Reply With QuoteUm... sorry to interrupt the cacophony, is movie good Tom? Trailer looks very good.
I think it's only opened to a very limited release, so most of you probably won't be able to play, but I'll go ahead and start us out:
"I have seven of them..."
-Tom
Um... sorry to interrupt the cacophony, is movie good Tom? Trailer looks very good.
Yes, movie good. Very. Only playing in two theatres in LA now. Movie in more theatres next week.is movie good Tom?
What does the trailer show, BTW?
-Tom
Probably too much, they tend to do that.
Um... Sandler is sweet yet insecure. Asks his dentist for medical advice. Has several sisters who harass him. Meets phone sex operator who starts harassing him. Meets yummy Emily Watson. Romance in the key of quirk. Slimy but brilliant PSHoffman antagonizes. Triumph of the little Sandler? Oh, Guizman is briefly shown, yet I'm willing to bet he's great in the picture. Plays a friend to our hero?
It's online.
And yes, soon as it hits Milwaukee, I'm there.
Warning: spoilers! Don't read this if you haven't seen the fucking trailer!
I mean it, dammit! Go read a thread about anime or something.
Okay, no spoilers there...Um... Sandler is sweet yet insecure.
Ouch. Great scene spoiled.Asks his dentist for medical advice.
Ouch. One of my favorite lines in the movie is now fucked up.Has several sisters who harass him.
Ouch. Great unforeseen development spoiled.Meets phone sex operator who starts harassing him.
No great spoiler there.Meets yummy Emily Watson. Romance in the key of quirk.
I loved not even knowing he was in it. There's a cool reveal with him.Slimy but brilliant PSHoffman antagonizes.
Okay, no great spoilers there.Triumph of the little Sandler? Oh, Guizman is briefly shown, yet I'm willing to bet he's great in the picture. Plays a friend to our hero?
Overall, though, I would be pretty annoyed at having seen the trailer. One great joke, one plot twist, and one great reveal are completely fucked up for you. But, yes, see it. Easily the best thing I've seen since The Royal Tenenbaums.
It's a brilliant piece of moviemaking, an amazing script, and a stellar Adam Sandler performance. And I know that last one sounds particularly farfetched.
-Tom
Geez, Tom, next thing you'll be telling us is that if Chris Farley was still alive he would've morphed into the greatest actor since Marlon Brando. Are you sure there's not subliminal messages reading: "No, please, take us seriously. Adam can act. Damnit, stop laughing. Come on, give him a chance. Come on! Okay, Water Boy was pretty funny... hey! No! Really! Look! He's acting right now! HELLO! He's acting! A-c-t-i-n-g! P.T. Anderson says he can act! Look! P.T. Anderson knows all! He's the guy who showed that Tom Cruise can act!... Sometimes!... While playing a sex-crazed motivational speaker!... In one role in his life!... Oh, fuck, I'm done trying."
I'm convinced you're not the real Tom Chick. Unless, of course, you are The Real Tom Chick (tm) and Adam Sandler -can- actually act in this movie... oh god, another sign of the apocalypse. Forget snipers and suicide bombers, the worst SNL actor of all time actually... making... good movies? Run for your lives!
:)
Oh, no.Easily the best thing I've seen since The Royal Tenenbaums.
I know the Adam Sandler angle sounds weird. Believe me, I was pretty dismayed when I heard that PT Anderson was doing "an Adam Sandler movie".
I don't really know how to make sense of it other than to say I remember when Adam Sandler was on Saturday Night Live and you could see glimpses of this sort of boyish honesty in what he was doing. Anderson keeps the focus on that in Punch-Drunk Love and it works.
I read a review of Mr. Deeds in which the reviewer said every role Sandler does seems like he just rolled out of his trailer onto the set without even changing clothes. But that's definitely not what's going on in Punch-Drunk Love. There's a very moving performance here. It has range and it's done with almost no affectation. Really.
And, BTW, Met_K, don't go dissing Chris Farley. I really liked that guy, even though he was in some crappy movies. I guess I also better go on record as liking Will Farrell.
I can safely say, however, that I'm not particularly into Tim Meadows, Chris Kattan, or Molly Shannon. Or Mike Meyers, come to think of it.
-Tom
Joe Morgenstern, the WSJ movie guy who normally can't stand being in the same theater as a Sandler movie, actually liked the show. Even called Sandler "amazing, and used amazingly well" by P.T. Anderson.
I haven't even heard of the movie before Friday, any idea when it's going nationwide?
Ditto.Originally Posted by wumpus
-DavidCPA
It opens "wider" this Friday, the 18th, but I don't know how much wider. Since it's essentially a romantic comedy instead of an art house movie, it'll probably be a nation-wide release.I haven't even heard of the movie before Friday, any idea when it's going nationwide?
-Tom
Adam Sandler and Emily (could get an academy award nomination for a playing an emotionally damaged woman in a car commercial) Watson side by side in a movie? My brain is going to implode.
Finally saw it tonight. Really, really liked it. It does a great job of creating a world and staying in it.
Not a spoiler but a spoiler......................
I liked the no titles in the begining, it made the movie feel unbalanced right off, I kept waiting for them to break in then when I got caught up in the movie, i forgot about it.
Am I the only one who didn't believe Emily Watson would fall in love with a guy like Barry Egan? I don't claim to know much about women, but I thought they would generally be wary of a guy who oscillates between sheepishness and uncontrollable violence, buys enormous amounts of pudding, and wears the same suit every single day. I just didn't believe that the character would fall in love with him. The only explanation she gave was that she saw a picture of him at his sister's house and she found him adorable. I wonder if should found his inability to make a "Healthy Choice" adorable.
I just couldn't get into this film the way most people here could. I'll probably get a good roasting for this, but I think Hard Eight was much, much better than Magnolia, better than PDL, and just as good as Boogie Nights.
Oh, and here's another reason why I'm still unsure about PTA:
"When I watched it (Putney Swope), it was the first time I realized that you could be really punk rock in a movie. You could do just anything: it didn't necessarily have to make sense." - Paul Thomas Anderson
I've actually heard this criticism quite a bit. Not only did it not bother me, but it didn't even occur to me when I was watching the movie.Am I the only one who didn't believe Emily Watson would fall in love with a guy like Barry Egan?
I guess my response would be two things, both of which might be considered cop-outs, but:
1) Why does anyone fall in love with anyone else? It's just not something that can be explained or quantified. There was so much chemistry between them that I wasn't bothered that she was grounded, successful, and confident while he was neurotic, withdrawn, and emotionally barren.
2) The movie is about Barry Egan. With the exception of a few asides in Utah, the movie only knows what he knows, is only present where he's present. When he leaves a room, we don't know what's being said or what people feel. In fact, I'd say the movie tone, from the editing all the way through the sound and lighting design, is carefully calculated to reflect his state of mind. We didn't need to understand her motivation because it wasn't her movie.
I can understand the criticism.
And while we're playing 'rank the pt anderson', here's my list, in order of preference:
Magnolia
Punch-Drunk Love
Hard Eight
Boogie Nights
And just to remind those of you playing, here's my Wes Anderson:
Royal Tenenbaums
Bottle Rocket
Rushmore
Finally, here's my Brad Anderson:
Session 9
Happy Accidents
Next Stop Wonderland
-Tom
Hmmm...love may not be explainable completely, but that's not to say it can't be explained at all. I didn't really feel her love was explained very much.
This isn't really a big issue with me, however, two women I know who have seen the film both said this was a major criticism for them. They actually liked the film less than I did and really disliked the Barry Egan character. However, both of these women rate Titanic at 5 stars, so that may be the explanation.
Small side note: I have never seen so many people walk out of a film since "Kids." I saw this film at (this is true) Downtown Disney, the happiest fucking place on earth. Most of the Saturday night patrons were expecting a different kind of Adam Sandler movie I guess. I didn't start counting until about halfway into the movie, but I would have to say at least 15 - 18 people walked out. That's not a reflection on the quality of PDL, I just found it slightly amusing. We don't have the most sophisticated cineastes here in Orlando.
Yikes. Definitely don't want to get into a discussion about Magnolia.
Just to round out the thread, here's my list of Sherwood Anderson:
Winesburg, Ohio
Dark Laughter
Poor White
Many Marriages
You cannot play rank without including the Coen brothers...and it is a much larger library. I can't recall them all but the ones that have stayed with me are:
O Brother Where Art Thou
Raising Arizona
Fargo
Barton Fink
Millers Crossing
[quote="Jim Preston"]It's easy to cheese out and say, "Oh, it's love, it's unexplainable," but she's just as weird as he is, but her weirdness is less obvious. The scene that said it all was the "violent love banter" in the bedroom in Hawaii.
I loved that scene just for how abrupt and disconcerting it was. Almost right up there with the car wreck/harmonium abandonment scene. Great bold stuff.The scene that said it all was the "violent love banter" in the bedroom in Hawaii.
Interesting that you mention the criticism being leveled by women, Jim. That's also where I've heard it.
However, as a tip to make your life easier, try to avoid women who give Titanic 5-star ratings.
-Tom
P.S. I will kick the ass of any man who didn't like Magnolia. Okay, maybe not. But I will call him names. Behind his back. When he's out of earshot.
No, no, Graller, you were supposed to rank the Magnificent Ambersons!You cannot play rank without including the Coen brothers...
The Coen brothers ranking is a good one. You can usually kick start any movie conversation by asking someone his or her favorite Coen brothers movie. Most people pick Raising Arizona. I love stumbling across the occasional Miller's Crossing traditionalist or Hudsucker Proxy freak.
Myself, I'm was a Barton Fink guy. Until I saw The Man Who Wasn't There. I know I stand almost alone on that one, but, well, someone's got to stand here.
-Tom
I have not picked up Man Who Wasn't There yet. I catch most of my movies in rental. Based on your comments I will pick it up on my next swing thru Blockbuster.
Man, I can't even imagine how they'd react to his latest, Ken Park.
Sign me up, then. I thought the opening sequence was great, and it had some great parts, but overall I was not a fan of the film.
However, I did think it was better than Punch-Drunk Love, which is the best-looking terrible movie I've ever seen. PT Anderson needs to spend some more time on his scripts, or just film opening sequences.
Both of these women are hot, so I choose not to avoid them. I'd rather hang out with hot-looking Titanic lovers than Punch Drunk Lovers that look like Tom Chick in a wig and skirt.
My eyes! The goggles, they do nothing!
I was in a staged version of an episode of Charlie's Angels, put up in the back room of a bar in Little Rock, Arkansas. It was the episode where the Angels go undercover as prisoners in a women's penitentiary. I played Bosley at the beginning and end of the show, but in the middle, I played the evil dominatrix female prison guard who hoses the Angels down with cold water, torments them during their stay, and eventually tries to track them down when they escape. I wore a wig and a dress for that role.Tom Chick in a wig and skirt.
The above is not a joke. I am not kidding, as you can see by the lack of misspellings that would indicate the post is a joke. To quote Magnolia, one of Ron Dulin's top 3 pt anderson movies, "This happens. This is something that happens."
-Tom
Another piece of the Tom Chick puzzle falls into place...
From The Onion:
And for the record, I thought Hard Eight and Boogie Nights were better than Punch-Drunk Love. And all three were better than Magnolia.Adam Sandler Fans Disappointed By Intelligent, Nuanced Performance
LOS ANGELES—Adam Sandler fans across the nation expressed deep disappointment in the new film Punch-Drunk Love, which features an intelligent, nuanced lead performance by the comedian. "He didn't even do his funny high-pitched 'retardo guy' voice," said college student Bradley Sanderson, 19, after seeing the critically lauded film Tuesday. "And what was with all that textured, multi-dimensional character-development shit?" Similarly let down was fan Bob Trotta: "I didn't pay $9 to see Adam Sandler wrestle with some psychological crisis. He could have at least put a trash-can lid on his head and gone, 'I'm Crazy Trash Head! Gimme some candy!' How hard would that have been?"
What movie are they talking about? The Wedding Singer? Seriously, Punch-Drunk Love was just Me, Myself and Irene without the funny sons."And what was with all that textured, multi-dimensional character-development shit?"
I guess I'm assuming the Wumpus role on this one. What bothered me was the two-dimensional characters, so I don't understand this Onion quote. We're supposed to feel some sort of sympathy for Egan, I guess, but he's a frightening character and I didn't see much in the way of change. And his sister - the usually-amazing Mary Jane Whatshername - was just grating. Like the soundtrack. And the whole movie. It's a shame to see Luiz Guzman wasted like that.
Spoilers.
I really, really liked the film up to, and including, the party scene. But after that, it just sort of repeated one note over and over again like a really bad Greg Ginn solo. And I found the whole phone sex scam subplot to be really distracting and unnecessary. I'm reminded of that great Pauline Kael quote about Blow-Up: "It becomes ah-sweet-mystery-of-life we-are-all-fools, which, pitched too high for human ears, might seem like great music beyond our grasp."
I think the guy is amazingly talented. Even though I didn't like Magnolia, I had to watch it twice before I made up my mind. He has an amazing talent for framing and pacing, but Punch-Drunk Love just seemed like he wrote a first draft and then filmed it, like a student film full of heavy motifs that add up to nothing.
It was beautifully photographed and edited, though.
Yeah, but as a woman, you get used to seeing ridiculous matchups in movies. It doesn't occur to most male directors that a hot young thing might not, in reality, fall instantly in love with their character, no matter how old/ugly/strange/downright obnoxious he is. It's akin to the way a guy can sit on the sofa in his XXL underwear complaining about how Catherine Zeta Jones has "let herself go" while absentmindedly scratching himself with an Extra Spicy Slim Jim.
Take any recent Woody Allen or Rob Schneider movie, for example.
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