MOVIES THREAD

Man, sorry to hear about Chinatown. One of my faves, for anyone who remembers the old handle.

Eli Sunday and Paul Sunday are two different people. Eli wouldn't have ripped his father for having a stupid son if that weren't the case. Paul is Abel. Eli is Cain. Paul's offering was immediately suitable. Eli's never was.

What's so striking about the movie is that it's actually...very straightforward. It's simply a good story, brilliantly told, which is why I'd argue it's the best-made movie in a long, long time. There is nothing particularly postmodern about it.

 

And, oh yeah...for my money, the best actor on the planet is Nicole Kidman.

 

The old handle in the Sandy days.

Chinatown is one of those movies that you appreciate more on the second or third viewing.

I don't think there's a bad scene in the entire film.

And I'm not sure the studios would allow that ending nowadays.

 

I just saw Independence Day on Fox Movie Channel. It was the first time I'd seen it in ages and it was pretty fucking good. Other than it being better than I remembered, did anyone else notice the credits ran a lot like Star Wars'? I found that strange.

 

Robert Towne - the writer - didn't want that ending. He wanted in which Evelyn Mulwray shot Noah Cross, went to jail and Jake visits her there, sadly.

Polanski pushed for the actual ending. obviously, not hard to see Sharon Tate's death built into the hopelessness of the last scene.

 

So I saw "We Are Sparta" a while ago and I must say, it was the best example of deplorable drek I have ever seen on the big screen. My roommate dragged me in there with this girl I am dating. It was between that and Rambo. Oh boy.

 

Saw "In Bruges" at the theater tonight. About two Irish hit men in Belgium. Liked it a lot. Bloody, some sick humor, a few attempts at depth. I can see why some reviews compare it to Tarentino, but I'm not sure I would have made that connection independently.

 

Alma... explain that to a rube, for whom the complete charm of that film has been elusive...

 

Well, the ending is hopeless and nihilistic, the line "forget it, Jake, it's Chinatown" basically summing up Polanski worldview: The world is rotten, the corrupt eat it up, the innocent are killed and guys like Jake are best to stay clear of it of the powerful people in it. Tate's murder - she was his wife and carrying Polanski's child - played a big role in the way Polanski saw the world and made his films. That pretty much continued until The Pianist.

 

Not unlike the message in "No Country For Old Men": The world sucks now, there's no place in it for those of us with a soul.

 

The end of NCFOM resonates with me much more than that line from Chinatown, even with the explanation.

 

Don't agree. Last scene in the movie is hopeful.