May 28, 2011
— Ace I always liked Mamet. He was different. Although I usually didn't like straight dramas, I liked him. I guess because he didn't actually write straight dramas. His works were always, of course, of the drama category, but there was also always something else going on in them. To trick you into liking it, even if you were generally anti-emoting-and-shouting type dramas.
I've seen exactly two Broadway shows, and walked out of one (the Dirty Rotten Scoundrels musical, which I agreed to see because I thought it would be like Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and guess what, it wasn't. They even changed the characters' names. What? And how do I say this without sounding like an idiot? I guess there is no way, so I'll just say it: There was a lot of singing I could have done without).
The other one I saw was Speed the Plow, with the late great Ron Silver, Joe Mantegna, and, er, Madonna.
A lot of his films lately have fallen into the "compelling almost-great misfire" category for me. Flawed, but easily better than 95% of the dreck Hollywood churns out, just because they're so different.
Spartan wound up with an unconvincingly baroque secrets-and-lies resolution, but before that, it was a very weird movie which accomplished something I always respond to: Postulating a world which is just different enough from the real one to make you notice it's all askew, but with a veneer of deadpan realism and plausibility that you sort of scratch your head and wonder, "Wait, is this real?"
In Spartan, the weirdness was about our domestic covert forces, where agents working for no particular agency (at this level, it's all just on a personal, last-name basis; there is no organization, just "guys you know who can handle it") could literally do anything they wanted inside the borders of the U.S. in pursuit of their objective. Cut out a man's eye to compel him to talk? "You bet your life."
Odd. And presented so matter-of-factly, without any overly-dramatic crap like But then we'll be no different than the terrorists! "issue presentation" dialogue. Rather than offer an explanation and oversell it, he offers no explanation whatsoever and undersells it, prompting me to wonder: Does this guy know something I don't?
(Parenthetically, I should say there are exigent circumstances here -- the President's 19 year old daughter has been kidnapped, most likely by terrorists -- but the movie doesn't really push the idea that this mission is particularly different from others. Val Kilmer never lets on that he's doing this stuff for the first time.)
Another remarkable odd-duck of a movie is Redbelt. Mamet sets out to make a genre martial-arts movie, drawing inspiration from both American-style Martial Arts Training movies like Karate Kid, as well as Chinese kung-fu operas. The movie has clear analogues for the Reluctant Warrior, the Broken Princess, the Greedy Duke and the Evil Wizard, for example.
But this genre martial-arts movie is written, filmed, and acted like an independent "real" drama, like a real movie movie, not a genre action movie with the most superficial nods towards dramatic arcs and such, with a European naturalistic sort of feel to it. A very strange take on the material, and pretty compelling, even just as a technical exercise. I actually think it's more than just a technical exercise but a minority of critics don't seem to agree.
Then of course there are three movies that are high on my all-time list: the strangely affecting-by-being-so-disaffected con artist/world-turned-upside-down movie The Spanish Prisoner, which is so good I really don't even need to mention it, Glengarry Glen Rose, also in little need of introduction. Both of those movies are in the category of "If you haven't seen them yet, with everyone proclaiming them to be brilliant, one more proclamation probably won't help."
There's another movie a lot of people don't even know about, The Winslow Boy, easily Mamet's warmest work (I think it's his only warm work), which is really a must-watch for conservatives.
For one thing, the plot is about a family which bankrupts itself to vindicate the honor of their son, a young kid in a British military academy accused of the minor, and yet grave, crime of stealing a two pound postal note. For another thing, it doesn't have a peep of profanity beyond a "Hell" or two (and I sort of think it doesn't even have that); it's rated G, despite being an adult drama.
For a last thing, the hero here is an explicitly conservative barrister. Of course, he's offset by the heroine, a "radical" feminist (and by "radical," I mean she thinks women should be permitted to vote and work-- the movie's set in 1910 or so).
Spanish Prisoner and Winslow Boy, by the way, feature Mamet's wife Rebecca Pidgeon's best movie work. Well dog my cat, she is outstanding in these, just a sunshine-smile off-kilter Nancy Drew in one and a general righter of wrongs (i.e., a pain in the ass) in the other.
One more movie worth a watch: the film-of-the-play Oleanna, which is a strong prefiguring of Mamet's much-later conversion to conservatism. The film isn't for everyone -- it's clearly just the play, with minimal settings (90% of it is set in a single office), and features a trope of Mamet's stage work, human characters who deliberately do not speak like human beings. The plot is that a young female student comes to her professor for advice on her poor grades, and has a misunderstanding which leads to him being accused, harassed, and vilified for sexual harassment.
Actually "misunderstanding" isn't quite right -- she's almost simply insane, and, looking for support, quickly gets indoctrinated by some radical feminist group on campus, and begins speaking (IIRC) of "We the Collective" thinking this and "We the Collective" demanding that. It's entirely about PC persecution, and, to the extent critics find fault with it, it's because it's not just a he-said/she-said "issues" movie: It plainly takes sides. And the side it takes is "this is inhuman, preposterous, lunatic, and evil."
All this is prelude to Mamet's new book, Please Stop Giving Me Work In Hollywood Immediately, which was quickly retitled as The Secret Knowledge: On the Dismantling of American Culture, a title I find a little more optimistic, even at the expense of accuracy.
Hear him take on the left's sacred cows. Diversity is a "commodity." College is nothing more than "Socialist Camp." Liberalism is like roulette addiction. Toyota's Prius, he tells me, is an "anti-chick magnet" and "ugly as a dogcatcher's butt." Hollywood liberals—his former crowd—once embraced Communism "because they hadn't invented Pilates yet." Oh, and good radio isn't NPR ("National Palestinian Radio") but Dennis Prager, Michael Medved and Hugh Hewitt.The book is blunt, at times funny, and often over the top....
He starts, naturally, with the most famous political convert in modern American history: Whittaker Chambers, whose 1952 book, "Witness," documented his turn from Communism. "I read it. It was miraculous. Extraordinary hero-journey of this fellow that had to examine everything he believed in at the great, great cost—which is a cost I'm not subject to—of abandoning his life, his sustenance, his friends, his associations, and his past. And I said, 'Oh my God. . . . Perhaps it might be incumbent upon me to see if I could get my thought and my actions into line too."
...
On the left, Mr. Mamet is accused of having ulterior motives for his political shift. The New Republic's Jonathan Chait writes that the story is a familiar, Zionist one: "An increasingly religious Jew with strong loyalty to Israel, he became aware of a tension between the illiberal nationalism of his right-wing views on the Middle East and the liberalism of his views on everything else, and resolved the tension by abandoning the latter." Mr. Mamet calls this a "crock of s—."
The Slate website has run with the "Rich Person Discovers He Is a Republican" narrative. And then there's the jiu-jitsu theory offered by a film blogger: "Mamet's escalating interest in martial arts—traditionally the domain of right-wing nutjobs like Chuck Norris—has pointed toward this new stance for some time." Obviously.
Obviously. Note the rapidity with which his stated reasons for embracing conservatism are discounted as false not even considered. There must be some mental defect at work here or somethin'.
You can tell this is a bit of a blow for the left, losing someone who is plainly brilliant, in their rapid-fire response to it, attempting to explain it all away with a cute narrative about a martial arts psychotic break, in case any of Mamet's cadre of smart-set fans begin to wonder about all this.
Two reviews of the book, one by writer and superlative sarcastiste Andrew Klavan, and another by writer and PJM founder Roger Simon. You can tell Mamet's got some fans when both of the conservative writers in Hollywood basically throw a party upon realizing there's a third, and a rather good one, too.
He's just a compelling, smart guy. If I were compiling a list of Hollywood guys I'd like to see out themselves as conservative, he'd be in my top two. (And I think we may have actually already got the other one.)
Alec Baldwin's Greatest Role: A few notes about this. First, when people saw this in the, what, mid-90s?, everyone was talking about this scene. One funny thing I remember is that people started passing around a transcript of this scene, with Alec Baldwin's lines in red, like the words of Jesus.
The other thing is that this scene wasn't in the play. He added it for the movie. Hard to imagine. It's like that story, that happens over and over again, where a band is about to release an album and at the last minute they add in a song they wrote in an hour that becomes a hit for the decade.
Lastly: Profanity warning.
Corrected: It was Oleanna, not "Oleander." I always get that wrong.
Time Machine: Since erg is accusing me of having a time machine, which is preposterous (I have a limited time-linked temporal displacement superdimensional coupling, that's all, nothing like a "time machine" for crying out loud), I just wrote (am now writing) this old (brand new) piece in which I pretended to interview (will pretend to interview) David Mamet. Profanity Warning and/or Paradox Warning.
I used my time-linked temporal displacement superdimensional coupling to write this back in, oh, let's say early 2004 (five minutes ago), that should do the trick. The post being linked is a re-post; this was (will be) from the first month of the blog, sometime circa Jan '04, unless the circuits give me some static in which case I'll have to slip it into a less paradox-restricted chronostream.
How Did I Forget... ...The Untouchables?
Well, that's a work-for-hire thing so not really Mamet-Mamet.
Posted by: Ace at
12:49 PM
| Comments (342)
Post contains 1832 words, total size 12 kb.
The Unit was awesome--and it was a crying shame that the third season was curtailed by the writers' strike and that it was cancelled after the fourth. Is there any other show on TV dealing with the GWOT?
Redbelt gets better every time I see it.
He's also helped showcase the talent of Ricky Jay (by directing all of Jay's one-man shows and casting Jay in almost all of his movies).
(I will confess, though, that Edmond made me sick to my stomach.)
Posted by: Leo Ladenson at May 28, 2011 10:31 AM (mAm+G)
Of all the movies mentioned, herein, I have only seen 'Karate Kid', and 'Dirty Rotten Scoundrels'.
...and I'd gladly return those 4 hours for some sufferage head or a mediocre day of dry-fly fishing.
Posted by: garrett at May 28, 2011 10:32 AM (9stzK)
The White Zone is for Loading and Un-Loading ONLY.
If you have to Load or Un-Load, go to the White Zone.
Posted by: garrett at May 28, 2011 10:33 AM (9stzK)
"There are currently no available movies to display for David Mamet."
Posted by: De' Debil Hisself at May 28, 2011 10:48 AM (H+LJc)
Posted by: SFGoth at May 28, 2011 12:21 PM (CcOm3)
Posted by: UGAdawg at May 28, 2011 12:22 PM (/VjHB)
it just occured to me that carly simon may be the non-working co-efficient to 7 degrees of separation - Kevin Bacon.
if we can get her to Kevin Bacon, I can nicely tie this back into Mamet.
But I need your help.
Posted by: journolist at May 28, 2011 12:24 PM (QM8jX)
I've been thinking about watching the series.
Definitely worth watching. There were a few hiccups along the way, but on balance it was amazing. "Two Coins" is one of my favorite episodes of any TV series.
Posted by: Leo Ladenson at May 28, 2011 12:26 PM (mAm+G)
I don't know how Mamet learned sales lingo and the culture of salesmen, but he's right on the money. I worked for a summer selling Chevrolets when I was 19. It was like that. Each Saturday, the big boss would come in and dress everybody down, while dangling bonus cash for better numbers. Once a day, the general manager would do the same thing--except no bonus cash. Just a mild to severe ass chewing. It made you anxious, the pressure. Fearful. After a while, I became a little more immune to it when I just accepted the fact I might be fired soon. I made it, though. Some didn't. And, the thing is, it was just a summer job for me. There were guys there trying to feed their families and pay the bills. I can't imagine what the pressure was like for them.
Anyway, the movie is so real and brings back so much of that atmosphere, it, like I said... it makes me uneasy. It's hard to watch.
I wonder where Mamet learned what it's like in a small sales office.
Posted by: rdbrewer at May 28, 2011 12:26 PM (aSGPn)
Posted by: ace at May 28, 2011 12:26 PM (nj1bB)
Posted by: rdbrewer at May 28, 2011 12:27 PM (aSGPn)
Posted by: UGAdawg at May 28, 2011 12:29 PM (/VjHB)
Posted by: journolist at May 28, 2011 12:30 PM (QM8jX)
Posted by: Brian in BC at May 28, 2011 12:30 PM (z3FEK)
Posted by: Anthony Weiner at May 28, 2011 12:30 PM (1fB+3)
Posted by: Brian in BC at May 28, 2011 12:31 PM (z3FEK)
Posted by: Brian in BC at May 28, 2011 12:35 PM (z3FEK)
"Two Coins" was perhaps the perfect UNIT episode. It brought the technique of two simultaneous plots to perfection: on deployment Betty Blue's falling for an IDF hottie and on the home front Tiffy's adventures with militaria and numismatics.
Hijinks and great Mametian dialogue ensued.
Posted by: Leo Ladenson at May 28, 2011 12:36 PM (mAm+G)
Posted by: IllTemperedCur at May 28, 2011 12:37 PM (9Lm5R)
The check is in the mail.
Posted by: Leo Ladenson at May 28, 2011 12:37 PM (mAm+G)
Posted by: IllTemperedCur at May 28, 2011 12:39 PM (9Lm5R)
I don't know who won the Oscar that year, but Baldwin should have.
Posted by: rdbrewer at May 28, 2011 12:42 PM (aSGPn)
my work is done here. mamet is back up, i got a filing fee check in the mail and beer in the fridge.
i shall now attend to driving range, with ceegar.
carry on and Ace.... you the man. Your writing is as sharp as ever and yes, i'm jealous. keep up the great work.
Posted by: journolist at May 28, 2011 12:43 PM (QM8jX)
Posted by: ace at May 28, 2011 12:49 PM (nj1bB)
No. Think 24 + Black Hawk Down + The Spanish Prisoner.
Posted by: Leo Ladenson at May 28, 2011 12:56 PM (mAm+G)
Posted by: ace at May 28, 2011 12:57 PM (nj1bB)
I have that playing in the background. I thought it was terrible the first time I watched this huge turd and it has only gotten worse with age.
/Do any of you find Marky-Mark "hittable"?
Posted by: Kratos (Ghost of Sparta) at May 28, 2011 12:57 PM (bXcE8)
The Big Sleep would have been be perfect.
Posted by: ontherocks at May 28, 2011 01:06 PM (HBqDo)
Posted by: Lincolntf at May 28, 2011 01:06 PM (Z05lF)
Posted by: USA at May 28, 2011 01:08 PM (YZISw)
Posted by: Truman North at May 28, 2011 01:11 PM (K2wpv)
I'm told I need to watch the Wire too. I've been told that 800 times. I will listen this time.
Yes. The Wire is a great show--although the fifth season is weaker. But the way the show reinvented itself from season 1 to season 2 . . . brilliant. Season 3 was a rock-'em, sock-'em payoff for fans of season 1. And season 4 was the school season--another complete reinvention. I say that season was art because, even though its creators are liberals, they were so committed to dramatic truth that I think it embodies a powerful conservative message about family and duty and honor (some of that also carries into season 5, which endlessly bashes the MFM, so it's go that going for it.).
The Wire is one of the top-10 TV shows of all time.
The Unit was great--but never really got a chance to blossom fully.
Posted by: Leo Ladenson at May 28, 2011 01:13 PM (mAm+G)
George Lucas popped your sweet cherry, and then OMG he bad-mouthed Bush, and Lucas became Satan incarnate.
You don't have taste, you have ideology.
Posted by: ed harris at May 28, 2011 01:15 PM (DZboX)
Posted by: IllTemperedCur at May 28, 2011 01:16 PM (9Lm5R)
Posted by: ace at May 28, 2011 01:16 PM (nj1bB)
You don't have reading comprehension, you fucking numbskull.
Posted by: Waterhouse at May 28, 2011 01:18 PM (YUfdS)
I saw Chicago on Broadway, and I had a similar complaint. Fortunately there were a few dozen beautiful women in lingerie prancing around the stage for most of the evening. That was a fine distraction from the squawking.
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo (NJConservative) at May 28, 2011 01:18 PM (LH6ir)
Posted by: Whatever at May 28, 2011 01:19 PM (hF6Nm)
I have that playing in the background. I thought it was terrible the first time I watched this huge turd and it has only gotten worse with age.
/Do any of you find Marky-Mark "hittable"?
Posted by: Kratos (Ghost of Sparta) at May 28, 2011 04:57 PM (bXcE
Posted by: buzzion at May 28, 2011 01:19 PM (oVQFe)
Posted by: ace at May 28, 2011 01:19 PM (nj1bB)
Are you seriously going to try to defend Lucas and his pitiful prequels? If you'd pay attention, the first three Star Wars films get all kinds of kudos around here, from Ace and various others.
You're just playing the fool.
Posted by: Kratos (Ghost of Sparta) at May 28, 2011 01:20 PM (bXcE8)
Posted by: IllTemperedCur at May 28, 2011 01:20 PM (9Lm5R)
Go you huskies!
Posted by: alexthechick at May 28, 2011 01:20 PM (sf+iw)
Posted by: ace at May 28, 2011 01:21 PM (nj1bB)
Posted by: Anthony Weiner's man sausage at May 28, 2011 01:21 PM (hF6Nm)
Posted by: GuyfromNH at May 28, 2011 01:22 PM (RqVt2)
So too Mamet, both before and after his political conversion.
Posted by: Leo Ladenson at May 28, 2011 01:23 PM (mAm+G)
Posted by: Waterhouse at May 28, 2011 01:23 PM (YUfdS)
I cannot watch Oleanna. I had to walk out because I knew That Girl and I knew someone who was going through that situation and my hands were shaking with rage.
Posted by: alexthechick at May 28, 2011 01:25 PM (sf+iw)
Posted by: ace at May 28, 2011 01:25 PM (nj1bB)
Posted by: JackStraw at May 28, 2011 01:27 PM (x+EIF)
I'm more familar with Rebecca Pigeon's singing.
One of my all-time favorites by any female vocalists is her version of "Spanish Harleem" especially the SACD version.
Posted by: Whitehall at May 28, 2011 01:27 PM (Ou6gY)
Posted by: ace at May 28, 2011 01:27 PM (nj1bB)
Posted by: IllTemperedCur at May 28, 2011 01:28 PM (9Lm5R)
Posted by: dulce at May 28, 2011 01:29 PM (Z8tGV)
The mayoral election made me think of this - is anyone watching The Killing (US version)? I watched the first ep and was interested but then got busy and forgot to dvr it. Is it worth catching up?
Posted by: alexthechick at May 28, 2011 01:31 PM (sf+iw)
Posted by: Waterhouse at May 28, 2011 01:32 PM (YUfdS)
I know it's difficult, but it's not coming back.
We have 14 hours on DVD plus the movie. We just have to treasure that and merely wonder what might have been . . . .
It would have been one of the great shows of all time. There was more wit in one hour of FIREFLY than in 4 seasons of ST: Enterprise and a good hunk of Voyager too.
Think about it: a mediocre show like JAG (nothing personal) lasted 9 freaking seasons and FIREFLY got only 11 eps. WTF?
Now you've got me wound up too!
Posted by: Leo Ladenson at May 28, 2011 01:33 PM (mAm+G)
What a joke. I bet he's done no writing except his mom's phone number in bathroom stalls since then.
Posted by: logprof at May 28, 2011 01:33 PM (BP6Z1)
Posted by: ace at May 28, 2011 01:33 PM (nj1bB)
Posted by: ace at May 28, 2011 05:25 PM (nj1bB)
Wait, they told me when I came to this blog that there were time machines.
Posted by: robtr at May 28, 2011 01:35 PM (MtwBb)
Posted by: ace at May 28, 2011 01:36 PM (nj1bB)
Yeah, Tommy Carcetti the councilman, then mayor, then governor (a stand-in for that ultra-mediocrity Martin O'Malley) was played by a bloody Irishman.
Hey, acting!
Posted by: Leo Ladenson at May 28, 2011 01:36 PM (mAm+G)
"John Lydon wrote anti-abortion songs, he's cool."
Yeah, you're dialed into the visionary penumbra of the cultural zeitgeist. Sort of like Ingmar Bergman with a massive head injury.
Posted by: ed harris at May 28, 2011 01:37 PM (DZboX)
Posted by: ace at May 28, 2011 01:38 PM (nj1bB)
$20k to ride in the time machine. Erg has to come too, since im permanently attached to his butthole.
Posted by: Anthony Weiner's man sausage at May 28, 2011 01:38 PM (hF6Nm)
Posted by: ace at May 28, 2011 01:39 PM (nj1bB)
Posted by: ace at May 28, 2011 01:40 PM (nj1bB)
Posted by: ace at May 28, 2011 01:41 PM (nj1bB)
Don't push me into Paradox.
Posted by: ace at May 28, 2011 05:39 PM (nj1bB)
You mean one of those things that might destroy the universe?!
Posted by: buzzion at May 28, 2011 01:43 PM (oVQFe)
As Dr. Sheldon Cooper pointed out, if Einstein weren't such a horndog, we'd all have time machines.
Posted by: alexthechick at May 28, 2011 01:43 PM (sf+iw)
"John Lydon wrote anti-abortion songs, he's cool."
Yeah, you're dialed into the visionary penumbra of the cultural zeitgeist. Sort of like Ingmar Bergman with a massive head injury.
Posted by: ed harris at May 28, 2011 05:37 PM (DZboX)
< Ed, allow me to step in and say your continued efforts to denominate your bullshit screed into AOSHQ is like watching a snow cone in the sun... you are melting and we ain't into your flave dude. Gotz it?
Posted by: journolist at May 28, 2011 01:45 PM (QM8jX)
Posted by: ace at May 28, 2011 01:45 PM (nj1bB)
As Dr. Sheldon Cooper pointed out, if Einstein weren't such a horndog, we'd all have time machines.
Posted by: alexthechick at May 28, 2011 05:43 PM (sf+iw)
Einstein was a bit too Zazzley for my taste.
Posted by: buzzion at May 28, 2011 01:45 PM (oVQFe)
Ace (and others who have not seen it yet), BONUS: A few episodes of The Unit have Summer Glau in them.
Posted by: logprof at May 28, 2011 01:45 PM (BP6Z1)
"Mamet?"
"Yes, Mamet. The screenwriter."
"Screenwriter?"
"Yes, screenwriter. Good one. Glengarry, Glen Ross; other stuff."
"Yeah, I saw those. Good stuff."
"You're damn right they're good. Snappy dialogue; plot twist."
"Snappy dialogue? You mean where everyone picks up on what what just said?"
"Yeah, they pick up on what was just said"
( and so on...........)
Posted by: SantaRosaStan, only occasionally wrong at May 28, 2011 01:46 PM (UqKQV)
So I'm told.
Posted by: ace at May 28, 2011 05:45 PM (nj1bB)
Wow man, this is heavy.
Posted by: buzzion at May 28, 2011 01:46 PM (oVQFe)
Posted by: UGAdawg at May 28, 2011 01:47 PM (/VjHB)
Nice.
And it's a called signature--you know, what you need to get on the line which is dotted.
Posted by: Leo Ladenson at May 28, 2011 01:48 PM (mAm+G)
I play it for liberal people who come over just for the story, though, & hope some of the principles showcased in it sink into their thick lefty heads under the radar since they always assume Mamet's a fellow traveler on the left.
The original version of Rattigan's play in B/W is pretty good too btw (Robert Donat played Sir Rob't Morton) but Jeremy Northern really made Mamet's version.
And they don't make last lines as good as the one in Mamet's version anymore. (Rebecca Pidgeon:"How little you know about women. Good-bye. I doubt that we shall meet again." Jeremy Northen: "Oh, do you really think so, Miss Winslow? How little you know about men.")
Already pre-ordered Mamet's book, comes on the 2nd. Can't wait. He says some of the same books which converted me from a young skull full-o-mush teenybopping lib to a fire-breathing conservative (oops, I mean beltway cocktail-swilling RINO eleeeeeetist) converted him too.
Posted by: leilani at May 28, 2011 01:49 PM (MI7Jw)
Posted by: Empire of Jeff at May 28, 2011 01:49 PM (hlY6R)
Yes, but that didn't help her reputation--she's on her way to becoming the Ted McGinley of the 2000s.
Posted by: Leo Ladenson at May 28, 2011 01:50 PM (mAm+G)
Merging Ken and Ed and all I get is Kned.
Posted by: journolist at May 28, 2011 01:50 PM (QM8jX)
Posted by: UGAdawg at May 28, 2011 01:51 PM (/VjHB)
Posted by: ace at May 28, 2011 01:53 PM (nj1bB)
Posted by: Christopher Taylor at May 28, 2011 01:55 PM (r4wIV)
Yes, but that didn't help her reputation--she's on her way to becoming the Ted McGinley of the 2000s.
Posted by: Leo Ladenson at May 28, 2011 05:50 PM (mAm+G)
I don't care. Everytime she gets on a new show her hotness increases. The Cape pretty much sucked because the lead was uninspiring, but Summer was smokin'.
Posted by: buzzion at May 28, 2011 01:56 PM (oVQFe)
Posted by: Empire of Jeff at May 28, 2011 01:57 PM (hlY6R)
Posted by: ace at May 28, 2011 01:58 PM (nj1bB)
And it's a called signature--you know, what you need to get on the line which is dotted.
Posted by: Leo Ladenson at May 28, 2011 05:48 PM (mAm+G)
the snappiest dialog ( other than GGGR ) is from "House of Cards." It's......pristine.
Posted by: SantaRosaStan, only occasionally wrong at May 28, 2011 01:59 PM (UqKQV)
Despite my very strong belief that we should never contribute one red cent to the projects of actors who beclown themselves for the cause (Sean Penn) I cannot quit Alec Baldwin. He's simply too fucking good.
And, note to Ms. Fey: 30 Rock wouldn't have made it out of the gate without him
He is the show.
Posted by: Clueless at May 28, 2011 02:02 PM (piMMO)
"John Lydon wrote anti-abortion songs, he's cool."
Yeah, you're dialed into the visionary penumbra of the cultural zeitgeist. Sort of like Ingmar Bergman with a massive head injury.
Posted by: ed harris at May 28, 2011 05:37 PM (DZboX)
--Ayn Ran was not a conservative, douchetool.
Posted by: logprof at May 28, 2011 02:03 PM (BP6Z1)
Posted by: IllTemperedCur at May 28, 2011 02:03 PM (9Lm5R)
Posted by: Soona at May 28, 2011 02:03 PM (q69MP)
Posted by: ace at May 28, 2011 02:05 PM (nj1bB)
Fey isn't funny on 30 Rock-everybody else is funny <i>around</i> her. She just plays a ditzy character and the rest of the cast makes all the jokes. Anybody could play Liz Lemon. Anybody except a dude.
Posted by: Whatever at May 28, 2011 02:05 PM (hF6Nm)
Despite my very strong belief that we should never contribute one red cent to the projects of actors who beclown themselves for the cause (Sean Penn) I cannot quit Alec Baldwin. He's simply too fucking good.
And, note to Ms. Fey: 30 Rock wouldn't have made it out of the gate without him
He is the show.
Posted by: Clueless at May 28, 2011 06:02 PM (piMMO)
--I loved him in The Cooler, too. Great movie overall.
A shame Baldwin's humor in 30 Rock is practically negated by Tracy Morgan's douchetude.
Posted by: logprof at May 28, 2011 02:05 PM (BP6Z1)
I'll give you six of my best paintings for three days use of the time machine, ace.
Or something equally valuable.
Like, a box of un-done paperclips, or a bucket of hair. Or a 1986 Volvo.
Posted by: CAC at May 28, 2011 02:05 PM (qcEjf)
And let me tell you, it's quite a disturbing transformation too (con ---> lib). You know how The Thing takes over a body? This is way uglier, and more disgusting.
Posted by: I never got out of the 80s at May 28, 2011 02:06 PM (TCyyS)
Posted by: ace at May 28, 2011 02:06 PM (nj1bB)
Posted by: IllTemperedCur at May 28, 2011 02:08 PM (9Lm5R)
Posted by: BuddyPC at May 28, 2011 02:08 PM (nSkOL)
Why would you need a time machine for that? Plenty of them around in New Jersey.
Posted by: I never got out of the 80s at May 28, 2011 02:09 PM (TCyyS)
Posted by: Stephen Price Blair at May 28, 2011 02:09 PM (7Ahkq)
Posted by: Fartnoise at May 28, 2011 02:09 PM (bCxgV)
Loved you in Apollo 13 and The Abyss, though.
BTW, Ace -I never got the hat tip I expected on the MeggyMac NYT interview, which I sent to you from my work computer yesterday at 12:58 CST. So please don't use my real name name if I get a belated h/t.
Reverse-Time Machine?
Posted by: My Sharia Moor at May 28, 2011 02:10 PM (413E1)
Posted by: Empire of Jeff at May 28, 2011 02:10 PM (hlY6R)
Posted by: IllTemperedCur at May 28, 2011 02:10 PM (9Lm5R)
Posted by: ace at May 28, 2011 02:11 PM (nj1bB)
Posted by: ace at May 28, 2011 02:12 PM (nj1bB)
C'mon, dude. I won't touch the radio. Swear.
Posted by: Empire of Jeff at May 28, 2011 06:10 PM (hlY6R)
I am highly suspicious of your desire to use the Time Machine.
With our luck though it will be the one from Idiocracy.
Posted by: CAC at May 28, 2011 02:12 PM (qcEjf)
You found the plot in 'The Big Sleep' to be.........not convoluted?
I thought even Hammett himself admitted it was.....convoluted
Posted by: SantaRosaStan, only occasionally wrong at May 28, 2011 02:13 PM (UqKQV)
Posted by: USA at May 28, 2011 02:14 PM (YZISw)
Posted by: ace at May 28, 2011 02:14 PM (nj1bB)
There is no "machine" so there are no passengers.
So -strictly hypothetical here- we'll need a pipe to go with the grass...or at least some papers?
Posted by: garrett at May 28, 2011 02:14 PM (Z89a8)
Posted by: IllTemperedCur at May 28, 2011 02:15 PM (9Lm5R)
You just know that Tracy Jordan's part was a toss from Fey to a friend who couldn't get work elsewhere.
The first role I ever remember seeing Baldwin in was Working Girl. He played a perfect greaseball
Posted by: Clueless at May 28, 2011 02:15 PM (piMMO)
Posted by: ace at May 28, 2011 02:16 PM (nj1bB)
Please. There is no such thing as a time machine. Doctor Wilhelm Streck's 2088 paper on conservation of mass across time-frames proved such a thing was strictly impossible.
Now you've gone and said too much.
Posted by: The Sikh at May 28, 2011 02:16 PM (Z89a8)
Posted by: Empire of Jeff at May 28, 2011 02:16 PM (1ODi+)
House of Games! Love me some of that movie. Implausible goodness in the extreme.
Joe Mantegna.
Posted by: Lady in Black at May 28, 2011 02:16 PM (WkUiP)
Ace, check out Daily Caller's lead story. Your fave, "Jeff Poor" wrote a story about Leno lifting jokes from Red Eye. Title of the piece, "Time Travel."
hmmmmm.
Posted by: journolist at May 28, 2011 02:16 PM (QM8jX)
Posted by: Stephen Hawking, who hit CH so hard the act gave him LGD at May 28, 2011 02:17 PM (qcEjf)
Unlikely, but it's Unexpectedly good. Very, very good!!11!!
Posted by: SantaRosaStan, only occasionally wrong at May 28, 2011 02:18 PM (UqKQV)
Posted by: Dr Spank at May 28, 2011 02:20 PM (1fB+3)
Actually, I lied. The first movie was She's Having a Baby. Also a perfect slimeball.
Who knew he could do comedy?
Speaking of She's Having a Baby, that is a chick-flick that men actually love.
Posted by: Clueless at May 28, 2011 02:20 PM (piMMO)
Posted by: rdbrewer at May 28, 2011 02:21 PM (aSGPn)
Posted by: Lady in Black at May 28, 2011 02:22 PM (WkUiP)
Holy cow! Completely forgot about him doing television!
One thing I do feel confident about is that no matter what the quality of the project, he always brings it.
Posted by: Clueless at May 28, 2011 02:24 PM (piMMO)
"I've got all five senses and I slept last night, that puts me six up on the lot of you."
Brick is fantastic but you have to be willing to accept the conceit of t Hammett style language being used by supposed high schoolers. If you don't, then it doesn't work at all.
Posted by: alexthechick at May 28, 2011 02:24 PM (sf+iw)
Posted by: ace at May 28, 2011 02:25 PM (nj1bB)
And I'm saying that if you hit the tip jar that ace will take for a ride in his non-existent time machine, but I've now never been married, or divorced.
Posted by: Dr Spank at May 28, 2011 02:25 PM (1fB+3)
Posted by: CAC at May 28, 2011 02:27 PM (qcEjf)
You're probably the bastard who told Castro he couldn't throw a curveball too.
Posted by: alexthechick at May 28, 2011 02:27 PM (sf+iw)
Unacceptable for a City rez. I cannot believe you are proud of this. Christ, I have kids born in Miami who have seen more Broadway shows than you. And yet you go to the cinema. And seem to enjoy it.
Let me tell you something Ace, some things cost seventy-five bucks and are worth much much more. Broadway musicals are one of those things. Sunday brunch at The Breakers is another.
I'm a common Bucks County farm boy and I've seen at least twenty. There is nothing like a Broadway musical. Dreamgirls, Deathtrap. They're Playing Our Song, Miss Saigon, Phantom, Best Little Whorehouse, Amadeus, Chorus Line, Rent, Annie, Cats, Chicago, Les Mis, Grease, Fiddler, Guys and Dolls. Don't get me started.
I'm pretty much done giving advice, Dude. These days I just suggest alternate scenarios.
Go see a good musical. On Broadway, At night. Get the best seats you can. Take a date. Life in America is still better than anywhere else.
Posted by: The Charlie Daniels of the torque wrench at May 28, 2011 02:28 PM (le5qc)
Posted by: BuddyPC at May 28, 2011 06:08 PM (nSkOL)
I 'm not one to get carried away.
To Have and Have Not (Hemingway btw) better candidate than the films you mentioned.
It's about what I'd like to see not what you think you know, before you get carried away.
Posted by: ontherocks at May 28, 2011 02:29 PM (HBqDo)
Posted by: Dr Spank at May 28, 2011 02:29 PM (1fB+3)
Posted by: IllTemperedCur at May 28, 2011 02:30 PM (9Lm5R)
Seconded. A great story and good characters. Plus, if you ever played football, that movie brings the feeling back. You feel you are running with The Rev and Sunshine on that last play, looking for someone to plow.
Posted by: toby928™ at May 28, 2011 02:32 PM (GTbGH)
Posted by: andi sullivan at May 28, 2011 02:32 PM (wPxqH)
Posted by: Clueless at May 28, 2011 06:15 PM (piMMO)
Heh, that movie was rated R because they used the word 'slut'...once.
Posted by: ranger117 at May 28, 2011 02:32 PM (WGIhM)
Posted by: ace at May 28, 2011 02:33 PM (nj1bB)
That scene was great, but nothing beats the scene when the boat was going up 180 degrees and that guy fell from the deck and hit the propeller on the way down. My stepfather laughed so hard after that happened...
Posted by: Kratos (Ghost of Sparta) at May 28, 2011 02:33 PM (4Jgm/)
History will recount that on Memorial Day weekend 2011, one Weiner roasted himself.
Posted by: USA at May 28, 2011 06:14 PM (YZISw)
--And guess what? Weiner won't fucking resign --he'll do a Chris Dodd and ride it out for the Demos to nominate a replacement the normal way.
Posted by: logprof at May 28, 2011 02:34 PM (BP6Z1)
Posted by: Dr Spank at May 28, 2011 02:35 PM (1fB+3)
Posted by: Dr Spank at May 28, 2011 06:29 PM
Yep, those people got a lot of class, all of it low.
Posted by: huerfano at May 28, 2011 02:36 PM (BeusG)
172: I remember when the Academy gave Elia Kazan a lifetime achievement award and Ed Harris and his hidieous wife scowled, and I believe, turned their communist loving backs on the presentation.
-------------------------
Several years ago there was bootlegged footage floating around places like the computerwebs and FoxNews of an obviously drunken Ed Harris at some Hollywood event or other, standing at a microphone addressing a small crowd, basically "calling out" G.W. Bush for "not being a real man," or some such nonsense, acting the drunken tough guy and being, essentially, a total Lefty douchewad.
Ed Harris, actor = Win
Ed Harris, person = Repulsive
Posted by: Fartnoise at May 28, 2011 02:37 PM (bCxgV)
I thought you relied on a certain foul-mouth time traveling sandwich for your extra-temporal knowledge.
Posted by: toby928™ at May 28, 2011 02:37 PM (GTbGH)
That's the philosophy around "Time Cop" - you cannot go into the future because it hasn't been written yet.
Posted by: Kratos (Ghost of Sparta) at May 28, 2011 02:37 PM (4Jgm/)
Posted by: USA at May 28, 2011 02:37 PM (YZISw)
Dammit.
Posted by: toby928™ at May 28, 2011 02:39 PM (GTbGH)
Also, in a completely throwaway scene, they showed Melanie Griffith vacumming in high heels and undies.
Posted by: Clueless at May 28, 2011 02:39 PM (piMMO)
Posted by: ace at May 28, 2011 02:39 PM (nj1bB)
Posted by: United States Time Authority Field Historian Callsign Alpha Charlie Echo at May 28, 2011 02:40 PM (nj1bB)
Posted by: Empire of Jeff at May 28, 2011 02:42 PM (1ODi+)
Posted by: Empire of Jeff at May 28, 2011 02:44 PM (1ODi+)
And so, when he goes on to found his own political party and seizes control of the country during the coming depression, then invades Canada and enslaves and exterminates the Scandis there, you will be to blame.
Actions have consequences my dread lord.
Posted by: toby928™ at May 28, 2011 02:45 PM (GTbGH)
Posted by: IllTemperedCur at May 28, 2011 02:46 PM (9Lm5R)
Actions have consequences my dread lord.
Posted by: toby928™ at May 28, 2011 06:45 PM
Canada? Scandis? Win win situation.
Posted by: huerfano at May 28, 2011 02:46 PM (BeusG)
Posted by: Empire of Jeff at May 28, 2011 02:46 PM (1ODi+)
Posted by: USA at May 28, 2011 02:47 PM (YZISw)
Posted by: ParanoidWorkingGirlinSeattle at May 28, 2011 02:47 PM (RZ8pf)
Posted by: IllTemperedCur at May 28, 2011 02:47 PM (9Lm5R)
Posted by: Dr Spank at May 28, 2011 02:47 PM (1fB+3)
Posted by: United States Time Authority Field Historian Codename Ace at May 28, 2011 02:48 PM (nj1bB)
Posted by: lowandslow at May 28, 2011 02:48 PM (GZitp)
Turn. Turn. Kick. Turn.
Posted by: andi sullivan at May 28, 2011 06:37 PM
It's been done.
Posted by: huerfano at May 28, 2011 02:49 PM (BeusG)
Posted by: IllTemperedCur at May 28, 2011 02:49 PM (9Lm5R)
Posted by: max walker, tec at May 28, 2011 02:49 PM (wPxqH)
Except for maybe in Milk Money.
/Why did I admit to watching that?
Posted by: Kratos (Ghost of Sparta) at May 28, 2011 02:50 PM (4Jgm/)
Posted by: USA at May 28, 2011 02:50 PM (YZISw)
"Senator Megan McCain"
Can I borrow the time machine, kill you, and erase having seen those three words?
Posted by: Whatever at May 28, 2011 02:51 PM (hF6Nm)
Posted by: Miss'80sBaby at May 28, 2011 02:52 PM (CLYmB)
Posted by: IllTemperedCur at May 28, 2011 02:52 PM (9Lm5R)
Posted by: laurenW at May 28, 2011 02:52 PM (ibCFU)
Posted by: wankette at May 28, 2011 02:53 PM (CrYip)
I'd beat you to death for that comment but I'm making cocoa.(How hard was that?)
Posted by: Dr Spank at May 28, 2011 02:54 PM (1fB+3)
Posted by: Junior Field Historian ACE of the USTA at May 28, 2011 02:54 PM (nj1bB)
Posted by: alexthechick at May 28, 2011 06:24 PM (sf+iw)
true dat. 'the willful suspension of disbelief'' It worked for me
Posted by: SantaRosaStan, only occasionally wrong at May 28, 2011 02:55 PM (UqKQV)
Posted by: Dr Spank at May 28, 2011 02:56 PM (1fB+3)
Posted by: Mama AJ at May 28, 2011 02:57 PM (XdlcF)
avoiding being photographed in his assigned historical reference area
OMG the time machine looks like an Israeli tank!!!!1!
Posted by: Mama AJ at May 28, 2011 02:58 PM (XdlcF)
Posted by: Junior Field Historian ACE of the USTA at May 28, 2011 03:00 PM (nj1bB)
I will now mime a performance artiste trapped in a glass box jumping a shark.
Posted by: anna wankinova, performance artiste at May 28, 2011 03:02 PM (wPxqH)
Posted by: a performance artiste trapped in a glass box jumping a shark at May 28, 2011 03:02 PM (wPxqH)
I'm thinking that ace's not-time machine is like the build-from-scraps-in-a-storage-locker machine in "Primer" (which is a cool little film, by the way).
Either that or it looks like Calvin's cardboard box.
Posted by: IllTemperedCur at May 28, 2011 06:52 PM (9Lm5R
I bet its bigger on the inside too.
Posted by: buzzion at May 28, 2011 03:03 PM (oVQFe)
Posted by: IllTemperedCur at May 28, 2011 03:04 PM (9Lm5R)
Posted by: ace at May 28, 2011 03:06 PM (nj1bB)
How is it possible that you didn't know that?
Posted by: Clueless at May 28, 2011 03:07 PM (piMMO)
THANK YOU. I could not remember the name of that and it's been bugging the heck out of me.
Posted by: alexthechick at May 28, 2011 03:07 PM (sf+iw)
Realizing I just spent three hours of a Saturday doing this.
Posted by: ace at May 28, 2011 07:06 PM (nj1bB)
But you PWNed the shit out of him.
Posted by: buzzion at May 28, 2011 03:08 PM (oVQFe)
Posted by: Mama AJ at May 28, 2011 03:08 PM (XdlcF)
Posted by: Soona at May 28, 2011 03:09 PM (FIdPG)
Posted by: Soona at May 28, 2011 03:11 PM (FIdPG)
Posted by: ace at May 28, 2011 03:12 PM (nj1bB)
Posted by: kurtilator at May 28, 2011 03:13 PM (juh4Z)
Posted by: wankette at May 28, 2011 03:13 PM (CrYip)
His mothership hasn't returned to pick up their observer by then? He must have been pissed.
Posted by: toby928™ at May 28, 2011 03:13 PM (GTbGH)
Posted by: leftover soothsayers at May 28, 2011 03:14 PM (L0wbB)
How is it possible that you didn't know that?
Didn't see it. Vaguely remember the coffee is for closers line being quoted, but not what it was from.
And yeh, I looked it up but I figured I wasn't the only one who didn't know.
Posted by: Mama AJ at May 28, 2011 03:14 PM (XdlcF)
Posted by: ace at May 28, 2011 03:15 PM (nj1bB)
Posted by: Miss'80sBaby at May 28, 2011 03:15 PM (CLYmB)
Posted by: leftover soothsayers at May 28, 2011 03:16 PM (L0wbB)
Posted by: ace at May 28, 2011 03:18 PM (nj1bB)
back in, oh, let's say early 2004"
I have to assume this explains why AoSHQ is still running MovableType 2.6.
Posted by: thrillamintue at May 28, 2011 03:19 PM (mIucK)
Posted by: ace at May 28, 2011 03:19 PM (nj1bB)
Posted by: leftover soothsayers at May 28, 2011 03:19 PM (DTy7x)
I watched it. Once. Right after it came out in theaters and it was painful. Great.... actually, stupendous acting, it was just so brutal.
Posted by: Clueless at May 28, 2011 03:20 PM (piMMO)
Posted by: toby928™ at May 28, 2011 03:20 PM (GTbGH)
252 Yesterday I tried to PWN docweasel. She came in and made fun of me for writing fan fic about Serenity. I played along, and said maybe I'd like her to look at my fan fic and give me some pointers.
But then she disappeared.
I'm trying to figure out whether you unbanned it or if its just so obsessed with you that its been coming back everday to see if they could post again. I mean did you read their stalkerish post about you?
Posted by: buzzion at May 28, 2011 03:22 PM (oVQFe)
Posted by: toby928™ at May 28, 2011 03:22 PM (GTbGH)
Winslow Boy is amazing. I've seen it a couple of times because it's one of those films you have to see a couple of times.
So glad we have a supercool one on our side now
#TeamMamet (couldn't resist)
Posted by: nora at May 28, 2011 03:22 PM (VxqUc)
Yeah, Alec Baldwin is on the list of guys I wish we had. Hate to admit.
We won't be getting him.
Posted by: ace at May 28, 2011 06:05 PM (nj1bB)
Eh, we got one Baldwin brother now. Maybe Stephen is working on him behind the scenes.
Posted by: Book Geek at May 28, 2011 03:22 PM (1+OO5)
Posted by: leftover soothsayers at May 28, 2011 03:23 PM (L0wbB)
What are you doing here, leftover soothsayers? I killed your grandfather just yesterday!
Posted by: andycanuck at May 28, 2011 03:24 PM (wPxqH)
Halloooo. For anyone who was down with the veggie/garden/fruit topic in the earlier open thread (I think), I just posted the most scintillating 37 seconds of cinema ever recorded (it's a vid of a basket) and posted it on FB. I assume the (recently all sorts of active) AoS FB page is accessible to at least some of you.
I have crap luck posting any kind of link here, so the FB option is my fallback.
Posted by: Lincolntf at May 28, 2011 03:25 PM (Z05lF)
Posted by: leftover soothsayers at May 28, 2011 03:26 PM (DTy7x)
Posted by: Miss'80sBaby at May 28, 2011 06:52 PM (CLYmB)
Agreed. Even though I'm a Hugh Laurie fan, that show just needs to end already.
Posted by: Book Geek at May 28, 2011 03:26 PM (1+OO5)
Posted by: Kasper "Banned-From-Hot-Air" Hauser at May 28, 2011 03:27 PM (v0pFT)
Posted by: leftover soothsayers at May 28, 2011 03:27 PM (L0wbB)
Posted by: Dr Spank at May 28, 2011 03:27 PM (1fB+3)
Posted by: ace at May 28, 2011 03:28 PM (nj1bB)
It gets my vote for the most disappointing movie with the most kick ass trailer.
Posted by: toby928™ at May 28, 2011 03:28 PM (GTbGH)
Posted by: buzzion at May 28, 2011 03:30 PM (oVQFe)
Posted by: rdbrewer at May 28, 2011 03:32 PM (aSGPn)
Posted by: Clueless at May 28, 2011 06:15 PM (piMMO)
Heh, that movie was rated R because they used the word 'slut'...once.
No. There were a few boobie shots. That, and a cameo of Rikki Lake.
Posted by: Lady in Black at May 28, 2011 03:33 PM (WkUiP)
The Millenium Trailer Actually not as kick ass as I remember it but way better than the movie itself.
Posted by: toby928™ at May 28, 2011 03:33 PM (GTbGH)
Did I mention that my video contains footage of a one-of-a-kind mutant peach? I call him "Peachy". He likes that.
Posted by: Lincolntf at May 28, 2011 03:33 PM (Z05lF)
Posted by: Joanie (Oven Gloves) at May 28, 2011 03:34 PM (y/+eD)
Agreed. Even though I'm a Hugh Laurie fan, that show just needs to end already.
Posted by: Book Geek at May 28, 2011 07:26 PM (1+OO5)
They could probably make a seamless transition to a comedy/horror series where House starts robbing graves and then begins to re-animate the dead. All within the rules and regulations of Obamacare.
Posted by: Soona at May 28, 2011 03:35 PM (FIdPG)
Posted by: FUBAR at May 28, 2011 03:36 PM (1fanL)
Posted by: buzzion at May 28, 2011 03:36 PM (oVQFe)
My bad memory then. I was going by the trailers on the DVD. They had a G trailer with the 'slut' dubbed over and a R trailer with the 'slut' left in.
Posted by: ranger117 at May 28, 2011 03:37 PM (WGIhM)
Joanie, crap. You're right. I just went through the whole process (even saw it on my page) but it didn't share. I'm on it.
Kitty pix are always available!
Posted by: Lincolntf at May 28, 2011 03:38 PM (Z05lF)
Posted by: FUBAR at May 28, 2011 07:36 PM (1fanL)
You're maybe thinking of Rickey Jay
Posted by: De' Debil Hisself at May 28, 2011 03:40 PM (H+LJc)
Posted by: leftover soothsayers at May 28, 2011 03:41 PM (DTy7x)
Posted by: ed harris at May 28, 2011 03:42 PM (DZboX)
We should all be FUBAR this time.
Posted by: toby928™ at May 28, 2011 07:39 PM (GTbGH)
One of my favorite threads on AoSHQ was when Someguy was trolling.
Posted by: Soona at May 28, 2011 03:42 PM (FIdPG)
Posted by: irongrampa at May 28, 2011 03:42 PM (ud5dN)
You're maybe thinking of Rickey Jay
Posted by: De' Debil Hisself at May 28, 2011 07:40 PM (H+LJc)
Alan Meltzer. Meltzer, Mamet, whatever. Don't piss him off or he'll drop you in the Sarlaac pit.
Posted by: FUBAR at May 28, 2011 03:43 PM (1fanL)
Posted by: leftover soothsayers at May 28, 2011 07:41 PM (DTy7x)
Yeah, I take it back. You aren't a concern troll, you're a weepy woman.
Posted by: FUBAR at May 28, 2011 03:44 PM (1fanL)
I love when shit like that happens.
Posted by: Mister Christopher at May 28, 2011 03:44 PM (/BUPU)
Hey Joanie, if you have a sec would you give it another look-see. I think it's up now (that's what she...).
(Not sure if you'll hear my dulcet tones or not, audio usually auto-mutes and I don't think I unchecked the box.)
Posted by: Lincolntf at May 28, 2011 03:46 PM (Z05lF)
I have a copy of The Winslow Boy on VHS. Still factory sealed and everything.
I love when shit like that happens.
You'll be back in ten minutes to tell us you forgot you threw out your VCR. I love when shit like that happens.
Posted by: leftover soothsayers at May 28, 2011 03:46 PM (L0wbB)
Posted by: ace at May 28, 2011 03:46 PM (nj1bB)
Um, you won't find any more rabid fans of martial arts flicks than black males, last i checked they're not exactly in the right wing nut job camp, so how does this genius explain them?
Posted by: booger at May 28, 2011 03:47 PM (9RFH1)
Posted by: Joanie (Oven Gloves) at May 28, 2011 03:48 PM (y/+eD)
Posted by: ace at May 28, 2011 03:50 PM (nj1bB)
Posted by: ace at May 28, 2011 03:51 PM (nj1bB)
Posted by: ace at May 28, 2011 03:51 PM (nj1bB)
Tonight I'm watching TRACKER with Ray Winstone. It's set post-Boer War.
It has generally good reviews, kinda mixed. But I think it has potential to be semi-epic.
Posted by: leftover soothsayers at May 28, 2011 03:52 PM (L0wbB)
Posted by: USS Diversity at May 28, 2011 03:53 PM (RPYjQ)
Posted by: ManeiNeko at May 28, 2011 03:54 PM (TiE76)
Posted by: Lincolntf at May 28, 2011 03:55 PM (Z05lF)
Posted by: lael at May 28, 2011 03:56 PM (9fJ3H)
Posted by: Joanie (Oven Gloves) at May 28, 2011 03:57 PM (y/+eD)
Posted by: Joanie (Oven Gloves) at May 28, 2011 03:59 PM (y/+eD)
Twelve minutes later, I found my VCR. But I can't find the RCA cables so I can can enjoy this shit in high-fucking-FI.
leftover soothsayers jinxed me.
Posted by: Mister Christopher at May 28, 2011 04:01 PM (/BUPU)
I never heard of those movies, Joanie.
You're making shit up again.
What did I say about you making shit up, Joanie? Hmmm? What did I say?
Posted by: leftover soothsayers at May 28, 2011 04:01 PM (L0wbB)
Thanks Joanie.
It actually works for me now. Kitty vids are upcoming (but I'll have to space them out, man-card and all...).
Posted by: Lincolntf at May 28, 2011 04:03 PM (Z05lF)
In other words, yeah, I believe the Sandra Bernhardt thing in the sidebar.
Posted by: Anachronda at May 28, 2011 04:03 PM (6fER6)
Posted by: andycanuck at May 28, 2011 04:04 PM (wPxqH)
I thought that even commies had given up on that as being completely retarded.
Perhaps 'Ed Harris' (DZboX) can explain it.
Posted by: I fight EVERYTHING with fire at May 28, 2011 04:04 PM (oxlUW)
Posted by: Joanie (Oven Gloves) at May 28, 2011 04:08 PM (y/+eD)
Posted by: Joanie (Oven Gloves) at May 28, 2011 04:09 PM (y/+eD)
Posted by: IllTemperedCur at May 28, 2011 04:12 PM (9Lm5R)
Posted by: HeatherRadish drinking heavily at May 28, 2011 04:12 PM (/hy2+)
Posted by: leftover soothsayers at May 28, 2011 04:13 PM (L0wbB)
Nah, it had a pointless romance injected for Bogey & Bacall, just was wasted feet on the reel.
Posted by: Christopher Taylor at May 28, 2011 04:35 PM (r4wIV)
Not nearly enough profanity. Add in an F-bomb twice or so a line.
Posted by: Christopher Taylor at May 28, 2011 04:36 PM (r4wIV)
Posted by: ace at May 28, 2011 04:41 PM (nj1bB)
Posted by: ace at May 28, 2011 04:42 PM (nj1bB)
Also, I'm not ready to write Alec Baldwin off as a lost cause. The fact is he's a practicing Catholic, and the natural political inclination for a practicing Catholic is conservative. I know there a lot of liberal clergy (boy, do I know!), but it always seems off. It's very hard to square that circle.
Give Baldwin enough time with the Church, and even he might come to his senses. Just don't bring up Nancy Pelosi or the Kennedys as counter examples.
Just don't.
Posted by: Kensington at May 28, 2011 06:37 PM (uaEZS)
The problems with The Untouchables probably had more to do with Brian DePalma than with Mamet's script - I mean, a baby carriage rolling down a staircase? In so-mo? Shades of Sergei Eisenstein! And Kevin Costner as Elliott Ness? Puh-leeze!
The Verdict lost me when its big plot twist turned on the plaintiff's lawyer rejecting a settlement against his client's expressed wish. That just doesn't happen. For a story to work, the plot has to be at least halfway believable; but a courtroom drama that hinges on an action that would get the lawyer disbarred simply fails the test of plausibility.
I know, I know, Mamet is a genius; he has to be, since his characters all say "fuck" a lot. But frankly, I wish the liberals had kept him.
Posted by: Brown Line at May 28, 2011 06:55 PM (/7AMi)
Posted by: cleaningmygun at May 28, 2011 08:11 PM (zt3lR)
I'm glad someone else has mentioned "The Unit", it's a great show, but one I only watched intermittenly. That is one you could buy for me for Christmas.
As I say, I didn't watch it all in order but there did come a time in that show when the Unit itself was being undermined and Rebecca Pigeon was the underminer. Well, then I could really see what a great, great actress she really is.
I was watching that show, and Pigeon was really the evil woman, lying, deceiving, duplicitous, just awful, horrible, and I could not take my eyes off of her.
Great, just great.
Everyone should buy those DVDs and watch that show, it is just excellent all around.
Posted by: jocon307 at May 29, 2011 01:30 AM (aSjX3)
We won't be getting him.
Ace, never say die. Unless Alec dies early we (and he) still have some time for a Road to Damascus.
Posted by: Decaf at May 29, 2011 05:17 AM (XUoX3)
#143 And there is no time machine. It is a time-locked matter-displacement temporal-swapping device. There is no "machine" so there are no passengers.
Of course there are no machines, it's 'anomalies' a la Primeval. And then you just ride the thing wherever it takes you, usually into the Jurassic period where all the dinosaurs follow you back.
Yes, I know this thread is long dead and buried but at least I am not likely to get any arguments.
Posted by: Decaf at May 29, 2011 05:49 AM (XUoX3)
Posted by: The Chap etc at May 29, 2011 08:23 AM (k306a)
There's a long road between attraction and full blown romance which is where the movie went, adding in awkward dialog.
Posted by: Christopher Taylor at May 29, 2011 09:10 AM (r4wIV)
Posted by: ace at May 29, 2011 09:17 AM (nj1bB)
Posted by: Ahnolt Shwahtseneighbor at May 29, 2011 03:34 PM (rdkmG)
Posted by: corsets at May 30, 2011 06:00 AM (/0AJa)
it just occured to me that carly simon may be the non-working co-efficient to 7 degrees of separation - Kevin Bacon.
if we can get her to Kevin Bacon, I can nicely tie this back into Mamet.
But I need your help.
Gotcha covered:
Carly Simon and Sidney Pollack in a movie called Dream Jets.
Pollack in a movie called Tootsie with Bill Murray.
Murray in Tootsie, also in Mad Dog and Glory with DeNiro.
DeNiro in Sleepers, with Kevin Bacon.
Ta DAAAH.
Posted by: Chariots of Toast at June 10, 2011 10:09 AM (XyjRQ)
Posted by: Philadelphia Phillies Jersey at July 09, 2011 09:59 PM (dwhLX)
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Posted by: Leo Ladenson at May 28, 2011 10:23 AM (mAm+G)