Devane is the only one I've seen since I did request him, he is fantastic the only issue is that the film spends a little too much time with the Deputy investigating but when its on Devane he is great.
Trap reminds me a bit of Red Eye, where the film works when it's in the pressure cooker environment in the promised premise, but once it leaves, it falls off the rails. I would say this film even more so than that one, as it decides to not only stretch all credibility of the scenario, loses momentum/narrative focus but also unfortunately/needlessly introduces an extremely tired serial killer motivation trope into it. And all that's a shame because Hartnett is committed in the central role, and the first two thirds, do work, there are some conveniences, some Shyamalanese lines/line deliveries (always hard to tell who's a serial killer in a Shyamalan film when anyone can suddenly act like an alien), but overall there's real sense of tension with that Hitchcockian notion of putting us into the shoes of the killer as he tries to think his way out of it with one trick after another, there's a real sense of the environment of this concert, it really does ratchet up the stakes towards seemingly some great climax....instead we get a collapse in the third act that kind of ruins the whole thing.
Perfect Blue's direction I think pushes the animated form while also pushing the form of the psychological thriller, through the animated form. As obviously when the directorial decisions happen and how they happen is very different in an animated film, so what you have is this crafted tonal piece of kind of opening with sort of the generic pop type and then creating this very adult decay of that as we see the pop star not only lose her "innocence" professionally but also fall into this desperate world of decay. And there's a key to his choice I think to edit the film, which again editing is much earlier with animated films than live action traditionally, he purposefully edits much more like a live action thriller than an animated film that makes this particularly dynamic in how tensely charged it is. There is no comfort in the animation, in fact the sort of reality breaks, like in the depiction of the stalker or the "original" Mima, are the most horrifying aspects of the work, where Kon balances this specific sense of one end telling the thriller, then sort of amplifying the psychological horror through the twists via the animation.
Acting:
1. Refusing to charge the hill - The Thin Red Line 2. The Hut - The Thin Red Line 3. My Son's a bait salesman - The Thin Red Line 4. I've seen another world - The Thin Red Line 5. Tall fires Staros - The Thin Red Line 6. Witt's final scene - The Thin Red Line 7. Where's Your Spark Now - The Thin Red Line 8. Tall sees a dead soldier - The Thin Red Line 9. Staros and Tall argue about orders - The Thin Red Line 10. Staro's Prayer - The Thin Red Line
HM: "What am gonna do for Friends" - SLC Punk, Bus Ride - Central Station, Jacob's "Girlfriend" - A Simple Plan
And just for the sake of variety 10 scenes not from The Thin Red Line:
1. D-Day - Saving Private Ryan 2. Ghost - Festen 3. "Why Do Fools Rush In" - Buffalo '66 4. Dancing - Eternity and a Day 5. Doppleganger - Perfect Blue 6. Final Run - Run Lola Run 6. De Jesus bowls - The Big Lebowski 7. Sexy Duel - The Mask of Zorro 8. Final Plague - The Prince of Egypt 9. Ashes - The Big Lebowski 10. Truman's escape - The Truman Show
Savage's performance, which I'll admit I kind of forgot about, is powerful work in portraying the man completely lost in his survivor's guilt and just broken amidst the battlefield. Bringing this potent sense of the visceral loss, but also the quiet internalized intensity of the man completely haunted by what happened to him the battle now just almost kind of a strange living ghost while the battle itself is still going on.
Rooney is startling to say the least if not fully horrifying as he makes his expressions of insanity, that it was said he had a mental breakdown and from here it doesn't seem too far fetched as his performance feels completely unhinged. And I'm not sure what the intention behind his Fugly was exactly, but I imagine he wasn't supposed to be THIS off-putting.
Bean is fine but doesn't have much to do. Just a bit of faulty bravado.
Pryce fails to make much of an impact despite his slightly overdone Irish accent, and doesn't really come in as a properly captivating villain that I think the part needed.
Question for anyone here: Has anyone ever had a very unexpected downgrade on a movie you once thought was a 5-star? I rewatched Magnolia and found it far more scattershot than memory (sorry Louis, gotta disagree with that 5 for Reilly). The weird thing I have absolutely no mutuals who fed me any sort of critiques that would have made me reconsider it, so that's why I'm asking for an unexpected example.
Aikawa & Kagawa - (Both give performances that are as the "heroes" for many such films, however neither depict themselves as such. Aikawa giving off this cold manner that is much more the detached psychopath then Kagawa giving off this constant lust for violence like a complete sociopath. Each presenting any potential empathy as something that is more horrifying than anything, as each make the other men these vile creatures despite getting seemingly revenge that is typically justified in film.)
Tony:
Now Gary and Celeste meeting is a scene that completely works, where there is just chemistry pouring out of the screen, where both wonderfully play the "role" then also the obvious knowing quality of who each is, however that aspect is defined by the intensity of their attraction for one another. A scene that completely works as a combination of romance and eroticism, particularly when the jump to the consummation within the scene makes it matter of fact something that was going to happen, and the way they look and talk to one another makes it so it isn't a jump ahead it simply is what was already going to be based on their interactions at the dinner table.
Max's staging skills as a most impressive, I think his screenplay though could still use some work...a bit like Fear and Desire...a bit derivative and aimless series of military cliches but well presented in terms of the direction.
Moonchild, right there with Fools Rush in, is a scene I just adore, as it again has the heightened lighting as it focuses on another character's artistic measure and joy of performance within the world that is filled with a lot of unpleasantness and pain. The film giving just the moment to the wonderful little dance of joy is just perfect.
Anonymous:
Patric is one note of being hideous however is effective in that one note like Eckhart in In the Company of Men. Eckhart too makes better use of the tone, playing again basically a near one note, but he's fine with it. Stiller is awkward, miscast as a Shakespeare teacher, and just sticks out poorly within the material.
Louis: Lol, I was going to ask if you were gonna see Heroes as Henry Winkler did get Globe nominated as I am always keen for you to see Golden Globe nominees who could have been snubbed for the Oscar and maybe a hidden gem.
Having seen your Letterboxd...OH DEAR lol. I'm guessing you didn't agree with Winkler getting that Globe nomination?
Louis: Who do you think was Number 6 in the Best Actor race that year?
Dreyfuss and Burton were the favorites, Allen and Mastroianni seemed fairly safe since their films were doing well in the precursors whereas Travolta seemed like a bit of a surprise and certainly not a guarantee.
Robert: Okay. I think "Drive" might just be the one for me. It was an unquestionably 5 stars movie for me, once. Unfortunately, on my recent viewing, it just didn't want hit me like it did around 2010s. Unfortunately, I have fell out of love with Gosling's performance too. While I will forever respect his approach to the role, as I always will appreciate a minimalistic turn, I am not as passionate about it now. For the first time ever, I actually felt that "superficial, all style no substance" criticism, some have against this movie, during my recent viewing.
I will say deciphering #6 is one of the hardest in any year.
As take the Oscar favorites with a lead actor to choose from:
Close Encounters, Dreyfuss was disqualified.
Star Wars, Hamill seems VERY unlikely, as that's never the type of performance they've gone for.
If you look at the Globe not nodded, Brooks was never happening, Peck, Winkler, Pacino and De Niro were all from critical flops, which the academy typically cared much more about than the Globes ever did. And given their films flopped with the academy overall (including New York New York somehow missing a song nomination), it is hard to believe it was anyone of them.
And then the critical favorites of NYFCC going to Gielgud and the NSFC to Carney, are notable as both are the only two times in the 70's when the winners of those prizes didn't get an Oscar nomination.
If I was forced to guess, I'd say *maybe* Carney, only as a followup to his Oscar win, and the fact that his film did get a screenplay nod. However even then he missed out on a globe nod, and the film you could argue underperformed because Tomlin also missed, after getting a globe nod, winning the Silver Bear, and later being nominated for a BAFTA.
Louis: Speaking of Romeo + Juliet, your thoughts on Radiohead's Exit Music (for a Film)? And without getting too off-topic, what is your opinion of them as a band?
Louis: Completely agree, John Travolta is basically Paul Mescal in Aftersun, he was a surprise but yet he wasn't because there wasn't much else to choose from.
Just to let everyone here know ahead of time, there will most likely be another government-mandated internet shutdown in Bangladesh, so if I don't comment for a few days, that's why.
Don't care much for it, too much vibrato, don't really think the vocals and the music cohere that well, particularly find the piano melody just kind of all over the place and doesn't really build towards anything.
Tony:
A song fitting per its name as it very much plays like an exit for walking out of a film, with the sort of nearly ominous calm for much of the song, with just the very subdued vocals, and instrumentation as a kind of eulogy fitting the the Romeo and Juliet story. Something though that sort of almost builds, though in an alternative way with the sort of piercing tech noises in the climax to make it a fittingly sort of imperfect finale, that sounds nice but isn't exactly beautiful.
Honestly I'm not exceptionally familiar with the Radiohead as a whole, beyond of course Greenwood's work as a composer.
Bryan:
I like Challengers and Bull Durham, makes perfect sense but not one that immediately spring to your mind. Cobweb and Birdman also are natural explorations in similar sense. Thelma and Nebraska I mean as Squibb double dip, plus a generational/aging story, plus a plot built around a scam, makes sense.
Maxxxine 1980's directed by Brian De Palma:
Maxine: Kathleen Turner Elizabeth Bender: Christine Lahti Leon: Reg E. Cathey Det. Williams: Diana Muldaur Det. Torres: Dennis Franz Teddy Knight: Woody Strode John Labat: Jack Palance Ernest Miller: John Lithgow
Uhh, I think House of the Dragon maybe should've been two more episodes and maybe get to the actual battle that Daemon's whole storyline was building to. Which I'd say I think there was probably a slightly tighter balance to be had without going full Game of Thrones season 8. Which speaking of, I do think it is a shame whenever the show refers to the Song of Ice and Fire, since we all know the long night is just one single really hard to see night where the White Walkers are defeated by one super leap. Anyway, this isn't a case though where I disliked the scenes though, even with the overall imperfect pacing, as I liked many of the individual scenes, including the reversals of Jace sounding a little Joffreyesque, meanwhile Daemon and Criston showing their better selves. The final montage particularly was superb, even if I wished we got there faster...however I could maybe see this as maybe a season's pacing that might work better in retrospect if season 3 unquestionably delivers...though I think some will have been a bit repetitive no matter what. Also the Step Stones, felt out of a different, much worse show, with Abigail Thorn delivering a season nadir performance.
Speaking of Season cast ranking:
1. Emma D'Arcy 2. Tom Glynn-Carney 3. Matt Smith 4. Matthew Needham 5. Eve Best 6. Ewan Mitchell 7. Simon Russell Beale 8. Rhys Ifans 9. Phia Saban 10. Olivia Cooke 11. Steve Toussaint 12. Gayle Rankin 13. Harry Collett 14. Tom Bennett 15. Jefferson Hall 16. Kieran Bew 17. Freddie Fox 18. Fabian Frankel (got better as the season went on) 19. Clinton Liberty 20. Abubakar Salim 21. Phoebe Campbell 22. Bethany Antonia 23. Ellora Torchia 24. Kurt Egyiawan 25. Sonoya Mizuno 26. Abigail Thorn
Tempted to go higher on Beale given he makes the absolute most out of a part, that in most actor's hands would've been completely forgettable.
8000's:
I see Howard more so than Colman, as Colman always has an outward charm where Howard can do a colder charm that is more fitting for Sherlock, saying that it is Howard at his best.
Bit of game related news from myself...I just finished my playthrough of "The Evil Within 2" tonight. I enjoy the first game, despite it's flaws, so I was interested in playing the sequel for the longest time.
Let me get my issues out of the way. Maybe it's because I played on casual difficulty, but I didn't find the game anywhere near as challenging/tense as the first. I also wish it kept it's conclusion fully different from it's predecessor, by removing the big monster fight. And Sebastian STILL isn't that good of a protagonist. I'd essentially describe the character as 2000s era Keanu Reeves. And like Keanu, who can go from completely fine to stilted in the same performance or even scene, Sebastian floats from brooding to wooden a little too much (Marqus Bobesich is an improvement on the original VA Anson Mount, however).
But with all of that said, the game IS a step up from the first in many regards. Better stealth mechanics, better animation quality, better world exploration, better consistency with the storie's progression. It also retroactively strengthens aspects of the first game that were pretty limited otherwise, such as Kidman's character, Sebastian's backstory/emotions, and the inner workings of STEM. I still wouldn't call either game masterpieces, but even at their cheesiest they are interesting, thrilling and reasonably effective as survival horror games.
To anyone here, I have a question somewhat similar to Robert's - are there any films you loved the one time you saw it, but for whatever reason, has faded in your memory to the point that you suspect you'd like it significantly less if you were to now rewatch it?
Tony, Robert: I might have a lot of them, actually.
Three Billboards kind of went down a bit for me in my most recent rewatch. I still like a lot in it, but some of its criticisms kind of weigh it down for me now.
Million Dollar Baby was a film I actually really liked back when I was getting into movies, but I don't think it'll stay with me upon another rewatch. Ditto American Beauty, which has only aged like a milk in my mind the more I think about it.
Oh, and I'm worried that might be the case for Roma too. I've no doubt its craftsmanship will hold up incredibly well, but I haven't really thought about it since early 2019.
Also, Fight Club, which I haven't watched in like, over 6 years... and Joker, which I only remain fond of because the day I watched it on opening weekend was one of the best in my life.
...and maybe Mommy and Promising Young Woman too? Idk...
Louis: have you already watched Man of Marble? I’m not going to ask you anything about the movie, I was just curious since you have already watched the “sequel” Man of Iron.
There’s one 1977 movie I’d love to read your thoughts on. It’s Canal Zone, I don’t know if your familiar with Wiseman’s documentaries, but I suggest you to check out some of his movies.
1. Nick Nolte - The Thin Red Line 2. Jim Caviezel - The Thin Red Line 3. Elias Koteas - The Thin Red Line 4. Sean Penn - The Thin Red Line 5. Fernanda Montenegro - Central Station 6. Billy Bob Thornton - A Simple Plan 7. Frankie Potente - Run Lola Run 8. John Goodman - The Big Lebowski 9. Matthew Lillard - SLC Punk! 10. Nick Nolte - Affliction 11. Cate Blanchett - Elizabeth 12. James Woods - Another Day in Paradise 13. Jeff Bridges - The Big Lebwoski 14. Elodie Bouchez - The Dreamlife of Angels 15. Natacha Regnier - The Dreamlife of Angels 16. Christina Ricci - Buffalo '66 17. Brendan Gleeson - The General 18. Edward Norton - American History X 19. Anthony Wong - Beast Cops 20. Peter Mullan - My Name Is Joe
Luke:
D'Arcy, Smith, Needham, Best, Mitchell, Ifans, Saban, Cooke, Toussaint all did fine continuations that I wouldn't say shook any of them to their cores, though they worked well with what they had even finding variation in some repeated notes.
Glynn-Carney - (Probably has the most increased role, where Mitchell was set as the instigator villain from last season and just expanded on that. Glynn-Carney I think effectively did not pigeon hole his performance as a single type of character. Playing well instead into the idea of just the extremely flawed human, in the way he portrayed genuine moments of joy or trying to be a good king albeit in a broken over eager way. At the same time presenting effectively the lesser savory vulnerabilities and anger as all stemming from the same needs of the character. Then in his second half being most effective in showing the brokenness of the man just stuck in his most vulnerable and terrified fear and anguish.)
Saban - (Managed to expand from just distant to more, in playing the sort of "on the spectrum" element of the character without overdoing it nor becoming one note. Playing well the way she comes across her emotions in a different yet convincing way. While also presenting her sort of foresight well as the right note between maybe just ramblings or some greater sense of understanding of the world.)
Beale - (Really has a very perfunctory role of a lot of "yes sirs" and "there's a message for you". To Beale's credit he found basically as much as possibly could in the particular way he side eyes certain moments, and just doesn't exactly act as the "servant" knight in the way you might quite expect. Accentuating certain "shade" on certain lines so subtly with a very quiet and nicely handled humor about his manner.)
Rankin - (I mean a fine creepy witch manner without becoming too much in the performance either, though I would say there is maybe a limited degree of depth as we never quite get to something more, though she plays the creepy enigmatic note well.)
Collett - (Thought he managed to go from just noble hero to potentially similarly foolish insecure man quite effectively. Bringing this sort of vulnerable discontent in a way not unlike Glynn-Carney, and going to a reserve of playing a pompousness that covers up those vulnerabilities.)
Omar:
I have not, but will. I probably would've watched them in the correct order if I had known Iron was a sequel. I will also try to check out Canal Zone.
61 comments:
Louis: Ratings and thoughts on the cast of Serpent's Path.
1. Hauer
2. Plotnikov
3. Rey
4. Bruno
5. Devane
1. Devane
2. Hauer
2. Plotnikov
4. Rey
5. Bruno
No fucking clue. I just want Ford reassessed for Supporting, his work got even better for me last time I watched it.
1. Hauer
2. Bruno
3. Plotnikov
4. Rey
5. Devane
I don't know. Think I'll wait for the first review before I predict.
1. Hauer
2. Rey
3. Plotnikov
4. Devane
5. Bruno
There's no obvious choice but Hauer has the most potential.
1.Hauer
2.Rey
3.Devane
4.Plotnikov
5.Bruno
Devane is the only one I've seen since I did request him, he is fantastic the only issue is that the film spends a little too much time with the Deputy investigating but when its on Devane he is great.
1. Hauer
2. Devane
3. Rey
4. Plotnikov
5. Bruno
I thought Tommy Lee Jones was decent as well.
Yeah, I'm gonna sit this one out.
Louis: Your top ten acting moments and movie scenes from 1998.
And when you have time, your thoughts on the direction of Perfect Blue.
1. Rutger Hauer
2. William Devane
3. Fernando Rey
4. Bruno S.
5. Boris Plotnikov
Louis: Your thoughts on John Savage in The Thin Red Line, Mickey Rooney in Babe, Jonathan Pryce and Sean Bean in Ronin?
1. Hauer
2. Devane
3. Rey
4. Plotnikov
5. Bruno
Trap reminds me a bit of Red Eye, where the film works when it's in the pressure cooker environment in the promised premise, but once it leaves, it falls off the rails. I would say this film even more so than that one, as it decides to not only stretch all credibility of the scenario, loses momentum/narrative focus but also unfortunately/needlessly introduces an extremely tired serial killer motivation trope into it. And all that's a shame because Hartnett is committed in the central role, and the first two thirds, do work, there are some conveniences, some Shyamalanese lines/line deliveries (always hard to tell who's a serial killer in a Shyamalan film when anyone can suddenly act like an alien), but overall there's real sense of tension with that Hitchcockian notion of putting us into the shoes of the killer as he tries to think his way out of it with one trick after another, there's a real sense of the environment of this concert, it really does ratchet up the stakes towards seemingly some great climax....instead we get a collapse in the third act that kind of ruins the whole thing.
Hartnett - 4
Donoghue - 2
Shyamalan - 2.5
Mills - 2.5
Pill - 2.5
Langdon - 2
McPhail - 2
Tahmeed:
Perfect Blue's direction I think pushes the animated form while also pushing the form of the psychological thriller, through the animated form. As obviously when the directorial decisions happen and how they happen is very different in an animated film, so what you have is this crafted tonal piece of kind of opening with sort of the generic pop type and then creating this very adult decay of that as we see the pop star not only lose her "innocence" professionally but also fall into this desperate world of decay. And there's a key to his choice I think to edit the film, which again editing is much earlier with animated films than live action traditionally, he purposefully edits much more like a live action thriller than an animated film that makes this particularly dynamic in how tensely charged it is. There is no comfort in the animation, in fact the sort of reality breaks, like in the depiction of the stalker or the "original" Mima, are the most horrifying aspects of the work, where Kon balances this specific sense of one end telling the thriller, then sort of amplifying the psychological horror through the twists via the animation.
Acting:
1. Refusing to charge the hill - The Thin Red Line
2. The Hut - The Thin Red Line
3. My Son's a bait salesman - The Thin Red Line
4. I've seen another world - The Thin Red Line
5. Tall fires Staros - The Thin Red Line
6. Witt's final scene - The Thin Red Line
7. Where's Your Spark Now - The Thin Red Line
8. Tall sees a dead soldier - The Thin Red Line
9. Staros and Tall argue about orders - The Thin Red Line
10. Staro's Prayer - The Thin Red Line
HM: "What am gonna do for Friends" - SLC Punk, Bus Ride - Central Station, Jacob's "Girlfriend" - A Simple Plan
And just for the sake of variety 10 scenes not from The Thin Red Line:
1. D-Day - Saving Private Ryan
2. Ghost - Festen
3. "Why Do Fools Rush In" - Buffalo '66
4. Dancing - Eternity and a Day
5. Doppleganger - Perfect Blue
6. Final Run - Run Lola Run
6. De Jesus bowls - The Big Lebowski
7. Sexy Duel - The Mask of Zorro
8. Final Plague - The Prince of Egypt
9. Ashes - The Big Lebowski
10. Truman's escape - The Truman Show
Anonymous:
Savage's performance, which I'll admit I kind of forgot about, is powerful work in portraying the man completely lost in his survivor's guilt and just broken amidst the battlefield. Bringing this potent sense of the visceral loss, but also the quiet internalized intensity of the man completely haunted by what happened to him the battle now just almost kind of a strange living ghost while the battle itself is still going on.
Rooney is startling to say the least if not fully horrifying as he makes his expressions of insanity, that it was said he had a mental breakdown and from here it doesn't seem too far fetched as his performance feels completely unhinged. And I'm not sure what the intention behind his Fugly was exactly, but I imagine he wasn't supposed to be THIS off-putting.
Bean is fine but doesn't have much to do. Just a bit of faulty bravado.
Pryce fails to make much of an impact despite his slightly overdone Irish accent, and doesn't really come in as a properly captivating villain that I think the part needed.
Louis: Thoughts on Kagawa in Serpent's Path
Louis: Thoughts on these '98 scenes?
Gary and Celeste meet - Out of Sight
Max Fischer's "Heaven and Hell" - Rushmore
"Moonchild" - Buffalo '66
Question for anyone here: Has anyone ever had a very unexpected downgrade on a movie you once thought was a 5-star? I rewatched Magnolia and found it far more scattershot than memory (sorry Louis, gotta disagree with that 5 for Reilly). The weird thing I have absolutely no mutuals who fed me any sort of critiques that would have made me reconsider it, so that's why I'm asking for an unexpected example.
Robert: I guess more recent examples of that for me would be La La Land and Hacksaw Ridge.
Louis: Your rating and thoughts on Jason Patric, Aaron Eckhart and Ben Stiller in Your Friends and Neighbors
Luke:
Aikawa & Kagawa - (Both give performances that are as the "heroes" for many such films, however neither depict themselves as such. Aikawa giving off this cold manner that is much more the detached psychopath then Kagawa giving off this constant lust for violence like a complete sociopath. Each presenting any potential empathy as something that is more horrifying than anything, as each make the other men these vile creatures despite getting seemingly revenge that is typically justified in film.)
Tony:
Now Gary and Celeste meeting is a scene that completely works, where there is just chemistry pouring out of the screen, where both wonderfully play the "role" then also the obvious knowing quality of who each is, however that aspect is defined by the intensity of their attraction for one another. A scene that completely works as a combination of romance and eroticism, particularly when the jump to the consummation within the scene makes it matter of fact something that was going to happen, and the way they look and talk to one another makes it so it isn't a jump ahead it simply is what was already going to be based on their interactions at the dinner table.
Max's staging skills as a most impressive, I think his screenplay though could still use some work...a bit like Fear and Desire...a bit derivative and aimless series of military cliches but well presented in terms of the direction.
Moonchild, right there with Fools Rush in, is a scene I just adore, as it again has the heightened lighting as it focuses on another character's artistic measure and joy of performance within the world that is filled with a lot of unpleasantness and pain. The film giving just the moment to the wonderful little dance of joy is just perfect.
Anonymous:
Patric is one note of being hideous however is effective in that one note like Eckhart in In the Company of Men. Eckhart too makes better use of the tone, playing again basically a near one note, but he's fine with it. Stiller is awkward, miscast as a Shakespeare teacher, and just sticks out poorly within the material.
Louis: Lol, I was going to ask if you were gonna see Heroes as Henry Winkler did get Globe nominated as I am always keen for you to see Golden Globe nominees who could have been snubbed for the Oscar and maybe a hidden gem.
Having seen your Letterboxd...OH DEAR lol. I'm guessing you didn't agree with Winkler getting that Globe nomination?
RatedRStar:
Yeah you could say, I wasn't a fan.
Louis: Who do you think was Number 6 in the Best Actor race that year?
Dreyfuss and Burton were the favorites, Allen and Mastroianni seemed fairly safe since their films were doing well in the precursors
whereas Travolta seemed like a bit of a surprise and certainly not a guarantee.
Louis: If you don't mind me asking, what was your rating for Kagawa.
Robert: Okay. I think "Drive" might just be the one for me. It was an unquestionably 5 stars movie for me, once. Unfortunately, on my recent viewing, it just didn't want hit me like it did around 2010s. Unfortunately, I have fell out of love with Gosling's performance too. While I will forever respect his approach to the role, as I always will appreciate a minimalistic turn, I am not as passionate about it now. For the first time ever, I actually felt that "superficial, all style no substance" criticism, some have against this movie, during my recent viewing.
RatedRStar:
I will say deciphering #6 is one of the hardest in any year.
As take the Oscar favorites with a lead actor to choose from:
Close Encounters, Dreyfuss was disqualified.
Star Wars, Hamill seems VERY unlikely, as that's never the type of performance they've gone for.
If you look at the Globe not nodded, Brooks was never happening, Peck, Winkler, Pacino and De Niro were all from critical flops, which the academy typically cared much more about than the Globes ever did. And given their films flopped with the academy overall (including New York New York somehow missing a song nomination), it is hard to believe it was anyone of them.
And then the critical favorites of NYFCC going to Gielgud and the NSFC to Carney, are notable as both are the only two times in the 70's when the winners of those prizes didn't get an Oscar nomination.
If I was forced to guess, I'd say *maybe* Carney, only as a followup to his Oscar win, and the fact that his film did get a screenplay nod. However even then he missed out on a globe nod, and the film you could argue underperformed because Tomlin also missed, after getting a globe nod, winning the Silver Bear, and later being nominated for a BAFTA.
I think whoever was #6 was far in the distance.
Luke:
4
Louis: Your thoughts on Kissing You from Romeo + Juliet.
Louis: Speaking of Romeo + Juliet, your thoughts on Radiohead's Exit Music (for a Film)? And without getting too off-topic, what is your opinion of them as a band?
Louis: Completely agree, John Travolta is basically Paul Mescal in Aftersun, he was a surprise but yet he wasn't because there wasn't much else to choose from.
Perfectionist: Yeah, that's one I'm kind of afraid to rewatch unless I'm in a very specific mood.
Louis: Your 1980s cast & director for Maxxxine?
Also, thoughts on these double feature pairings?
Cobweb/Birdman
Challengers/Bull Durham
Thelma/Nebraska
Just to let everyone here know ahead of time, there will most likely be another government-mandated internet shutdown in Bangladesh, so if I don't comment for a few days, that's why.
Tahmeed: Take care, buddy. All the prayers sent out your way, and the people of Bangladesh.
Tahmeed: Stay safe!
Tahmeed: My heart goes out to you, man. I hope things turn out okay.
Tahmeed: Best wishes and stay safe, man.
Sorry to hear that Tahmeed, hope for the best for you and your country.
Jonathan:
Don't care much for it, too much vibrato, don't really think the vocals and the music cohere that well, particularly find the piano melody just kind of all over the place and doesn't really build towards anything.
Tony:
A song fitting per its name as it very much plays like an exit for walking out of a film, with the sort of nearly ominous calm for much of the song, with just the very subdued vocals, and instrumentation as a kind of eulogy fitting the the Romeo and Juliet story. Something though that sort of almost builds, though in an alternative way with the sort of piercing tech noises in the climax to make it a fittingly sort of imperfect finale, that sounds nice but isn't exactly beautiful.
Honestly I'm not exceptionally familiar with the Radiohead as a whole, beyond of course Greenwood's work as a composer.
Bryan:
I like Challengers and Bull Durham, makes perfect sense but not one that immediately spring to your mind. Cobweb and Birdman also are natural explorations in similar sense. Thelma and Nebraska I mean as Squibb double dip, plus a generational/aging story, plus a plot built around a scam, makes sense.
Maxxxine 1980's directed by Brian De Palma:
Maxine: Kathleen Turner
Elizabeth Bender: Christine Lahti
Leon: Reg E. Cathey
Det. Williams: Diana Muldaur
Det. Torres: Dennis Franz
Teddy Knight: Woody Strode
John Labat: Jack Palance
Ernest Miller: John Lithgow
Louis: How do you think Ronald Colman or Leslie Howard would have fared as Sherlock Holmes?
Louis, your overall thoughts on House of Dragon Season 3?
Uhh, I think House of the Dragon maybe should've been two more episodes and maybe get to the actual battle that Daemon's whole storyline was building to. Which I'd say I think there was probably a slightly tighter balance to be had without going full Game of Thrones season 8. Which speaking of, I do think it is a shame whenever the show refers to the Song of Ice and Fire, since we all know the long night is just one single really hard to see night where the White Walkers are defeated by one super leap. Anyway, this isn't a case though where I disliked the scenes though, even with the overall imperfect pacing, as I liked many of the individual scenes, including the reversals of Jace sounding a little Joffreyesque, meanwhile Daemon and Criston showing their better selves. The final montage particularly was superb, even if I wished we got there faster...however I could maybe see this as maybe a season's pacing that might work better in retrospect if season 3 unquestionably delivers...though I think some will have been a bit repetitive no matter what. Also the Step Stones, felt out of a different, much worse show, with Abigail Thorn delivering a season nadir performance.
Speaking of Season cast ranking:
1. Emma D'Arcy
2. Tom Glynn-Carney
3. Matt Smith
4. Matthew Needham
5. Eve Best
6. Ewan Mitchell
7. Simon Russell Beale
8. Rhys Ifans
9. Phia Saban
10. Olivia Cooke
11. Steve Toussaint
12. Gayle Rankin
13. Harry Collett
14. Tom Bennett
15. Jefferson Hall
16. Kieran Bew
17. Freddie Fox
18. Fabian Frankel (got better as the season went on)
19. Clinton Liberty
20. Abubakar Salim
21. Phoebe Campbell
22. Bethany Antonia
23. Ellora Torchia
24. Kurt Egyiawan
25. Sonoya Mizuno
26. Abigail Thorn
Tempted to go higher on Beale given he makes the absolute most out of a part, that in most actor's hands would've been completely forgettable.
8000's:
I see Howard more so than Colman, as Colman always has an outward charm where Howard can do a colder charm that is more fitting for Sherlock, saying that it is Howard at his best.
Nice analysis and ranking.
I'm sorry, I meant to ask about House of Dragon Season "2", as you probably guessed.
Ironically, the "3" came in because, I'm pretty much trying to forget about this season of HotD.
I am thinking of "Industry Season 3". What is your opinion of that show, Louis?
Had never heard of it, until now.
It's a crazy combo of Succession and Euphoria.
Louis: where would you rank Archie Barnes and Amanda Collin?
Lucas:
Barnes would be #13, Collin would be in the 20's, which isn't her fault, she was good with what she had, she just didn't have much.
Louis: What would be your Top 20 performances of 1998?
Bit of game related news from myself...I just finished my playthrough of "The Evil Within 2" tonight. I enjoy the first game, despite it's flaws, so I was interested in playing the sequel for the longest time.
Let me get my issues out of the way. Maybe it's because I played on casual difficulty, but I didn't find the game anywhere near as challenging/tense as the first. I also wish it kept it's conclusion fully different from it's predecessor, by removing the big monster fight. And Sebastian STILL isn't that good of a protagonist. I'd essentially describe the character as 2000s era Keanu Reeves. And like Keanu, who can go from completely fine to stilted in the same performance or even scene, Sebastian floats from brooding to wooden a little too much (Marqus Bobesich is an improvement on the original VA Anson Mount, however).
But with all of that said, the game IS a step up from the first in many regards. Better stealth mechanics, better animation quality, better world exploration, better consistency with the storie's progression. It also retroactively strengthens aspects of the first game that were pretty limited otherwise, such as Kidman's character, Sebastian's backstory/emotions, and the inner workings of STEM. I still wouldn't call either game masterpieces, but even at their cheesiest they are interesting, thrilling and reasonably effective as survival horror games.
I wish you the best, Tahmeed.
To anyone here, I have a question somewhat similar to Robert's - are there any films you loved the one time you saw it, but for whatever reason, has faded in your memory to the point that you suspect you'd like it significantly less if you were to now rewatch it?
Tony, Robert: I might have a lot of them, actually.
Three Billboards kind of went down a bit for me in my most recent rewatch. I still like a lot in it, but some of its criticisms kind of weigh it down for me now.
Million Dollar Baby was a film I actually really liked back when I was getting into movies, but I don't think it'll stay with me upon another rewatch. Ditto American Beauty, which has only aged like a milk in my mind the more I think about it.
Oh, and I'm worried that might be the case for Roma too. I've no doubt its craftsmanship will hold up incredibly well, but I haven't really thought about it since early 2019.
Also, Fight Club, which I haven't watched in like, over 6 years... and Joker, which I only remain fond of because the day I watched it on opening weekend was one of the best in my life.
...and maybe Mommy and Promising Young Woman too? Idk...
Tahmeed: Stay safe, man.
I'd like to thank everyone for your support.
The internet is back, my friends and family are safe...
And the autocratic Bangladeshi government has fallen.
Never been prouder of my people.
Louis: Your thoughts on #1 to #15 of the cast.
Luke, rating predictions for this lineup.
Tahmeed: Dauntless spirit of your people. I am truly amazed that you guys pulled it off!!! Congrats, dude.
Devane - 4.5
Hauer - 5
Rey - 4.5/5
Bruno - 4
Plotnikov - 4.5
Tahmeed: I’m so glad, dude
1. Plotnikov
2. Rey
3. Hauer
4. S.
5. Devane
Louis: have you already watched Man of Marble? I’m not going to ask you anything about the movie, I was just curious since you have already watched the “sequel” Man of Iron.
There’s one 1977 movie I’d love to read your thoughts on. It’s Canal Zone, I don’t know if your familiar with Wiseman’s documentaries, but I suggest you to check out some of his movies.
Tahmeed I'm glad everything went well for you and the people of Bangladesh.
Shaggy:
1. Nick Nolte - The Thin Red Line
2. Jim Caviezel - The Thin Red Line
3. Elias Koteas - The Thin Red Line
4. Sean Penn - The Thin Red Line
5. Fernanda Montenegro - Central Station
6. Billy Bob Thornton - A Simple Plan
7. Frankie Potente - Run Lola Run
8. John Goodman - The Big Lebowski
9. Matthew Lillard - SLC Punk!
10. Nick Nolte - Affliction
11. Cate Blanchett - Elizabeth
12. James Woods - Another Day in Paradise
13. Jeff Bridges - The Big Lebwoski
14. Elodie Bouchez - The Dreamlife of Angels
15. Natacha Regnier - The Dreamlife of Angels
16. Christina Ricci - Buffalo '66
17. Brendan Gleeson - The General
18. Edward Norton - American History X
19. Anthony Wong - Beast Cops
20. Peter Mullan - My Name Is Joe
Luke:
D'Arcy, Smith, Needham, Best, Mitchell, Ifans, Saban, Cooke, Toussaint all did fine continuations that I wouldn't say shook any of them to their cores, though they worked well with what they had even finding variation in some repeated notes.
Glynn-Carney - (Probably has the most increased role, where Mitchell was set as the instigator villain from last season and just expanded on that. Glynn-Carney I think effectively did not pigeon hole his performance as a single type of character. Playing well instead into the idea of just the extremely flawed human, in the way he portrayed genuine moments of joy or trying to be a good king albeit in a broken over eager way. At the same time presenting effectively the lesser savory vulnerabilities and anger as all stemming from the same needs of the character. Then in his second half being most effective in showing the brokenness of the man just stuck in his most vulnerable and terrified fear and anguish.)
Saban - (Managed to expand from just distant to more, in playing the sort of "on the spectrum" element of the character without overdoing it nor becoming one note. Playing well the way she comes across her emotions in a different yet convincing way. While also presenting her sort of foresight well as the right note between maybe just ramblings or some greater sense of understanding of the world.)
Beale - (Really has a very perfunctory role of a lot of "yes sirs" and "there's a message for you". To Beale's credit he found basically as much as possibly could in the particular way he side eyes certain moments, and just doesn't exactly act as the "servant" knight in the way you might quite expect. Accentuating certain "shade" on certain lines so subtly with a very quiet and nicely handled humor about his manner.)
Rankin - (I mean a fine creepy witch manner without becoming too much in the performance either, though I would say there is maybe a limited degree of depth as we never quite get to something more, though she plays the creepy enigmatic note well.)
Collett - (Thought he managed to go from just noble hero to potentially similarly foolish insecure man quite effectively. Bringing this sort of vulnerable discontent in a way not unlike Glynn-Carney, and going to a reserve of playing a pompousness that covers up those vulnerabilities.)
Omar:
I have not, but will. I probably would've watched them in the correct order if I had known Iron was a sequel. I will also try to check out Canal Zone.
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