| RavenBlog |
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| Comments on Wednesday 5 June 2002: |
| The movie Falling Down is rather excellent. Michael Douglas is superb as characters insane via too much sanity - not just in this, but in The Game, War of the Roses, and probably others. "And now you're going to die, in that stupid little hat."
[03:18] |
| eperdu |
| You've never seen it previously? I'm vaguely surprised, for no good reason. I agree, for once (and over a film, no less) - it's fantastic. I just wish the DVD release had say, commentary or SOMETHING. I'd buy it in a flash, then. I've not seen The Game, but I recall you enthusing to some degree over it before. Have you seen A Perfect Murder? Apparently inferior to the Hitchcock original but eh. I don't believe I've rooted for the 'bad guy' more than I did in that. |
| RavenBlack |
| Mm, the DVD has wide-screen option, but that's it. I was rather disappointed too, and I was only borrowing it. I haven't seen A Perfect Murder, no. Perhaps I should. I don't think I've seen any Michael Douglas thing I didn't like. Possibly except Basic Instinct, which I don't recall, so probably didn't like much. |
| Eperdu |
| A Perfect Murder is a remake of the Hitchcock classic (apparently) 'I Forget What It's Called'. Er. Michael Douglas, Gwyneth 'Always reminds me of Absolutely' Paltrow and the bloke who plays Aragorn in Lord of the Rings. Oh, and Hercule Poirot.. er... John Suchet I think. Intrigue! Double-crosses! Very Hitchcockian, natch. Twists and turns v. pleasingly indeed, although one more final ending twist would have debatably been good. But it doesn't suffer for not, just adds to the characters. Mm. It's basically Michael Douglas' movie. Everyone else is fine, does well, but really it's all about him being splendidly devious. I was watching it with someone who was getting quite upset with him, nasty slippery man that he is. I believe you'd be quite the opposite, as was I. If you don't like Douglas (so not yowm then) you'd not get much from it. If you do, even a bit, I don't think you could fail to like it. I watched Wall Street a few weeks after and to an extent, they are the same character, in many ways. He still manages to play them both very differenly however, so.. yeah. I recommend it lots anyway, as a good old-fashioned Hitchcockian thriller, with some fine acting and writing. I'd give it.. oh... an 8, based on the one sozzled viewing I gave it. And why not. *jaunty piano riff* |
| eperdu |
| As for Basic Instinct.. eh, Bill Hicks said it best. "It's a piece of shit. Never mind all that phoney media hysteria, just go back and watch it again. Hey,it's a piece of shit! And that's all it ever was..." |
| Tom |
| Personally, I think Mr Douglas peaked with 'A Chorus Line'. He's been playing the same character ever since. Not that this is a bad thing exactly, he's become very good at that evil "I am in control! You will respect my authority! No I don't love you and I never really did! <kiss kiss kiss fade to black with optional blood stains>" thing. BTW, I think you're thinking of 'Dial M for Murder', Eperdu. Which is a great film. Though my favourite Hitchcock remains 'The Birds', mainly for the love birds leaning into the corners on the drive to the coast. That is just wonderful. I love that. (I have a theory that Hitchcock was really a comedic director who made scary films, rather than primarily a horror director. Not saying that his movies seem laughable today at all, I think that they were made at the time to be amusing more than to be scary. That they are scary is incidental, a side effect of the laugh. Or something of the sort. Read the introductions he wrote to the Hitchcock short story collections such as 'Stories My Mother Never Told Me', and you may discover that he was having a huge joke with everybody. Just look at the man's name. Hitchcock! Ouch! Say it a bit more slowly, brings back early music hall shows. Chaplin would have loved it. Essentially, Hitchcock was taking the piss, and you have to admire him for it.) |
| Digi |
| Yes, I agree with Tom. The biggest clue for me was the way he refered to most of his films as comedies. |