Movies

[BorisBartenov]

I've always envied those who spring for the expense of a whole-body animal suit.  As one who usually honors Halloween with something like a bit of white tape on my glasses and an untucked white shirt (geek) or maybe some foil wrapped around the top of the head (conspiracy theorist), the more expensive and elaborate costuming has always made me feel a bit cheap, a Halloween amateur who isn't up to sweating inside a rubbery enclosure or messing with complex seams, straps, skin paints, spirit gum, etc.  

One year, my son went out trick/treating as a "stop sign," possibly the safest halloween costume on record (though that was not his intent), given that he looked like, basically, a really large stop sign -- octagonal, red and white, reflective.


trojan -- we've shifted to "The Edge," with Hopkins and Alec Baldwin.  Neither was actually eaten, though Baldwin has tended to look kind of chewed-on in recent years.

[oilcanboyd23]

I'm sorry I may have lost the thread with all the bear discussions.  Is this the same guy who is later eaten by the real bear?  If so, this whole movie sounds like a giant fatal car crash--morbid and uncomfotable (and in this case perhaps even in bad taste), but people still need to look anyway...

No, I think it's apples and oranges or bowling balls or whatever.  The thread was, I think, about the Werner Herzog documentary, "Grizzly Man", and I sort of derailed it by bringing up "The Edge", a David Mamet-written movie set in the wilderness.

I suppose I could have derailed it even more by talking about how much I liked "Rescue Dawn", but still.

[oilcanboyd23]

I've always envied those who spring for the expense of a whole-body animal suit.

I envied Jbottle for the 3-picture deal Warners gave him on the strength of that mascot-suit fur-fetish script he wrote.  They say he turned it down because he doesn't write for money, purity of the art form or something like that.

[BorisBartenov]

I whined incessantly about "Rescue Dawn" not coming to my town, then it finally showed up here in October and ran for a week and I just competely spaced it off.  I hope it comes out on DVD soon. 

I may be too easily amused, but this filmography is kind of entertaining somehow:

http://imdb.com/name/nm1075976/

I would definitely read any "Furrie" script sent my way. 

[madupont]

Ps.  Barton
I posted a remark to you over at Movie Club about how I stayed up late,late,late to watch Johnny Depp, as John Wilmot, second Earl of Rochester, in "The Libertine". I posted it there because that is where
I originally mentioned this was a Malkovich production(although he is just one among many producers for that project, as well as playing Charles II ).

Depp did everything promised or implied in his performance which has now raised him to another level as an actor.  But one thing which surprised and moved me deeply was his gratitude, as the credits rolled to the black and I was overcome by the appearance of his dedication to Hunter S. Thompson    and to   Marlon Brando   who were his friends and inspiration.

When I hit the post button, however, I was given one of those big white flash cards  which serve as a hook like a cane to yank you off the stage because, just as posted by pugetopolis when he got around to it, nytempsperdu and I are no longer permitted to be members of the Movie Club.

You know I've gotten a hell of a lot of thanks of this kind as a consequence of introducing him to how the film Il Gatopardo,The Leopard, was made from a book that became a world wide best-seller unknown to the man who wrote it and never lived to see it published, when the novel came up for discussion in the Readers Forum at nytimes.com  

[jbottle]

It hinged on whether I would be allowed to direct "Day of the Hackhusker," and final script approval on "I Bash Harold."

[harrie]

Caught Flags of our Fathers today, liked it a lot.  At times, felt like I was being whacked over the head with some of the points being made; but as I've mentioned other times, I'm not at all opposed to a good whack over the head on occasion. Overall, Ithought it was well-made, well-written, well-performed.

Also tried one more time to watch Fight Club, but it just didn't happen.  This time I made it 35-40 minutes in, which beats my last personal best with this flick of 5 minutes in.  Also tried The Black Dahlia, but couldn't get into it.  Like Aaron Eckhart a lot, but just can't take Josh Hartnett at all.

[Lhoffman]

Interesting to watch Letters from Iwo Jima alongside Flags of our Fathers.  I belive Eastwood shot them one after another because he had limited access to the location.  He said that Iwo Jima was more difficult to make because he doesn't speak Japanese and many of the actors didn't speak English. 

Both good movies, though.

[harrie]

Yeah, I hope to watch Letters as well.  As it happens, a person watching Flags for a while with me almost worked on it, but life happened.  He was on call to go to Iceland for the filming, since the coast resembles Japan.  I think they shot in both places (Iceland and Iwo Jima), though.

Except for maybe the orangutan flicks, I don't think Eastwood has ever disappointed me, movie-wise.  Okay, also except for Bridges of Madison County and Space Cowboys.  But that may be it.

[Lhoffman]

LOL...I liked Space Cowboys....but maybe it's just my age....Liked Million Dollar Baby, too. 

Paint Your Wagon....nah.

[madupont]

Yeah, I hope to watch Letters as well.  As it happens, a person watching Flags for a while with me almost worked on it, but life happened.  He was on call to go to Iceland for the filming, since the coast resembles Japan.  I think they shot in both places (Iceland and Iwo Jima), though.

Except for maybe the orangutan flicks, I don't think Eastwood has ever disappointed me, movie-wise.  Okay, also except for Bridges of Madison County and Space Cowboys.  But that may be it.

I thought that was terribly funny: Bridges of Madison County. We have bridges like that tucked away here and there but does Clint Eastwood ever stop by my house, when I'm barefoot, and ask for directions?  I mean, harrie,c'mon, how else could he disappoint you except movie-wise? I know that was an interesting bath-scene, which one or the other of them thought should look like something just a little like Edouard Manet but not quite so dark(can you see Meryl explaining this to him with her head tilted to one side and using her thumbs and elegant forefingers to frame what she expects he can see?

This kind of thing can seldom happen in Iowa. Believe me. The women all going off to meet Hillary to see what she is like after a county 4H breakfast in the livestock show ring. I mean, Clint would have run smack dab into her husband and that would have been the end of that.
"Honey, there was a man here  while you were gone,who wanted to take some
pictures around the place if it was all right with the lady of the house. Don't see why he asked if he could use the bathroom? Kind of peculiar for a guy."

[oilcanboyd23]

Yeah, I hope to watch Letters as well.

"Letters" was great.  That Ken Watanbe didn't get a Best Actor nomination is absurd.

[harrie]

I mean, harrie,c'mon, how else could he disappoint you except movie-wise?

Oh...wouldn't you like to know?!  Seriously, first I was thinking director-wise; then actor-wise (and thoughts of the previously cited Paint Your Wagon scrapped that idea).  Hence the decision to go with the extremely general "movie-wise." 

Though, and I believe we had some of this discussion at the NYT, sometimes an actor's politics (or anything else, like cruelty to waitstaff, fans, animals, etc.)  can make a regular person see the actor/public figure in a little lesser light, particularly if the actor belongs to a party on the far side of the spectrum from the disappointed person.  Just MHO, for the record.

[harrie]

And thanks for the additional Letters endorsement, oilcan.  Looking forward to catching it.

[madupont]

I mean, harrie,c'mon, how else could he disappoint you except movie-wise?

Oh...wouldn't you like to know?!  Seriously, first I was thinking director-wise; then actor-wise (and thoughts of the previously cited Paint Your Wagon scrapped that idea).  Hence the decision to go with the extremely general "movie-wise." 

Though, and I believe we had some of this discussion at the NYT, sometimes an actor's politics (or anything else, like cruelty to waitstaff, fans, animals, etc.)  can make a regular person see the actor/public figure in a little lesser light, particularly if the actor belongs to a party on the far side of the spectrum from the disappointed person.  Just MHO, for the record.

Perfectly understandable. Director-wise, the mistake was directing himself(did you ever read that slim little book,Bridges of Madison County, like something they sell in greeting card stores? I did, after the film;and Oprah making a fuss about it because things like that make me very suspicious of the validity of the basic material.  Once you realize that alterations were in order, you become dubious, although I found the movie perfectly charming and actually true to life;it was the feminine half of the story. The book was male.

I sensed that in regard to what you bring up in your next paragraph, in that as a woman I am probably not a big Dirty Harry fan and that picture begins to form of a certain hauteur or cruelty, perhaps just shortness of temper toward the gophers, assistants, reps, the little-people ( whom Trojanhorse and I were just talking about this morning, in terms of celebreality) who all love, "so and so"; well they just better as their livelihood depends on it. The bigger the star, the longer the career that is, the more likelihood that the v.i.p.'s colleagues accept his word for it. Whatever it may be.

Nowadays, I'm less certain of political affiliation until it comes to actual production where it becomes as obvious as actual activism.