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this film is a testament to the genius of Cameron Crowe, it is gloriously cynical, but clearly you weren't paying proper attention because you felt it was "schmaltzy in parts". if you watch the ending you will notice that all he is doing is telling the poor cow what she wants to hear, so he can get what he wants.

I don't agree with that at all, the little snippets from his mentor along with the various revelations that Cruise has along the way make that ending true from his part, but it's still very schmaltzy.
 
I haven't see that movie, but the Cameron Crowe movies I have seen just rub me the wrong the way. Vanilla Sky and especially the one about the rock band with Kate Hudson... blech. There's something too trite or self-satisfied about them.
 
I don't agree with that at all, the little snippets from his mentor along with the various revelations that Cruise has along the way make that ending true from his part, but it's still very schmaltzy.

after monday night football, he sees rod on the phone with his missus and realises that is what he wants, but he's incapable of showing any emotion as evidenced by pretty much the whole film, so he goes home to see his "wife", and talks about how he was the guy who did the home visits because he could bullshit his way through anything, he finishes off by saying "you complete me", which is what the deaf bloke in the lift said to his bird. plus the character is a slimy shitbag in general, put all of that together and you do not get a "happy" ending, you get a wonderfully cynical one.

I haven't see that movie, but the Cameron Crowe movies I have seen just rub me the wrong the way. Vanilla Sky and especially the one about the rock band with Kate Hudson... blech. There's something too trite or self-satisfied about them.

i agree about vanilla sky ("open your eyes" the original was much better), but dude this is the guy who wrote fast times at ridgemont high.
 
Loved "Almost Famous" and thought "Jerry M" was good enough. It's interesting that men feel the ending was just a cute man telling "the cow" what she wants to hear. I guess I didn't realize we had a bunch of cynics on board. :)
 
after monday night football, he sees rod on the phone with his missus and realises that is what he wants, but he's incapable of showing any emotion as evidenced by pretty much the whole film, so he goes home to see his "wife", and talks about how he was the guy who did the home visits because he could bullshit his way through anything, he finishes off by saying "you complete me", which is what the deaf bloke in the lift said to his bird. plus the character is a slimy shitbag in general, put all of that together and you do not get a "happy" ending, you get a wonderfully cynical one.

Like I said earlier, don't agree with that in the slightest.
 
Jubei Ninpucho (Ninja Scroll, 1993)

This is one of the best anime I've ever seen and easily one of the most brutal movies I've ever seen, but it handles the brutality in quite the fine fashion. Here's the link to my review, with more in-depth thoughts

http://worldsoforos.com/secondviews/2008/10/23/jubei-ninpucho-ninja-scroll-1993/

The African Queen (1951)

The effects leave something to be desired, and yes, it is a knock against the film. But, it's Bogart's best performance and Hepburn is well, Hepburn like usual. It's a simple story, but it works in spades. A man changing because of a woman and because of her innate desire to do what is right, but at the same time she must take stock of her life as he realizes how meaningless her earlier missionary work was and how wrong it was to try and "convert" the locals.

Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

This belongs on the list just for the perfect job it did of blending animation with live action, as well as for the giddy mixing of Warner Brothers cartoon characters and Disney cartoon characters. The Daffy and Donald piano duet, dumbo outside the window, Bugs Bunny and Mickey Mouse on screen at the same time, so many awesome moments in that regard. But, when you look at the rest of the movie you realize how truly awesome a work it is. Not only doe it present the tremendous moral conundrum of what a toon is (for instance what is a sentient toon? Is Roger one, is the shoe that is dipped one, where is the demarcation line? etc.) but it is a classic film noir with some of the slickest dialogue put to screen as well as an award worthy performance from Bob Hoskins as Eddie Valiant. Easily in my top 20, a tremendous movie on every level.

American Splendor (2003)

First, Paul Giamatti is amazing in this, but so is Hope Davis and no one ever notices her. The weaving of reality and Hollywood is done so well and presents such a new and interesting take on the biopic. The subject material itself is tremendous, its both sad and hilarious at the same time. At the end of the day AS is Seinfeld, a movie about nothing that ends up being about everything as a result. But, unlike Seinfeld, you won't find caricatures in AS and everything is much, much darker, Splendid movie.
 
Stage Door (1937)

Haunting film disguised as a comedy. Like I always say, Hepburn is Hepburn. But, Ginger Rogers brings the goods right alongside her, as does Adolphe Menjou. However, the performance from Andrea Leeds as the near death actress Kay Hamilton was easily the best part of the movie. Her performance is what made you realize that all the big talking and tough talk was nothing but bluster. You feel for these girls because they are real and because their lives are full of nothing but tragedy. At the same time no matter what happens you realize that life goes on, they get parts, they die, they get married, etc.. That's why the final scene was the perfect closure, it sends that final ,message, that a lot of bad stuff and good stuff has happened to these women, but life goes on.
 
I liked "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" but I had a feeling I didn't know enough of cartoon history (and LA history) to fully appreciate it. My parents both love it, and I remember just enough bits and snatches of conversations with them to realize that there's a lot going on in that movie that I don't have the references for.
 
Check out this HD On-Demand double-feature I enjoyed last night:

1. Rambo (the latest)
It was like if Sam Raimi made a parody of Rambo flick. Limbs flying about willy-nilly and so much... red. And the dialogue- my lord! Not that I expect Oscar Wilde hear, but this was just horrendous. Loved the flick.

2. Cloverfield
A fun movie. I remember people either loving it or hating it- I just thought it was a fun enough little flick. At only 80 minutes, I can't hate a monster movie. Sure the hand-held cam thing got annoying and a lot of the moments were preposterous, but whatever. The girls were cute.
 
"Bigger, Stronger, Faster" -- made by a guy from Poughkeepsie about himself and his two brothers. All three of them are on or have taken steroids. The filmmaker explores a lot of the nooks and crannies of the issue, raising questions not only on sports but on how Americans view themselves. Very insightful.
 
The African Queen (1951)

The effects leave something to be desired, and yes, it is a knock against the film. But, it's Bogart's best performance and Hepburn is well, Hepburn like usual. It's a simple story, but it works in spades. A man changing because of a woman and because of her innate desire to do what is right, but at the same time she must take stock of her life as he realizes how meaningless her earlier missionary work was and how wrong it was to try and "convert" the locals.


I'm sure there are many who agree with you, but not me. :D

I'll admit I'm not a Hepburn fan, she's always just too good, and self righteous, for my taste. And I hate to see her pushing Bogie around in that film.

But, apart from all that, I think that the part of Fred C. Dobbs, in The Treasure of Sierra Madre is Bogart's most demanding, and best, performance. And, although that is one of my favorite films, it's not my favorite Bogart film. That would be The Big Sleep. Although he turns in a fine performance in it, I realize that it can't compare with what it took to play Fred C. Dobbs.
 
2. Cloverfield
A fun movie. I remember people either loving it or hating it- I just thought it was a fun enough little flick. At only 80 minutes, I can't hate a monster movie. Sure the hand-held cam thing got annoying and a lot of the moments were preposterous, but whatever. The girls were cute.

That was my take on the movie as well, a good fun movie. Wasn't in the "greatest movie ever" category, but for a monster movie, it did have "more" to it than that, and more than its share of good character and story moments.
 
The Last Temptation Of Christ (1988)

Really couldn't stand this film. My first problem was the fact that like usual Hollywood decided that Jesus and all his followers would be whitey white white, and not of dark skin like they actually were. Oh, but all the villains, or the church that doesn't agree with Jesus, they have a bit of an olive complexion to them, what a bunch of typical Hollywood horse crap. The last 45 minutes was some very good stuff, full of a man finding out why he is the man he is and why he is also the son of god. The problem is that the first 2 hours were excessively dull and sleep inducing and were also extremely repetitive. In order to set up the last 45 minutes maybe an hour of that first two was actually needed. But, instead of the good story of discovery, failure, and renewal that The Last Temptation should have been we were treated to a bloated Hollywood farce.
 
Dude, it was done in 1988. You're expecting some racial accuracy here? You're talking about the same year that Police Academy 5: Assignment Miami Beach came out and these guys were at the height of their career:

corey_haim_corey_feldman_lost_boys2.jpg
 
Dude, it was done in 1988. You're expecting some racial accuracy here? You're talking about the same year that Police Academy 5: Assignment Miami Beach came out and these guys were at the height of their career:

corey_haim_corey_feldman_lost_boys2.jpg


When the director is Scorcese then yeah, I am. But, for other reasons this is easily his worst film and a very bad film in general. The addition of the Corey's to the setting would have greatly improved the end product, but this is true of everything in life.
 
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I just thought it was a bit ironic that 1988 was being held up as an example of poor film-making when we've only just previously praised a film from that very same year.

According to Wiki there were some fairly modern classics in that year.
 
The year wasn't bad. It was the 80's. We still don't see racial authenticity in films. Go back 20 years and I'm gonna say it's a bit worse than present.
 
Okay, I'm going to tout something I am looking forward to watching soon. It is one of my favorite horror films, made in 1945, Dead of Night. This is no Freddy or Jason thing, it is great psychological horror. It starts with an architect waking from a recurring nightmare. He then drives to a house in the country for an appointment to look at a job. Slowly, he becomes aware that this is the beginning of his nightmare.

This is an anthology film, very well woven together, done by four directors. It is rarely shown. I am looking forward to seeing it, and burning it to DVD. It will be shown on Turner Classic Movies on Thursday, Oct. 30th, at 8pm EST. Check it out!

More info:
http://www.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll?p=avg&sql=1:12733
 

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