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All responses Most smiled responses
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Yes. I refuse to answer the second part because a) your question sounds too much like marketing fishing for my taste and b) my answers will probably make me sound like a pretentious cliché.
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I love him, but it took me a while. I think a lot of resentment is directed his way because of his bad-boy antics and because he was anointed out of nowhere as "the next big thing" (sort of like a male Gretchen Mol), but he's weathered the storm and has a lot more range than people give him credit for. I think he was great in "New World" -- you bought his heartache. He was also quite good in "Minority Report" and "Miami Vice," though I don't think much of either movie. "Alexander" was just a fiasco all around -- he was miscast and saddled with that ridiculous hair. I'm looking forward to his films with Weir and Neil Jordan. Not becoming a huge boxoffice star will probably wind up being the best thing that ever happened to him. He'll rack up an amazing body of work with great directors (much like Johnny Depp) and he's going to wind up becoming undeniable in another five or so years.
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asked by skeetonmischa
I feel about "Mad Max 4" sort of like I did the "Star Wars" prequels or "Indy 4" or The Stooges reuiniting. Part of me is psyched by the prospect, but it will inevitably be disappointing. Shit, "Mad Max 3" was even disappointing. I'm sick of directors greedily trying to re-live their glory days by shitting all over my childhood memories.
As for Tom Hardy, I haven't seen "Bronson" yet, so I cannot offer an opinion. Personally, I think Mel Gibson is still more-than-capable of severe bad-assery (unlike, say, Harrison Ford) and should reprise the role with which he made his bones. Maybe he is and Tom Hardy is playing the grown up Feral Kid???
Anyway, to answer your question: MEH. -
"Bad Santa" is pretty damn terrific. As is "Ghost World." (Zwigoff, FTW). "Elf" and "Anchorman" are undeniable. It's taken for granted now, but for pure laughs per minute, the shock of seeing "Jackass" on the big screen the first time was pretty incredible. (The same goes for "Borat" and the totally underrated "Bruno"). "Idiocracy" is hit and miss, but the highs are inspired beyond belief. "Nacho Libre" is a totally neglected masterpiece (and I hated "Napoleon Dynamite," btw), tonally perfect and it gets funnier every time I watch it. "In Bruges" isn't necessarily a pure comedy, per se, but is hilarious. I will admit to never having seen "Zoolander" which DMX of all people once proclaimed in a press conference as his favorite film of all time. Comedy-wise, however, the decade really belongs to "Curb Your Enthusiasm," don't you think?
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I have better instincts than actual technique when cooking, but I do Italian well. I make a killer Amatriciana and a really good Caesar dressing, too. When are you coming over for dinner, whoever you are?
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asked by blueeyeddevil
No. I don't hold grudges. Anyway, Demonoid still won't load on my computer, so, in true philosophical "if a tree falls etc." fashion, it has yet to be established that you indeed showed me up.
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asked by skeetonmischa
If the "Avengers" film is on par quality-wise with "Iron Man" (and, if the very impressive trailer is any indication, "Iron Man 2"), then the answer is no, he won't lose his cool. If it ends up being more like the Ed Norton "Hulk," then, well....
RE Mulligan, haven't seen "Education" yet (I have the Oscar screener, I really have no excuse). So I'll refrain from comment until I see it. I just hope she doesn't fall into the trap all young British actresses fall into (and some Americans who showed initial sparks of vibrancy *cough* Winona Ryder and Gwyneth Paltrow *cough*) by consigning herself to a life of stuffy Oscar-bait period pieces. If she's half as talented as everyone says she is, hopefully she'll find roles that can really let that talent shine instead of stifling it. -
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And with good reason: it's utterly forgettable. It was his Oscar-bait whorejob after the failure of the Weinstein-compromised "Gangs of New York" (Will there ever be a proper director's cut of that one on DVD? Or even a decent transfer, for that matter?) DiCaprio is embarrassingly bad. Also, if you know anything about the inordinately fascinating real-life of Howard Hughes, the movie is doubly awful for its missed potential.
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As a general rule, quirky covers by "ska-punk" bands invariably blow horsecock.
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You're right. I don't do cocaine at afterhours clubs anymore. So I most likely no longer do know LA's best kept secret, as the address has probably changed.
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asked by skeetonmischa
God I hope so, on both counts. Renner will be an interesting one to watch. A lot depends, I think, on whether he gets an Oscar nod. "Hurt Locker" has certainly put him on everybody's radar, at least casting director-wise, if not the general public. Then it all becomes a matter of how smart his representation is and how picky he is about choosing roles.
I would LOVE to read a Harry Dean autobio. You can catch him out on the town sometimes -- he's been known to close out Dan Tana's. -
If I told you, it wouldn't be secret now, would it...
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asked by skeetonmischa
I think Peckinpah's work with Oates more or less "made" the persona of Warren Oates as we know it. Hellman then refined it. You are, of course, forgetting Oates' stellar work as Sgt. Hulka in "Stripes."
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None of this should be viewed as definitive as I am very fickle.
Books: Any of the early novels/stories by John O'Hara, anything by Paul Bowles, "A Fan's Notes" by Frederick Exley
I don't do graphic novels.
Films: "The Last Detail," "Drugstore Cowboy," "California Split"
Albums: Howlin' Wolf, "The Chess Box;" Sly and the Family Stone, "There's A Riot Goin' On;" Phil Spector, "A Christmas Gift For You"
Eats: the brisket and links at Phillip's BBQ on Leimert Blvd (takeout only), the Dabney Coleman steak at Dan Tana's, Krua Thai on Sherman Way in North Hollywood
Happy hunting -
I enjoyed it for what it was, which was basically a stylistic exercise. Chris Doyle really can do no wrong. Every frame was like a really good museum-quality photograph. I liked the motifs and the repetitions. The lead dude (his name fails me) was like a black Lee Marvin (except when he opened his mouth). Was it ridiculous? Yes. But it was rather funny in a droll sort of way and surprisingly enjoyable.
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asked by skeetonmischa
There are two stylistic affectations/tics of the '00s action film (both, oddly enough, introduced by Spielberg and then widely, badly imitated) that have already dated and are going to be looked back upon the way in a similar manner as the wah-wah soundtracks and rack focuses of '70s action movies: A) the "Saving Private Ryan" open shutter effect and B) the horrid "Minority Report" tweaked/desaturated color/overly highlit whites look (which, at least in Spielberg/Kaminski's case, was achieved photochemically and now is the kneejerk mode of bad DI colorists everywhere). Neveldine/Taylor exemplify these two tics 2 the Xtreme, along with nausea-inducing shaky-cam, speedfreak editing and overall in-your-face crassness. Within 5 years, this "style" will seem dated. The question is whether, in 15, the hipsters of the future will start adopting said style "ironically" and it will become either camp or an "everything old is new again" "cool" technique. That, more than anything, will determine if these films have legs. These things are hard to peg. Will tats and piercings be the ironic bushy mustache of the 2020s? Is style destined to repeat itself in cycles, like Dr. Seuss' The Sneetches, with their fickle vogue for navels with stars? The bigger question is this: do you think the hipster kids of the 2020s will wear vintage Ed Hardy ironically?
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