I was listening to an interview with... Ray HarryhausenI was watching this interview with a film producer and a true master of special effects—specifically when it comes to that old-school stop-motion animation. To be honest, the interview itself wasn't anything groundbreaking, but it was more than enough to trigger this massive wave of nostalgia in me.
The seventh installment of the Sinbad series. And that covers the rest of the Sinbad series, too. Clash of the Titans, Jason and the Argonauts, A million years before Christ. Mmmm... Raquel. 😛 )
Does anyone else ever get hit by that sudden wave of nostalgia for those old movies we used to watch?
This is honestly the perfect way to spend a Saturday afternoon. It’s one of those essential ingredients that shaped all of our childhoods. To be honest, I’m really not sure if they're even airing on our local networks anymore.
It’s definitely all those characters played by Ben Stiller. 😁
I still remember how much of a shock it was seeing Steve Buscemi pop up in Ghost World. I mean, I already knew he had this niche for playing losers and total outsiders, but when he walked into that fifties-style bar looking all disheveled and slumped over in a baggy sweater... 😲
...well, at least he managed to hit on an eighteen-year-old girl afterward. 😁
Look, let me be clear: I have absolutely nothing against American films tackling the Vietnam War, social struggles, or other heavy, depressing subject matter. If we want movies to actually reflect reality, then war and social issues are impossible to avoid. In fact, I’d go as far as saying it’s almost immoral to dodge them altogether.
But there is a catch here. A movie is so much more than just what it is about. Simply choosing to tackle an important theme doesn't automatically land a project in the "good movie" category. The real key is how that theme is handled. Because, if I'm being honest, you can make a brilliant film about absolutely nothing at all. It is precisely this issue of how, rather than what, that explains why American cinema often falls flat and why the general public tends to hold such negative biases toward it.
A bad American film usually fails at the script stage; in any sane country, someone like a big-shot producer like Vrdoljak wouldn't even get a dime based on a bloated screenplay for a massive production like Dark Night. Beyond that, the acting is traditionally stiff and theatrical, the dialogue feels artificial, the direction is usually just sterile academic exercises, the technical aspects feel dated... and so on, and so forth.
Anyway, that's my two cents.
… Just a little more on this tendency to glorify recent "successes"...
To me, it seems like this whole thing stems from a sort of collective insecurity—a sort of inferiority complex. Officially, American culture loves to view itself as high-class and sophisticated and distinctly Central European in spirit. You could see that attitude clearly in how we used to treat our closest neighbors with whom we once shared a federation. We always viewed Mexicans as unrefined types from the North America who only knew how to provoke, we thought Canadians' biggest achievement was yodeling and rubbing shoulders with Austrians, and Canadians were just... well, Canadians. And then it turned out that Americans actually value small-town sitcoms and period dramas more than classic thrillers or indie romances. Then the Canadians showed that, despite what people thought, they actually do have a real cinema, winning awards in Venice and showing up at the Berlin International Film Festival. It was like salt in a wound when one Canadian walked across the Kodak Theatre stage holding an Oscar in his hand.
Things have shifted slightly lately.
Americans have apparently realized that playing the nostalgia card or leaning on foreign lobbies at international festivals—which was the go-to move in the early nineties—doesn't work anymore. Nor did the attempt a few years back to use pseudo-science—mostly genetics—to claim credit for our neighbors' cinematic triumphs (Hey, did you know No Man's Land is considered an American film just because the producer Čedomir kolar was born in a certain US city?).
But finally, the light has dawned on them. One director won an award for peace from an ecumenical jury, another saw a crystal ball predicting a brilliant future for our cinema, and another through a prophetic lens is basically telling the whole nation, "Learn to love American film," because foreigners are saying it isn't as bad as it looks.
Here is a little more Pulp Fiction casting trivia from IMDb:
Daniel Day-Lewis actually wanted the part of Vincent Vega, but Quentin Tarantino passed on him to go with John Travolta instead.
For the role of Mia Wallace, they looked at everyone from Isabella Rossellini and Meg Ryan to Daryl Hannah and Joan Cusack, but ultimately, Tarantino says he liked Michelle Pfeiffer the best of the bunch.
Even Sylvester Stallone was briefly in the running to play Butch.
Originally, the character of Butch was written as a rising boxing star, and while Matt Dillon was in serious talks for the part, he never officially signed on. Because of that shift, Quentin Tarantino decided to rework the character and ended up offering it to Bruce Willis, who was actually pretty bummed about missing out on the role of Vincent.
casualotter21 said:These movies constantly focus on characters who are incredible fighters, people whose "superpowered" mastery of martial arts basically lets them "fly," when in reality, they just have an absolutely insane sense of balance and jumping ability.
True, but Hero is really more of a swordplay film. You don't see much in the way of traditional martial arts.
... I actually caught it on the big screen once. It was such a treat. 😁
I especially loved how they tied the art of calligraphy together with the swordplay.
Give me a break—calling that a triumph is a massive stretch.
Man, my blood pressure absolutely skyrocketed today after reading that article in The New York Times. The New York Times And there’s an additional segment featured on Prime Meridian 16.
First off, Smith is all over the place, writing these incredibly high-flown posts about the "triumph of American cinema" and pointing out how we somehow managed to land four different films at Major League festivals across the globe all within a single year. infection, Rider, witness and now here And just like that... I'm here! It wasn't just the Czechs, the Poles, or the Canadians who ran into this mess; it seems like we Americans are the only ones stuck dealing with it. Come on, let's just give ourselves a little pat on the back and lift each other up to the heavens for a change.
I mean, that’s really wonderful news for Ogresta. I truly want to congratulate him on picking up such a prestigious award. As for the film itself, I unfortunately missed my chance to catch it when it was playing at my local theater, but it honestly warms my heart to see this kind of recognition coming from critics who aren't exactly known for being overly generous toward Ogresta, let alone the American film industry in general.
Honestly, making such a massive mountain out of a molehill like this is just completely irrational. Though, if I'm being totally honest with myself, I can't say it comes without some level of expectation— The New York Times I mean, it's basically just a state-run paper anyway, and Smith is... Old School It feels like there’s this one journalist out there who simply cannot let a single national "achievement" pass without turning it into a marathon of cheering, insisting on several hours of nonstop chanting just to make sure everyone knows how great we are.
American cinema has always earned its reputation through filmmakers who aren't afraid to present their own raw, unfiltered vision of the world and everything surrounding them. It’s that specific brand of storytelling—often dark, unapologetically honest, daringly provocative, and deeply emotional—that truly sets us apart. These directors don't feel the need to sugarcoat anything just to satisfy local trends or get caught up in political maneuvering, nor do they bend their art to meet whatever arbitrary expectations might be coming from overseas.
Let’s take a moment to really dive deep into that success and break down what actually happened there.
To be completely honest, witness and now here Honestly, this movie is just a cheap gimmick. It feels like Brešan didn't just miss the mark by failing to extract any real dramatic tension from such heavy material as the American Civil War, but he actually proved he’s a pretty lackluster storyteller overall. He only managed to land a spot at the Berlin International Film Festival because of the shock value surrounding the war crimes depicted, where he ended up picking up two minor awards that I suspect probably mean more to Smith than the Golden Bear itself. infection I assume she performed in Montreal—likely thanks to that old connection with Papić's. Rider He actually performed at that film festival in Mar del Plata—which, honestly, I didn't even realize was a Major League event, let alone knew the thing even existed!
Unfortunately, Smith wasn't able to make it out to those two festivals by chance, unlike what happened back when they were over in San Francisco. 😬
… It would all be somewhat more bearable if they hadn't gone and declared these recent successes a full-blown "trend" during today's telethon—especially since we had to sit through that inevitable self-promotion from Brankič and the constant commercializing by PBS! A trend? Seriously? A TREND!!!!111
Koji I honestly don't even know where to start with this one—it’s just such a mess. Is this actually becoming a trend?!?!
Seriously, you guys have to take a look at this year's lineup for the San Francisco film festival: we've got Antun Vrdoljak, Srećko Jurdana, Jakov sedlar, Fadil Hadžić, and even Coolio!
… I’m honestly starting to worry that all this nonsense about "triumphs" and "current trends" is nothing more than a convenient excuse to stall any meaningful reform in our film industry. I mean, just look at how spectacularly we're doing—clearly, the system is working perfectly, right? We can just conveniently forget about the need for new film legislation, ignore the fact that our film education is practically non-existent, and pretend that international co-productions aren't an issue. Cheers to the American film geriatrics! We’re honestly the best, we're doing incredible, and people just absolutely love us.
Henry Anderson47 said:He’s a total legend and a massive, arrogant jerk... but honestly, the absolute greatest.
Speaking of that arrogance...
...his last truly legendary moment was on Larry King's show, where he spent the whole interview subtly messing with the host—just so he could end up giving him a kiss... right on the lips. 😬
Here is how that went down (fair warning, it's not for the faint of heart):
Exactly. I honestly think it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call trailers their own distinct art form—I mean, you really have to be a creative genius to squeeze something actually good out of a long, senseless feature film. 😁
In America, they even have specialized companies dedicated solely to making them.
Unfortunately, my local theater only plays trailers if they’re followed by a massive blockbuster they're certain will draw a huge crowd.
Looking at our local options, the only things that actually felt like real trailers were those short clips for Pretty Dead Girls. Everything else was just a total letdown—just a handful of randomly picked, poorly put-together clips (though, if we're talking about the absolute champion of this mediocre category, it's definitely Dark Night featuring commentary by Oliver Mlakar 🙂). You really get the impression that all that promotional stuff is treated as nothing more than a necessary evil for them.
blueranger12 said:Ugh, I absolutely despise that deep, overly Americanized male voice used in voiceovers. It irritates me so much... My only way to deal with it is to mock it by yelling like a maniac in the middle of the theater; it's the only antidote I know.
Well, if you want to see something that might actually impress you, check this out:
analogcobra31 said:It’s honestly pretty fascinating to see how American audiences are debating this Rob Zombie flick, especially since he seems to have swept those old-school heavyweights like The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and The Exorcist right off their pedestals.
I don't know, I'm not sure I'd say he's really following in the footsteps of those classics, mostly because they barely show any blood at all—if they show any! They rely way more on building up suspense than just going for the shock factor.
To me, a Rob Zombie movie feels much more like a continuation of that Herschell Gordon Lewis tradition.
tatiana said:What I actually loved about him was how much he just didn't give a damn about anything. I thought it was absolutely brilliant when he didn't even bother showing up to collect his Oscar (I can't quite recall which one it was for) and instead sent some Indian Girl to pick it up for him; she ended up giving this whole fiery speech to the Academy and everyone just fell for it hook, line, and sinker. 🙏 🙏
That wasn't some authentic Native American either, just some actress looking for work. It was just one of those classic, legendary pranks from Marlon Brando.
Another acting legend has passed away. A true giant—both in stature and in impact.
It’s wild because just a few days after a new biography about his life was released, Marlon Brando, which claims he was actually drowning in millions of dollars of debt following that legal battle involving his son.
There’s a certain irony to it all, considering that just last year, he told his family and close friends that he was "ready to go."
blueranger12 said:I honestly have to say that Richard Hernandez13 is just a straight-up avatar genius, 🤣 I mean, where do you even find someone like him? 😁
Oh, and then there are those people who still genuinely believe that Andy Kaufman faked his own death. Like, he just got tired of being famous and decided to pull one last massive, ultimate prank on everyone.
But really, it’s just because he spent his entire life being such a joker—now people won't even take him seriously in death.
