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| Frailty; William Paxton's directoral debut | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Nov 19 2010, 10:27 PM (722 Views) | |
| panzer the great & terrible | Nov 19 2010, 10:27 PM Post #1 |
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Mouth Breather
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I don't watch horror movies as much as I did, but this one -- WOW! OK, it won't scare you, but if it doesn't creep you out you have a thicker skin than I do. It's in the grand old tradition of a director making a spooker as a first outing, but this is good. Not good as in shows promise, but actually good, as in fun. It's about a father who takes up killing people the way you or I would take up karaoke (memo to self: great title, The Karaoke Killer). He tells his two sons it's because the victims are demons, which one kid believes and the other doesn't. I won't go into the plot more than that, but the NETFLIX reviews do a splendid job of ruining the story for those who love spoilers. You have been warned. Paxton was one of Shelley Winters' sons in the Corman gangster flick Bloody Mama, and has worked for other famous directors, even James Cameron. He now stars in the bizarre HBO series about Mormons, Big Love, where he's the father of a somewhat extended family. He plays the father here, too, and boy, am I glad he ain't mine. His influence on his own sons is, well, a little problematic, and his shenanigans set up a trick ending that actually fooled me -- don't remember the last time that happened -- and two days later, I can't shake the damn movie off. I'd love to discuss it with somebody, but not here. After this, Paxton directed a golf movie called The Greatest Game Ever Played for Disney. I'm renting it and we'll see. When you think about it, it's rare for a successful actor to become a good director. There's D. W. Griffith, Erich Von Stroheim, Charles Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Orson Welles, and then who? Lots of maybes, very few certainlies. OK, Charley Chase, maybe. Jerry Lewis, maaaaaybe. But this guy? Yes, for sure. I guess Big Love takes up most of his time now, but he's a fine actor's director and (dare I say it?) a major talent judging by only one film. We'll hear more of him, I bet. 4 1/2 stars, maybe a little more. I saw it on Showtime. If there's anybody around here who has definite ideas about religion, pro or con, be warned. This movie will take you to a place you aren't used to and may not like. Edited by panzer the great & terrible, Nov 22 2010, 09:39 AM.
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| Life is just a bowl of cherries, it's too mysterious, don't take it serious... | |
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| The Batman | Nov 22 2010, 07:52 AM Post #2 |
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Charter Member
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Great review, Mr P. This was definitely a shocker, but a solid directing debut for Mr. Paxton. |
| Always be yourself! Unless you can be Batman...then always be Batman! | |
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| JazzGuyy | Nov 22 2010, 08:46 AM Post #3 |
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Balcony Gang, Foist Class
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What about Clint Eastwood, Woody Allen, Rob Reiner, Penny Marshall, John Cassevetes and Ron Howard? |
| TANSTAAFL! | |
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| panzer the great & terrible | Nov 22 2010, 09:37 AM Post #4 |
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Mouth Breather
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Whatever floats your boat, jazzy. I sit through Woody Allen pix for the music. I get it that many love Clint Eastwood's movies, but why, I don't know. A blind spot. John Cassavetes, I'm no actor so there's nothing there for me. I've never made it through a whole film by any of the others, and I'm pretty sure it's because they think like actors and I don't. I'm glad you didn't list Elaine May. I'm never, ever going to write about Ishtar. Edited by panzer the great & terrible, Nov 22 2010, 09:37 AM.
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| Life is just a bowl of cherries, it's too mysterious, don't take it serious... | |
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| JazzGuyy | Nov 22 2010, 09:52 AM Post #5 |
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Balcony Gang, Foist Class
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Both Woody Allen and Eastwood seem to be love 'em or hate 'em directors. I happen to like the work of both, especially Woody's (though he did have a bad period when he turned out some bad pictures). I think the hate situation with both of these directors has a bit to do with their personal lives and/or perceived politics. A lot of people have never forgiven Eastwood for the Dirty Harry movies (which he didn't direct) but which they believe represent his politics. Others still consider Allen a quasi-child molester. If you haven't seen Eastwood's fairly recent work like Letters From Iwo Jima, Gran Torino, or Million Dollar Baby then you know nothing about him as either a director or an actor. Allen has made some of the best comedies made in the last three decades or so IMO. If you don't care for them, that's your loss. As for the others, they have each made at least a few good to very good pictures. Art house work, no; but damn good films. |
| TANSTAAFL! | |
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| The Batman | Nov 22 2010, 11:38 AM Post #6 |
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Charter Member
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And they have each made a couple of stinkers (especially Howard, who seems to get a free ride from the critics), but I agree they all have made some fine films. For me, Eastwood Allen and Reiner have each made at least one classic. |
| Always be yourself! Unless you can be Batman...then always be Batman! | |
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| panzer the great & terrible | Nov 22 2010, 05:55 PM Post #7 |
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Mouth Breather
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I don't rate movies on politics or celebrity sex. Some of my favorite directors are right wingers: Hitchcock, Hawks, De Mille, Griffith. My antipathy to Eastwood dates from his first film as a director, Play Misty For Me, which, though weakly directed and edited, did have a sharp performance,in spots, from Jessica Hurley. Have attempted a few later Eastwoods but, like Misty, they bore me. If you like minimalist movies with long takes and a few strong moments, he's the perfect director. I prefer films that tell a story, and do it with a little efficiency and snap. Eastwood's put me to sleep. Woody Allen's stories are are far from original, and even farther from compelling, most often ripped off of foreign films from the fifties and sixties. They do have soundtracks that are beautiful and flawlessly recorded. One Ron Howard pic didn't put me to sleep, Cocoon, but it was pretty darn sappy. Do you really rank Penny Marshall with Orson Welles, Jazzy? I don't know what you're smokin', but I want some. |
| Life is just a bowl of cherries, it's too mysterious, don't take it serious... | |
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| JazzGuyy | Nov 23 2010, 03:28 AM Post #8 |
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Balcony Gang, Foist Class
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No, I don't. But you said actors who become good directors, not great ones. Welles also turned out some pretty poor stuff too. His Macbeth, done with the phony Scots accents, is a good example of a stupid idea. |
| TANSTAAFL! | |
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| panzer the great & terrible | Nov 23 2010, 07:39 AM Post #9 |
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Mouth Breather
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It's also brilliant in places. Penny Marshall's work, what little I've seen of it, is all about conforming to the fashionable idologies of the day. It's already dated, but Macbeth will still be around in 50 years. It's been my experience that most actors aren't interested in the truth. They tell you what they think you want to hear. I suspect that's why most of them make such empty movies. |
| Life is just a bowl of cherries, it's too mysterious, don't take it serious... | |
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| JazzGuyy | Nov 23 2010, 08:14 AM Post #10 |
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Balcony Gang, Foist Class
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If we dismissed every movie that catered to the tastes and ideologies of its day, we'd have a whole lot less to watch. I don't always need brilliance or an epic story or something artsy. Sometimes I want to just be entertained and all of the directors mentioned have produced at least a picture or two that does that. I avoid their schlock. As someone mentioned, Reiner even created a great one, The Princess Bride, which is one of the best fun adventure movies ever made. We clearly have some different tastes in at least some directors. I have yet to see anything by DeMille that impresses me but I have not seen all of his movies you have so I am still reserving judgment. I do like Hitchcock, Hawks and some Griffith. Of course, there has never been any director who didn't produce lousy movies and there have even been hacks who had one or two great movies in them. |
| TANSTAAFL! | |
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| panzer the great & terrible | Nov 23 2010, 09:39 AM Post #11 |
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Mouth Breather
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No argument from me. I think Chicago would be a good choice to show what De Mille could do in his prime. It's no Ingmar Bergman picture, but it entertains. The Volga Boatman is fun too. Of course it's impossible to endorse all of Griffith; he was just too prolific. Hitchcock made a few stinkers too. Ford's bad pictures are too well-known to cite. Robert Aldrich, my favorite director, made some awful misfires. There are also excellent films by indifferent directors, like The Princess Bride -- which had a big advantage, being based on a sure-fire script from a sure-fire novel. And of course it takes the liberty of skipping over the dull parts, a luxury most movies can't afford (though personally I wouldn't mind if more of them did it). My point, if I can remember back that far, was that many actors, at least the ones I've known, are shallow people, so when they try to write or direct I get a hollow feeling. With Mr. Paxton this is not the case: considerable thought went into Frailty. It's that rare thing, a movie that plays fair with the viewer, even with a surprise ending. My problem is not needing more movies to watch, it's finding time to watch what I really want to see. I don't think I'll miss much if I skip the next Rob Reiner picture, because there are people all over the place trying to behave like his characters, and then the movies imitate them, then they imitate the movies, and everything becomes more and more predictable. If I watch a silent movie or an early talkie, though, there's always the chance that it will give my imagination something to get fired up on. |
| Life is just a bowl of cherries, it's too mysterious, don't take it serious... | |
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| panzer the great & terrible | Nov 23 2010, 09:41 AM Post #12 |
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Mouth Breather
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Oh noooooooo!
Edited by panzer the great & terrible, Nov 23 2010, 09:41 AM.
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| Life is just a bowl of cherries, it's too mysterious, don't take it serious... | |
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| The Batman | Nov 23 2010, 12:00 PM Post #13 |
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Agreed! |
| Always be yourself! Unless you can be Batman...then always be Batman! | |
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| The Batman | Nov 23 2010, 12:02 PM Post #14 |
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As that someone, I was thinking of STAND BY ME, which is one of those rare great adaptations of a Stephen King novel. I'd completely forgotten about THE PRINCESS BRIDE, but I agree, so that's two! |
| Always be yourself! Unless you can be Batman...then always be Batman! | |
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| JazzGuyy | Nov 23 2010, 01:57 PM Post #15 |
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Balcony Gang, Foist Class
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I think Stand By Me is a great film but not quite at the Princess Bride level. |
| TANSTAAFL! | |
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