Shah Rukh Khan did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Amarkant "Amar" Varma in Dil Se...
Returning to Shah Rukh Khan, one of the most well known stars of current day Bollywood, in yet another romantic leading man turn though considerably different from his work in 94. As per usual, especially with requests, I tend to go in blind to a film, so it is safe to say I really was in for more than a few twists with this film. As the opening was one that seemed like it was going to be one thing, as we see Khan with an overeager, though effectively portrayed as such, demeanor as he happens upon a beautiful woman we will come to know as Moina (Manisha Koirala), who seems fearful yet is blunt in her rejection of him, which Khan presents as his Amar as mostly taking in stride but most certainly more than a little impacted by the seeming intensity of the interaction. Khan manages to set up his hopeless romantic with enough of a charm if also the sense the man perhaps goes a bit too head first into such notions. Khan I find just hits the right balance between the sides of the character to find a likeability within the character while still indeed being slightly overbearing but not going too far to become too overbearing for us to empathize with as we get started with this very atypical romance.
The atypical romance that has its first wrinkle as we follow Amar later on as he is working as the radio host, where Khan has a strong presence as the man with the passion to attempt to find his goal, which ends up being a combination between the romantic and surprisingly the political as he goes about interviewing an extremist militant group and runs into Moina again, who once again does her best to push him away despite his persistence. And while one can argue he's maybe a little much in his continued pursuit, it speaks to the charisma of Khan that he brings you along with this regardless, because there is this certain manner of honesty within his performance that helps ease it away a bit. It perhaps helps even more that he quickly is beaten for his interest by two random men who claim relation to Moina but rather suggest that she and the men may be tied to the terrorist group. The real challenge of Khan's performance begins to reveal itself within this kind of whiplash of elements between an unlikely love story and a very dramatic story of one falling into extremists. Particularly tricky because the shifts aren't in acts really, but rather in the first half the film rather quickly shifts between romantic overtures and some very serious ideas regarding Moina's extremists views and what fueled them.
Khan to his credit is able to maneuver this effectively within his performance that manages to create cohesion by always presenting Amar with the defining trait of his passionate demeanor no matter what the situation may be in a given circumstance. With Khan managing to find some kind of connection in showing the nature of the man taking kind of the love above else approach that manages to go from overbearing to overwhelming in a way that does work. Where Khan manages to show the way his intense passion carries him through and where his performance consistently emphasizes the sincere concern he has for Moina as much as he is intrigued by her. The swing then, as quick as it is, too quick I'd say, Moina admits her own affection for him openly though she is constantly burdened by her state of existence, though doesn't feel phony by the way Khan just so much exudes the intense interest in every aspect of her and does feel so sincere as the man unquestionably in love. And I think what works in contrast to this is Khan's chemistry with sort of the simpler alternative love interest of another young woman, Preeti (Preity Zinta), where the two do also have chemistry. The chemistry though is of an easy warmth between the two, that is low key but affectionate, however distinctly different from the fraught and intense chemistry we see between Khan and Koirala.
And to think I knew where the film was going would be wrong, as Moina doesn't escape her extremists beliefs and instead ingratiates herself within Amar's world as an agent in her group. Something Amar works on trying to break her from, which from Khan is a great scene where he has her listen to her spoken dreams of a life together, where Khan's performance is wonderful by the amount of direct empathy you see in his eyes in trying to purge her from her hate. When though she counters with her very real trauma at the hands of the government soldiers years ago. Khan is also great because he manages to show the sense of understanding the man has for her very real pain, but with this calm yet potent insistence that no matter the past her violent past is not what will help the world. But again to turn again as the film goes even more towards full thriller, where when Moina is going to go forward as a suicide bomber and Amar ends up needing to face both the terrorists and the police to face her. Khan is terrific though in not becoming the action hero suddenly, even if he does action hero things, as he goes through the emotional and physical wringer in his quest though with the sense of his passionate love behind it all. Khan is moving in showing the physical degradation of it all though in his eyes still the ever potent determination that the man refuses to give up and allow Moina to become the killer. Leading to a climax I definitely didn't see coming, but regardless made powerful by Khan's performance where he shows the man who is at the end of his rope in some ways in the level of emotional desperation he brings, the physical exhaustion behind it all, but still this purity of the man heart that defines him....there's all song and dance scenes that are purposefully her completely separate of a piece though related as fantasies though given the subject matter are particularly extreme in their contrast. So Khan's performance in these scenes is very different, but hey certainly brings a very different energy effectively, if it isn't exactly as a singular piece with the right of the film.
83 comments:
He's absolutely terrific here, makes all the disparate elements of the film come together while subverting his typical presence. Can't wait for your review of his work in Swades, which is probably the most charismatic and impassioned he's ever been on screen.
Louis: Your ratings and thoughts on the rest of the cast, and thoughts on the film's ending.
Louis: I can't find your thoughts on Burrow.
Louis: Your thoughts on the score for Challengers.
Bryan: Hold off because it might get nominated.
Regarding the Pixar shorts, it's a pity Louis hasn't seen One Man Band and Jack-Jack Attack, as they're two of the best ones.
Louis: Thoughts on The Old Grey Hare, Falling Hare, and The Scarlet Pumpernickel?
John Smith:bRUH IM SO FUCKING HAPPY RIGHT NOW. HOPING FOR A FIVE BUT YOU SAW THE GENIUS OF THE MOVIE.
Thougts on the screenplay, the songs and your ranking of them, the cinematography and the direction.
I love you so fucking much LOUIIIIIS!
Louis: Once you've finished the bonus rounds, could you finish off the Oscar nominated actress performances that you've missed before moving on to the 1900s/10s/20s and 2020s.
Marie Dressler in Emma (1932)
Grace Moore in One Night Of Love (1934)
Elisabeth Bergner in Escape Me Never (1935)
Miliza Korjus in The Great Waltz (1938)
Paulette Goddard in So Proudly We Hail! (1943)
Aline MacMahon in Dragon Seed (1944)
Susan Hayward in Smash-Up, The Story Of A Woman (1947)
Jeanne Crain, Ethel Waters and Ethel Barrymore in Pinky (1949)
Deborah Kerr in Edward, My Son (1949)
Jane Wyman and Joan Blondell in The Blue Veil (1951)
Julie Harris in The Member Of The Wedding (1952)
Shirley Knight in The Dark At The Top Of The Stairs (1960)
Helen Hayes and Maureen Stapleton in Airport (1970)
Barbara Harris in Who Is Harry Kellerman And Why Is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me? (1971)
Joanne Woodward and Sylvia Sidney in Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams (1973)
Christine Lahti in Swing Shift (1984)
Anne Bancroft and Meg Tilly in Agnes Of God (1985)
Jessica Lange in Sweet Dreams (1985)
Amy Madigan in Twice In A Lifetime (1985)
Melanie Griffith, Sigourney Weaver and Joan Cusack in Working Girl (1988, Re-Watch)
Angelina Jolie in Girl, Interrupted (1999, Re-Watch)
Louis: Thoughts on the ending of Rabbit Every Monday.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7UQW3rDO-0
Also your thoughts on the score!
Tahmeef: Love him in Swades but i would say Chak De might be better
There is a movie called Raees which is pretty mid but it is blast watching nawazuddin and shah rukh act in the same frame
Louis, your ranking of Tarantino films and performances?
Who was surprised when the song Chaiyya Chaiyya played and didn't remember the opening of Inside Man?
I believe this song will be Louis' winn, but I believe in Mulan's Reflection.
My pick would be satrangi re from this movie for best song. But chaiya chaiya is a banger for sure.
Louis: If you're planning on doing write-ups on your Female 5s as well as your 4.5 winners in the future, would the Silent Era be a good starting point. I think it would be better and probably quicker to do it chronologically rather than start with 71.
I'll still give films to watch lists for each year but it'll be very selective as I'll pick works that may have a great performance in it or a work by a director that you may want to complete their filmography. All the animated films that I previously listed will be on there as well as any TV Film or Mini-Series that you may find essential or worthwhile.
Anyone remember if Louis has given his thoughts on Suzy Bemba in Poor Things? Can't find them through Google.
Well guys...I finished "Fallout" season one this evening. And again, coming from someone whose played "New Vegas" and "Fallout 4" specifically...this gets my stamp of approval. Solid show overall, with a clear reverance for the source material, but also a script that goes beyond a carbon copy of any one storyline/element. More than anything, it understands the themes and tone present in the games. It's less a fully original direction for the franchise, and more so a clever reworking of it's existing content. The fanservice was only ever obtuse a couple times, and even then I'd say it worked for their scenes. And I will take a few moments of obvious CGI for the generally impressive effects/set design employed by the show. I still wouldn't say the series is groundbreaking or flat out great, but it's entirely good.
Can't offer a full cast ranking just yet, but I'll give my top 5.
1) Purnell
2) Goggins
3) Moten
4) MacLachlan
5) Tahmeed's namesake (though it seems to common surname, from what I've gathered)
Louis: Ratings and thoughts on Julie Harris in The Member Of The Wedding and the cast of Le Plaisir.
Luke: Unless they were totally wrong, I remember reading a blog post a decade or so ago for someone who used to contribute to this blog back in the day.
Someone that Louis probably remembers like Sage Slowdive or dinasztie perhaps.
Anyway I remember whoever it was absolutely hating Julie Harris in that film stating that it was one of the worst ever Best Actress nominees.
Mitchell: It's more often a different spelling (Chaudhary or Choudhury are more popular), but yes, it's a very common surname in South Asia.
Tahmeed: I read it was a title relating to the Indian subcontinent, and goes back to the Mughals. And yes...I did get that from wikipedia.
Either way, Sarita Choudhury and Kyle Maclachlan basically appear in the first and last episodes together. I thought they did fine work in their appearances, so they were worth noting. Also, the final teaser did suggest Maclachlan will be featured prominently in the second season (those who've played "New Vegas" could speculate on who he'd be playing).
Louis: If you've finished Fallout S1, your quick thoughts on it overall, and your top 5 of the cast.
Mitchell: Are you aware of any of other video game adaptations that attempt an approach similar to Fallout's?
Louis: Forgot to mention Bette Davis in The Star for that list.
RatedRStar: I remember them. Dinasztie was Hungarian I believe and Sage Slowdive had a blog though I don't know if it still exists.
Luke, you said awhile ago that you were working on lists for each year and said it might take 2 years to complete. What year have you got to currently.
Anonymous: I'm on 1952 currently. The 40s were an absolute slog for me to do. So many similar films that came off more and more generic in retrospect. I have been using Letterboxd average ratings to determine where to place each film from top to bottom.
Tony: Hard to say, because even with most of the video game adaptations I've seen, they've often been my introduction to the series. "Fallout" was the exception, and so will HBO's "The Last of Us" if/when I watch it.
For the cast, I can see Louis liking Goggins the most. It's essentially a performance of two parts. There's the older Cooper Howard, a 50s western star slowly discovering the nature of Vault Tec, and Goggins has the manner and straightfoward approach to the role down. Then there's the ghoul 200+ years later, which is far more of the showy badass Goggins is known for IE "Justified" and "The Hateful Eight". It's in his wheelhouse, but hey..Goggins can do it well. More importantly, I think there are shades of both performances in the other, despite the lack of connective tissue present as of right now. You see small moments of humanity in the Ghoul, as well as brief glimpses of the Ghoul's more jaded/potentially dark disposition.
Purnell being 100% convincing as an American almost seems like a given. So putting that aside, the rest of her work is about tempering Lucy's optimism and moral beliefs to match her world's reality. In turn, Purnell is rock solid in bringing her character to that point. Moreover, I just found her very charming and watchable throughout, as she made Lucy's moments of naivety rather likable.
Moten I placed third out of the top three, and that's largely due to his performance being the least dynamic out of them. Nonetheless, I did find him to be believable and effective in his role. I did end up thinking he sold Maximus' conflict and eventual change. Personally, I liked him best when he shed the character's serious surface and just had fun in the performance, such as his reaction to first putting on power armour.
Louis: Your thoughts on the screenplay of Where Eagles Dare.
Louis: Do you intend to see the new Apes film and your thoughts on Peter Jackson producing a new LOTR film with Serkis directing.
Tahmeed:
Koirala - 4.5(Her performance is defined by the "burden" of her character and what Koirala does is successfully show someone who cannot escape this burden nearly at almost any point, however doesn't use that as an excuse to be one note either. Her portrayal of that is effective though as this kind of constant fixation and what happens is the way we see the certain things pull her out of that fixation. When we do see that for example with her moments of connection with Amar, Koirala's great in showing her so timidly yet still passionately embracing this as a possible change in just moments before resorting back to what she has chosen. And the moments of defending her choice is powerful because she does bring such an intensity to what she has gone through and creates the sense of the very real heartbreak which has motivated her towards her actions. Naturally creating this push pull throughout her performance that creates the right sense of the conflict within her character.)
Zinta - 4(Her performance is entirely about contrast to Koirala and is effective in being entirely not complicated, however she never feels simple either. Zinta brings an earnest internal life to the character where she projects someone who very much isn't fixated on the "dramatics" of life but rather is very direct and honest about her situation and her feelings. Bringing consistently the right sort of needed warmth and indeed just lack of complication as the alternative love interest who isn't at all boring, rather finds the right appeal in the fact that the world isn't ending nor is it being created by one relationship.)
The ending certainly took me by surprise and is powerful, because it isn't this glorious savior of love, rather two people who at this point are emotionally spent that rather hold onto the idea of love as anything that can be in the final moments. And reaching that point certainly is very potent because you do see where the characters have been to get to this point, and the act being this end of the rope though in a way that is very different from how that typically is depicted. My only complaint would be the explosion itself, or perhaps the shooting of the explosion just doesn't quite work as it seems almost too gradually shot and edited given the rest of the moment.
Luke:
Regardless, there is not much to say, some cute animation with a very simple story, but it is fun to basically find one different place after another in the animation.
Tony:
I don't recall Old Grey Hare all that well, perhaps I haven't even seen it.
Falling Hare is very specific to its period, in terms of both the idea of the gremlin as the cause of plane failure, to the final gag of rationing fuel as preventing the destruction, and a decent enough example of "Bugs vs. Foe" series of moments that has a decent amount of fun in the very specific setting of the plane slowly getting destroyed.
The Scarlet Pumpernickel is creative in terms of the setup for the story to then be the gag version of the Scarlet Pimpernel which gets a fine amount of mileage over particularly by doing the ending just making it up as it goes along.
Young Hearts is a very simple song in terms of the lyrics and light repeated instrumental melody, but entirely pleasant despite its theoretically darker notion in some of the lyrics. But it works in its simplicity as is.
John Smith:
The screenplay certainly is ambitious with the swings throughout and the fact that it is trying to tell so much while in a way being a "simple" love story at its heart. I wouldn't say structurally the film is perfect as it has a certain fits and spurts quality to the drama where I wouldn't say it achieves the sort of flow you'd want most. Although given the swings there is something remarkable in the way that it can go from such extremes in a way that doesn't feel immediately ridiculous which it probably should, and part of that is the design of the work within the screenplay. Where the film more so succeeds in the development of its key scenes, where it establishes its stakes, both emotional and to an extent political, and while I wouldn't say the road between each key scene is perfectly paved, those scenes very much do find the essential impact. The impact that manages to naturally develop the contrast between desire and "duty", between the idea of hate and love. Something that I think works is because the screenplay doesn't simplify it, in that if the terrorists were just completely and only villains, without the very real background of their motivation, the idea of the love story would fall flat. It works though because it does honestly develop what fuels the hate, making therefore sort of the combating that with an idea of love and an actual life do have an impact.
Luke:
I've seen Star, Pinky, Smash-Up, and Swing Shift, however they didn't make my top ten, sometimes with very good reason.
I honestly don't remember Le Plaisir at this point, and I'll admit a side effect of doing this as long as I have, and perhaps getting older as well, the sort of middle of the road films, I sometimes completely forget the details of, even if I didn't watch the film all that long ago.
Harris - 1(Harris on the other hand rather nicely stands out because she is atrocious. It doesn't help that the whole idea of the conception of her performance is a terrible one where she is supposed to be playing a 12 year old, and while whenever this is done is requires at least some suspension of disbelief, some require far more than others depending on the performance, in this case, there's no belief to be had, it's purely disbelief. It looks like an older woman pretending to try to be a young girl the whole time as some sort of strange grotesquery of a thing in just how bizarre of an act that is the entire time. This is amplified that the character is supposed to be a brash tomboy style character where Harris not only isn't convincing, she's not convincing in a way that brandishes just how ridiculous the act is by playing every moment at this petulant extreme.)
Tony:
I thought Fallout was entertaining enough but not particularly great. I in particular hated the attempted twist where even in a satirical way the plan sounded so absurdly stupid and ill-conceived however worsened because the series plays it as pretty straight. The budget also kind of almost feels kind of false, where it is impressive at first but you eventually notice that the world actually seems extremely small with how little is covered. I really stopped caring about the mystery of the vaults, particularly as I almost immediately guessed what it would be about, but more so because the revelation of it just unraveled in such a slow and not particularly dynamic fashion. Having said that, there's fun to be had in the more surface mission elements and the central trio of characters do work, particularly Goggins, who is by far the best part of the series. Again, I never disliked the series, it is consistently watchable, it just isn't some truly substantial achievement in my mind.
1. Walton Goggins
2. Ella Purnell
3. Kyle MacLachlan
4. Aaron Moten
5. Matt Berry
Jonathan Williams:
Where Eagles Dare is the "Men on a mission" to end all "Men on the Mission" WWII style films in terms of brandishing that as what it is going for and just owning it at every turn. I mention this in contrast to Guns At Navarone, a film I do like, however its attempts to be anti-war are extremely ill-fitting when the overall nature of the piece is as entertainment. Where Eagles Dare has no such delusions and in my book is far more entertaining by not getting in its own way with a hypocritical theme. Instead the film brandishes the extreme with the nature of the plot being just tipping the envelope in terms of including every wild action set piece it can come up with matching high flying plot mechanisms in terms of the uncovering of spies. And the film works in just upping the ante as such in crafting one set piece after another that are wild in their detail and entirely fun in just the sheer amount of mayhem, though I do love the attention to detail as it always includes moments of setup before to show Schaffer and Smith setting up what they need to. The spy is equally fun in the amount of criss crossing and the two sort of scenes that heavily rely on scripting, and Burton's great voice, of the centerpiece on getting the spy network names and then the final scene, are both just great forms. With the moment of Smith handing the blank book and the "second choice" just being fantastic bits in each. This is a rare film that works not on character, as really, quite randomly, the Gestapo agent is the only character with maybe more going on than the mission, everyone else is mainly defined by one trait and "not a spy" Smith (eloquently talks), Schaffer (shoots people), but instead plot and its own audaciousness. The script provides this by just owning what it is and having no hesitations as such.
Luke:
Probably.
Serkis's directing has not been impressive so far, so I can't say that it fills me with much confidence.
Louis: If you can recall them, ratings and thoughts on Davis, Crain, Waters, Barrymore, Hayward, Lahti as well as Goldie Hawn in Swing Shift.
Thoughts on Goggins.
And Is Koirala Lead or Supporting.
Louis: Thought the rest of the top 5 for Fallout?
Louis: I can honestly see your complaints, and even I'm leaning towards the "good...not great" camp. Your spot on about the surface stuff > vault stuff point - at least for 31 to 33 - where it did become derivative and plodding. I'll also freely admit to some bias as a "Fallout" fan.
One thing I did think was interesting was writing the logo of the series - the thumbs up guy - as a central character. And I did think the portrayal of the Brotherhood was accurate (more so for New Vegas" than "Fallout 4"); A militant, zealous organization with plenty of muscle, but whose leaders are frankly directionless and decrepit. Again, thematically the series is very true to the franchise, wherein no matter what, human conflict is inevitable and rules cannot fully contain curiousity/ambition.
Also....I kind of figured you'd like Berry.
I knew Julie Harris would get destroyed for that performance lol even looking at pictures of her performance it just looks so weird lol.
Louis: Speaking of which, have you seen Saratoga Trunk? you might have an idea of why I might ask you that haha lol.
Louis: While we're on topic of awful female performances that were nominated for an Oscar, your rating and thoughts on Brenda Blethyn in Little Voice?
Ytrewq: He'll give those in the results I'm sure.
Louis: How viable do you feel are the ideas Luke discusses here (in response to Anon's question near the end - https://actoroscar.blogspot.com/2024/04/alternate-best-actor-1945-laird-cregar.html)? Since you suggested above that you're not against fully reviewing your female 5's at some point, I'm wondering how much consideration you've given that and any of the other ideas mentioned.
Nothing you need to rush to, of course, as I'm sure you have plenty on your plate, I just found Luke's proposals to be very interesting.
So Joe Keery actually has a hit song right now (#11 on Billboard) and it actually rules.
Hi guys, I'm heading over to England this morning and will be there for a week. I'm not sure if I'll get much internet access over there so if you don't hear from me, that'll be the reason for it.
Louis, do you feel the use of music in this film worked in it's favour? This is one of the most critically acclaimed Indian film soundtracks of all timr
Louis: I think one of the weirdest things I've heard a director say is from James Mangold.
With Logan, he wanted to make an "Ozu movie with mutants".
Seriously, that's ridiculous.
John Smith: At some point, I believe you mentioned "Dil Chahta Hai" on this blog. What's the standout performance for you in that film? Kinda curious.
Anonymys: Great question. Akshaey Khanna has since first watch always been a 5 for me. The older i get i appreciate what Aamir does more with every rewatch and he is a 4.5 close to a 5. He was once a 4.
Zinta is a 3.5 and Saif is a solid 4.
John Smith: I AGREE. Khanna and Khan are genuinely great in that, especially Khanna! I was the anonymous that asked you that earlier.
Tahmeed: As a DragonBall fan, what are your thoughts on this?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKe3sSQijQM&ab_channel=007TheMaskedGamer
Mitchell: I haven't seen a lot of Death Battle, but that was a very impressive fight scene in terms of the visuals alone. Have to give a lot of props to the writing and voice acting, and really appreciated the reenactment of the iconic "You fool!" moment from Goku vs. Frieza.
Tahmeed: Megatron's VA and speech were terrific, I thought. And if you didn't recognize him, Freiza's VA is Martin Billany from DBZ Abridged.
Regarding Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes A film that always seems a few moments off from greatness, despite there being plenty of goodness. I liked the setup, so much of the world building and even much of the ideas around the characters. The idea of this inconsequential ape discovering the outside world, via striking personal motivation, is strong. The idea of a human who you may or may not be able to trust and that whole relationship between apes and humans is particularly potentially potentially captivating though I think Freya Allan leaves bit to be desired in terms of what she does in the silences of her performance, and it's an aspect that seems *almost* there but it is missing something even beyond the performance. The main villain is fun, though his actions seem too random in terms of being completely ruthless to surprisingly benevolent depending on what will allow the plot to develop. The one aspect I won't give any reservations is the character of Raka, loved everything to do with him, just wish there had been more of him.
Teague - 3.5
Durand - 3.5
Macon - 4
Peckham - 3
Jeffery - 3
Wiseman - 3
Allan - 2
Macy - 3
Louis: Your thoughts on this scene from the Breaking Bad episode "Half-Measures"?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Giun9Px7vNo&ab_channel=RottenTomatoesTV
Louis: Thoughts on the cast.
Luke:
Goggins - (Technically gives two performances in a way, the "current" performance being an artful combination between Angel Eyes and the Man With No Name, in that Goggins manages to have this calm and cool demeanor that manages to naturally move between being just this entertaining cowboy type who is getting a kick out of what he is doing and typically being more than a few steps beyond everyone else, and having genuine menace within the intensity of the character as well. Wonderfully balanced work that better than anyone makes the tone swing between the absurd and the grounded. Then there's the flashback scenes where he is altogether great in giving a completely grounded performance where he brings a different charisma from his Ghoul charisma, that of the movie star, where he has this wry energy that he plays around with, but also has this quiet understated humanity and passion within his performance. It's terrific work from him from top to bottom.)
Tough call, leaning towards lead but it's close.
Davis - 4(The film is pretty thin of a vapid star finding substance, but I recall being a stronger version of the Davis type of role, though not her best, does bring enough of a sense of reality and growth within the contrived story.)
Crain - 2(Ridiculous casting to begin with, but she is also stiff as is often the case with her.)
Waters - 3.5(The best part of the film though still a limited part overall, however at least there seems to be anything genuine within her work comparing that to the rest of the film which is far less than that.)
Barrymore - 3(One of her many "woman in a bed" roles, and recall it being fine if somewhat forgettable.)
Hayward - 2.5(Mostly her worst tendencies of going for the big, but not really in the right way in this instance.)
Lahti - 3.5(Seems like there was perhaps more there...perhaps a whole great director's cut I heard about, but as it is, you can see something within her performance of the woman many have expectations of however Lahti brings this quiet strength to her performance, though the role seems perhaps less than it should be.)
Hawn - 3(Again would be interested to see the director's cut, because as this is it is much more just fashioned into a typical Hawn style lead performance, that makes really many of her decisions seem blithe and simple by comparison. She's charming and has presence as per usual but again... this film seems like it should be more than it is.)
RatedRStar:
I haven't wasn't aware that it had a 45 release, I'll swing around to it when I get to 46, though I am aware of Robson's casting.
Tony:
Purnell & Moten - (Both deliver specific performance in that each creates this sense of the arrested development of the characters which define them to a certain extent. Purnell brings this chipper attitude with a certain sense of eagerness creating this over the top, though believable, optimism as per usual the vault. Moten brings a similar arrested development though his instead in this state of a certain fear and brokenness of someone who's life is following orders and doing what others tell him constantly. The two then effectively present really the degree of breaking out of this state, sometimes separate other times together, with Purnell's wok in particular being quite moving at times in managing to balance the creeping reality within her performance as she begins to react more sensibly, though with the right undercurrent of this hopeful manner even as things go very poorly or not within her initial worldview. Moten's also good in portraying for him this growing confidence that corresponds with this understanding of the world.)
MacLachlan - (I'll just say makes an impact with his relatively brief screen time.)
Berry - (I mean it is always good to have his voice in something and as a surgical robot you couldn't ask for a better voice to have in being hilarious though demented in his way. Through his live action scenes are most welcome as well in bringing his usual rather large presence in the right way.)
Tony:
I'd rather not discuss future plans at this time.
8000's:
My guess is he thinks it's like Tokyo Story "about aging" which would suggest maybe that's the only Ozu he's seen, because that makes no sense.
John Smith:
I liked the songs in themselves, though I'm not entirely sure about their implementation in this case, because they're so disparate from the overall tone, though I'll concede that as an aspect of Bollywood filmmaking that I very much flip flop on depending on the film.
Marcus:
A scene that highlights perhaps the sheer ridiculousness of running a drug business as legitimate as Gus's manner is that of an imperious businessman, as is his language, yet in relation to something that isn't at all so respectable. And what works about the scene is the contrast provided by Jesse who holds no such delusions and just in this instance trying to stand up for what is morally right however that is in no relation to the morality of the world that he's chosen to be in, which Gus represents. And honestly a very ambiguous scene in terms of who exactly chose to kill Tomas, though I will say, as we come to know Gus's overall operation, him meeting directly with street dealers seems...rather unlikely. But I can forgive the contrivance for the overall effectiveness of the scene, particularly how ludicrous (in a good way) it seems when he is referring to such obvious street thugs as his "trusted employees".
J96:
Performances can be found here:
https://actoroscar.blogspot.com/2022/05/alternate-best-supporting-actor-1997_28.html
1. Inglourious Basterds
2. Pulp Fiction
3. Jackie Brown
4. Kill Bill Vol. 2
5. Kill Bill Vol. 1
6. The Hateful Eight
7. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
8. Reservoir Dogs
9. Django Unchained
10. Death Proof
Couldn't agree more with Goggins. From the moment he started talking, I knew I was going to like his performance. Like I said initally...dripping with swagger.
Matter of fact, can we get a film with him and Karl Urban as the leads? Maybe a buddy action thriller, or "Heat" style drama where their placed as two sides of the same coin. There screen presences would be rather compatible, I think.
Louis: My winning requests of 1976 are:
Ben Gazzara in The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
Giancarlo Giannini in The Innocent
Nicol Williamson and Alan Arkin in The Seven-Per-Cent Solution
Peter Falk and John Cassavetes in Mikey and Nicky
Louis: You know, now that I think about it, I think Hara would have been a fantastic Jean Grey in a Japanese X-Men.
Also, Machiko Kyo for Mystique and Michiyo Kogure as Emma Frost?
Louis: Could you add Nick Nolte in New York Stories to the Winning Requests page? I requested him last month.
Louis: Thoughts on this article? https://slate.com/culture/2024/02/killers-of-the-flower-moon-robert-de-niro-oscars-2024.html
Louis: Thoughts on this scene from the original Transformers series?
Louis: Thoughts on this scene from the original Transformers series?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h40_98w6KlQ
RIP Roger Corman.
RIP Roger Corman, legend.
RIP Roger Corman.
RIP the LEGENDARY Roger Corman
RIP Roger Corman.
RIP Roger Corman.
R.I.P. Roger Corman.
RIP Roger Corman
RIP Roger Corman.
RIP Roger Corman
Louis: Thoughts on Moises Arias, Johnny Pemberton, Michael Cristofer, Michael Emerson, Dale Dickey and Chris Parnell in Fallout?
RIP Roger Corman
Louis: Completely unrelated to my recent viewing of A Street Cat Named Bob, how do you think Luke Treadaway could have fared as Jesse Pinkman in a British/Australian version of Breaking Bad? And could I have your thoughts on this scene from the film?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHKfMt_4V7U&list=PLZbXA4lyCtqo7xJ3JgVDH6EU8fpcYA_Dl&index=9&ab_channel=Movieclips
8000's:
I mean sure. Probably the most artistic and "quiet" that series ever got, with actual attention to detail in that moment and even thoughtful in the moment.
Tony:
Well obviously I agree with the author's main points, considering they hit upon many of the aspects of the performances that I also mentioned.
Anonymous:
Arias - (Didn't care in the slightest about his storyline to be perfectly honest and found it extremely drawn out given I guessed the twist very quickly. Arias I think is completely fine, though I wouldn't say much more than that, in his rather understated portrayal of someone calmly taking in each new piece of information as it comes up. He does his "hmmm" expression quite well to be fair, though it isn't something that I found went beyond anything more than just fine, although part of that is how repetitive his material is.)
Pemberton - (Found him to be pretty over the top most of the time. Not to the point that I thought he was terrible, but I wasn't exactly excited any time he was onscreen. He always goes for more of the big emotion any chance he has with the swings always going more so for this sort of comic broadness, that I didn't hate I suppose but I didn't exactly love either.)
Cristofer - (Also fine, though I think his sort of quiet imperiousness was just only could go so far with how simple the Brotherhood's storyline feels within the overall scheme of the film. He does what he can, particularly in his last scene, but the character is a bit too limited for him to make much of it.)
Emerson - (He's quite effective in his few scenes he does have in bringing the right sort of enigmatic mystery to his character where there is this sort of calm precision about his behavior but there is maybe the slight sense of a distant warmth in the words of encouragement he does offer. He's also quite good at just portraying the intense pain his character ends up going through then the quiet but sort of weird confidence of the man's manner as he goes about taking a rather extreme course though with this sense of understanding even in the extreme.)
Dickey - (I mean falls right into a classic Dickey sort of character part for her of a rather grungy sort here, just being grungy in her way. Dickey does it as well as anyone, and though her part is quite functional on the whole, she certainly gives you an immediate sense of the character as someone very much just going with whatever the world throws her way without suffering any fools along the way.)
Parnell - (A comedic swing that I thought worked rather nicely, as Parnell brings an entertaining strangeness by always seeming like he might suddenly become more sinister, but stays with this sort of folksy comedic way the whole time. He's wonderfully straightforward in the end by seeming like he might not be, and manages to be very funny in his bit to be sure.)
Tahmeed:
Pretty good as he has the right type, and as shown by said film rather effective in that type of role.
In terms of that scene, pretty much my thoughts on the film where aspects of the direction I think are a little creaky in terms of being either a bit overt or maybe underwhelming, however Treadaway's commitment sells it beyond anything else.
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