I just saw Hard Eight for the first time

[Banky]

i think that the movie had potential to be great up until the two years later thing

i alos agree the suspense for the hotel rrom was over done.  I thought you were gonna see some crazy shit when the camera moved around

[Finn]

I thought the scene in the hotel room was really authentic. I totally believed that these characters would have their breakdowns at this point. They started to fall apart but eventually came back together again.

[kotte]

I thought the scene in the hotel room was really authentic. I totally believed that these characters would have their breakdowns at this point. They started to fall apart but eventually came back together again.

It's really well acted and well written. In my eyes the problem is how PTA chose to reveal the "suprise". There's a build-up that doesn't really pay off. They way it builds, he basically have us thinking there's a decapitated 10 year old on the bed. Not an unconscious man.

EDIT: In the commentary he tells us about an audience that basically shouted "SHOW US!". They must have been awfully disappointed.

Don't think I don't like the movie. It's amazing!

[Gamblour.]

EDIT: In the commentary he tells us about an audience that basically shouted "SHOW US!". They must have been awfully disappointed.

Show us what?

[Banky]

its definantly not amazing

[coffeebeetle]

And just for the record, the last shot means everything and stands on it's own.

Well said.  It sums up his character and the life that character has lead up to that point.  That last shot, as cheesy as this may sound, clinched the film for me.  I just thought: "Films don't get much better than this."

[kotte]

EDIT: In the commentary he tells us about an audience that basically shouted "SHOW US!". They must have been awfully disappointed.

Show us what?

What PTA's hiding when PBH enters the hotel room. You know when he talks to an upset John C.

[coffeebeetle]

he basically have us thinking there's a decapitated 10 year old on the bed. Not an unconscious man.

I disagree.  I think the buildup was perfect...how else was John supposed to react when his "father-figure" shows up to see what sort of trouble his surrogate son's gotten into?  And did you honestly think that these characters were capable of something so heineous as decapitating a 10 year old?

[kotte]

And did you honestly think that these characters were capable of something so heineous as decapitating a 10 year old?

A joke.

I just didn't agree with the build up.

[coffeebeetle]

K  

[meatball]

The "TWO YEARS LATER" threw me off right when I was getting into it.

The commentary by Philip Baker Hall is one of my favorite commentaries. He's a very smart guy, and knows how to talk.

[kotte]

I have to admit, I bought it for the commentary. Now I'm glad I did because it's an awesome movie.

The "...years later" thing is seldome done well. It often feels misplaced.

But I guess, sometimes there is nowhere around it.

[Gamblour.]

EDIT: In the commentary he tells us about an audience that basically shouted "SHOW US!". They must have been awfully disappointed.

Show us what?

What PTA's hiding when PBH enters the hotel room. You know when he talks to an upset John C.

Ahh ok gotcha. Good shit. I also only bought it for the commentary. I still don't love it. But it's better understanding what he had in mind, and it is his first movie.

[NEON MERCURY]

.well heres my take

when i first saw this  i have previously seen boogie nnights..and that it was amazing..yadda , yadda.....then i went to best buy and started looking at ranndom sh*t to blinnnd buy(my perfrede method).....and came across the hard 8 box w/ reilly, paltrow, hall, annd SLJ and the cover w/ a casinno backdrop....annd pick it up and read the back:>.which innnfformed me that thids was a PTA film(annd immediately i thought how badass BN was)and the from ebert(who i admire) and checked out the features(comm, track(s), delectd scene)...and grabbed it off the shelf......

as for the ffilm itself its "good"....there some really goood stuff in therir as in the match/pannnts scene and the dialougue is razor........bu tin the end its kind of like "oh well"..nnothing "earth shattering" like BOggie was.....it's a nice ffirst efffort film but nothing more.....

i am glad that i saw boogie nnights ffirst because if i saw hard 8 ffirdst i wouldn't have been innterested in "his next feature film"...and subsequentlyl misse out  on boogie.....butr i would like to add that IMO aronofsk'y PI is phucking light years ahead of hard 8....

hard eight  .../.....

[tpfkabi]

i rented an old pan&scan copy......it was definately better the second time

i'm kinda rusty on it, but isn't very, very unlikely that PBH would just happen to find JCR sitting outside a coffeeshop......he's only there because he ran out of money, right? and then i don't think that PBH had seen JCR since he was a kid, so how would he even now it was him?

it's been a couple of months so i probably gots some facts switched around....so corrections are welcome