on current events to import a relevance that isn't there.
You want to be fooled.
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Monterey Jack (Monty)
Movie Star
Username: Monty
Post Number: 3332
Registered: 10-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 13, 2007 - 03:14 pm: |
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The reason for banning immigrants was because the rest of the world had apparently fallen into utter chaos, and only England had managed to hold onto a semblance of "normalcy". It made perfect sense to me.
The Jack Bauer Power Hour Has Recommenced
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Tim (Tim)
Cinematographer
Username: Tim
Post Number: 1086
Registered: 06-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 13, 2007 - 04:06 pm: |
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The immigration/deportation element seemed reasonable to me. If the world has descended into chaos, and your on an island (in this case, literally) of relative normalcy, then you can see why it would be a popular place – a place that would certainly want to be protected by the status quo. This is a little bit like a sinking ship with only one life boat. Everyone wants in it and those in are knocking people off.
I would concur that the fertility element is a McGuffin. To the extent this is a cop-out or lazy writing I guess is debatable. For me the reason for infertility was of no consequence to the story – and sometimes it is better to not explain such mysteries (i.e., Spielberg and War of the Worlds).
Ultimately I can’t think of a movie that present the glass-half-empty view of the future with such realism and possibility (although I’m sure there are some). Even Blade Runner (my favorite of this genre), which has a pretty bleak view of the future, shows us a world that in my thinking defies probability.
For this reason I wonder if it is unreasonable to evaluate Children of Men as “SciFi” rather than just a thriller set 20 years from now? |
Jeff Vorndam (Jeff)
Key Grip
Username: Jeff
Post Number: 1028
Registered: 12-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 13, 2007 - 04:20 pm: |
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The infertility element is a part of a major theme in P.D. James' source novel, which explains it as a sympton of a larger disrespect for human life. The film adaptation secularizes the novel's themes and in the process the film loses much of the meaning the novel had. In its place, the team of writers patched in premises like "England is the only country that hasn't descended into chaos" (when clearly it has, but whatever), that have nothing to do with the current environment.
You want to be fooled.
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Tim (Tim)
Cinematographer
Username: Tim
Post Number: 1087
Registered: 06-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 13, 2007 - 04:41 pm: |
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I haven't read the book. Not sure how disrespecting life causes infertility...but to a certain extent that was my point. An explanation may create a more likely chance of dismissing the premise to begin with. Can't infertility just be a McGuffin?
Not to draw the comparison again, but I loved Spielberg's War of the Worlds...up until he explained why the aliens died!
That said, I'm now curious to read the P.D. James book. Novels usually have more opportunity to expand on these type of themes. |
Monterey Jack (Monty)
Movie Star
Username: Monty
Post Number: 3333
Registered: 10-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 13, 2007 - 10:16 pm: |
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Last minute Oscar cramming...
-Marie Antoinette: Opulent period piece (with a distinctly modern style and tone) with Kirsten Dunst as the famed French queen, Jason Schwartzman as her nebbishy king, and a lot of 80's pop tunes on the soundtrack. Coming off of her delicate, haunting Lost In Translation, MA Sofia Coppola's latest can't quite compare, yet it's an incredibly handsome production (particularly the lavish, Oscar-nominated costumes), and Dunst is very fine in the title role, maturing from over-her-head teen to sober queen. B+
-Half Nelson: Ryan Gosling's excellent, Oscar-nominated performance is the main draw of this interesting spin on the usual To Sir, With Love inspirational teacher template, with Gosling as a drug-addicted inner-city teacher caught smoking a crack pipe in the locker room by one of his students (Shareeka Epps), and the tenative relationship that springs up between them. Gosling and Epps are both terrific, and there are many touching scenes, but the film has a claustrophobic, stage play feel, and ultimately comes across as a bit slight. Still, worth a look for Gosling's fine work. B+
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James (James)
Production Assistant
Username: James
Post Number: 285
Registered: 11-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 13, 2007 - 11:22 pm: |
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Monty
I agree with just about everything with what you had about Half Nelson; however for me the claustrophobic way of the film worked cause of the way (spoiler) how is addiction just seemed to seep through every fiber of his existence. It was like everything for this teacher was closing in on him. It might seem slight but the ending is a good ending. No pretty packages or anything.
For me Gosling edges out Whittaker this year. To think this was the same guy that pre-teens was singing along with JC Chavez and Justin Timberlake! |
AboutFilm host (Carlo)
Moderator
Username: Carlo
Post Number: 7001
Registered: 07-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 14, 2007 - 01:59 am: |
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Wow, in agreement with Jeff again!
Yep, I think the film copped out on the bigger questions and themes available to it and contented itself with being an anti-anti-immigrant film. Real lost opportunity, real disappointment to me.
AboutFilm President and Sugar Daddy (www.aboutfilm.com); OFCS Member (www.ofcs.org)
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Nicola_D (Nicola_d)
Key Grip
Username: Nicola_d
Post Number: 672
Registered: 05-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 14, 2007 - 04:34 pm: |
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Re: COM: Yeah, it was a disappointment, that's why I focused on the incredible action sequences, mostly. |
Monterey Jack (Monty)
Movie Star
Username: Monty
Post Number: 3337
Registered: 10-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, February 15, 2007 - 10:30 pm: |
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-Sunset Boulevard (1950): Brilliant, lacerating peek behind the Hollywood curtain, featuring William Holden as down-on-his-luck screenwriter Joe Gillis who, whilst avoiding some repo men, pulls into the driveway of Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson), a former silent-film superstar now rotting away in her ridiculously luxurious mansion, surrounded by the fading remnants of her past and tended to by her faithful butler Max (Erich Von Stroheim). Joe needs a paycheck, Norma needs a younger man to remind her of her salad days, and the two enter into a mutually parasitic relationship that bares the ugly, hateful side of fame right down to the bone in Billy Wilder's engrossing, still-prescient film. Swanson is unforgettable, her every arch, melodramatic proclamation underscored by the strains of Franz Waxman's memorable, Oscar-winning score as she chews on Wilder's razor-sharp dialogue like fine steak, and Holden's wry, weary narration adds the perfect sour, film noir spice to the narrative. A great, great film, one I wish I'd seen years ago. A
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Nicola_D (Nicola_d)
Key Grip
Username: Nicola_d
Post Number: 673
Registered: 05-2001
| | Posted on Friday, February 16, 2007 - 01:00 am: |
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Billy Wilder was one of our (naturalized U.S. citizen) greatest directors, and one of my personal favorites. I am fortunate to have attended a public appearance by both him and Jack Lemmon at a screening of Some Like it Hot. Truly memorable experience. |
Cornuto Content (Coachk)
Production Assistant
Username: Coachk
Post Number: 398
Registered: 06-2001
| | Posted on Friday, February 16, 2007 - 09:47 am: |
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This may sound strange, but I've always though Sunset Boulevard was one of the scariest movies I've seen. Swanson (and Von Stroheim) are so creepy, and even in Swanson's famous "close up" I just get chills looking into the face of the truly insane. |
AdamL (Adaml)
Cinematographer
Username: Adaml
Post Number: 2022
Registered: 08-2001
| | Posted on Friday, February 16, 2007 - 10:14 am: |
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Hot Fuzz is from the Shaun of the Dead team and is pretty darn good. Go see it for the best Timothy Dalton performance ever and a glorious shoot out at the end. B+ |
Guynoir (Guynoir)
Cinematographer
Username: Guynoir
Post Number: 1487
Registered: 02-2002
| | Posted on Saturday, February 17, 2007 - 01:25 am: |
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Glad to hear that Monty got around to Sunset Blvd., but he should've given some credit to Charles Brackett, Wilder's co-writer and producer on that classic film. Brackettandwilder were one of the best writing teams in Hollywood, until Wilder severed their relationship after Sunset Blvd.. Foolish move on his part, I'd say--other than Some Like It Hot, none of Wilder's later pictures measured up to what he did during his time w/ Brackett. |
Monterey Jack (Monty)
Movie Star
Username: Monty
Post Number: 3342
Registered: 10-2002
| | Posted on Saturday, February 17, 2007 - 11:44 am: |
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I'm definitely looking forward to seeing more of Wilder's work in the near future.
And I can't wait to see Hot Fuzz.
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Nicola_D (Nicola_d)
Key Grip
Username: Nicola_d
Post Number: 674
Registered: 05-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, February 17, 2007 - 11:49 pm: |
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..Double Indemnity. |
Chris Marti (Cmarti)
Movie Star
Username: Cmarti
Post Number: 5805
Registered: 12-2002
| | Posted on Sunday, February 18, 2007 - 12:56 pm: |
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The U.S.A. vs John Lennon. A documentary that brought back a lot of memories, some uplifting, some depressing. Sigh.
All we are saying is give peace a chance.
Imagine. |
Kathy (Kk1024)
Cinematographer
Username: Kk1024
Post Number: 1807
Registered: 12-2002
| | Posted on Monday, February 19, 2007 - 01:34 pm: |
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Marie Antoinette - I think Copolla was so busy depicting the Marie Antoinette/Paris Hilton connection, that she left most of Marie's depth on the floor. You also get a more complete study of the woman from the tour guides at Versailles, and that is a shame. I don't think the music actually set the appropriate tone. Dunst was okay and truthly I think that the failure of this film lays at the Copolla's feet. |
Tim (Tim)
Cinematographer
Username: Tim
Post Number: 1094
Registered: 06-2001
| | Posted on Monday, February 19, 2007 - 04:35 pm: |
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Although not obnoxious like Romeo +Juliet (Luhrman version, '96?), I got sort of the same vibe. Something about the forced anachronisms and over-the-top costumes, presentation, etc., just didn't work for me.
That said I'm still intrigued by Copolla's work and will continue to give her movies a shot. |
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