I liked the beginning and the end, but I honestly thought they could have cut a good forty minutes out the middle, and I basically never say that. I never have a problem with them being long [that's what she said], but only if it serves the plot and all.

I finally got around to The Lives of Others, which also had a slowish middle but was great. Next is Red Doors and The Blue Lagoon, just to mix it up a little.

Fool For Love: Aka Shmuck for Amour or Dumbass for Affection

I was mystified why Altman got into his “filmed play” period and directing for the stage (aside from the not being able to get arrested in Hollywood thing). Live theatre plays away from his methods. It is something hinging on dialogue and character neither of which are Altman’s strong suits and for someone who is overly fond of moving the camera the confined space cramps him in to the extent the cinematography feels like a racquet ball.

Anyway as it turns out at this period of time Altman would direct just about anything for money. Sam Sheppard offered FFL to him on the “strength” of Come Back to Five and Dime: Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (the hell?!)

Altman turned his back on an earlier vow not to work for Golan-Globus and sold out to keep working. If you were selling out to the Go-Go boys, you were doing it for garage sale prices.

In directing the third-best play about incest I have seen Altman overlays so many bells and whistles on the movie the story predictably gets lost. The opening crane shot that feels like it goes on for nearly a half hour is almost an announcement of the intention of how Altman is going to obscure the story. Again he plagiarizes the opening of A Touch of Evil and in a most overwrought fashion because this play only has about four characters!

Also overdone is the motel set. Altman constructed it specifically for the location shoot in Santa Fe. As anyone who has endured the drive down any stretch of I-25 in New Mexico can tell you, you are carrying coals to Newcastle building another derelict stop-n-hump in New Mexico. This is exasperated by Altman moving the action from one place of the motel to another. Scenes are obviously staged in locations just for the sake of getting another part of the motel on film.

The music likewise obscures the piece and the choices a incongruous with the play and never establish any tone.

As for the cast we have Harry Dean Stanton playing a bigamist making it the most sane role he’s ever played. Randy Quaid fresh off his tour de force as Cousin Eddie and Kim Bassinger looking so trashy you’d swear this was a prequel of 8 Mile. Sam Sheppard stars and predictably is the only one who can grasp his character.

I’ll say it. I’ve seen it done better.

Some people cut themselves, The Dude watches Altman.
Just promise me you won't write emo angsty poetry about your masochism.

I watched The Tailor of Panama the other night. Is it me or did Geoffrey Rush play his character like he had Laryngitis? The way he spoke... I kept wanting to hand the man a throat lozenge. As for Pierce Brosnan I always enjoy it when he plays amoral bastards. He does it so well and he ends up being sexy in a sinister scary sort of way. As for the plot, it is a John LeCarre novel, 'nuff said. And hey you get to see Daniel Radcliffe years before he became the subject of a weird kind of lust among the more wack-a-doo fan wankers. Something for everyone.

It took me a minute to recover from the shock of seeing the Sheriff of Nottingham's crazy witch mother appearing as Miss Marple, but once I did I found Geraldine McEwan's performance in "The Murder at the Vicarage" to be very entertaining. I have the Hickson series in my queue, also.

*snort*

Rented 300 last night and it was incredible. Violence is so much better when Gerard Butler's abs are digitallly enhanced and it's put in historical context. As someone on IMDB said, if you're looking for dialogue watch another movie. The whole thing could have been silent and it would have the same effect.

Watching it on an IMAX screen would have been too intense, but a regular movie screen would have been perfect. Sorry I missed it when it was out. I think someone in the movie thread said it would be better, but I just didn't get around to it. It was in HD, though so that made it better.

Black Snake Moan was my second choice.

Perhaps not on the movie itself, but the meme landscape would be considerably different. Everyone would be looking to Ghost Rider for their scenery chewing-impressions, and that would have led to civillization ending and apes taking our place. Within the past six months.

Same here. Brick had lofty aspirations, but didn't quite work as a whole, which was disappointing to me.

I finished Cold Comfort Farm today. Great movie, but I want to know what was nasty in the woodshed!

You know... the usual.

Did a slightly odd double-feature last night - 300 and Big Night. 300 was tons of mindless "ooh!" entertainment, and Big Night (which I have been wanting to see for ages) is just a fantastic, wonderful movie. Loved it muchly.

The Timpano is as good as it looks. It is such an emotionally exciting dish.

Oh, Ghost Rider wasn't that bad.


I mean, I'm not saying it was good or anything, but it wasn't THAT bad.

Butterfly effect. What can I say? The butterfly is a volatile and fickle master.

Finally saw The Descent....oddly, after watching a few installments of the Planet Earth miniseries (the Caves episodes transitioned rather nicely: "And here we are on an eight-meter high mountain of guano, which is entirely covered in a thick, swarming blanket of cockroaches...")

Wonderful imagery! Seriously, I remember reading reviews at the time of The Descent's initial release that said something along the lines of how the first 40 minutes or so before the creatures even appear are the most effectively frightening.

Agreed: The director/production designer/DP use darkness and claustrophobia-inducing sets to great effect in creating a creeping paranoia and sense of impending doom.

I also like the symbolism of the story/characters, such as >>Sarah's 'rebirth' through the viscous pool of blood, and how the various hallucinations suggest that the entire event is occurring in Sarah's grief-addled mind, or how the events in the cave parallel Sarah's tragedy (how you can't go back in time to change things; you must always plow forward in life and face its challenge head-on no matter how traumatic), blah blah blah<<<

Also, the initial reveal of the creature(s) through the night vision video camera....whoa -- disturbing!

And yes, it was pretty cool that the entire cast was ass-kicking, athletic, daring, hear-us-roar (rather than shriek-in-terror) women.

But, like a few other things in the film, if I dwell on it too long it kind of falls apart. I realize, for example, that the characters were as weakly developed as most horror film characters (I couldn't really tell them apart, tell you most of their names, or what made them unique aside from broad stereotypes: The cocky one, the smart one, the loyal one, etc...).

Overall, a very good psychological & creature based horror film that confirms the fact that I will never, ever go spelunking. Ever.

Because I'm the queen of 2 years 2 late..The Station Agent. Loved it! Peter Dinklage was incredible, Patricia Clarkson was her usual great self, and Bobby Cannavale...god I love that man. I always forget how much I love him until I see him in something, and then he reminds me because he's so effortless in playing whatever role he's in. I was expecting a movie filled with cliches and A Very Important Message about overcoming obstacles, so I was pleasantly surprised that it was just a sweet little film about people dealing with their shit the best way they can.