Caviezel - 5 (5s for Penn, Nolte and maybe a 4.5 for Harrelson) Larsen - 4.5/5 Kiefer - 4.5 (4.5 or 5 for Sewell) Donald - 4.5 Myers - 4 (Director's Cut)
If reviewed, Davies will remain at a 4.5 and Fiennes goes up to a 4.5. Wilkinson's definitely up to a strong 4.
An for Perfectionist's question about Scream: both revolve around the twist. Lillard for much of the movie is really enjoyable and actually sort of charismatic. After the twist there are some moments where he works, but most of it is a bit too much actually. Ulrich is the other way around. He works in the finale, but is either barely noticable or barely trying for the majority of the movie
what does everybody think about the trailer for "Here"? Because that thing could either fall completely flat or be an absolute delight, but it's certainly worth a try
So I saw The Bikeriders. I think I jived with it more than anyone else I knew, especially in regards to Comer, for whom I did NOT understand the criticisms of her accent in the slightest. Specific, but not in a way I found distracting or strained. In fact I found a lot of her line readings disarmingly funny, like Chicago version of Natasha Lyonne.
On the flipside, Hardy doing Moe Szyslak actually was pretty bad. We need to stop enabling that man. This has gone on long enough.
Louis: Looking forward to your thoughts on The Dover Boys tomorrow.
Tim: The original 1989 comic expressed its ideas so concisely in just six pages, I can't imagine what more the film could bring to the table in two hours. Just seems redundant.
John Smith: As someone who thoroughly enjoyed the first 3 seasons of "The Boys"...is it wierd that I'm not as eager to watch the current season?
And this doesn't stem from the content either - all those people suddenly turning on the series CLEARLY weren't paying to what it was doing/saying before. But if you've seen the show, theres a very clear moment in the season 3 finale where it *should've* ended a major plotpoint. But the way it plays out instead felt a bit unnatural from a character standpoint, and a very conveniant way to continue the show's run.
A Quiet Place Day One is the far superior follow-up, despite being a prequel, to the first film than A Quiet Place: Island downloadable content pack...with new playable character Cillian Murphy. Sarnoski's personality from Pig is surprisingly still very present, at first I thought it was just going to be in the pre-horror marionette show, that seems directly out of Pig honestly, but those quiet moments of strange fascination continue in the connection between our two central characters which ends up being rather moving by the end of it. The horror aspects are perhaps more inconsistent, though I think Sarnoski managed to bring some horror back to the creatures, by showing them less, as when he only shows part of them he somehow regains that power to the mystery of them despite us already knowing, to the point some of the weaker moments are when we see them full bodied, where again I don't think the creatures themselves are quite franchise worthy. Thankfully Sarnoski found more than enough around them, to make this film worthwhile.
Meyers, McGregor & Bale - 3.5/3.5/3(I will admit the category actually doesn't seem as obvious as it often should, as despite all three being the principal male leads, none really feel precisely lead, since Bale is off to the side, Meyers is at a distance and McGregor isn't in it that much. I mean in a way Collette should be lead as well then. Regardless, Meyers is fine in doing a semi-Bowie in portraying this kind of just above it all distance, which works well enough though I think like everyone, other than Collette, very much is more just blended into what Haynes's doing. McGregor makes a bit more of an impact, but again we get more of an idea of a character where McGregor brings a certain id spark though again limited. Bale is perfectly fine here, though he's more often than not just kind of there, which honestly is a lot like a lot of his early work.)
Potente - (Her performance is fundamental to the film as I think if she wasn't so clearly convincing as Lola, it might be harder to follow this through, and even more so if we didn't find her endearing. Potente brings an essential charisma to the part, of just a star quality that it is a shame that wasn't better exploited by Hollywood...no surprise there. But her charisma is firing all the way and brings such a powerful sort of foolheaded sense of determination that just has the right energetic push to her that you are completely just with her. Her performance manages to find the right balance between reality and style. In that she does grant you the sense of love, the sense of intensity in her actions, the horror in the set backs, and her moments of charm. She as well though is basically a super heroine in some ways, and brings this kind of insanity that is a style of its own, particularly in the screaming moments, that wouldn't work without Potente. She makes you believe them, because she makes Lola such a primal force that you just buy every second of her despite the purposefully reality bending nature of her journey.)
Bouchez & Regnier - (Playing off each other extremely well with two very different but tangible notes. At the center of it all they are just so convincingly honest as the women just trying to live off what they can in a certain fringe existence and do what they can in their challenges. Creating a balance though with Regnier bringing this quiet despair, but also this fervent intensity in her performance. Showing the emotive quality of her character who is wearing desperation on her sleeve and going all in with everything. Bouchez counters that beautifully by not playing delusion but kind of the silver linings of the positive. There's such a natural optimism she brings with a charisma that shows the woman who while in the same troubling circumstances just has the glow of someone who thinks things will find some way to work out. The two balancing this pessimism and optimism, and being completely convincing as people just dealing with their lives in different ways.)
Ricci - (Both performances to be talked about here, though they are both playing into her coming of age, but in very different ways. In Buffalo 66 she manages to make what should be an unbelievable character completely convincing because she's just so convincing and manages to move between this kind of playful mischievousness of someone just going in on the fun of the deception and showing that glint in her eyes when she comes up with a new angle to mess with Billy a bit. At the same time she manages to be completely convincing in the sincere desire for a kind of connection which she creates this interesting persistence even in her meek deliveries that is rather wonderful. In so many ways the part shouldn't work, but it absolutely does and I think she probably in part is so essential to being able to allow us to be in Gallo's presence for so long. Contrasting that is the Opposite of Sex of her character who basically brandishes herself as pure evil who just enjoys manipulating everyone in doing this phony kid brat routine, which she undercuts with her always callous narration that is making fun of the film more often than not. As much as the film doesn't quite come together fully, Ricci's performance certainly does, and rides every development most effectively in creating the right command of her character...even though the film is far less about her than most retrospectives would have you believe.)
Dahlstrom & Liljeberg - (Another case of contrasts in extreme naturalism one as the popular girl one as the outcast both dealing with their taboo feelings. Each is quite good in portraying just a straight reality with the different nuances in the sense of confusion of one or the sense of an anxiety inducing certainty in the other. Together though they have great chemistry with one another and you see the ease they have together, and the way they both come to life in this when together that makes them just seem ideal in this way. There is a mutual life they suddenly find, and just a sense of fun more than anything towards life that is just beautifully realized by both.)
Tunney - (Working with really a challenging character where the character's tourettes are whatever are needed to make a scene occur. Regardless, I think she manages to find some sense within her own work wherever the scenes she's in manage to throw her, and they throw her many, many random places that she needs to basically be on the edge one, romantice another, and just all over the place. To her credit though she is convincing at all, to the point that one can at least believe her in a given scene even if I don't really believe the scene.)
Watson & Griffiths - (Again the script makes too much of contrasts I think with Watson being this extreme personality and Griffiths having to be passive and self-sacrificing. Regardless Watson can play those extreme emotions quite potently even if I question the writing, I don't question her at any point, and makes a convincing case for the character. Griffiths as well brings a lot of warmth and emotional honesty consistently even if the character seems too simple with the way she just lets things happen. Watson creates a convincing way of her character falling into physical disrepair and creates the emotional collapse believable. Griffiths on the other hand is moving in showing her dismay to that. Both are very good, though again the film is far less.)
Kudrow - (Think she manages to very effectively not fall into pure caricature despite the character purposefully being set up as such as the overt puritanical type. Kudrow doesn't make it so simple though nicely balancing within her comedic overtones, a sense of the far more real emotional distress that does define her beliefs, giving a convincing portrayal of the moving out of her shell and becoming freer in a way that is convincing in her growth of her own happiness.)
Sheedy - (A shame that she wasn't able to parlay this into a genuine resurgence because even though the film suffers from too much aimlessness, she's quite captivating in portraying this sort of natural switch between the extremely confident artist, and the extremely broken drug addict. Sheedy doesn't switch notes exactly but rather creates this flow in showing how one influences the other and vice versa. Creating a believable sense of the woman lost in herself even if she seems so very capable in what she does. Sheedy remains fascinating even if I wish the film gave her a more interesting scenario to go through.)
Lyonne - (The start of her style I suppose though fashioned as a teenage girl trying to figure herself out. Lyonne though has effortless comedic timing even when playing a greater uncertainty even with that hint of brashness that would become more so her style.)
Oh - (Although within a certain note for much of the film she still plays sort of the shades of the overt emotion beneath the very specific intention quite powerfully, creating the sense of purpose that seems to propel her further though Oh naturally build that around a certain distance of someone trying to ignore all else but focusing on a singular event.)
Winfrey - (Probably one of her least sort of showy performances in that she's often very quiet in her work here, and is effective in alluding to the horrors of her past, while presenting this sense of a woman trying to move forward with what she has. Like so much of the film, I believed what she did within particularly insane scenes, which is impressive to a degree in itself.)
Tony: This comment might be overshadowed if there's a new post, in which case I'll copy and paste it for you.
For "The Boys", I'll echo the comparison I've heard from a few people and reviewers: "Invincible" is written by someone who likes superheroes, while "The Boys" is written by someone who dislikes them. The shows seem of the same vein as fairly modern, subversive takes on the genre. To answer your question specifically...not really. The Seven in "The Boys" is a clear riff on the Justice League, but most of the live action series is based on political and cultural commentary. Having a basic knowledge of superheroes would help, but I think you could follow it's own story and characters well enough.
Like I said, the first three seasons I found to be perversely entertaining, darkly comic, and of solid enough quality. The Kiwi pair, Karl Urban and Antony Starr, are really the MVPs of the show overall. Also, just as a personal aside...I found the romance between Frenchy/Kimiko to be WAAAYY more interesting than Hughie/Starlight.
Mitchell Murray: They are building up to closing the plothole this season. Season 1 of gen v is also connected to it. I know the creator says you should be able to watch i seperately but that is only kind of true
Tony Kim: The boys originate from a terrible comic of it's same name where the subversion is that all the superheroes are massive assholes with enlarged egos. The show makes it deeper and brings nuance to the characthers and make it more grounded to the reality.
You could say that the boys only exist because of the creators hate of the superhero genre.
Horrocks - (Her impressions are gold and very impressive by themselves. Unfortunately mostly she just needs to be meek and emotionally distraught the rest of the time. She's good at that as well, but man this film really wastes what she is doing on the whole.)
Deneuve - (Carries her powerful presence around, though man the film is so dull, but she does what she can within that.)
Curran - (Her performance is very effective in creating this environment of the woman who raised the extreme misogynistic men. Curran is great in showing the sides of the woman who could create this without being overtly fiendish. In fact she grants you a sense of her own emotional distress at what her sons have become and her horror whenever they begin lashing out at her. She portrays that sense of just being lost so very potently and powerfully that is quite moving in her moments of realization though powerless to do anything other than react in her horror most of the time. But she's just as convincing in showing the enabler when defending her son from the police and you see this mother of much younger children suddenly still offering defense, even though her sons are too far gone at this point. She creates the full sense of how the "boys" could become as they are, without at all being evil in herself, just not being able to stand up to the virus of hate.)
Elise - (I have to give her much credit for being able to go beyond not only not getting covered up by the film's bizarre choices, but being able to actually thrive around them. Elise consistently keeps her head up creating a convincing and complete portrayal of the woman trying to move on without the weight of the past though with an empathy for it. Elise offers some essential tangible emotional sense within the film that is particularly needed when she is acting around Newton. Elise is always completely convincing in creating her own individual journey of working through the old horrors in a believable way, against Newton who is just ridiculous.)
Posey - (She manages to find some fun but also some genuine humanity in creating the character's desires for love sensibilities throughout the film. She manages to balance the film's oddball tone well within her own work, creating the sense of a real person, even while oftentimes needing to play with the darkly comic insanity with as much natural ease.)
Huston - (As the step moms go, she is properly horrible and hateable, where she accentuates just the pompous disregard at every turn with a biting and diabolical edge to her consistently. Huston nicely I think has some human moments, however not humanity to show empathy, but rather humanity to show just how vile her character is in showing the certain insecurities that propel her to make some of her most hideous decisions.)
Wagner - (Like Woods, found her completely convincing in the role of the drug addict codependent girlfriend, where she effectively went between such extreme emotions yet in a way that is always convincing in creating the immediate sense of the way she goes from high to low, most literally in a drug induced state, but also in her emotional need. Wagner shows the way it is all jubilation to horror, and not much in-between because that is what her existence is.)
Collette - (Both performances are effective in just bringing a lot very quickly. As the "wife of Bowie" she balances a nice sense of her own personal style that is first of the world, yet brings the depth that reveals itself to show the very real frustrations when the world's "style" interferes with genuine decency. Collette showed that sense of betrayal in a moving fashion. In The Boys her part is limited yet she makes it especially heartbreaking by showing how genuine her want for affection and concern, for a despicable man is, and it is only when he goes from one moment of abuse to another that she leaves in such visceral distress.)
Na - (Brings a nice degree of this comedy in her performance as the mother that isn't doting, rather there is always this matching scheming energy, yet the lack of any humanity, that brings the right dark comedy to her performance as the mother who just wants to keep the ship running regardless of how bad things get.)
Tomei - (Playing the drug addict sex pot, she has plenty of fun and is entertaining as such particularly as this pseudo mentor role, though always undercutting it in presenting her own rather extreme desperation within all of it. I would say where her character goes is where the film falters the most, but Tomei is always good regardless.)
Hamliton - (Just directly visceral work, that is quite powerful in bringing to life such extreme emotional states and not seeming over the top.)
Cuervo - (Brings a nice straightforward quality to her performance where she always suggests the woman just living by her choices and not at all suffering the judgments of the titular man. Bringing this certain force within the manner.)
Streep - (Falls into the "not sure she needed to be nominated" group, but she is good in the part regardless. Bringing a nice combination between a mother's warmth but with a certain quiet judgment, while effectively presenting the decaying state of her character.)
Barrymore - 3.5(There were times where I think she fell a little bit into "overemphasis theater" but mostly found she brought a charm with the right sort of spritely dogged determination. Creating enough of the sort of grace needed for your ideal Cinderella even if I perhaps found her most emotional moments maybe the least convincing.)
Newton - 1Wiseau(As the scene where she wants Glover her to touch her "on the inside part" does move over to pure comedy. And here's why Stone deserved all the praise I and others gave her last year, as this performance is what hers would've been if she had not been great in Poor Things. Every choice of Newton's feels as labored as possible, while also being ridiculous as possible. You never see what she's doing coming but what you always can see is just how much it will baffle you consistently in her performance. Being utterly ridiculous in her way doesn't feel like a product of trauma, just a product of horrendous acting choices, which are out on a limb, but never does she not crash down with that limb.)
Zeta-Jones - 3.5(I mean she falls into maybe top ten sexiest cinematic characters to be perfectly honest. And part of that is Zeta-Jones's performance in the dance and sparring scene, both which she excels with in just very much playing into the horniness of the character, that doesn't feel ridiculous, it just works in just being part of the intended eroticism of both scenes. I think outside of those scenes, she delivers a nice earnestness in portraying the conflict over her true father, however I would say she's more just *fine* with that aspect.)
Matt:
I believe so.
Lucas, Omar, Luke & Jonathan:
I will see if I can make time for most of those.
Razor:
Eternity and a Day's direction is very much the film in inspiring this very specific rhythm that crafts a feeling of memory, dream, time but also really more. It's kind of a film that works in the way it eases between such elements, all as one that you can follow a man's very personal journey, then have a seemingly random interruption, yet that interruption just seems as one as any other aspect. There is the sense of it that it manages to never break itself by having the sense a journey of discovery for each of us as we pass through this existence with a specific elegance, that certainly one can connect to with Tarkovsky's very exact approach, and for me, an instance where this success is by finding that exact way the camera focuses, in, the way the movement, the precise blocking of actors, while making it the natural discovery. It is a film where everything seems all so easy, yet obviously was so very precise, yet perfect in creating this visceral experience of living in a way that just is and works, without ever seeming anything but truth.
Blethyn - 2(Not good, she just yells about every line and accentuates as much noise as possible that I think is supposed to be funny and occasionally even moving, however all of it just ends up being extremely grating. It isn't one where she provides any balance within her work, it just is at this extreme constantly that unfortunately gets tiresome as soon as she starts.)
Omar:
Li - 4.5(I will say probably the core of the epic, that I wouldn't say entirely favors her enough to completely kind of properly guide as like the best epics have. Having said that, Li is impressive in the way she really can play such disparate notes without seeming to break her character. As there are times where she is just the charismatic seeming heroine, which of course she excels with in bringing that quiet dignified charm to her performance. However she also suddenly has to be a manipulative near femme fatale, which Li excels with as well in creating this cutting sense of conviction within her intentional manipulations for her power. But within all of that, where I think she manages to make a cohesion is creating the sense of empathy for her character in her reaction to the results of some of the mechanizations of the plot, where she portrays powerfully the emotional burden within it all.)
Shaggy:
6. Steven Spielberg - Saving Private Ryan 7. Joel & Ethan Coen - The Big Lebowski 8. Vincent Gallo - Buffalo '66 9. Kim Jee-woon - The Quiet Family 10. Alex Proyas - Dark City
Tahmeed:
I basically feel the same way about it, but even more distance from it's time of oversaturation helps.
Luke:
Li would be #11
Tim:
Uh...in Zemeckis I don't trust. I have a feeling it will do worse, what Ghost Story did better, with a more overt gimmick and a far more distracting visual choice.
Louis: If you don't manage to see Quest For Camelot and to be fair, it's not an essential, you don't mind if I ask for thoughts on scenes and a couple of songs.
Kinds of Kindness is my favorite non-McNamara Lanthimos, as it seems like some of the elements of those films might've rubbed off him just a bit. He hamstrings his actors less than his pre-McNamara films, letting them be less dronish and inhuman, though describing anyone as strictly "normal" here would be a stretch. However in this instance in the portrayal of three different forms of toxic relationships I found it most captivating for the first two stories, in finding some truths within the oddities, I particularly liked the second story that one can take as a depiction of Capgras delusion, or perhaps just the twisted view of a delusional, and schizophrenic abuser. I will say the third story lost a little momentum for me, though I don't think it even because it was less than, I think I just had my fill with the first two, and I might've liked it just as much had it been the first our second. And perhaps that speaks to less the stories themselves, and perhaps all of it could've been tightened as a whole to have kept my hungry for me. Regardless I still didn't feel that way until I got to the third story, and perhaps when I can watch it again at home, I might skip straight to third just to see if it proves that to be true.
James I found to be surprisingly effective in a role that is setup to be really pretty one note. James I thought delivered on that pompous prodding note of the overt machismo who brandishes his confidence in all the wrong ways. James though I thought managed to not become one note even when portraying that note, managing to balance moments in there to create the sense of the husband and dad at times even when the character is at his worst. James doesn't ever leave as simple as he could be, as good as he is in portraying that simplicity.
Howerton would be too old now (though I'm sure he'd tell me the opposite), however he'd be ideal for both. In fact much of Lacy's story you could easily turn into a Dennis story.
Luke:
Dodds - 3.5(Enjoyably horrible as the bad step-sister in just playing up her own pompous disregard that nicely matches Huston similarly horrible demeanor, and brings the right sense of bafflement in the ending to make her comeuppance enjoyable.)
Lynskey - 3.5(Rather nicely portrays the moments of hesitation and quiet sympathy for "Cinderella" throughout and builds naturally to her moments towards the end where she takes a bit more active role in creating the sense of horror towards the rest of her family's actions.)
Quinn is co-lead, even though he enters late. Plemons and Stone are both leads, though Plemons is the *most* lead. Dafoe is definitely supporting.
67 comments:
1. Caviezel
2. Larsen
3. Kiefer
4. Donald
5. Myers
Need to watch Director's Cuts of Dark City and 54.
If there are any bonus write-ups then please do Davies and Fiennes.
Ratings and thoughts on Meyers, McGregor and Bale in Velvet Goldmine.
Thoughts on the Female performances plus Drew Barrymore in Ever After and Thandiwe Newton in Beloved.
1. Caviezel
2. Larsen
3. Kiefer
4. Donald
5. Myers
I recommend looking closely at the comment section of Caviezel's review in case any S**nd of Fr**dom weirdoes find it via google search.
Louis: Ratings for Barrymore and Newton. Lastly, your rating and thoughts on Catherine Zeta-Jones in The Mask Of Zorro.
1. Caviezel
2. Larsen
3. Kiefer
4. Donald (RIP)
5. Myers
Is this the first time a father and son have been reviewed in the same line up?
1. Caviezel
2. Larsen
3. Kiefer
4. Donald
5. Myers
Louis: I just noticed that you’ve finally watched all of Meryl Streep’s Oscar-nominated performances. How would you rank her performances?
1. Caviezel
2. Larsen
3. Donald
4. Kiefer
5. Myers
Louis: could you watch Snake Eyes for this year?
And for films to watch:
The Prince Of Egypt
Perfect Blue
Quest For Camelot
Ring
The Parent Trap
Your Friends & Neighbors
The Last Days Of Disco
Louis: You can also watch Celebrity if you want. It's not great or anything but DiCaprio is kind of hilarious in his brief little bit.
1. Caviezel
2. Larsen
3. Kiefer
4. Donald
5. Myers
1.Caviezel
2.Larsen
3.Kiefer
4.Donald
5.Myers
1. Caviezel
2. Larsen
3. Donald
4. Kiefer
5. Myers
1. Caviezel
2. Donald
3. Larsen
4. Kiefer
5. Meyers
Donald Sutherland getting reviewed just a few days after his death is insane timing.
1. Larsen
2. Caviezel
3. Sutherland
4. Kiefer
5. Meyers
Would like to know what you think about William hurt performance in dark city too
1. Caviezel
2. Kiefer
3. Larsen
4. Donald
5. Myers
Louis: Is Chris Tucker still a 3 for Rush Hour? And your thoughts on the direction for Eternity and a Day.
Louis: Rating and thoughts on Brenda Blethyn in Little Voice.
1. Caviezel
2. Larsen
3. Kiefer
4. Donald
5. Myers
1. Caviezel
2. Larsen
3. Donald
4. Kiefer
5. Myers
Luke, What are your rating predictions.
Caviezel - 5 (5s for Penn, Nolte and maybe a 4.5 for Harrelson)
Larsen - 4.5/5
Kiefer - 4.5 (4.5 or 5 for Sewell)
Donald - 4.5
Myers - 4 (Director's Cut)
If reviewed, Davies will remain at a 4.5 and Fiennes goes up to a 4.5. Wilkinson's definitely up to a strong 4.
1) Larsen
2) Caviezel
3) Sutherland Sr
4) Sutherland Jr
5) Myers
No idea what Louis will say about Kiefer, because i don't even know what I think of him in that
An for Perfectionist's question about Scream: both revolve around the twist. Lillard for much of the movie is really enjoyable and actually sort of charismatic. After the twist there are some moments where he works, but most of it is a bit too much actually.
Ulrich is the other way around. He works in the finale, but is either barely noticable or barely trying for the majority of the movie
5º Mike Myers
4º Donald Sutherland
3º Kiefer Sutherland
2º Thomas Bo Larsen
1º Jim Caviezel
Louis: Could you give Out Of Sight a re-watch.
1. Caviezel
2. Bo Larsen
3. Kiefer S.
4. Donald S.
5. Myers
Louis: I’m so glad to see both Bouchez and Régnier so high in your best actress ranking.
Rating and thoughts on Gong Li in The Emperor and the Assassin?
If you have time, could you watch these movies:
-Khrustalyov, My Car!
-Secret Defence
-Serpenth’s Path
-Praise
Louis: If Gong Li is a 4.5, where would you rank her in Lead Actress.
1. Caviezel
2. Sutherland Son
3. Sutherland Father
4. Larsen
5. Myers
Louis: Your #6 - #10 for Director in 1998
1. Caviezel
2. Keifer
3. Larsen
4. Donald
5. Myers
Louis: Seeing that "Iris" from City of Angels is now in your top 5 for Original Song for this year, do you have any updated thoughts on it.
I'm changing and backing my horse more fully
1. Jim Caviezel
2. Donald Sutherland
3. Thomas Bo Larsen
4. Kiefer Sutherland
5. Mike Myers
what does everybody think about the trailer for "Here"? Because that thing could either fall completely flat or be an absolute delight, but it's certainly worth a try
So I saw The Bikeriders. I think I jived with it more than anyone else I knew, especially in regards to Comer, for whom I did NOT understand the criticisms of her accent in the slightest. Specific, but not in a way I found distracting or strained. In fact I found a lot of her line readings disarmingly funny, like Chicago version of Natasha Lyonne.
On the flipside, Hardy doing Moe Szyslak actually was pretty bad. We need to stop enabling that man. This has gone on long enough.
Louis: Looking forward to your thoughts on The Dover Boys tomorrow.
Tim: The original 1989 comic expressed its ideas so concisely in just six pages, I can't imagine what more the film could bring to the table in two hours. Just seems redundant.
if anyone want's to see Simon Pegs greatest dramatic performance please watch the latest episode of The boys released today.
Louis: Khrustalyov, My Car! and Praise are 1999.
John Smith: As someone who thoroughly enjoyed the first 3 seasons of "The Boys"...is it wierd that I'm not as eager to watch the current season?
And this doesn't stem from the content either - all those people suddenly turning on the series CLEARLY weren't paying to what it was doing/saying before. But if you've seen the show, theres a very clear moment in the season 3 finale where it *should've* ended a major plotpoint. But the way it plays out instead felt a bit unnatural from a character standpoint, and a very conveniant way to continue the show's run.
John and Mitchell: Could The Boys be enjoyed by a viewer who's generally not into superhero films?
I don't know if anyone saw the trailer for Batman: Caped Crusader but I think it looks AMAZING.
A Quiet Place Day One is the far superior follow-up, despite being a prequel, to the first film than A Quiet Place: Island downloadable content pack...with new playable character Cillian Murphy. Sarnoski's personality from Pig is surprisingly still very present, at first I thought it was just going to be in the pre-horror marionette show, that seems directly out of Pig honestly, but those quiet moments of strange fascination continue in the connection between our two central characters which ends up being rather moving by the end of it. The horror aspects are perhaps more inconsistent, though I think Sarnoski managed to bring some horror back to the creatures, by showing them less, as when he only shows part of them he somehow regains that power to the mystery of them despite us already knowing, to the point some of the weaker moments are when we see them full bodied, where again I don't think the creatures themselves are quite franchise worthy. Thankfully Sarnoski found more than enough around them, to make this film worthwhile.
I'll save Quinn.
Nyong'o - 4.5
Wolff - 3
Hounsou - 3
Louis, thoughts on the cast.
Luke:
Meyers, McGregor & Bale - 3.5/3.5/3(I will admit the category actually doesn't seem as obvious as it often should, as despite all three being the principal male leads, none really feel precisely lead, since Bale is off to the side, Meyers is at a distance and McGregor isn't in it that much. I mean in a way Collette should be lead as well then. Regardless, Meyers is fine in doing a semi-Bowie in portraying this kind of just above it all distance, which works well enough though I think like everyone, other than Collette, very much is more just blended into what Haynes's doing. McGregor makes a bit more of an impact, but again we get more of an idea of a character where McGregor brings a certain id spark though again limited. Bale is perfectly fine here, though he's more often than not just kind of there, which honestly is a lot like a lot of his early work.)
Potente - (Her performance is fundamental to the film as I think if she wasn't so clearly convincing as Lola, it might be harder to follow this through, and even more so if we didn't find her endearing. Potente brings an essential charisma to the part, of just a star quality that it is a shame that wasn't better exploited by Hollywood...no surprise there. But her charisma is firing all the way and brings such a powerful sort of foolheaded sense of determination that just has the right energetic push to her that you are completely just with her. Her performance manages to find the right balance between reality and style. In that she does grant you the sense of love, the sense of intensity in her actions, the horror in the set backs, and her moments of charm. She as well though is basically a super heroine in some ways, and brings this kind of insanity that is a style of its own, particularly in the screaming moments, that wouldn't work without Potente. She makes you believe them, because she makes Lola such a primal force that you just buy every second of her despite the purposefully reality bending nature of her journey.)
Bouchez & Regnier - (Playing off each other extremely well with two very different but tangible notes. At the center of it all they are just so convincingly honest as the women just trying to live off what they can in a certain fringe existence and do what they can in their challenges. Creating a balance though with Regnier bringing this quiet despair, but also this fervent intensity in her performance. Showing the emotive quality of her character who is wearing desperation on her sleeve and going all in with everything. Bouchez counters that beautifully by not playing delusion but kind of the silver linings of the positive. There's such a natural optimism she brings with a charisma that shows the woman who while in the same troubling circumstances just has the glow of someone who thinks things will find some way to work out. The two balancing this pessimism and optimism, and being completely convincing as people just dealing with their lives in different ways.)
Ricci - (Both performances to be talked about here, though they are both playing into her coming of age, but in very different ways. In Buffalo 66 she manages to make what should be an unbelievable character completely convincing because she's just so convincing and manages to move between this kind of playful mischievousness of someone just going in on the fun of the deception and showing that glint in her eyes when she comes up with a new angle to mess with Billy a bit. At the same time she manages to be completely convincing in the sincere desire for a kind of connection which she creates this interesting persistence even in her meek deliveries that is rather wonderful. In so many ways the part shouldn't work, but it absolutely does and I think she probably in part is so essential to being able to allow us to be in Gallo's presence for so long. Contrasting that is the Opposite of Sex of her character who basically brandishes herself as pure evil who just enjoys manipulating everyone in doing this phony kid brat routine, which she undercuts with her always callous narration that is making fun of the film more often than not. As much as the film doesn't quite come together fully, Ricci's performance certainly does, and rides every development most effectively in creating the right command of her character...even though the film is far less about her than most retrospectives would have you believe.)
Dahlstrom & Liljeberg - (Another case of contrasts in extreme naturalism one as the popular girl one as the outcast both dealing with their taboo feelings. Each is quite good in portraying just a straight reality with the different nuances in the sense of confusion of one or the sense of an anxiety inducing certainty in the other. Together though they have great chemistry with one another and you see the ease they have together, and the way they both come to life in this when together that makes them just seem ideal in this way. There is a mutual life they suddenly find, and just a sense of fun more than anything towards life that is just beautifully realized by both.)
Tunney - (Working with really a challenging character where the character's tourettes are whatever are needed to make a scene occur. Regardless, I think she manages to find some sense within her own work wherever the scenes she's in manage to throw her, and they throw her many, many random places that she needs to basically be on the edge one, romantice another, and just all over the place. To her credit though she is convincing at all, to the point that one can at least believe her in a given scene even if I don't really believe the scene.)
Watson & Griffiths - (Again the script makes too much of contrasts I think with Watson being this extreme personality and Griffiths having to be passive and self-sacrificing. Regardless Watson can play those extreme emotions quite potently even if I question the writing, I don't question her at any point, and makes a convincing case for the character. Griffiths as well brings a lot of warmth and emotional honesty consistently even if the character seems too simple with the way she just lets things happen. Watson creates a convincing way of her character falling into physical disrepair and creates the emotional collapse believable. Griffiths on the other hand is moving in showing her dismay to that. Both are very good, though again the film is far less.)
Kudrow - (Think she manages to very effectively not fall into pure caricature despite the character purposefully being set up as such as the overt puritanical type. Kudrow doesn't make it so simple though nicely balancing within her comedic overtones, a sense of the far more real emotional distress that does define her beliefs, giving a convincing portrayal of the moving out of her shell and becoming freer in a way that is convincing in her growth of her own happiness.)
Sheedy - (A shame that she wasn't able to parlay this into a genuine resurgence because even though the film suffers from too much aimlessness, she's quite captivating in portraying this sort of natural switch between the extremely confident artist, and the extremely broken drug addict. Sheedy doesn't switch notes exactly but rather creates this flow in showing how one influences the other and vice versa. Creating a believable sense of the woman lost in herself even if she seems so very capable in what she does. Sheedy remains fascinating even if I wish the film gave her a more interesting scenario to go through.)
Lyonne - (The start of her style I suppose though fashioned as a teenage girl trying to figure herself out. Lyonne though has effortless comedic timing even when playing a greater uncertainty even with that hint of brashness that would become more so her style.)
Oh - (Although within a certain note for much of the film she still plays sort of the shades of the overt emotion beneath the very specific intention quite powerfully, creating the sense of purpose that seems to propel her further though Oh naturally build that around a certain distance of someone trying to ignore all else but focusing on a singular event.)
Winfrey - (Probably one of her least sort of showy performances in that she's often very quiet in her work here, and is effective in alluding to the horrors of her past, while presenting this sense of a woman trying to move forward with what she has. Like so much of the film, I believed what she did within particularly insane scenes, which is impressive to a degree in itself.)
Tony: This comment might be overshadowed if there's a new post, in which case I'll copy and paste it for you.
For "The Boys", I'll echo the comparison I've heard from a few people and reviewers: "Invincible" is written by someone who likes superheroes, while "The Boys" is written by someone who dislikes them. The shows seem of the same vein as fairly modern, subversive takes on the genre. To answer your question specifically...not really. The Seven in "The Boys" is a clear riff on the Justice League, but most of the live action series is based on political and cultural commentary. Having a basic knowledge of superheroes would help, but I think you could follow it's own story and characters well enough.
Like I said, the first three seasons I found to be perversely entertaining, darkly comic, and of solid enough quality. The Kiwi pair, Karl Urban and Antony Starr, are really the MVPs of the show overall. Also, just as a personal aside...I found the romance between Frenchy/Kimiko to be WAAAYY more interesting than Hughie/Starlight.
Louis: There's an essay regarding Kagawa that describes her speaking voice as melodic.
Well, that is certainly true, isn't it?
Mitchell Murray: They are building up to closing the plothole this season. Season 1 of gen v is also connected to it. I know the creator says you should be able to watch i seperately but that is only kind of true
Tony Kim: The boys originate from a terrible comic of it's same name where the subversion is that all the superheroes are massive assholes with enlarged egos. The show makes it deeper and brings nuance to the characthers and make it more grounded to the reality.
You could say that the boys only exist because of the creators hate of the superhero genre.
Horrocks - (Her impressions are gold and very impressive by themselves. Unfortunately mostly she just needs to be meek and emotionally distraught the rest of the time. She's good at that as well, but man this film really wastes what she is doing on the whole.)
Deneuve - (Carries her powerful presence around, though man the film is so dull, but she does what she can within that.)
Curran - (Her performance is very effective in creating this environment of the woman who raised the extreme misogynistic men. Curran is great in showing the sides of the woman who could create this without being overtly fiendish. In fact she grants you a sense of her own emotional distress at what her sons have become and her horror whenever they begin lashing out at her. She portrays that sense of just being lost so very potently and powerfully that is quite moving in her moments of realization though powerless to do anything other than react in her horror most of the time. But she's just as convincing in showing the enabler when defending her son from the police and you see this mother of much younger children suddenly still offering defense, even though her sons are too far gone at this point. She creates the full sense of how the "boys" could become as they are, without at all being evil in herself, just not being able to stand up to the virus of hate.)
Elise - (I have to give her much credit for being able to go beyond not only not getting covered up by the film's bizarre choices, but being able to actually thrive around them. Elise consistently keeps her head up creating a convincing and complete portrayal of the woman trying to move on without the weight of the past though with an empathy for it. Elise offers some essential tangible emotional sense within the film that is particularly needed when she is acting around Newton. Elise is always completely convincing in creating her own individual journey of working through the old horrors in a believable way, against Newton who is just ridiculous.)
Posey - (She manages to find some fun but also some genuine humanity in creating the character's desires for love sensibilities throughout the film. She manages to balance the film's oddball tone well within her own work, creating the sense of a real person, even while oftentimes needing to play with the darkly comic insanity with as much natural ease.)
Huston - (As the step moms go, she is properly horrible and hateable, where she accentuates just the pompous disregard at every turn with a biting and diabolical edge to her consistently. Huston nicely I think has some human moments, however not humanity to show empathy, but rather humanity to show just how vile her character is in showing the certain insecurities that propel her to make some of her most hideous decisions.)
Wagner - (Like Woods, found her completely convincing in the role of the drug addict codependent girlfriend, where she effectively went between such extreme emotions yet in a way that is always convincing in creating the immediate sense of the way she goes from high to low, most literally in a drug induced state, but also in her emotional need. Wagner shows the way it is all jubilation to horror, and not much in-between because that is what her existence is.)
Collette - (Both performances are effective in just bringing a lot very quickly. As the "wife of Bowie" she balances a nice sense of her own personal style that is first of the world, yet brings the depth that reveals itself to show the very real frustrations when the world's "style" interferes with genuine decency. Collette showed that sense of betrayal in a moving fashion. In The Boys her part is limited yet she makes it especially heartbreaking by showing how genuine her want for affection and concern, for a despicable man is, and it is only when he goes from one moment of abuse to another that she leaves in such visceral distress.)
Na - (Brings a nice degree of this comedy in her performance as the mother that isn't doting, rather there is always this matching scheming energy, yet the lack of any humanity, that brings the right dark comedy to her performance as the mother who just wants to keep the ship running regardless of how bad things get.)
Tomei - (Playing the drug addict sex pot, she has plenty of fun and is entertaining as such particularly as this pseudo mentor role, though always undercutting it in presenting her own rather extreme desperation within all of it. I would say where her character goes is where the film falters the most, but Tomei is always good regardless.)
Hamliton - (Just directly visceral work, that is quite powerful in bringing to life such extreme emotional states and not seeming over the top.)
Cuervo - (Brings a nice straightforward quality to her performance where she always suggests the woman just living by her choices and not at all suffering the judgments of the titular man. Bringing this certain force within the manner.)
Streep - (Falls into the "not sure she needed to be nominated" group, but she is good in the part regardless. Bringing a nice combination between a mother's warmth but with a certain quiet judgment, while effectively presenting the decaying state of her character.)
Luke:
Barrymore - 3.5(There were times where I think she fell a little bit into "overemphasis theater" but mostly found she brought a charm with the right sort of spritely dogged determination. Creating enough of the sort of grace needed for your ideal Cinderella even if I perhaps found her most emotional moments maybe the least convincing.)
Newton - 1Wiseau(As the scene where she wants Glover her to touch her "on the inside part" does move over to pure comedy. And here's why Stone deserved all the praise I and others gave her last year, as this performance is what hers would've been if she had not been great in Poor Things. Every choice of Newton's feels as labored as possible, while also being ridiculous as possible. You never see what she's doing coming but what you always can see is just how much it will baffle you consistently in her performance. Being utterly ridiculous in her way doesn't feel like a product of trauma, just a product of horrendous acting choices, which are out on a limb, but never does she not crash down with that limb.)
Zeta-Jones - 3.5(I mean she falls into maybe top ten sexiest cinematic characters to be perfectly honest. And part of that is Zeta-Jones's performance in the dance and sparring scene, both which she excels with in just very much playing into the horniness of the character, that doesn't feel ridiculous, it just works in just being part of the intended eroticism of both scenes. I think outside of those scenes, she delivers a nice earnestness in portraying the conflict over her true father, however I would say she's more just *fine* with that aspect.)
Matt:
I believe so.
Lucas, Omar, Luke & Jonathan:
I will see if I can make time for most of those.
Razor:
Eternity and a Day's direction is very much the film in inspiring this very specific rhythm that crafts a feeling of memory, dream, time but also really more. It's kind of a film that works in the way it eases between such elements, all as one that you can follow a man's very personal journey, then have a seemingly random interruption, yet that interruption just seems as one as any other aspect. There is the sense of it that it manages to never break itself by having the sense a journey of discovery for each of us as we pass through this existence with a specific elegance, that certainly one can connect to with Tarkovsky's very exact approach, and for me, an instance where this success is by finding that exact way the camera focuses, in, the way the movement, the precise blocking of actors, while making it the natural discovery. It is a film where everything seems all so easy, yet obviously was so very precise, yet perfect in creating this visceral experience of living in a way that just is and works, without ever seeming anything but truth.
Luke:
Blethyn - 2(Not good, she just yells about every line and accentuates as much noise as possible that I think is supposed to be funny and occasionally even moving, however all of it just ends up being extremely grating. It isn't one where she provides any balance within her work, it just is at this extreme constantly that unfortunately gets tiresome as soon as she starts.)
Omar:
Li - 4.5(I will say probably the core of the epic, that I wouldn't say entirely favors her enough to completely kind of properly guide as like the best epics have. Having said that, Li is impressive in the way she really can play such disparate notes without seeming to break her character. As there are times where she is just the charismatic seeming heroine, which of course she excels with in bringing that quiet dignified charm to her performance. However she also suddenly has to be a manipulative near femme fatale, which Li excels with as well in creating this cutting sense of conviction within her intentional manipulations for her power. But within all of that, where I think she manages to make a cohesion is creating the sense of empathy for her character in her reaction to the results of some of the mechanizations of the plot, where she portrays powerfully the emotional burden within it all.)
Shaggy:
6. Steven Spielberg - Saving Private Ryan
7. Joel & Ethan Coen - The Big Lebowski
8. Vincent Gallo - Buffalo '66
9. Kim Jee-woon - The Quiet Family
10. Alex Proyas - Dark City
Tahmeed:
I basically feel the same way about it, but even more distance from it's time of oversaturation helps.
Luke:
Li would be #11
Tim:
Uh...in Zemeckis I don't trust. I have a feeling it will do worse, what Ghost Story did better, with a more overt gimmick and a far more distracting visual choice.
Louis: your thoughts on Theo James in The White Lotus? And how do you think Glenn Howerton would have done in Jake Lacy's and James' roles?
Louis: If you don't manage to see Quest For Camelot and to be fair, it's not an essential, you don't mind if I ask for thoughts on scenes and a couple of songs.
Louis: Ratings and thoughts on Dodds and Lynskey in Ever After.
Kinds of Kindness is my favorite non-McNamara Lanthimos, as it seems like some of the elements of those films might've rubbed off him just a bit. He hamstrings his actors less than his pre-McNamara films, letting them be less dronish and inhuman, though describing anyone as strictly "normal" here would be a stretch. However in this instance in the portrayal of three different forms of toxic relationships I found it most captivating for the first two stories, in finding some truths within the oddities, I particularly liked the second story that one can take as a depiction of Capgras delusion, or perhaps just the twisted view of a delusional, and schizophrenic abuser. I will say the third story lost a little momentum for me, though I don't think it even because it was less than, I think I just had my fill with the first two, and I might've liked it just as much had it been the first our second. And perhaps that speaks to less the stories themselves, and perhaps all of it could've been tightened as a whole to have kept my hungry for me. Regardless I still didn't feel that way until I got to the third story, and perhaps when I can watch it again at home, I might skip straight to third just to see if it proves that to be true.
Stone - 4.5
Dafoe - 4
Qualley - 3.5
Chau - 3.5
Alwyn - 3
Athie - 3
Louis: What are your category placements for Joseph Quinn in A Quite Place: Day One and Plemons, Stone and Dafoe in Kinds Of Kindness.
Lucas:
James I found to be surprisingly effective in a role that is setup to be really pretty one note. James I thought delivered on that pompous prodding note of the overt machismo who brandishes his confidence in all the wrong ways. James though I thought managed to not become one note even when portraying that note, managing to balance moments in there to create the sense of the husband and dad at times even when the character is at his worst. James doesn't ever leave as simple as he could be, as good as he is in portraying that simplicity.
Howerton would be too old now (though I'm sure he'd tell me the opposite), however he'd be ideal for both. In fact much of Lacy's story you could easily turn into a Dennis story.
Luke:
Dodds - 3.5(Enjoyably horrible as the bad step-sister in just playing up her own pompous disregard that nicely matches Huston similarly horrible demeanor, and brings the right sense of bafflement in the ending to make her comeuppance enjoyable.)
Lynskey - 3.5(Rather nicely portrays the moments of hesitation and quiet sympathy for "Cinderella" throughout and builds naturally to her moments towards the end where she takes a bit more active role in creating the sense of horror towards the rest of her family's actions.)
Quinn is co-lead, even though he enters late. Plemons and Stone are both leads, though Plemons is the *most* lead. Dafoe is definitely supporting.
RIP Martin Mull
RIP Martin Mull
RIP Martin Mull
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