comment #1

T. Holly says ...

Hal Holbrook could be Wells' dad.

comment #2

Hallick says ...

And judging by this picture, Emile Hirsch could be singing "And I ran, I ran so far away..." somewhere outside a Cinnabon near you.

comment #3

T. Holly says ...

I mean, you read the whole piece and came away with that? Maybe you miss your family.

comment #4

T. Holly says ...

A wang and a bun Hallick, isn't there some football you should be watching?

comment #5

Noel Murray says ...

Jeff, when you get a chance, I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY's Oscar predix in the Holiday Movie Preview issue, which seem a little off to me. I'm especially interested to know where you think AMERICAN GANGSTER stands after its blockbuster opening weekend and positive-but-not-ecstatic reviews. EW has it on their Best Picture front-runner list, in the same issue where they give the movie a "B."

I know you're still in the touting-what-you-love phase and not the guessing-what's-what phase (which believe me I appreciate, especially after I have you shit about your prognostication preoccupation last season), but do you think that the persistence of AMERICAN GANGSTER on all these prediction lists is, as it is with you, a case of people standing up for what they love, or is it the ol' college football rankings dilemma, where a team that started the preseason in the Top 5 has to take more than a knock or two before it drops off the charts?

comment #6

Noel Murray says ...

Jeff, when you get a chance, I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY's Oscar predix in the Holiday Movie Preview issue, which seem a little off to me. I'm especially interested to know where you think AMERICAN GANGSTER stands after its blockbuster opening weekend and positive-but-not-ecstatic reviews. EW has it on their Best Picture front-runner list, in the same issue where they give the movie a "B."

I know you're still in the touting-what-you-love phase and not the guessing-what's-what phase (which believe me I appreciate, especially after I gave you shit about your prognostication preoccupation last season), but do you think that the persistence of AMERICAN GANGSTER on all these prediction lists is, as it is with you, a case of people standing up for what they love, or is it the ol' college football rankings dilemma, where a team that started the preseason in the Top 5 has to take more than a knock or two before it drops off the charts?

comment #7

Hallick says ...

"A wang and a bun Hallick, isn't there some football you should be watching?"

If wangs and buns were really my thing, then...well yeah, I guess I'd still be watching football.

comment #8

christian says ...

Go Hal!

comment #9

Daviddb says ...

What about Andy Griffith in "Waitress"? Another old guy who deserves an Oscar.

comment #10

nemo says ...

If you want a job that takes all your time and energy for a couple of decades, and every step of the way you feel like you're doing it wrong, become a parent.

comment #11

EDouglas says ...

I thought the rationale behind Alan Arkin was that Eddie Murphy had made Norbit.

comment #12

gruver1 says ...

Wells to Ed Douglas: That's true -- "Norbit" killed it for Murphy more than any other factor -- but everyone was also saying, "Give it up for Arkin... he's been at it for decades."

comment #13

Spacesheik says ...

He's a good actor, whether he's playing a slimy govt. official in CAPRICORN ONE or a campy Southern Colonel in FLETCH 2 - guys has done lots of flicks and is a solid, dependable elder statesman actor - the kind of guy you cast if you are making movies about US politicians and corrupt judges.

But to me, Hal Holbrook will always be 'Deep Throat.'

comment #14

christian says ...

And he even appeared in CREEPSHOW...

comment #15

Jay T. says ...

I always liked his scenes in Wall Street...

comment #16

Dave says ...

RE: Creepshow, on a lark, my GF and I watched it off of FIOS On Demand about a month ago. It's still goofy fun, even though now that I'm older, much of it is obviously embarrassing. And I admit, I had *completely* forgotten that Ed Harris was in it (the first segment, Father's Day).

That said, the segment with Holbrook, Fritz Weaver and Adrienne Barbeau is still fantastic. Superb, and it really stands out against the rest of the film.

comment #17

Dave says ...

As for Into the Wild, I *finally* saw it last week after making plans to see it since it opened.

I was extremely pleased. I felt it was pretty much perfectly balanced between engaging the audience to identify with McCandless and his motivations, and also being suspect of them. That the film made most of its points with so much restraint (especially with the Catharine Keener character) is a credit.

And the cinematography! Goodness, was that a beautifully-shot movie. I really didn't think Sean Penn had it in him to make a movie that glorious. Kudos to him.

As for Holbrook, he was excellent, but an Oscar for that performance is pretty much a gold watch. Nothing truly extraordinary, except that it's solid work from a man I thought was dead-- hell, I knew he was in the movie, and I barely recognized him, he looked a thousand years old. So old, in fact, that I was gripping the arms of my chair hoping that he wouldn't fall when climbing up the hill (seriously, I was waiting for him to break a hip, and waiting to blame Penn for endangering the life & health of an American icon ;-).

Outstanding film, glad I made time to see it on the big screen.