Progressive Boink

[Shamrock]

It is a real shame about Ed Norton. He had such an epic streak of movies for a few years there, then completely fell off. The Painted Veil was fucking terrible. Here's hoping the Hulk movie will be good.

[Maynard,]

I liked The Illusionist quite a bit, but Ed Norton is no A-list star. He probably could have been, or could be, if he happened on a few choice roles. Ed Norton was also really good in Down In The Valley.

[Jordo]

I just watched No Country For Old Men for the second time. It's quite good, and also very hilarious how the ending pisses people off. I don't think it's far-fetched to say that if we did a Greatest Movie Villain LoS, Anton Chigurh would be in it. And while Tommy Lee Jones is fantastic, Josh Brolin gives his best performance since Hollow Man.

[Maynard,]

Anton Chigurh is definitely one of the top movie villains. At the very least, he is he best movie villain in a very long time. He is completely amoral which is a particular type of insanity that creeps me out. I particularly love the scene where he chokes the police officer on the floor. By looking at his eyes, he appears removed from the murder. He isn't enjoying it; he isn't bothered.

SPOILERS I GUESS

The only problem I had with No Country For Old Men is the ambiguity of the hotel room scene. How did Chigurh escape? I know the point is not how he did it, but that he did. That scene moved it down from easily my number one movie to easily top 10.

[zack hoagie!]

he was in the other room is what i think they tried to say

[Daniel]

It's quite good, and also very hilarious how the ending pisses people off.

no doubt. a couple of old ladies turned around to us with a big "HUH" after the ending.

[Randy Jones]

no country for old men is The Awesomest.

yep saw it last night and didn't really get it and then today i was like holy fuck this is one of the best movies

[Rusty Cooledge v2]

Gangs of New York.

It kinda pissed me off at times. All I liked was The Butcher and that's about it. But it was an interesting and entertaining flick despite the cartoonishness where I would have liked realism, like in fight scenes where KILL HIM HES RIGHT THERE UNGGG NEVER MIND and how some things were drawn the fuck out while others just happened.

[emily]

I actually liked the illusionist. Am I the only one?

The Illusionist was quite good. But anyone who tries to tell you that its better than The Prestige is a damn dirty liar.

[Alan]

Thank you.

[Jim]

Saw I Am Legend last night. I liked the whole movie a lot and didn't feel like the third act was bad. It may not have been as strong as the first 2/3rds of the movie, but I didn't feel that it detracted from it either. Also, the movie made me cry like the big old softy that I am. Will Smith really did a great fucking job.

[Maynard,]

he was in the other room is what i think they tried to say

He wasn't in the other room. The lock wasn't blown off in the wide shots. Anton and Tommy Lee Jones could see each other in the reflection of the lock. According to some podcast that I have only read about, the Coen brothers said Anton was in the room. They also said that it was purposefully ambiguous. I guess he could have been hiding under the bed, but that seems awfully close to cheating.

I've read how that scene went down in the book, and I can see why the Coen brothers changed it. It makes it seem like Chigurh has mystical powers to escape instead of maintaining reality which, in my mind, is cheating.

EDIT: Rereading this, I realize I come off as kind of a dick. I'm not meaning to. It was just one scene that hurt an otherwise flawless movie. I can live with the scene as is, but it annoys me.

[Captain Hot Stuff]

Also, the movie made me cry like the big old softy that I am.

You're the second person I've heard say that now. I'm really looking forward to it coming out.

[Ragingape]

He wasn't in the other room. The lock wasn't blown off in the wide shots. Anton and Tommy Lee Jones could see each other in the reflection of the lock. According to some podcast that I have only read about, the Coen brothers said Anton was in the room. They also said that it was purposefully ambiguous. I guess he could have been hiding under the bed, but that seems awfully close to cheating.

I never had a problem with this. I thought he was behind the door and just slips out when Sheriff Bell checks the bathroom. We are never shown Anton after Bell goes into the bathroom so there is no reason to assume he is still there beyond that point.

Yes. I could watch an entire movie of just Anton Chigurh killing m***** f******.

[Ragingape]

The Illusionist was quite good. But anyone who tries to tell you that its better than The Prestige is a damn dirty liar.

SPOILER ALERT (sort of)

I absolutely hated The Prestige. The movie spent the first hour and a half outsmarting the audience and coming up with tricks. Then the solution to the final trick: impossible science, as in real magic. That irritated me so much, especially since they bothered to invoke Tesla's name for some unknown reason.

[Kyle]

agh maynard can you steal the reels for no country from your job and mail them to me, i'm goin crazy out here at the lake

[emily]

The Illusionist was quite good. But anyone who tries to tell you that its better than The Prestige is a damn dirty liar.

SPOILER ALERT (sort of)

I absolutely hated The Prestige. The movie spent the first hour and a half outsmarting the audience and coming up with tricks. Then the solution to the final trick: impossible science, as in real magic. That irritated me so much, especially since they bothered to invoke Tesla's name for some unknown reason.

I think we had this discussion when the film came out, but I took that to be the point. The movie keeps saying that everyone who goes to a magic show always wants to know how a trick is performed, but then when the curtain is pulled back and they see how its been done, they kind of wish they could believe it was just magic again. Thats exactly what the film does to its audience, but flipped. We've been behind the scenes the whole time, we know there is a science to it. Then when the great trick is finally revealed to us, and the trick is that its ACTUAL MAGIC, we also regret knowing. We want it to be something scientific and smart.

Also, to tie this into the subject we mentioned in some other thread, I know Bale gets a lot of credit as a great doer of accents, but I think Hugh Jackman is one of the best in the business right now. He does something like three different accents over the course of The Prestige, all flawless.

[Ragingape]

I am a complete science nerd. It takes a lot for me to get over impossible science when they try to explain it. If they had just shown the trick being done, I could have accepted it. But using Tesla and going through the whole process killed it for me.

I got what they were trying to do, it just annoyed me that they did it. Me hating the movie wasn't helped by the fact that I found Jackman and Bale's characters to be awful people.

[Rusty Cooledge v2]

The Hoax.

Let down.

[Maynard,]

I think we had this discussion when the film came out, but I took that to be the point. The movie keeps saying that everyone who goes to a magic show always wants to know how a trick is performed, but then when the curtain is pulled back and they see how its been done, they kind of wish they could believe it was just magic again. Thats exactly what the film does to its audience, but flipped. We've been behind the scenes the whole time, we know there is a science to it. Then when the great trick is finally revealed to us, and the trick is that its ACTUAL MAGIC, we also regret knowing. We want it to be something scientific and smart.

We did have this discussion and I still think this is the best explanation of The Prestige. I probably said this then, but I don't want to watch a trick once I know how it works. So I won't be watching it again no matter how masterfully done it is, and it really is a well done movie.

I felt The Prestige never equalled the sum of its parts. Every single element was great. Acting, script, set design, clothing, atmosphere, direction, period recreation, etc. were all top notch. The movie left me feeling underwhelmed which is, again, like revealing a magic trick.