it's frankly unnerving how smoldering little 12-year-old Natalie is

I recently read Lolita finally (which was utterly phenomenal, by the way, as rich as prose gets) and commented to a friend that it was a crime against literature that Portman turned down the role of Lolita in the 1997 film. When you're reading the book, his description of his little lover, both physically and, well, I guess emotionally isn't the right word, but in the way he describes her sexual vibe, is exactly little Mathilda in Léon.

ETA: I meant to mention that with that image, it's a lot harder to completely hate Humbert Humbert, because, frankly, little Natalie is so incredibly tempting there. Which isn't to say the character isn't incredibly depraved and didn't deserve to go to jail for eight billion years, because he did, but still... it helps with the empathy.

Saw Sin City tonight and was really pretty eh on it. It's visually stunning, but the plots kind of suck, and most of the dialog really sucks because it sounds like it was written by a disturbed twelve-year-old with serious issues. Of course, most of Frank Miller's comics kind of read like they were written by a disturbed twelve-year-old with issues with a capital ISSUES, so that's to be expected. Some parts were okay, some parts were funny, the acting was really scattershot, but overall I was really only impressed with the visuals.

The interaction between Leon and Mathilda may be sexually innocent, but it has this weird romantic charge to it all the same. I don't remember being this unsettled by it when I watched it the first time around. Hmmm.

The extra 20 minutes add a lot of that to it. I remember seeing the weird charge on first view, but it was MUCH more unsettling when I watched Leon.

The extra twenty minutes really takes it from a weird charge into seriously uncomfortable territory, making it a much better film, in opinion. I like both of them, but like Leon best.

Of course, most of Frank Miller's comics kind of read like they were written by a disturbed twelve-year-old with issues with a capital ISSUES, so that's to be expected.

Snerk. Yeah, umm... I've noticed on my f-list (and other comics fans have noticed the same thing) that the more familiar with Frank and his issues one is, the more one tends to be mixed-to-eh on the movie.

Leon, a.k.a. The Professional, except with 20+ minutes longer European cut.

Just to be clear - you need the Directors Cut of Leon for the extra footage; the cinema release was much the same as the US version. I've never seen the long version.

Holy Smoke is pretty bad, but has one of the best opening sequences ever; all Indian cyberpunk. Beautiful.

Just to be clear - you need the Directors Cut of Leon for the extra footage; the cinema release was much the same as the US version. I've never seen the long version.

In the US, the long version is packaged as Leon, and the US release as The Professional, which makes it easy to tell them apart. For some reason, I seem to own both. (I think we picked up The Professional before Leon was available to us or something.)

'Amityville Horror' Man Blasts Remake As "Drivel"

The original owner of the Amityville Horror house has blasted the remake of the movie after producers refused to call on his services as a consultant. George Lutz was the victim of the real-life horror tale about the possessed New York state home, and turned his terrible tale into a cult book, on which the original 1979 film was based. But Lutz is far from impressed with the new Andrew Douglas film, released in America this weekend, claiming the director ignored his offers of help and, as a result, has made a purely fictional film. Lutz tells movie website Moviehole.Net, "I was excluded from any participation that might have allowed for accurate depictions in this film. There is a craft to acting... Some actors are more serious about their art. They take time to research a part. In the case of retelling an actual event, they look into the history and research the people involved. That just didn't happen here. Based on what I've read from his interviews, this kid (Scott Kosar) thinks his script is the true story because that's what he's been told. He's quite happy to look no further than that. A tremendous disservice has been orchestrated here. The filmmakers have fabricated many incredibly inaccurate statements made during promotion interviews and press packs. These serve to misinform with a drivel that is pure sophistry. I am appalled at the lack of personal integrity in the name of hype and promotion. This (film) is supposed to be about my family and the 28 days we lived in the house, instead it is something formed in the minds of others not concerned with anything more than box office numbers and self import."

BWAHAHAHAHA

George Lutz is a Putz. It's funny reading him bandy about words like "true" and "fictional" when he doesn't even know the meaning of the words. He claims the haunting was true and that his family only lasted 28 days in the house. If there was an iota of truth in his story, why have none of the subsequent occupants had any problems? The Cromarty family happily lived there from 1977 until 1987 and never experienced any supernatural problems. However, they did experience problems with gawkers and tourists after the book and original movie were released.

George Lutz is a Putz. It's funny reading him bandy about words like "true" and "fictional" when he doesn't even know the meaning of the words.

I was about to say, reading all of that.... Yes, somebody once went nuts in that house and killed his family with a shotgun, but I was pretty sure the Lutz's story had been proven a hoax.

RE: Sin City, just in case anybody was unaware (I don't remember reading this in any of the early posts on the movie) Frank Miller himself has a cameo in the movie as the priest that tells Marv that he's looking for Cardinal Roark, and then gets shot for his troubles.

most of the dialog really sucks because it sounds like it was written by a disturbed twelve-year-old with serious issues

My snarky self wants to say that Elijah Wood got all the best lines, but I rather liked some of the dialog in the Clive Owen section - not so many hardboiled anvils, plus a really funny death scene. That reminded of the Frank Miller whose writing I used to enjoy (describing Benecio as having been turned into a Pez dispenser cracked me up, especially when he gets to demonstrate later ).

I haven't seen Leon, (I *have* seen The Professional, but not the extended version) but there are some moments with Natalie in Beautiful Girls that are pretty charged. She definitely had a kind of not-quite-innocent sensuality to her then.

And I've always heard the original Amityville Horror was a hoax.

Have we seen this site yet? [link]