he just doesn't even come close to the last great villain IMO, no country for old men, but yeh, I agree his performance was good, just not oscar worthy considering the opposition IMO.
I thought the Joker was a more fascinating villain than Chiggur... is that how it was spelled... but Bardem did do a helluva job in that role too. Definitely among the elite movie villains, but I still prefer the Joker. I can see thinking he wasn't as chilling as the guy in No Country, but to say he didn't hold a candle? Seems to me more like annoyance with the hype than anything... like me railing on all those Pitchfork beloved folk groups in the other forum
it's not annoyance with the hype... I just saw the character as heath ledger... and to me, that's not a sign of a great performance. I enjoyed the film and thought he was pretty good. Is he better than hoffman or downey jr? I don't think so... you might... but I don't.
Interesting, because when I first heard about it I was a bit skeptical, figuring that I would think of the Joker as nothing more than Heath Ledger in make up. But that thought never occurred to me once during the movie, I thought he completely disappeared inside that role. It was quite impressive. In general, no, he's not better than Hoffman or Downey Jr. But I think this particular role was a more impressive performance than Downey's in Tropic Thunder (even though I loved that one). I've not seen Doubt yet, though I'm sure Hoffman was phenomenal in it as always. But that's less of a stretch/surprise for him.
I thought the Joker was a more fascinating villain than Chiggur... is that how it was spelled... but Bardem did do a helluva job in that role too. Definitely among the elite movie villains, but I still prefer the Joker. I can see thinking he wasn't as chilling as the guy in No Country, but to say he didn't hold a candle? Seems to me more like annoyance with the hype than anything... like me railing on all those Pitchfork beloved folk groups in the other forum
it's not annoyance with the hype... I just saw the character as heath ledger... and to me, that's not a sign of a great performance. I enjoyed the film and thought he was pretty good. Is he better than hoffman or downey jr? I don't think so... you might... but I don't.
Interesting, because when I first heard about it I was a bit skeptical, figuring that I would think of the Joker as nothing more than Heath Ledger in make up. But that thought never occurred to me once during the movie, I thought he completely disappeared inside that role. It was quite impressive. In general, no, he's not better than Hoffman or Downey Jr. But I think this particular role was a more impressive performance than Downey's in Tropic Thunder (even though I loved that one). I've not seen Doubt yet, though I'm sure Hoffman was phenomenal in it as always. But that's less of a stretch/surprise for him.
I suppose you're right about it not being a stretch/surprise for Hoffman but that's not really fair to hoffman... just cos he's always good, no point giving him the oscar all the time. Probably why Meryl won't win it either. I do think it was a very good performance... I just don't think it was great. Sometimes 'great acting' can run a fine line between being 'too obvious acting' and that's just how I found it. I know that's what the character required but, for me, it was just too obvious. But that's just my opinion... we can debate this for days but a great debate isn't gonna make it a great performance in my head.
The Astoria??? Orgazmic!
Verona??? it's all surmountable
Dublin 23.08.06 "The beauty of Ireland, right there!"
Wembley? We all believe!
Copenhagen?? your light made us stars
Chicago 07? And love
What a different life
Had I not found this love with you
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
I suppose you're right about it not being a stretch/surprise for Hoffman but that's not really fair to hoffman... just cos he's always good, no point giving him the oscar all the time. Probably why Meryl won't win it either. I do think it was a very good performance... I just don't think it was great. Sometimes 'great acting' can run a fine line between being 'too obvious acting' and that's just how I found it. I know that's what the character required but, for me, it was just too obvious. But that's just my opinion... we can debate this for days but a great debate isn't gonna make it a great performance in my head.
No, but it's a fun debate and refreshingly less heated than most of the debates I have around here
I think I see what you're saying and I suppose that's a matter of perspective. I appreciate an actor who has to really go out on a limb and obviously act and make it convincing. Not that you lose points for not doing that, but if you can pull it off, I see it as a very impressive accomplishment worthy of recognition. I don't want to penalize Hoffman for a role he could play in his sleep, but when he won for Capote... that was something truly amazing. He has had other roles where I thought he was a bit more outside his comfort zone... even Alomst Famous or Boogie Nights. He was excellent in Owning Mahoney as well. I've no doubt he was fantastic in Doubt and I look forward to seeing it, I just don't think his performance could be so impressive as to top the way Ledger transformed himself from what I thought was nothing more than pretty teen idol face into a cultural icon in a way that completely changed the way we looked at that icon. It was obvious he was acting, but that makes what he did al the more impressive to my mind.
For the same reason, I was all for Johnny Depp winning for Jack Sparrow. Maybe it wasn't his most serious role and it was very campy in some ways, but he created a character everyone loved and managed to sell a movie that had no business being anything other than a cheesy Disney disaster. He turned a film about an amusement park ride into one of the most entertaining films of the past several years. That's impressive. And maybe it's not as "respected" as doing Hamlet, but the Oscar should recognize compelling acting performances, not who pulled off the most somber gravitas in a movie. But the academy has always been slanted towards trying to be very serious.
No, but it's a fun debate and refreshingly less heated than most of the debates I have around here
I think I see what you're saying and I suppose that's a matter of perspective. I appreciate an actor who has to really go out on a limb and obviously act and make it convincing. Not that you lose points for not doing that, but if you can pull it off, I see it as a very impressive accomplishment worthy of recognition. I don't want to penalize Hoffman for a role he could play in his sleep, but when he won for Capote... that was something truly amazing. He has had other roles where I thought he was a bit more outside his comfort zone... even Alomst Famous or Boogie Nights. He was excellent in Owning Mahoney as well. I've no doubt he was fantastic in Doubt and I look forward to seeing it, I just don't think his performance could be so impressive as to top the way Ledger transformed himself from what I thought was nothing more than pretty teen idol face into a cultural icon in a way that completely changed the way we looked at that icon. It was obvious he was acting, but that makes what he did al the more impressive to my mind.
For the same reason, I was all for Johnny Depp winning for Jack Sparrow. Maybe it wasn't his most serious role and it was very campy in some ways, but he created a character everyone loved and managed to sell a movie that had no business being anything other than a cheesy Disney disaster. He turned a film about an amusement park ride into one of the most entertaining films of the past several years. That's impressive. And maybe it's not as "respected" as doing Hamlet, but the Oscar should recognize compelling acting performances, not who pulled off the most somber gravitas in a movie. But the academy has always been slanted towards trying to be very serious.
Ugh... don't get me started on Johnny Depp :? pretty much hate every film he's ever done :oops: .
Ok, if I were to say anything about Hoffman's acting in doubt, it would pretty much give away the plot... but it's his acting that left me thinking at the end and that kinda carries the storyline :oops: so I can't really comment at the mo... but it's not as simple as it may seem from the outside.
The Astoria??? Orgazmic!
Verona??? it's all surmountable
Dublin 23.08.06 "The beauty of Ireland, right there!"
Wembley? We all believe!
Copenhagen?? your light made us stars
Chicago 07? And love
What a different life
Had I not found this love with you
now that i've seen ALL the films nominated for best picture, i feel i can truly weigh in with an informed opinion. without a doubt, in my mind, the curious case of benjamin button should win, hands down. i would put the reader at #2, and slumdog millionaire right behind. milk was fantastic and frost/nixon was good...but yea....that's how it pans out for me.
as to best actor, i definitely think sean penn. i have NO idea wtf mickey rourke is doing there, at all. frank langella was great, i'd put him right behind penn, but i just don't think the role, or his portrayl, was quite as juicy as penn's.
the other categories, again, i can't fully weigh in b/c i didn't see all the nominate films, or actors. i really, really, really wanted to see doubt, but unbelievably it is no longer playing in my area. :( i can see it making it's way back, after the oscars...but right now, seems i am sol.
so far, i have only seen Benjamin Button. I havent seen the others yet (seeing Slumdog Millionaire and/or The Reader this weekend), but I dont think Benjamin Button was great. It was okay, but WAY too much like Forrest Gump. Brad Pitt shouldnt win best actor- the special effects of the aging process should win though. Cate Blanchett was great as always.
ok. we saw Slumdog Millionaire last night. i've got to say... if this movie doesnt win best picture, something is wrong with the academy. best movie i have seen in a very long time.
I may have to quit everything to do with the Oscars if Benjamin Button wins anything. I love David Fincher and the movie looked cool, but c'mon zzzzzzzzz.
Best Picture probably should be Slumdog
Actor~ Penn or Rourke
Actess~ Anyone but Winslett
In Bruges won the best original screenplay at the Baftas last night
Slumdog won a wheelbarrow load... best film, best director...
Rourke won best Actor
Winslet best actress - The Reader
oh scary... 40000 morbidly obese christians wearing fanny packs invading europe is probably the least scariest thing since I watched an edited version of The Care Bears movie in an extremely brightly lit cinema.
OK, if you haven't seen any of the Best Picture nominees your big opportunity is on February 21 when AMC theaters will show all 5 at select locations around the country. You can get in for a $30 all-day pass which includes a large bucket of popcorn and free refills!
OK, if you haven't seen any of the Best Picture nominees your big opportunity is on February 21 when AMC theaters will show all 5 at select locations around the country. You can get in for a $30 all-day pass which includes a large bucket of popcorn and free refills!
someone posted about this last year...soooo cool!
i've actually seen all the films nominated for best oscar already...but $30 is a great deal. it would be a marathon day of movies! my only 'worry' would be obnoxious people around me. for a 2 hour span, you doeal.....but all day? it could get ugly. hubby and i officially start our 'at home vacation' on the 21st...interesting, interesting! see if it happens near us and then...maybe? :P
it truly amazes me just how many people do not like ben button! it was absolutely mine and my husband's fave of the oscar nominated films. next for me would be the reader...and i think for hubby slumdog millionaire - my third choice. we both absolutely LOVED ben button - the story, the characters, the acting, the cinematography, the costumes, the pacing, everything. just sooo well done! altho honestly, i guess i really shouldn't be surprised. it's a running joke between me and the mr, just about everything i love, no one else does...so all my fave foods, colors, furniture, etc...all get taken off the menu, discontinued, etc...so i should'nt be surp[rised that my fave oscar contender isn't as popular.
I've just sobbed my way through Rachel getting married it was just way too sad... but a great storyline brilliantly acted and I would go so far as to say it's my favourite film along with Doubt for this years nominations. As for Anne Hathaway, FANTASTIC performance... I really didn't think it possible... dunno if she competes with Meryl but i'm gonna sleep on it.
The Astoria??? Orgazmic!
Verona??? it's all surmountable
Dublin 23.08.06 "The beauty of Ireland, right there!"
Wembley? We all believe!
Copenhagen?? your light made us stars
Chicago 07? And love
What a different life
Had I not found this love with you
Comments
Interesting, because when I first heard about it I was a bit skeptical, figuring that I would think of the Joker as nothing more than Heath Ledger in make up. But that thought never occurred to me once during the movie, I thought he completely disappeared inside that role. It was quite impressive. In general, no, he's not better than Hoffman or Downey Jr. But I think this particular role was a more impressive performance than Downey's in Tropic Thunder (even though I loved that one). I've not seen Doubt yet, though I'm sure Hoffman was phenomenal in it as always. But that's less of a stretch/surprise for him.
I suppose you're right about it not being a stretch/surprise for Hoffman but that's not really fair to hoffman... just cos he's always good, no point giving him the oscar all the time. Probably why Meryl won't win it either. I do think it was a very good performance... I just don't think it was great. Sometimes 'great acting' can run a fine line between being 'too obvious acting' and that's just how I found it. I know that's what the character required but, for me, it was just too obvious. But that's just my opinion... we can debate this for days but a great debate isn't gonna make it a great performance in my head.
Verona??? it's all surmountable
Dublin 23.08.06 "The beauty of Ireland, right there!"
Wembley? We all believe!
Copenhagen?? your light made us stars
Chicago 07? And love
What a different life
Had I not found this love with you
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
No, but it's a fun debate and refreshingly less heated than most of the debates I have around here
I think I see what you're saying and I suppose that's a matter of perspective. I appreciate an actor who has to really go out on a limb and obviously act and make it convincing. Not that you lose points for not doing that, but if you can pull it off, I see it as a very impressive accomplishment worthy of recognition. I don't want to penalize Hoffman for a role he could play in his sleep, but when he won for Capote... that was something truly amazing. He has had other roles where I thought he was a bit more outside his comfort zone... even Alomst Famous or Boogie Nights. He was excellent in Owning Mahoney as well. I've no doubt he was fantastic in Doubt and I look forward to seeing it, I just don't think his performance could be so impressive as to top the way Ledger transformed himself from what I thought was nothing more than pretty teen idol face into a cultural icon in a way that completely changed the way we looked at that icon. It was obvious he was acting, but that makes what he did al the more impressive to my mind.
For the same reason, I was all for Johnny Depp winning for Jack Sparrow. Maybe it wasn't his most serious role and it was very campy in some ways, but he created a character everyone loved and managed to sell a movie that had no business being anything other than a cheesy Disney disaster. He turned a film about an amusement park ride into one of the most entertaining films of the past several years. That's impressive. And maybe it's not as "respected" as doing Hamlet, but the Oscar should recognize compelling acting performances, not who pulled off the most somber gravitas in a movie. But the academy has always been slanted towards trying to be very serious.
Ok, if I were to say anything about Hoffman's acting in doubt, it would pretty much give away the plot... but it's his acting that left me thinking at the end and that kinda carries the storyline :oops: so I can't really comment at the mo... but it's not as simple as it may seem from the outside.
Verona??? it's all surmountable
Dublin 23.08.06 "The beauty of Ireland, right there!"
Wembley? We all believe!
Copenhagen?? your light made us stars
Chicago 07? And love
What a different life
Had I not found this love with you
Very good movie.
Not sure if Richard Jenkins deserved a Oscar nomination.
as to best actor, i definitely think sean penn. i have NO idea wtf mickey rourke is doing there, at all. frank langella was great, i'd put him right behind penn, but i just don't think the role, or his portrayl, was quite as juicy as penn's.
the other categories, again, i can't fully weigh in b/c i didn't see all the nominate films, or actors. i really, really, really wanted to see doubt, but unbelievably it is no longer playing in my area. :( i can see it making it's way back, after the oscars...but right now, seems i am sol.
Let's just breathe...
I am myself like you somehow
Best Picture probably should be Slumdog
Actor~ Penn or Rourke
Actess~ Anyone but Winslett
Slumdog won a wheelbarrow load... best film, best director...
Rourke won best Actor
Winslet best actress - The Reader
To find a location near you check this site:
http://www.investor.amctheatres.com/rel ... eID=362441
someone posted about this last year...soooo cool!
i've actually seen all the films nominated for best oscar already...but $30 is a great deal. it would be a marathon day of movies! my only 'worry' would be obnoxious people around me. for a 2 hour span, you doeal.....but all day? it could get ugly.
Let's just breathe...
I am myself like you somehow
I've seen the other (4) films for best picture.
Liked Slumdog the most and Button the least.
Let's just breathe...
I am myself like you somehow
Verona??? it's all surmountable
Dublin 23.08.06 "The beauty of Ireland, right there!"
Wembley? We all believe!
Copenhagen?? your light made us stars
Chicago 07? And love
What a different life
Had I not found this love with you
Liked it a lot.
I thought Melissa Leo was great in it.
Rent it if you get a chance.
I also rented Vicki Christina Barcelona.
Not my favorite.
I think Mickey should and will win~
"What a stupid lamb."
"What a sick, masochistic lion."
Average movie.
I doubt Angelina has much of a chance winning with this movie.
Well I almost hit em...
9/24/96 MD. 9/28/96 Randalls. 8/28-29/98 Camden. 9/8/98 NJ. 9/18/98 MD. 9/1-2/00 Camden. 9/4/00 MD. 4/28/03 Philly. 7/5-6/03 Camden. 9/30/05 AC.
10/3/05 Philly. 5/27-28/06 Camden. 6/23/06 Pitt. 6/19-20/08 Camden. 6/24/08 MSG. 8/7/08 EV Newark, NJ. 6/11-12/09 EV Philly, PA. 10/27-28-30-31/09 Philly, PA., 5/15/10 Hartford,5/17/10 Boston, 5/18/10 Newark, 5/20-21/10 MSG