Buffista Movies 3: Panned and Scanned
A place to talk about movies--Old and new, good and bad, high art and high cheese. It's the place to place your kittens on the award winners, gossip about upcoming fims and discuss DVD releases and extras. Spoiler policy: White font all plot-related discussion until a movie's been in wide release two weeks, and keep the major HSQ in white font until two weeks after the video/DVD release.
Aw, Teppy. You made me get all misted up. I found the whole film to be like that--bittersweet and wistful.
As for Jack, I don't think we were supposed to love the character despite his infidelities. He's a big child, lovable at times, and deeply, deeply flawed. I wouldn't be at all surprised if he
couldn't stop himself from philandering even after the wedding.
But that's Jack. The picture wasn't about Jack learning life lessons.
I did let out of big whoop and clapped when
Stephanie beat the crap out of him with a motorcycle helmet.
That was a fucking priceless moment, and so well-deserved.
Oh! That's where I've seen Sandra Oh before. Last Night. Okay. I knew the name was familiar.
P-C, you gotta check out Sandra Oh in
Double Happiness.
I think it'll resonate with you.
P-C, you gotta check out Sandra Oh in Double Happiness.
The IMDb synopsis:
Jade Li is a fiesty, 20something Chinese Canadian, trying to achieve that happy medium between giving in to her parent's wishes and fulfilling her own needs and desires - double happiness. Naturally, something's got to give and when love beckons in the shape of Mark, a white university student, the facade of perfect Chinese daughter begins to slip.
I think it'll resonate with you.
Jesus. Ya think?
The scary rumor I heard is that they're setting it in '87-'88.
Any previous nightmares have been cancelled. A new one is born.
That would break me- I've always considered Rent to be such a snapshot of its time, about finding humanity in a digital age and all. And lots of the lyrics are late 90's specific- it's set in the tech boom, and the line "Living in America at the end of the millenium..". I guess all this could be tweaked or interpreted to work in the 80s, but if it did, I'd pout.
Also, Mimi's line
"AZT break!"
is pretty pivotal, I think. In the 80's, wasn't
AZT
still sort of difficult to come by, especially for penniless Bohemians?
t /Old school Rent worship.
I've always considered Rent to be such a snapshot of its time, about finding humanity in a digital age and all.
Which is moderately amusing since it's a remake of La Boheme, about 19th century Parisians.
I just read that Cate's freckles were painted on to play Kate Hepburn. I think the thing that impressed me the most about
Aviator
was the makeup. It took Ali to point out that the period makeup was excellent too -- I was fixated on the injury makeup, and did remark to myself that it was cool we were seeing Cate's freckles.
Oh, naive me.
Lovely stuff, though.
As for Jack, I don't think we were supposed to love the character despite his infidelities. He's a big child, lovable at times, and deeply, deeply flawed.
This is like the discussion over in the Lost thread -- I don't know if I'd like Jack if he were real, if I knew him IRL. However, as a character, I was surprised at how much I ended up liking him (and, as a corollary, Thomas Hayden Church, who I have NEVER liked in any role before). I think I ended up liking the character because, as the viewer, I got to see the whole character -- not only the philandering, but all of him. There were so many grace notes in his character in his interactions with Miles, whenever Miles was freaking out or just angsting, the way that Jack would extend some emotional support/comfort.
Granted, his character wasn't deep; but even that holds its charms. Basically, he was a wonderful foil to Miles.
And, honestly, because he was a *character* and not someone who I know IRL, even his philandering struck a note of pathos for me, and I actually felt sorry for him that he was so desperate to cling to someone else.
P-Cow, I don't think Jack was a good person, but he
was
a good friend. You can see how he had served a very necessary and important purpose to Miles over the years - forcing him out of his downward spirals, making him take chances, to engage with people, to live. I could completely understand while Miles would have enough loyalty towards him to
go get the wedding ring back.
Also, as Tep notes, Thomas Hayden Church brought a lot of shading to the character. He didn't hide Jack's essential shittiness, and he was also aware (but in denial) that he was a person who had been gliding through life on charm without much ethos at all. And he knew his charm and looks were fading.
Okay, I can't link directly to the photo. Click on Photos on that page, and theb click on the third one down, on the left.
Wow, the picture in the bottom row, in the center? Could
be
George Clooney.
I just read that Cate's freckles were painted on to play Kate Hepburn. I think the thing that impressed me the most about Aviator was the makeup. It took Ali to point out that the period makeup was excellent too -- I was fixated on the injury makeup, and did remark to myself that it was cool we were seeing Cate's freckles.
Oh, naive me.
Lovely stuff, though.
The makeup really was excellent. And you're not naive. The point of the makeup is to fit in so seamlessly that you don't realize that's what you're seeing.
I liked
The Aviator.
I don't need to see it again, however. Even though Kate Beckinsale made me cry. It was quite long, and while I appreciated many aspects of it, there's no real love.
Except maybe of the makeup. I loved the makeup.
I was watching the aviation stuff closely and was surprised that it was pretty accurate. A minor continuity problem with one of the planes (the shiny monoplace racer) and the crash of the XF-11 was a little different than what I had read... minor stuff, basicly.
The point of the makeup is to fit in so seamlessly that you don't realize that's what you're seeing.
That's also the point of CGI and stunt doubles -- I'd like to think I'm savvy about them too.