MOVIE COMMENTS
I have movies on every day. Some I watch, some I don’t watch. There are 6 English language movie channels on cable here in Bangkok (all with Thai sub-titles). They never sleep.
Then I brought more than a thousand movies with me on tape. Many of those I’ve never seen or don’t remember seeing.
Here’s a few observations:
I thought Rosanna Arquette was sexy as hell when I first saw her. I like the mousy looking type with a great body. Well, okay, even a cute body. Okay, even an acceptable body. I’m not picky. She even did a nude scene in an early movie which is a big plus in my rating book.
Then her career sort of hit the skids. She was still around but she no longer starred in theatrical movies.
I guessed it was because of her layout in Playboy that hurt her. It was pretty bad. Whoever chose the photos to use should have been fired.
Then I saw a movie in which she starred with Christopher Reeve. It was The Aviator, made in 1985. The reason for her career downturn became clear. This is basically a 2 person movie, so they have to carry it. She dropped her end. To say she gave a poor performance is an understatement. She gave one of the worst performances in the history of the world. I could only stare at the screen in disbelief.
She must have had enemies in the studio. Studios almost never release something that awful.
If you can find The aviator at your video store, rent it. She is so bad it’s funny.
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For a long time, I couldn’t stand Jack Nicholson. His accent and slow speech pattern did more than just annoy me, it drove me to distraction. To me it was about as pleasant as fingernails scratching on a blackboard. And he spoke exactly the same in all his movies for years. Some actor.
Then he suddenly dropped the stupid accent and became a real actor. His performance as a mob hit man in Prizzi’s Honor is one of the best of all time. He did his homework. He must have studied tapes of John Gotti and Sammy the Bull and others for hours on end. It paid off. He had it down perfectly.
The body movement, the facial expression, even the accent, it was all authentic. A great job.
---
On the other hand we have Steve Martin. He played a mobster in My Blue Heaven. This one is a comedy and it’s pretty good.
But Steve Martin’s New York mobster accent is awful. From beginning to end, it’s off. It’s so far off that it detracts from the movie.
Then I brought more than a thousand movies with me on tape. Many of those I’ve never seen or don’t remember seeing.
Here’s a few observations:
I thought Rosanna Arquette was sexy as hell when I first saw her. I like the mousy looking type with a great body. Well, okay, even a cute body. Okay, even an acceptable body. I’m not picky. She even did a nude scene in an early movie which is a big plus in my rating book.
Then her career sort of hit the skids. She was still around but she no longer starred in theatrical movies.
I guessed it was because of her layout in Playboy that hurt her. It was pretty bad. Whoever chose the photos to use should have been fired.
Then I saw a movie in which she starred with Christopher Reeve. It was The Aviator, made in 1985. The reason for her career downturn became clear. This is basically a 2 person movie, so they have to carry it. She dropped her end. To say she gave a poor performance is an understatement. She gave one of the worst performances in the history of the world. I could only stare at the screen in disbelief.
She must have had enemies in the studio. Studios almost never release something that awful.
If you can find The aviator at your video store, rent it. She is so bad it’s funny.
---
For a long time, I couldn’t stand Jack Nicholson. His accent and slow speech pattern did more than just annoy me, it drove me to distraction. To me it was about as pleasant as fingernails scratching on a blackboard. And he spoke exactly the same in all his movies for years. Some actor.
Then he suddenly dropped the stupid accent and became a real actor. His performance as a mob hit man in Prizzi’s Honor is one of the best of all time. He did his homework. He must have studied tapes of John Gotti and Sammy the Bull and others for hours on end. It paid off. He had it down perfectly.
The body movement, the facial expression, even the accent, it was all authentic. A great job.
---
On the other hand we have Steve Martin. He played a mobster in My Blue Heaven. This one is a comedy and it’s pretty good.
But Steve Martin’s New York mobster accent is awful. From beginning to end, it’s off. It’s so far off that it detracts from the movie.
posted by Walter Guest at 8:50 PM
1 Comments:
Walter! Where ya been? Did I offend you by not thinking you were a racist? (just kidding...)
Actually, I have to agree with you: Nicholson was great in Prizzi's Honor. One of the best.
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