The Watercooler: 8/11/08
Penélope Cruz and Ben Kingsley in Elegy
Hey it’s Monday and time for another Watercooler. Before we get to the movies, I wanted to point out that I’m experimenting with a Sunday slot for the Movies You May Have Missed column for Netflix-centric reasons explained in the column itself. Check it out below if you’d like.
Meanwhile, it was a modest weekend here at LiC where I confined myself to one new release and one cinema classic.
First I headed out to the lovely beach community of Santa Monica because the Laemmle theater on 2nd avenue was the only one in town playing Isabel Coixet’s Elegy. It was worth the drive. Based on the Philip Roth short novel The Dying Animal, it’s about aging womanizer Ben Kingsley having his world rocked by delightful Penélope Cruz. I’ll have more in a review in a day or two, but Kingsley and Cruz were terrific. The subject matter isn’t one that moves me much, but it’s worth seeing for the cast alone that also included Dennis Hopper and the always-wonderful Patricia Clarkson. It’s only in 8 theaters right now, but keep an eye out for it when it expands.
After that, since I was already in Santa Monica, I decided to drop by the Montana Avenue branch of the American Cinematheque for a screening of Robert Aldrich’s The Dirty Dozen (1967) as part of an ongoing Ernest Borgnine retrospective. I hadn’t seen it for a long time and never on the big screen. It was like seeing it again for the first time. In its tale of 12 criminal soldiers who volunteer for a suicide mission in the hope of having their death sentences commuted, The Dirty Dozen turns war movies on their head just like The Wild Bunch did for westerns and Bonnie and Clyde did for gangster pictures.
Charles Bronson, Jim Brown, Trini Lopez, Telly Savalas, Donald Sutherland and Clint Walker are all terrific as the criminals, but John Cassavetes is a stand out as the anti-authoritarian and slightly unhinged Victor Franko. Of course, tying the whole mess together is a superb Lee Marvin. He straddles the line between the by-the-book generals and the anything goes soldiers perfectly. Do I like this performance better than Point Blank (read the rare LiC Classic review here)? That might be pushing it, but he’s damned good in Dozen.
I was shocked at how darkly and cavalierly violent the film was. It wasn’t graphic, but there was a lot of brutality and scores of people (innocent and not-so-innocent alike) are killed. There’s an element of heroism to it all, but it leaves an intentionally bitter aftertaste.
Despite breaking tradition with the ordinarily straight-laced war film, The Dirty Dozen was hugely successful and it’s hard not to see it paving the way for another more cerebral “loonies in charge of the loony bin” war movie, Robert Altman’s M*A*S*H.
All in all, it was a solid movie weekend in these parts. How about you?
Filed under: Watercooler
Tags: American Cinematheque, Ben Kingsley, Charles Bronson, Clint Walker, Donald Sutherland, Elegy, Ernest Borgine, Isabel Coixet, Jim Brown, John Cassavetes, Lee Marvin, Penelope Cruz, Robert Aldrich, Telly Savalas, The Dirty Dozen, Trini Lopez
Related Posts: - Almodóvar and Cruz Together Again
- The Watercooler: 8/18/08
- Review: Elegy (2008) *** 1/2
- Kehr on ‘The Inglorious Bastards’
- Bernie Mac, Comedian: 1957 - 2008
WHAT THE HELL…?
MONTANA AVENUE has a branch of the AMERICAN CINEMATHEQUE?????????????????
SANTA MONICA is my upcoming residence, you know. I’ve been dreaming about that place for months now. It’s with me always. Every move that I make.
Now that I’ve heard about this I’m COMPLETELY convinced. THAT IS IT.
Craig, you lucky little boy…
No big deal.
My future awaits…….
There is indeed. And if you can afford it, Santa Monica is a perfectly lovely place to live. It was so nice down there on Saturday (Sunny, clear, nice breeze blowing in off the Pacific) I almost didn’t want to go to the movies.
The Aero isn’t as nice inside as The Egyptian in Hollywood, but the closer proximity to where the movie people live tends to draw more stars for Q&As and whatnot.
That sounds like quite an excellent movie-going weekend, Craig. I’m looking forward to your review of Elegy, which I’ll want to see based on the cast alone as you say.
Friday for me: I watched Out of the Past one more time as I was trying to put some of the finishing touches on my review of it for http://www.moviezeal.com and http://www.colemancornerincinema.blogspot.com –whoops, guess I’ve plugged it, but that was why I watched it yet again, three days after seeing it before. Then The Destructors, a Robert Parrish 1970s thriller starring Michael Caine, Anthony Quinn and James Mason. It has a bad reputation, or at least a mediocre one, but I didn’t find it particularly deficient, just quite average. It’s only 90 minutes and the three top fellows all give their characters a go (Caine as a hitman, Quinn as a DEA agent in France and Mason a French drug lord), so if viewed as just a time-killer, I think it’s just all right. Viewed Marlowe, the 1969 story of Private Eye Marlowe starring James Garner and directed by Paul Bogart. Decently enjoyable, especially for Garner, and Rita Moreno and a cameo from Bruce Lee in his first American film. Unfortunately quite uneven, however.
Saturday: Ghosts–Italian Style, a barely adequate comedy by Renato Castellani, based on the play by Eduardo De Filippo. There are some solid gags, and a lot of clunky ones, but did I mention, Sophia Loren is the star? As usual in films of this type, she provokes some substantial laughs. A last-minute cameo by Marcello Mastroianni helps save the film, quite humorously. Roberto Rossellini’s Viva I’Italia! was the follow-up. Extremely underrated film, it illustrates just how potent Rossellini remained at this point (1961), and as an historical drama, it’s truly rather divine. I do not understand why this film is so regularly underrated. Also, I would love to see the 138-minute French version of it.
Sunday: The Rocky Horror Picture Show, spurred by reading Christian’s review of it. So many great, hilarious numbers; Tim Curry is always hilarious, and it was especially wonderful to see it with a real-live beautiful Transylvanian. Then back to another re-viewing, this time of Pepe le Moko by Julien Duvivier. Just a dazzling piece of French poetic realism, so harmonically pleasing, and quite underrated. I like the American remake from the next year, Algiers okay, but I’ll take the French original, thank you. Henry Hathaway’s Legend of the Lost, I have never seen before, starring, again, Sophia Loren and John Wayne. A diverting adventure story, I enjoyed it just fine–even if it’s completely conventional with a deus ex machina that falls a little in eye-rolling territory. I watched Terence Fisher’s lackadaisical horror film The Gorgon with a wasted Boris Karloff; for a film that is around 90 minutes it seems to go on forever. Finally, The Killer Shrews, by Ray Kellog, a 1959 horror movie that is fascinatingly archetypal in practically every broadly-recognized trope of today… Interesting in this way, though not particularly effective, narratively speaking… A little like Kellog’s work on John Wayne’s The Green Berets, come to think of it. Strange.
Yeah, Craig…
Of all the information on LA that I have accumulated over time (there’s an enormous stack of LOS ANGELES and NYC guidebooks and whatnot laying around the house now) I’d have to say that I was REALLY taken with SANTA MONICA.
THIRD STREET and MONTANA AVENUE look like paradise to a girl who loves her shopping. As I do….
But LA has so much. I love the sun (even though I never go out in it directly) and the ocean, the beach…
Sounds exquisitely blissful.
Living up the coast about a thousand miles from the CIty Of Angels, we have a lot of that here. But not nearly as much sun. Rains far too frequently for my liking…and that can be depressing.
This is why I wanted to give my list (you know, my fab list of all the places i was gonna visit and all the stuff I was going to do down there) because you’re a BONA FIDE LOS ANGELENO. I only have a handful of those people in my life right now…and I’m in currently in touch with a couple of them.
People that actually RESIDE in a community always have the straight goods as to what’s cool, what works and where to go to do it. It’s a completely different perspective (OBVIOUSLY) than being a tourist or staying there temporarily. Permanent residents know all the ins and outs of a city.
Intimately.
But I’m hijacking the thread, my lord and master. This is supposed to be about movies.
I have nothing new to report on that end. I’ve gone to BRIDESHEAD REVISITED three weekends in a row. I’m completely dug in and I’ll continue to see it until it’s either gone or I’m tired of it. It’ll be a LONG TIME before I am.
It speaks to me on an enormous variety of levels…
I’m going to purchase the television series (with JEREMY IRONS and the breathtaking Mr. ANTHONY ANDREWS) and watch it after the film’s theatrical run is over.
But I unashamedly gave the movie five stars and I’m not retracting ANYTHING. I thought it was beautiful, opulent…and astonishingly relevant. When I get on a kick I never see ANYTHING much beyond ten times. More than that seems a decided waste of energy.
That’s my #1 so far for the year. I was surprised to see at RT its rating is now 68%. So I’m definitely not alone on that front.
Some interesting films open up here next weekend.
So I will definitely have some new reviews up in a week or so……
No movies for me this weekend (except for the Merchant Ivory [i]The Bostonians[/i] playing in the background while I wrote my conclusion), but…. the thesis is an abstract away from being done!
Well, the pre-final version, anyway. But still: tomorrow I’ll hand that in, then I have a week to prepare my presentation, then some final corrections….and then I’m done!
Congratulations, my darling Hedwig.
You must feel tremendously fulfilled right about now, huh?
Hard work pays off…
My own theatrical moviegoing included four films:
Patti Smith: Dream of Life ***
Elegy ** 1/2
Pineapple Express * 1/2
Man on Wire (second viewing) **** 1/2
I will save additional comments for upcoming threads.
I actually saw five films–I left off last Monday night’s viewing of:
Brideshead Revisited **
I saw “The Wackness” and liked it, and “4 Months…..” and loved it.
I’m interested in “Elegy,” really am.
I suffered through Beer For My Horses last week and realized that it wasn’t all bad. There were traveling carnies and a gang banger musical interlude that were head scratchingly entertaining.
Also saw Hamlet 2. I’m not entirely sure what to say about it, though. It feels like a cult classic in the making, although it’s impossible to make those kinds of determinations this early in the game. Very funny at times, very sad at others, very odd throughout. I’d say everyone needs to see it, simply because it is so hard to define. There’s no telling what your respective reactions will be, which could swing from absolute adoration to pure hatred.
Getting ready to go see Henry Poole Is Here. Hopefully it will be a pleasant surprise - I found the trailer to be somewhat charming, and I can dig me some Luke Wilson.
And Sam, I see you went to take a ride on the Pineapple Express, and that it pretty much lived up to your expectations. :)
Uh oh, showdown between Miranda and Sam over Brideshead!
I didn’t get a chance to see anything until Sunday, which became a jam-packed day.
Man on Wire was excellent, easily one of the best films I’ve seen in some time. It may not touch others the way it did me, but I really enjoyed it.
American Teen was well-made and I was in it all the way through, but I didn’t enjoy the experience much. I can’t say I thought the movie was entirely necessary as that territory is now well-worn, but I think my take on it was more negative than others because it reminded me of all the things I hated about being a teen and suffering through high school. If anything, I pray that Megan gets the extremely expensive and lengthy therapy she needs so that she can enter the human race without harming anyone else. She may have been cast as the rich bitch character in the editing room, but she was gunning for the part long before the cameras were rolling.
Last night I watched The Counterfeiters. I liked it, good movie. I could have done without the shaky-cam faux documentary-style cinematography (can we ban it…please?) but otherwise it was a well-made movie. Some of the material is well-tread, but the main character’s story was very interesting and moving. One of the few Holocaust movies I’ve seen not to cast the protagonist as a true hero or victim.
Alexander. Pepe le Moko is one of my all time favorite movies. You can keep Algiers, it’s got nothing on Pepe. Jean Gabin is the best. And the ending….come on!
Miranda, I’ll be curious to hear how you compare the mini to the recent BR. I’m wondering if its the story you’re drawn to or if it the filmmakers did something special this time around. I’m guessing the former, but I’m a bad judge of these things.
Hedwig, you’re so close! That’s fantastic. Good luck!!!!
Sam, with the exception of a 2nd MoW, sounds like you had kind of a disappointing weekend. Sorry you didn’t like Elegy so much. Like Tell No One, it sounds like we saw different movies!
I’m sitll going to skip Beer for My Horses Evan, but I’m happy to hear Hamlet 2 is worth a look. I’d heard good things about it after Sundance and I love Steve Coogan, but the trailer was pretty bad. You’ve restored my faith.
And I’m relieved you fell for MoW, Joel. Not to surprised by your reaction to Teen. What made it work for me was a rooting interest in a couple of the characters, but as a documentary it didn’t add to what I already know about high school (and would just as soon forget). But, it was entertaining.
Man, I think I’m going to say it….this is Penélope’s year. She’s been receiving the best reviews of her career in two distinct roles. She’ll be nodded for “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” and *gulp* will win Supporting.
Miranda and I do indeed disagree on BRIDESHEAD REVISITED, and perhaps even more violently on Hitchcock’s masterpiece, NOTORIOUS.
The Grenada mini-series (it’s not actually BBC, as I’ve contended) is a far better distillation of Evelyn Waugh’s novel, and at 558 minutes, it’s definitive.
I reaspect Miranda’s position and her passion for the film, but I simply don’t share it.
Similarly, I have read her comments at Movie Zeal, evincing serious objections to NOTORIOUS, one of the most beloved of all American films. Truth is, Miranda is intelligent and perceptive enough to have her own opinion, and I respect her for speaking out. We’ve disagreed before, and this won’t be the last time, but happily, we have agreed far more, both here and at Cinematic Passions.
Yeah, Evan, that PINEAPPLE EXPRESS derailed for me, in a big way! LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But I fully understand it has its fans.
Craig, I’ve admittedly had better weekends. LOL!!
Wonderful news, Hedwig!!
Dorothy Porker, LiC’s Roger Ebert, when it comes to steering the fate of Oscar.
Yes, Craig, Pepe le Moko is just brilliant… I love it.
(Marking PC down on my Oscar ballot)
My thoughts exactly on The Counterfeiters, Joel. Also, as much as I loved both AT and MoW, I’m not surprised which one left a bigger impression on you, especially if you saw them right next to each other.
I didn’t see anything - again, unless you count the Olympic opening ceremonies. It was a $300 million production directed by Zhang Yimou, and calling it the largest performance in the history of mankind wouldn’t be an exaggeration. Ebert had a great write-up on his blog.
Otherwise I’ve just been all Olympics all the time. The men’s relay last night was the most exciting moment in sports since the Super Bowl. I know that doesn’t mean much to some people, but it was a pretty nice American achievement as well.
Ha ha ha hah…
Naw, Evan. I’ve had some SERIOUS white hot arguments with people OFF the net. Usually over stuff that was much more important than movies.
Sam’s a sweetheart. I’m aware that he wasn’t impressed by BRIDESHEAD. Hell, not everyone can be or will be. (Actually, I just saw Sam’s comments above and he was gentlemanly as always. He doesn’t mind if I mouth off now and again.)
I think that the majority of people that didn’t care for it probably fall into two main camps: they loved the TV miniseries so much (or have such great memories of it) that nothing will ever compare favourably OR they weren’t raised Catholic.
I didn’t go to Catholic school but I was immersed in the rest of that until I was done with the elementary grades. At 14 I left the church and never looked back. If I wasn’t going to be an authentic practising Catholic, then I wanted no part of it.
If anyone were to ask me now about faith, I’d say I was Anglican, which is VERY similar but far more liberal.
To me, BRIDESHEAD is a beautiful, glittering tragedy. To be consumed by that faith, watch it utterly destroy your life but be totally at peace with that decision is not something that I would ever undertake. But I was brought up with those principles so I understand it. COMPLETELY.
I can see WHY a woman would feel that she would have to give up the love of her life because she couldn’t “live in sin” and she could never remarry in the church.
I want to be happy. So I would have grabbed him and drained every precious moment out of that that I could . Life is so short. Goes by in a blink.
And I WANT EVERYTHING NOW.
But she HAD to give up him up. And it seemed such a sublime irony to me that Charles, who’s a confirmed atheist, has his life entirely blown out of the water by a group of Catholics - when he doesn’t even believe that there’s a God.
Lots of food for thought there.
I’m deep. So I like to keep thinking about things on different levels…
Nick, looking forward to your Wackness and 4 Months reviews.
Congratulations, Hedwig!
Dorothy: I think you could be right about Penelope Cruz; I had the same thought.
Nick: I’m thrilled that you loved 4 Months. As I’ve said many times it’s one of my faves of 2008.
Not a big movie weekend for me, but the two I watched were great. First up was revisiting Spirited Away on DVD Friday night. It remains my favorite animated film. Storytelling at its finest, in my opinion.
On Saturday I went to see Man on Wire. What a well-done documentary and worthy of Craig’s ardent promotion. As another LiC reader pointed out on one of the other threads, every element is terrific right down to the music and the excellent casting of the actors to play Philippe Petit and the others when they were younger.
I love it Alex! Too cute.
Oh, how sad all of you are making me. I will not be able to see Man on Wire until this next Friday.
It has become The Dark Knight of the docs in terms of hype and expectations… Haha.
Haha, Dorothy, I’m glad. Your work for a certain French actress last year is the stuff of legend.
Chalk another one up in the pro-MoW column! Right on, Alison!
There’s a comment above from Daniel (#18) that got clogged in the Spam queue. He sends his regards and wants to tell other Wordpress people to check their spam, he’s getting blocked all over.
I’m a little disappointed I didn’t think to DVR those opening ceremonies, Daniel. That sounds quite interesting, actually. As for AT, I don’t want to make anyone think it had faults necessarily, just that it spoke to me in all the wrong ways. I was still entertained while I was watching it, I just found it hard to sympathize with any of them for very long. It never ceases to amaze me how incredibly cruel teenagers can be to one another.
I really liked Man on Wire, but I could see how someone else might not react as strongly. There were just many elements of it that drew me in and gave me a lot to think about. When I have time, I’ll post some more involved comments on that review thread.
Oh, and Pepe Le Moko is great.
I agree with you, Dorothy, Alison et al. that this indeed could be Penelope’s year. Appearing opposite Ben Kingsley somehow puts her in the big leagues (as if she weren’t there already). Perhaps Ms. Porker can help guide her toward an Oscar victory just like Ms. Cotillard.
This weekend I caught Man on Wire and share everyone’s ardent enthusiasm for it. Also, I belatedly saw Iron Man and was duly impressed — Downey seems to attract award nominations, and I’m thinking this might be one of them.
Regardless of what one thinks of Brideshead, I’d guess that Emma Thompson will be acknowledged with multiple nominations come awards season.
While fooling around with my remote, I happened upon Hitchcock’s The Man Who Knew Too Much (Stewart/Day version). This is one of those films that’s so captivating I can’t turn away from it even though I’ve seen it a dozen times. The suspense is so thick you can touch it, both Day and Stewart turn in excellent performances, and the film’s occasional humor is a delightful relief from all the dramatic tension. I’m constantly amazed at how rich this film is; Hitchcock even manages to showcase Day’s light singing style in a way that advances the action and drama.
And by the way, I agree that Santa Monica is a great place to be — so is Venice, which holds a soft spot in my heart because my great-aunt absconded to that charming little hamlet in the 1930s to marry a musician from Italy, never to return to her conservative middle-American roots. (Years ago, while visiting Venice, I came “this close” to buying a baby blue Ford Fairlane convertible with white bucket seats, but that’s another tale.)
I think my favorite part of the Olympic opening ceremonies was the decidedly low-tech bit that had the athletes walking through different colored patches of chalk so their footsteps filled in the bottom of the picture they started the show with.
And yes Daniel, that relay was pretty amazing, especially in light of the trash talking done by the French guys.
Pierre, thrilled you’re another vote for MoW. I wonder if it’s eligible for Oscar or if there’s some obscure rule that will preclude it from nomination. That would be too bad.
Joel, compared to MoW, AT is paper thin. It entertained like a reality show but it was 57% less tacky than those. I hear what you’re saying though. Your reluctance is part of the reason I was cool on seeing it to begin with. Hannah won me over.
Perhaps living only a few miles from the WTC and living through the tragedy and knowing people who died there personally, and having travelled to the top on numerous occasions, and having read and dicussed Mordecai Gerstein’s THE MAN WHO WALKED BETWEEN THE TOWERS to a number of elementary school classes might allow me to enter that special group of those who may have some added love for this film, Joel?
Pierre, that was a truly delightful and marvelous post. Thank you for it.
I loved Pierre’s bit about his aunt… She’s my kind of woman.
Do you agree Sam that the movie was wise not to mention 9/11 at all? I think that would’ve ruined it. Most people are going to bring that with them when they watch it and don’t need to be hit over the head with it.
I agree. There was enough implied 9/11 imagery in the footage of the construction of those towers, let alone the planning and implementation of the “coup.” Talking about it, acknowledging it, would have been too much. I think Petit’s accomplishment and obsession stand in direct contrast to 9/11 and in many ways, 9/11 detracts from what the film was really about.
Still, the air went out of the room when they flashed to the image of Petit crossing between the towers and there was a jetliner streaking overheard out of frame.
I don’t know why, Sam, but this made me laugh out loud.
“Pineapple Express * 1/2″
I guess it’s because I agree.
Craig, while I agree that the movie correctly did not bring up 9-11, the point is that virtually NO ONE who watches this documentary cannot fail to again experience an aching pain in their consciousness as a result of the fact that the illustrious seeting of the work no longer exists, the victim of terrorist obliteration that cost thousands their lives, the added poignancy of MAN ON WIRE, is in fact one that is implied, not actually visualized. Would the film be as viable an artistic achievement had the terrorist context not been part of the equation? Surely.
But would the unspoken but deeply felt emotional resonance been as acute without the knowledge we have? Surely not.
Right on Ari, right on!!! LOL.
Same thing happened in my screening with that image Joel and I remember people talking about it afterward.
As I said in the review, intended or not, I think MoW was a retroactive repudiation of those responsible for 9/11. Petit tweaked the powers that be and their symbols, but the risk was all his. He didn’t have to murder anyone.
Wow, this turned into a MoW love fest, didn’t it? :)
And as to Daniel getting spam blocked, I checked my logs…that wasn’t you, Dan, talking to me about zoo sex, was it?
Just joking. Actually, I did see one comment from you that had been blocked, which I unblocked. Hopefully Akismet will pick up on that and not block you anymore in the future.
Just got back from Henry Poole is Here. I’m torn between admiration for what the film tries to do (really, we could us a few more movies that try to inspire hope in people) and how it actually goes about doing it. The director has a love affair with the slow-mo montage set to some conspicuously emotional pop ballad.
Indeed Craig, I completely agree with your final paragraph (so eloquently written) in post #34.
Evan, you saw an advance screening of HENRY POOLE, right?
Evan. How was Wilson?
And yes, this is quite a Mow-fest going on here (and I’m thrilled to see it).
And Joel, nothing personal in post #29. I greatly enjoy all your submissions here at LIC, and continue the time you spent giving me video advice last month. You are always enlightening in my book.
OK, the movie is pregnant to bursting with 9/11-relevant metaphor, I’m not disputing that, but I think it would have been unnecessary and likely a mistake to acknowledge it directly.
The key to the story isn’t that the Towers came down, it’s that the Towers were there and he had to tilt at those windmills against all odds. Truly a magnificent story in that respect, regardless of what the audience is bringing to it. Of course the 9/11 imagery is there…I don’t think it would be possible to see any of that footage without drawing those connections. Nothing wrong with the audience doing that, and I’m sure the director knew that would be an issue, but leaving it at arm’s length makes Petit’s achievement the focus.
Craig, Wilson is actually quite good. I’m not necessarily a huge fan of the 5′oclock shadow persona he always plays, but it worked for me here. Nearly all of my complaints lie with the director and how he chose to evoke emotion. The script has a few rough spots, but it’s in the presentation that it falls flat.
“Petit tweaked the powers that be and their symbols, but the risk was all his. He didn’t have to murder anyone.”
Beautiful.
Evan, I’m starting to love Man on Wire and I haven’t even seen it yet, being touched by so much adoration for one film here.
Joel. Agreed. I was half dreading that they would and it made me cool on seeing the movie in the first place.
Evan. I’ll probably give it a spin anyway, but what you say disappoints me. Ah well, the can’t all be winners.
Ruh roh Alexander. Mind those expectations! I’m finding myself an an…er…tightrope trying to get people to see it without overhyping it.
Very true, Joel. In fact there’s one very distinct image in the film where a plane is flying right by. But that’s not what this is about at all and it didn’t bother me.
It’s all about Petit being driven to conquer this challenge and the journey was thoroughly enjoyable to experience.
“Mind those expectations!”
I will, supreme leader! :-)
Haha, walking the tightrope? Haha…
Too late on the expectations, Craig. If MoW isn’t the most amazing documentary I’ve ever seen, I’m going to come to your house and….and….well, I’ll stomp on your petunias, that’s what I’ll do.
D’oh!
Ah well, It’s worth the risk. Just hurry up and see the dang movie.
I agree with those who feel that MoW benefits from not mentioning 9/11 directly. The film creates a sort of pre-9/11 bubble, and any reference to 9/11 would probably have bursted it.
Evan, you’re going to have to come up with something good for punishment as Craig has already contractually obligated himself to a day of cross-dressing as “Nancy” over the Tarantino/Pitt/Bastards casting.
The man has no shame or fear.
Er, uh, I saw HANCOCK and WALL-E finally. HANCOCK had a superior first two acts as most have pointed out marred by that 80’s Tony Scott hospital climax. A much better script than movie.
WALL-E was gorgeous but I saw every beat coming a mile away.
“WALL-E was gorgeous but I saw every beat coming a mile away.”
I wasn’t aware that WALL-E was a mystery?!?
LOL!!!!
Well, a beat implies action, not mystery. And there wasn’t a lot of surprises plot-wise. It’s still superior to any other animated film out there, but I was left generally unmoved. Which is odd for Pixar.
Fair enough Christian. I agree myself with the better than 95% ecstatic concensus for the film, and I was very moved. I found it better than every privious Pixar. But I respect what you are saying.
My spammer onsite adores me…and I didn’t even have to train it.
It picks out all the weird, pervy, suggestive or dubious comments (and after a five month gig, there have been surprisingly FEW of them) and sets them aside for me.
That’s likely why Danny’s comment on the SIENNA MILLER fashion post that I had got stuck in there. He basically said “That is SOME dress…” (or words to that effect) and the spammer grabbed it.
Well, it’s my friend Danny - and he certainly meant nothing by it. It’s a great classic gown…long, black, practically no back.
Seems to me I have a few like that hanging around somewhere. Just itching for the perfect occasion.
Yeah…
Pierre, a baby blue Ford Fairlane? WOW. Sounds dreamy.
I dig cars. Particularly the sleek fast ones. When I get rid of my magnificent shiny boat like auto, I want a Miata or an MG or something like that.
Still dreaming of that Porsche. The day is coming…
And I’m with Craig on the principle that I always enjoy reading anything (even reviews) where people put their own personal stamp on them by relating their own stories. (LIke Pierre’s awesome anecdote about his lovely aunt, for example.)
Everybody’s got a story…and they often make for rich, fascinating reading. It’s always cool to understand what the other person has been through.
Man on Wire again. More of an emotional reaction the second time around/. One of the things that struck me is that Petit was lucky to survive the Sydney Harbor Bridge walk. You watch that footage, see the wind swirling in his hair, there’s one moment when he teeters. That was harrowing.
Elegy, huh? The trailer didn’t look that great. Didn’t look like much chemistry between Kingsley and Cruz.
POint Blank is one of my favorite films. What I read about it once is that it s the type of film that can only be made at a crisis moment in the history of cinematic language, and it duly re-wires the fifties crime film for a more alienated society.
And in all these discussions of who should play Catwoman, I always feel tempted to say Angie Dickinson circa 1967.
I definitely need to see MoW again.
I bought the relationship between Kingsley and Cruz…but maybe I was just caught up in the half where it’s impossible not to be in love with Cruz. Maybe her in love with him is more of stretch.
Angie Dickinson…oh man. They don’t make them like her anymore. Excellent observance on Point Blank. It took me a couple of viewings to warm up to that film, perhaps because of the rewiring, but now I’m forever sold.
As much as I greatly admire and am somewhat jealous of Sam’s love for Wall-E, as I wish I felt it as well, I do agree with Christian that unfortunately it left me unmoved. And I say that as someone who nearly choked up from Ratatouille.
Point Blank is terrific, KB. You may like to take a look at what I think about it. I see it partly as a bridge between classic film noir and the paranoid ’70s; not sure if anybody else sees it that way.
“but maybe I was just caught up in the half where it’s impossible not to be in love with Cruz.”
Hey, that’s what kind of got me through that treacly Nicolas Cage flick with her from years ago!
Has everybody written a Point Blank review except me? Maybe I should do Point Blank for MovieZeal. I think that’s a good description, AC. I think that’s kind of what is meant. Basically, the iconography of classic noir had run out of gas and lost touch with the world outside the theater. it also incorporates a lot of New Wave and Euro cinema.
It’s amazing to look back and realize that Hollywood studios were releasing movies like Point Blank, like 2001, like Blow Up, and obviously the Hollywood Renaissance films of the seventies.
Dickinson hated Marvin due to something that happened on set during the filming of The Killers. So when she’s striking Marvin late in the film and she looks like she’s enjoying it, it’s because she is. A beauty queen who could throw a punch.
It’s interesting because the Europeans had already made their arthouse versions of American crime thrillers, films like Bob le flambeur, and here was our own genre come back us with a European flair…albeit directed by an Englishman.
Which is kind of a third way of stating what you two have alreayd established.
You should definitely write a take on PB, KB. I’d originally planned a whole revenge trilogy review covering Get Carter and The Limey, but I only got as far as Point Blank. Maybe it’s time to tackle Get Carter after all.
you know if i had the energy i could have went to free man on wire screening just last night. but i couldn’t get it togthetr and i’ve been on an anti doc craze. yeah… :)
really i think mow as you kids are calling it would have been another movie that gives raves at lic and i wonder. what….
really calm the hype down about ‘tell no one’ i wasn’t close to being blown away….
and now i’m gonna get real close and whisper in your ear so you can hear what i say…
really i’ve seen serveral films since i last mnetioned anything at lic…
and nothing working. sure i’m gonna try a few more…..(just currently have alot of stuff in my menatl neither column. not horrible not essential. not labeling very good whatever either….
i just keep saying…’but everyone else is going crazy…’ i don’t get it. really…
and i assure if this was mixed with my being stuipid enough to have seen wall-e or dark knight i’d be frothing mad with the hate every third post. so it’s for the best i avoid those films…. :)
‘tell no one’ if this gets a nom for best foreign film…… *arrrgh* hell no ok……
miranda ‘tell no one’ has an exceelnt example of why i hate music in films (especially pop music) yep the scene where the guys is running and they hit u2’s ‘with or without you’
shut the soundtrack/off/up….
i know this further cements my weirdo staus but i don’t need nor want music/lyrics to tell m how to feel when watching a movie.
and its when worse when they hit something like u2….
sorry i like to go to the movies and feel something aside from that’s ok/didn’t suck…
you can’t hate without something you love. where’s the films for me to love ???
well not ‘tell no one. guess i’m telling that. see ya in the cinema i guess…
really seeing the death metal kids on the fourth of july after the mr.lonely showimg (this like 8 pm or so plenty of daylight…) forming a line around the angelika to get into the verizon or where ever for the gig.
uh why are doors opening at 8 pm/espeically for a death metal show ??? (i was told by an angelika employee that was the nature of the show…)
and if it’s death meatl show why are so many people in metaalica tees.. ???
death metal show but i see plenty of females in line.and even few black males(didn’t see any black females..)
walk away and it seems the death metal kids are on every block downtown going to show or wasting time until the show (just going by how they’re dressed/shirt worn/safe to say they were part of the death metal crowd/fans)
so yeah the surprise of seeing the death metal kids after seeing mr. lonely(this seems like something that could have fit that film too..)
is goona be my movie moment of summer 2008 (nope not the film mr.lonley but having this happen after seeing mr.lonely)
maybe i wasn’t supposed to tell anyone about that. but that’s how the summer goes….
and now it’s far out and gone….
and craig did you just say the idea of a film ‘based on’
‘it’s about aging womanizer Ben Kingsley having his world rocked by delightful Penélope Cruz.’
doesn’t seem interesting to you ?? ha ha….
don’t know if the film gonna be any good. but that did catch my interest. viva la geek…. :)
I think that is the fundamental story of the relationship between European and American cinema from the middle 1950s through into the late ’70s, Craig, and I’m glad you pointed it out. It was like one massive recycling, with the Europeans taking American genre movies as the basis for their experimentations, and then those influenced American filmmakers, like Coppola with The Conversation as one entirely obvious example.
glim sweetie, it doesn’t make you a “weirdo” because you don’t like music in film. We do split on that (as you well know) but it’s not a big deal.
Lots of people have different viewpoints than me. Doesn’t bother me. At all.
“You can’t hate without having something to love.”
Intriguing perspective, I must say. Never thought of it quite that way.
There are plenty of things I loathe in this culture and not nearly enough that I adore. Doesn’t really balance out for me.
But I’ll spend some time pondering that particular thought today…
K. Bowen, do a piece on Point Blank. I’ll certainly run it.
Just got back from seeing Vicky Christina Barcelona. I’m no Woody Allen expert, so I can’t really address how it fits into his body of work, but this feels like it is probably above-average Allen. The locations, cinematography, and music all do an impeccable job of making you want to be in Spain so badly, drinking wine and talking about art. So badly it hurts, in fact. The performances are wonderful, the writing is top-notch, it’s a wonderfully made little film. As to what it’s saying about relationships, and if it even really has anything to say about them at all, I’m not sure. At the very least it’s forcing me to think.
Also, I don’t entirely share Dorothy’s enthusiasm for Penelope Cruz’s performance. It’s very good, to be sure, but I was never wowed. It’s a performance that could easily win an Oscar, but it’s not one that demands a win. I look forward to seeing other people’s reactions - perhaps I’ll be on the outside with this one.
I personally liked Match Point much better, but the two are apples to oranges, so the comparison is probably not fair. Great Allen? No, I don’t think so. Very good Allen? Yes, I can go with that.
This just in: apparently Mr. Beaks of Ain’t It Cool News had some complaints about The Curious Case of Benjamin Button after the 1st screening. It’s not all negative but there are complaints, including the length of the movie. Here’s the link:
http://www.aintitcool.com/node/37904
Take this as you will. I’ve been looking forward to this movie and that hasn’t changed.
proceeds to try to ignore Alison’s post, covering his eyes and ears while using three fingers to type this thought out, looking like some huge pretzel before his computer
lalalalala…
Seriously, I’d like more reviewers to explain why the length of a film is wrong, not just say like sheep, “It’s too long! Baaah!” (Not sure what Beaks does, but I won’t hazard my Benjamin Button virginity beyond the trailer by taking a look.)
It’s good for a laugh, Alexander. The author was either watching Sweeney Todd at the same time or wires simply got crossed in his brain. All through the review he calls Pitt’s character Benjamin Barker. And he mentions Burton. ROFL.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Barker aka Sweeney Todd 2.
Ha!
Is it an actual Beaks review or is it from some douche who saw a test screening and sent in his rantings?
Beaks is fairly reliable as far those AICN characters go, but random submissions are a joke.
Anyway, I’m under full BB review embargo so I’m not readin’ it, nor is my enthusiasm dimmed in the slightest.
I think I am one of the few people who were not bowled over by “Match Point” in the slightest.
And I’m with you Craig on BB.
Craig, it was a test screening I think. The review does start out with “Mr. Beaks here”, so unless it was a Mr. Beaks-impersonating douche it’s safe to say that it’s him.
Then again he was screwing up the title character’s name so it could have been any shmoe after all.
I didn’t read the review, but I peaked at the post and I’m 99% certain it’s from someone other than Beaks. AICN has a history of posting reader reviews by having someone from the site intro them, then posting the review in a blue inset box. That’s the case here, although the writer doesn’t directly qualify their review with a tag or name at the end.
Since their reader reviews are INCREDIBLY unreliable and typically horribly written, I think everyone is better off ignoring it completely.
With all due respect to Evan (who’s been absolutely lovely to me here and at MZ), I stand solidly with Nick.
WOODY ALLEN is my all time favourite director and I’ve seen his entire filmography. Except for Cassandra’s Dream, which for some mysterious reason never played up here.
Out of all the movies he’s made, I’d put Match Point on the very bottom rung. The only thing I liked about it was SCARLETT’S performance which was brilliant IMO. I think it’s the best acting she’s ever done.
Makes me sad that her peers do some seriously mediocre work and they’re rewarded with Oscar nominations etc. and when SCARLETT hits it out of the park…NADA.
For the record, I think that CRIMES & MISDEMEANORS is just as bad. They’re virtually the same film. Just different settings (London as opposed to New York) with different characters. Both just as depressing and wasteful.
Yeah, those two films don’t send me. AT ALL.
I investigated further. Yes, it’s a reader review presented by Mr. Beaks.
No worries Miranda. I understand Match Point is against the grain of the kinds of films that Allen typically makes, which might explain why I loved it so much.
If you disliked it, I’m going to go ahead and guess that you’ll really love VCB, especially since you also seem to appreciate Johanson. It’s more in line with his talk-romances, and while not much of a comedy, there are some lighthearted moments amidst all the Spanish beauty.
Good to know, Evan.
I’m seeing VCB on the weekend so I’m attempting DESPERATELY not to get overly excited about it.
WOODY’S output since 2000 hasn’t been terrific (and I’m a fan, so that’s being generous) but in the 90s he was still making awesome films that were engaging and intriguing. Sometimes even brilliant.
(I’m referring to ALICE, DECONSTRUCTING HARRY, EVERYONE SAYS I LOVE YOU, CELEBRITY and the classic HUSBANDS & WIVES.)
Time will tell. But I’m hopeful…
Success! I’ve been cleared. But, I’m on a trip for the rest of the week, so bye! Hope I don’t miss too much Tropic Thunder talk…
Jerry Wexler died. :(
He was 91 though. RIP to a music legend.
Sad news indeed. Atlantic was a huge part of everything that was good about music for a long time.