Films Thread

[Kyyle23]

We are talking about Westerns and you guys leave out Back to the Future 3? What is wrong with you people?

[caulfield12]

Again, you're basing his ability on the movies he's in. Once he can carry a boring movie, as Daniel Day-Lewis and Philip Seymour Hoffman did in There Will Be Blood and Doubt, respectively, then I might start thinking he's a very good actor.

 

Disagree on PSH in Doubt.

 

I think Meryl Streep and the scene with Viola Davis dominated that movie...I could even make an argument that Amy Adams was more interesting to me as the moral compass of the picture caught between the two poles.

 

I kind of have a shifting opinion. I used to think Kevin Spacey was the best about 10 years ago. Maybe Denzel Washington. Now I'm not so sure who I'd pick. Russell Crowe is up there, but sometimes he's overrated, and more recently, it's impossible for him to satisfy anyone because people expect too much perhaps...like Tom Hanks about 5-7 years ago.

 

I never liked Clint Eastwood for his politics, but I have a new appreciation after watching Gran Torino.

 

It's interesting, there isn't really one big/huge Hollywood movie star left. Cruise and Pitt, and Will Smith...but Smith's last two movies have been critical disasters, Hancock and Seven Pounds. I guess it goes in stages...we had the mini-era of Ferrell, Sandler, Jim Carrey and Mike Myers on top. I do find it hard to accept Vince Vaughn as the new "go to" guy in comedy.

 

Even actresses, hard to distinguish (Jessica Alba or Biel, etc.) Julie Roberts' absence changed the scene....Meg Ryan fell off the face of the earth, and Reese Witherspoon fell into a horrible slump of bad movie choices as well. Cameron Diaz has fallen off as well.

 

That's why I am not surprised to Mall Cop do so well....that character, for an average, middle class/struggling American in flyover territory, seems relatable. Certainly better and more uplifting than subjecting yourself to Revolutionary Road or The Reader more than once.

 

I showed Gran Torino to my Intercultural Issues class here in Thailand and almost everyone was crying and affected by the end of the story.

 

 

[Kyyle23]

It's interesting, there isn't really one big/huge Hollywood movie star left. Cruise and Pitt, and Will Smith...but Smith's last two movies have been critical disasters, Hancock and Seven Pounds. I guess it goes in stages...we had the mini-era of Ferrell, Sandler, Jim Carrey and Mike Myers on top. I do find it hard to accept Vince Vaughn as the new "go to" guy in comedy.

 

Well he isnt. And he hasnt been for a few years now. Right now, its the Judd Apatow/Seth Rogen crew thats dominating the comedy "market"

 

look at Vince Vaughns last "big" movie, Four Christmases, before that Fred Claus. Not exactly groundbreaking stuff. Look at everything Apatow has touched in the last 4 years, Superbad, 40 year old Virgin, Pineapple Express, Knocked Up, even Nick and Nora did pretty well. Those guys are the "hot" ones right now if anyone is.

 

And you cannot count Will Ferrell out either, he is still a draw, Stepbrothers, Blades of Glory, Talladega Nights all did pretty well.

 

Mike Myers must have had his funny bone removed

[Kyyle23]

James Whitmore passed away

 

So long Brooks, give em hell

Edited February 7, 2009 by kyyle23

[SouthsideDon48]

Did you ever wonder how dudes like Steve Martin, Chevy Chase or Dan Akroyd can go from funny to completely irrelevant overnight?

 

I feel the EXACT same way about Robin Williams and Eddie Murphy. They ruined their careers wit stupid movies they made.

 

For Robin Williams, that movie "Jumanji" was pushing it, but every other comedy movie he made after that was disaster. I think he's better at playing disturbed characters now like he did in "One Hour Photo" and when he guest starred on an episode of "Law and Order: SVU"

 

As for Eddie Murphy, his career went down the drain after making stuuuupid movies like "Dr. Dolittle", "the Nutty Professor", "Pluto Nash", and "Daddy Day Care". The problem with Eddie is that he's trying to entertain kids now instead of sticking with golden roles like he did with "Beverly Hills Cop" and "48 Hours". He's doing too much "forced comedy" with "cute" stuff rather than real funny sitiational comedy like he did early in his career. It seems like Chris Tucker is the new Eddie Murphy nowadays, because the type of comedy that Chris Tucker did in the "Rush Hour" series is the exact type of comedy that Eddie Murphy is an expert at and should stick with.

 

Anyone else agree?

[Kyyle23]

I feel the EXACT same way about Robin Williams and Eddie Murphy. They ruined their careers wit stupid movies they made.

 

For Robin Williams, that movie "Jumanji" was pushing it, but every other comedy movie he made after that was disaster. I think he's better at playing disturbed characters now like he did in "One Hour Photo" and when he guest starred on an episode of "Law and Order: SVU"

 

As for Eddie Murphy, his career went down the drain after making stuuuupid movies like "Dr. Dolittle", "the Nutty Professor", "Pluto Nash", and "Daddy Day Care". The problem with Eddie is that he's trying to entertain kids now instead of sticking with golden roles like he did with "Beverly Hills Cop" and "48 Hours". He's doing too much "forced comedy" with "cute" stuff rather than real funny sitiational comedy like he did early in his career. It seems like Chris Tucker is the new Eddie Murphy nowadays, because the type of comedy that Chris Tucker did in the "Rush Hour" series is the exact type of comedy that Eddie Murphy is an expert at and should stick with.

 

Anyone else agree?

 

Except the only thing Chris Tucker does is Rush hour movies. One every 4 years. Thats it

[BigSqwert]

No that I ever thought he was a great actor but what the heck happened to Brendan Fraser?

[knightni]

No that I ever thought he was a great actor but what the heck happened to Brendan Fraser?

He got type-casted as a B-movie action star after The Mummy succeeded.

[Kyyle23]

He got type-casted as a B-movie action star after The Mummy succeeded.

 

Not really, he got critical acclaim for Crash

 

I think he just knows where his bread is buttered when it comes to making money. Every couple of years he does a serious role and is actually pretty good when he puts effort into it.

Edited February 7, 2009 by kyyle23

[Milkman delivers]

James Whitmore passed away

 

So long Brooks, give em hell

 

I doubt they'll kick up any fuss.

[Milkman delivers]

I feel the EXACT same way about Robin Williams and Eddie Murphy. They ruined their careers wit stupid movies they made.

 

For Robin Williams, that movie "Jumanji" was pushing it, but every other comedy movie he made after that was disaster. I think he's better at playing disturbed characters now like he did in "One Hour Photo" and when he guest starred on an episode of "Law and Order: SVU"

 

As for Eddie Murphy, his career went down the drain after making stuuuupid movies like "Dr. Dolittle", "the Nutty Professor", "Pluto Nash", and "Daddy Day Care". The problem with Eddie is that he's trying to entertain kids now instead of sticking with golden roles like he did with "Beverly Hills Cop" and "48 Hours". He's doing too much "forced comedy" with "cute" stuff rather than real funny sitiational comedy like he did early in his career. It seems like Chris Tucker is the new Eddie Murphy nowadays, because the type of comedy that Chris Tucker did in the "Rush Hour" series is the exact type of comedy that Eddie Murphy is an expert at and should stick with.

 

Anyone else agree?

 

"I" "disagree" with that "assessment."

[Milkman delivers]

Not really, he got critical acclaim for Crash

 

I think he just knows where his bread is buttered when it comes to making money. Every couple of years he does a serious role and is actually pretty good when he puts effort into it.

 

It's true. The guy definitely has some talent, but he knows how to make his money.

[FlaSoxxJim]

No that I ever thought he was a great actor but what the heck happened to Brendan Fraser?

 

I think Gods and Monsters is easily the best thing he's done. Ian Mckellen was outstanding in that as well.

 

[Kyyle23]

I think Gods and Monsters is easily the best thing he's done. Ian Mckellen was outstanding in that as well.

 

i was watching "NeverWas" the other day. It came out in 2007 I believe, starred Aaron Eckhardt, Nick Nolte, Ian McKellan, William Hurt. All of them are awesome, it is really a good movie. Ian McKellan really stood out to me

[caulfield12]

No that I ever thought he was a great actor but what the heck happened to Brendan Fraser?

 

 

If you want a "what happpened to?" thread, start one for Josh Harnett!!!!

 

Brendan Fraser's making a ton of money....just this year, Inkheart (that's a flop) but also Journey to the Center of the Earth and the The Mummy series....which should never have been attempted without Rachel Weisz. That just ruined it for me. Still, despite the critical reviews, I think it ended up making money or basically not losing money either. I'm sure that will be the end of that particular role for him, though.

 

At least for now...then he'll come back like Indiana Jones with a young son/sidekick. But they'll get Rachel Weisz to return and do a "reunion" movie of all the original cast, even Vosloo as Imhotep.

 

 

 

 

[caulfield12]

Well he isnt. And he hasnt been for a few years now. Right now, its the Judd Apatow/Seth Rogen crew thats dominating the comedy "market"

 

look at Vince Vaughns last "big" movie, Four Christmases, before that Fred Claus. Not exactly groundbreaking stuff. Look at everything Apatow has touched in the last 4 years, Superbad, 40 year old Virgin, Pineapple Express, Knocked Up, even Nick and Nora did pretty well. Those guys are the "hot" ones right now if anyone is.

 

And you cannot count Will Ferrell out either, he is still a draw, Stepbrothers, Blades of Glory, Talladega Nights all did pretty well.

 

Mike Myers must have had his funny bone removed

 

 

Yeah, Michael Cera's career is really taking off after that movie and Juno.

 

I think Drillbit Taylor and Dewey Cox/Walk Hard were reaching just a bit...but he's pretty much on top of Hollywood for the moment.

 

With Will Ferrell (and I just saw Step Brothers), he just went once too often to the well with Jackie Moon: Semi-Pro. That same type of character can only be done so many times, although the Super Bowl beer commercials were still pretty much hilarious.

 

And Reilly struggles if he has to carry a movie, he's much better as a sidekick, or a movie like Magnolia with some depth...I think he was pretty good in Chicago, too. Sometimes he overreaches, but not quite as much as Will Ferrell.

 

 

 

[Jimbo's Drinker]

Saw Taken last night, quick and too the point. Maybe wait for the DVD though.

[TheBlackSox8]

Outlander was about half an hour to an hour too long, but other than that it was a pretty decent SciFi film.

IMDB synopsis: During the reign of the Vikings, Kainan (Caviezel), a man from a far-off world, crash lands on Earth, bringing with him an alien predator known as the Moorwen. Though both man and monster are seeking revenge for violence committed against them, Kainan leads the alliance to kill the Moorwen by fusing his advanced technology with the Viking's Iron Age weaponry.

[LosMediasBlancas]

The Oscars will be interesting this year, the predictions keep changing and seem to be all over the place.

[The Bones]

The Oscars will be interesting this year, the predictions keep changing and seem to be all over the place.

 

I don't know about that. Slumdog seems to be a lock for Picture, Director, and Adapted Screenplay. Heath Ledger is a lock for Supporting Actor. I guess that the other acting races are pretty open though. Penn vs. Rourke, Winslet vs. Streep, and Supporting Actress I have no idea.

[Milkman delivers]

I don't know about that. Slumdog seems to be a lock for Picture, Director, and Adapted Screenplay. Heath Ledger is a lock for Supporting Actor. I guess that the other acting races are pretty open though. Penn vs. Rourke, Winslet vs. Streep, and Supporting Actress I have no idea.

 

I wouldn't say that Ledger is a lock. Rourke is more of a lock, I'd say. I'm sure Streep will win again, but this actually might be the year for Winslet.

[Milkman delivers]

I just got back from Taken. It's basically the prototypical revenge flick. I enjoyed it a lot and I'd recommend it. The only real flaw is that it was PG-13. This was most likely done to draw a larger audience, but it really would've benefited from an R rating.

[Jimbo's Drinker]

I just got back from Taken. It's basically the prototypical revenge flick. I enjoyed it a lot and I'd recommend it. The only real flaw is that it was PG-13. This was most likely done to draw a larger audience, but it really would've benefited from an R rating.

I am surprised it pulled a PG-13 rating.

[Milkman delivers]

I am surprised it pulled a PG-13 rating.

 

There was basically no blood and the deaths were pretty clean.

I noticed after about the third guy whose neck he snapped, there was no snapping noise. Just him seemingly putting a stranglehold on a guy, and then the guy dying.

[NorthSideSox72]

I feel the EXACT same way about Robin Williams and Eddie Murphy. They ruined their careers wit stupid movies they made.

 

For Robin Williams, that movie "Jumanji" was pushing it, but every other comedy movie he made after that was disaster. I think he's better at playing disturbed characters now like he did in "One Hour Photo" and when he guest starred on an episode of "Law and Order: SVU"

 

Anyone else agree?

Robin Williams is very good at serious roles, if people can get past who he is. Not just One Hour Photo, but also the remake of Insomnia from a few years ago, and a smaller role in Dead Again. Also, weird movie, but that one where Williams dies and is guided into afterlife by Cuba Gooding Jr (can't recall the name of it).