Eddie Murphy in THE NUTTY PROFESSOR. Seriously. He’s able to define every member of that family and truly works with his prosthetics to create distinct people.
I just watched this for the first time and I think this may just be one of the best Woody Allen movies I have seen thus far. It truly plucks the fruits of humor from the vines of pain. I was shaken by this movie in a way I cannot fully describe right away. I feel like Woody Allen was laying everything out there, right on the table.
Anyone else feel like Ralph Bakshi should be on Criterion? Preferably HEAVY TRAFFIC (My favorite of his films) but WIZARDS or FRITZ THE CAT would do well too. Hell, I could even see COOL WORLD getting the Criterion treatment. Where is the Bakshi-shi-shi love?
I’m halfway through Blood Meridian now and I’m looking at the looming release of Todd Field’s film adaptation and getting a little worried. I’m not sure that a line-by-line adaptation would really work for this, but I do think that the atmosphere can be used to create something very compelling. There are a lot of strong images in the novel but unfortunately, all of them will get the eventual movie an NC-17 rating and I’m not sure anyone would be brave enough to do that.
I guess they could do something along the lines of The Proposition but that would ultimately be useless because there already exists a movie called….The Proposition.
Oh well. I hope at least they cast John Goodman as The Judge.
Yes, mumblecore, the “genre” of film and video that is rapidly gaining momentum and becoming the new indie thang. Will it become co-opted by the mainstream? Or will it just fade away?
For the record, I really like mumblecore. The mumbly films I’ve seen thus far (Kissing on the Mouth, Funny Ha-ha, Hannah Takes the Stairs) were all sloppy and slapdash in weirdly compelling ways.
Watchmen creator Alan Moore makes a cameo as a small child eating an apple pie at a McDonald’s. He has only one line: “But that’s why I said McNuggets!”
It would not surprise me in the least to know that the Coens actually considered her for the Visser role in BLOOD SIMPLE. She has a lot of the same qualities and they tend to play similar characters. Can you really take her character in (500) DAYS OF SUMMER and Walsh’s character from BLOOD SIMPLE.
I’m surprised there aren’t any posts about this fantastic obscure film from the mid-90s. It is a complete evisceration of all that is American capitalism, with its greed and its larceny, ironically turning an act of kidnapping into something morally correct. Tom Arnold gives his best performance ever and David Paymer proves what a reliable, hard-working actor he is with this film.
Wes BLAND-erson is such a hooble-gooble. His films are simply crafted to the point of exhaustion. I feel his fingers are tired. From the moment the camera first dipped down for an overhead look at some cards in RUSHMORE, I knew that this was a man who was fixed, locked, and unwilling to experiment.
These are my top 10 films of all time. These are in no particular order, but these are the ones that most resonate with me.
1) COVOITURAGE (Carpool) (Hiller, 1996) – Hiller’s incredible satirical deconstruction of the American capitalist empire that was seen as just a garden variety family film. This is an art-house film that was greatly mis-advertised. A film in which an act of kidnapping is ironically seen as a moral bonding experience. One of the sharpest screenplays ever written. Tom Arnold has never been better.
2) JOE DIRT (Gordon, 1999) – Robert Zemeckis may have adapted Winston Groom’s “Forrest Gump” into an Oscar-winning film….but that doesn’t mean it was any good. Dennie Gordon’s view of America is much more of an experience. We see a true panorama of the country that was forged on blood, tears, sweat….and dirt. Amazingly photographed.
3) RESTEZ A L’ECOUTE (Stay Tuned) (Hyams, 1992) – A Faustian bargain gives way to the inner psychological turmoil of a McLuhan-esque commentary on television. Hyams’ film succeeds where Cronen-BORE’s SHIT-deodrome failed.
4) RENALDO AND CLARA (Dylan, 1978) – The Dylan epic that Todd PAINs only wishes he could make. From the poet himself, here is a four hour journey into the realms of Dylan himself whereupon he reveals more layers to his personality in one frame than in all of his entire discography. This film, to me, represents the superiority of the moving image to music. Ideas can only be served by both visual and audio means, not just one or the other. The full senses must be used.
5) EMPIRE (Warhol, 1964) – The most misunderstood film of the ’60s. In a decade that floated on psychedelic kines thesis, Warhol forced the decade to step back and simply observe their surroundings. Of course, the philistines disagreed.
6) HOROWITZ BAR MITZVAH, 1978 (Horowitz, 1978) – An obscure home film recording of young Kevin Horowitz’s Bar Mitzvah, coming straight at the crossroads of the 1970s. Horowitz’ father, Mitchell, photographs with a master’s eye and a steady hand (Literally, as there is little hand-held shakiness, except for late in the film in which the shakiness serves to show the drunkenness, both of Horowitz and the society that has allowed Vietnam to run as long as it has). An incredible achievement, but no one will be able to see it outside of my immediate family.
7) ALLEZ DESSUS (Going Overboard) GOING OVERBOARD (Breiman, 1989) – Adam Sandler may play a stand-up comedian in Judd Have-A-Cow’s Funny BAD-ple, but one cannot ignore his performance as a comedian in this film. This is both his first performance and his best. He brings you into the world of this cruise ship, making you feel Schecky Moskowitz’s pain as he tries to break into the comedy world. Incredibly photographed.
8) MICKEYHO MODRE OCI (Mickey Blue Eyes) (Makin, 1999) – A comedy-of-manners-upon-manners-upon-manners. Hilarious and subtle, turning the conventions of both mob movies and English comedies. Hugh Grant sends up his role in FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL so well.
9) SOUR UVAS (Sour Grapes) (David, 1998) – One of the best films about family conflict ever. David proves himself as capable director as he is an actor, showing us the sicknesses that lie at the heart of any family. Incredibly photographed.
10) VERTIGO (Hitchcocke, 1958) – The crowning achievement of the feminist world. Hitchcocke shows us women the way they were meant to be: Dead. And then taken advantage of by men. As a feminist myself, I greatly approve of this view and I admonish my feminist classmates for going along with the pack on this film. Here is a film about female empowerment in its purest form.
Well it seems as if this little phrase about True Blood fans being executed was snuck into Obama’s health care reform bill. People aren’t noticing that.
Were you the type of kid to always be scared by villains and monsters in plays and movies? Did your parents have to gently explain to you that they were just actors playing a role? Did you ever actually meet an actor and saw that they were just like you?
I think I may have seen some sort of play and, at the curtain call after the show, I saw that whoever was playing the evil characters were human as well and seemed relatively nice. I do distinctly remember watching Home Alone and being assured that Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern were nice people in real life and that they were just playing a role.
Great performances that hardly ever get discussed almost 3 years ago
Eddie Murphy in THE NUTTY PROFESSOR. Seriously. He’s able to define every member of that family and truly works with his prosthetics to create distinct people.
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About Spilberg. Is he a cinematic artist or a businessman looking to score a 'few' bucks. Film thorists...UNITE. almost 3 years ago
I’ve always believed that either everything is art or nothing is. Therefore, Speilberg is an artist.
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Great performances that hardly ever get discussed almost 3 years ago
John Candy in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.
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Movies That Should Be In the Criterion Collection almost 3 years ago
Zazie Dans Le Metro!
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DECONSTRUCTING HARRY (1997) almost 3 years ago
I just watched this for the first time and I think this may just be one of the best Woody Allen movies I have seen thus far. It truly plucks the fruits of humor from the vines of pain. I was shaken by this movie in a way I cannot fully describe right away. I feel like Woody Allen was laying everything out there, right on the table.
Go to Comment
Ralph Bakshi on Criterion? almost 3 years ago
Anyone else feel like Ralph Bakshi should be on Criterion? Preferably HEAVY TRAFFIC (My favorite of his films) but WIZARDS or FRITZ THE CAT would do well too. Hell, I could even see COOL WORLD getting the Criterion treatment. Where is the Bakshi-shi-shi love?
Go to Comment
Blood Meridian - Can it be filmed? almost 3 years ago
I’m halfway through Blood Meridian now and I’m looking at the looming release of Todd Field’s film adaptation and getting a little worried. I’m not sure that a line-by-line adaptation would really work for this, but I do think that the atmosphere can be used to create something very compelling. There are a lot of strong images in the novel but unfortunately, all of them will get the eventual movie an NC-17 rating and I’m not sure anyone would be brave enough to do that.
I guess they could do something along the lines of The Proposition but that would ultimately be useless because there already exists a movie called….The Proposition.
Oh well. I hope at least they cast John Goodman as The Judge.
Go to Comment
Movies with only one actor... almost 3 years ago
Can you list them? How many have there been? This is not counting musical or stand-up concert films.
Let’s start…
SECRET HONOR…
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Movies with only one actor... almost 3 years ago
CASTAWAY has other actors, but the middle section is just Tom Hanks and a volleyball. So I’d say it sideways counts.
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Movies with only one actor... almost 3 years ago
I haven’t seen it, but GIVE ’EM HELL HARRY is apparently just James Whitmore doing a monologue.
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What is the future of mumblecore? almost 3 years ago
Yes, mumblecore, the “genre” of film and video that is rapidly gaining momentum and becoming the new indie thang. Will it become co-opted by the mainstream? Or will it just fade away?
For the record, I really like mumblecore. The mumbly films I’ve seen thus far (Kissing on the Mouth, Funny Ha-ha, Hannah Takes the Stairs) were all sloppy and slapdash in weirdly compelling ways.
Go to Comment
Convince Me That "Away We Go" Isn't Terrible almost 3 years ago
Watchmen creator Alan Moore makes a cameo as a small child eating an apple pie at a McDonald’s. He has only one line: “But that’s why I said McNuggets!”
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Girl's Night Out! almost 3 years ago
What movie should we all see on our Girl’s Night Out! No boys allowed!
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Is Conor Oberst the greatest living writer of our time? almost 3 years ago
Discuss.
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Is Conor Oberst the greatest living writer of our time? almost 3 years ago
I really really want Conor Oberst to collaborate with Alexander Payne on something
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YOU GUYS! JOHN HUGHES DIED! almost 3 years ago
He has left. I will cry.
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Zooey Deschanel: The Female M. Emmet Walsh? almost 3 years ago
It would not surprise me in the least to know that the Coens actually considered her for the Visser role in BLOOD SIMPLE. She has a lot of the same qualities and they tend to play similar characters. Can you really take her character in (500) DAYS OF SUMMER and Walsh’s character from BLOOD SIMPLE.
Go to Comment
Zooey Deschanel: The Female M. Emmet Walsh? almost 3 years ago
Remember when a dildo was plaster castered out of her dong in WR: MYSTERIES OF THE ORGANISM?
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And I'm proud to be a Zooey Deschanelian... almost 3 years ago
…where at least I know I love The Smiths….
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Zooey Deschanel: The Female M. Emmet Walsh? almost 3 years ago
I still say that she would have made an excellent Chigurh.
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CARPOOL (Arthur Hiller, 1996) almost 3 years ago
I’m surprised there aren’t any posts about this fantastic obscure film from the mid-90s. It is a complete evisceration of all that is American capitalism, with its greed and its larceny, ironically turning an act of kidnapping into something morally correct. Tom Arnold gives his best performance ever and David Paymer proves what a reliable, hard-working actor he is with this film.
Go to Comment
Fantastic Mr. Fox anyone? almost 3 years ago
Sigh
Wes BLAND-erson is such a hooble-gooble. His films are simply crafted to the point of exhaustion. I feel his fingers are tired. From the moment the camera first dipped down for an overhead look at some cards in RUSHMORE, I knew that this was a man who was fixed, locked, and unwilling to experiment.
For a REAL director, look at Arthur Hiller.
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CARPOOL (Arthur Hiller, 1996) almost 3 years ago
I never thought of it in that way but the parallels are there.
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CARPOOL (Arthur Hiller, 1996) almost 3 years ago
Yeah. It was an ironic, poignant element that really tied into this film’s exploration of extreme consumerism.
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TOP 10! almost 3 years ago
These are my top 10 films of all time. These are in no particular order, but these are the ones that most resonate with me.
1) COVOITURAGE (Carpool) (Hiller, 1996) – Hiller’s incredible satirical deconstruction of the American capitalist empire that was seen as just a garden variety family film. This is an art-house film that was greatly mis-advertised. A film in which an act of kidnapping is ironically seen as a moral bonding experience. One of the sharpest screenplays ever written. Tom Arnold has never been better.
2) JOE DIRT (Gordon, 1999) – Robert Zemeckis may have adapted Winston Groom’s “Forrest Gump” into an Oscar-winning film….but that doesn’t mean it was any good. Dennie Gordon’s view of America is much more of an experience. We see a true panorama of the country that was forged on blood, tears, sweat….and dirt. Amazingly photographed.
3) RESTEZ A L’ECOUTE (Stay Tuned) (Hyams, 1992) – A Faustian bargain gives way to the inner psychological turmoil of a McLuhan-esque commentary on television. Hyams’ film succeeds where Cronen-BORE’s SHIT-deodrome failed.
4) RENALDO AND CLARA (Dylan, 1978) – The Dylan epic that Todd PAINs only wishes he could make. From the poet himself, here is a four hour journey into the realms of Dylan himself whereupon he reveals more layers to his personality in one frame than in all of his entire discography. This film, to me, represents the superiority of the moving image to music. Ideas can only be served by both visual and audio means, not just one or the other. The full senses must be used.
5) EMPIRE (Warhol, 1964) – The most misunderstood film of the ’60s. In a decade that floated on psychedelic kines thesis, Warhol forced the decade to step back and simply observe their surroundings. Of course, the philistines disagreed.
6) HOROWITZ BAR MITZVAH, 1978 (Horowitz, 1978) – An obscure home film recording of young Kevin Horowitz’s Bar Mitzvah, coming straight at the crossroads of the 1970s. Horowitz’ father, Mitchell, photographs with a master’s eye and a steady hand (Literally, as there is little hand-held shakiness, except for late in the film in which the shakiness serves to show the drunkenness, both of Horowitz and the society that has allowed Vietnam to run as long as it has). An incredible achievement, but no one will be able to see it outside of my immediate family.
7) ALLEZ DESSUS (Going Overboard) GOING OVERBOARD (Breiman, 1989) – Adam Sandler may play a stand-up comedian in Judd Have-A-Cow’s Funny BAD-ple, but one cannot ignore his performance as a comedian in this film. This is both his first performance and his best. He brings you into the world of this cruise ship, making you feel Schecky Moskowitz’s pain as he tries to break into the comedy world. Incredibly photographed.
8) MICKEYHO MODRE OCI (Mickey Blue Eyes) (Makin, 1999) – A comedy-of-manners-upon-manners-upon-manners. Hilarious and subtle, turning the conventions of both mob movies and English comedies. Hugh Grant sends up his role in FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL so well.
9) SOUR UVAS (Sour Grapes) (David, 1998) – One of the best films about family conflict ever. David proves himself as capable director as he is an actor, showing us the sicknesses that lie at the heart of any family. Incredibly photographed.
10) VERTIGO (Hitchcocke, 1958) – The crowning achievement of the feminist world. Hitchcocke shows us women the way they were meant to be: Dead. And then taken advantage of by men. As a feminist myself, I greatly approve of this view and I admonish my feminist classmates for going along with the pack on this film. Here is a film about female empowerment in its purest form.
Go to Comment
can you name a truly great american film in the last 5 years... almost 3 years ago
Terror at Blood Fart Lake.
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Should anyone who watches TRUE BLOOD be condemned to death? almost 3 years ago
If this were the Middle Ages, would anyone found watching this show be found dead?
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Should anyone who watches TRUE BLOOD be condemned to death? almost 3 years ago
Well it seems as if this little phrase about True Blood fans being executed was snuck into Obama’s health care reform bill. People aren’t noticing that.
Go to Comment
Best Living Female Writer? almost 3 years ago
Who is it? Amy Hempel? Ani DiFranco? Pam Houston?
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How did you first find out what an actor was when you were a kid? almost 3 years ago
Were you the type of kid to always be scared by villains and monsters in plays and movies? Did your parents have to gently explain to you that they were just actors playing a role? Did you ever actually meet an actor and saw that they were just like you?
I think I may have seen some sort of play and, at the curtain call after the show, I saw that whoever was playing the evil characters were human as well and seemed relatively nice. I do distinctly remember watching Home Alone and being assured that Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern were nice people in real life and that they were just playing a role.
Go to Comment