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What MOVIE(s) have you been....seeing? watching? ARCHIVE
I watched GUMMO the other day. I hope that someone can rein in Harmony Korine some day. The guy's got tremendous talents, but man, they make for some shitty movies.
Watched Valkyrie on the plane and it wasn't half bad. Tom Cruise as Von Stauffenberg was actually not a bad choice, as Cruise can convincingly play a narcistic man of action, which is really not multidimensional. For the more difficult roles, like Fromm, Olbricht, Fellgiebel, Treskow etc, they used English actors.
For me, the July 20th plot is not about Stauffenberg. Nobody has to explain Von Stauffenberg to present day people weaned on superheroes. What we need to understand are the Becks, the Goerdelers, the Fellgiebels, Olbrichts. Men who knew they were serving and evil regime and yet couldn't stand up and act. They couldn't in '38 and '39 when it was clear where Hitler was going and there were still chances. ANd they couldn't in '42 and '43 until this larger than life Hero walked in, determined to DO IT.
If you read Joachim Fest's book Plotting Hitler's Death, you shake your head in disbelief in the inability of these people to act. Their clinging to dignity, oaths, honor, decency in the face of evil. And then, when it was all done and failed, they were proud to go to their death as if in failure they had redeemed themselves. As if in success, they would have been soiled. A remarkable and useless moral victory.
My favorite Tim Burton is "Ed Wood." Man that's a great movie. Johnny Depp plays Ed Wood as such a plucky, enthusiastic guy that never realizes he's failing but thinks he's winning. No clue how that stacks up to the real Ed Wood though.
Sweeney I have refused to see because I love love the musical and I don't think I can handle anyone other than Len Cariou and Angela Lansbury playing those characters.
That's the fuckin' truth. "Sweeney Todd" has to be my favourite musical next to "Into The Woods" and "West Side Story" (10 Fosse points to the person who can find the connection between the 3).
Dr_Mabuse wrote:
That's the fuckin' truth. "Sweeney Todd" has to be my favourite musical next to "Into The Woods" and "West Side Story" (10 Fosse points to the person who can find the connection between the 3).[/quote]
...other than Sondheim? That's the only one I can think of.
I watched Pan's Labyrinth and Miller's Crossing last night, both for the first time.
I want to rewatch Pan's Labyrinth as soon as possible. I think it had the most "WTF" moments of any movie I've ever seen. Plus incredibly beautiful and emotional. I had been trying to see this move for awhile because I had heard good things, and my expectations were blown away.
Miller's Crossing was great too. It put me in mind of a less-bleak Fargo. As with just about any Coen film, there's tons of memorable dialogue, but my favorite is this exchange:
Tom Reagan: So what's the deal, you get to live and Verna [Bernie's sister] has to be Leo's girl? Bernie: I have nothing to do with that, she'll sleep with anyone Tom, you know that! She even tried to teach me a thing or two about bed antics once. Some crackpot idea about saving me from my friends. She's a sick twist all right. Tom Reagan: She speaks highly of you. Bernie: Yeah, well, you stick by your family.
And the music is GREAT -- the opening title music is being used in the trailer for "The Last Guardian", sequel to the incredible "Shadow of the Colossus" and "Ico" video games.
Dr_Mabuse wrote:
That's the fuckin' truth. "Sweeney Todd" has to be my favourite musical next to "Into The Woods" and "West Side Story" (10 Fosse points to the person who can find the connection between the 3).
...other than Sondheim? That's the only one I can think of.[/quote]
I don't get the love for Sweeney Todd here. I thought it was Burton's worst film (tied with Batman Returns). However the two I think are his best, Mars Attacks! and Sleepy Hollow, haven't gotten much love here.
We had family movie night last night with my 3 year old choosing 'The Great Muppet Caper' and we watched 'Cape Fear' after they went to bed. I think Max Cady (in the first 3/4 of the film before he keeps coming back from the dead) is possibly the scariest bad guy in film. What is so frightening is the humanity of it all, how he is just some guy who doesn't like you and is very threatening and you can't do a damn thing about it.
I like Batman returns, But Sweeny Todd is god fucking aweful.
The leads can't sing for shit (esp Depp), the songs were nothing special, and the whole 'movie' experience was boring (half the songs just had people walking up and down a room, what the hell is that boring shit.) One of the worst musicals I have ever seen.
Watched Fifth Element 3 more times last week. Then got to see True Romance again and just finished watching A Knight's Tale. I've seen each of these films at least a dozen times and I don't get tired of them.
Saw Sweeney Todd and it was ok. Really, just ok. And I love musicals - does that make me anti-F:AT
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