V For Vendetta out this week!

TheWesDude said:
actors i like:

pacino ( without seeing scarface/scent of a woman )

Same character virtually every movie. Try Dog Day Afternoon and Godfather 2 are better. Since then he's been playing the same thing over and over again.

morgan freeman ( deep impact/shawshak)
Wise old Black dude- virtually same character every movie. He also doesn't play evil particularly well.

hopkins ( waterworld/speed )

Hahaha! Anthony Hopkins in Waterworld? You mean Dennis Hopper- and he hasn't really been good since Apocalypse Now.

deniro ( hell just about everything )
Generally the same character, every time. So much so that the character is a cliche. Best roll I think was in the Dear Hunter. His awkwardness is great. "This is This!"
tim robbins ( shawshank only )
ANd not the Player?

angelina jolie ( hackers/mr&mrs smith/tomb raiders )

I like watching her. Her role in Sky Captain as the chick in leather gives me wood. But Mr. and Mrs Smith was a bullshit movie and you really can't take Tomb Raiders seriously. Her serious flicks have been, recently, shit. The best think Jolie does is play rolls where she just might be nuts. Interesting but these are also Brad Pitts best rolls.

brad pitt ( legends of the fall/mr&ms smith )
Again, Mr. and Mrs Smith was a bullshit movie. Legends of the Fall was a weak family epic that had promise but fell in on itself. 12 Monkeys and Fight Club are better movies.

kurt russel ( stargate/tango&cash )
I actually enjoy Kurt Russell because he didn't take movies seriously. I enjoyed him in Escape for New York and Carpenter's the Thing. But the only really good acting he's done that I liked was the part of the shrink in Vanilla Sky.

james spader ( stargate/boston legal )
Pretty weak choices
harrison ford ( indianna movies )
I liked the first, the second and third were weak and it's good they killed the series when they did- it was in deep decline. Harrison Ford's best when he's desperate, otherwise it's pretty weak.
whole cast of west wing
whole cast of red dwarf
whole cast of the american pies

Don't know them because I don't watch, but I hear West Wing is pretty good. I think you may like the movies more than the acting.

stallone ( tango&cash/some of his action flicks)

Now I know you're joking. Still I think Rocky is pretty great.

Actually I'd like to see Natalie Portman as a bald chick because I think that's hot. Perhaps this has something to do with wanting to bone Sinnead O'Conner a long time ago.
 
Some of that dude's actors are on my list too, welsh, so I'll back my original list up with arguments for diversity

Anthony Hopkins; probably one of the most diverse actors out there. Pitch his psycho in Silence of the Lambs versus his role in the Elephant Man, or his Richard Nixon versus his monkeyman in Instinct.

Robert Deniro; big on underacting, badly overrated, but still Travis Bickle and Vito Corleone are wide apart. His role in Deer Hunter vs. in Brazil work, too. He was awful in Heat.

Al Pacino: big on overacting, badly overrated, mostly plays cops and gangsters in identical ways. Still, mirroring Sea of Love, the Godfather and Dogday Afternoon shows some diversity. Also awful in Heat.

Toshirô Mifune: can take anything you throw at him with energy. Mostly remembered for action films, like Seven Samurai or Yojimbo, but let's not forget he could express incredible layers of emotions, like Ran.

Oleg Menshikov: one of the most talented actors of this day. He did the Barber of Siberia and East-West almost back-to-back, but if you view them back-to-back you'll be shocked by the gaping difference between the naive, energetic kadet of Barber of Siberia and the tired, beaten re-immigrant of the Soviet Union of East-West.

John Turturro: underrated to a core, prolly 'cause he looks weird. But his smug, coward of a gangster from Miller's Crossing is miles from the quiet author that is Barton Fink, which is miles away from the country yokel of O Brother where art thou? Great in diversity.

And last best;

Bob Hoskins: most talented actor ever. Breaks not a single sweat going from the agressive mob boss in Long Good Friday to the drinking police detective in Roger Rabbit to the paperwork toolman in Brazil to the brilliantly portrayed psycho in Felicia's Journey to the gullible Sancho Panza. He's played Khrushev and the Pope, for Pete's sake.

PS: Rambo is a good movie. Rocky is cool, too.
 
Bob Hoskins:

Don't forget, Unleashed. That movie was highly underrated.

Rocky 1 pawns all others,
Rambo 1 pawns all others.

However, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turltes (The first Movie)... Best.Movie.Ever.
 
John Uskglass said:
To be fair Montez, The Mariner's Song by The Decemberists is as good a story of revenge as V.

Never heard of it. Who are The Decemberists?
 
Montez said:
Never heard of it. Who are The Decemberists?

You might not like them. Kind of Alt-Rock with some weird folk influences. Kind of quirkily history obsessed.

I just wanted to post it, to be honest. I just love the song.
 
Remember, remember, the 5th of November

Little did they know they'd come up with the perfect slogan for my birthday! :razz:

I've bought and read the graphic novel a long time ago; I found it brilliant and perhaps one of Moore's best works. Not too optimistic about the movie, though. Knives? :?
 
Kharn said:
Some of that dude's actors are on my list too, welsh, so I'll back my original list up with arguments for diversity. [/qoute]

The comment was less about the list than the taste.

Anthony Hopkins; probably one of the most diverse actors out there. Pitch his psycho in Silence of the Lambs versus his role in the Elephant Man, or his Richard Nixon versus his monkeyman in Instinct.

Indeed, but the person I was responding too had gotten Anthony Hopkins mistaken with Dennis Hopper. One was in the Lion in Winter, the other was in Easy Rider. Big difference.

Robert Deniro; big on underacting, badly overrated, but still Travis Bickle and Vito Corleone are wide apart. His role in Deer Hunter vs. in Brazil work, too. He was awful in Heat.

ANd that's the problem. Most of his roles have been the same he did in Heat. See for instance, Ronin. For example see the cliche in Meet the Parents. Yes, Raging Bull, but still.... His talents have not been utilized as well as they could in years.

Al Pacino: big on overacting, badly overrated, mostly plays cops and gangsters in identical ways. Still, mirroring Sea of Love, the Godfather and Dogday Afternoon shows some diversity. Also awful in Heat.

Agreed. But again, the difference between his character in Sea of Love, Insomnia and even the Devil's Advocate or that stupid CIA movie, or.... again- waste.

Toshirô Mifune: can take anything you throw at him with energy. Mostly remembered for action films, like Seven Samurai or Yojimbo, but let's not forget he could express incredible layers of emotions, like Ran.

Not on the list. Yes, I like him too. But again, beside samurai/war flicks? Range of emotion? I think you are appreciating him more for his legendary status and being in great films that being a great actro.

Oleg Menshikov: one of the most talented actors of this day. He did the Barber of Siberia and East-West almost back-to-back, but if you view them back-to-back you'll be shocked by the gaping difference between the naive, energetic kadet of Barber of Siberia and the tired, beaten re-immigrant of the Soviet Union of East-West.

You russophile.

John Turturro: underrated to a core, prolly 'cause he looks weird. But his smug, coward of a gangster from Miller's Crossing is miles from the quiet author that is Barton Fink, which is miles away from the country yokel of O Brother where art thou? Great in diversity.

Loved him in Big Labowski trying to make bowling sexy. Liked him a lot in Jungle Fever too.

And last best;

Bob Hoskins: most talented actor ever. Breaks not a single sweat going from the agressive mob boss in Long Good Friday to the drinking police detective in Roger Rabbit to the paperwork toolman in Brazil to the brilliantly portrayed psycho in Felicia's Journey to the gullible Sancho Panza. He's played Khrushev and the Pope, for Pete's sake.

As much as I liked him vis-a-vis a cartoon rabbit his work hasn't been overall that good. Ok, he was fun in Enemy at the Gates, but overall, eh.

PS: Rambo is a good movie. Rocky is cool, too.

Rambo is ok, but Rocky kicks ass.

And I agree with Per- Peter o'Toole was great in Lawrence of Arabia, and I liked him even better in Lion in Winter, or My Favorite Year, or in Lord Jim,

Or Alec Guinness- as in Bridge over the River Kwai.
Or William Holden, in the same movie. Or even better, the Wild Bunch.

New actors that I enjoy watching- Ed Burns I like a lot, also Edward Norton, though his recent work has been kind of weak. Ed Harris has been consistently solid. He definitely deserved the Academy Award for Pollock.
 
Toshirô Mifune: can take anything you throw at him with energy. Mostly remembered for action films, like Seven Samurai or Yojimbo, but let's not forget he could express incredible layers of emotions, like Ran.


Not on the list. Yes, I like him too. But again, beside samurai/war flicks? Range of emotion? I think you are appreciating him more for his legendary status and being in great films that being a great actro

Toshiro Mifune was a legend for more than just action films. You're forgetting The Lower Depths, Stray Dog, High and Low, The Bad Sleep Well, Rashomon, Throne of Blood and about fifty others. Additionally, The Seven Samurai is not an action film. It has action, yes, but it is not the central theme of the film. Kurosawa was much more deeply concerned with the human elements of the story, and I contest that without grueling consideration of his role Mifune would not have cut a convincing character and the movie would not have succeeded. If you read about Mifune you'll find that he was supremely concerned with the humanity in each of his roles; Bruce Willis, for example, is not.[/i]
 
Sanjuro

Sanjuro


welsh:
... Not on the list. Yes, I like him too. But again, beside samurai/war flicks? Range of emotion? I think you are appreciating him more for his legendary status and being in great films that being a great actor. ...

I would say something similar about Sylvester Stallone, since I lump sweating pec's in with special effects and not acting talent. He does qualify as a screen presence, so Sylvester Stallone and Sylvester The Cat are my two favorite Sylvester-S.

in the days of three and a half TV channels, when most TV's were still black and white ....
In the days when 'Honda' was a small motorcycle that didn't leak oil like the Brit Sportster, knew the names of the general, the admiral, and the emperor in my grandfather's SECOND war.

Also knew, by name, TWO Japanese movie film legends ....

Godzilla,

and

Toshiro Mifune.






4too
 
Bah- Like I said, I like Tashiro Mifuni, but I am wondering if you guys are giving him too much credit and Kurosawa too little. Without Kurosawa would Mifuni shine so bright- and let's remember this is a time of few great Japanese film stars.

So I am not convinced that he's a great actor. Don't get me wrong I liked him lots in Roshamon and Yojimbo. But he was just ok in Midway, or Grandprix or Shogun or lots of the other flicks he did.

And note I said I liked Rocky, which is a great flick, but I did not say Stallone was a great actor.

y.
 
One thing I really enjoyed about the movie (not sure about the graphic novel yet) was the idea of coincidences. In this day and age where one cannot even create a thread between what a politician said (which is documented) and what they are later saying about what they previously said (which is also documented) it seems like people have been completely duped (as those who abuse the idea of coincidences are well aware). I liked this movie a lot, but I wonder if it will still intrigue me for future viewings. I do hope to read the comic soon.
 
Just a thought...

I bet the next major protest against globalization/war/whatever will have multiple people wearing that mask of Guy Fawkes dont you think?

:) ,
The Vault Dweller
 
welsh said:
Rambo is ok, but Rocky kicks ass.

First Blood > Rocky. Rocky is all well and good, but it's nothing remarkable and certainly nothing new (not even in the late 70s). First Blood is a relatively unique film that tackled an extremely difficult topic at the time (a subject that only a handful of movies have adressed since).



Also - my thoughts on V for Vendetta:

I felt that the film was a semi-adequate adaptation of the book. It was almost like V-lite. I enjoyed it thoroughly and thought it was great for what it was, but the book is far superior. I dislike that the anarchist themes of the book were toned down, and I don't like some of the changes to the plot and final third of the book, specifically (the first two acts of the film are very strong, but the third act wavers a bit). I didn't like the differences in both tone and setting of the endings, I prefer the book in this way, but I realise that the ending of the book wouldn't have worked with the overall tone of the film. The ending of the movie is cheesy, but it's cheesy in a "oh my god I can't believe I'm tearing up" kind of way.

Hugo Weaving gave a strong and compelling performance as V, which is quite remarkable considering you never see his face. Natalie Portman is good as Evey but her accent wavers now and again. The standout of the cast, in my opinion, was Stephen Rea, as Inspector Finch.

Anyway, this movie is a solid critique of the society we live in right now, with a strong cast and some interesting visuals. Hopefully it will spark discussion among those who see it, and inspire people to read the source material.
 
Malkavian said:
First Blood > Rocky. Rocky is all well and good, but it's nothing remarkable and certainly nothing new (not even in the late 70s). First Blood is a relatively unique film that tackled an extremely difficult topic at the time (a subject that only a handful of movies have adressed since).

Yes, but I have to agree with welsh that Rocky is the better *film*.

It wasn't as original or meaningful as First Blood, but it was a better-made film, overall.

I like First Blood better too, though.
 
David Morrell wrote First Blood, and I agree that the underlying issue- what about the guys we trained for war who are lost when they come home- was an important one.

But a better story by Morrell is Testament, in which a journalist manages to annoy a far right group which tracks him and his family up into the mountains.
 
JESUS!

That's hilarious.

And I thought it can't get more absurd than "Snakes on a Plane".
 
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