Posts by Larry Martin11

...👋 👋 David Thewlis...😢 😢 👎

...unfortunately not... but only because the Academy just doesn't wrap their heads around this kind of material 🙂...

...basically, I think "Ivy" is a film meant for a predominantly European audience (it actually reminds me incredibly much of that one other European film, "The Celebration," and the whole Dogme 95 manifesto—which, in the US, only had one truly impressive "work," "Julian"—total off-topic moment here: 😍 /), and even the critics... whereas an American audience might prefer something a bit more dynamic, colorful, expensive, polished, heavily costumed, etc... (you get the picture) — but definitely not better!!! — titles like that probably wouldn't have fared as well. 🙂

..but if the movie had been distributed a bit more aggressively, it might have had a shot at becoming a "small big film" in Europe... though, of course, as an insider living right in the middle of this dysfunctional society of ours, I can't really say—unless it’s just too "American" for anyone else to understand besides us...🙂

..but then again, I'm sure there are people out there who feel differently... 😉

...Wait, you actually know him????!!!!???? 🙂 🙂

...oh my god, I am so *jealous* 🙂 ...seriously though, the guy is an absolute genius.... 😍

...I was really hoping I’d run into him at the Sundance Film Festival, but no luck so far 😢 😉

...but hey, I'm not giving up hope just yet 👍

...do me a favor and say hi for me...🙂

...actually... 👋 + 🙂 to both of you

... 🙏 i 👍 forever devoted to the insanely sweet writing of Jurica Pavicic, who managed to charm me yet again with his ridiculously adorable prose... 😍

...honestly, I can’t think of a better way to laugh over my morning coffee than reading some snippet in The New York Times 🙂 which is why everyone should just sprint to the local newsstand for the paper—it might actually brighten up this gloomy morning a bit...

...and then maybe we can all join forces with the Church to protest those Coca-Cola ads 🙂

👋

...wow, just brilliant... so, should I go ahead and book a charter bus for everyone to San Francisco then? 🙂 😍

...obviously, Pete and I will be the first ones to bow out... 🙂 🙂 🙂

👋

...just one thought here....

...David Thewlis 😍 — the man who absolutely floored me with his performance in Leigh's "Naked" 😍 — is going to be hitting San Francisco and Philadelphia... they'll get to see him in person...

...but since I'm stuck in NYC, I won't actually get to witness any of it... 😢

...besides, the movie probably won't be anything special—remakes are rarely worth the hype anyway... 🙂

...hmmm...I watched it a few months back—not even in a theater, just on my tiny little laptop screen...and honestly? It felt... incredibly powerful...if a bit "hollow" at times...but the bottom line is that I actually ended up enjoying it, truly...

...about two weeks later, Pavicicev's review dropped...he gave it a three, along with a whole list of gripes (the worst being that the movie starts with this intense dramatic tone, only to pivot into a standard action flick in the second half)...I went off and read more reviews after that (what can I say—I'm a total freak 😉...), and most of them—aside from a few people who basically "glorified" the thing—were in a similar boat...and what's worse? Every single criticism, from start to finish, was spot on! But for me, the movie is still a blast to watch—the violence is beautifully stylized (which is a rare find), shot with such a passionate eye for color, contrast, and mood...it’s just visually gorgeous...and despite all the narrative issues and logical "holes," there's just something about it...

...as for the acting...well, Viggo Mortensen, the "I'm-so-arty" type, isn't exactly one of my favorites, but he was, in my opinion, brilliant in this role...though the biggest "acting paradox" for me has to be Maria Bello playing the mother of a teenager...but hey, that's just Hollywood 🙂 ...

...anyway, to make a long story shorter—despite all its flaws, A History of Violence is a beautiful Cronenberg's film; maybe not as "dark" or "artistic" as Spider-Man, but visually superior and perhaps even a notch more convincing....

🙂 🙂 🙂

...but honestly, anytime 🙂 just don't expect me to start worshipping big-budget horror flicks 😉 👍

Lisa Patel9 said:Why are you acting so shocked? The books are actually great—the further you go, the better they get—and the movies follow the source material pretty well too. What was your alternative? A Britney Spears Crossroads DVD or some trashy adult movie?🙂

...Alright, alright, no need to be so aggressive... I just wasn't expecting anyone to specifically single out those movies as "must-haves."🙂 Usually, people lean toward either the old-school cult classics or the newer postmodern stuff... but there aren't really any rules, I suppose. If you're into Harry Potter, then fine, that's cool... It just caught me off guard, because my own list would be 180 degrees different from yours...

...So yeah, that's all. And no, I'm pretty sure Britney Spears wouldn't make the cut on mine either.🙂

...hmmm...it feels like forever since I last watched it—like, way back in the day... though I definitely remember thinking it was just too sweet for its own good...🙂

...Milla Jovovich was stunning (honestly, she’s never been better—why did they stop casting her in those iconic roles? 😕), and there was just such a lovely vibe to it... plus, you've got that U2 title track from back when they actually had something to say musically (their old albums are genuine art, whereas the newer stuff is just boring mainstream pop... still, I love Bono... and the fact that they frequently collaborate with Anton Corbijn 😍, who is clearly obsessed with them, earns them some extra points in my book 🙂)...

...man, I’d really love to give it another watch. I'll have to find some time in my schedule...🙂

Lisa Patel9 said:4/ Harry Potter (for now I've just got the first three on DVD as the extended versions—still waiting on the rest, though I did catch Goblet of Fire yesterday)

😕 😕 😕 😕 😕 😕

...hmmm..honestly, I found Red Dragon to be a bit of a letdown, even if it did feature two of my absolute favorites—Edward Norton 😍 and Philip Seymour Hoffman 🙏... I don't know, it just felt way too bogged down in that standard "police procedural" routine, completely missing out on all the deep psychological layers it should have had... It could have been sooo much better... though, I guess it isn't a total disaster either... 🙂

...hmmm...two things come to mind right now:

"Dirty Harry" — hmmm... I'll give it a shot, but I just can't get into it. And yeah, I get it—the movie is supposed to be much deeper than what's actually on screen—but I just can't get past that dated, black-and-white way of looking at things...

"Gone with the Wind" — I give this one a chance EVERY single year, and yet I never make it past the first fifteen minutes... It’s just incredibly draining and feels totally unconvincing to me. But sure, I'll give it another go this year—who knows, maybe one day it'll actually click. 🙂

...I’m right there with you... ...you really have to see everything, even Ken Park—it’s certainly not a bad way to kill ninety minutes, even if it isn't exactly a masterpiece 🙂 And for a hardcore fan like 👍

...though let's be real, Gummo isn't exactly a Dogme film... but Julien Donkey-Boy is, so you were actually pretty close...🙂 ...and hey, if you dug Gummo, I've got some good news for both of you—I just read that Harmony Korine is working on a new movie!!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂 the genius 👍

...as far as DVDs go... hmmm, I watched Ken Park on a DivX file, so I didn't get to see any of the extras...🙂...but if they're actually worth anything, I'll definitely track one down—thanks for the tip 🙂

...hmmm...I’m actually a little surprised by all the comments on this movie. For me—probably because I'm so used to the sheer grit and raw reality caught in Korine's earlier stuff—Ken Park felt kind of "fake" after Gummo. It felt like some artificially manufactured controversy designed for American teenagers from wealthy families who drop tons of cash at the local AMC, yet still want to believe they, and characters like them, are somehow "alternative"... I don't think the film is bad, per se, but it’s just way too "polished" for my taste...

...as for Happiness... personally, I thought it was a far better film... though the casting was probably my biggest disappointment (I would've distributed a few of those roles differently)... but the script is solid, especially with that brilliant performance by my favorite, P. S. Hoffman...🙂 ...it was a totally successful film...😉

...but again, that's just me...🙂

...hmmm...I totally forgot that Robbins can play a villain too—you know, that "bad boy" vibe. It actually reminded me of > in a weird way, and honestly, it isn't bad at all. Though, I guess it is? Even if he’s a bit cliché and just some accidental killer, he’s somehow also the good guy at the same time—the mess in her apartment says it all, right? Just a terrifying guy in a really great movie, especially coming from >! 🙏

Jose Miller17 said:Well, it depends on which saint you're talking about... I know at least three... and I absolutely adore the last one, if nothing else because of how he chose the theme for the final film in the trilogy and the way he approached it... which, honestly, a few other posts on this thread have already pointed out...

..hmmm... are we talking about the Sant-type (as in Gus van Sant) or the Saint-type (as in holy figures)...😕

...just kidding...🙂 👍

...I actually completely agree with you—I love van Sant too. He’s one of those... hmmm... "sweet" directors 🙂 in the sense that you can tell he truly cares about his characters and the themes he explores (...I mean, Elephant is the best proof of that), which I think is brilliant... though there really are people who see it differently—I watched Elephant
with a couple of my closest girlfriends, and most of them didn't share my enthusiasm; they found the whole thing a bit too slow... but hey, everyone's entitled to their own opinion.🙂

ironcrane7 said:Honestly, it’s always bugged me how people assume playing a villain is harder than playing the hero. For me, it’s the exact opposite—villains have so much breathing room that you basically have to be a total acting hack to mess up the role. Take Val Kilmer, for example. On the flip side, a hero has such a narrow lane to run in—they can't just cheat on everyone and call it a day, and they can't go making all those wild facial expressions with bulging eyes—you know, like Al Pacino🤮—so they actually have to work to outshine the bad guy. That’s why I started this thread: to give some credit to the ones everyone else overlooks.😁

...actually, I think this topic is pretty great... though it really requires some actual thought before I weigh in... and not just because playing the good guy is tougher (which, for the most part, I agree with), but mainly because "villains" are just way more interesting characters. They can be ambivalent in ways heroes rarely are... and since I'm not exactly a huge fan of action movies, that makes it even trickier for me... I mean, who is actually a hero or a villain in a drama? Is Patrick Swayze in Village more of a villain (since he's responsible for the main character's near demise) or a hero (because he's oblivious to his actions and acts out of a very normal, even "beautiful," human longing to belong)? Or take Caesar in Gladiator—is he the villain (given the hatred he harbors and shows) or the hero (in the sense that he's actually just an incredibly tragic figure who doesn't judge anyone more than he feels compassion)? 😕 It turns out that outside of action flicks and certain comedies, talking about the concept of "good guys" vs "bad guys" is a pretty tall order...🙂

...but hey, we shouldn't run away from the tough questions... 😉

...so, I see someone mentioned Tim Robbins... who, in my book, is an absolutely brilliant hero, not just in that one movie but in something like Mystic River too—even if the whole film casts doubt on him, you eventually realize how uniquely good a person David actually is, flaws and all. But the thing with Robbins is that he brings this specific dose of... hmm... humanity to every single character he plays, so he probably wouldn't even make a convincing villain. A truly great hero/villain is Norton in 25th Hour, or even better, P. S. Hoffman in that same film (or honestly, any film—his characters always sit right on that line between likable and repulsive), or T. Spall in All or Nothing (because his mistakes feel so profoundly human)... whereas pure black-and-white heroes are usually way less interesting because they feel totally unreal...

...then again, some movies are fun precisely because they *are* that black-and-white (and entire genres are built on it)... hmmm... I'm struggling with these archetypes... Norton in Red Dragon??? 🙂

...oof, sorry for the massive wall of text... 🙂

...man, let's get one thing straight—the movie isn't even ABOUT Cobain... he was just the spark for van Sant to dive into his third film within that (unofficial) 'real-life trilogy'... 🙂 ...so, you can't really blame the director for failing to deliver a solid biopic when that wasn't even what he was aiming for in the first place...
...as for the pacing—well, that’s a whole different conversation... plenty of people claim van Sant is way too slow and just plain boring... opinions among my circle are pretty split... personally, I’ve got a soft spot for him—even if it is labeled as 'arty'—because there’s this incredibly tender way he handles his themes... though I haven't seen Last Days yet, so I won't pretend to know... even if Michael Pitt doesn't exactly scream "leading man" to me at first glance 🙂 but since Harmony Korine is involved, I guess I'll give him a pass 😉

...by the way, nice signature... I really love it 👍 although if it were up to me, I'd go with

...Overflowing senses, heightened awareness, I hear my blood flow, I feel its caress... Whispering cosmos, talking right to me, unlimited endless, God breathing through me...

...I couldn't help myself—Martin Gore is just the absolute best... 🙏 🙏 🙏

👋

...that’s a tough one—I honestly have no idea how I’d even define a hero... and let's be real, I always end up getting distracted by those morally gray characters anyway...

...but hey, if we're starting somewhere—take everyone from Operation Positive😁😉