Oh I'm sorry, Did I Break Your Conversation........Well Allow Me A Movie Thread by S&T

[papi]

Guys.........I'm ashamed to admit, but I'm just now learning about this amazing specimen named Paz Vega.

Good Lord she's a 47 out of 10.

I loved her in Spanglish, she's like a variant salma hayek

 

[mronegative]

watching pineapple express on fx, not the same on tv but still awesome. james franco was perfect as saul.

Supersize it, *****.

 

[noskey]

watching pineapple express on fx, not the same on tv but still awesome. james franco was perfect as saul.

Supersize it, *****.

Man, **** Jeff Goldblum!

 

[lawdog1]

It was aca-entertaining

Plus, it's got enough hot girls in it that any dude should pretty much get a automatic pass for liking it. And Fat Amy is just plain funny.

 

[cash money 1999]

i was talking to my boy about how all the awards took a dump on the academy's by giving best picture argo

lmao , i think the academy's should go rogue and give it to django , the media would LOSE IT.....the monday

chatter would be EPIC , they did it once with best song in a movie for hustle hard when they gave it to 36 mafia lol

also anyone catch saturday night live yesterday they did a DJESUS UNCROSSED with christopher waltz lmao

 

[cash money 1999]

I quit Mad Men after season 1 episode 8, debating if I should start watching it again

it ends pretty strong , watch it

 

[mronegative]

watching pineapple express on fx, not the same on tv but still awesome. james franco was perfect as saul.

Supersize it, *****.

Man, **** Jeff Goldblum!

I felt like a wishbone.

 

[hybridsoldier23]

I quit Mad Men after season 1 episode 8, debating if I should start watching it again

How old are you?

 

[Master Zik]

The basic distinction would be that Nucky would get the label of being corrupt before the label of being a thug/gangster.

Now if yall don't think Buscemi is capable of pulling that off, I'd disagree. Maybe yall too use to his supporting and bit roles where at most he's the stranger called in to do something, or odd right hand man, loser struggling to his goal, etc. To me he's pulling this off really good given what the actual Nucky Johnson looks like. He's completely warping the character and made it in to something of his own

Wait, but all you did was describe the role, not the actor.

Well yeah, I specifically described the role because that's a role I feel Buscemi can actually portray. Which he has been doing for 3 seasons now.

Dude is a very nuanced, particular actor. Some people overdo it and think 'miscast' means 'bad.' It doesn't. Bad is if they would've casted David Caruso or something. :x But Buscemi is a character actor trying to play a straight lead role. His affect, his demeanor, his presence. He's the type of actor that builds something quietly on their own. Something strange and subtly jarring. Then slides in for a time, captures all the attention as you try and understand what it is you're looking at, then leaves. He's the perfect character actor.

If you're saying Buscemi can't be a lead actor I completely disagree. Watch Saint John of Las Vegas or Trees Lounge to see him do that.

In this role Buscemi just isn't that guy to me, though. If this was a movie, I'd think he was a really interesting and clever departure from expectations, but it isn't. It's not even TV, it's HBO. There's a history there. Not a formula, but an understanding of what it takes. He's not that type of actor. They've pushed the role some to accommodate him and a decent amount of the time it works fine. (especially the scenes with him and Ms. Schroder) But it doesn't change that fact.

Only reason I can see for you to believe this is cuz so many foolishly believed this series was going to be some sort of dual protagonist story with Jimmy as the co-lead or they wanted it to be that way and feel the show hasn't been the same since his death.

You don't need to be loud to do that. You don't need to be physically bigger than everyone else. It just has to be honest and impactful. Buscemi is so amazingly set up to do that in this show, but for me...most of the time, it doesn't rise above and lands kinda flat. And parts of the show just ring false to me, because of it. It feels more like a show just methodically going through the motions, when it talks a bigger game than we're seeing. And it's because that center...that core...that reason for being is just...not all it's built up to be. When the show plays to his strengths, it's great, but those strengths aren't what the meat of the show needs from him.

All you've really done in that whole post up until here really is simply say "that's not him" and not give a reason why, you gave a short explanation of what you think Buscemi as an actor is capable of and you gave examples of other actors who you think are in the same situation but summing up this post you're just saying he's not that guy, he can't be that guy and that's it. It's not much of an argument. If you want to see him dominate a scene he's done it plenty of times already but you already probably seen them and think he isn't the measuring stick in those scenes I guess.

If you came in to the show with the preconceived notion that Buscemi can not portray this role on a high level to other characters in HBO's history then there's really nothing Buscemi or the show can do to change that for you now is there? If you're already prejudging Buscemi as an actor once his name is mentioned there's nothing to do here.

And before you get on him being casted, because he looks like Nucky, didn't someone post that the real Nucky was over 6'+ and 220+?

You're misremembering things. Scorcesse, Winter and the other guys chose him for a specific reason. Nobody ever said Buscemi looks like the real Nucky cuz he doesn't. The real Nucky is 6" + and over 200 lbs. Gandolfini was originally going to be casted as Nucky but they changed their minds later and went in a different direction.

And how in the hell did he win an Emmy up against Heisenberg? or am I just misremembering things.

Yeah, in 2010 he beat out Dexter, Walt, Don, and House for best actor. He deserved it. The Globes have a pattern of making up for mistakes and giving the award to an actor the next year after they just had their best year on the show. Cranston should've gotten it either in 2011, 2012, or 2009. IMO he got robbed in 20111 when Kelsey Grammer got his.

I quit Mad Men after season 1 episode 8, debating if I should start watching it again

How old are you?

I mean if you were expecting a different kind of show that was more story than character driven I can see why you didn't keep up with it and S1 isn't their absolute best so I can't really say if you should keep up with it.

It's not for everybody.

 

[Nawzlew]

The Djesus sketch was good

I was laughing but I really want to see that movie. Just needs a better budget. Different title like that one I saw in General; Fist of Jesus.

"Less violent than Passion of the Christ"

Rewatched the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo trilogy. Can never get old.

It's a trilogy? Damn when did I miss the other 2 movies?

Not the American version, the Swedish one. All three are on Netflix.

 

[hybridsoldier23]

I quit Mad Men after season 1 episode 8, debating if I should start watching it again

How old are you?

I mean if you were expecting a different kind of show that was more story than character driven I can see why you didn't keep up with it and S1 isn't their absolute best so I can't really say if you should keep up with it.

It's not for everybody.

That's what I was getting at. I don't think you can really grasp the deeper meanings of the show if you're under 25 ::shrug::

Even then I think I'll probably feel different about it if I watch it again when I'm like 35 and married.

 

[Deleted member 38182]

The basic distinction would be that Nucky would get the label of being corrupt before the label of being a thug/gangster.

Now if yall don't think Buscemi is capable of pulling that off, I'd disagree. Maybe yall too use to his supporting and bit roles where at most he's the stranger called in to do something, or odd right hand man, loser struggling to his goal, etc. To me he's pulling this off really good given what the actual Nucky Johnson looks like. He's completely warping the character and made it in to something of his own

Wait, but all you did was describe the role, not the actor.

I mean first off...whoever says he's doing a bad job is ridiculous.

Dude is a very nuanced, particular actor. Some people overdo it and think 'miscast' means 'bad.' It doesn't. Bad is if they would've casted David Caruso or something.

But Buscemi is a character actor trying to play a straight lead role. His affect, his demeanor, his presence. He's the type of actor that builds something quietly on their own. Something strange and subtly jarring. Then slides in for a time, captures all the attention as you try and understand what it is you're looking at, then leaves. He's the perfect character actor.

In this role Buscemi just isn't that guy to me, though. If this was a movie, I'd think he was a really interesting and clever departure from expectations, but it isn't. It's not even TV, it's HBO. There's a history there. Not a formula, but an understanding of what it takes. He's not that type of actor. They've pushed the role some to accommodate him and a decent amount of the time it works fine. (especially the scenes with him and Ms. Schroder) But it doesn't change that fact.

I mean obviously with the writers have looked at what they've got and over time tried to tailor their writing and characters to what they're actors are doing, but you can see it from the beginning with Nucky. They keep asking Buscemi to be something he's not. There'll be scenes of tension, scenes of power, where real presence is needed. They'll set him up to leave a stamp on the episode on all the other characters. They'll ask for bravado and intimidation...power...they'll ask him to rip all of the air out of the room, and more times than not, for me, it'll just be alright. It'll just be actors acting out their roles. You'll watch everyone around act as if they've been floored or that he's risen to the occasion and stolen the moment perfectly, but you know he didn't. That's when you wonder what someone different could've done in the role. It's when you realize that he's not necessarily the end all be all of the show, because of that.

HBO's got a long history of these kind of anti-heroes, and Buscemi doesn't elevate Nucky to that level to me. This show tries to build him up like a Tony Soprano or Al Swearengen. You can even look to the HBO-esque shows with Walter White and Don Draper and Vic Mackey and Dexter. But he's not that. He is not. And he's done a good job, but he's playing this left handed. And before you call that a "type," look at the roles those actors played before and since. When have they been leading men again after that?

I remember an interview with Tom Hiddleston where talked about how he had tried out for the role of Thor and just lost out to Chris Hemsworth. But they liked him so much that they gave him the role of Loki. I can imagine that he would've bulked up and dyed his hair if he woulda gotten the role. But think about that. Now I think Tom Hiddleston's a better actor than Chris Hemsworth. Loki's more nuanced and layered. It's a more interesting acting performance. But I get it. You could put Hiddleston in the Thor role all you want, but he doesn't have that quality. And it's not a looks thing, plenty of wooden actors try and fail to get over with that. But Hemsworth has a leading man quality that Hiddleston doesn't and it makes the role. It's magnetic. It's a certain presence. Of course Steve Buscemi can play the role of Nucky, but there's a quality that he as an actor just doesn't have. He brings a higher level of acting to TV than most actors can, but in this role..

And, for me, since he can't be that, this has emotionally turned into an ensemble show in response. Sopranos, Deadwood, The Shield, Big Love...all those shows have a lot of characters, but at their heart, they begin and end with one person. But when you can't exactly rely on your marquee actor to hold the dramatic weight of the narrative, it pushes it in that direction. That's why the strongest the show has been, for me, is when it devotes equal parts to other people. Whether that's Chalky or Darmody or Michael Shannon. It's why so many of the show's fans were lowkey hoping that Michael Pitt would take over. This is a show that could've honestly killed off Nucky in say the third season and had Darmody take his place and people would've accepted that after a few episodes.

I'm not saying he isn't up to doing this role. He is. It's just he has a different set of things he brings to his roles. And this is a longform HBO series. It's not just asking that he be good and believable and nuanced. It's asking that he be the best and strongest actor on the show most of the time, and for him to dominate a scene on command. He's supposed to be the measuring stick. He's the proof for when a new big bad shows up, that that guy is about it.

You don't need to be loud to do that. You don't need to be physically bigger than everyone else. It just has to be honest and impactful. Buscemi is so amazingly set up to do that in this show, but for me...most of the time, it doesn't rise above and lands kinda flat. And parts of the show just ring false to me, because of it. It feels more like a show just methodically going through the motions, when it talks a bigger game than we're seeing. And it's because that center...that core...that reason for being is just...not all it's built up to be. When the show plays to his strengths, it's great, but those strengths aren't what the meat of the show needs from him.

And before you get on him being casted, because he looks like Nucky, didn't someone post that the real Nucky was over 6'+ and 220+?

And how in the hell did he win an Emmy up against Heisenberg? or am I just misremembering things.

I'm still working on season 1...... so I just glanced thru your post to avoid spoilers.

But I agree with most of this. Buscemi IMO is a real life character..... kinda like Seth Rogen, Ashton Koocher, even Dwayne Johnson.... so thats definitely not a knock necessarily on Buscemi.

Having said that, Buscemi just doesn't fit quite into filling this role. 

 

[cash money 1999]

boardwalk had potential , but its just cant keep up to the shows on the other neworks

once the goodfellas inspired series comes out on AMC i honestly thinks its gonna be over

for magic city and boardwalk , magic city was an even crazier let down

 

[mronegative]

If you're saying Buscemi can't be a lead actor I completely disagree.

Man, first thing I said was 'in a series as a straight lead.' Not a movie. He can be a lead in a movie for sure, but an HBO series like this is something completely different.

Only reason I can see for you to believe this is cuz so many foolishly believed this series was going to be some sort of dual protagonist story with Jimmy as the co-lead or they wanted it to be that way and feel the show hasn't been the same since his death.

Why is that foolish? If so many people feel that way, isn't it just one way to take the show?

All you've really done in that whole post up until here really is simply say "that's not him" and not give a reason why, you gave a short explanation of what you think Buscemi as an actor is capable of and you gave examples of other actors who you think are in the same situation but summing up this post you're just saying he's not that guy, he can't be that guy and that's it. It's not much of an argument. If you want to see him dominate a scene he's done it plenty of times already but you already probably seen them and think he isn't the measuring stick in those scenes I guess.

If you came in to the show with the preconceived notion that Buscemi can not portray this role on a high level to other characters in HBO's history then there's really nothing Buscemi or the show can do to change that for you now is there? If you're already prejudging Buscemi as an actor once his name is mentioned there's nothing to do here.

Some scenes beg for him to be Heisenberg or Tony Soprano or hell, even Coach Taylor or Bill from Big Love. He puts his own signature on them, but you can only finesse it for so long. I mean when his lowly brother comes off with more machismo than him. When only the plot and how clever they decide he is keeps him as the topdog...

I didn't come into this with any expectations, except that Scorcese was making it and the trailer looked awesome. Every show like this seems to find a character actor and pull out something we haven't seen before from them. I looked at it the same way I did when I heard the Malcolm in the Middle guy was doing a drama. But this role (maybe because it's a real person) just asked him to be something be a lot of things, one of which he really, really isn't. He can do a lot of things, but at times this asks him to play it straight with his chest puffed out. And he can't finesse it or get by on his affect. It's not enough to just put his serious face on.

The difference is, there are big, important scenes when he needs to flex his muscle, lower his voice, and be the leader of men and you can hear the dissonance. His ace is that the dialogue is very, very good on Boardwalk, but those moments when it's not enough are when you can really tell, this guy is just...naturally meek. He's naturally reserved and neurotic. You can look at it like an affect or another layer of his performance, but it makes some of his big speeches and scenes of bravado feel so out of character and contrived. How many big, important scenes just fell flat because of him?

You're misremembering things. Scorcesse, Winter and the other guys chose him for a specific reason. Nobody ever said Buscemi looks like the real Nucky cuz he doesn't. The real Nucky is 6" + and over 200 lbs.

Yea, they did. In the BE thread. Dudes were not trying to hear the few people who weren't feeling Buscemi as Nucky.

Gandolfini was originally going to be casted as Nucky but they changed their minds later and went in a different direction.

That's a shame...

I dunno, it feels like I'm dumping on Buscemi, but I think he's a great actor. Ghost World...Mr. Pink...Fargo...Lebowski...

If he would've come in like he did on The Sopranos, I think he would've been awesome. But this role...

 

[mronegative]

Okay Joaquin Phoenix was clearly robbed for a nomination. I ain't gonna talk about should win or shouldn't but nomination? Yeah. He's in it. If u disagree u haven't seen it

Just finished it. Thought you were just ODin. I was wrong.

I don't know what the hell I just watched, but I loved it.
One of the best of last year for me.

So, did anyone else see the Master?

there's a theory that the 3 main characters are the Id, ego, and superego

another theory that Amy adams is the true master of the cause

I've only felt this exact way once a movie was over once.

This is A Clockwork Orange, right?

****.

 

[duba169]

Just finished it. Thought you were just ODin. I was wrong.

I don't know what the hell I just watched, but I loved it. Top 10 of last year for me.
I've only felt this exact way once a movie was over once, and that was A Clockwork Orange.

I mean...this was our Clockwork Orange, wasn't it?

****.

I think it's more similar to our 2001. As far as the themes and uneasiness and confusion go. It isn't as perfect and planned out as 2001. It isn't as tight. At least that's what i get from the interviews. PTA was doing some things just based on instinct and phoenix has more improv than anything i can imagine in 2001. In some places it is as gorgeous though

clockwork orange didn't confuse me in the same way. I understood it completely on my first view. It isn't as subjective as either or these movies. But i did finish all 3 of these movies knowing i saw something unique

I actually see some comparisons in the mischievousness of Alexx and Freddie

top 3 for me but I gotta see lincoln and argo. but i have a feeling ill like this better even if it isn't as good. Just more the genre i drift towards

 

[mronegative]

I think it's more similar to our 2001. As far as the themes and uneasiness and confusion go. It isn't as perfect and planned out as 2001. It isn't as tight. At least that's what i get from the interviews. PTA was doing some things just based on instinct and phoenix has more improv than anything i can imagine in 2001. In some places it is as gorgeous though

clockwork orange didn't confuse me in the same way. I understood it completely on my first view. It isn't as subjective as either or these movies. But i did finish all 3 of these movies knowing i saw something unique

I actually see some comparisons in the mischievousness of Alexx and Freddie

top 3 for me but I gotta see lincoln and argo. but i have a feeling ill like this better even if it isn't as good. Just more the genre i drift towards

I can see where it'd be like 2001...with Freddie being primitive man.

I can't shake the Clockwork feeling, though. And for sure Clockwork was a clear, direct story. This movie is purposefully evasive. It's like it sacrificed all of its narrative drive for its emotional drive. We follow the emotions of story and only get the bare minimum of details to understand Freddie's processing. But to hell with the narrative...or place...or time...or circumstance.

He went the opposite way from There Will Be Blood.
He trimmed all the fat, even if it meant we wouldn't be sure what we were chewing on.

 

[cash money 1999]

ive heard the movie was trash , one more vouch and i'll watch it tonight

 

[jonathango]

How old are you?

I mean if you were expecting a different kind of show that was more story than character driven I can see why you didn't keep up with it and S1 isn't their absolute best so I can't really say if you should keep up with it.

It's not for everybody.

That's what I was getting at. I don't think you can really grasp the deeper meanings of the show if you're under 25 ::shrug::

Even then I think I'll probably feel different about it if I watch it again when I'm like 35 and married.

thanks for breaking it down guise

 

[big j 33]

You might not relate to having affairs or all that, but you don't have to be old to appreciate what Mad Men does so well.

 

[duba169]

ive heard the movie was trash , one more vouch and i'll watch it tonight

it's not trash. That doesn't mean you won't hate it

it's a polarizing movie. hard to recommend it without knowing you personally

some will say pretentious while others say it's challenging

the only thing I can promise is amazing acting and beautiful cinematography

 

[cash money 1999]

it's not trash. That doesn't mean you won't hate it

it's a polarizing movie. hard to recommend it without knowing you personally

some will say pretentious while others say it's challenging

the only thing I can promise is amazing acting and beautiful cinematography

gonna throw it on , i always liked those movies that dont really invite you in but let the viewer figure things on its own

as long as it doesn't insist on itself , im not too crazy for joaquins over acting but i heard he does a good job in it

 

[cash money 1999]

You might not relate to having affairs or all that, but you don't have to be old to appreciate what Mad Men does so well.

yup , age shouldnt be an issue , none of us can relate to the 60's , just gotta have an apprectation for culture

and the attention to detail in the production....it really takes the viewer in

 

[scuse7]

Compliance on Netflix is a GREAT weird out movie. Such a weird plot, but kept my attention. 

Suggested when your stoned or want to be weirded out.

 

[big j 33]

I mentioned it in the Netflix thread... but the 30 for 30s on available for streaming.