The Movie Thread

[Alicat]

Heart of Gold, about (who else?) Neil Young, and directed by Jonathan Demme.

Club movie outing?

Count me in.

Me also.

me, three.

Cool! think about what days/times are good for y'all.

I vote for a ditch work day. Daytime, weekday!

[RGMike]

Heart of Gold, about (who else?) Neil Young, and directed by Jonathan Demme.

Club movie outing?

Count me in.

Me also.

me, three.

Cool! think about what days/times are good for y'all.

I vote for a ditch work day. Daytime, weekday!

Well ain't you a li'l devil. Sorry, I don't think I can pull that off.   :wink:

[Alicat]

Early afternoon with drinks and dinner afterwards. Why not!?

[mshray]

I vote for a ditch work day. Daytime, weekday!

Well ain't you a li'l devil. Sorry, I don't think I can pull that off.   :wink:

I just did that to see Match Point.  I got maybe 4/5 through and asked myself, is this really a Woody Allen film?  It was very, very good, but certainly the only one of his films that I've seen that lacked (afaict) any trademark Woody elements.  Scarlett, oh my.  Thanks for all the close ups Woody!

[RGMike]

I vote for a ditch work day. Daytime, weekday!

Well ain't you a li'l devil. Sorry, I don't think I can pull that off.   :wink:

I just did that to see Match Point.  I got maybe 4/5 through and asked myself, is this really a Woody Allen film?  It was very, very good, but certainly the only one of his films that I've seen that lacked (afaict) any trademark Woody elements.  Scarlett, oh my.  Thanks for all the close ups Woody!

It's his least Woodyish film, and I liked it a lot too. However I think the British setting and accents make it seem less Allen-esque than it would otherwise -- if you sat down and read the screenplay and imagined American actors, some of the dialogue would come across as "oh yeah, that's a Woody Allen line".  (In a way, it's Crimes & Misdemeanors without the comic relief.)  And it was indeed originally set in the Hamptons but he had trouble getting financing, until the BBC stepped in and then the idea of rewriting it as a London-set drama was born. And his next movie is British too -- a rom-com with Hugh Jackman, Ian (Deadwood) McShane and (again) Ms Johanssen. Woody says Scarlett is his new muse.

[Lightnin' Rod]

 It was very, very good, but certainly the only one of his films that I've seen that lacked (afaict) any trademark Woody elements.

Agreed, except for the bit with putting the shotgun together, which stood out for me as a very WA bit.  In essence, there's no Woody surrogate here, no neurotic mensch overthinking everything.  On the other hand, he did re-visit Crimes and Misdemeanors for plot points...

[RGMike]

 It was very, very good, but certainly the only one of his films that I've seen that lacked (afaict) any trademark Woody elements.

Agreed, except for the bit with putting the shotgun together, which stood out for me as a very WA bit.  In essence, there's no Woody surrogate here, no neurotic mensch overthinking everything.  On the other hand, he did re-visit Crimes and Misdemeanors for plot points...

C&M JINX!

I meant to say that it's the Allen film I've liked the most since Bullets Over B'way.  The only other one I've liked in the past dozen or so years was Sweet & Lowdown, mainly because of Sean Penn.

[Gazoo]

And it was indeed originally set in the Hamptons but he had trouble getting financing, until the BBC stepped in and then the idea of rewriting it as a London-set drama was born.

How does someone who just bought a $26 million townhouse* "have trouble getting financing"?  If he'd self-finance his films, he'd recoup a lot more fully.


* link: http://www.observer.com/therealestate/2006/01/woody-buys-259-m-townhouse.html
(we can't do "a href" tags here, argh.)

[ggould]

(we can't do "a href" tags here, argh.)

does this work?

[mshray]

 It was very, very good, but certainly the only one of his films that I've seen that lacked (afaict) any trademark Woody elements.

Agreed, except for the bit with putting the shotgun together, which stood out for me as a very WA bit.  In essence, there's no Woody surrogate here, no neurotic mensch overthinking everything.  On the other hand, he did re-visit Crimes and Misdemeanors for plot points...

See, I felt a Woody bit coming at that moment too, but felt like he slammed on the brakes, hard.  In fact I thought Woody did an excellent job of showing that the Chris character had virtually no neuroses at all.  I got the feeling Woody had been reading up on Nietsche & Ayn Rand lately.

[RGMike]

 It was very, very good, but certainly the only one of his films that I've seen that lacked (afaict) any trademark Woody elements.

Agreed, except for the bit with putting the shotgun together, which stood out for me as a very WA bit.  In essence, there's no Woody surrogate here, no neurotic mensch overthinking everything.  On the other hand, he did re-visit Crimes and Misdemeanors for plot points...

See, I felt a Woody bit coming at that moment too, but felt like he slammed on the brakes, hard.  In fact I thought Woody did an excellent job of showing that the Chris character had virtually no neuroses at all.  I got the feeling Woody had been reading up on Nietsche & Ayn Rand lately.

Now, if the shotgun had been made of soap and it had started to rain...

[mshray]

http://www.imdb.com/features/rto/2006/oscars

I have actually seen many more of the films this year than is usual for me.

F'rinstance last Fri it was really slow in my office, since my cow orker & I were the only people in the company who weren't on holiday for Chinese New Year.  So I said I was going home early.  Calle dmy wife & before I could say anything she said she was also getting out early & taking the kids to SFO to pick up her dad (flying in from Taiwan to usher in the Year of the Dog with us) & they'd all be having dinner in the city & come home late.  Okay, see you later honey.

So I checked to see if Capote was still playing somewhere because I wanted to see PSH's performance before the awards were announced.  Turned out to be playing at the Great Mall (my usual lunch getaway), and when I bought my ticket, Alexis, the very cute ticket gal told me, "This is actually a double-feature with Walk The Line, so if you want to stay for the 2nd movie you can."  So I got to see both presumptive winners of the "___ in a Leading Role" categories on the same day for super cheap without having expected to have either the freedom nor the opportunity to do so.

What I charmed life I lead occasionally.

[RGMike]

http://www.imdb.com/features/rto/2006/oscars

I have actually seen many more of the films this year than is usual for me.

F'rinstance last Fri it was really slow in my office, since my cow orker & I were the only people in the company who weren't on holiday for Chinese New Year.  So I said I was going home early.  Calle dmy wife & before I could say anything she said she was also getting out early & taking the kids to SFO to pick up her dad (flying in from Taiwan to usher in the Year of the Dog with us) & they'd all be having dinner in the city & come home late.  Okay, see you later honey.

So I checked to see if Capote was still playing somewhere because I wanted to see PSH's performance before the awards were announced.  Turned out to be playing at the Great Mall (my usual lunch getaway), and when I bought my ticket, Alexis, the very cute ticket gal told me, "This is actually a double-feature with Walk The Line, so if you want to stay for the 2nd movie you can."  So I got to see both presumptive winners of the "___ in a Leading Role" categories on the same day for super cheap without having expected to have either the freedom nor the opportunity to do so.

What I charmed life I lead occasionally.

Wow, great double bill!  And yeah, both Reese and PSH should win handily. But I'm thrilled that Munich got Pic & Director noms.  Though I'd've liked to've seen History of Violence get a few more.

[mshray]

http://www.imdb.com/features/rto/2006/oscars

Quick hit reactions on the noms:
 
Can't think of anyone right off who got snubbed in the Leading Actor/-tress categories, unless someone deserved it more than Keira Knightley.  But having not seen her in Pride & Prejudice yet, I'm not suggesting it myself.  Maybe Maria Bello in A History of Violence.  I'd have liked to see Viggo get a nom for that as well, but the Lead Actor category is so very strong this year.  

I suppose the strong Lead Actor field is why Jake Gyllenhall was put forward for a Supporting nom, but does it really make any sense logically?  I sure thought that movie had two lead actors.

Catherine Keener fully deserves a Supporting Actress nom, but she absolutely deserves this year's Billy Bob Thornton award for Best  Performances in Wildly Different Roles in the Same Year (see also 40 Year Old Virgin & The Ballad of Jack & Rose, as well as a highly competent turn in an underwritten part in The Interpreter).

Terrence Howard (The Promising Relative New Comer in a Role No One Saw Coming) might have won if:
A) black actors hadn't swept the awards last year (sorry but the Academy does behave this way) and
B) he weren't up against both The Actor's Actor in The Defining Role of His Career (Hoffman) and The Movie Star in a Breakthrough He-Can-Really-Act Role (Ledger).  But one of those two always wins. For comparison to Howard, think Adrian Brodie a couple years ago up against 4 other nominees who were already Oscar-winners.

[urth]

Anyone notice that George Clooney is nominated for two films in three different categories? Best original screenplay and best director for Good Night and Good Luck, and best supporting actor for Syriana. Don't know if he's got a chance in any of those categories, but still, today's not a bad day for George.