Citizen Rules...Cinemaesque Chat-n-Review

Nah, not vanity, I control my PI. I never give out any hard data on a discussion board.

very wise, very sensible. I gotcha.


so, about your PIN number?,, , ,

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What I actually said to win MovieGal's heart:
- I might not be a real King of Kinkiness, but I make good pancakes

~Mr Minio

Ha, I don't think I have one. I'm more of a cash an carry type of guy. I have no cash, so it's pretty easy to carry

ah, a man and his "pimp money" VERY stylish!

Rules is my hero - he's off the grid. (I still haven't been able to part with my TV service.)

1. I was in the mood of yelling "Get off my lawn" and telling everyone younger than myself that they have it much easier when I was a teenager already.
2. I'd figured out the ages of you boys awhile ago. And you are all the same ages as my first two brothers. If you guys want to consider yourselves "old", go ahead. But in my world, because of my brothers, you guys aren't even remotely "old" to me. So I would appreciate any old fogey attitude to not happen in my presence.
3. I am actually a bit younger than you guys, but you know what? We even had a TV that you had to get up to change the channel for when I was a kid.


@Citizen Rules I watched Fences last night. I have some stuff that I really want to say about it, but I will just give some basics thoughts for now. First of all, it is beyond me how Moonlight would've beat it for Best Picture (I can only compare to Moonlight as that is the only other nomination that I have been able to watch so far). Second, I wasn't as impressed as others with Viola Davis. She was good, but I don't see anything standing out too much with her performance. I feel it was more her character that made her stand out, but I won't go on about that right now - I do have thoughts about her character. Third, I was very impressed with Denzel in it, but I don't know of him ever not making an impression on me. I have things that I could say about his character, but I will save that, too. He really got to me sometimes (not at all in a good way, of course), but that is because it connected to me on somewhat of a personal level. Fourth, I think Mykelti Williamson should've gotten some sort of recognition - even with just a nomination. That is all I will say for now. I will get into more later on, but if there is anything else that you want to ask me about regarding my opinion on something with the film, ask away.

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I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity - Edgar Allan Poe

I haven't seen Moonlight and I'm not that interested in watching it so can't comment there. But yeah it's weird that Fences didn't get a Best Picture nomination. The only Oscar nominated film I seen from 2016 was Arrival which wasn't that special, IMO of course

I see what you mean by Viola Davis's character is what helps her stand out. I think that's often the case. I liked her though.
Oh, I'm curious about that, now...

About Denzel's character, did you find his character likable? an ass? somewhere in between? Was his actions ever justified? Or were we suppose to see him in a negative light?

I don't reconzie his name, what role did he play in the movie? Was he the older son who played jazz? If so I liked him. If he's the youngest son, I was lukewarm to him. Something about his actions, body language and way of responding to his dad, reminded me he was an actor and not from the 1950s. The older son who played jazz, seemed like he belonged in the era.

Fences was nominated Best Picture. Mykelti (Bubba from Forrest Gump) was Denzel Washington's character's mentally-challenged brother.

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Thanks Mark, I must have seen it mentioned as one of the nominees, I just didn't remember.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is a non stop fun ,like you said. Great film indeed.

I totally agree that Mykelti Williamson deserved a nomination.

Fences is performance driven. Good performances but the story wasn't all that impressive for me. Which sucks, because, well I'm a Denzel Washington buff. I actually haven't bought the DVD yet and I own a good majority of his films.

There is some great acting in this film, especially Davis, but it's probably the weakest of the Best Picture nominees. The film never escapes its stage origins and is a little too talky...it's a property that originated onstage and was never really meant to be a movie. Denzel's position as a Hollywood player made this movie look a lot better than it really was. JMO.

Dailymotion has been really wierd lately...I've been having a lot of problems with it too.

Oh, so he played the mentally slow brother. Sorry Vamp and Gideon, I didn't like his performance. Even during the movie I said out loud that he reminded me of Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man. I'm sure one of the hardest things for an actor to pull off is to portray a mentally slow person without looking like a carictuare. I thought Mykelti tried to hard and I didn't fully buy into his performance. He was my least favorite in the movie.

In the case of Fences, I love that it's talky and set in literally one location. I think that allows a deeper character study. Denzel was OK, but he doesn't strike me as amazing. I have liked Viola Davis in everything I've seen. She has the ability not to be a Hollywood star, but to become her character, much in the way Meryl Streep does.

When it first started I said that there was no doubt it was a play. Then I thought that maybe people who haven't experienced many plays - if any at all - would even get that vibe from it. But as it went on I thought it did a good job of drifting away from the "stage" feeling that it had. As for its nomination, I haven't seen any of the others to compare it to other than Hell or High Water (which I forgot about watching until this morning) and Moonlight, which I thought was good, but just not good enough. I just didn't think it was an Oscar-worthy film for the top prize. Between the films I've seen so far, I much prefer Fences.

I don't know. I think we are supposed to think his character is whatever we think about him. Meaning, if there are people out there (which it is unreal to me if there is) that feel some sort of empathy towards him, they can do it. If they are more along the lines of the way I am, I really didn't give a damn about him at all. I have a really hard time feeling sorry for a man like that. There were shades of that character that were eerily like my father. And that makes me very cold towards characters like Denzel's. It was how he threw around the fact that it was HIS house and HE was the one taking care of everything. And his constant blaming others for his life being how it was (and he was doing that). And the idea that HE needed to go out and live this other life to feel better about himself - if that is even how I want to describe his way of thinking. The idea that HE needed his time for himself to be happy. But what about his wife? Why couldn't she ever have time for herself? I hate the idea that because a man "provides" for the family, he is the only one that deserves something else from time to time. Women essentially hold the house together. They take care of everything and deal with every problem that comes along. But what if SHE wanted to go out and just have some time for herself? Well, that wouldn't be right of her. Oh, God forbid she should enjoy a little bit of her life! It just drives me INSANE!!! And there was more than one time that I honestly YELLED at the TV while watching this film. I, personally, have not dealt with one guy that hasn't had the mentality that Denzel did in this film. I have gone out with guys like that. My brothers have inherited quite a bit of it from my father. And I just have NO patience for it. Because why are their lives so much more important than the lives of women? And it just bothers me. My mom was with the kids 24/7. She was around ALL the time. And my father would, without fail, go out on Saturday night every week looking so fine and perfect but never with my mother. This was HIS time now. And however a little kid thinks it, I thought there was something odd about my father going out like that with my mom at home. And I, in my little kid mind, wondered WHAT he was doing. I did. I don't remember how I questioned it, but they are questions that I've had all my life that I know what I think now, if you know what I mean. So he got to live his life and all my mother really wanted to do was to take a walk on an occasional Saturday to a shopping center by the house. She would tell him that she needed some money, he'd give $20 and then say "The change has a home". So you see? After my confession about a part of my growing up, I have NO sympathy for Denzel. He is an arrogant, self-centered ass. I can't feel bad. There was part of me that felt bad when he was sitting there feeding his brother (who is the way he is because of the plate in his head from the war), but otherwise, no. And I think it was just absolutely bizarre, even if it was a fact of life now, that he spoke so casually about his girlfriend and the baby. It is a shame that Viola Davis didn't have somewhere else to go. I wouldn't have stayed. And it isn't like she had any little kids left - well, his kid with the OTHER woman! It frustrates me and infuriates me when there are people that think the way Denzel did in this film. It was a good movie, and I thought he was very good, but God, how I disliked his character!

@SilentVamp

That was a potent post Vamp, very forthright. I'm on the same wavelength as you about his character. I 'think' most people would have a dim view of the way he ruled his roost and dominated everyone around him, without giving anything other than his paycheck which he claimed was enough.

When the film first started, I thought he was a bit of a loudmouth, braggart and did quite a bit of chest thumping...so at that point I didn't like the movie, because I thought we were suppose to like him and I didn't.

As the movie progressed, I realized the genius of it, was it's realism. I admired that the film had guts to cast a believable ass as the lead...and yet not presenting him as the atypical, 'mustache twirling' bad guy. He's a very believable ass, and from your post, I'd say the film has great power. I'm glad you posted your thoughts.

Review: I love the composition of that scene in the dust covered corn field. The big empty space with Cary Grant off to one side speaks volumes.

I always enjoy Hitch's movies I can't think of a Hitch film I've seen that I disliked. I say that because I tend to focus my critique on things that I didn't care for even when my overall review is positive.

Right off the bat I loved the opening title credits and music score...The title credits are important, they set the theme of the movie...and it's feeling. The credits were frantic, fast paced, with diagonal lines...lines everywhere! Like points on the map.

Then the credits dissolve into a diagonal shot of the U.N. building. Very cool! Then the theme of fast, confused movement continues as Cary Grant bustles down a very crowded New York City street. There's people everywhere! All going somewhere, movement, movement, movement!....That's the theme of the movie...and Hitch brilliantly establishes that in the opening scene.

Instantly the film grabs me and pulls me into it's world. The first 45 minutes where Cary is mistakenly abducted was gripping. The script is very intelligently written throughout the entire film. Cary reacted to his kidnappers in the way I would have expected him to. And the plot twists and grows as it's story elements continually broadening the underlying spy theme. Well done.


Cary Grant is perfect for this role. As much as I like Jimmy Stewart, he would have been all wrong here. But the suave and yet irritated Cary worked perfectly here. So did James Mason. Damn is this guy good or what! The more I see of James Mason, the more I like him.


So, I was in bliss here with the movie, until Eva Maria Saint appears. I do like her, but the movie stalls a bit with her controlled acting. She seemed like an actress in a soap opera, dramatic but not real. She was austere, cold and distant. Yeah, yeah, yeah...I know that was her character, but later in the movie when we learn more about her, she still stays in this same mode. I feel the same way about her in this movie, as I did about Grace Kelly in Rear Window and especially Dial M for Murder.

But wait a minute! I recently watched On the Waterfront and in that Eva Marie Saint was very good. She was believable and very much in the moment. So it's not her, as I know she can act up a storm, which means maybe it's not Grace either....It's the way Hitch handles some of his leading ladies. He seems to actively seek out, blonde arm hanger actresses in many of his 50s-60s movies. They're often the cold, cool, beautiful bitchy type. I've heard Hitch had a thing for that type. It's too bad because I found Eva's character underdeveloped, compared to what she could have been, and she could have been so much more.

The last hour is fun/exciting/good, but more on par with Spielberg's Indian Jone type film, with lots of action, and thrills and trick camera shots.

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Nice review Citizen! Vivien is so lovely. I have to check this movie out. I know what you mean by cinematic telepathy. I wonder if I experience the same with this picture.

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Thanks Nestorio. Waterloo Bridge (1940) is one of my favorite movies, it's in my Top 10 on my profile. It's a very emotional movie and can be quite sad a times too. If you watch it, let me know what you thing of it.