I think if the film had donned a serious tone, it would bother me more but as it has its tongue firmly placed in cheek, it almost dons a meta-quality about narrative construction and film as fantasy. The opening shots of Arnold jackhammering and being macho have a degree of camp that lets those boundaries effectively blur. Given Verhoeven’s penchant for the fantastical and campy, I’m inclined to view it as a deliberate choice.
But it's an aesthetic that fits the tone of the film so well; it's an unapologetically pulpy, trashy bit of Sci-Fi/Action, so it has the look to go with that (which is far superior to the slicker but more generic future that Len Wiseman's pointless remake provided). I mean, I love the way that 2001still still looks like it takes place in the future, even twenty years after the actual year it was set in, but I don't think that sort of aesthetic would suit Total Recall as well, and vice versa, you know?
Right. Like, I get WHY it is the way it is. But it just doesn't work for me, even if all the choices were the right choices for the film and its intentions, know what I mean?
I'm sure it doesn't help that I've never really liked Arnold all that much and I found a lot of his line deliveries more painful than pulpy fun. Sorry bros.
I’d put Running Man at the top of his next tier (good movies), alongside things like Red Heat, Raw Deal and the Last Stand (I defend it!).
What do you have against Predator? I struggle to think of a more perfectly crafted blend of action, sci-fi and horror. It’s even my favorite from McTiernan.
I like The Running Man a lot more than those other films. Its ambitious dystopian vision and Richard Dawson elevate it.
"It'll be just like in the movies. Pretending to be somebody else."
That's what spunky and determined Betty (Naomi Watts) tells her troubled, amnesiac friend Rita (Laura Harring) as they try to piece out what happened to her. Betty, an aspiring actress, wants to live the Hollywood dream so much that he transposes the illusion of being "in a movie" to her efforts to help Rita, and God knows to what else.
That's the premise of this surreal mind-bender by David Lynch. Originally conceived as a TV pilot, Mulholland Drive came to be as Lynch kept on tinkering with it after it was rejected by TV executives. The end result is equal parts confusing, impenetrable, mesmerizing, hypnotizing, and beautiful.
I'm sure it doesn't help that I've never really liked Arnold all that much and I found a lot of his line deliveries more painful than pulpy fun. Sorry bros.
THE GAME
(1997, Fincher) A film from the Criterion Collection whose number includes the #6 (i.e. 16, 621, 906)
"Discovering the object of the game *is* the object of the game."
So says journalist Daniel Schorr in a bizarre exchange with investment banker Nicholas Van Orton (Michael Douglas) via his television. You see, Nicholas has become so self-absorbed and isolated that he has forgotten about what really matters. "The game", which was a gift from his brother Conrad (Sean Penn), is supposed to make his life "fun".
Unfortunately, the game turns out as an elaborate ruse that blurs the lines between fiction and reality for Nicholas, eventually threatening his life. The cast is rounded up by Deborah Kara Unger and James Rebhorn as two people that might, or might not be, involved in the game. And that's part of the beauty of the film cause it always keeps you guessing what will happen next.
Cambridge scholar Brian (Michael York) arrives in 1931 Berlin and quickly strikes up a friendship with quirky cabaret star Sally Bowles (Liza Minnelli). The two of them attempt to navigate love, sex, and friendship, as the city around them transforms under the rise of the Nazi party.
This is one of those films that I've been meaning to get around to for ages, and I'm not tremendously familiar with Minnelli (outside of her work on Arrested Development and, um, this sketch that I watch way too much).
In any event, I really enjoyed it and in particular the way that the musical numbers were filmed. The camera alternates between an audience point of view, an over-the-shoulder view from the performers, and a sense of being inside one of the dance numbers. I also enjoyed the song and dance numbers themselves, with their mix of highbrow and lowbrow elements and the sense of confidence and community among the performers. The dynamic of having the MC (Joel Grey) serve as this interesting mix of performer ("one of the girls") and as the lone male audience surrogate was neat.
And the anchor of the performances serves as an intriguing background to what is happening in the city at large. The performers strut and dance and sing, even as fascism is creeping up on the country. We get a musical interlude outside of the cabaret, and it is a performance of a chilling patriotic song ("Tomorrow belongs to us") that rouses the adults and even the children. Sometimes it is strange to look at entertainment--especially comedies or other "light" stuff--that was produced during intense global upheaval. In this film, the performers go on doing their thing despite the growing tide of change. And the fact that the cabaret itself is home to many people who would be harmed under fascist rule (the gay MC, a transgender performer) creates a neat tension. How long will this cabaret and its performers hold out? The chilling final shot of the film--in which the distorted reflections of Nazi officers are seen in an on-stage mirror--adds an ominous note.
Surprisingly, the least interesting or compelling part of the film for me was the central story between Brian and Sally. And don't get me wrong, Sally's bold-as-brass personality and the curious relationship that develops between her and Brian is a lot of fun. There is something really appealing about the intersection between her larger than life antics pushing up against his more reserved personality. It's also really nice to see Brian's matter of fact bisexuality just be a normal part of the plot. Sally herself is in this weird carpe diem downward spiral as she waits to break into something bigger. There is certainly something magnetic about Minnelli's Sally, especially when she is performing. I just found that the various romantic plots and squabbles lost my interest as the film went on.
Minnelli is also good in The Sterile Cuckoo. But she's dreadful in Arthur (my first experience with her, which tainted me against her for years)
L is For Liza is also worth checking out.
I actually thought she was quite good in Arthur, but it doesn’t hold a candle to her performance in Cabaret. I have not seen The Sterile Cuckoo yet, but I’m familiar with it.
I actually thought she was quite good in Arthur, but it doesn’t hold a candle to her performance in Cabaret. I have not seen The Sterile Cuckoo yet, but I’m familiar with it.
Its just one of those performances that gets under my skin like some kind of irritant. Its the rare movie where I sometimes find myself wishing he'd take the money over love. And I say this as a pretty big fan of the movie in genral
About a week after Sly's show in Harlem, he was one of the acts invited to the Newport Jazz Festival (July, 1969). Why, I don't know. We were on the bill too (Zappa/Mothers). Most everyone was disgusted with him because he tried to incite a riot and have the fans tear down the fences at the festival. I'm sure he was on drugs, but the guy was a real a**hole.
Well, Ed, if anyone has any footage of the legendary Newport Jazz Festival '69 - Miles Davis, James Brown, Sly Stone, Sun Ra, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Art Blakey, Frank Zappa, Jeff Beck, Led Zeppelin, Herbie Hancock, BB King - I'd love to see it and it would probably blow away all of the other 1969 festival docs off the map. Where is that doc, Doc?
Oh man, every line he says is comedy gold. Truly an all-time comedy performance.
I think that BadLieutenent was the only other poster who shared my appreciation for the brilliant but underloved Big Trouble. (It works primarily because of Falk.)
I mean, I have thought pretty much word to word that about American Psycho, especially with friends in investment banking circles - and so do they, at the time it was a running joke… same with The Wolf of Wall Street - they’re often psychopaths, but at least they’ve got a yacht/Lambo to shipwreck/crash. Don’t see anything odd about this response at all.
I think that BadLieutenent was the only other poster who shared my appreciation for the brilliant but underloved Big Trouble. (It works primarily because of Falk.)
I tried to seek that one out a while back, but it turned out the video store I frequented only carried the Tim Allen movie of the same name. Was extremely disappointed.
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