tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post3377249102008647871..comments2024-03-24T13:26:57.317-07:00Comments on Sergio Leone and the Infield Fly Rule: THE SLIFR MOVIE TREE HOUSE #11: TILDA SWINTON IS FREAKIN' GREAT!Dennis Cozzaliohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01954848938471883431noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post-29454191382113338022011-01-14T21:08:39.999-08:002011-01-14T21:08:39.999-08:00Jim - and as I said back to you, it's Matt Sei...Jim - and as I said back to you, it's Matt Seitz's fault! We were all responding to that quote, the context of which I totally get, but sometimes, when you start to expand on a topic, it morphs. <br /><br />And to quote my email back to you:<br /><br /> it;s hard to know how to react to people who say "such and such was the best movie ever" - like the Nolan fans with Inception this year, which just makes me think that they haven't seen enough movies.<br /><br />But people who don't consider themselves "cinephiles" have purer motives (in my opinion) and their responses are purer. They speak from the heart. I like to take such comments as they are meant: an outpouring of some kind of catharsis that they don't quite know how to express ... but "it is the best thing i've ever seen" is their way of doing it. It is sentiments like that that will keep the movie industry solvent for years to come.Sheila O'Malleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05859697259996394827noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post-66352189523698366842011-01-14T21:07:14.765-08:002011-01-14T21:07:14.765-08:00Chalkie - totally agreed. Phenomenal actor. To q...Chalkie - totally agreed. Phenomenal actor. To quote Kim Morgan: "Where's HIS box set?"Sheila O'Malleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05859697259996394827noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post-7091041449510049412011-01-14T21:06:41.752-08:002011-01-14T21:06:41.752-08:00Chris - Ugh! Major sloppy gaffe - will have Denn...Chris - Ugh! Major sloppy gaffe - will have Dennis change!<br /><br />I love Shanghai Gesture - I think I saw it 4 times this year. I love Phyllis Brooks as Dixie as well, the loopy (yet totally sane) showgirl thrust in the middle of that madhouse.<br /><br />Thanks!Sheila O'Malleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05859697259996394827noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post-21273197962685667212011-01-14T20:44:50.850-08:002011-01-14T20:44:50.850-08:00(Scurrying back of the trunk for a sec...) I deci...(Scurrying back of the trunk for a sec...) I decided to post this e-mail I sent to Sheila and y'all as a comment. Here goes:<br /><br />I was trying to use "average viewer" jokingly (since that's where we started) -- my point being that the "average viewer" does not particularly care for movie criticism. (Maybe that's just my definition of "average," but I'm always careful to make the distinction between people who love movies and people who love criticism. A Venn diagram might be in order!) Hmmmm, maybe I'll use that line...<br /><br />I met a very nice, interesting woman (maybe ten years older than me) at a New Year's Eve party and she told me "The King's Speech" was the best movie she'd ever seen. I responded by showing enthusiasm for Geoffrey Rush's performance. But I don't know what to say to something like that. I mean, I had no reason or desire to dismiss her, but it wasn't the kind of statement that calls for critical analysis, either. It was just social smalltalk. But I believe she was quite moved by the film. And, yes, there's nothing at all wrong with that.jim emersonhttp://blogs.suntimes.com/scannersnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post-65865640376200407102011-01-14T20:25:55.692-08:002011-01-14T20:25:55.692-08:00Here it is, I should think, the real summation of ...Here it is, I should think, the real summation of the Year in Movies. Anybody's true life Year in Movies is going to be Stuff I Watched This Year and the film memories we carry with us going forward have little to do with release schedules. The best times I had in theaters this year were watching an dusk-till-dawn crowd driven berserk by DON'T LOOK IN THE BASEMENT (1973) on Halloween, and SLIFR-hosted nights with ORPHAN and SEED OF CHUCKY. As demonstration of what might be the most positive difference between film bloggers and paid columnists, there's just no reason Joan Blondell can't have given one's favorite performance seen in 2010.<br /><br />One quick note though, while THE SHANGHAI GESTURE is, indeed, completely not-sane, that is thanks to Josef von Sternberg, not Fritz Lang. I assume it gets overlooked so often because Dietrich is not on hand. In that absence, Ona Munson, Victor Mature and Tierney seem to be dividing up the Marlene duties, Munson doing the mythic/chilly/weird grrl empowerment, Mature handling the sleepy-eyed, indolent sexuality and rude quips, and Tierney covering the cheekbones.Chris Stanglhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06300723935864517305noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8795280.post-42174323004197749442011-01-14T19:44:15.908-08:002011-01-14T19:44:15.908-08:00Still waiting for John Garfield to be rediscovered...Still waiting for John Garfield to be rediscovered by my generation... as of yet it hasn't happened... 'Force of Evil', 'Body and Soul' and 'The Postman Always Rings Twice' are flat-out must-sees.Chalkienoreply@blogger.com