I mean, yeah, Tennessee Williams is a total legend. But honestly, once you've seen that performance, it’s hard to imagine anyone else screaming for 😬Stella else could pull it off like that! I’d love to try playing the part myself, maybe just some amateur community theater thing to practice... 🙂
Oh, totally. In >, he felt so incredibly natural, almost like he’d been living that character every single day before they even filmed it. It makes you wonder... what if we actually had the chance to see him perform it live on stage? 🙂
And then he went back and played that > role again, but this time as a total gag—like a parody of himself! He showed everyone how a sped-up, exaggerated version of that same iconic character could be absolutely hilarious in >. 🙂
He took the absolute best from Stella, his mother, and even Elie's cauldron...
Everything after that is just history. Honestly, the only habit he repeats in every single role is that specific way he mumbles through his mouth, but once you actually watch him, every character has a completely different vibe. If you put all those characters in one room together, they’re so disconnected they probably wouldn't even have anything to talk about!
A lot of people are totally right when they say his best performance was in >. And there's a real reason for that—it's the only film where he played a role he had already mastered in the original stage production before stepping away from the theater to focus on movies, which is a whole different beast entirely.
But man, the way he just lived those roles... that unique delivery of lines, that raw magnetism... it was just something else. In the end, I ended up voting for > because, let's be real, that role is flawless just like all the others, but still. Given the context, he played the ultimate alpha male icon—a god, a father, a king—which is totally disconnected from who > was in private.
He was impossible for many directors to handle; nobody really knew how to work with him, not even Coppola. Just look at >: That movement, almost like an orangutan, the way he moves his mouth, and boom—mafia king. Coppola, you truly brought out the best in him!
Personally, I think Crowe was way better in Gladiator, and there's a good reason for that...
But hey, a great movie is still a great movie. The cast and direction are just spot on. Ed Harris is so incredibly moving, and even Paul Bettany—who isn't usually my cup of tea—is absolutely stellar in this one.
The cinematography is gorgeous and honestly, the cast is top-tier, but man, the pacing feels a bit dragged out... kind of a mess in the middle. Still, it’s a solid courtroom drama overall, and seeing Robert Downey Jr. and Robert Duvall sharing the screen is such a treat...
I think I caught this one maybe a few years back. It’s actually pretty good! I’ve had a copy on DVD since way back when they used to bundle them with Sunday papers, but man, I was way too young to care about stuff like this then...
It’s got a slower pace, a really gripping story, and such a unique vibe... you can truly feel that emptiness hanging over their lives.
That whole father-son dynamic with Thornton - Ledger is, in my opinion, the deepest part of the movie. It really drives home just how dysfunctional everything is.
Now, the relationship between Thornton and Halle is tricky for a bunch of different reasons. But honestly? I think it’s just an isolated thing. I don't buy the whole argument about racial dynamics or the idea that it's just showing a Black woman finding solace in a white savior. To me, it felt more like a desperate move that fits the movie in its own weird way. It makes sense, there's a clear cause and effect, and the emotions are definitely there. Overall, I really liked it.
Such a complex topic and a high-quality flick. The directing is top-notch.
Betty Hayes10 said:SPOILER: What did you guys think of the ending? She looks at the headstones, then looks back at him, and that's it. It felt kind of creepy to me. Like she’s just accepted her fate, almost like she's his prisoner now... though maybe I'm overthinking it since he’s been so sweet and gentle with her the whole time.
Right. At that moment, she’s a woman who has lost everything, and you can see that they look content. You could keep telling the story from there, but the point is that they aren't fighting that conflict anymore...
Honestly, the only name on this list that actually catches my eye is Frank Turner.
I totally get why everyone is hyping up Placebo, but they’ve just never really been my thing. Don't get me wrong, the lineup is looking pretty solid so far... but I'm still not quite convinced enough to drop the cash on a ticket yet. 😬
I'm holding out for a few more announcements before I make a move... we'll see how it goes! 🙂
Giancarlo Esposito! Such an absolute powerhouse... seriously, just watching him on screen is a masterclass. Whether he's being chillingly calm or completely intense, you just can't look away! He's got that presence, you know? Like, pure magnetism... just incredible talent!So, while everyone probably knows him now as the guy running Los Pollos Hermanos over in Breaking Bad, he actually caught my eye first in that Jim Jarmusch flick... Night on Earth... such a classic! You just can't beat that vibe... honestly, it stays with you long after the credits roll. Just pure cinematic magic... turns out some things never go out of style! Man, they had one really likable role there... Honestly, they probably had way more than that, but hey, not every actor is lucky enough to land a major spotlight in a movie...
I mean, he’s clearly an actor of massive caliber, but he just doesn't seem to have that certain something needed for a leading role... such a shame!
Richard Wells said:And how much of all that stuff does a kid actually soak up from their family dynamic growing up?
So, I’m actually sitting here reading this super fascinating book by Bernie called "The Social Network"... the whole core idea is about how humans are basically wired to play these little psychological games just to get some kind of social payoff... and honestly, it's all just a way to recreate those exact same feelings we had in our childhood homes...
We basically absorb the rules of these games subconsciously from our surroundings as kids... and then we spend the rest of our lives building our entire personalities based on them, which pretty much seals our fate...
I’ve gotta say, I have my doubts. Even with the best intentions, the first movie felt like your run-of-the-mill Hollywood production. Honestly, even a killer cast can't really save a plot that cheesy... I mean, just look at those bosses, especially Kevin Spacey...
Now, we'll just have to wait and see if the rating is actually reliable, considering how this new one was an instant crowd-pleaser...
Sam Robinson said:It looks like you've taken that personally, but I'm asking the author here, obviously... 😁
The OP actually started this thread way back in 2011... 😬
Anyway, just wanted to jump in and add my two cents: A buddy of mine was telling me about heading out to one of those small-town festivals—you know, deep in the heart of the Midwest, doesn't really matter where—and he’s always playing bodyguard to make sure his cousin doesn't accidentally fall for a relative (since everyone in those tiny towns is basically related anyway, haha!)... So, while they're chatting away, he just swoops in like, "Hey, she's actually family!" It's like some kind of anti-incest intervention... people scatter and then nobody even knows which branch of the family tree they belong to anymore...
But yeah... anything can happen... personally, I've never even looked at a cousin that way... but that's just me, I'm pretty picky, so I guess it really just depends on the person and what sparks that attraction... just some thoughts...
😳 I didn't even realize he had a new movie out! Definitely adding this to my watchlist ASAP! Plus, honestly, Christoph Waltz 🙂 really needs to give Johnny Depp 😁 a little break ...