I gave Big Lebowski another try, as it was playing on TCM. Saw it years ago and hated it. But since everyone raves on, figured I’d give it another chance.
Nope. I was right. Hated it again. It just tries sooo hard to be edgy and quirky and John Goodman simply ruins it. Got in maybe a few minutes beyond the last time and zoned out. Maybe one or two memorable lines. Too much like a Cohen Brothers (who I generally enjoy) and Wes Anderson (who I despise) Love-In.
Well, at least now I know for sure. It’s not for me.
I read a review of Eraserhead when I was 11 or so, and the reviewer loved the movie while at the same time insisting on how disgusting and perturbing it was, and how there was nothing for the viewer to enjoy only misery and suffering.
I decided then and there that I would never watch it.
Now, 34 years later, should I reconsider?
Well, it’s definitely not cheerful. That much is certain.
If you can throw all your expectations out the window (except for knowing that it’s going to be dark and probably unsettling and was made on a budget that was almost literally whatever spare change Lynch could scrape up, along with some help from Sissy Spacek) and just be ready to take the movie on its own terms for what it is, give it a try.
I, too, caught The Big Lebowski on TCM last night. I was laughing my balls off. For every piece of scenery John Goodman chews up, Steve Buschemi is right there to ground it. I spent the better part of the film trying to pay as much attention to Donny as I could. Buschemi should’ve won an Oscar. His silent reactions to the inanity going around him are priceless.
Full disclosure … I was baked as balls, and until I got my haircut last week, you could’ve confused me for The Dude on any given day. But I don’t wear jellies.
Ferrari (2023). If you are expecting this to be about cars with lots of racing, then you will be disappointed. There is some but the thrust of the movie is about the man and his complexities more than anything else. It is set at a crucial time in his life and that of his company and it is to certain extent a counterpoint to Ford vs Ferrari. It was well done with Penélope Cruz in particular giving a great performance. Not a particularly exciting film, but an interesting one which may inspire you to find out more about the person it portrays.
It doesn’t have to be for you, but something to keep in mind is this was the Cohen’s Bros love letter to Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep specifically, and Film Noir as a genre in general. The things they were trying very hard to do were very intentional.
You still don’t have to like it at all, but it helps explain the strangeness and jerky story telling. It’s all in the book too, perhaps even more so for it’s 1939 publish date.
Isn’t it The Big Sleep where the movie’s producers asked Chandler who killed one of the characters (because they were confused), Chandler basically said “Hell if I know?”
Beyond The Law starring Charlie Sheen, Michael Madsen and Linda Fiorentino. I haven’t seen Platoon; maybe Sheen is good in that but the other flix of his? Well, he got lucky with Two And A Half Men. This movie is awful, he is awful, the cast is wasted and the sex scene with Fiorentino is incredibly boring. Rip Torn has third billing and has all of 30 seconds of screen time. Avoid this like the plague.
Just got back from seeing The End We Start From. I hadn’t even heard of it before, just saw it listed while looking up times for another film when noticed it features Jodie Comer (Killing Eve). I
can’t say enough about her performance.
The premise is that some kind of natural disaster leads to massive flooding in England(or parts of it) as Comer goes into labor. The film follows her journey / survival with her newborn. It’s a bit slow and there’s a completely unnecessary appearance by Benedict Cumberbatch, but her performance is worth every penny of admission.
Beyond the Law is a guilty pleasure of mine. I think Sheen does a pretty good job as a biker/narc, but Madsen as the leader, Blood, does seem miscast. No, no Oscar winning anything in this movie, but Idunno … I like biker movies. I actually just watched it myself last month. I was reading “Hell’s Angels” by Hunter S Thompson so it gave me the bug.
I’ll back off on the “avoid this like the plague,” comment, I was pissed that Fiorentino was wasted. Madsen should have single-handedly carried the film; I think the script needed work – especially since it was based on a true story. I’m still waiting for a really good biker film to come down the pike, all the ones I’ve seen end up being 2/3 of a good movie but they run out of steam. Hope springs eternal.
I’d like to see a movie where the bikers are the good guys and wreak havoc on those damn crotch-rocket punks.
Just watched The Legend of Tarzan, starring a Skarsgard, Margot Robbie, and Christopher Waltz as the bad guy. Also Samuel Jackson for some comic relief. Somewhat entertaining, but I wouldn’t watch it again.
