help a brother out. recommend a movie.

[churdiales]

awesome claymation... on instant queue (Netflix).


excellent debut; Lynne Ramsey later on directed Morvern Callar (a so-so feature with an out-of-this-world soundtrack... Velvet Underground, Can, Aphex Twin, Boards of Canada), and the really good We Need To Talk About Kevin. She is supposedly going to shoot a movie with Portman titled Jane Got a Gun later this year.

[fredo]

Spoilers?

Except for the murder and the fact that Linklatter blends interview footage of the actual townspeeps throughout, it's a pretty dull true story that Jack Black is forced to carry by himself. He almost pulls it off, too- affecting a unique outward persona that's way heavy on the quirky charm. But it's a (mostly) one-note show as, aside from knowing what he did and waiting to for it to happen, there wasn't anything to see or even guess at beneath all that propriety. Yup, that Black/Bernie was a stone wall of manner + mannerisms... and this fact pretty well precludes us from relating to any internal tension that we know must be there for him to be anything more than a cutesy sociopath. Which maybe he was. Interesting possibility. Anyhow, dude's impenetrable/effusive personality was the point of the flick to an extent. Apparently nobody in reality who loved him -i.e. everybody- saw through it either. In fact, he was so beloved they though he should get off entirely.

That's nice and all, but who gives a shit? Without that interpersonal knowledge/empathy/fear/etc. these non-action stories are just a series of events that don't really grab you personally, right? I think so. And I think Linklater does, too. Probably. Because the locals appear to be there solely to fill that obvious care-vacuum- and they stole the show in the process... but like a guy in the New Yorker says, the goofy/touching/odd talks with the loudmouths ultimately worked to subvert the dramatic tension built up by the actors. Too bad.

Ok, enough navel-gazing. Bottom line- decent flick with some fun performances and a couple of great, tense moments. Maclaine was excellent and McConaughey did his best "I'm totally not Matthew McConaughhey right now, ok?" impression of a local prosecutor, which worked.

[bisondice]

don't waste money on the Dictator

[v1101011]

Nights of Cabiria
Diabolique
Three Outlaw Samurai

Sorry. I'm on a bit of a Criterion kick.

[chisoxfan2424]

Did anyone see Cherynobl Diaries? Any good?

[fredo]

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy worked for me. Like all good cold war spy flicks (not you, James) it's a tempest in a teacup driven by personalities and tough choices. If it weren't, then the spies wouldn't have done their jobs and we'd all be saying comrade instead of dude. Oldman nails it, as does most of the cast.

[v1101011]

Did anyone see Cherynobl Diaries? Any good?

Saw it with my dad. Neither of us cared too much for it. There was so much they could have done with it and they went down the beaten, dumbed-down path. Watch at your own risk.

[ianpotter]

Have been waiting a long time to see this.
Did not disappoint.

[kannibaliztik]

just watched Piranha 3DD, while the first was a great time of self aware horror and fun, this one was just awful. even the slightly humorous cameos from Lloyd, Rhames and Hasselhoff couldnt save it.

[jlabbate]

just watched Piranha 3DD, while the first was a great time of self aware horror and fun, this one was just awful. even the slightly humorous cameos from Lloyd, Rhames and Hasselhoff couldnt save it.

completely agree...no scares, no humor, total waste of 75 minutes!

[fredo]

Drive
Suppose everybody here has seen this. The director did a nice job of building up solid tension- and how can you not like at least some of a movie shot on location in LA, especially the nighttime scenes? The lack of dialogue between the Driver and Irene worked for me, too, as Gosling isn't much of an actor. He's like a few people -including Paul Newman- whom have more presence than chops, which is fine here. The gangsters were a bit of a joke, as was the CGI gore that I suppose was meant to make them seem less so. I've always been a fan of Albert Brooks even though he plays himself in just about every role, but here...not so much.

[mycrospazm]

Drive
Suppose everybody here has seen this. The director did a nice job of building up solid tension- and how can you not like at least some of a movie shot on location in LA, especially the nighttime scenes? The lack of dialogue between the Driver and Irene worked for me, too, as Gosling isn't much of an actor. He's like a few people -including Paul Newman- whom have more presence than chops, which is fine here. The gangsters were a bit of a joke, as was the CGI gore that I suppose was meant to make them seem less. I've always been a fan of Albert Brooks even though he plays himself in just about every role, but here...not so much.

Since you dug Drive, I'd definitely recommend the director's previous films, Bronson and Valhalla Rising. Pusher is pretty entertaining as well, but Bronson and Valhalla Rising are a much more cerebral trip.

[fredo]

Will do! Thanks.

[jlabbate]

He's like a few people -including Paul Newman- whom have more presence than chops, which is fine here.

Really?

Please see
The Hustler
The Verdict
Cool Hand Luke
The Sting
The Color of Money
Absence of Malice
Slap Shot
Hud

[sidewaysscott]

The Color of Money is a great flick!