1. It's directed by Rian Johnson, of Brick fame.
2. It stars Adrian Brody - while this isn't intrisnically great, he's the favourite actor of Friend 5, and she loved Brick probably more than I did.
3. Music being done by directors cousin, Nathan Johnson. Now I adored Brick, but the music was a big part of this.
3. Con men. Nuff said.
4. Rachel Weisz is also starring. In a hat. With a harp. Of all those things, the harp excites me most.
5. plus Rinko Kikuchi, last seen as the deaf-mute in Babel. To be honest, I'm just curious what types of things a character called Bang Bang can do outside of James Bond...with more investigation, I discover she's playing "as a largely mute conwoman with a penchant for karaoke gives you a pretty good idea of the tone to expect." Jeez, does this girl just have a feel for disabilities? I feel two deafs in a row is a bit much...
6. ...and a particular promo shot, which I irritatingly now can't find. It features of a criminal in a bloodied up black suit. Mr Johnson, you have my immediate attention...
Reasons I'm looking forward to...
Heard about Youth without Youth? It's the new film Francis Ford Coppola and Tim Roth have made together. This in itself is exciting enough - but the plot seems pretty ace too. Just the type of thing I would watch - people have been using words like "quirky" and "whimsy", which get me very excited indeed. In fact, let's get the quotes which caught my attention:
"a defiantly challenging, magic-realist fable that puts no store in appealing to commercial sensibilities. "
"a handy double who pops up for existential discussions"
"superhuman powers "
"gorgeously lit sets"
"barmy charm"
The rose poster is gorgeous too, though I'm part of the generation that links roses with American Beauty and then gives up.
In fact, there's only one thing putting me off - and that's the critics. Reviewers don't have everything right, but generally I trust Total Film. They gave it three stars and a murmur of disappointment. Not bad, just unexciting.
All in all, I forsee this as one I'll miss in cinema and then see on DVD for £20, and never quite justify buying it.
It's funny how films like Apocalypse Now, Blade Runner or Donnie Darko were initially loathed
by everyone who saw them...and then now, critics et al have apologised and said they are great.
I didn't like them because they're respected, I liked them cos they're good. Which begs the question - would I too have hated them on their original run? Perhaps it's a climate thing - they were ahead of their time or something...
PS - just had a look at Empire's top 100 sexiest male and female people ever. Meh. How dull. Seriously, hottness is an obscure thing - it's not like you can sensibly discuss who should be there or not, because everyone has their own standards. And inevitably, people are voting for the characters as much as an impartial impression. Alan Rickman's on the list, and he's no Adonis. So is Uma Thurman - come on, is there a single person on the poll who was actually voting for her, and not Mia Wallace? And there are some people I'm suprised get votes, like Richard Gere. I hadn't even considered him as a candidate. I suppose the problem is, from where I'm standing, the girls all look the same but they guys swing from hot to huh. I don't think I've contested a single female entry yet.
Dunno what that means. Freud or summat. I wonder what the male/female ratio is on the list? Probably about equal, but I ain't counting.
One person who shouldn't have been on the list was Emma Watson. Yes, I know she's legal now, but considering she's only ever played children, I feel it's sick and wrong. Curiously, I don't feel the same way about Mr Radcliff, who's also on the list. Double standards.
And I'm still not sure about Redford being at 53
people who weren't there? I do think Kate Hudson wos robbed, and I need to see a Cary Grant movie because he looks lovely. And obviously, Mr Roth missed out, but then again...perhaps that's fair enough.
Ah, so many reasons. I like him because he can act, because he acts in things I enjoy, and yes because he was fairly dishy in his younger days. But I also respect him as a person - he always comes out sounding intelligent and genuine in interviews. As such, I enjoyed reading his comments on said Youth without Youth, and came away with two gems of information:
- He wrote something for Paris, Je T'aime. Why do I not have all the details of this, right now? Apparently it was "too dark"...but this raises an interesting idea. Why not do Paris Je'Taime: the sequel. It'll be the only arthouse film ever to have one, and there must be hundreds of decent rejected ideas waiting to happen. You could make three or four films along the same lines, and they'd all be just as classy - because you'd have a never-ending stream of talented actors and quirky shorts to fill them with.
- He isn't enthusiastic about striking, but reckons the audience should go on strike next...
...by the by, did you guys miss Paris, je t'aime? Go and get a copy, it's ace. 18 short films about love, of various forms, set in different parts of Paris. And it's not indietrash either - Alfonso Cuaron, the Coens, Alexander Payne and a whole host of people you've actually heard of help out. For the record, here are my six highlights - but in the hope you'll go get it, I won't give much detail:
Quais de Seine by Gurinder Chadha (just cute)
Faubourg Saint-Denis by Tom Tyker (Run Lola Run for beginners. Folks, if you liked this, then he's got a 70 minute version...)
Tulieres by the Coen Brothers (I know people like this)
14th Arrondisement by Alexander Payne (the dialogue is just perfectly observed)
Bastille by Isabel Coxiet (too sweet, really...)
Pere Lachaise by Wes Craven (nuff said...)
PPS - rest of family watching Dirty Dancing downstairs. Due to the new sound system, "She's like the Wind" is coming through my floor...
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