R.I.P NEWMAN
There I was sitting on a living room floor in some strange
broads house crashing from the night before getting ready to lick my weekend
war wounds and head on home, when I heard a voice. It was the voice of my
friend whom was taking up residence on this strange broads couch; he was asking
me if I have ever seen ‘Cool Hand Luke’.
And that moment many moons ago was my introduction to the
real Paul Newman. I will never forget that film or all the other movies which
he graced with such unprecedented cool. They seemed to talk to you and teach
you all at the same time. With a trail of influence that can be seen in almost
any film and actor to come out in the past 15 years.
To me he will always be the small town huckster of “Nobody’s
Fool”. It’s an older Paul Newman a well worn Paul Newman. His character in
“Nobody’s Fool” is cool hand Luke if he escaped and grew old, cool come full
circle.
Admittedly I’m not big on celebrating celebrities even in
death. They are people just like you and I and the truth is there are many
people in my world who have touched my life in ways more resonant then the
average celebrity. But Paul Newman and his laundry list of under dog characters
seemed to show up in my life at just the right moments and that I will never forget…..rest
in peace Paul Newman.
Viggo Mortensen from the movie Appaloosa
Ahhh, the almighty Western. Once the behemoth plague of T.V. and movie screens, now the American period piece art house D’jour. And as long as they are all the caliber of Ed Harris’s Appaloosa, I have no complaints
The movie itself follows in a trend of deep character realism and mythic romanticism that has wrapped itself so warmly and fittingly around the recent westerns of Unforgiven, Open Range, 3:10 to Yuma and, the high water mark, the Assassination of Jesse James. Appaloosa itself doesn’t reach the art house grandness of the Assassination of Jesse James, but that’s not the mark Appaloosa is going for.
Ed Harris has crafted Appaloosa based on a book written by Robert B. Parker as a lean, meat and potato western using everything from sparse action to the featherweight characterizations of the cast to give us a pulpy little love letter to the American West.
With a cast that includes Viggo Mortensen , Renee Zelweger, Jeremy Irons and Ed Harris, each performance gave the movie a feel of genuine reality as character not personality propel the action from violent beginning to sublime pulp ending. The only misstep being the over-the-top fear produced by the city council as they barter to hire on the gun slinging Ed Harris. Even then, the movie recovers gracefully by balancing the over-the-top acting of the city council with a drop of some character induced humor lessening the sting of this uneven moment. All of which shows Ed Harris’ continuing growth as a director.
As awards season rolls around, and more good movies are put on a limited release schedule to grab at the Oscars, I am sure that Appaloosa will not be the movie that brings Ed Harris an Oscar for his directing. But if Pollock and now Appaloosa show us anything, he may not be that far off from receiving directorial accolades that equal those given him as an actor.
Truly,
Robert Downey, Jr. in the movie Iron Man
Iron Man: The Little Comic Book Movie That Could.
This brilliant summer blockbuster not only made director John Favreau a household name, but showed us just how good a comic book movie can be. The special effects of Iron Man seemed almost too realistic, as if the U.S. Government loaned John Favreau an actual suit of body armor and told him not to tell anyone.
Robert Downey Jr’s performance as the womanizing, constantly drinking industrial genius Tony Stark was nothing less than genius itself. If this movie is Downey’s come-back role, then we are ecstatic to have him back. The villains are villains, the action is hard and the movie is solid. Iron Man was one of the most anticipated films of the summer and is now one of the champions of the summer movie season.
Until Next Time,
From the movie: The Incredible Hulk
Before I even get started, I need to let everyone know—I liked and enjoyed Ang Lee’s Incredible Hulk. So I’m going to set aside my bias for substance over style and review this new Hulk. This Ang Lee-less Hulk. This fan placating action genre with no more substance than the C.G. saliva flying out of the Hulk’s mouth.
For instance, Ang Lee asked the question and gave us some answers as to why Bruce Banner is capable of such rage. Why he alone has transmuted into a green hulk. Why the hot Betty Ross has a connection and feeling for such an outward dweeb. The new incredible hulk doesn’t even try to tackle anything beyond what it is—pure popcorn.
Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with popcorn! I enjoy good entertainment as much as the next guy. I also enjoy seeing an artist take risks, and Ang Lee took risks with the first hulk film. The new Incredible Hulk movie plays it safe and gives everyone what they want.
The artist in me will always have heart for Ang Lee’s Incredible Hulk. The 12 year old in me, on the other hand, will always enjoy the hulk-smash of this new Incredible Hulk!
Truly,
Indiana Jones and the “Who Thought This Storyline Made Any Sense”
“Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” falls far short in comparison to its predecessors, And it has nothing to do with Harrison Ford’s age. The script has a written over the weekend feel to it and the movie seemed rushed. The new characters introduced in the film really offer nothing special to remember them by and just seem to be there to take up space. Kate Blanchet’s accent is almost unbearable as it jumps back and forth between Russian and her natural British accent. There are computer animated monkeys, prairie dogs, and animals in the film making me ask the question, “Why didn’t they just get real animals?” The only acceptable part of the film is Karen Allen’s return as Marion Ravenwood, the spunky female love interest Indiana Jones had in the first film, “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” But even she could not save this film from disaster. “Crystal Skull” tries too hard to be a family film and an action adventure. Indiana Jones films may be okay for kids to enjoy, but it is far from a family genre. “Jones” films have always had some over the top exploits in them, but this movie went way over the top, to the point of having Indiana Jones survive a nuclear explosion by hiding in a lead coated refrigerator. He is then blown miles away from the initial blast and walks out unscathed. The film has entertaining qualities about it, but has more in common with “Romancing the Stone” than the franchise it is supposed to be a part of.
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