I also have to wonder why Blythe Danner and Dustin Hoffman get no grief for those films … which were all cringe-worthy, "uneven" compared to each other, but frenetically paced, with cough character development, and overstuffed with 'business" (as opposed to pointless gag heavy movies). Oh, and they were, as is…

No, this is about the acting … not about the offensive story lines that the actors don't have much control over …

Cringe-worthy and ridiculous as the vehicles were, I thought DeNiro really successfully sold his character in the Folker movies. His focus and characterization were seamless. Career-wise, he was obviously trying hard to transition from dramas (how many mafia heavys, cops and soldiers can any actor bear to play?) into…

hating violence … I discovered that although I have seen Taxi Drive many times, I only saw the last few minutes (after the bloodbath) once, and promptly forgot it became glaringly and embassingly obvious when I said that Travis had died and someone "reminded me"
The number of "hot shows" I have never seen because I…

she had a rather pudding face to start with — which is to say without that serious bone structure people talk about — that bone structure that help slightly older and softer features keep their signature….
I'm not sure that she had anything done at all except maybe some fillers around the mouth … so many young…

The actually changed the rule … I agree, I learned Jones' … but it has been changed in a number (more than a few) sources … ridiculous. I'm pretending I don't know

He did amazingly well for someone with his off-putting personality. His China legacy and his environmental legacy remain.

That's subversive in every day life … Scott had such a wonderfully sly look that gave his performance a special edge … a Steve McQueen sort of knowingness.

This was kind of the movie where i gave up on both Law and Kidman — even if I blame the director/cinematographer for obsessive camera fixation. There were moments when there was almost chemistry … but yes, everyone else was more interesting. Law is more attractive when dirty … but then it got tedious ..

while certainly beautiful, I found this movie surprisingly cold … and felt in fact that the beauty of "every blade of grass" and the obsessive camera fixed on Kidman and Law actually erased any "chemistry" between them … they have some very hot and heavy moments… and then nothing for the next 9/10 of the movie … in…

PBS Sunday after Masterpiece Mystery (currently Endeavor) … Denver 10:30 (after 8-9 Father Brown; 9-10:30 Mystery)

You remember that juggernaut that was Downton Abbey … it displaced all others … when you can maintain an avid audience with endless repeats and associated filler/supplemental content, you do and save money for the Downton-less future.

I found The Bridge rather heavy and "dark" … this was more brisk and lighter … I hope plausibility issues are resolved since my appetite for self-consciously clever is exhausted at this point (Thanks, Sherlock!) but this episode managed to steer back to "real life" so I'll watch again next week. I love my Sunday night…

Night Must Fall is remarkably effective as a creepy movie considering how oddly predictable it turns out to be …

Hoffman's Capote seemed to be informed by the very troubled man Capote became AFTER In Cold Blood by painting him as a fairly despicable user of other people, which was the moral charge some people made (again) after his massive success, almost Faustian.

I don't like that film much … too much telegraphed and Duvall's character too clueless and Nicholson's character without redeeming qualities … Ford was still busy with Raiders movies in 1980 so he didn't need the role … then he had a lull before becoming "Jack Ryan" and largely giving up pretending to "act" … He…

I also preferred Jones + Bullock over Hoffman + Keener … the former simply rang "truer" for a relationship that was in fact ongoing and enduring. Being Capote and being around Capote I suspect was exhausting for everyone, but in Harper Lee, Capote appears to have found genuine respite … the movie "Capote" was too…

Since reading this, it has been fun to imagine someone else, top contender, Harrison Ford or even Jack Nicholson as the lead in Heaven Can Wait … someone a bit nimbler (and less gorgeous) than Beatty although the movie played well to Beatty's established earnest (slightly self-serious or clunky) persona… not unlike…

TCM had a Robert Montgomery month a few years ago and enlightened as to how and why he was such a star for so long … like Cary Grant, but I'd guess, Grant studied and stole from Montgomery … his extraordinary "presence" … funny, intelligent, sexy, playful, elegant and gorgeous … It's remarkable how well Beatty did in…

That was really quite remarkable work by Paltrow … It's good to be reminded how effective Paltrow was capable as being … I saw Capote's (Steven's) gaping instantaneous understanding of the moment … and everyone's vast relief that she "carried on" (I guess because it's show biz and — yes, yes, how foolish of me — the…