Jedi Council Forums - The Essentials: Hamlet/Hand of God/Happy Man/Hard Day's Night

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Author	Topic: The Essentials: Hamlet/Hand of God/Happy Man/Hard Day's Night
Rogue1-and-a-half Title: Manager: Amphitheatre Registered: Nov '00	Date Posted: 11/24/06 4:50pm Subject: RE: The Essentials: Free All Angels; Free At Last; Freedom!; The French Connection;The Frenzy of Re
	Frenzy of Renown is darn long; over eight hundred pages, but it's quite fascinating. Let's play catch up! A Beautiful Mind (2001) - Ron Howard A brilliant ensemble ably supports Crowe in a bonebreaker of a performance; it's a film where you finally forget you're watching Russell Crowe, so much does he lose himself in the performance. The film plays fast and loose with the details of the real Nash's life, but so what? It puts inside the experience of a dementia and does so with incredible grace and wit. The Big Over Easy (2005) - Jasper Fforde Humpty Dumpty (yes, that one) has just been found dead. And from there, par for the course for Fforde, we'll range over a sprawling, epic, hilarious, surprising and witty spoof of both nursery rhymes and detective stories. Anyone who's ever read detective novels will bust a gut laughing at this dead on target spoof of them, but even if you can't tell a Christie from a Sayers, you'll still get a kick out of this fantastic little novel. Cabaret (1972) - Bob Fosse Minelli gives a powerhouse performance; it's one of the great sickening turns of all time. The musical performances literally crackle with energy (Mein Herr is about the most creatively and energetic stagings I've ever seen), while the actual story burns itself out in a hopeless darkness. The final terrifying image of the MC is among the most discomfitting and disorienting I've ever seen on film. Utter darkness; a film of exuberance and bleakness. Never have the two been so perfectly mixed. A deathly cocktail, but a beautiful one. E=MC2 (2000) - David Bodanis A very simple equation, but who really understands it? Bodanis does and in this fantastic book, he makes it accessible and understandable to even the layman. It's a book of great wit (weaving personal stories of Faraday, Voltaire, Oppenheimer and the other greats into the narrative with great wit and humor). Some of the sections are as awe inspiring as they are hilarious; the rivalry that developed over the discovery of the speed of light is a riot, but the actual logic involved is jaw dropping in its simplicity and magic. It's a book to reawaken wonder at the natural world; this equation bookends, in Bodanis' eyes, the universe; it's what starts the universe ticking and it's going to be the last thing to happen before the universe ends. A book of wit, humor, poetry and science. Not to be missed. Enemy of the State (1998) - Tony Scott Yes, I can't believe it. But Scott has turned out a riveting film. The plot threads are a bit sketchy, but Hackman, turning in what some see as a twenty years later take on his character from The Conversation, is a sheer joy to watch. And Scott has a real eye and ear for the chase scenes; these people don't jog, they plow through the air with such incredible speed that if they tripped and fell, their necks would snap in an instant. And the ending is as hilariously violent as they come; clever and witty and suspenseful. Who knew? -----signature----- Don't be a fool, don't be blind Heart of mine If you can't do the time, don't do the crime Heart of mine
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Zaz Title: Manager, The Ampitheatre Registered: Oct '98	Date Posted: 11/25/06 10:39am Subject: RE: The Essentials: A Beautiful Mind; The Big Over Easy; Cabaret; E=MC2; Enemy of the State
	I can only really comment on "Cabaret"; and you're right, 'sickening' is right, especially as Minelli, like her mother, has become a parody of a human being.
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JediTrilobite Registered: Nov '99	Date Posted: 11/25/06 10:44am Subject: RE: The Essentials: A Beautiful Mind; The Big Over Easy; Cabaret; E=MC2; Enemy of the State
	A Beautiful Mind is definently worth being on the list, as is Caberet. -----signature----- Ever wonder what happened during the clone wars? Visit: http://www.theclonewarz.net My Blogs: http://www.jeditrilobite.com , http://tk3220.wordpress.com TK-3220, NEG VT Rep
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TheBoogieMan Title: Manager Emeritus Registered: Nov '01	Date Posted: 11/26/06 7:45pm Subject: RE: The Essentials: A Beautiful Mind; The Big Over Easy; Cabaret; E=MC2; Enemy of the State
	Crowe's performance in A Beautiful Mind is one of the best I have ever seen, and certainly a career highlight for him. Which is saying something, as his career seems to be full of highlights. I haven't yet read The Big Over Easy, although I seriously intend to.
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Rogue1-and-a-half Title: Manager: Amphitheatre Registered: Nov '00	Date Posted: 12/1/06 3:04pm Subject: RE: The Essentials: A Beautiful Mind; The Big Over Easy; Cabaret; E=MC2; Enemy of the State
	Frequency (2000) - George Hoblit It passed through the box office with hardly a ripple, but it's one of the most entertaining thrillers of recent years; a father and son communicate across the years via a single Ham radio. Via this communication, the father and son, played to perfection by Dennis Quaid and Jim Caviezel, come to grips with their oil and water relationship, try to foil a serial killer and work movie magic. It's a witty, warm, suspenseful film. Strange that no one seemed to notice. The Freshman (1990) - Andrew Bergman The late great Bruno Kirby turned in one of his most stellar performances in this film; Frank Whaley was a masterfully hilarious supporting performer in this film that finds Matthew Broderick's titular character coming under the sway of Carmine Sabbatini, ably essayed by Marlon Brando, a mobster who resembles . . . well, another famous mobster, but don't mention it to him, please. The script is witty and Brando's performance is surprisingly good. He eschews straight mimicry and makes Carmine a real character in his own right, with tics and habits of his own and a real emotional core. Frolicking Animals (12th Century) - Toba Sojo Masterful oriental masterpiece; one of the finest scroll caligraphy artworks of all time. From Here to Eternity (1951) - James Jones Can't recommend this one highly enough; unjustly forgotten. Unremittingly bleak look at the nature of rebellion and passion in the lives of modern men, this is the Great American Novel, a tragedy springing from that greatest of outrages, the loss of identity and freedom. It's a bitter novel, a profane and cynical one, of great brutality at times, of utter hopelessness at others. One of my personal top ten; a massive, staggering work. A dissection of the military, but also much more; a look at gender relations, but also much more; a glimpse of the psychopathology of persistent rule breakers, but also so much more; a staggering look at how impotence breeds atrocity, but also much more. A better American novel has never been written. Period. From Here to Eternity (1953) - Fred Zinneman The film isn't a blush on the novel; all the darkness somehow siphons out. The film was forced to paint the military in a more positive light, thus missing the point of the novel. And the sexual frankness of the novel is missing as well. But Lancaster is so well cast as the rampaging and violent Milt Warden, Montgomery Clift so brilliant as the arrogant, foolish Prewitt, the attack on the base so beautifully choreographed, Deborah Kerr so deeply fragile and neurotic as Karen Holmes, that you forgive the fact that fully seventy-five percent of the novel is quite simply missing, that the themes are never really explored as deeply as they should be, that the cynicism is tempered by faith in structure. Not a great adaptation by any stripe, but it's testament to the novel's greatness that even a poor adaptation is worthwhile. -----signature----- Don't be a fool, don't be blind Heart of mine If you can't do the time, don't do the crime Heart of mine
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Zombi_2_1979 Registered: Jul '05	Date Posted: 12/1/06 5:26pm Subject: RE: The Essentials: Frenquency; Freshman, Frolicking Animals, From Here to Eternity
	Just purchased "From Here to Eternity". (Hoping to get through several books and dig into this one.)
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TheBoogieMan Title: Manager Emeritus Registered: Nov '01	Date Posted: 12/3/06 6:14am Subject: RE: The Essentials: Frenquency; Freshman, Frolicking Animals, From Here to Eternity
	Just going by the trailers and synopsis, I thought that "Frequency" was one of the stupidest ideas for a film I'd heard in a long time.
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Zaz Title: Manager, The Ampitheatre Registered: Oct '98	Date Posted: 12/3/06 8:04am Subject: RE: The Essentials: Frenquency; Freshman, Frolicking Animals, From Here to Eternity
	I don't know if this is the proper "Frolicking Animals": Haven't seen "Frequency" or "The Freshman"; haven't read "From Here to Eternity". Have seen the movies, which is good.
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ShrunkenJedi Title: SFFBC banner maker Registered: Apr '03	Date Posted: 12/3/06 9:18am Subject: RE: The Essentials: Frenquency; Freshman, Frolicking Animals, From Here to Eternity
	I've always loved Frequency-- good to see I'm not the only one. Excellent acting, and all the complications of time-travel without there actually being any. The science may not completely convince me, but it's such a good story that I'll forgive it that (Lord knows if I wasn't able to suspend disbelief for the duration of a movie, I'm a devotee of the wrong genre), and really, even that's not too bad, and it does make an effort. -----signature----- Fanficcer and Fanartist: Check the profile! (or below) My Fanfic Index: http://boards.theforce.net/fan_fiction_resource/b10304/25405090/r30292337/
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Rogue1-and-a-half Title: Manager: Amphitheatre Registered: Nov '00	Date Posted: 12/8/06 9:14pm Subject: RE: The Essentials: Frenquency; Freshman, Frolicking Animals, From Here to Eternity
	From Russia With Love (1963) - Terence Young This is the pivot point; Dr. No had been devestatingly serious, rather mean spirited and a real sucker punch; Goldfinger would begin the tradition of the over the top entertaining romp. This film manages both. Sure there's a pointless catfight in a gypsy camp, but too there's Robert Shaw and Sean Connery busting each other up in that train car. Sure, there's that woman with the knife in her shoe, but too there's that creepy scene of the secret video camera and the assignation. It's a film that stands somewhere strange; it's not Fleming's Bond, but neither is it the film Bond that we'll start getting as soon as Goldfinger rolls around. But what it is? A darn good little movie. The Fugitive (1993) - Andrew Davis One of Harrison Ford's finest performances pairs with the rampaging Tommy Lee Jones to create one of the finest, and most intelligent, thrillers in years. From the television series, we leap forward into conspiracies and prescription drugs and bribes, but the mystery is well realized and it always comes back to the characters, who are finely etched and brilliantly portrayed. Everyone talks about the dam leap; no one mentions the fantastic St. Patrick's Day chase. A killer thriller. Funeral of the Anarchist Galli (1911) - Carlo Carra I've always hated people who said this, but if you can't see it in person, don't bother. I'd seen this painting in pictures in books, on slideshows, on the computer. But seeing it in person; my jaw dropped from across the room. Vibrant, utterly vibrant, like a literal kick in the stomach. Motion and sound in static form. Color gone mad. Funny Girl (1968) - William Wyler Yes, yes, Streisand irritates me too, but this is still a great film. Streisand is pitch perfect, not quite in her ultra prima donna stage; she's content to play the ugly duckling, rather than try to convince us that she's beautiful. And the film has a rare kind of energy that drives it. There are missteps sure, but Streisand's show stopping cover of My Man closes the film like an atomic bomb. G (1972) - John Berger Mostly forgotten experimental novel; the story is blase... a Don Juan esque bon vivant seduces women over and over and eventually finds himself facing a real moral decision. He may, or may not (the story is vague), actually come to a real political conscience decision just as the story ends. But Berger's style is pretty whacked out; it fails as often as it works (to make connections, to transport), but when it does work, it's magic. There are moments when you literally see the cross cut, moments when Berger talks about the inability of any writer to adequately describe things like sex, love and death, that make up for all the failings. About as far from a perfect book as you can get, but a fascinating failure. -----signature----- Don't be a fool, don't be blind Heart of mine If you can't do the time, don't do the crime Heart of mine
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Zaz Title: Manager, The Ampitheatre Registered: Oct '98	Date Posted: 12/9/06 10:58am Subject: RE: The Essentials:From Russia With Love; The Fugitive; Funny Girl; Funeral of the Anarchist; G
	Yes, I do hate people who say 'if you can't see it in person", especially as it's not always true: a good many portraits look a lot better in photographs, IMO. But you may be right about this one: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Funeral_of_the_Anarchist_Galli "From Russia With Love" is definitely a bit weird; "The Fugitive" is made by Jones and the rapport he has with his team. The plot is a bit odd, though, if you think about it. There is no way to keep a bad drug secret for long. Sorry, my prejudices re Barbra Strident are probably too great to do "Funny Girl" any justice, though William Wyler is not a very likely director of a musical.
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TheBoogieMan Title: Manager Emeritus Registered: Nov '01	Date Posted: 12/12/06 4:09am Subject: RE: The Essentials:From Russia With Love; The Fugitive; Funny Girl; Funeral of the Anarchist; G
	From Russia With Love is one of my absolute favourite Bond's. The whole sequence on the train is almost as good as Hitchcock suspense, and the resulting fight is a great endpoint for it. It's got a few strange moments, but ultimately, it's just fantastic.
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Rogue1-and-a-half Title: Manager: Amphitheatre Registered: Nov '00	Date Posted: 12/15/06 5:24pm Subject: RE: The Essentials:From Russia With Love; The Fugitive; Funny Girl; Funeral of the Anarchist; G
	Gallipoli (1981) - Peter Weir An auspicious film from a great director; the acting is uniformly first rate and it highlights a tragic battle from WWI with consummate skill and taste. The film is at times raucous and hilarious, but the ending remains one of the most devestatingly horrific fadeouts of cinema. The Game (1997) - David Fincher Pure high concept, but high concept is fun when Fincher's in town. Michael Douglas is solid and Sean Penn is a hoot as the paranoid black sheep of the family. The entire film is a shaggy dog story and it's really irrelevent when exactly you tumble to the behind the screen sorcery; it's still a heck of a lot of fun. Fincher's the master of atmosphere; this may not have the heft of some of his other films, like Se7en or Fight Club, but the master's gearing up. The Garden Party and Other Plays (1993) - Vaclav Havel Czech writer jailed for dissidence eventually rises to the post of President of the Czech Republic. A master statesman, but he was a master playwrite as well. This is the essential collection; his rant against bureauracracy, The Memorandum is here in all it's absurd glory; his screwball comedy, The Garden Party is here in all its idiotic glee. As well, there are a handful of lesser known works; the Vanek trilogy is particularly brilliant: it's a trio of one act plays showing a playwright recently released from prison trying to reenter society. It's autobiography and social criticism in one and heartbreaking to boot and darkly comic in places. And The Increased Difficulty of Concentration is a pure riot of chaos, the only truly avant garde stage play of the century I think. Amazing man, amazing politician, amazing activist, amazing author. Gare St.-Lazare (1877) - Claude Monet The Impressionist most known for studies of nature turns his eye toward Paris' largest railway station and captures in it a kind of steam and smoke filled magic. Gas (1940) - Edward Hopper Hopper again capturing that moment between motions, that moment of absolute stillness that is at the heart of rural Americana. -----signature----- Don't be a fool, don't be blind Heart of mine If you can't do the time, don't do the crime Heart of mine
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Zaz Title: Manager, The Ampitheatre Registered: Oct '98	Date Posted: 12/15/06 8:05pm Subject: RE: The Essentials: Gallipolli; The Game; The Garden Party; Gare St-Lazare; Gas
	I love the Hopper...
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TheBoogieMan Title: Manager Emeritus Registered: Nov '01	Date Posted: 12/17/06 1:17am Subject: RE: The Essentials: Gallipolli; The Game; The Garden Party; Gare St-Lazare; Gas
	Gallipoli is perhaps the best film this nation has turned out. It's just terrific, from start to finish. Perhaps the only mistep was to use the piece from Jarre's Oxygene - it just doesn't sit with the other flawless soundtrack.
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