Monday, November 26, 2007

I want to watch!



A new Daniel Day-Lewis release is so exciting! What do you expect when the man does like four movies in ten years (really, those are the stats). And when he's as fucking fabulous as ever. And fabulous includes hot [1].

Day-Lewis was on the cover of the NYT magazine last weekend. It's an interesting (if long) article. I love that he admits he has 'the right nose' and was more than amused at the fact that he spends hours at the Manolo Blahnik store studying the construction and design of shoes (he was apprenticing as a cobbler in Rome when Scorsese came looking for him to play Bill the Butcher in Gangs of New York).

Apparently there is a lot of Oscar hype around the role as well. It would be cool if he won considering he was robbed, robbed, when he didn't win for Gangs. Also, finally a movie to look forward to. Is it just me or has there not been a single decent Hollywood movie out this year?[2]

[1]Sigh. I remember when I first saw The Age of Innocence. Day-Lewis is perfect as Newland Archer. And so beautiful.

[2] Ok, admittedly I haven't seen No Country for Old Men. And also, no The Kite Runner is not something I am looking forward to.

17 comments:

??! said...

eh. he blathers too much.

Much as I like his work, and understand what he's trying to say...he tries too hard to explain. Or maybe it was just the length of the piece.

Tabula Rasa said...

also 'into the wild'.

Szerelem said...

??!: GAH! NO!! I think he has kind of given up on explaining his method in any case - no one understands, so I don't think he bothers.

TR: hmmm, yes that too. But still not many things worth watching right?

Tabula Rasa said...

never is.

Tabula Rasa said...

although i'm scheduled to watch 'i'm not there' this week and that could e a doozy. and 'two days in paris' wasn't bad. and i liked 'the namesake' as well (wasn't that this year?) and also 'mr bean's holiday'.

Szerelem said...

I'm not there - I want to watch it too. But I haven't heard particularly good things. Also, 'Two Days in Paris' is French and doesn't count as a Hollywood film :D
And by this year I mean anything released after the Oscars because I saw 'The Lives of Others' this year and I'm not counting that - but even then, it was German.

Tabula Rasa said...

not heard particularly good things -- have you seen the nyt review? it makes me want to drop everything and sprint downtown! sample these lines:

I would not subtract a minute of this movie, or wish it any different. Nor do I anticipate being finished with “I’m Not There” anytime soon, since, like “Subterranean Homesick Blues,” it invites endless interpretation, criticism and elaboration.

and

Though there’s a lot of Bob Dylan’s music in “I’m Not There,” Mr. Haynes is not simply compiling golden oldies. You hear familiar songs, but what you see is the imagination unleashed — the chimes of freedom flashing.

i think i just talked myself into going today.

Szerelem said...

No I haven't read the NYT review. But thats only cos I always read Anthony Lane (who is brilliant). His review here.


I do still really want to see it though :) Tell me if you liked...

niTin said...

Tada I'm alive.
Yes Tabula Rasa stole my thunder about Into the Wild. I have been raving about it for weeks because it's the single good movie I watched this year.
I've been trying to get a couple of friends to agree and watch No Country for Old Men with me (Coen Brothers, yum)but can't.
And I have decided to watch this one already. Screw those people. I'd watch it alone.
Not so sure about I'm Not There.

That Armchair Philosopher said...

lol, funny you should mention it - no country's playing nearby and has been given awesome, awesome reviews (95% on rotten tomatoes!).. I'm planning to go sometime this weekend.

he was a *cobbler*? wow. well, gangs was good, but was it oscar good? i'd have thought brody did a much better job in the pianist..

darn, i still have to go read kite runner, everyone talks about it SO much. frankly, even the blurb on the books dust jacket didn't quite appeal to me to pick it up.

niTin said...

To the Philosopher;
If that comment was aimed at my comment: how fast can you type? More specifically, how many fingers do you have?
And, I got my heads up from Rotten Tomatoes too. We should go together.

That Armchair Philosopher said...

@tabula: namesake was nice, i LOVED bean's holiday.

@szerlem - michael clayton was quite nice, i'd say. not sure if "into the wild" classifies as typical hollywood .. but tis good.

That Armchair Philosopher said...

hahahaha, this is positively spooky. I JUST finished typing that last comment, and no, it wasn't aimed at you since you hadn't yet commented! :))

and yep, Rotten tomatoes rocks! although i've come to the conclusion that most movies between 89-95 are worth watching, the others fall into the "niches" which are super appreciated, or not at all..

Tabula Rasa said...

just back from watching i'm not there, and truly, i'm not here. i'm totally blown away. i read the anthony lane review and all i can feel is sympathy for the poor man, trying to shoehorn this experience into his little pigeonhole of words -- reminds me of woody allen's robot in sleeper trying to beat back the marauding souffle. the film is a must for anyone who has ever loved dylan.

nitin: go watch no country. don't wait.

Szerelem said...

TR: Gah, don't be mean to Lane. I like him and he usually is spot on. Shall give you feedback on 'I'm not here' when I watch (i.e when its playing in a neighborhood theatre - which might take a couple of months).

TAP: Hah, Day-Lewis is TEH AWESOME. I didn't think Gangs as a movie per se was that great but he was AMAZING in it. And I really liked Brody in The Pianist but nop, Day-Lewis any day. Also, what do you mean Oscar good? They dole it out to utter crap year after year.

Nitin: Just go watch it alone then! Thats what I do :D Too much trouble trying to get people to go along! And since you raved about 'The Lives of Others' to me I have come to trust your judgement :) And glad to know you aint dead...(I knew anyway!)

Anonymous said...

Dylan's an overrated fraud - something he himself kind of acknowledged when he called Dyalnologists sad people who should really find something better to do in life. Actually am disappointed that a filmmaker as gifted as Todd Haynes should make a film about Dylan - Velvet Goldmine was an amazing paean to Glam Rock and Far From Heaven a great tribute to Douglas Sirk. Safe was amazing as well. Why he chose to make a film about the Jackie O/Kate Moss of Music is beyond logic. And Dylan must have loved the script - it just added more to his myth. I think the two films that were worth watching this year was Herzog's Rescue Dawn and the doc, Into Great Silence. Herzog hasn't sold out yet - hope he never does.

thalassa_mikra said...

Daniel Day Lewis - So I'm not the only one who is inexplicably fascinated by him? Oh, and shoe-making is a passion of his. He's been seriously learning the craft for years.

Although his recent frailness concerns me. Does the man not eat at all?

Hollywood films - nothing's been very impressive - but I haven't seen Into the Wild yet.