tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post6770050164647101485..comments2024-03-24T13:26:57.317-07:00Comments on Sergio Leone and the Infield Fly Rule: HOLIDAY MOVIE HYPERBOLE DEMYSTIFIED!Dennis Cozzaliohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01954848938471883431noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post-69833945542991986752010-01-26T09:28:13.547-08:002010-01-26T09:28:13.547-08:00Whoops! Meant to say "Speed Racer and I have ...Whoops! Meant to say "<i>Speed Racer</i> and I have a rather torrid history..."<br /><br />...but maybe all the details about a man and his imaginary car are best left out anyway, eh?Dennis Cozzaliohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01954848938471883431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post-26904677051161911792010-01-26T09:25:44.427-08:002010-01-26T09:25:44.427-08:00Glad to have you here, Ronak, and I'm glad to ...Glad to have you here, Ronak, and I'm glad to hear of your plan to make your presence known. Yes, <i>Speed Racer</i> have a rather torrid history, and if you like the movie you'll find hanging out here a lot more tolerable! :)<br /><br />Thanks for dropping me (us) a note. I look forward to getting familiar with your point of view.Dennis Cozzaliohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01954848938471883431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post-38845078469619820672010-01-26T09:15:37.326-08:002010-01-26T09:15:37.326-08:00Hello, Dennis. I just discovered your blog today (...Hello, Dennis. I just discovered your blog today (I remember coming across the name earlier, but I never actually headed over), and I'm loving it, especially for the Speed Racer bit.<br />Just thought I'd announce my presence, as I'm something of a compulsive commenter.:)Ronak M Sonihttps://ronakmsoni.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post-57945571291476699922010-01-05T05:37:48.479-08:002010-01-05T05:37:48.479-08:00The term "unobtanium", however clunky it...The term "unobtanium", however clunky it may sound, is actually a standard term in engineering circles for a material that would instantly solve a tricky design problem, if only it existed. Believe it or not, Cameron's being a little tongue-in-cheek here!<br /><br />The word's first printed definition dates from 1958: <i>"A substance having the exact high test properties required for a piece of hardware or other item of use, but not obtainable whether because it theoretically cannot exist or because technology is insufficiently advanced to produce it."</i><br /><br />Check:<br /><br />http://www.worldwidewords.org/weirdwords/ww-uno1.htm<br /><br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UnobtainiumPeet Gelderblomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02670984058059813380noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post-53408885210264585302010-01-05T05:34:58.414-08:002010-01-05T05:34:58.414-08:00This comment has been removed by the author.Peet Gelderblomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02670984058059813380noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post-14393785484730980972010-01-04T20:17:07.061-08:002010-01-04T20:17:07.061-08:00I hope "Crazy Heart" gets a wider releas...I hope "Crazy Heart" gets a wider release soon. Bridges deserves some major recognition for his performance. While watching it, in the beginning, I was thinking 'ok another boozy country singer performance here'. Then about halfway through Bridges does something (perhaps its the realization that he's not just after Maggie for the booty call) and I was completely invested in his character. A really, really good performance.Joe Bakerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10160822944514723178noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post-72320443541912828942010-01-04T19:02:21.474-08:002010-01-04T19:02:21.474-08:00I may finally feel obliged to see Precious on DVD ...I may finally feel obliged to see <b>Precious</b> on DVD to evaluate the hubbub for myself. I did see Daniel's previous film, <b>Shadowboxer</b> which has scared me from seeing anything else he's done. I feel like the guy saw early Tarantino, plus Guy Ritchie's gangster films, and thought to himself, "Hell, I can top this!". Believe me, you do not want to see Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Helen Mirren doing the hibbidydibbity, or Mo'nique as a crack addict nurse named . . . . Precious.Peter Nellhaushttp://www.coffeecoffeeandmorecoffee.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post-60657094455170779912010-01-04T17:52:53.798-08:002010-01-04T17:52:53.798-08:00AVATAR is groundbreaking cinema that will change t...<i>AVATAR is groundbreaking cinema that will change the way movies are made and the way narrative cinema is approached.</i><br /><br />No it won't because Hollywood has been luring audiences with flashy special effects accompanied by trite plots and bad dialogue since its inception. There's very little that's "groundbreaking" about AVATAR in that regard. Better movies have already been made entirely or largely with computer-generated imagery. Put another piece of meat in the Big Mac -- is that a revolution?<br /><br />For all his popularity, it never ceases to amaze that a review of a James Cameron movie can be written in 2010 that fails to recognize the fact that, at the end of the day, James Cameron stinks in much the same way that George Lucas stinks. These people suck up money and spit out product.Chrisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post-90357276897916555612010-01-04T17:37:06.053-08:002010-01-04T17:37:06.053-08:00For the record that was the exact opposite of what...For the record that was the exact opposite of what I was saying, but that's OK I'll take my support where I can get it. ; )Bryce Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17040954580033470664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post-43566646256674701532010-01-04T09:51:28.942-08:002010-01-04T09:51:28.942-08:00Evil Dead Junkie is right about Cameron. His dial...Evil Dead Junkie is right about Cameron. His dialogue has always been as clunky as those found in the STAR WARS and LORD OF THE RINGS films. Even worse, his plots have been blatant rip-offs from other movies and television episodes. TITANIC and THE TERMINATOR (1984) are prime examples.<br /><br />However . . . I still enjoyed AVATAR.<br /><br /><br /><i>"At the risk of crossing over into the realm of cinematic evangelism, I maintain that Speed Racer has it all over Avatar in terms of how it manages to artfully shuffle the cards of its narrative structure, and that the Wachowski Brothers movie is the one from which the true inspiration to carry moviemaking and storytelling fever into a new generation will likely be derived.) "</i><br /><br />Dennis, I'm with you on this. I enjoyed AVATAR very much. But when it came to visual storytelling, it doesn't beat the originality of SPEED RACER.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post-34269839710292762442010-01-03T15:02:08.428-08:002010-01-03T15:02:08.428-08:00I have to say, I've really taken issue with th...I have to say, I've really taken issue with the argument that its OK that the exposition is so clunky, and the characters so one note, in Avatar because Cameron was always a bad writer. <br /><br />I wrote about this in my own piece on the film, but if you watch the mess hall scene in Aliens it takes Cameron all of about two minutes to sketch an entire platoon worth of personality, and deliver a metric ton of exposition. Not to mention setting up virtually every inter human conflict through the rest of the movie (Lieutenant Vs. Grunts, Army Versus Corporate, Ripley Vs.Bishop)<br /><br />He's playing broad, but he fixes them in your mind. Giving them personalities beyond, Michelle Rodriguez flies a hovercraft! and Ram Ghas is a spy!<br />And without resorting to calling The Aliens "TheScaryThingsThatWantToEatUsiums"Bryce Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17040954580033470664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post-41770329252767518612010-01-03T11:44:13.397-08:002010-01-03T11:44:13.397-08:00I would argue that Jeff Bridges does indeed contin...I would argue that Jeff Bridges does indeed continue to be underrated, and I'll tell you why.<br /><br />1) Bridges has been the lead/ supporting lead in many if not most of his films - something <i>very</i> few character actors can say - yet his movies are not identified with him the same way that, say, mention of a Jack Nicholson movie or a Meg Ryan movie draws an instant connection for John Q. Moviegoer. I put that down not only to his versatility - from President to Dude, from passenger hero to Iron Man nemesis, it's impossible to miscast him - but for his locating his character's place in the movie and anchoring it there, never stepping forward for a flashy solo without bringing others along with him. What this means is...<br /><br />2) Bridges's performances are never about Bridges. Sean Penn's Matthew Poncelot has nothing to do with his Harvey Milk, and they're both great performances, but there's an awareness that it's Penn's skill that's drawing you in, more than Poncelot's and Milk's characters. As for Tom Cruise, well, it's 100% impossible to forget that you're watching Tom Cruise. But with Bridges, the character takes center stage to such an extent that the actor is left behind. We the audience are caught up in these fictional lives, and never get distracted by the technique or the dazzle.<br /><br />3) While Bridges can act with intensity, that intensity is directed at his situation, or the other characters with him. <i>Never</i> is it aimed at the audience. As viewers, we don't notice when we're being pulled in; we do, however, notice when a force pushes us back. Bridges's intensity doesn't push us; therefore, he's not noticed.<br /><br />How can a performer who's recognized as great still be considered underrated? Bridges has done it by getting the job done right and placing the film ahead of his own work in it. Only a concerted effort will bring him to the fore. And until the day that <i>The Big Lebowski</i> is known as a Jeff Bridges movie and not a Coen Brothers movie, that's the way it's always going to be.Patrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07333299951714731981noreply@blogger.com