What is the last film you watched?

[Red 75]

Well I'm not a good source.

That's true.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

I thought Death To Smoochy was a great film.

Nuff said!

[Bryant Burnette 654]

I also like Death to Smoochy.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

don't forget Foster thats one reason why Hannibal is a piece of crap, because Foster is not there

I disagree. Foster acts very unnatural. She's got charisma, though.

bluntly, you're wrong, Jodie Foster is brilliant, she gives Hopkins the perfect counterpoint to play off of.

Silence of the Lambs is one of those perfect films that rarely comes along once in awhile.

[MrScratch 294]

Silence of the Lambs is one of those perfect films that rarely comes along once.

It's also one of those movies that has been imitated so much, you sometimes forget how great it is.

[Marian Schedenig 8,193]

Agreed. I prefer the FC main theme, but the overall score is much more exciting. Even stuff like "The Drones Attack," which as others have mentioned is JG on autopilot, is great.

It's one of my favourite Goldsmith action tracks. There's something exceptionally "constant" about it's rhythmic structure, which gives it a kind of urgent non-stop feeling.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Well I'm not a good source.

That's true.

Well aren't you so clever.

[Morlock 11]

True, Fiennes and that girl somewhat saved the movie from being a total disaster. S

Actually Red Dragon is a very good film, but Ed Norton adds nothing to it.

I agree.

don't forget Foster thats one reason why Hannibal is a piece of crap, because Foster is not there

I disagree. Foster acts very unnatural. She's got charisma, though.

bluntly, you're wrong, Jodie Foster is brilliant, she gives Hopkins the perfect counterpoint to play off of.

I agree.

I saw Full Metal Jacket again. Really, it's the only film where I get the sense of Kubrick's coldness. I really feel like he does not like anyone in the movie. Has fun watching Ermey, but nothing more. The first half is brilliant in it's single-mindedness. The second half is interesting in it's cluelessness.

Also saw Total Recall, for the first time in at least a decade. Easily my favorite Verhoven film. Idea-wise, this is a rather slim sci-fi...but I was mightily impressed by how intelligent the script was. Almost every time I questioned the movie's logical, an excellent explanation came along in no time. Very well thought out. The scene with Stone and the doctor, trying to convince Quaid that he's still dreaming is absolutely wonderful. In general, I liked this movie a great deal more than I was expecting. Arnold does seem a bit ridiculous at times....but generally, he's very good. The score magnificent, of course, but a great deal is missed by Verhoven's inexplicable dropping of most of 'The End of the Dream'.

The ending of the movie initially struck me as lacking, but thinking back, it's fine. A little more would have been pointing out the obvious, an encourage probing of the movie's ideas, which are not really existential or deep at all.

[Marian Schedenig 8,193]

I like the ending. Basically, the issue of whether the whole thing is real or just a dream is simply dropped after the doctor scene. The movie ends with everything that was offered to Doug as part of his vacation package coming true, but no definitive answer to that basic question.

The score is, simply put, the best action score there is. And the more I think about and listen to it, the more I am convinced how much better it actually is than all the other great action scores (save perhaps, for large parts, Rambo 2). It really is in a class of its own.

[Morlock 11]

I like the ending. Basically, the issue of whether the whole thing is real or just a dream is simply dropped after the doctor scene. The movie ends with everything that was offered to Doug as part of his vacation package coming true, but no definitive answer to that basic question.

Yeah, that's why I liked the ending. It would be breaking in tone to have an obvious wink that this is a dream, and unnecessary. It really doesn't make much of a difference.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

Hancock was much better than the reviews, nothing great, but a step above I am Legend.

[A24 4,333]

bluntly, you're wrong, Jodie Foster is brilliant, she gives Hopkins the perfect counterpoint to play off of.

Could've been with everyone. Hannibal is the icon here, not Clarice. Foster overplayed the part, just like she did in Contact. She needs to do less to become better. Her overacting belongs in the silent movie period.

Alex

[Bryant Burnette 654]

bluntly, you're wrong, Jodie Foster is brilliant, she gives Hopkins the perfect counterpoint to play off of.

Could've been with everyone. Hannibal is the icon here, not Clarice. Foster overplayed the part, just like she did in Contact. She needs to do less to become better. Her overacting belongs in the silent movie period.

Alex

I don't think she overplayed her role in either of those movies. Matter of fact, I don't think I've ever seen Foster overplay a role. She's pretty consistently excellent, as far as I can tell.

[A24 4,333]

Well Bryant, the fans of Christina Aquilera or Jennifer Hudson don't think their idols overdo their singing either. However, 'exessiveness' is the key to their success.

Alex

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

You yourself are capable of overdoing it Alex, which is why we love you.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

Ew... male bonding.

[A24 4,333]

You yourself are capable of overdoing it Alex, which is why we love you.

They said Jor-El was overdoing it too and now look what happened to the citizens of Crypton.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

But Marlon was earning 25.000 dollars a word by overacting and overreacting, not so for you.

[A24 4,333]

Don't overdo it, Cosman! Brando did not overplay that part.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

I disagree. Brando acts very unnatural. He's got charisma, though.

[A24 4,333]

I disagree. Brando acts very unnatural. He's got charisma, though.

He does and he didn't use any exaggerated facial expressions or tics like Jodie Foster. Brando played the part of Jor-El mainly with his voice. The stilted sadness was delivered with an almost unseen authority. You're overreacting because I hurt your feelings.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Unlike some people here, my feelings can not be hurt by some words put on an computer screen by someone I never met before.

[A24 4,333]

And to think she underplayed it.

[Marian Schedenig 8,193]

Foster was absolutely brilliant in Contact.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

You are saying Alex is wrong?

[Marian Schedenig 8,193]

Apparently.

[Morlock 11]

And to think she underplayed it.

I don't quite see how that can be described as evidence. And Foster is excellent in Silence of The Lambs. The more I see it, the more she comes into focus. Hannibal is still Hannibal. But I understand his high estimation of Clarice more and mroe with repeated viewings. Without her, the movie is nothing. Without her, Hopkins is hamming it up in a crappy movie. With her, one understands his fascination. To think the Michelle Pfeiffer was once cast.....that would have been like Red Dragon. Well made thriller with creepy villain and Hopkins hamming it up, with no core to the film.

[A24 4,333]

Without her, Hopkins is hamming it up in a crappy movie.

Yeah, Foster saved it from being a total disaster. What a bad movie. See it for Foster and for Foster alone.

[Luke Skywalker 1,795]

In the end.. people compared Superman's brando with Lamb's Foster?

Talk about wild connections

[Morlock 11]

Without her, Hopkins is hamming it up in a crappy movie.

Yeah, Foster saved it from being a total disaster. What a bad movie. See it for Foster and for Foster alone.

You are becoming less and less understandable the more time passes, Alex. Taking one disconnected part of my post that was explained elswhere in that same post doesn't forward conversation. But I guess that's not what you're really after, is it? Shame.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

bluntly, you're wrong, Jodie Foster is brilliant, she gives Hopkins the perfect counterpoint to play off of.

Could've been with everyone. Hannibal is the icon here, not Clarice. Foster overplayed the part, just like she did in Contact. She needs to do less to become better. Her overacting belongs in the silent movie period.

Alex

Hannibal isn't the icon, he's a supporting player, Jodie Foster is brilliant in Silence but you keep thinking what you think.

[A24 4,333]

Sorry, Joe, the Hannibal Lecter character is an icon in pop culture, just like Jason, Michael Myers or Freddy.

Morlock, I was being sarcastic and a little bit facetious about what you've said. I didn't disconnect anything. I only demonstrated that you always try to contradict my standpoint by saying exactly the opposite. When I say "black", you automatically say "white". You do it all the time. You just did it again. It's a transparent tactic. And now, in your blind pursuit of reversing everything, you said, "Without her, the movie is nothing. Without her, Hopkins is hamming it up in a crappy movie", meaning, that Jodie is the only good thing about it. Joe uses the same strange tactic. He just claimed that Clarice is the icon and Hannibal Lecter a just a minor figure.

Alex

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Damn, foiled by Alex's superiour reasoning!

[Luke Skywalker 1,795]

bluntly, you're wrong, Jodie Foster is brilliant, she gives Hopkins the perfect counterpoint to play off of.

Could've been with everyone. Hannibal is the icon here, not Clarice. Foster overplayed the part, just like she did in Contact. She needs to do less to become better. Her overacting belongs in the silent movie period.

Alex

Hannibal isn't the icon, he's a supporting player, Jodie Foster is brilliant in Silence but you keep thinking what you think.

But...but...Hopkins won the academy award for best actor in a leading role for that movie, didnt he?

A thing that i do not like.

Things like that set the ground for things like the 20 minutes of Santaolalla's Mountain score winning

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Yes he won the Oscar, and much deserved too, but his screen time in the film pretty much makes him a supporting character, even though Hopkins' performance casts a very large shadow over the film, into scenes were his character is not on screen.

[QMM 4]

Hancock was much better than the reviews, nothing great, but a step above I am Legend.

I liked the first half a lot more than the second half

[Morlock 11]

And now, in your blind pursuit of reversing everything, you said, "Without her, the movie is nothing. Without her, Hopkins is hamming it up in a crappy movie", meaning, that Jodie is the only good thing about it.

Once again, you are only refering to one portion of my post. By itself, it is just as ridiculous as you say. But I am very clear that Hopkins performance is great and iconic, but would not have been with a lesser actor opposite him. Because of Foster's performance, one understands the enthusiasm his character exudes. She thrills him. Without a strong Clarice, Hopkins' current performance would seem inexplicably over the top. I am not at all trying to take credit away from Hannibal, Hopkins, or Demme. I am saying that they are all able to be strong because they have such a powerful performance to play against. Clarice is the rock of the movie. With all the talk of Lecter, you'd think that the movie lags when he's off screen. It doesn't. His performance and screen time are precisely judged.

And you are selling Lecter short. He is an icon in pop-culture. But he is loved to a far greater extent than the other's you mentioned. The power of his speech makes him an indelible figure in a time of blabber-mouth, smart-assed, and sarcastic heros. It's the age old American appreciation of the mystique of The Queen's English, and Hannibal is almsot certainly the most prevalant and prominant example. Hannibal's language is as big a reason for the memorability of that film as anything else.

[Luke Skywalker 1,795]

Yes he won the Oscar, and much deserved too, but his screen time in the film pretty much makes him a supporting character

That's what i meant, he should have been nominated and awarded for supporting role.

[Henry B 50]

Eh, so they bent the rules a little. Javier Bardem, despite definitely being a lead actor in No Country for Old Men, was nominated for Best Supporting Actor so that both he and Daniel Day-Lewis could win Oscars. I'm not opposed to stuff like this happening.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Josh Brolin was the leading actor in No Country, not Bardem.

[Henry B 50]

As were Javier Bardem and Tommy Lee Jones.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

A film can have more then one lead actor Koray.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

True, but when it comes down to nominating 1 over the other, I think Brolin has more pull as lead actor. The story after all revolves around him.

[Marian Schedenig 8,193]

SOTL revolves around Lecter.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Partially.

[Morlock 11]

Saw Jean-Pierre Melville's L'Armee Des Ombres (The Army of Shadows). I had no idea the film had such a checkered history, but apparantly, it was servely criticised in France upon it's release in 1969, and didn't get a North American release until 2006. I just found a decently priced DVD of it and picked it up (my first Melville film).

The movie focuses on a few members of the French resistance in Vichy. I had a mixed reaction to it. The first few minutes of it are extremely powerful. The opening shot of the film, of the German army's march through powerful in a static shot, is an indelible image. And there are several very powerful scenes in the film. But I didn't quite get sucked into the whole mood of the film. A lot of the scenes went on for a long time, long after I felt they made their mark.

But still, so many individual scenes are amazing illustrations of the existential mood of these people. There is our protagonist's painful escape from the Gestapo, and an amazing scene in a barbershop directly afterwards, where he's trying to assess the politics of the barber. There's a chilling and emotional scene of the killing of an informer, that is as powerful a death scene as I've seen. There's a moment when a an attempt to free a prisoner fails, and you see the entire movie summed up in one gesture.....and I could go on. I may not have experienced the movie as a whole, but there are so many individual moments that I know I will remember for years to come.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

Sorry, Joe, the Hannibal Lecter character is an icon in pop culture, just like Jason, Michael Myers or Freddy.

Morlock, I was being sarcastic and a little bit facetious about what you've said. I didn't disconnect anything. I only demonstrated that you always try to contradict my standpoint by saying exactly the opposite. When I say "black", you automatically say "white". You do it all the time. You just did it again. It's a transparent tactic. And now, in your blind pursuit of reversing everything, you said, "Without her, the movie is nothing. Without her, Hopkins is hamming it up in a crappy movie", meaning, that Jodie is the only good thing about it. Joe uses the same strange tactic. He just claimed that Clarice is the icon and Hannibal Lecter a just a minor figure.

Alex

Yes Alex Hannibal is an icon now, but he wasn't at the time of the release. He wasn't an Icon from Manhunter, he certainly wouldn't be an icon from trash like Hannibal, and he wouldn't be an icon from Red Dragon. Silence of the Lambs created the firestorm that became Hannibal.

You're stupid if you think I said Clarice is the icon, where did I say that, where? The story revolves around Clarice, Hannibal

supports her character, he's the c-story.

[A24 4,333]

Well, Joe, at least you realize that Hannibal didn't become an icon because of the inferior sequels. Now make the conclusion. He became an icon because of the movie hit Silence Of The Lambs. Hopkins even received an Oscar for best actor in a leading role. Hannibal, the character, was the talk of the town and became an instant classic. It's strange to think of you that all happened "later". How conveniently ambiguous of you. It doesn't make much sense though.

Sorry, Joe, maybe you erased your post by now but you did say that Clarice is the icon and that Dr. Lecter is merely a supporting part. I don't have to check it. I know what you wrote. Clarice, an icon ... Man, it's so fatiguing to deal with your stupidities all the time.

Alex

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Sorry, Joe, maybe you erased your post by now but you did say that Clarice is the icon and that Dr. Lecter is merely a supporting part.

Actually, what Joe wrote was this:

You're stupid if you think I said Clarice is the icon, where did I say that, where? The story revolves around Clarice, Hannibal

supports her character, he's the c-story.

Both of you are actually arguing the same point!

[JoeinAR 1,949]

Well, Joe, at least you realize that Hannibal didn't become an icon because of the inferior sequels. Now make the conclusion. He became an icon because of the movie hit Silence Of The Lambs. Hopkins even received an Oscar for best actor in a leading role. Hannibal, the character, was the talk of the town and became an instant classic. It's strange to think of you that all happened "later". How conveniently ambiguous of you. It doesn't make much sense though.

Sorry, Joe, maybe you erased your post by now but you did say that Clarice is the icon and that Dr. Lecter is merely a supporting part. I don't have to check it. I know what you wrote. Clarice, an icon ... Man, it's so fatiguing to deal with your stupidities all the time.

Alex

sorry Alex, but I didn't erase any post, to say I did is a lie. I said Hannibal, no where did I even call him Dr. Lecter, and yes I said he was a supporter cast. Yes he won the Best Actor award, but his character was a supporting character, he had relatively little screen time compared to other characters. No doubt he was the most dynamic, but you try to attack me when its your unbelievable ignorance for giving Jodie Foster less than her due. You're such a strange bird, you ignore the Oscars unless it supports your point. That defines a hypocrite, which as we all know is spelled Alexcremers.