|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
195.212.29.67
Just watched Owning Mahowny starring Mr Hoffman who has to rank as one of my favourite actors. I wasn't too engaged in the movie itself, a predictable portrayal of fraud driven by spiralling gambling debt but Hoffman's performance as usual was understated and convincing (made all the more believable by contrastng co-star Minnie Driver!).
I have really enjoyed his performances in State and Main, Magnolia, Love Liza and particularly Almost Famous but what gems should I be looking out for? I have Capote kicking around somewhere I just haven't got to it yet.
Follow Ups:
Two quick things: The book on which Owning Mahowney is based is "Stung" by Gary Ross. While the movie is, as you say, rather tepid at best except for the acting and maybe some of the Toronto shots, the book is a truly magnificent piece of non-fiction. Terse prose done to a really high level of artistry.
And the other: Capote, to me, is very much worth watching and I've expressed my high opinion of Hoffmann's portrayal previously. But again, the book In Cold Blood is Capote in full form, a magnificent writer (best out loud, in my opinion....). And I truly wonder if anyone below the age of 55, never having seen the televised Capote, a shocker in his day, will get any of the point of Hoffmann's performance.
A third makes me a fibber, but Boogie Nights is quite the taste of the seventies.
I saw it but can't remember the title.
ET
...
nt
"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." -Albert Einstein-
...Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (although the Academy seems to have neglected it too).
clark
The OP mentioned how much he liked Almost Famous.
I mentioned Before The Devil Knows You're Dead. He was outstanding, easily Oscar worthy. (And made that post in the wee hours when I was half asleep from getting up early to leave by 5am today.)
I know many inmates love The Big Lebowski but ...I just don't geddit...and I love the Coens, and Jeff Bridges and PSGH.
Maybe its a girl thing. I'm not keen on the Hudsucker Proxy either.
You're not alone on "The Big Lebowski"; I have yet to sit through it once.
With all due respect, and I have to sound like Tin here, but you may have missed the point of this film. Most films are about gambling, showing gamblers either winning big, or loosing big, because the gambling is what the film is about. This film is unique, in that it really is about the addiction. He did not want to win. He did not want to loose. If he wanted to win money, he would have quit while he was ahead. The film was a character study about the addicted gambler, not the gambling. The vice could have been alcohol or sex and it would still have been a great charachter study. So, yes, the outcome is predictable, but the brilliance of the film is the journey it takes to get there. You do know that it was based upon true events?
...and I did appreciate the subtlety of the performance from an addiction perspective, I just wasn't entertained by the film. I am not trying to demean it. I also do not rate Minnie Driver as an actress.
But yeah, if the character study carries it for you then it has value. And who better than PSH to portray that.
.
"You can safely assume you have created God in your own image when he hates all the same people you do."
He was quite convincing in that roll.
J.B.
nt
A superb supporting role performance which steals one scene after another from Matt Daymon.
The Big Lebowski.
"The Chinaman pissed on my carpet."
(I know that was Bridges' character but I love it...)
He is only in it for 5 minutes (as an over the top gambler) but the movie is terrific with John C Reilly and Gwenith Paltrow...
which is wonderful.
The 25th Hour, which is also good, and underrated
Capote you know about. See it soon if you're a fan, don't deprive yourself much longer.
Punch Drunk Love, PSH doesn't put a foot wrong, although I don't love this film.
Happiness, which is a movie about anything but...you've been warned.
Three excellent, quite recent performances should be out on DVD any second if they aren't already:
The Savages - maybe his best performance of all.
Before The Devil Knows You're Dead
Charlie Wilson's War
You can also see him in Cold Mountain
Mission Impossible III (ugh)
Let's face it, the man is GOOD!
"But I'm NOT laughing."
FAQ |
Post a Message! |
Forgot Password? |
|
||||||||||||||
|
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors: