h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

So, you're a fellow film nerd?

How enchanting! Another sure sign of cinematic obsession is that while you're watching the previews (trailers, in Brit), you're already guessing the ending, replacing the actors with the ones that "should" have played the roles and dissecting the film into the component films which could have influenced it....eg. this looks like "Play it Again, Sam" for the Matrix generation, but directed by Peter Greenaway, and written by Nora Ephron.

Actually, that sounds like it could be a good movie, if a little Arthouse. Does H2G2 have a cinema? Maybe I can have it shown.

Jazz

Actually, I prefer "cineaste".

I love previews as well--I get to the theater early enough to see them, and am mightily vexed when the surrounding crowd does not quiet down so I can hear them. I don't care about the commericials, though. This is the latest in corporate hegemony--Americans are now force-fed commercials in movie theaters. 0ther than TV in public schools, this is the ultimate in captive audiences.

That sounds like an awfully bizarre movie. Everything I have ever seen by Greenaway has left me scratching my head in puzzlement. Combine that with the banalities of Ephron? I can't imagine. A touching family drama about the relationship between three sisters and the husbands they skin alive for sexual pleasure with music by Hoagy Carmichael?

The only commercials that are GREAT in cinemas, are the ones that are shown in really small cinemas, for local businesses.
"Visit Tony's shoe store for family service, and great value.....on the left, two blocks down from this theatre. Ask for Tony."
They're always so cheap and shoddy, I love 'em.

There'd have to be a misanthropic violin player in that movie too, with a pet rat called Rat Tat Tat (The Rat that Saved Hollywood - with a Machine Gun)....Possibly played by De Niro......or Devito..

Actually, Greenaway's films are a little bewildering sometimes, but they always look sumptuous.
Have you seen Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon? Beautiful!
And if you have, have you seen Eat Drink Man Woman, also by Ang Lee.
That's great too, but it's a movie that makes you ravenous whilst watching, because the central character is a Chinese chef, who's having problems getting his daughters married off. So, the viewer is assailed by streams of mouthwatering Chinese food.
Worth a look! Make sure the fridge is to hand, though.

Monty Python has an entire sketch devoted to the cheesy local commericals shown before movies...one is a house of prositiution posing as a car dealership ("Drive this model today!!"). Great stuff--and the smaller the town the better.

Ang Lee is a great director. Yes I saw Crouching Tiger, but as a Jane Austen fan I'd have to say my favorite was Sense and Sensibility. The look of that movie, all blue and green, was amazingly beautiful. Speaking of food movies, other good ones are Babette's Feast, Like Water for Chocolate, and earlier this year, Chocolat. None should be viewed on an empty stomach.

mmmm, chocolate....

I haven't seen any of those, but I know them by reputation.
And Binoche est une des plus belles femmes du monde...., so I'll probably watch Chocolat soon.

Fine Python sketch, by the way.
I have to assume you've seen The Life of Brian and The Holy Grail..

You seen O Brother Where Art Thou?

Coen is spoken here, my friend. They are absolutely my all-time favorite modern film makers. Not only have I seen O Brother ("...she dun r-u-n o-f-t..."), but I also own the soundtrack. It's awesome! When I get the chance I will be buying the video. Incidentally, Fargo is one of my favorite movies.

"We're in a tight spot..."

I agree about the soundtrack.
I'd gladly be turned into into a horny toad by any sirens that sounded like Miss Krauss and co. I thought Clooney's lip-synching was amazing for his song.
And wasn't that choreographed Klan scene bizarre? It reminded me a little of the Grand Central Station dance scene in The Fisher King!

And Fargo's excellent! Even if it did get the Dakota accent ridiculed for years after.
The Big Lebowski is a great film too, with the divine Julianne Moore........(sigh)

I guess all their films are great..., and I guess I'm never gonna hook up with Ms Moore. (sniff)

Did you know the Klansmen are marching to the Flying Monkey Theme Song from the Wizard of Oz?

"All we owe, we owe her..."

Trust me, the Dakota/Minnesota accent was ridiculed long before Fargo. It just brought the peculiarities to a wider audience. I was disappointed in Lebowski. It had moments of genius (such as the dapper, yet vicious, little sheriff of Malibu) and it had moments of confusion on the part of the moviemakers and (this particular) viewer.

(waking with a start)...'My hair!'

I would probably agree that Lebowski is not quite as polished as some of their other stuff, but there's SO much crap out there, that it's hard not to over-enthuse when something engaging and stimulating appears. I didn't recognise the music in the Klan scene.
Thankyou, dear, you've just extended my appreciation of the film.
And no, that's not some kind of intellectual come-on....

Have you seen Magnolia? Twelve Monkeys? Fisher King?
And on a more UK note, have you heard of / seen a comedy series called the League of Gentlemen? It's the best comedy to come out of the UK in 10 - 15 years.

Favourite Actor? Director?

I've seen the Fisher King (thank the Lord for Terry Gilliam, that's all I have to say) but not the others. I should see 12 Monkeys given my admiration for Gilliam's work. Tom Cruise is one of those actors that irritate me. He's more of a personality than an actor. Not unlike Michael Douglas, Jack Nicholson, Keanu Reeves (okay, so no personality there), Bruce Willis, etc.

Favorite actor? Easy. Kevin Spacey. I'm going to marry this man someday. Others are Steve Buschemi (sp?), Alan Rickman, Gary Oldman, Tim Roth...as you can see I like the actors that are just a wee bit squirrely.

Director? Joel Coen. Hands down.

12 Monkeys is definitely worth a watch. Set design, plot and character development are all as original as you'd expect. If poss, see the DVD version as it has a really interesting, candid "Making of" which shows all of Gilliam's frustrations and doubts during the films production. It's called The Hamster Factor.
I agree that Cruise almost always plays a character striving against the ghost of his father (Few Good Men, Top Gun, etc, etc). Which makes me wonder about his own upbringing. And to a certain extent, this is still true in Magnolia, but he seemed to have distilled it and turns in a good performance.

Have you seen A Chorus Line with Michael Douglas? Good film, by Richard Attenborough. And I thought that The Game was quite entertaining. Agreed, though, that the majority of his work is by no means heavyweight.

With regard to your fave actors, you obviously like edgy characters, my dear.... Have you seen Swimming with Sharks, with Spacey? (Maybe a different title in the States, it's the one about the studio exec) Not as good as American Beauty, but certainly good.

As for mine, De Niro goes without saying (I watched "Heat" last night...excellent), and Nicholson is one of my favourites, even though he often plays himself. I think that's probably a guy thing, he probably appeals to would-be rebels everywhere. And, just so I don't get a superiority complex, I'm a fan of a lot of Woody Allen's earlier stuff. Play it Again, Sam.... Sleeper....Manhattan....Annie Hall, and so on. His lifestyle is nuts though.
Fave director? Probably Scorsese in his work with De Niro, although I am currently reviewing my notion that Spielberg is not an all-time great. I've yet to see A.I. but I think it may be good. You seen it?

What about Harvey Keitel in Bad Lieutenant and The Piano? Two interesting films, I thought. And I love the soundtrack to The Piano.

Oh well, enough rambling...

Wow, where to begin? While I like edgy characters on screen, in real life they lose much of their charm. My ex considered himself edgy (his personalized license plate read "unsettled", ha ha) and acted like it much of the time. He drove me nuts, hence the "ex". I don't understand Spielberg. Well, maybe I do. Greed. He creates gems like "The Color Purple" and hack jobs like "Jurassic Park" for the money. For that reason, I do not like him as a director. One can understand creative uneveness, but when it is purposefully done for filthy lucre it's a waste of talent.

Thanks for reminding me about Keitel. He's another favorite (yes, I loved The Piano), although he's gotten creepier in recent years. Case in point: "Holy Smoke". He's a cult deprogrammer hired to save Kate Winslet from a dubious swami. In the course of treatment they form a sexual relationship. He can really play a sleazeball. I agree about Allen. His earlier work is absolutely hilarious, but in recent years his films seem to be a vehicle for working out his inner demons. The women are all clingy, whiny, and neurotic. Shades of Mia?

Aye, I suppose that edgy on screen kinda glosses over all those little things that can disturb. Drinking from the milk carton, leaving the toilet seat up, etc, etc...

I'm not sure if I want to take issue with you about Jurassic Park.
It doesn't develop the chaos theory aspects as deeply as the book, sure, but then the book is sci-fi, when it comes down to it, and thus a little plot-driven anyway. It's essentially a bubblegum movie, and was never going to be a 2001.
What he DID do on that movie was make a very entertaining piece, which also pushed the technical boundaries of CGI etc, just as he'd pushed the technical boundaries 20 years earlier with Jaws.
I'd agree that it was pimped onto every lunchbox and pencil case on the planet, but it's swings and roundabouts. To get the ok from the studios for a Color Purple, you have to make a couple of Jurassic Parks. Didn't Coppola make 'Jack' with Robin Williams (much more lightweight than it thought it was)? And what is he doing attaching his name as Producer to things like "Haunted" (Poor ghost story with Aidan Quinn)?
Well, as you can see from my ranting, I am not sure yet if Spielberg is great or not, so his influence and work is kind of fresh in my mind. I have been pondering it.

Anywayyyyy, a couple more film recommendations for you :

Repo Man.....bizarre sci-fi from Alex Cox, starring Emilio Estevez.
The Jerk....Steve Martin - One of my favourite ever comedies

I just realised that our film conversation does not have the requisite refreshments. , , and are available "in the foyer now"

I'm always convinced that you'll have seen whatever I recommend anyway, as you seem to know your stuff.

, Jazz

, I just printed out the smiley list, as I'm sure you guessed, and I KNEW I'd get one of those wrong. Oh well, I brought you a anyway. Enjoy!

Hey, you think that Keitel has it written into his contract that he gets to "boff" the leading lady? The Piano, Holy Smoke.....Isn't there a love scene with Jodie Foster (or at least her sister) in Taxi Driver too?

Is boff even a word? I just made that up, I think.

Oh, I had to write one more thing. If you haven't seen an old black and white horror called The Haunting, go rent it! Now!

It's really scary. Like a horror should be, the kind you recommend that people don't watch while they're alone in the house.

Sadly, it was remade and murdered recently, starring Catherine Zeta Jones.

Yeah, it was "The Haunting of Hill House", and as always, any remakes are usually disasterous. I saw it a long time ago, some rainy Sunday afternoon on a "Horror Theater"-type program on local television. As I remember, it was pretty scary. It left the ghouls to the viewer's imagination, which is always scarier than showing the bogeyman up close and personal. For that reason, I've never been bothered by Freddy Krueger, Jason, and the like. I prefer the unknown. It lets those with an excellent imagination conjure up what frightens them the most...and causes them to wet their pants in response.

I think you're right about the "boffing clause" in Keitel's contract. It must be right under the section on the compulsory baring of the buttocks. Kate Winslet must also have a similar item--she's always displaying her breasts.

Hiya Frau G,

and Hi J Monkey, since this seems to have been a 2-way conv up till now (well, up til it ended back in Aug 2001 ).

Er, I read this after I saw it in PR (commented there) and I was wondering whether you would be interested in putting it in The h2g2 Post. Don't get too excited, I can't guarantee it, but I scout stuff for a column there. It has to be seconded and then it can go in the AGG/GAG column some week soon.

The main reason is coz I too am a long-standing (well, sitting really) Cred Watcher and I think lots of post readers would like this piece. Also, for various reasons I don't think it would make it into the edited guide without various changes, and I like it the way it is.

If you're interested, perhaps you could let me know. I propose putting it into the Alternative Writing Workshop (AWW), at Writing-Alternative. It's like PR except that it is not intended to produce edited items, just to get feedback about writing that *isn't* editable for whatever reason (humour, personal stuff, poetry, creative writing etc)

If you ask me to, I will drop it in there for you, but not without your say so.

By the way, I thoroughly enjoyed reading the discussion here. Up the Coen brothers. Have you seen Blood Simple?

Seeya
Spiff

Actually Shazz is putting it into next week's Post--you gave me that good idea in the PR forum.

And yes, I have seen Blood Simple. And loved it.

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