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| billyweeds |
 Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2012 5:35 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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jeremy wrote: Brad Pitt, an actor who I am beginning to appreciate more and more....
You and me both. I used to think Pitt was mediocre-to-bad. (The fact that he was nominated for the Oscar for 12 Monkeys almost made me physically ill, the acting was so over the top and acting-class self-conscious.) But starting with Fight Club he's impressed me more and more. (IMO he stole FC from Edward Norton, the supposedly better actor.)
Burn After Reading and Inglourious Basterds provided more evidence of Pitt's skill. And last year's Moneyball was the creme de la creme, a great performance at last.
(He also was the sole watchable element in The Tree of Life, a movie I'd rather forget totally.) |
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| gromit |
| Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2012 6:58 am |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
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Location: Shanghai
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Quote: (He also was the sole watchable element in The Tree of Life, a movie I'd rather forget totally.)
You must have forgotten Jessica Chastain ...
I think Pitt's career has had lots of ups and downs, but he has become a better more reliable actor. he's pretty good A River Runs Through It. 12 Monkeys was kind of an embarrassment for him. Pitt is good in small comic roles such as Burn After Reading, Snatch and True Romance.
Pitt is serviceable in Babel and Benjamin Button.
I haven't seen the Oceans films or some of his romantic films.
I still don't get the praise for the intensely average Moneyball. |
Last edited by gromit on Tue Oct 30, 2012 8:38 am; edited 1 time in total
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| bartist |
| Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2012 8:33 am |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
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Location: Black Hills
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| How does New Zealand get "Killing Them Softly" a month before the nation which made the film?? Opens here Nov. 30th. Is NZ on the film festival circuit? |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2012 9:01 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: New York City
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gromit wrote: Quote: (He also was the sole watchable element in The Tree of Life, a movie I'd rather forget totally.)
You must have forgotten Jessica Chastain ...
I love Jessica Chastain in everything except The Tree of Life, in which she was victimized by the overwhelming boredom of the entire enterprise, from which only Brad Pitt escaped unscathed.
Chastain's performances in Take Shelter and The Debt much more than make up for TToL. |
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| jeremy |
| Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2012 12:27 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 6794
Location: Derby, England and Hamilton, New Zealand (yes they are about 12,000 miles apart)
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bartist wrote: How does New Zealand get "Killing Them Softly" a month before the nation which made the film?? Opens here Nov. 30th. Is NZ on the film festival circuit?
Killing Them Softly is on general release. Not sure why NZ's got it early; the reverse is usually the case. It could they've put it's release back in the US for a better Oscar slot. Or maybe someone didn't read the sticker on the box they sent to NZ: Not for release before October, 2013. |
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| Marc |
| Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2012 2:04 pm |
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Joined: 19 May 2004
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| The director of Killing Them Softly, Andrew Dominik, is from New Zealand. |
Last edited by Marc on Tue Oct 30, 2012 6:36 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2012 2:19 pm |
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| bartist |
| Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2012 6:06 pm |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Posts: 6967
Location: Black Hills
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| Once in a while, things make sense. Thanks! |
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| lshap |
| Posted: Wed Oct 31, 2012 12:49 pm |
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Joined: 12 May 2004
Posts: 4248
Location: Montreal
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I'll parrot Billy's line that 7P was "Strained and arch". It had excellent ingredients -- great actors, director and production -- but the final product was over-salted with intensity to cover the lack of character depth. I have no problem with violence, but it's not a substitute for motivation.
It was entertaining on a superficial level, but, as Knox said, it doesn't come close to the sublimely brilliant "In Bruges". |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Wed Oct 31, 2012 1:48 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: New York City
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lshap wrote: ...it doesn't come close to the sublimely brilliant "In Bruges".
I said that too, and I'll say it again. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2012 6:11 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: New York City
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| Early reviews for Flight are mostly over-the-moon raves. Wonder what they saw that Marc didn't. |
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| Marc |
| Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2012 10:28 pm |
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Joined: 19 May 2004
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| Flight starts off as an edge-of-your-seat thriller and then crash lands into a Lifetime channel melodrama or moralizing afterschool special. In addition, it is hypocritical. It preaches about the hazards of drug and alcohol abuse while making the drug-related parts of the film the most entertaining. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Fri Nov 02, 2012 7:03 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: New York City
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Marc wrote: Flight starts off as an edge-of-your-seat thriller and then crash lands into a Lifetime channel melodrama or moralizing afterschool special. In addition, it is hypocritical. It preaches about the hazards of drug and alcohol abuse while making the drug-related parts of the film the most entertaining.
In this case--as in many--I tend to believe Marc. I'll be seeing Flight in any case on November 12, and will file my own report. |
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| bartist |
| Posted: Fri Nov 02, 2012 8:23 am |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
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Location: Black Hills
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Quote: It preaches about the hazards of drug and alcohol abuse while making the drug-related parts of the film the most entertaining.
You can say that about a LOT of films about drug/alc abuse. But preaching, or big pots of message generally, I don't care for, so consider me warned.
Pitch Perfect -- thanks for the encouragement, B'WEEDS. My copain and I both enjoyed this rom/com a capella charmer about a college where no one who can sing has to attend classes or study for exams. IOW, your basic extracurricular competition plot. Be it dance, music, basketball, or truffle hunting, you know which team is going to win. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Fri Nov 02, 2012 9:39 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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| bart--Glad you liked PP, though I wouldn't exactly categorize it as a rom-com; more of a sisterhood movie. Anna Kendrick's cup solo would be the highlight of many a movie. Her deadpan is absolutely enchanting IMO. |
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