Posts by Richard Hernandez13

Henry Anderson47 said:I honestly can't believe I got so swept up in the movie that I didn't even notice those microphones Richard Hernandez13 was talking about.

Look, if the projectionist at the theater actually knows what they're doing, you should never catch a glimpse of a microphone.
The whole trick is that the projected image has to be framed slightly wider to cover the edges of the screen, which is why you never see any gear when you're watching a DVD or a Blu-ray at home. 😉

In my experience, though, our local theater guy clearly hasn't mastered his craft, because we almost always get treated to a stray microphone popping into the shot—it was at its absolute worst during Goodbye Lenin 🙄.

Sean Astin actually dipped his toes into directing short films once upon a time—he even pulled an Oscar nomination out of his sleeve for it.

Oh, I thought she was absolutely brilliant in the third Godfather movie. But the critics just tore her apart. Total bastards.

Well, she was originally supposed to play the part intended for Winona Ryder—and since we’re bringing her up, we might as well add her to the list of young talents who just didn't quite make it big.
Her last major brush with the spotlight was probably that whole thing where she was caught shoplifting at a convenience store... oops, sorry, I mean, she forgot to pay for her items. 😁

...
And whatever happened to Eddie Murphy?
He really seemed like he was going places back then.
😁😁😁

dustyscout53 said:She’d probably go for those long shots where you can see the microphone peeking into the frame...

Hold on a second now... didn't you catch the mic popping up in some of the shots over on your end too?

...unless I'm totally missing some deep, artistic metaphor here. 🤔

dustyscout53 said:I actually liked the movie, though I can't quite put my finger on why. It's like if I tried to write a review for something like a Johnny Depp movie about a pirate in the Caribbean. 😛

Well, I think the reason is pretty obvious: you just loved watching Johnny Depp rocking those sunglasses. 😛

Jose Miller17 said:The real issue is that everyone expects the movie to just lay everything out for them on a silver platter, but they don't actually have the patience to sit there and really watch it...

"Movies are about so much more than just their basic plots."

small film wisdom Vol. 2 by Richard Hernandez13

😁😁😁

...and she’ll even be doing some backing vocals for Coldplay. 😁

nimblemarlin17 said:I can’t help but think about the whole cast from The Goonies. They were all such a fantastic group back then, but lately, I feel like I mostly just see the guy who played Mouth popping up in those cheap B-movies on channels like MTV or NET.

As for the lead, Sean Astin actually recently played someone named Sam in a trio of pretty obscure, low-budget indie films under the collective title LOTR.

I'm not sure if you've ever caught any of them.

I just finished watching this movie where she played the producer/editor for Paul Giamatti 😉.

She actually landed a role in Solondzov's Storytelling once upon a time, too.

I can't help but wonder if we're just looking at a case of pure lazy journalism here.

Vin Diesel said:Well, I guess we’re back to dissecting Smith again—and honestly, can you blame us? We’ve already gone round and round in circles debating his movie reviews in that other thread, haven't we? Seriously, Richard Hernandez13, I am begging you, please step in and help me make sense of all this!

We actually touched on Smith during that "Do you believe a film critic?" thread. To be honest, I’ve tucked him into that small group of critics I truly respect, even if I find myself disagreeing with his takes more often than not. I tend to value him much more for his insights as a social commentator through his columns than for his movie reviews. news from Lilliput ...and most of all, like a journalist who writes insightful pieces about the struggles within the film industry and the broader cinematic culture here in America.
Honestly, when it comes to those deep-dive phenomenological essays about American cinema, Smith tends to get incredibly sloppy and superficial. Take that piece in Saturday's USA Today regarding Oscar night, for example; he actually tripped over three massive factual errors, and he built his entire set of Oscar predictions right on top of them.

He mentioned that Sofia Coppola actually walked away with a Golden Globe for her directing. Not really. It’s already gone; I think Peter Jackson beat everyone to the punch and snatched it up himself.
I honestly find myself feeling pretty shaken by the fact that... Holy City It wasn't actually nominated for Best International Feature—the Brazilians had already put that film up for an Oscar back in 2002, but the Academy ended up passing on it at the time. Since they couldn't resubmit it in 2003, those four nominations we saw later were really thanks to Miramax; they kept the film in theaters for over a year and ran such a powerhouse Oscar campaign during the fall season.
He’s actually mistaken about that—Japan did pick up an Oscar back in 1975 when Kurosawa won for that massive joint production between Japan and Russia. Dersu uzao I was just thinking about how everything seems to be shifting lately, and honestly, I can't help but wonder where we all stand in the middle of it all. It’s one of those moments where you just sit back, take a breath, and realize that life has a funny way of moving faster than we ever intended it to. Rashomon Back in 1951, when Toshiro Mifune was making his mark, everything just felt different, didn't it? gates of hell 1954.

By the way, one of Damir Radić’s favorite little cinematic hobbies is hunting down all those factual blunders his colleagues tend to leave in their movies. 😁

...
Honestly, I have to say that Damir Radić is also completely full of it. It feels like this critic managed to lose all credibility in record time. 😠.
Regarding his... I really feel like we need to dive much deeper into this than we have been lately. It feels like we’re just skimming the surface of the conversation, and I’d love to really get into the weeds of it all, if you catch my drift. I honestly think we should take a moment to really dive deep and analyze this situation, because there is just so much more going on under the surface than meets the eye at first glance. It feels like if we don't slow down and look at the finer details, we might completely miss the bigger picture that's actually unfolding right in front of us. witness ...
First off—this person is making a massive mistake by judging the movie based solely on the book. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve had to say during our Lord of the Rings debates, "just forget about the source material for a second." I really have to go on the record and say it again here, too. witnessI mean, personally, I haven't actually sat down to read the novel—but does that really mean I'm disqualified from having an opinion on the movie?
Actually, I have to disagree there. Smith was the one who did it. I'm feeling pretty inspired lately. It was just a total fluke involving that rabbit. He really isn't that guy. I just finished writing. So, I was thinking about that novel centered on the Rabbit family. You know, the one where he actually had... I’ve always had this funny little habit of getting a bit too caught up in the details, probably because I tend to overthink things, but I can't help but wonder about the sheer amount of poetic license directors take these days. It’s such a delicate balance, isn't it? On one hand, you want to respect the foundation of a story, but on the other, there's that undeniable magic that happens when someone decides to bend the rules just a little bit to capture a feeling or an atmosphere. Sometimes I catch myself being a bit of a stickler for accuracy, which I know is a bit silly, but there's just something so captivating about seeing a vision brought to life, even if it means straying quite far from the literal truth of what actually happened. I honestly feel like he just wrote that novel exactly how he wanted to because he was working with complete creative freedom. I honestly can't help but feel like I’m getting lost in the weeds sometimes when I try to dive deep into fiction, especially when I'm attempting to parse through those massive, sprawling epics that seem to go on forever. It's funny because I always tell myself I have the attention span for it, but then I find myself staring at a page for twenty minutes wondering if I actually read the last three paragraphs or if my brain just decided to take an unscheduled coffee break. There's just something about the way a really great story pulls you in, though—that feeling where the world around you just fades away—that makes all the mental gymnastics totally worth the struggle..
Thirdly, Brešan decided to take matters into his own hands and put together a few... I honestly feel like I'm just staring at a bunch of rough drafts right now, trying to make sense of all these half-baked ideas floating around in my head. It’s one of those moments where everything feels a little messy and unpolished, but I suppose that’s just part of the process, isn't it? I'm just sitting here, working through the chaos and hoping that if I tinker with these enough, something actually coherent might eventually emerge from the pile. The script was actually holding up quite well, really pulling its weight, right up until the moment he finally reached... I guess I’m just sitting here wondering if we could ever actually produce an American version of Rashomon.Smith has mentioned in several interviews with USA Today that this final cut is honestly nothing like the original version he first put together.
Fourthly, I don't think there's anything immoral about him focusing on the killer rather than the victim. Smith—or maybe Brešan, if you prefer—always seemed to operate under the idea that the murderer is where the real drama lives, not the one who was killed. He was really just trying to show us what makes them tick. It really got my wheels turning! In that way, sure, but they aren't actually anywhere to be found. I honestly feel like I’ve finally justified myself, though I suppose it’s a bit silly to be seeking validation for something so small!I honestly can't quite wrap my head around why Radić keeps leaning on such cheap generalizations; it really feels like there's some underlying personal grudge he's holding against Smith.

goldberry said:And she actually goes and tries to pass herself off as some icon of classic English literature! Grrrrrrr!

It’s funny because so many people actually assume she’s a British actress. Honestly, I can see why—she doesn't exactly give off a typical American vibe either.

Susan Wright12 said:Honestly, the funniest Oscar win has to be for Gosford Park, especially considering how much improvisation was baked into that whole thing per Altman's direction. It feels like such a silly way to hand out an award.

I mean, what's the alternative here? Should we just start disqualifying movies from the running because they didn't stick strictly to the script? Does one little moment of improv suddenly make you ineligible for a trophy?

🙄

Movies that were just a little too small to snag one of the big awards.

...
The last time the Academy actually threw a curveball and handed the top prize to the right film was way back in 1981 ( Firefly )

There’s this common assumption floating around that the Best Screenplay category is basically reserved for the "smarter," more profound films compared to the heavy hitters in the main categories.

I actually went through the trouble of digging up all the winners from the last decade or so. Just a quick heads-up: I made sure to filter out any years where the screenplay winner was just riding the coattails of the Best Picture winner.

2004. Lost in Translation
2003. Hable con ella + The Pianist
2002. Gosford Park
2001. Almost Famous + Traffic
2000. The Cider House Rules
1999. Memoirs of a Geisha
1998. Good Will Hunting + L.A. Confidential
1997. Fargo + Sling Blade
1996. The Usual Suspects + Sense and Sensibility
1995. Pulp Fiction
1994. The Piano

Looking at this list, it really seems to me that 👍

Check them out:

http://www.imdb.com/gallery/virtual/oscar04-pressroom/3

I finally caught what Crystal had to say right after Errol Morris gave his speech.

"I'm practically counting down the days until his tax audit."

😂

Robert Cooper41 said:That teaser trailer where Billy pops up as a character in every single nominated movie was just brilliantly executed, both from a technical standpoint and the writing—it’s almost like Michael Moore is trying to call for a ceasefire in Lord of the Rings 😂.

Honestly, that's exactly why I've always been such a fan of Crystal—he just consistently delivers stuff like this.


"I haven't stepped foot in an awards show since the wicked wizards moved in!"
"Orcs?"
"No, Weinsteins."

😂 😂 😂

There were just way too many clever bits packed into such a short window, so it’s honestly pretty tough to catch everything on the first pass.

Kevin Wood22 said:As for Johnny Depp (if I’m remembering his words correctly here)... basically, he's saying the gay community is going to love him because he's playing someone who's 'slightly gay'—which is a little nod to how heavily made-up Depp looked in Pirates of the Caribbean.

Actually, what he said was:

"Johnny Depp is playing Jack Valenti's biggest nightmare: a gay pirate."

Jack Valenti is the head of the Motion Picture Association, which deals with all those censorship hurdles (they especially get worked up about any depiction of homosexuality in movies) while also fighting against film piracy.

blueranger12 said:Man, this actually makes me feel a little bummed out. 😢 I’m planning on catching it in about half an hour, and honestly, maybe that’s for the best since my expectations are pretty low right now.

Yeah, this is exactly why I held off on posting—I didn't want anyone to accidentally sit through this thinking it was just some typical, mindless American indie flop.

Now I'm feeling a bit down about it too. 🙂