My review of next week's movie "Crazy Heart" is up at Taki's Magazine. It's getting a lot of buzz as the Jeff-Bridges-Finally-Wins-His-Oscar movie.
Read it there and comment upon it below.
Read it there and comment upon it below.
My published articles are archived at iSteve.com -- Steve Sailer
Steve, did you happen to catch "The Road"? Do you plan on writing a review for it?
ReplyDeleteJeff Bridges is one of my favorite actors, more of a solid character actor than powerful leading man, IMO. Still, he can carry a movie. He was excellent in Against All Odds. Phil Collins should have won the oscar that year for the theme song.
ReplyDeleteBridges is an interesting actor and has an apt name. He can walk the bridge from sappy likable to ruthless nasty. In a movie like Fat City or Starman, he's a dopey-faced bland white guy. In Wild Bill, his greatest role, he's utterly convincing and intimidating as one mean sumfabitch. GOSH, I LOVE THAT MOVIE!!! Love Walter Hill in general. Bridges has great range but one that's nuanced than loud. Deniro totally transformed movie after movie, but Bridges is always recognizably Bridges... yet with the slightest shifts in facial expressions or vocal tones, he can go from dumb to smart, likable to terrifying, modern to archaic, mainstream to underground. This may be why he's been ignored by the academy for so long. His talent is not obvious nor easily quanitifiable. It doesn't fall into the conventional category of 'great acting'.
ReplyDeleteAs for expanding best film nominations to 10 films, I've been calling for this for a long time. But, my reasoning is different than that of the academy. I say get rid of FOREIGN FILM category and include films around the world in the best films category expanded to 10. After all, those liberals in Hollywood pontificate about how they're all about diversity, openmindedness, curiosity of other cultures, etc. So, why ghetto-ize the entire treasure trove of world cinema in 'foreign film category'?
But, it seems like Hollywood is expanding the list to 10 films just to include some big crowdpleasers so that more people will watch the oscar show.
But, this is funny. It's hard enough to find 5 great American movies a year. How are they gonna fill up 10? Dark Knight sucked donkey____, by the way.
I haven't seen the Oscars since Eastwood won for Unforgiven, which I found rather underwhelming to be quite honest. Let's face it. Oscars are total shit. Kubrick never won for best director. Welles never won either. So many masterpieces weren't even nominated. But mindless crap like LOR, American Beauty, Silence of the Lambs, etc swept the Oscars. Sickening!
I understand that movies are product but when they are as obviously sausage out of the sausage factory - in this case the sausage factory of grizzled old guy not giving up, huzzah - as this film I'll pass.
ReplyDeleteGood article, and one I'm going to have to check out. Though the best drunken-country-star movie of all time is easily PAYDAY, with Rip Torn in a role that shoulda won something!
ReplyDeleteI'm liking Middletown Girl more and more.
ReplyDeleteMiddletown Girl said... sucked donkey____...
ReplyDeleteA little off-topic, but someone needs to wash out your potty-mouth with soap.
"Steve, did you happen to catch "The Road"? Do you plan on writing a review for it?"
ReplyDeleteI'll second this query. I found it to be a good movie, but very depressing. I cried a few times during it and I'm normally a pretty cheerful person. I'll recommend it to anyone who isn't depressed to begin with.
I liked you book reviews back in the day, steve.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen the Oscars since Eastwood won for Unforgiven, which I found rather underwhelming to be quite honest. Let's face it. Oscars are total shit. Kubrick never won for best director. Welles never won either. So many masterpieces weren't even nominated. But mindless crap like LOR, American Beauty, Silence of the Lambs, etc swept the Oscars. Sickening!
ReplyDeleteI second MQ (and stand ready to duel him for the right to MG's hand) Where have you been all my life? I think I've just had a revelation: it's not important that you and a prospective mate like the same things, but that you hate the same things. It reminds me of an old song lyric:
"You're the only girl I've ever met who hates Hey Jude,
Maybe that's the reason why I'm so in love with you..."
"I second MQ (and stand ready to duel him for the right to MG's hand) Where have you been all my life?"
ReplyDeleteDude,
Middletown Girl is a guy. He's posted as Andrea Freiboden and Andrei before as well.
Jeff Bridges never won an Oscar? Didn't he ever play a retarded guy or an AIDS victim? Get with the program, Jeff!
ReplyDeleteHe gets an Oscar from me because he's always good and always believable. He can convincingly play a regular guy, a man's man, something Tom Cruise couldn't do to save his life. Plus, he's the Dude, man.
Middletown Girl is a guy. He's posted as Andrea Freiboden and Andrei before as well.
ReplyDeleteCue the scene from Ace Ventura, when he learns he's kissed a guy: the "The Crying Game" is playing and he's moving through progressively extreme attempts to sanitize himself, ending up burning his clothes and crying inconsolably as he folds into the fetal position naked in a dry bathtub.
But seriously, how the hell should I know that, and even if it is true there's no reason we can't have fun with an assumed identity. I mean, I wasn't really proposing marriage or challenging MQ to a duel.
And in all seriousness, The Dude was more Oscar-worthy (the awards have been a joke so long this phrase should come to mean inferior) than most of the winning performances of the past several years. He's also great in one of the most under-appreciated films around, Coppola's Tucker
It reminds me of an old song lyric:
ReplyDelete"You're the only girl I've ever met who hates Hey Jude,
Maybe that's the reason why I'm so in love with you..."
Obviously written by someone who's never heard M. F. Horn Two.
'Nuff said.
Who would have thought Steve read WWTDD?
ReplyDeleteDude,
ReplyDeleteMiddletown Girl is a guy. He's posted as Andrea Freiboden and Andrei before as well.
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This has to be Stacey or John, two ape-like white trash losers obsessed with the Freiboden controversy. Pathetic. This used to be a hotbed controversy in facebook among far-rightards.
I'm more confused than ever. Do I get to cross "unintentional pass at a transvestite" off my bucket list or not?
"He's also great in one of the most under-appreciated films around, Coppola's Tucker"
ReplyDeleteI'll second that. I also loved him and Barry Brown in 1972's Bad Company. That scene with the farmer's wife-turned-prostitute always cracks me up.
"I'm more confused than ever. Do I get to cross 'unintentional pass at a transvestite' off my bucket list or not?"
ReplyDelete------------
On facebook, you often get email alerts--especially from neo-nazi cretins--as to who may be such and such. There was this whole controversy where Frei was really an agent for the Fed, a Zog agent, a Muslim spy, etc, and people were told to delete her as a friend because she was probably spying for... the Mossad, Osama, and Obama. And then the controversy turned to is it a he or she. Andrea/Andrei, like Victor/Victoria.
Lately, someone else has come under scrutiny, with emails warning people that someone is an agent of the worldwide gay network. These far rightards are hilarious.