Talk About Movies: Part 4
Somehow threads merged, so here's part 4 of our ongoing movie discussion.
Other than the one he did with Pacino & De Niro, has Cusack ever been bad or been in anything bad? May have asked that before.
Almost everything he has done for the past 20+ years has ranged from bad to awful lol.
John Cusack did an elite portrait of Brian Wilson in the underrated Love and Mercy, a movie I must revisit pretty soon 
John Cusack did an elite portrait of Brian Wilson in the underrated Love and Mercy, a movie I must revisit pretty soon
yeah, that's a great movie
John Cusack did an elite portrait of Brian Wilson in the underrated Love and Mercy, a movie I must revisit pretty soon
I actually was just reading about that, need to see it. My recollection is he went off the deep end after Bush v Gore, especially once Twitter arrived. Glancing at his filmography, it looks the slide began in 2005 with Must Love Dogs & The Ice Harvest. 1408 did gross 133.8M on a 25M budget.
He aged out of his wheelhouse but he was good in Con Air & Pushing Tin.
Thunderbolts*
Nice to have the MCU back to form. Deals with a lot of real life issues. Florence Pugh is amazing.
9/10
I agree that Thunderbolts* was fun, and Florence Pugh is the highlight.
Get Shorty (1995)
Hey, where’s my coat?: My nose!
It’s an Oldsmobile Silhouette: Well that’s the Cadillac of minivans!
Harry, Look at Me: You don’t want to act like a hard-on when you’re standing there in your undies!
OK, here’s the plan: I want the Limo guys to sit in these chairs, not the couch!
You think we go to see your movies, Harry?: I’ve seen better film on teeth!
Harry, never say anything unless you have to!
What do you know about making movies?: I don’t think the producer needs to know much!
Well obviously he didn’t see you in Bride of the Mutant: Walking around in a tank top and “**** me” pumps waiting til it’s time to scream!
Leo. Look at me: I’d have never thought you’d be so dumb! Leaving over 300 grand in a closet under an extra blanket!
You must be a quick draw artist: So this is one of those houses you see hanging over the side of the canyon!
This movie goes so fast there is never time to wonder: What happens next?
No sense watching this movie and writing down all the bon mots: Every phrase, every look, every swagger is a bon mot.
John Travolta’s Chili Palmer: relentless; demanding; understanding; possessing unflappable optimism -- Chili has all the attributes of an elite first grade teacher at a highly-ranked public elementary school -- yet still makes a pretty good gangster. And the only man in Hollywood who will admit he has just half an idea. Perfect. Look at me! Check it out!
I always had a strange dislike for Get Shorty. I think the root of it was that this character John Travolta played was supposed to be uber-cool, and he didn't even seem a little bit cool to me, not at all. It seemed like an exercise in picking off a bunch of easy targets, shooting up all the Hollywood phonies.
I always had a strange dislike for Get Shorty. I think the root of it was that this character John Travolta played was supposed to be uber-cool, and he didn't even seem a little bit cool to me, not at all. It seemed like an exercise in picking off a bunch of easy targets, shooting up all the Hollywood phonies.
Agree with this. It’s very formulaic and there’s never a moment where it feels like Chili will fail. Moreover, that’s exactly how Travolta plays it. Just a lot of machismo and going through the motions.
John Cusack did an elite portrait of Brian Wilson in the underrated Love and Mercy, a movie I must revisit pretty soon
You misspelled Paul Dano. I absolutely love that movie but entirely for the early (Dano) scenes. I saw Brian Wilson in him. The later (Cusack) part just didn't connect with me at all and all I saw was Cusack. Woulda been much better with an unknown in that role.
I think the root of it was that this character John Travolta played was supposed to be uber-cool, and he didn't even seem a little bit cool to me, not at all.
But that's the whole point. He's not cool. He's a dork. He's a film dork. Enthusiastic is the opposite of cool. Antonyms.
Well then, what's the formula? I've tried to figure it out for years.
Just a lot of machismo and going through the motions.
There are macho characters in this movie -- Yayo, Ronnie, Bones -- but they all come to a bad end. Chili may be manly, but he's too self aware of his silly obsession with movies to be described as macho.
I suppose I didn’t explain myself well. To me, Get Shorty feels like a Hallmark/Lifetime version of a gangster movie. We’re looking at actors on the screen, not characters. Feels hollow and I simply can’t get invested. The lighting/color scheme makes it look too artificial.
I realize now that this wasn’t really kiosk’s complaint at all. But yeah, that’s my beef with Get Shorty.
I sure as hell hope that Hallmark doesn't see this post, or we'll see three remakes by Christmas where Rene Russo learns that she's really a princess and spends the movie running around in a tiara.
Found Nobody 2 Kinda meh actually. Was watchable overall, I guess but not nearly as entertaining as the first and despite being a mere 89 minutes, I was still kinda just waiting for it to end after around the hour mark. I'm a fan of the director and would recommend his The Night Comes for Us and Killers but this was one of his weaker offerings, with an almost unrecognisable Sharon Stone hamming it up as the villain and Colin Hanks being somewhat wasted in it.
I really don’t like reading that S Stone is unrecognizable. Is it bc of surgery?
Totally unreal to me that the most beautiful women in the world (and men I suppose) can’t just age normally and be ok with how they look. I suppose it’s different when you have to see yourself in front of a camera but I’ll never quite be able to grasp it. The older I get the less I give a fk about how I look
Panic Room.
I didn't expect much but decided to watch it because it's directed by David Fincher. Pleasantly surprised. Jodie Foster turns in her usual fine performance, Forest Whitaker does a nice turn as a somewhat sympathetic home invader, and a very young Kristin Stewart is fabulous as the young daughter trapped in the panic room. Nice performance from Jared Leto.
If you haven't seen Kristin Stewart in her latest roles, check out Personal Shopper and The Clouds of Sils Maria. Great films and Stewart is such a great actor.
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Darn, Prime is charging 24.99/29.99CAD$ to rent/buy!!!
I really don’t like reading that S Stone is unrecognizable. Is it bc of surgery? Totally unreal to me that the most beautiful women in the world (and men I suppose) can’t just age normally and be ok with how they look. I suppose it’s different when you have to see yourself in front of a camera but I’ll never quite be able to grasp it. The older I get the less I give a fk about
Not sure if she's had surgery. Maybe it's the glasses but she didn't look her usual self. I didn't realise she was actually 67
