The Video Rental Thread

Slick Shoes · **Reply #120 on:** March 01, 2004, 03:53:07 PM

Manhattan (second viewing.) I forgot about the scene in the planetarium.

grand theft sparrow · **Reply #121 on:** March 01, 2004, 06:33:15 PM

Quote from: Weak2ndAct

TEARS OF THE SUN: No character, no setup, just absolute garbage. Proof that Fuqua really just stumbled ass-backwards into 'Training Day' and really is the hack-extraordinaire everyone thought he was before that film took off.

You make it sound like Training Day wasn't adequate proof that Antoine Fuqua was a hack.

Ernie · **Reply #122 on:** March 01, 2004, 08:54:53 PM

Just rented "Parenthood", I think it was a best picture winner back in '89. I guess I liked it, I'm not really sure, I can't decide. There were certainly things that annoyed me. Like I hated the whole thing with Rick Moranis as the controlling father, that seemed like it was something being played for a joke that should be played for a joke. I didn't really see the humor in the girl being used like that. But other than that, I think I really liked it. Keanu Reeves was pretty funny. Robards was brilliant as always. That guy from Animal House was fucking hilarious, he really stole every scene he was in pretty much. Anyway, I don't know what else to say I guess. Some scenes were so brilliant that they outshined others. Like the part where the girl threw up, that was amazing. That totally startled me, I wasn't expecting that to happen at all. And the way she cried afterwards was so so so REAL. It reminded me of the way my sister use to cry after throwing up in the past. I guess all I can say is it's definitely my favorite Ron Howard film.

I also rented "A Pickup on South Street" which as I figured, I should have just blind bought. It was just total movie-cool, total slickness. I loved it. It didn't seem forced or over the top despite it's coolness either, that I also liked. I wanna see more Sam Fuller after seeing his cameo in "Pierrot le Fou", that quote of his is fucking great....."film is a battleground...." and that whole thing.....I love that quote. He seems like a real maverick. This is a real classic, this film of his. I can't wait to buy it.

Pubrick · **Reply #123 on:** March 01, 2004, 11:41:06 PM

Quote from: ebeaman

Just rented "Parenthood", I think it was a best picture winner back in '89.

it wasn't.

Weak2ndAct · **Reply #124 on:** March 02, 2004, 12:42:39 AM

Quote from: hacksparrow

Quote from: Weak2ndAct
TEARS OF THE SUN: No character, no setup, just absolute garbage. Proof that Fuqua really just stumbled ass-backwards into 'Training Day' and really is the hack-extraordinaire everyone thought he was before that film took off.

You make it sound like Training Day wasn't adequate proof that Antoine Fuqua was a hack.

Let me guess, you think the movie is crap?

Well, I like the movie, as do many others. Fuqua was just another video/commercial director w/ crappy features under his belt (Replacement Killers and Bait). Training Day put his career back on track and it showed that he might have learned from his previous mistakes. Tears of the Sun shows that was just a fluke. We could argue if TD is good/bad, but there's no denying that it did well and garnered 2 Oscar noms for the leads.

grand theft sparrow · **Reply #125 on:** March 02, 2004, 11:20:11 AM

Quote from: Weak2ndAct

Quote from: hacksparrow
Quote from: Weak2ndAct
TEARS OF THE SUN: No character, no setup, just absolute garbage. Proof that Fuqua really just stumbled ass-backwards into 'Training Day' and really is the hack-extraordinaire everyone thought he was before that film took off.

You make it sound like Training Day wasn't adequate proof that Antoine Fuqua was a hack.

Let me guess, you think the movie is crap?

Well, I like the movie, as do many others. Fuqua was just another video/commercial director w/ crappy features under his belt (Replacement Killers and Bait). Training Day put his career back on track and it showed that he might have learned from his previous mistakes. Tears of the Sun shows that was just a fluke. We could argue if TD is good/bad, but there's no denying that it did well and garnered 2 Oscar noms for the leads.

I wouldn't say I thought it was crap. It was grossly overrated, though. Denzel was great as usual, though giving him the Oscar for that and not Malcolm X is an atrocity. Hell, Denzel was better in He Got Game and he didn't even get a nod for that.

Denzel was great in Training Day, but Ethan Hawke? Come on. Not that he was bad, he was fine, but he didn't deserve an Oscar nod. That's like if Mel Gibson had been nominated for Lethal Weapon 2. Hawke was good but that nomination will baffle me as much as My Big Fat Greek Wedding getting a nod for Best Original Screenplay.

I thought Training Day was worth the price of admission but I'm just saying the hype was a bit much for what it delivered. If it was Samuel L. Jackson and Mark Wahlberg in that movie, it would been BLASTED by just about everyone.

RegularKarate · **Reply #126 on:** March 02, 2004, 04:35:34 PM

Hacksparrow speaks much truth

bonanzataz · **Reply #127 on:** March 02, 2004, 09:04:16 PM

Quote from: hacksparrow

I thought Training Day was worth the price of admission but I'm just saying the hype was a bit much for what it delivered. If it was Samuel L. Jackson and Mark Wahlberg in that movie, it would been BLASTED by just about everyone.

yes, but it WASN'T sam jackson and marky mark, it was denzel and ethan. part of being a good director is good casting and knowing who is right for the part. i didn't think that the movie was all that great, but i hate arguments like that. it's like saying that 21 grams would have sucked if you cast carrot top in sean penn's part.

SoNowThen · **Reply #128 on:** March 03, 2004, 08:54:36 AM

Quote from: taz.

it's like saying that 21 grams would have sucked if you cast carrot top in sean penn's part.

grand theft sparrow · **Reply #129 on:** March 03, 2004, 09:47:53 AM

Quote from: taz.

it's like saying that 21 grams would have sucked if you cast carrot top in sean penn's part.

Not quite. The point is that a great actor can help a bad script be a good movie. A great director can help a bad script become a good movie. But Training Day is not a great movie but it has great actors so either the director did something wrong or the script was the antichrist of screenplays. I personally don't think the script was awful; it was adequate.

And I stand by my statement that if Sam and Marky Mark were in Training Day, we'd all be talking about how bad it was right now.

bonanzataz · **Reply #130 on:** March 03, 2004, 09:08:05 PM

you make my brian hurt... shut up.

grand theft sparrow · **Reply #131 on:** March 03, 2004, 09:47:40 PM

Quote from: taz.

you make my brian hurt... shut up.

"If my answers frighten you, Vincent, you should cease asking scary questions. Mmm-mmm, bitch!"

bonanzataz · **Reply #132 on:** March 03, 2004, 10:39:17 PM

SEE! you even made me say brain wrong.

commere, big guy...

Weak2ndAct · **Reply #133 on:** March 18, 2004, 04:34:15 PM

New stuff and re-watches:

21 GRAMS: *Insert the same questions that everyone's mentioned about the merits/problems with the film's structure, yet qualified by saying that the actors are all great here* Also, um, wasn't the Watts/Penn plot an R-rated version of 'Return to Me'? Benicio's story was my fave.
THE HUNTED: What a strange strange movie. So underwritten and simple that I actually found myself searching for *some* messages and meaning, disbelieving that the story couldn't be this threadbare, that Friedkin had another agenda. My conclusion? Nothing. But the knife fight was amazing. Connie Nielson needs to stop being 'the chick' in the action movie.
THE MISSING: Almost as threadbare as The Hunted (I'm beginning to see connections between the films I got here), and ultimately even more pointless. And what an awful, stupid ending. Ron Howard is the prime hack-extraordinaire... only this asswipe could find a way to under/mis-use Cate Blanchett. Ugh.
THE SHAPE OF THINGS: Hadn't seen it since release, and loved it even more than the first viewing. When the two birds come on screen, I want to applaud.
RUNAWAY JURY: A friend summed this up as 'good as a really great episode of 'The Practice'. Sadly, I hate The Practice, and all tired-legal-hogwash thrillers. It's a shame that Hackman and Hoffman finally got together not to act, but to get paychecks.
ED WOOD (the new dvd): Hadn't seen it in years, and now is definitely my favorite Burton film. Why wasn't the world jumping all over Depp's jock when this came out? The dvd is great too, a lot of nice features, here's hoping the mouse house don't screw the pooch on the eventual release.
NORTHFORK: Sure, it's pretty to look at, but I got as much from this movie as I would have if I spent an hour staring at some Ansel Adams. Someone call the Coen Brothers and tell them that the Polish boys are going through their garbage.
PEOPLE VS. LARRY FLYNT: This film's message is more important and poignant than ever. Watch it again. Now.
MAN ON THE MOON: I still don't like it. After watching this and 'Flynt,' I actually thought, "man, they really underused Courtney Love." And she's a crack-ho! Also, if I want to see Kaufman's works, I'll watch the originals, not 2 hours of re-creations.
POOTIE TANG: Okay, some friends rave about this movie (of course qualified with the admission that is awful), and the Onion recently ran a piece about Louis C.K. and what happened to the flick since release. So my curiousty was piqued. At 82 minutes and at times non-sensical, this movie is a studio abortion. But... that being said, I know for a fact that there's SOMETHING going on... a film hiding somewhere behind the tacked on VO and mis-mash editing. There are some amazingly inspired moments, and I can't help but believe that (dare I say) the director's cut of this flick would be really terrific. It's now my goal to find the original version of Pootie.

EDIT: forgot to mention the 'Tang.

modage · **Reply #134 on:** March 19, 2004, 12:06:58 AM

wow, that was good. i just watched Sweet Smell of Success and it was really good. these two characters were so despicable it was hard to watch. and yet, felt totally realistic. some of the subject matter, i'm shocked that they even got away with in the 50's. it seemed way ahead of its time, very dark and cynical. has anyone else seen this?