Topic: KinkyCyborg's Random Reviews 2010

[Antares]

In every film, and yes, he does it in Valkyrie too, he flashes that Risky Business smirk that made him famous.

Whilt this won't and shouldn't change your mind, but have you considered it not being the "Risky Business smirk" but the Tom Cruise smirk...? It's what he looks like and how he smirks...

No, because he didn't do it in Taps or The Outsiders. Two films he made before Risky Business.

[Najemikon]

I've seen a couple of his American interviews, including clips from the notorious Oprah one, but whenever he's interviewed here, he comes over really well. Very generous to whoever he's with, etc. I first saw him on Parkinson, but most recently, he and Cameron Diaz were Star In A Reasonably Priced Car on Top Gear. It's a great slot, where a celeb drives a standard car round the track as quick as possible, after instruction from the Stig (tame racing driver, never seen without his helmet and never speaks!).

I can't find a clip apart from this dodgy quality one. 

[KinkyCyborg]

Posers



Title:Posers
Year: 2002
Director:
Rating: R
Length: 85 Min.
Video: Full Frame 1.33:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.1
Subtitles:

Stars:
Jessica Paré
Sarain Boylan
Stefanie von Pfetten
Emily Hampshire
Adam Beach

Plot:
In a nightclub bathroom, after a night of heavy drinking and carousing, four drunken party girls beat a woman to death. The alpha female of the group, Love (Stephanie von Pfetten), vanishes immediately afterward, leaving her three friends -- Ruth (Emily Hampshire), Vonny (Sarain Boylan) and Adria (Jessica Paré) -- with increasingly paranoid thoughts about which of them might be the next to vanish.

Extras:

My Thoughts:

Another trashy movie with piss poor acting and shoddy production.

The movie flipped from one rave to another and tried to sandwich a whodunnit in between. All the characters were so detestable that you didn't care who committed the murders and hoped the rest of them would all die too.

Adam Beach was the only name attached to this sham. He was ok, and perhaps looked to have given a better performance simply by comparison to those of his co-stars (no-stars!).

Waste of time.  

KC


Rating:

[Jimmy]

Jessica Paré was a name at some point here and she isn't that bad as an actress, don't forget she is French Canadian so she isn't a native english speaker. Try to watch Stardom her first movie that is certainly the best film directed by Denys Arcand since Le confort et l'indifférence in 1982. Of course I recommand to watch it in french, but I don't know if you speak my native tongue...

Amazon Canada had this film in french or dub in english for a low price.

[goodguy]

Jessica Paré was a name at some point here...

The name was somehow familiar to me too, but I had to look her up. Turns out she was in Leá Pool's Lost and Delirious, along with Piper Pirabo and a very young Misha Barton. Very recommended.

EDIT: She also seems to be in Season 4 of Mad Men, which I haven't seen yet.

[KinkyCyborg]

I knew she was Canadian from her IMDB bio and she is definitely a looker! In this movie she plays a chick desperate to be part of the 'in crowd' and her constant attempts to use the hip lingo that is common to those debutantesque type women was quite laughable. I'll have to see her in something more meaningful so see some potential from her.

Jimmy: I'd love to give Stardom a watch but it would have to be either dubbed in English or the subtitled version as sadly while I do live in a French-Canadian community I don't speak the language. I'd likely prefer to read the subtitles as quite often something gets lost in the translation to dubbed audio tracks.

[KinkyCyborg]

The Silence Of The Lambs



Title:The Silence Of The Lambs
Year: 1991
Director: Jonathan Demme
Rating: R
Length: 118 Min.
Video: Full Frame 1.33:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, French: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround, Spanish: Dolby Digital: Mono
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Stars:
Jodie Foster
Lawrence A. Bonney
Kasi Lemmons
Lawrence T. Wrentz
Scott Glenn

Plot:
Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins deliver sensational, Oscar®-winning* performances in this "shockingly powerful thriller" (New York). "Stunning" (Los Angeles Times) and "spellbinding" (The Hollywood Reporter), this terrifying masterpiece garnered* five Academy Awards®, including Best Picture.

A psychopath nicknamed Buffalo Bill is murdering young women across the Midwest. Believing it takes one to know one, the FBI sends Agent Clarice Starling (Foster) to interview a demented prisoner who may provide clues to the killer's actions. That prisoner is psychiatrist Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Hopkins), a brilliant, diabolical cannibal who agrees to help Starling only if she'll feed his morbid curiosity with details of her own comlicated life. As their relationship develops, Starling is forced to confront not only her own hidden demons but also an evil so powerful that she may not have the courage – or strength – to stop it!

* 1991: Director, Actor, Acress, Adapted Screenplay

Extras:
Scene Access
Feature Trailers
Closed Captioned

My Thoughts:

Seen this a few times now and even though I know how it ends it still draws me in and puts a vice grip on my attention.

Forget Jodie Foster, Scott Glenn and the rest of the cast... forget director Jonathan Demme. This is Anthony Hopkin's tour de force! Hanibal Lecter is just as real in people's minds as Ted Bundy, Jeffery Dahmer or John Wayne Gacy... for some even more so. The sequels, while not bad, did not ascend to the heights of this film nor the performance of Hopkins.

So many memorable scenes and quotes from this film. I would have never known nor cared to know what fava beans were until Lecter uttered those words with such cool, deadly glee. His facial expressions, his graceful demeanor, his hypnotic speech and piercing intellect make him one of films most unforgettable characters. The performances of Foster, Ted Levine, Glenn and others were like bright shining stars... all but obliterated by the supernova that was Anthony Hopkins.  

If you watch closely you will see the cameos of both Roger Corman and George Romero as FBI guys!  

The only blemish that I can perceive on the entire Utopian package which is Silence Of The Lambs was the acceptance speech of Jonathan Demme at the Oscars. This man went on and on for what seemed like an eternity, and yet never finished a sentence in his chaotic, mumbling speech. I'm sure many in the crowd and at home were hoping Hopkins would revert to his Hanibal persona and chew out his voice box and tongue.  

Brilliant directing effort but you soon appreciate why these masters of their craft are better left behind the camera.

KC

Rating:

[Jimmy]

Even if I like this film I can't pass over the fact that for me Anthony Hopkins isn't the Dr. Hannibal Lecktor. What can I say? I have seen Manhunter (a real gem who doesn't receive the respect it deserve to get. Personally I find it better than Silence Of The Lambs) when it was released in 86, so for me Brian Cox is the character.

[Antares]

The only blemish that I can perceive on the entire Utopian package which is Silence Of The Lambs was the acceptance speech of Jonathan Demme at the Oscars. This man went on and on for what seemed like an eternity, and yet never finished a sentence in his chaotic, mumbling speech. I'm sure many in the crowd and at home were hoping Hopkins would revert to his Hanibal persona and chew out his voice box and tongue. 

My wife and I were watching it, and I turned to her and said, "Bet they regret voting for him now". The truly sad thing for me is that Demme's films now, pretty much mirror his personality and mannerisms. Watch Rachel Getting Married and tell me if the style of the film mimics his acceptance speech in tone.

[Najemikon]

The only blemish that I can perceive on the entire Utopian package which is Silence Of The Lambs was the acceptance speech of Jonathan Demme at the Oscars. This man went on and on for what seemed like an eternity, and yet never finished a sentence in his chaotic, mumbling speech. I'm sure many in the crowd and at home were hoping Hopkins would revert to his Hanibal persona and chew out his voice box and tongue. 

My wife and I were watching it, and I turned to her and said, "Bet they regret voting for him now". The truly sad thing for me is that Demme's films now, pretty much mirror his personality and mannerisms. Watch Rachel Getting Married and tell me if the style of the film mimics his acceptance speech in tone.

Woah. Good point. As I said before, I do think RGM is brilliantly made in many respects, but I can't get past the tone of the thing. At all. And now you've said that I can't help but agree.

We could still say that maybe RGM is simply his most personal film. Lambs is so brilliant I find it intoxicating, but it is also very different.

I love Manhunter too. Much as I like Hopkins, I can't help but think the perfect Hannibal film is Brian Cox playing against Jodie Foster, directed by Demme.

Jimmy, have you seen The Escapist? It's a marvellous little film with Cox as a prisoner planning an escape. It's an unusual film, but I mention it because Cox has become a brilliant character actor, but you rarely see him lead a film in a role with any depth. To be honest, I think the independent nature of the film would appeal to you anyway.

[Jimmy]

Jimmy, have you seen The Escapist? It's a marvellous little film with Cox as a prisoner planning an escape. It's an unusual film, but I mention it because Cox has become a brilliant character actor, but you rarely see him lead a film in a role with any depth. To be honest, I think the independent nature of the film would appeal to you anyway.

Never seen it, but knowing that some of your recommandation in the past were really enjoyable for me I'll keep an eye open for this one. I can't order it since my purchases are done for this year (don't forget 90% of them are pre-order), so it will be certainly next year.

[Antares]

Woah. Good point. As I said before, I do think RGM is brilliantly made in many respects, but I can't get past the tone of the thing. At all. And now you've said that I can't help but agree.

The one scene in the film that completely blew it for me is when Rachel tells her father and the others in the room, that she is pregnant. Everyone is happy and congratulatory except Kym who throws cinema's biggest narcissistic hissy fit. And instead of Rachel telling her to go fuck herself, they all just walk away. At that point, I wanted nothing to do with the film.

[goodguy]

I have the strange urge to yet again defend RGM, but I'm just too tired.

[KinkyCyborg]

Even if I like this film I can't pass over the fact that for me Anthony Hopkins isn't the Dr. Hannibal Lecktor. What can I say? I have seen Manhunter (a real gem who doesn't receive the respect it deserve to get. Personally I find it better than Silence Of The Lambs) when it was released in 86, so for me Brian Cox is the character.

Again, guilty of not seeing the original version, although I do own it, so I can't really draw a comparison. For many, and I find myself guilty of this at times too, the first version watched is often like your 'first love' in terms of which version is preferred. Brian Cox is a great actor too so I'm even more intrigued to see Manhunter now.

As for Demme... the Oscar sweep of Silence Of The Lambs I believe went right to his head from the moment he stepped on stage to give his speech and extended for several years afterward. Receiving prestigious top accolades for a film often puts a director in a frame of mind that is not conducive to the criteria that worked for them in the films that led to their success. They immediately start thinking BIGGER and better and things start falling apart for them. M. Night Shylaman is another example of that. Yet when directors like Scorcese and Eastwood win those Oscars they manage to stay grounded, then go out and do it again.

[Kathy]

I have the strange urge to yet again defend RGM, but I'm just too tired.

I'll get your back Matthias - I too liked this movie and have trouble understanding why others don't.

Oh wait...I know...they are wrong and we are right!