THIS IS A READ-ONLY ARCHIVE FROM THE SORABJI.COM MESSAGE BOARDS (1995-2016). |
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I was trying to think what the last best movie I saw and that was Life is Beautiful, great great movie, but god, compared to this, I don't know.. you just can't compare two good movies together, they always have something strong about them. But this movie.. it's like... what to say. It was fucked up. Everything about it was strong. The title doesn't do it justice. I always think of Steal Magnolias when I hear this title and that's absoloute shit. Just because you're done with the past doesn't mean the past is done with you. These things HAPPEN. It DID happen, it may not seem like something as crazy or as sad or as odd as this could EVER happen, but it did, and it does! We see movies all the time and know this could never happen, it's a movie, it's hollywood, but for once someone actually thought, "Hey, maybe we should make a movie based on things that do happen with people, that just don't seem to happen. And then let's tie it all in together and fuck with the audiences head." It felt good. 8 people, 2 of each come together, have a kind of connection. The father who wants to see his kid he hadn't seen in years on his deathbed, the game show trivia prodigy kid who has all the pressure on him to make money, only for dad (which tottally reminded me of the Dennis the Menace story I saw on E!), a guy who is older now and was on the same game show, and how he has turned out, a cocaine addict girl and a police officer tottally interested in her unaware of everything about her, high on his ego, which screws with her mind, the game show host is the cocaine girls father, and she hates him. The directing was beautiful, it was woven, the camera would sometimes follow people around, or it would sometimes be them. I knew from the start it'd be good by just how it started out, there was just no stalling or letdown. there was great music that settled in just right, and then sometimes things would be thrown in and you'd have to catch it for it to make sense, which it didn't even if you did know why it happened. Sometimes there was no reason, IT JUST HAPPENED. It was funny, it was believable, it had multiple climaxes, and I'm still thinking about it the next day, and probly for a couple more. It was an enlightening movie. What an oxymoron. I'll probly never see a better movie. |
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earlier today on the phone: someone: genesis salon. me: is mandy there? s: yeah, hold on a sec. mandy! mandy: hello? me: hi. this is sort of a random stranger calling. you cut my hair once. I was just wondering, have you seen the movie "magnolia"? mandy: uh, no. me: oh. ok. there's an actress in it and she has the haircut I want. has anyone else there seen it? mandy: hold on. let me check. has anyone here seen "magnolia"? uh, no. no one's seen it. who's the actress, do you know? me: julianne moore. do you know who she is? mandy: oh yeah, I TOTALLY know who she is. me: yeah. she has the most amazing haircut in that film. do you have a copy of willamette week? mandy: no. but I could get one. me: oh, it doesn't matter. there's a photo in there, but it's really bad. how much are you charging for a haircut these days? mandy: $20. me: do you have any openings tonight? mandy: uh yeah. 8:30. and 6:30. and 7:30. me: oh, 6:30 would be great. does $20 include a wash or should I shampoo my hair first? mandy: oh no, $20 includes everything. what's your name? |
So, should I go see Magnolia if and when it arrives? |
on the left is the hairdresser's business card (I guess it's a picture of her). the left is the awful newspaper clipping I'm going to show her. http://msnhomepages.talkcity.com/DownsizeDr/hallter/hair.html |
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I forgot that hairdressers ALWAYS do that. she asked me if I wanted her to take some length off in the back. I said make it just like the picture -- so all of the back would be the length of the longest part of the front. I guessed this would be about an inch. she started in back. it felt like she was talking off a lot. I asked her how much she was cutting. "two-and-a-half inches?" FUCK. now my hair sits on my shoulders instead of falling down. after she was done she said it wasn't going to look like the picture because my hair's thicker than julianne moore's. oh well. I kind of like it. |
I was not happy. |
I was thinking of something shorter that that picture, though. Something just below the ears. something kinda sassy. Like Wade's hair in the latter episodes of "Sliders". |
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I sat and watched this movie for 4 hours on Monday night, we started it at what, 9? It was almost 1 before it was over. For what? Cancer, suicide, incest, deathbed damnation, abusive fathers that put celebrity status over permenant phsycological damage, dumbass lucky cops, fooling around and frogs. Lots of frogs. |
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Thats a shame. I was really looking forward to seeing it. |
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I love it, though. it's red and layered and not so long it droops. (thin hair droops so easily). my friend's going to take a picture of me tonight, so maybe if you beg and grovel... |
I recognized the voices of some of the newscasters on the radio....one is the sportscaster from the local ABC affiliate station. The girl in the pharmacy has my accent. I think this is cool -- yay, Philadelphia! I also thought it was cool that the Sixth Sense was filmed in the beautiful Old City section of Philly (it's rare that a movie's set in Philly, and when it is it's set in the skanky areas), and that the scene where the boy buys a pumpkin for Halloween was filmed at the Acme I shopped at in Bryn Mawr. I thought it was silly, though, that the director cast himself in the role that he did (in Signs). Please. |
I asked him if he's a Flyers fan....naturally he is....we rapped about hockey while i was loading film. Boy was this kid stiff as a board though. He'll never make it in this town unfortunately, but I'll take his money. We talked about Pat's Cheese Steaks and Yingling beer. Even though Ive never been there, I seem to be able to talk about it as if I have, many times. His accent led me to ask if he was from NYC. Lots of directors have cast themselves in their films. M Knight did write it the film as well as direct it. Martin Scorcese in Taxi Driver, Orson Welles and of course Hitchcock did it numerous times and that guy the Angry Inch. Was it a bad role for him to play? |
It just seemed arrogant for him to cast himself in the role, like it wasn't enough that he wrote, directed, and produced the thing...he had to appear in it, too. It was a pretty substantial role, not a cameo by any means, and he didn't bring anything to the part that a real actor (cuz he wasn't that great) couldn't have brought. But you should see it for yourself. |
"It just seemed arrogant for him to cast himself in the role, like it wasn't enough that he wrote, directed, and produced the thing...he had to appear in it, too." maybe spider, but perhaps you're projecting some of your insecurities here? If you didnt know it was him, would you even be remarking on the character? |
If I didn't know it was him, I'd be wondering who the flat actor was. He plays the guy who killed Mel Gibson's wife. He's supposed to be guilt-ridden, or so I gathered from the dialogue, but I didn't sense much of any emotion from him. |
I didn't mind that the director cast himself in the movie. It was more than a cameo, but I didn't think it was that substantial either. |
Yes, but in that scene he's also supposed to be in utter shock...which I got from him. I don't want to say any more than that. |
what about someone who writes, publishes and sells his own book. arrogant? or innovative? what about a guitarist who produces his bands music and puts it out on his label? especially when it comes to the producing credit, many big time hollywood people demand that credit because it simply = more money, which is smart business in Hollywood. In one day, broke on your ass the next. To me, the writing, directing, producing express a synergy and a control freak, which is not a bad thing on a film set. The acting part, fuck it, its his movie. If it doesnt make or break it, who cares. |
No, not arrogant. "what about a guitarist who produces his bands music and puts it out on his label?" Nope. Fuck it, is right. |
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I did not see My Greek Wedding. I did see The Road to Perdition which was really good even though I wish they'd shown more Jude Law than Tom Hanks. I'm biased though, Jude is my first back up boyfriend. |
Kazoo, I'd threaten to arm-wrestle you for Mr. Law, but I know that even in the imagination, he would never notice me. *sigh* |
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Then he would fix me up with Joseph Feinnes. |
Heh, I just remember telling Dave I liked men who were tall, dark, and evil. What a goofball I am sometimes. |
he and Paul Newman were the only ones that I thought did well in that movie. |
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True story |
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And Magnolia was a fucking fantastic movie. All the weird stuff like the frogs was inspired by the works of Charles Fort ( do a web search on him, or pick up a copy of Fortean Times at your local mega book seller). And everyone should see One Hour Photo. Kazoo and I both liked it, even though it completely lacked any appearance by either Jude Law or Joaquim Phoenix. For the record, Signs was a great piece of movie making. So what if there were some logical inconsistencies? It's a movie about FREAKING ALIENS WHO TAG CROPFIELDS FOR CRYING OUT LOUD. It's called suspension of disbelief. Have I mentioned that I really am the luckiest guy in the world lately? |
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