Hollywood, Cormac McCarthy and post-apocalypse

Rogue Keeper on 13/8/2008 at 11:31

And it's also this f***g ego of his ... "I can be a president of the US if I want to! I can do ANYTHING!" Men In Black, yes, he should have hold onto that kind of stuff. Together with Tommy Lee he created probably the most unsympathetic tandem on the screen for me.

Thirith on 13/8/2008 at 11:41

You also hate Tommy Lee Jones?

Rogue Keeper on 13/8/2008 at 11:43

Yes. Another overleaked ego. But in The Fugitive he was good I guess.

Thirith on 13/8/2008 at 11:56

I guess I'm lucky in that I don't give a toss whether an actor is an asshole or not, as long as they're doing a good job. It helps me enjoy films such as Collateral, No Country for Old Men, Ali. :D

(Quite frankly, there are as many swollen egos strutting (www.ttlg.com/forums), and that hasn't kept me away. :ebil: )

Rogue Keeper on 13/8/2008 at 12:28

Well sometimes it happens that particular ego fits the role, for example Tom Cruise is excellent in Interview with the Vampire, but normally it can be seen that some actors aren't very versatile in simulating varius types of personality and that some roles would be better without somebody obese with superstar attitude.

Thirith on 13/8/2008 at 12:41

Not to press the point too much, but how is No Country for Old Men any worse due to TLJ's ego?

I will gladly acknowledge that some actors don't have much of a range, but for me that isn't really tied to their ego. Lots of actors can play variations on one single role. If an actor does a good job in a film, I don't care if they're reactionary bastards (up to a point - if some actor got a kick out of stringing up uppity negroes I'd be unlikely to go and see his films) or otherwise assholes, if their work works well in the film. Just like the best-natured, most wonderful person doesn't necessarily make for more compelling viewing.

Rogue Keeper on 13/8/2008 at 13:20

Quote Posted by Thirith

No Country for Old Men

Didn't see that.

mothra on 13/8/2008 at 13:39

typical cohen brothers movie. good but a far cry from anything oscar-worthy.
just a good suspense movie with some "pseudo" philosophising thrown in for the reviewers (and they sucked it up big time). but recommended. not for TLJ but for the comic Javier Bardem, only actor rescuing this movie from boring.

Thirith on 13/8/2008 at 13:44

Quote Posted by mothra

Hmm. I guess that's one take on the film. Many people disagree.

Whether you like the film or not, I don't think it's particularly apt to describe the film as a typical Coen Brothers film. It's pretty different in terms of tone and characterisation from practically every other film they've done.

Scots Taffer on 14/8/2008 at 01:16

Quote Posted by BR796164

So it's sort of another 'Alone On Earth' idea for film which seem to grow popularity nowadays. I LOVE THIS TOPIC. Last time it had Will Smith in it and he kinda ruined the idea.

I was under the impression that it was a much older story/theme (from the 60s around the nuclear age) that's just getting a bit of a popularist resurgence.

Quote Posted by Thirith

From what I heard, Will Smith was actually one of the better things about I Am Legend.

Inexplicably the critics liked his two-tone acting which varies from mugging angrily/stonily at the camera to throwing inappropriate comic beats into the movie from his Bel Air days.
Personally I think Smith is completely overrated as an actor, I think his place is in character roles that require capable comic timing (he hasn't been better than he was in Hitch, for what it's worth). I sure haven't seen any evidence of range beyond that.

Quote Posted by mothra

Wrong. Not only is Tommy Lee Jones's performance one of the strongest in the film and the most thematically compelling, his depiction of a weary (through age, not world weary cynicism) small town sheriff coming toe to toe with the sort of blackness of humanity that he's only ever read about is the core of the story that people either get or miss. Yes, the drive of the narrative is a suspense thriller but the plot is more of a study on the nature of people.

If you think the Coens threw in "pseudo"-philosophising for the benefit of critics, then you're probably one of those people that thinks that The Big Lebowski is just about a dude who wants his carpet back.