Friday choices

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It's Friday, June 8th, and you're wondering what, if anything, should you see? That's easy -- go rent Ulu Grosbard's Straight Time or Sidney Lumet's Prince of The City or Shohei Imamura's Vengeance Is Mine. The lower-animal-impulse choice in theatres, obviously, is Hostel: Part II. The knockout performance experience (i.e., Marion Cotillard's) can be found in La Vie en Rose -- it can almost be guaranteed Cotillard will be a Best Actress Oscar nominee. The Big-Ass Blandathon (and I never thought I'd ever be calling it this) is Ocean's Thirteen.

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on June 8, 2007 at 9:29 AM

comment #1

Ian Sinclair says ...

I think we'll go and see La Viw en Rose, if, that is, we can hack our way through the hordes of slobbering, gibbering torture-porn masturbators on their way to HOSTEL 2 armed with vaseline and kleenex.

Posted by Ian Sinclair at June 8, 2007 9:46 AM

comment #2

nemo says ...

"The Big-Ass Blandathon (and I never thought I'd ever be calling it this) is Ocean's Thirteen."

Have you ever called anything a Big-Ass Blandathon before?

Posted by nemo at June 8, 2007 10:17 AM

comment #3

jeffmcm says ...

Hey Ian, I think you've made your bullying, abusive point, okay? I really feel bad for your alleged 'patients'.

Posted by jeffmcm at June 8, 2007 11:19 AM

comment #4

Josh Massey says ...

I'm finally seeing Knocked Up tonight, because I somehow missed all 12,000 advance screenings.

Posted by Josh Massey at June 8, 2007 12:24 PM

comment #5

televisiontears says ...

"The lower-animal-impulse choice in theatres, obviously, is Hostel: Part II" So, not only are horror fans reversing the evolution of man, but apparently now they don't even qualify as man. The reactionary name-calling has got to stop if we ever hope to have a legitimate discussion/debate about this. Though, I guess internet message boards aren't the best place to find legitimate discussion...

Posted by televisiontears at June 8, 2007 1:09 PM

comment #6

nemo says ...

"La Vie en Rose" won't reach a theater out here in the boonies for months. So if we want to go out to a movie this weekend, we may end up at O-13 or POTC 3.

I can't work up any enthusiasm for either one, but they both sound like great works of art compared with "Knocked Up". "Hostel 2" -- I'm trying to refrain from knocking a whole genre, but it's never going to be my thing. But if "Hostel 2" featured Seth Rogen hoisted upside down over a bath tub ...

At least O-13 aims at empty-headed adults.

Posted by nemo at June 8, 2007 2:49 PM

comment #7

The Movie Man says ...

Got Straight Time tonight actually, looking forward to diving in, though I imagine O13 will be in there somewhere this weekend.

Posted by The Movie Man at June 8, 2007 3:30 PM

comment #8

BurmaShave says ...

Nemo, are you gay?

Posted by BurmaShave at June 8, 2007 4:04 PM

comment #9

nemo says ...

If I'm gay, it's news to me and my wife. I'm trying to figure out which part of that post fits a gay demographic. The French film? Ocean's 13? It does feature some good-looking men, but Ellen Barkin is more my type (and age). POTC 3? Johnny Depp does wear a lot of eye liner.

Maybe it's the Seth Rogen crack. That's just because I've seen Rogen's dumb-guy mug almost as often as I've seen Paris Hilton's smug face the past month. I've never seen him in a anything and I'm already tired of him.

That European hottie bathing in Heather Matarazzo's blood must be really hot, because I can't imagine anyone, gay or straight, getting off on seeing Heather Matarazzo naked, no matter what position she's in. (My apologies to any Heather Matarazzo fans out there. That's just my worthless opinion. Please, no flames.)

The Hostel 2 and Knocked Up wars are getting tiresome. There's no way I'll ever see either one, even if they were free. Please, that's not a judgment on anyone else who likes that kind of thing. Art is long and life is short. Enjoy yourself at the movies this weekend.

Posted by nemo at June 8, 2007 5:42 PM

comment #10

BurmaShave says ...

No offense meant, I was just curious because Gay is maybe the only demo I could think of that wouldn't at least have a good time at Knocked Up. I thought you were someone who'd seen it and hated it. My mistake. Someday down the road I hope you do see it. You'll probably like it more than you thought you would. I know I did.

Also, I dont think Heather Matarazzo has any fans, otherwise she wouldn't be suspended naked being bled into a pool while another girl pleasures herself. Princess Diaries 3 must have been delayed.

Posted by BurmaShave at June 8, 2007 9:31 PM

comment #11

nemo says ...

This thread is probably dead by now. Maybe I would like "Knocked Up" if I gave it a chance. The wife and I rented "Talladega Nights", thinking it sounded better than anything in our local theaters. (I've already seen "Straight Time" twice, but plan to buy it and watch it again this year.) Anyway, we were pleasantly surprised at how much we both like "Talladega Nights", and I really sat up when I noticed Judd Apatow was the producer.

Then I see on IMDB that Apatow produced "Anchorman", the old Larry Sanders Show, and Ben Stiller's old show from the early 90s, when Stiller was still fresh and clever. OK, so Apatow seems to know a thing or two about comedy, and sharp well-written comedy at that, not just the dumb-ass stuff.

The wife was surprised that "Talladega Nights" is a real movie with a real story and developed characters, not just a string of sight gags and dumb one-liners. We liked Gary Cole as Ferrell's ne'er-do-well dad (reminded us both a bit of my wife's dad); the gal who played Ferrell's mom; Baron's silky performance; those absurd phone calls John C. Reilly kept making to Ferrell when he got lonely living in Ferrell's extravagant house with Ferrell's wife; the many Steve Earle songs on the soundtrack; Lucinda Williams over the closing credits; Amy Adams's glasses jumping up and down on her nose as she gives Ferrell that lunatic pep talk; Michael Clark Duncan doing or saying anything; the grandmother's transformation of those two mouthy kids, especially their literary analysis of William Faulkner after the end credits.

So maybe I'll rent "Knocked Up" when it comes out on DVD. I'm still having trouble working up much enthusiasm. It's probably because Rogen's face reminds me so much a do-nothing leech I had so much trouble scraping off the body of our company.

Sometimes I enjoy the flame wars here, but lately they've been making me weary.

Posted by nemo at June 9, 2007 11:32 AM

comment #12