comment #1

actionman says ...

I have to say that while I respected and admired A Mighty Heart, I didn't love it nor was I blown away by it. I am a fan of this style of filmmaking and a big Michael Winterbottom fan but something in A Mighty Heart struck me as too calculated and planned-out. For whatever reason, it didn't have the same visceral immediacy that movies of this sort usually have; I am big fan of hand-held cameras combined with rough, jagged editing and I love, love, love procedurals and docudramas. But while I enjoyed watching A Mighty Heart, it never consumed me the way Bloody Sunday or United 93 or The Insider. It did have a nice Michael Mann aesthetic and Jolie gave an impassioned performance. I actually felt that her major meltdown at the end bordered on over-the-top, but I am left to assume that she did exactly what Marianne Pearl did when she learned of Daniel's death. It was very well done, don't get me wrong, but the reviews led me to believe that it'd be incredible.

Cannot fucking wait to see No Country for Old Men.

comment #2

Craig Kennedy says ...

I was genuinely hoping the one comment in this thread was DZ talking to himself.

In the end though, I'm kind of glad it wasn't. That just would've been depressing.

comment #3

Dirty Harry says ...

Jolie was terrible in that role. Self-conscious, and those YOWLS at the end made me uncomfortable -- as is always the case when watching someone make a fool of themselves.

And I happen to agree completely with Daniel Pearl's father about the film.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,2172049,00.html

But of course the only the only parents of the slain given any respect and voice are the Bush-haters.

Aborhorrent politics aside, Heart was a dull, shaky-cam-ish, melodramatic snoozer with a completely unconvincing lead actress in an absurd looking wig. Jolie wasn't creating a character, she was preening for an Oscar. It was like watching every Nicole Kidman film post-Tom.

comment #4

christian says ...

So when da evil libs in Hollywood do make a movie about the victims of islamo-fanatics, it's the wrong kind.

As for Bush haters, looks like the whole country is suffering from BSD...

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003668731

comment #5

christian says ...

Or BSD, depending on your dyslexia.

comment #6

christian says ...

Or BDS. Or...

comment #7

rocco says ...

I wouldn't guess it was respect making you wish you could have attended so much as, hmm, what's the word I'm looking for here...Tits.

comment #8

Ogami Itto says ...

"Jolie wasn't creating a character, she was preening for an Oscar. It was like watching every Nicole Kidman film post-Tom."

I'm a Godless leftist and agree with you on this point. Preening is exactly what so many of these self-regarding movie stars do, as opposed to actually, you know, acting.

Although I agree with the politics of many of these Big Issue films, the heavy-handed and simplistic storytelling makes me want to puke.

comment #9

jeffmcm says ...

"...as is always the case when watching someone make a fool of themselves."

Irony!

comment #10

Dirty Harry says ...

"Preening is exactly what so many of these self-regarding movie stars do, as opposed to actually, you know, acting."

"Self-regarding." Perfect word. And it's spreading like a virus because guys like Wells are buying into it.

NewsFlash: If you catch them acting, it's not great acting. And I catch too many of todays so-called Greats acting in what's considered a great performance. I'm even starting to worry about the once-great Sean Penn who seems infected with Mystic-River-itis in his last few outings.

(**okay, lift the camera high above me and then I'll scream in anguish while floating in a mosh-pit of cops** Whoda' thunk Ben Affleck and his little bro would take Clint Eastwood and Sean Penn to school in how to make a top-notch Boston/Dennis Lehane/missing kid genre film?)

Wells needs to step away from the blog for a few days, have Turner Classic Movies fed to him through a tube, and then rewatch A Mighty Dud.

comment #11

BurmaShave says ...

I don't suppose politics has anything to do with your opinion of Sean Penn or Angelina Jolie? I would be shocked! SHOCKED!

We've been watching and enjoying John Wayne or Jimmy Stewart movies for years without any regard for their values and politics. Why is it you wingnuts aren't able to do the same?

comment #12

Dirty Harry says ...

Burma: That's just stupid. I can't help that Hollywood is ideologically pure and if you criticize 100 of them, 99 are leftists. I could just as easily accuse you of liking them because they're liberals. How dumb.

Sean Penn was a great actor, he's just not been very good lately, but he remains a FANTASTIC director. Susan Sarandon's great, so's Alec Baldwin. I love Barbara Streisand, Paul Newman, Jane Fonda, Ed Asner, Danny Glover, James Garner, Bette Midler, Richard Dreyfus, Oliver Stone, Martin Sheen, Warren Beatty, and Johnny Depp.

Their politics are shallow, dangerous, and heartless, but they're terrific movie stars. Jolie isn't. Never has been. Awful, awful actress. I don't know Kidman's politics but she's just as bad -- another vapid, self-conscious preener. I don't how Keira Knightley votes but she's even worse.

It's in the eyes, not the voting booth.

comment #13

RedSilver says ...

Angelina Jolie was excellent in the role. She deserves an OSCAR nomination.

comment #14

hiviper says ...

burmashave,
you hit it right on... of course politics is entering into the equation here while evaluating these actors' perfs. I read the impassioned article from Danny Pearl's father and I understand what he's saying, but in the context of the time, how could you *not* include images from Gauntanamo.

After just seeing the movie, I think Jolie did a masterful job - not only in minor details as consistently nailing the accent, but her dogged yet gradual worn-down optimism as events unfold. Her final breakdown felt genuine to me.

The only suspicion I felt was with the Pakistani investigator (who was a fine actor and well-played, btw) due to their getting the OK to film in Pakistan and all.

comment #15

hiviper says ...

to add to the above - by "suspicion", I meant what appears to be an extemely high dedication to finding those involved in Pearl's abduction and death. If this guy did all that was depicted, he's truly a hero in this story.

comment #16

OddDuck says ...

hiviper,

You and Burmashave are spot on. In an earlier thread on this topic, Dirty Harry made the argument that A Mighty Heart implied some sort of equivalence between Guantonimo and the terrorists who killed Daniel Pearl. Can you believe that? I argued that the movie didn't really involve itself in the Guantaninmo debate, and only referenced it insofar as it was relevant to the Pearl investigation, and didn't sensationalize or use it to provoke - in essence, that the movie was completely neutral on Guantonimo. So get this, Dirty Harry tells me we're saying the same thing - that neutral and equivalence are identical! Twenty different people tried to correct his misunderstanding but he stuck to his guns! Then D.Z. entered the thread and I left. But still, what a fucking idiot.

And I didn't see anything preening about Jolie's performance. But for her breakdown at the end, the performance is really one of quiet tension and restraint.

comment #17

Dirty Harry says ...

"But for her breakdown at the end, the performance is really one of quiet tension and restraint."

Yeah, she really sounded like a character there, not somoeone begging for an Oscar. Worst. Acting. Moment. This. Year.

Oh, and neutral and equivalence are the same thing.

comment #18

rocco says ...

Burma, you're full of it...this board has reveled in the descent of Mel Gibson...while I can't say if you've partaken, your ascertion that only right-wingers allow their politics to affect their tastes reeks of affectation.

comment #19

Dirty Harry says ...

The only reason people defend this movie is because they agree with the film's politics. Winterbottom's "neutral" moral stance shows both sides in the same light resulting in a "moral equivelancy" between those who kill the innocent and those who kill those who kill the innocent.

Put Jolie's Actors Studio Reject YOWLS in an illiberal film and suddenly she's a hack.

I felt sure when she bent over to YOWL peacock feathers would pop out of the preener's ass.

comment #20

OddDuck says ...

Dirty Harry, the movie doesn't show Guantonimo in "any light" - it shows a 2 second clip of a prisoner in an orange uniform. Your claim of "equivalence" requires a lot more than that - it requires some evidence that the movie actively compares the two things and shows they are equal in their moral standing. The movie just doesn't do this. Everybody has their biases, including liberals, but your stance in this instance is so bizarre and indefensible that it makes me question your sanity and/or intelligence.

comment #21

Dirty Harry says ...

"but your stance in this instance is so bizarre and indefensible that it makes me question your sanity and/or intelligence."

Bizarre? Indefensible. Insane? Because I agree with Daniel Pearl's father?

Deep breath, OD...

comment #22

OddDuck says ...

No, because even in the face of basic logic, you maintain your argument. You still think neutral and equivalence are identical concepts. That's Limbaugh-level logic and looking for outrage even when there's none to be found.

You are truly an idiot.

comment #23

Dirty Harry says ...

OddDuck: Your post had nothing to do with my spot-on logic regarding your pathetic and increasingly obsessive hare-splitting over moral neutrality and equivalence.

Your point was strictly about your belief that anyone who saw AMH as an exercise in moral equivalence (which is a generous description, btw) was bizarre and insane. You know, like Daniel Pearl's father.

I do enjoy this back and forth, however. Everytime you post I picture an Odd looking Duck getting further wrapped 'round its own axle.

comment #24

OddDuck says ...

Again, no defense of your logic - just an assertion that it's "spot on". Why not try defending your logic with actual argument? Again, here's my claim: for your accusation of moral equivalence to make sense it requires some evidence that the movie actively compares Guantinmo and the terrorists and suggests that they're alike. How does the movie do this?

Feel free to say "Daniel Pearl's father" again instead of responding on the merits, dumbass.

comment #25

Dirty Harry says ...

OddDuck:

I explained my reasoning to you when your obsessiveness began a few weeks ago. If you recall, in our first encounter you asked the exact same question, I detailed my argument with specifics and included Mr. Pearl's article as well. You read it and said you respected mine and Mr. Pearl's opinion.

Now you want to re-argue it, probably because it's lonely on that axle. I suggest you take another deep breath, seek out that post, and move on with your life.

comment #26

OddDuck says ...

Notice again, no real response on the merits. Just another reference to Daniel Pearl's father, just like I predicted!!!

Not that I wish any of Dirty Harry's postings on anyone, but your argument in that thread consisted of your repeating over and over your assertion, and never once responding on the merits to any of the number of people who demonstrated how your posts made NO SENSE.

So I'm done, as there's no talking to you.

comment #27

Dirty Harry says ...

"but your argument in that thread consisted of your repeating over and over your assertion"

And yet you read it and said you respected my opinion...? And now you obsessively chase me around this site, picking fights, calling names, and wanting to re-argue...?

Are you at all fmailiar with the liberating concept of agreeing to disagree? Try it. It'll get you off the axle and on with your life. Or, have I become your life?

comment #28

OddDuck says ...

"And yet you read it and said you respected my opinion"

That's inaccurate. And you're a douchebag.

comment #29

Dirty Harry says ...

Better a douchebag than an obsessed liar.

comment #30

Ogami Itto says ...

Angelina Jolie does have nice titties, though.