January 19, 2007

Friday Talkback

Release the hounds:
Next week: a Sundance sojourn; more musicals; and the latest addition to our "Must-Own" list.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

I was lucky enough to catch Mutual Appreciation at my arthouse theater the day before it left a weeklong engagement. Sara and Alan's kitchen discussion strikes me as a masterpiece of malaise -- if and when it should come out on DVD, I hope it doesn't get lumped in with the '90s Miramax boom.

Anonymous said...

I find the Quay Brothers to be insufferable, a sort of third-rate Svankmajer, so I wouldn't be caught dead watching their newest. Glad to hear I'm not missing much.

And man, I can't wait to finally see Mutual Appreciation. I swear, it must have played in my area for two days.

James Allen said...

Re: "Tayton Tuesdays"

Too bad the current set doesn't have Boom! in it. I mean, if they put out The Sandpiper and The V.I.P.'s what's the difference at this point?

I saw Boom! for the first time last week (not like I've been going out of my way to track it down over the years), it was on Movieplex or somesuch channel, and I can see why John Waters is such a fan. It has to be the nadir of Tenessee Williams' writing, although I'm sure the adaptation didn't exactly do any favors. But it is fascinatingly stupendous in its general badness, what with Taylor doing some of her patented scenery chewing and Burton, wearing a robe most of the time, looking generally bored with the material.

To totally switch gears, I'm watching Nobody Knows right now and am utterly fascinated.

Bill C said...

Actually, James, the only reason Boom! wasn't included in the Tayton box set is because Universal owns it.

James Allen said...

Bill:

Ah. Thanks for the info. I guess one company can't own all the crappy Taylor/Burton films.

However, am I right in anticipating a review of The Comedians next (as it is in the set)? I have actually seen that one a couple times and although it ain't great, it didn't suck. (Maybe because Alec Guinness was in it.)

Bill C said...

Actually Ginny Woolf is next, mostly to break the tedium of negative reviews.

James Allen said...

Good choice, Bill, I love Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, when the two of them truly clicked (on screen of course, off screen who knows) the results could be spellbinding. I love the play as well; it's even better on stage. I saw Bill Irwin and Katheen Turner on Broadway and they were incredible. Irwin was the obvious revelation to anyone who only thinks of him as a physical performer.

By the way, to go back to a comment I made before, I saw the rest of Nobody Knows, and it's a truly moving piece of work, and amazingly, given the subject matter, not the least bit maudlin. (mild SPOILER warning)

In particular, the sequence at the end where we follow the long journey with the suitcase... words fail me in describing my feelings watching it. What a film.

Bill C said...

Colour me jealous, James: big Bill Irwin fan, and even though he lacks Burton's virility I had a feeling he'd make a great George. Finally read Michael Bamberger's hatchet job about Lady in the Water, and in his brief 'screentime' Irwin comes off as a class act. His role in that film--one of the movie's only redeeming qualities--is a similar example of conterintuitive casting, as Irwin is mostly asked to stare blankly at a TV screen.

Bill C said...

Oh, and yeah, Nobody Knows is sensational. Gotta say, though, I was kinda disappointed by Kore-eda's latest, Hana, a samurai fable that works better on paper.

Rick said...

Despite Funny Ha Ha being near unwatchable, it was apparent Bujalski was onto something. I think he got it right with Mutual Appreciation. Funny Ha Ha was the only movie I ever thought was too realistic.

Anonymous said...

Everyone needs to check this out: Tony VS Paul




and then, SPOILERS!!

G is J's BROTHER?

Anonymous said...

perhaps my parents have too healthy a relationship for me to appreciate a film like virginia woolf, but i've never really gotten much out of it. all i see is two actors working out some sadistic impulse by screaming at each other. beautiful looking film, though.