IMO, which I really don't expect anybody to share, Prince of Thieves was a vehicle for Blessed to bellow, Wincott to growl, and Rickman to snark his way through.

When we talk of spoons as a measure of energy these days, Gisborne and the Shurf are always muttering away, "Why (stab someone with) a spoon, cousin?" "'Cause it's *dull*, you twit! It'll hurt more!"

Love the Girl in the Cafe--'cause, Kelly MacDonald! and Bill Nighy! And hey, you're not the only one who loves him in Underworld! SO much. Couldn't get past the prosthetics and CGI to love him in Pirates, though.

Seconding Something The Lord Made. The whole cast is terrific, and the story is compelling, and for all that Rickman is incredibly unsympathetic he's also weirdly, stubbornly honorable (as was the real Dr. Blalock, who knew Vivien Thomas's worth and genius, expected others to treat him the same way, and valued him enough that when he was offered the chief of surgery position at Johns Hopkins he wouldn't go unless Thomas was offered a job too; Thomas became the first black man to walk the halls of JH wearing a lab coat).

I don't know if I could watch him be Reagan -- or anyone, really. My Reagan tolerance at any one viewing lasts just about as long as a vintage SNL skit and not a second more.

ITA.

I was completely bowled over by Girl in the Cafe. It was absolutely not what I expected. His performance is almost painful to watch, it's so brutally honest.

lovelovelove.

Totally agreeing on Something the Lord Made, as well.

I had absolutely no idea about Vivian Thomas' contribution to medicine...which I suppose was the point of the movie.

As soon as I saw it, I threw myself into as much research as I could find. Fascinating.

January Man

OMG, so nice finding other people who appreciate that movie. Rickman was wonderfully eccentric in it.

Oh yeah. Though I think I mostly watched it for Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio.

My absolute favorite bit...whitefonted for the uninitiated: was the reveal of the bad guy. Everyone in the audience was madly "Agatha Christie-ing" all the clues, and it turned out to be very different from our expectations .

I _loved_ that moment.

And, the conversation in the restaurant between Mastrantonio and Kline. "There are four hotels within five minutes of here" [sic]

Rickman's quirkiness was emblematic of the entire feel of the movie. The paintings were fun too.

Just like Where the Heart Is. Great use of character and paint.

I have watched "Something The Lord Made" a bunch of times. Fascinating flick with quite a few Wire alums in it too. Rickman's character was fascinating, because sometimes he was a partner and sometimes an antagonist. Which is really more how people are than the baddie that's all "I don't expect you to talk, Mr. Bond. I expect you to die." I know I'm betraying major ideological bias, as well as showing my age, but why would anybody see a Reagan movie?(sorry, Mr. Rickman.) Maybe it's for people who think the animated Grinch Stole Christmas was too biased toward Whos.(No, I'm kidding. I'm sure it could be interesting,(for someone else) if Oliver Stone is not allowed to get anywhere near it.

Anyone else ever seen Kaleidoscope? It's a '60s caper film. It seems that one company manufactures all of the playing cards used in all of the casinos in the world, and Warren Beatty (young, wearing horn-rimmed glasses that make him look earnest/sexy) plays a guy who's figured a way to mark all of the cards at the factory. Of course, eventually things get complicated, and not just because Susannah York plays the love interest....

Light entertainment of the kind that the '60s did so well. Hardly great art, but a movie that knows what it is and is comfortable with that.