Okay, I'll admit there's not much to talk about with regards to her role, I just think it's pretty crazy how Hoult and Weisz act opposite one another in this 16 years before The Favourite and she really hasn't aged at all in the interim.
On another note, I watched "Driving Miss Daisy" for the first time recently. For as much as I wanted to see it as charming/earnest, there's still something to be said for watching that kind of film with a 21st century perspective. That's to say that while a fair amount of the movie is enjoyable enough, a lot of it's writing/tone regarding race left a bad taste in my mouth.
Freeman - 3.5 Tandy - 4 Aykroyd - 3
I also watched "Bonnie and Clyde" today, which was a surprisingly intriguing and effective look at the titular criminals. I never found myself completely liking them, as the film clearly wanted, but it's still a well crafted, well cast depiction of their rise and fall.
Mitchell: I think it's interesting you mention looking at Driving Miss Daisy through 21st century eyes not being kind to it, because I kind of think it manages that comparison rather well. I think Tandy handles her transformation so so so so so well. Initially, Daisy is prejudiced against, but never lets those anti-Jewish prejudices define her. At the same time, she attempts to define Hoke by her vaguely racist prejudice against him. Daisy's progression to finding Hoke her best friend is really about understanding that we're not all that different, and that her prejudices don't and shouldn't matter.
I think the entire film is extremely underrated and is too often passed off as too lightweight. In some ways that's true. At the same time, however, I think it's lightweight nature masks a poignant character-based message about tolerance and not trying to define other people. Some might call that lightness a cop-out, but I think it's exactly what was needed.
There’s a good video about judging these sort of films through modern eyes. I also recommend everything else from this channel, it’s mostly Oscar history. https://youtu.be/Q11MGI6L8mo
Robert: Totally agree with the sentiment that The Help (and Driving Miss Daisy, which I think is similar in it's context of showing a white person being nice to black people) is not what should be or needs to be watched in order to understand race in this country.
That said, my point was more that I think, even viewing through a modern lens, Driving Miss Daisy hides more under the surface than at first glace, and, at least for me, manages to avoid the patronizing, pseudo-white savior narrative that several other movies of the type typify. But again, not something that should be watched for an understanding of race in America. Unlike something like Green Book, however, I don't think it really tries to do that.
That's also a really good video and I look forward to watching more of her videos.
I watched Insomnia. Definitely lesser Nolan, but still a very decent thriller. Robin Williams is obviously the main reason to watch it, but Pacino is no slouch either.
Pacino-4.5 Williams-5(Overtakes Walken as my win, although I still haven't seen Gangs of New York) Swank-2
Louis: since Leung will have other opportunities to get reviewed, can I have your thoughts on this scene from Happy Together? https://youtu.be/qlPsE0gKTd4
Films To Watch: Harvey (Re-watch for Stewart) Los Olvidados (Buñuel) Stars In My Crown Wagon Master Young Man With A Horn La Ronde Stromboli (Ingrid Bergman) Madeleine (David Lean) Treasure Island Outrage The Munekata Sisters Caged The Furies The Flowers Of St. Francis Portrait Of Madame Yuki Where The Sidewalk Ends Gun Crazy Gone To Earth (Powell and Pressburger) Harriet Craig Distant Journey The Damned Don't Cry To Joy (Ingmar Bergman) Variety Lights (Giulietta Masina) Story Of A Love Affair House By The River Dark City Les Enfants Terribles (Melville) Girl With Hyacinths The Happiest Days Of Your Life (Alastair Sim) Shakedown No Man Of Her Own Union Station Café Paradis Summer Stock The Beauty Of The Devil Samson And Delilah El Rey Del Barrio Aventurera King Solomon's Mines Devil's Doorway The Path Of Hope Mystery Street When Willie Comes Marching Home (John Ford) Seven Days To Noon Where Danger Lives (Robert Mitchum) The Blue Lamp The Flame And The Arrow Wedding Ring One Way Street The Glass Menagerie The Mudlark Trio No Sad Songs For Me
Robert: Sorry for responding so late, but I have checked out that youtube channel before. It's a good enough series overall; She perhaps reaches a bit far here or there, but generally I find her videos intriguing and well thought.
Also, I simply find it funny that a movie like "In the Heat of the Night", which came out in 1967, honestly seems more provoking and forthright than a number of race related films from the 80s-90s - and even from the past few years, frankly.
Guys, anyone who doesn't want to read my spoiler-free thoughts, please skip ahead.
Okay guys, My brain was melting during this whole experience and was neither wholly positive or negative. This is easily the most mixed I've ever felt from one of his films. On a technical level it's great as usual however Zimmer's absence is abit of a tough pill to swallow. The film itself was incredibly hard to follow and will need multiple re-watches which I'm in no rush to do so. Unfortunately the roles are underwritten (Especially Branagh's) though it's a testament to Pattinson and particularly Debicki to bring much needed complexity to them. Washington's pretty good though he doesn't have much of a living, breathing character here which often times felt more like a plot device. Branagh's really good in his interactions with Washington but the writing of his character's relationship with Debicki lets him down to such an extent that he ends up overplaying the role in their scenes together. Quite frankly he was better in Dunkirk. Also didn't help that his exit I found to be unintentionally hilarious. Lastly, Nolan's directing was on point again but his screenplay though convoluted was quite underwhelming and lacked much of an emotional attachment or even undercurrent to the characters (He should've brought Jonathan back for this one).
Luke: That last sentence you wrote hits particularly home for me;
Nolan has consistently proven himself a technical master, especially in regards to his directorial vision, scope and visual astuteness. That said, in my least favourite films of his (Namely "Interstellar" and "The Dark Knight Rises"), he does fall quite short in his writing which, like you said, can be too clinical and messy to get an emotional attachment out of.
Also, little side note here, I just watched "Panic Room" for the first time tonight. Personally, I liked the film overall, and felt it was a fairly decent "early Fincher" outing. It's definitely in the lower tier of his filmography, but it's decent nonetheless.
Foster - 4 Whitaker - 4 Yoakam - 3.5 Stewart - 3 Leto - 3
Low key beautifully shot scene with just the natural vibrancy of it. Otherwise a wonderfully warm, yet heartbreaking scene brought home by Leung's obscured, yet so potent reaction.
Anonymous:
Stowe - 3(Always like her natural presence. She's good here in portraying just the low key concerns and warmth of the war wife. She's good in all her small moments though it is quite limited.)
Elliott - 3(His performance is limited to doing his more typical hardass routine. As expected, he does it well, but doesn't really push him in any particular way.)
Luke:
Morton - 4(Her performance is good, though it is very much a director's film, and part of the film in a way is about her not quite reacting. Morton's good though in realizing this sort of state of blocking the trauma and anguish that is perpetual. This in her work basically then is the gradual, very gradual, portrayal of the wear of it kind of seeping through in seemingly unattached moments towards that grief. It is an effective turn, although it very much exists as an extremely slow burn of a performance as to suit Ramsay's very specific vision.)
I thought the Bourne Identity was a good, though for me, not great action film. This in creating a compelling enough narrative thrust in the identity search, and with that some strong action scenes. I guess it was held back a bit from surprisingly bad sound editing (I could swear I heard the Goldeneye reload effect), and a couple of dated moments in the action scenes...that ridiculous climatic stairwell fall that moves the film closer to later Fast and Furious films than a gritty action film. Still a pretty good action romp to be sure.
Mitchell: Then I'd say the screenplay is weaker than Interstellar's because I at least cared very much for McConaughey's character. It's probably on par with The Dark Knight Rises but even there I probably had more entertainment from Hardy's dialogue than anything here.
30's: Claude Rains 40's: The Official Choice of Cedric Hardwicke sounds promising enough. 50's: John Gielgud 60's: Michael Hordern 70's: Laurence Olivier 80's: Leo McKern 90's: Peter Ustinov 10's: Ian Holm 20's: David Warner
Louis: Do you intend to see Tenet in theatres or wait for a good online copy.
And the reviews are in for I'm Thinking Of Ending Things and they're largely what you would expect for a Kaufman film. Look forward to getting your thoughts on it next week.
I intend to watch it theatrically when possible, however if it has an official digital release before then I will probably watch it that way. I find it actually quite vexing that WB won't allow drive-ins to show it unless it is being shown indoors in the same area, when the former is the most viable and safest option for a theatrical experience currently.
My Nolan ranking 1. Dunkirk 2. Memento 3. The Prestige 4. The Dark Knight 5. Inception 6. Batman Begins 7. Insomnia 8. Interstellar 9. The Dark Knight Rises 10. Tenet (I'm feeling more indifferent to it by every passing minute) 11. Following
Well I wish someone had recommended me Sutherland when I did supporting 2003, but alas, I'll get to him in the backlog.
Phone Booth overall as a film, is one where I hated its ending, I just hate the "self help guru" serial killer trope, hate it so much. Anyways forgetting that unfortunate detail, I largely found it compelling, big reason being the two most central performances. This as a lot of Schumacher's work screams early 2000's in a bad way, he at least doesn't get in the way too much though, letting the mostly strong script be sold by the actors. Also having the good sense to Ron Eldard recast was probably a godsend...though part of me wants to hear that version. Now I would've loved to see a great director with the same material, and a better ending, I'll say overall it is a solid thriller.
Farrell - 4(This performance I think you get both sides of Farrell as a performer. This in his earlier work when Hollywood was trying to make him a thing, this in the earliest scenes with his over done accent. Once the phone call starts though his work settles in as does his work. This as he manages to give the right visceral quality in portraying the direct fear and overt emotional stress of the situation. This portraying well the switches of strategies when he tries to fight back. This though found within his genuinely moving portrayal of the man's slow degradation and state of vulnerability as the film goes on. A striking one man show, even if overshadowed by a voice to an extent.)
Whitaker - 3.5(Fine job as the sort of Charles Durning in Dog Day role, though not as compelling as that performance. Whitaker though is good in portraying well the two sides of the officer trying to procedural handle the situation while also slowly connecting with an understanding of what is really going on. It's a good performance and another reminder than I think Last King of Scotland, despite being a great performance, kind of ruined him as a performer.)
64 comments:
A Price review, you have my interest.
1. Widmark
2. Garfield
3. Marais
4. Price
5. Guinness
1. Richard Widmark
2. Jean Marais
3. John Garfield
4. Alec Guinness
5. Vincent Price
1. Widmark
2. Marais
3. Price
4. Guinness
5. Garfield
(P.S. Price is a MUST for 1964 in Masque of the Red Death)
Robert: In your opinion, what are Price's top 5 performances.
Louis: A rewatch of Harvey is a must.
All I know is, Mifune is 100% keeping his win.
Gonna try and watch a few of these before making a prediction.
No idea.
1) Widemark
2) Guinness
3) Marais
4) Garfield
5) Price
5º Garfield
4º Price
3º Marais
2º Guinness
1º Widmark
Louis: thoughts on Rachel Weisz in About a Boy?
Okay, I'll admit there's not much to talk about with regards to her role, I just think it's pretty crazy how Hoult and Weisz act opposite one another in this 16 years before The Favourite and she really hasn't aged at all in the interim.
On another note, I watched "Driving Miss Daisy" for the first time recently. For as much as I wanted to see it as charming/earnest, there's still something to be said for watching that kind of film with a 21st century perspective. That's to say that while a fair amount of the movie is enjoyable enough, a lot of it's writing/tone regarding race left a bad taste in my mouth.
Freeman - 3.5
Tandy - 4
Aykroyd - 3
I also watched "Bonnie and Clyde" today, which was a surprisingly intriguing and effective look at the titular criminals. I never found myself completely liking them, as the film clearly wanted, but it's still a well crafted, well cast depiction of their rise and fall.
Beatty - 4
Dunaway - 4.5
Pollard - 4
Hackman - 4
Wilder - 3.5
Pyle - 3
Parsons - 2.5
Calvin: At the risk of speaking inappropriately, Weisz really has aged quite well.
1. Widmark
2. Guinness
3. Garfield
4. Marais
5. Price
On another note, I watched a film called Duck purely for Philip Baker Hall..... not my finest decision.....
Mitchell: I think it's interesting you mention looking at Driving Miss Daisy through 21st century eyes not being kind to it, because I kind of think it manages that comparison rather well. I think Tandy handles her transformation so so so so so well. Initially, Daisy is prejudiced against, but never lets those anti-Jewish prejudices define her. At the same time, she attempts to define Hoke by her vaguely racist prejudice against him. Daisy's progression to finding Hoke her best friend is really about understanding that we're not all that different, and that her prejudices don't and shouldn't matter.
I think the entire film is extremely underrated and is too often passed off as too lightweight. In some ways that's true. At the same time, however, I think it's lightweight nature masks a poignant character-based message about tolerance and not trying to define other people. Some might call that lightness a cop-out, but I think it's exactly what was needed.
There’s a good video about judging these sort of films through modern eyes. I also recommend everything else from this channel, it’s mostly Oscar history. https://youtu.be/Q11MGI6L8mo
Robert: Totally agree with the sentiment that The Help (and Driving Miss Daisy, which I think is similar in it's context of showing a white person being nice to black people) is not what should be or needs to be watched in order to understand race in this country.
That said, my point was more that I think, even viewing through a modern lens, Driving Miss Daisy hides more under the surface than at first glace, and, at least for me, manages to avoid the patronizing, pseudo-white savior narrative that several other movies of the type typify. But again, not something that should be watched for an understanding of race in America. Unlike something like Green Book, however, I don't think it really tries to do that.
That's also a really good video and I look forward to watching more of her videos.
1950 is one of my favorite film years, in general. So many wonderful performances.
I watched Insomnia. Definitely lesser Nolan, but still a very decent thriller. Robin Williams is obviously the main reason to watch it, but Pacino is no slouch either.
Pacino-4.5
Williams-5(Overtakes Walken as my win, although I still haven't seen Gangs of New York)
Swank-2
Nobody else is really worth mentioning.
1.Guinness
2.Widmark
3.Marais
4.Garfield
5.Price
Louis: since Leung will have other opportunities to get reviewed, can I have your thoughts on this scene from Happy Together? https://youtu.be/qlPsE0gKTd4
1. Widmark
2. Guinness
3. Marais
4. Price
5. Garfield
Louis: Your rating and thoughts on Samantha Morton in Morvern Callar.
1. Widmark
2. Guinness
3. Price
4. Garfield
5. Marais
Films To Watch:
Harvey (Re-watch for Stewart)
Los Olvidados (Buñuel)
Stars In My Crown
Wagon Master
Young Man With A Horn
La Ronde
Stromboli (Ingrid Bergman)
Madeleine (David Lean)
Treasure Island
Outrage
The Munekata Sisters
Caged
The Furies
The Flowers Of St. Francis
Portrait Of Madame Yuki
Where The Sidewalk Ends
Gun Crazy
Gone To Earth (Powell and Pressburger)
Harriet Craig
Distant Journey
The Damned Don't Cry
To Joy (Ingmar Bergman)
Variety Lights (Giulietta Masina)
Story Of A Love Affair
House By The River
Dark City
Les Enfants Terribles (Melville)
Girl With Hyacinths
The Happiest Days Of Your Life (Alastair Sim)
Shakedown
No Man Of Her Own
Union Station
Café Paradis
Summer Stock
The Beauty Of The Devil
Samson And Delilah
El Rey Del Barrio
Aventurera
King Solomon's Mines
Devil's Doorway
The Path Of Hope
Mystery Street
When Willie Comes Marching Home (John Ford)
Seven Days To Noon
Where Danger Lives (Robert Mitchum)
The Blue Lamp
The Flame And The Arrow
Wedding Ring
One Way Street
The Glass Menagerie
The Mudlark
Trio
No Sad Songs For Me
To that films to watch list, I'll add Bulbul for Nargis/Dilip Kumar
Have to say I rather loved Night and the City. I can 100% see where the 'Uncut Gems' comparisons with it came from.
Louis: Your thoughts on The Bourne Identity.
Robert: Sorry for responding so late, but I have checked out that youtube channel before. It's a good enough series overall; She perhaps reaches a bit far here or there, but generally I find her videos intriguing and well thought.
Also, I simply find it funny that a movie like "In the Heat of the Night", which came out in 1967, honestly seems more provoking and forthright than a number of race related films from the 80s-90s - and even from the past few years, frankly.
Louis: Rating and thoughts on Gibson, Stowe and Elliott in We Were Soldiers?
Anonymous: He did Gibson (3.5) on the last post.
1. Widmark
2. Guinness
3. Garfield
4. Marais
5. Price
1. Widmark
2. Guinness
3. Garfield
4. Price
5. Marais
Tenet Cast Ranking
1. Debicki (4.5)
2. Pattinson (4/4.5)
3. Washington (4)
4. Branagh (3.5)
5. Taylor-Johnson (3/3.5)
1. Widmark (5)
2. Garfield (4,5)
3. Guinness (4,5)
4. Marais (4 or 4,5)
5. Price (4 or below)
My rank:
1. Mifune
2. Widmark
3. Stewart
4. Holden
5. Garfield
Luke: Thoughts on Tenet overall?
Guys, anyone who doesn't want to read my spoiler-free thoughts, please skip ahead.
Okay guys, My brain was melting during this whole experience and was neither wholly positive or negative. This is easily the most mixed I've ever felt from one of his films. On a technical level it's great as usual however Zimmer's absence is abit of a tough pill to swallow. The film itself was incredibly hard to follow and will need multiple re-watches which I'm in no rush to do so. Unfortunately the roles are underwritten (Especially Branagh's) though it's a testament to Pattinson and particularly Debicki to bring much needed complexity to them. Washington's pretty good though he doesn't have much of a living, breathing character here which often times felt more like a plot device. Branagh's really good in his interactions with Washington but the writing of his character's relationship with Debicki lets him down to such an extent that he ends up overplaying the role in their scenes together. Quite frankly he was better in Dunkirk. Also didn't help that his exit I found to be unintentionally hilarious. Lastly, Nolan's directing was on point again but his screenplay though convoluted was quite underwhelming and lacked much of an emotional attachment or even undercurrent to the characters (He should've brought Jonathan back for this one).
Luke: That last sentence you wrote hits particularly home for me;
Nolan has consistently proven himself a technical master, especially in regards to his directorial vision, scope and visual astuteness. That said, in my least favourite films of his (Namely "Interstellar" and "The Dark Knight Rises"), he does fall quite short in his writing which, like you said, can be too clinical and messy to get an emotional attachment out of.
Also, little side note here, I just watched "Panic Room" for the first time tonight. Personally, I liked the film overall, and felt it was a fairly decent "early Fincher" outing. It's definitely in the lower tier of his filmography, but it's decent nonetheless.
Foster - 4
Whitaker - 4
Yoakam - 3.5
Stewart - 3
Leto - 3
Calvin:
Low key beautifully shot scene with just the natural vibrancy of it. Otherwise a wonderfully warm, yet heartbreaking scene brought home by Leung's obscured, yet so potent reaction.
Anonymous:
Stowe - 3(Always like her natural presence. She's good here in portraying just the low key concerns and warmth of the war wife. She's good in all her small moments though it is quite limited.)
Elliott - 3(His performance is limited to doing his more typical hardass routine. As expected, he does it well, but doesn't really push him in any particular way.)
Luke:
Morton - 4(Her performance is good, though it is very much a director's film, and part of the film in a way is about her not quite reacting. Morton's good though in realizing this sort of state of blocking the trauma and anguish that is perpetual. This in her work basically then is the gradual, very gradual, portrayal of the wear of it kind of seeping through in seemingly unattached moments towards that grief. It is an effective turn, although it very much exists as an extremely slow burn of a performance as to suit Ramsay's very specific vision.)
I thought the Bourne Identity was a good, though for me, not great action film. This in creating a compelling enough narrative thrust in the identity search, and with that some strong action scenes. I guess it was held back a bit from surprisingly bad sound editing (I could swear I heard the Goldeneye reload effect), and a couple of dated moments in the action scenes...that ridiculous climatic stairwell fall that moves the film closer to later Fast and Furious films than a gritty action film. Still a pretty good action romp to be sure.
Possibility for a rise in the Holden-Ranking in Sunset Blvd?
1) Widmark
2) Guinness
3) Garfield
4) Marais
5) Price
Mitchell: Then I'd say the screenplay is weaker than Interstellar's because I at least cared very much for McConaughey's character. It's probably on par with The Dark Knight Rises but even there I probably had more entertainment from Hardy's dialogue than anything here.
Louis: for 2002, did you watch The Ring?
Louis: Your 1930s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 10s and 20s choices for Ralph Nickleby.
Lucas:
I saw it in 2002, had no desire to revisit it.
Luke:
30's: Claude Rains
40's: The Official Choice of Cedric Hardwicke sounds promising enough.
50's: John Gielgud
60's: Michael Hordern
70's: Laurence Olivier
80's: Leo McKern
90's: Peter Ustinov
10's: Ian Holm
20's: David Warner
Louis: Was Watts any good.
Luke:
I recall her being more than decent, but nothing too major.
Louis: Do you intend to see Tenet in theatres or wait for a good online copy.
And the reviews are in for I'm Thinking Of Ending Things and they're largely what you would expect for a Kaufman film. Look forward to getting your thoughts on it next week.
Luke:
I intend to watch it theatrically when possible, however if it has an official digital release before then I will probably watch it that way. I find it actually quite vexing that WB won't allow drive-ins to show it unless it is being shown indoors in the same area, when the former is the most viable and safest option for a theatrical experience currently.
I forgot to add this to my thoughts but guys, you'll be begging for subtitles because the sound mixing is once again piss poor.
My Nolan ranking
1. Dunkirk
2. Memento
3. The Prestige
4. The Dark Knight
5. Inception
6. Batman Begins
7. Insomnia
8. Interstellar
9. The Dark Knight Rises
10. Tenet (I'm feeling more indifferent to it by every passing minute)
11. Following
1. Richard Widmark
2. Jean Marais
3. John Garfield
4. Alec Guinness
5. Vincent Price
I’ll hold off on ratings for now.
Michael: I'll take your word for it.
1. Widmark
2. Marais
3. Garfield
4. Guinness
5. Price
Just when I was looking forward to a Price review, he may be substituted for someone else.
And I made a mistake with my Nolan ranking. I have Interstellar at #7 and Insomnia at #8.
Michael, I'm pleased that Garfield seems to be a 4.5 by your ranking.
1. Widmark
2. Marais
3. Garfield
4. Guinness
5. Price
Louis: Your thoughts on Kore-eda's announced cast for his next film?
Emi: Kore-eda and Song Kang-Ho is a match made in heaven.
Luke: I'm absolutely delighted by it.
Louis: Your thoughts on Phone Booth and your ratings and thoughts on the cast.
Are you saving Sutherland for a backlog review.
Phone Booth's 2003 guys.
Luke:
Well I wish someone had recommended me Sutherland when I did supporting 2003, but alas, I'll get to him in the backlog.
Phone Booth overall as a film, is one where I hated its ending, I just hate the "self help guru" serial killer trope, hate it so much. Anyways forgetting that unfortunate detail, I largely found it compelling, big reason being the two most central performances. This as a lot of Schumacher's work screams early 2000's in a bad way, he at least doesn't get in the way too much though, letting the mostly strong script be sold by the actors. Also having the good sense to Ron Eldard recast was probably a godsend...though part of me wants to hear that version. Now I would've loved to see a great director with the same material, and a better ending, I'll say overall it is a solid thriller.
Farrell - 4(This performance I think you get both sides of Farrell as a performer. This in his earlier work when Hollywood was trying to make him a thing, this in the earliest scenes with his over done accent. Once the phone call starts though his work settles in as does his work. This as he manages to give the right visceral quality in portraying the direct fear and overt emotional stress of the situation. This portraying well the switches of strategies when he tries to fight back. This though found within his genuinely moving portrayal of the man's slow degradation and state of vulnerability as the film goes on. A striking one man show, even if overshadowed by a voice to an extent.)
Whitaker - 3.5(Fine job as the sort of Charles Durning in Dog Day role, though not as compelling as that performance. Whitaker though is good in portraying well the two sides of the officer trying to procedural handle the situation while also slowly connecting with an understanding of what is really going on. It's a good performance and another reminder than I think Last King of Scotland, despite being a great performance, kind of ruined him as a performer.)
Everyone else is fine.
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