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Showing posts with label buscemi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label buscemi. Show all posts
Thursday, April 22, 2010
The Big Lebowski is exactly what the brothers Coen do best – a quirky film about morons. And what is The Dude if not a loveable moron? Set during the Golf War, The Big Lebowski is started by a tale of mistaken identity, that leads our main character into the role of armature gumshoe when the “big” Lebowski’s wife disappears and all The Dude wants is to get paid and bowl.
Robert Altman may have made movies that were about nothing in the sense that they were a slice of his characters life, but the it’s the Coen’s that have truly mastered the art of making films about nothing and The Big Lebowski is a classic example of this. A great many things occur in The Big Lebowski and yet a traditional, filmic plot never appears; in fact, evey event that should be a ground breaking plot point simply fizzles out and turns out to be less than important to the film as a whole. It’s beautiful, brilliant, hilarious and surprisingly hard to do well.
In a career or brilliant films and characters, Jeff Bridges fits The Dude perfectly. He is a joy to watch and after seeing him at awards shows for Crazy Heart I am pretty sure that one of the reasons The Dude seems so authentic is because Bridges is really that laid back and relaxed.
As amazing as The Dude is, for me Walter Sobchak (John Goodman) stole the show. Walter is The Dude’s best friend and a Vietnam War vet who wants to relate everything back to his time in Nam. He is loud, bostrious, angry and everything that you want a crazy Coen character to be. The only reason Goodman doesn’t steal Bridges’s scenes is because the Coen’s manage to raise the two consistently to the level of the other, playing off each other beautifully to create part of the magic of the world of The Big Lebowski.
Along with Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, The Big Lebowski might hold some of my favorite narration in a film – ever. For no apparent reason the film is narrated by a cowboy patron of the bar at the bowling alley in the film, and he’s a narrator that looses his train of thought and admires The Dude for no other reason than he admires his style. It’s a fantastic way to open and close the film, rivaling the FBI officials in Burn After Reading.
The Big Lebowski is a cult classic for a reason. If like me, you’re a Coen fan that hasn’t seen it I highly recommend changing that. I did.
Directed & Written By: Joel & Ethan Coen
Jeffrey Lebowski/The Dude: Jeff Bridges
Walter Sobchak: John Goodman
Maude Lebowski: Julianne Moore
Donny: Steve Buscemi
Jeffrey Lebowski/The Big LEbowski: David Huddleston
Brandt: Philip Seymour Hoffman
Bunny Lebowski: Tara Reid
The Dude: And, you know, he's got emotional problems, man.
Walter Sobchak: You mean... beyond pacifism?
Robert Altman may have made movies that were about nothing in the sense that they were a slice of his characters life, but the it’s the Coen’s that have truly mastered the art of making films about nothing and The Big Lebowski is a classic example of this. A great many things occur in The Big Lebowski and yet a traditional, filmic plot never appears; in fact, evey event that should be a ground breaking plot point simply fizzles out and turns out to be less than important to the film as a whole. It’s beautiful, brilliant, hilarious and surprisingly hard to do well.
In a career or brilliant films and characters, Jeff Bridges fits The Dude perfectly. He is a joy to watch and after seeing him at awards shows for Crazy Heart I am pretty sure that one of the reasons The Dude seems so authentic is because Bridges is really that laid back and relaxed.
As amazing as The Dude is, for me Walter Sobchak (John Goodman) stole the show. Walter is The Dude’s best friend and a Vietnam War vet who wants to relate everything back to his time in Nam. He is loud, bostrious, angry and everything that you want a crazy Coen character to be. The only reason Goodman doesn’t steal Bridges’s scenes is because the Coen’s manage to raise the two consistently to the level of the other, playing off each other beautifully to create part of the magic of the world of The Big Lebowski.
Along with Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, The Big Lebowski might hold some of my favorite narration in a film – ever. For no apparent reason the film is narrated by a cowboy patron of the bar at the bowling alley in the film, and he’s a narrator that looses his train of thought and admires The Dude for no other reason than he admires his style. It’s a fantastic way to open and close the film, rivaling the FBI officials in Burn After Reading.
The Big Lebowski is a cult classic for a reason. If like me, you’re a Coen fan that hasn’t seen it I highly recommend changing that. I did.
Directed & Written By: Joel & Ethan Coen
Jeffrey Lebowski/The Dude: Jeff Bridges
Walter Sobchak: John Goodman
Maude Lebowski: Julianne Moore
Donny: Steve Buscemi
Jeffrey Lebowski/The Big LEbowski: David Huddleston
Brandt: Philip Seymour Hoffman
Bunny Lebowski: Tara Reid
The Dude: And, you know, he's got emotional problems, man.
Walter Sobchak: You mean... beyond pacifism?
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Robbie Hart is the best wedding singer around…until his fiancée Linda doesn’t show up to their wedding. This sends Robbie into a downward spiral that his friends Julia, Sammy & Holly to pull him out of it. Even though Robbie can no longer stand to perform at a wedding he agrees to help Julia plan hers when her fiancée Glen is less than amenable to helping Julia. The problem becomes that somewhere along the way Robbie and Julia begin to develop feelings for one another and Robbie begins to learn that Glenn has less that honorable intentions towards Julia.
The Wedding Singer is a movie that came out when I was in high school and I have to say that my love for this movie has stuck with me since the first time I watched it. While this movie is no Billy Madison or Happy Gilmore I think that it is dang funny, the humor is a bit more subtle and pop culture oriented than Sandler’s pervious films. The Wedding Singer is set in 1985 and makes fun of everything from Miami Vice & Michael Jackson to Delorian’s & Madonna. The Wedding Singer still has angry outbursts that are part of Sandler’s comedy but in the end those actually add into the arch of Robbie’s character and not just add to the chuckle factor inherent in the film.
This movie is a romantic comedy, but it is a romantic comedy with a genuine sense of humor and that makes it a very memorable one in my book. I implore you to watch this film and not find something to laugh at – especially if you are a child of the 80’s or early 90’s.
Director: Frank Coraci
Writer: Tim Herlihy
Robbie: Adam Sandler
Julia: Drew Barrymore
Holly: Christine Taylor
Sammy: Allen Covery
Glenn: Matthew Glave
Rosie: Ellen Albertini Dow
Linda: Angela Featherstone
George: Alexis Arquette
David: Steve Buscemi
Linda: The point is, I woke up this morning and realized I'm about to get married to a wedding singer? I am never gonna leave Richfield!
Robbie: Why do you need to leave Richfield? We grew up here. All our friends are here; it's the perfect place to raise a family.
Linda: Oh, yeah - sure! Living in your sister's basement with five kids while you're off every weekends doing wedding gigs at a whoppin' sixty bucks a pop?
Robbie: Once again, things that could've been brought to my attention YESTERDAY!
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
I heard Quentin Tarantino say once that he made a film before Reservoir Dogs that wasn’t worthy to be melted into guitar picks. Luckily Reservoir Dogs is good for a lot more than guitar picks.
The story of Reservoir Dogs is simple; a crime boss has a fence for some uncut diamonds that he wants to steal from a local diamond wholesaler so he hires 6 goons to pull the job, it should be simple – in and out. However, the actual heist goes sour fast and the goons that do manage to escape begin to think that there is a rat in their midst and they begin to tear each other apart.
This story is simple, but the way it is told is not. Tarantino blazed on the scene by making a film that was beautifully complex and layered and just off-beat enough to really sink in. It’s told through two time lines: the present and flashbacks for each important character so you can see how they got there. We are lulled into complacency with a witty speech about Madonna’s Like A Virgin and why tipping waitresses should not be a societal norm, then we are plunged directly into the after effects of the heist without ever seeing the actual heist.
This film would not be as entertaining as it is without a cast of phenomenal actors to fully realize the quirky characters within. Mr. Blonde (Michael Madsen) is the hardened con who has done time for his boss and lost a bit of his sanctity for human life along the way. Mr. White (Harvey Keitel) os the old and wisened criminal who wants out of the heist clean but feels ultimately responsible for the bullet Mr. Orange took to the gut. Mr. Pink (Steve Buscemi) is the nervous, by the book con who wants to split. Mr. Orange (Tim Roth) is the undercover cop, shot in the gut. Mr. Brown (Tarantino) is the cheeky criminal who doesn’t make it out of the heist. All the performances are great, and the flashbacks are phenomenal. With each one we learn something else about the character and how they have gotten into this situation.
Tarantino is known for making super-violent films. However, while violence does occasionally bother me, I am the first to say that of all the films I’ve seen Tarantino does violence and gore in some of the most artistic ways I’ve ever seen. Reservoir Dogs is no exception. The Tarantino scene that shocked the world is in this film – and it is surprisingly less gory than you’ve been led to believe. Mr. Blonde chops off a bound and gagged police officer’s ear…and it is nail biting and stomach turning, but you actually don’t see a dang thing.
With this film Tarantino took the film world by storm, and I hope to emulate that someday as well.
Writer & Director: Quentin Tarantino
Mr. White: Harvey Keitel
Mr. Orange: Tim Roth
MR. Blonde: Michael Madsen
Mr. Pink: Steve Buscemi
Mr. Blue: Eddie Bunker
Mr. Brown: Quentin Tarantino
Eddie: Chris Penn
Joe: Lawrence Tierney
Officer Nash: Kirk Baltz
Joe: With the exception of Eddie and myself, whom you already know, we're going to be using aliases on this job. Under no circumstances do I want any one of you to relate to each other by your Christian names, and I don't want any talk about yourself personally. That includes where you been, your wife's name, where you might've done time, or maybe a bank you robbed in St. Petersburg. All I want you guys to talk about, if you have to, is what you're going to do. That should do it. Here are your names...Mr. Brown, Mr. White, Mr. Blonde, Mr. Blue, Mr. Orange, and Mr. Pink.
Mr. Pink: Why am I Mr. Pink?
Joe: Because you're a faggot, alright?
The story of Reservoir Dogs is simple; a crime boss has a fence for some uncut diamonds that he wants to steal from a local diamond wholesaler so he hires 6 goons to pull the job, it should be simple – in and out. However, the actual heist goes sour fast and the goons that do manage to escape begin to think that there is a rat in their midst and they begin to tear each other apart.
This story is simple, but the way it is told is not. Tarantino blazed on the scene by making a film that was beautifully complex and layered and just off-beat enough to really sink in. It’s told through two time lines: the present and flashbacks for each important character so you can see how they got there. We are lulled into complacency with a witty speech about Madonna’s Like A Virgin and why tipping waitresses should not be a societal norm, then we are plunged directly into the after effects of the heist without ever seeing the actual heist.
This film would not be as entertaining as it is without a cast of phenomenal actors to fully realize the quirky characters within. Mr. Blonde (Michael Madsen) is the hardened con who has done time for his boss and lost a bit of his sanctity for human life along the way. Mr. White (Harvey Keitel) os the old and wisened criminal who wants out of the heist clean but feels ultimately responsible for the bullet Mr. Orange took to the gut. Mr. Pink (Steve Buscemi) is the nervous, by the book con who wants to split. Mr. Orange (Tim Roth) is the undercover cop, shot in the gut. Mr. Brown (Tarantino) is the cheeky criminal who doesn’t make it out of the heist. All the performances are great, and the flashbacks are phenomenal. With each one we learn something else about the character and how they have gotten into this situation.
Tarantino is known for making super-violent films. However, while violence does occasionally bother me, I am the first to say that of all the films I’ve seen Tarantino does violence and gore in some of the most artistic ways I’ve ever seen. Reservoir Dogs is no exception. The Tarantino scene that shocked the world is in this film – and it is surprisingly less gory than you’ve been led to believe. Mr. Blonde chops off a bound and gagged police officer’s ear…and it is nail biting and stomach turning, but you actually don’t see a dang thing.
With this film Tarantino took the film world by storm, and I hope to emulate that someday as well.
Writer & Director: Quentin Tarantino
Mr. White: Harvey Keitel
Mr. Orange: Tim Roth
MR. Blonde: Michael Madsen
Mr. Pink: Steve Buscemi
Mr. Blue: Eddie Bunker
Mr. Brown: Quentin Tarantino
Eddie: Chris Penn
Joe: Lawrence Tierney
Officer Nash: Kirk Baltz
Joe: With the exception of Eddie and myself, whom you already know, we're going to be using aliases on this job. Under no circumstances do I want any one of you to relate to each other by your Christian names, and I don't want any talk about yourself personally. That includes where you been, your wife's name, where you might've done time, or maybe a bank you robbed in St. Petersburg. All I want you guys to talk about, if you have to, is what you're going to do. That should do it. Here are your names...Mr. Brown, Mr. White, Mr. Blonde, Mr. Blue, Mr. Orange, and Mr. Pink.
Mr. Pink: Why am I Mr. Pink?
Joe: Because you're a faggot, alright?
Friday, June 27, 2008
I’m pretty darn sure that the first Robert Rodriguez film I ever saw was Desperado - and I watched it on VHS in full frame. But it didn’t matter. I was hooked. There is something about Rodriguez to this day that remains fresh, original and unlike anything you see coming out of Hollywood. His films are invigorating. Once I got older and stopped pretending film wasn’t my life I realized how truly remarkable Desperado was.
Desperado is Rodriguez’s second feature film, but his first made in Hollywood with a budget. In one rapid move Rodriguez went from El Mariachi where he used friends and favors to make the film, to having Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek as his stars in the sequel. The film, and the back story of how it was made, are simply amazing.
Desperado picks up a few years after El Mariachi and is the second part of Rodriguez’s Mexico trilogy – which Quentin Tarantino has called Rodriguez’s Man With No Name trilogy.
The film itself picks up an undisclosed amount of years after the events in El Mariachi, but just enough time to allow the legend of the Mariachi’s vendetta against the crime lords in Mexico to spread and ruminate, creating a sense of terror when his name is mentioned. Everyone is on the lookout for a mariachi dressed in all black carrying a guitar case, terrified that they’ll be his next target.
Our mariachi has gained several teammates or allies so to speak in the second installment including a sidekick played by Steve Buscemi who has my favorite scene in the film; his job is to lay down the mariachi lore in each town Mariachi goes to and he enjoys his embellishment. This is how the film is opened to audiences as so many people did not have the opportunity to view El Mariachi before the release of Desperado; Buscemi enters a scummy bar operated by Cheech Marin and Buscemi delivers an over-exaggerated firsthand account of having to survive the Mariachi’s attack at his last bar. A tremendous scene.
Mariachi’s other allies are Campa & Quino: two other trouble makers with guitar cases as well. Campa is played by Carlos Gallardo who was the actory that portrayed Mariachi in El Mariachi. These two show up just in time to help Mariachi destroy the town and the criminals in it.
The final sidekick that Mariachi is given in Desperado is Carolina played by Salma Hayek. At the beginning of the film she is a bystander while Mariachi is being attacked and he saves her life; Carolina reciprocates the favor as Mariachi is wounded in the exchange and she doctors him up. Banderas and Hayek are delightful to watch in the film; their chemistry is palpable and they bring almost an aura of Grant & Hepburn from The Philadelphia Story to the film.
For those of you that have never heard him sing, there is a musical number in the film and yes Antonio Banderas can sing.
Like him or not there is one thing that you have to admit about Robert Rodriguez: the man is the stuff of Hollywood legend. He will be remembered for decades after he stops making films because of how he got his career and went about making his films. He is a revolutionary individual.
Director & Writer: Robert Rodriguez
El Mariachi: Antonio Banderas
Carolina: Salma Hayek
Bucho: Joaquim de Almeida
Short Bartender: Cheech Marin
Buscemi: Steve Buscemi
Pick-Up Guy: Quentin Tarantino
Navajas: Danny Trejo
Campa: Carols Gallardo
Quino: Albert Michael Jr.
Buscemi: So, I'm sitting there. And in walks the biggest Mexican I have ever seen. Big as shit. Just walks right in like he owns the place. And nobody knew quite what to make of him... or quite what to think. There he was and in he walked. He was dark too. I don't mean dark-skinned. No, this was different. It was if he was always walking in a shadow. I mean every step he took toward the light, just when you thought his face was about to be revealed... it wasn't. It was as if the lights dimmed, just for him.
Desperado is Rodriguez’s second feature film, but his first made in Hollywood with a budget. In one rapid move Rodriguez went from El Mariachi where he used friends and favors to make the film, to having Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek as his stars in the sequel. The film, and the back story of how it was made, are simply amazing.
Desperado picks up a few years after El Mariachi and is the second part of Rodriguez’s Mexico trilogy – which Quentin Tarantino has called Rodriguez’s Man With No Name trilogy.
The film itself picks up an undisclosed amount of years after the events in El Mariachi, but just enough time to allow the legend of the Mariachi’s vendetta against the crime lords in Mexico to spread and ruminate, creating a sense of terror when his name is mentioned. Everyone is on the lookout for a mariachi dressed in all black carrying a guitar case, terrified that they’ll be his next target.
Our mariachi has gained several teammates or allies so to speak in the second installment including a sidekick played by Steve Buscemi who has my favorite scene in the film; his job is to lay down the mariachi lore in each town Mariachi goes to and he enjoys his embellishment. This is how the film is opened to audiences as so many people did not have the opportunity to view El Mariachi before the release of Desperado; Buscemi enters a scummy bar operated by Cheech Marin and Buscemi delivers an over-exaggerated firsthand account of having to survive the Mariachi’s attack at his last bar. A tremendous scene.
Mariachi’s other allies are Campa & Quino: two other trouble makers with guitar cases as well. Campa is played by Carlos Gallardo who was the actory that portrayed Mariachi in El Mariachi. These two show up just in time to help Mariachi destroy the town and the criminals in it.
The final sidekick that Mariachi is given in Desperado is Carolina played by Salma Hayek. At the beginning of the film she is a bystander while Mariachi is being attacked and he saves her life; Carolina reciprocates the favor as Mariachi is wounded in the exchange and she doctors him up. Banderas and Hayek are delightful to watch in the film; their chemistry is palpable and they bring almost an aura of Grant & Hepburn from The Philadelphia Story to the film.
For those of you that have never heard him sing, there is a musical number in the film and yes Antonio Banderas can sing.
Like him or not there is one thing that you have to admit about Robert Rodriguez: the man is the stuff of Hollywood legend. He will be remembered for decades after he stops making films because of how he got his career and went about making his films. He is a revolutionary individual.
Director & Writer: Robert Rodriguez
El Mariachi: Antonio Banderas
Carolina: Salma Hayek
Bucho: Joaquim de Almeida
Short Bartender: Cheech Marin
Buscemi: Steve Buscemi
Pick-Up Guy: Quentin Tarantino
Navajas: Danny Trejo
Campa: Carols Gallardo
Quino: Albert Michael Jr.
Buscemi: So, I'm sitting there. And in walks the biggest Mexican I have ever seen. Big as shit. Just walks right in like he owns the place. And nobody knew quite what to make of him... or quite what to think. There he was and in he walked. He was dark too. I don't mean dark-skinned. No, this was different. It was if he was always walking in a shadow. I mean every step he took toward the light, just when you thought his face was about to be revealed... it wasn't. It was as if the lights dimmed, just for him.
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