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My wife and I liked it. Definately better than most movies that are out now (haven't see Little Miss Sunshine), but one of the greatest ? Who knows.Nicholson has perfected the art of sonambulism. It appears that he hasn't changed much since About Schmidt and that role was very much a a caricature. He's the big persona that everyone in the audience is initially attracted to, but really, by the middle of the movie most of the other actors have surpassed him.
DiCaprio does an outstanding job in depicting barely controlled rage tinged with vulnerability. I would not be surprised if he gets an Oscar nod. He was believable and made you feel anxious when he was onscreen- none of the other actors were able to evoke that kind of reaction among the audience. It will be interesting to see if DiCaprio develops further as an actor.
Matt Damon does a good job depicting the alpha who for most of the movie knows he is invulnerable. He excudes cockiness and bravura, but still lets you know there is considerable depth below the surface. Will this role resurrect him as actor, who knows ?
Marky Mark was a single dimension, but then again that was his character. Didn't expect the final twist though and that does add a bit to understanding his characters motivation.Martin Sheen was the sacrificial lamb, but he could have done much more with his role. You know his character is honest and serious, but you no sense of his character's motivation. I expected more out of Sheen.
Famigia (sp?), aka Madalyne; was generic. Any number of actresses could have played her with equal effectiveness.
Alec Baldwin's character was a buffoon and he played it well; maybe it was easy for him ?
Liked the plot (I have not seen the Hong Kong original- may rent it this winter). While the begining hinted at it, by the end it was bluntly obvious that all of the main characters were really the same even though they appeared to be working seperate angles. This point I think, could have been presented with more sublty by Scorcese. By the end you feel that you have been bludgeoned with the reality. Maybe he thought that most audiences would not get it ? If so, then he really has fallen as a director, or at least has lost confidence in his ability.
Best,
Ross
Follow Ups:
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nt
...but shouldn't place like this be about discoveries of things one step away from a beaten path?
It should be about whatever people want to talk about in regards to film. But I do give you and a few others credit for broadening the scope of this forum. Don't despare. I take note of recomendations like your. I'm sure others do as well. Would be nice if we had more of these films in the theaters. I do my best to support them.
I always liked the old TNT Network tagline "It ain't Bergman, but things blow up!" :o)AuPh
Lots more there than in the original subtitles.Wild Strawberries was not only my first Bergman, but my first foreign-movie theatre experience! I'll never forget the audience's shock when that axle clanked.
clark
Most people here would frown at dubbing. The first version I saw was the Russian dubbed one, but back then things were different and dubbing was top notch.It was my first Bergman too...
In all honesty, I pulled that title randomly, but now realize it is time for me to revisit that work.
I need to look around for which is the best version - mayeb someone will chime in?
a
Must stuff on my mind lately...
The threads are nowhere near as long as the interminable LOTR posts
of a year or two ago. And the film is far more interesting than LOTR.
...Impossible to follow, endless "battle scenes" (second only to the equally awful Star Wars garbage) that after the first 15 minutes evoked a "who gives a fuck who's winning and losing...just let this snoozefest be over" reaction.Who watched these things?
(Oops, apparently me!) ;))
I should know better.
*** I Feel Strongly Both Ways ***
I lasted a painful ten minutes the one time I tried.
sez AuPhLucky you... I found myself locked in a protracted discussion with him, so I had to get to know the enemy better... bottom line is about 45 minutes of that pure dreck... it felt like doing pathology on a stinky corps.
Truth is it is not getting any better after 45 minutes - just more of the same.
I didn't discuss it. I simply said that I lasted 10 minutes. Painful ones.
...But I felt like I had to take a shower afterwards to get the stink off me.As for the other two or three stinkers in the LOTR series, as our fearless leader George Bush said, "You can fool me once, but, um, well, when you fool me, well, you better not fool me again, or something like that."
Great oratory skills never die.
They just sit in a corner and stink up the room.
*** I Feel Strongly Both Ways ***
I thought the joke was obvious.
I agree - after 20 minutes I thought it was a film for stoned hippies. I left.
a
Perhaps I'll liken it to Pepsi-despite not seeing it! (NT)
.
I felt Damon was good as he rose to power and met the girl, etc. but as he settled into his life and the heat was getting closer I felt his acting wasn't as good (or at last his character wasn't as interesting) not having much to offer when he wasn't in full alpha mode.I also thought Vera Farmiga (sp?) did bring something to her role and did a worhtwile job. Not saying (at all) others couldn't have also done it but I wouldn't dismiss her so easily.
A note on JN. When I saw it the audience was laughing at most of his lines by half-way through the movie.
"Except for the point, the still point, there would be no dance, and there is only the dance. " T.S. Eliot
--I felt Damon was good as he rose to power and met the girl, etc. but as he settled into his life and the heat was getting closer I felt his acting wasn't as good (or at last his character wasn't as interesting) not having much to offer when he wasn't in full alpha mode.--I don't know. Upon reflection, there was a subtle but noticable shift in the Sullivan Costello dynamic. As Sullivan gained power in the police department, he started to become resentfull of haveing to defer to Costello. Damon was able to believably conveigh this change in his character. His performance still lags that of DiCaprio, but Damon did show range, depth and evolution that was appropriate to his character's progression through the movie. Given how he was essentially invulnerable, he began to like the trappings of his "success" and it went to his head as they say. Damon was able to demonstrate the evolution. The lack of performance depth at the end may have been consistent with the character. Sullivan was starting to realise that he was loosing control of his situation and reacted with a mixture of shock and increasing desperation. Damon certainly could have done a better job of depicting these emotions but they are still visible in his performance at the end.
Best,
Ross
and you would be amazed at the directorial "license" he undertook to mangle the plot and spirit of the original.***PLOT SPOILER for the original****
The Walberg character does not even exist in the original, and of course, the last (forced, Hollywood-typical) scene does not exist. Yup, you-know-who does not die in the original. In the original, morality issues do not get ironed out so neatly by the director.
Oh, yeah, the love triangle does not exist in the original, and the adultery scene in Scorsese's version is soooo typical Hollywood. No such thing in the original...
Great entertainment flick.I also think TD is a hugely entertaining adaptation and spin on IA.
I don't think either is a "great work of art" a la Rules of The Game or L'atlante or Third Man or Red Shoes or Sunrise or Tokyo Story or...
You get my drift.
Scorsese is pretty far from a "Hollywood" filmmaker.
typically American cuisine: add massive amounts of salt, then equal amounts of sugar to counteract, then a paleful of MSG: voila!
If you know where to go.
of thousands eat or what 299 million chow down on?
Both Coke and apparently this film (which I will likely not see until on free cable) are perfectly designed for their intended purpose.In that sense those "shortcomings" are not shortcomings at all, they are attaractions put there in order to increase the sales.
"free cable." You can be locked up for that, you know?
.
I really enjoyed your review and I agreed with your acute observations.Well, except one.
I think Nicholson is an underrated actor. Everyone mentions "About Schmidt" but what about his fine performances in "The Crossing Guard", "The Pledge", and "As Good As It Gets". These are good solid performances that included nuance and timing. No "Joker" re-hash at all, in my opinion.
With all the chest beating on this page about Deniro (has he done ANYTHING good in the last ten years?) and Walken ( punching the clock for a decade now- just a parody of himself ) I always feel that actors like John Turturro, Jeff Bridges and Nicholson are overlooked or just taken for granted. Sure Walken and DeNiro have given some great performances but I don't feel a need to genuflect when I think of crap like "Showtime" or "Click"
I thought Nicholson was quite menacing in "The Departed".
Not one of the years best films...but what is?
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