middle cyclones and other references

"He slept that night in his own country and he had a dream wherein he saw God's pilgrims laboring upon a darkened verge in the last of the twilight of that day and they seemed to be returning from some deep enterprise that was not of war nor were they yet in flight but rather seemed coming from some labor to which perhaps these and all other things stood subjugate."
The Crossing, Cormac McCarthy


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Posts tagged "steven soderbergh"
Procrastination Theatre: May 3, 2012 You should see this movie if you like any/all of the following: Strong women with insane fighting skills Steven Soderbergh Self-aware, stylized action thrillers Bill Paxton Pam Grier movies Any of the men whom Gina Carano beats up Fight choreography that feels real and brutal and efficient Realistic accounts of how sore a person would be after that much fighting Short, terse, well-crafted little movies without any padding Feeling like the many attractive Hollywood men had a lot of fun getting beaten up by a woman in the making of this movie Gina Carano (is a babe) You should not see this movie if you like the following: Sunset walks on the beach (you will get this joke if you have seen this movie already).

Procrastination Theatre: May 3, 2012

You should see this movie if you like any/all of the following:

  • Strong women with insane fighting skills
  • Steven Soderbergh
  • Self-aware, stylized action thrillers
  • Bill Paxton
  • Pam Grier movies
  • Any of the men whom Gina Carano beats up
  • Fight choreography that feels real and brutal and efficient
  • Realistic accounts of how sore a person would be after that much fighting
  • Short, terse, well-crafted little movies without any padding
  • Feeling like the many attractive Hollywood men had a lot of fun getting beaten up by a woman in the making of this movie
  • Gina Carano (is a babe)

You should not see this movie if you like the following:

  • Sunset walks on the beach (you will get this joke if you have seen this movie already).
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Procrastination Theatre: February 17, 2012 I want to call this an homage to Jackie Brown, but I feel that if the two movies are only a year apart, it’s more accurate to say that they are both similar manifestations of the same whatsit in the cultural whoozit. You could also reasonably call it Ocean’s Four: The Early Years. Anyway, this is on Netflix, so if you haven’t seen it yet, you really have no excuse. It’s excellent. Jennifer Lopez really taps into that same vein of charismatic un-actressness that Pam Grier taps into in Jackie Brown. I read a recent article about Haywire that said that Pam Grier was remarkable because you felt that you were simply watching a charismatic person acting, not an actress performing charisma. Jennifer Lopez has the same phenomenon here (but I don’t know where she lost her charisma). It’s also just a beautiful little serendipatious intersection of a movie - the connection between her and George Clooney is implausible and instantaneous but completely believable and completely magnetic. That bar scene, and the way she defends herself after they have sex, are both remarkable.  And if this all hasn’t convinced you, watch it for ALBERT BROOKS! (Also the shortest Viola Davis appearance ever…which is how I like it. Kidding. I haven’t seen Doubt, so all I know is that I hate The Help. I know she’s a fine actress so don’t jump up my butt.)

Procrastination Theatre: February 17, 2012

I want to call this an homage to Jackie Brown, but I feel that if the two movies are only a year apart, it’s more accurate to say that they are both similar manifestations of the same whatsit in the cultural whoozit. You could also reasonably call it Ocean’s Four: The Early Years. Anyway, this is on Netflix, so if you haven’t seen it yet, you really have no excuse. It’s excellent.

Jennifer Lopez really taps into that same vein of charismatic un-actressness that Pam Grier taps into in Jackie Brown. I read a recent article about Haywire that said that Pam Grier was remarkable because you felt that you were simply watching a charismatic person acting, not an actress performing charisma. Jennifer Lopez has the same phenomenon here (but I don’t know where she lost her charisma). It’s also just a beautiful little serendipatious intersection of a movie - the connection between her and George Clooney is implausible and instantaneous but completely believable and completely magnetic. That bar scene, and the way she defends herself after they have sex, are both remarkable. 

And if this all hasn’t convinced you, watch it for ALBERT BROOKS! (Also the shortest Viola Davis appearance ever…which is how I like it. Kidding. I haven’t seen Doubt, so all I know is that I hate The Help. I know she’s a fine actress so don’t jump up my butt.)

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stayforthecredits: “There was something transgressive about having the woman being the one who is attacked first, that there’s a sort of, in movie terms, a popular conception that women are weaker than men and that the only way that they can triumph in a hand-to-hand situation is if they somehow have an advantage from the beginning,” Soderbergh said. “They trick the guy and they get the upper hand because they’re being somewhat nefarious. Very consciously, in two circumstances, she’s attacked in an unprovoked manner and has to work her way back into winning the fight. With someone like Gina, you can pull that off and have it be believable. She can really break you in half.” (via)

stayforthecredits:

“There was something transgressive about having the woman being the one who is attacked first, that there’s a sort of, in movie terms, a popular conception that women are weaker than men and that the only way that they can triumph in a hand-to-hand situation is if they somehow have an advantage from the beginning,” Soderbergh said. “They trick the guy and they get the upper hand because they’re being somewhat nefarious. Very consciously, in two circumstances, she’s attacked in an unprovoked manner and has to work her way back into winning the fight. With someone like Gina, you can pull that off and have it be believable. She can really break you in half.” (via)

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“Carano’s screen presence evokes nothing less than 70s Pam Grier — where the effect is not that of an actor giving a natural and charismatic performance in a film, but, rather, a natural and charismatic person acting in a film. Carano’s line readings are occasionally atonal and flat, but that’s more than compensated for in the scenes where her personality and poise shine through, and if her voice may lack an elegant flow and nimble range of motion, her body, in action, has both of those in a way that speaks louder than words…. Shot by Soderbergh himself, as ever, Haywire is, like The Informant!, a movie shaped by the rhythms and rules of 70s and 60s entertainment. If you can imagine an action film where every fight plays out with the closed-quarters kill-or-die power of Connery vs Shaw in the train compartment in From Russia With Love — and get what that kind of intensity, energy and actors hurling themselves into their own action work means in an age of digital effects, wire-work and stunt doubles — then you will appreciate just how good Haywire is.” (x)

“Carano’s screen presence evokes nothing less than 70s Pam Grier — where the effect is not that of an actor giving a natural and charismatic performance in a film, but, rather, a natural and charismatic person acting in a film. Carano’s line readings are occasionally atonal and flat, but that’s more than compensated for in the scenes where her personality and poise shine through, and if her voice may lack an elegant flow and nimble range of motion, her body, in action, has both of those in a way that speaks louder than words…. Shot by Soderbergh himself, as ever, Haywire is, like The Informant!, a movie shaped by the rhythms and rules of 70s and 60s entertainment. If you can imagine an action film where every fight plays out with the closed-quarters kill-or-die power of Connery vs Shaw in the train compartment in From Russia With Love — and get what that kind of intensity, energy and actors hurling themselves into their own action work means in an age of digital effects, wire-work and stunt doubles — then you will appreciate just how good Haywire is.” (x)

(via stayforthecredits)

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