gdp's Comments

Big Hollywood : HomeVideodrome: Shannon's 'Take Shelter' Performance Belongs in the Oscar Hunt

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 17:44:52 +0000

Take Shelter deserves far more attention than it received last year. Shannon and Chastain both gave remarkable performances and the tension and mystery that builds throughout kept me on edge. The ending is likely to divide audiences, but even those that don't like it should be able to appreciate what the rest of the film provides.

Big Hollywood : Daily Call Sheet: Julia & Meryl Violate the Geneva Conventions, CBS Embraces Streaming, and Leave To

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 16:41:48 +0000

Regarding Cogan's Trade, not only is the acting talent associated with it top notch, it's written and directed by Andrew Dominik, who gave us the great "The Assassination of Jesse James..." Even if it starred a bunch of no-namers, this one would be high on my priority list, but throw in the cast and it shoots to the top of my anticipation list.

Big Hollywood : Daily Call Sheet: Last Decade's Most Underrated Films, What 'Abe Lincoln: Vampire Slayer' Should Loo

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 21:57:58 +0000

loved his role in Burn After Reading... -"What did we learn?" -"I guess we learned not to do it again" -"f'd if I know what we did" between this and "Thank You for Smoking" you can tell the man has great comedic delivery

Big Hollywood : Daily Call Sheet: Last Decade's Most Underrated Films, What 'Abe Lincoln: Vampire Slayer' Should Loo

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 20:07:15 +0000

creating a best comedy category is unnecessary in my opinion. why a comedy category, and not an action category? or a horror category? or a _____ category? The only real demand for this is from comedy producers/filmmakers (apatow in particular), so he can garner more attention to his films. You don't see action/horror/whatever filmmakers complaining about not receiving oscar nominations.

Big Hollywood : Entertainment Weekly Calls Streep's Thatcher 'Total B*tch' in Poster Parody

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 15:30:42 +0000

lighten up... Ali's movie blog is hilarious. I'm a regular visitor to his site and this is the sort of thing he does. he and his other writers are not pushing an agenda, they're just trying to have fun with movie-related things. he did this with the oscar noms from the year before and has started doing it periodically throughout the year as well. see a few other ones, have a good laugh, and move on with your life. http://www.theshiznit.co.uk/feature/if-the-best-p... http://www.theshiznit.co.uk/feature/if-this-summe... http://www.theshiznit.co.uk/feature/if-the-rest-o... http://www.theshiznit.co.uk/feature/if-2012s-osca...

Big Hollywood : The Wrap: Meryl Streep Oscar-Promo Email Angers Academy Voters

Thu, 9 Feb 2012 18:46:03 +0000

The two best female acting performances that I saw in 2011 films were: -Olivia Coleman in Tyrannosaur -Jessica Chastain in Take Shelter The academy however seems inclined to nominate the women who play dress-up (streep as thatcher, williams as marilyn monroe, glenn close as a man) rather than the ones who actually deliver compelling, realistic, and difficult performances.

Big Hollywood : HomeVideodrome: Gosling's Cool and Cunning 'Drive,' Plus a Forgettable 'Killing Fields'

Thu, 2 Feb 2012 19:11:01 +0000

my only complaint about the Drive blu-ray release is that it's limited in its extras (although i hear the interview with Refn that's included is great). The director (Refn) stated that an "ultimate edition" is planned for release later in 2012 which should be a more satisfying overall package. that being said, this was my 2nd favorite film of 2011 (behind 13 Assassins), so I'll probably end up buying this one and then buy the ultimate edition later in the year and give this version to a friend. damn you home video distributors!! you got me!!

Big Hollywood : Five Best Picture Winner Blu-ray Review: Four Must-Owns and 'Crash'

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:48:16 +0000

When will "Sack Lunch" finally get released?

Big Hollywood : Oscar Nominations Announced: 'Hugo’ Leads with 11, ‘The Artist’ 10, ‘Moneyball’ and ‘War

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:55:10 +0000

Tree of Life won the Palme d'Or at Cannes, the highest prize. It was met with a mixture of boos and cheers after its initial screening (which isn't all that unusual at Cannes), but went on to win

Big Hollywood : Oscar Nominations Announced: 'Hugo’ Leads with 11, ‘The Artist’ 10, ‘Moneyball’ and ‘War

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:53:43 +0000

they could release a 90 minute film of Alan Rickman sitting in a chair and reading the yellow pages and I'd probably enjoy it

Big Hollywood : Oscar Nominations Announced: 'Hugo’ Leads with 11, ‘The Artist’ 10, ‘Moneyball’ and ‘War

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:52:05 +0000

i don't know about Malick getting best director... I think Tree of Life is a shoe-in for Cinematography (or at least I hope), but i'd bet on Hazanavicius or Scorsese taking best director. I think Malick deserves it, but I don't see them giving him it

Big Hollywood : Oscar Nominations Announced: 'Hugo’ Leads with 11, ‘The Artist’ 10, ‘Moneyball’ and ‘War

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:50:36 +0000

what JoanofArgghh said... it got a limited release on Dec 21. A lot of other films did that as well just to have a qualifying run (e.g. We Need to Talk About Kevin, Shame, etc.)

Big Hollywood : Oscar Nominations Announced: 'Hugo’ Leads with 11, ‘The Artist’ 10, ‘Moneyball’ and ‘War

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:33:37 +0000

Sucks for Drive, which was one of my favorites of the year

Big Hollywood : Daily Call Sheet: Box Office Analysis, America Doesn't Care About Sundance and '30 Rock' Day 2

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 18:20:55 +0000

it seems to me that Nolte is arguing that since the films from Sundance didn't make huge amounts at the box office, that the festival is a waste of time. Can't argue the box office results, but since when do we judge the quality of films by box office results. There's a number of films now considered to be among the greatest of all time that flopped at the box office. If we're to argue that box office results produce the best films, then Transformers 3, Pirates 4, Twilight 4, Fast 5, Hangover 2, Smurfs, and Cars 2 are among the 10 best films of last year. In my opinion, a number of the films coming out of Sundance 2011 were some of the best of the year, and are original works, not sequels or big hollywood properties (e.g. The Guard, Buck, Martha Marcy..., Take Shelter, Another Earth, Being Elmo, Bellflower). So we shut down independent film festivals and leave no alternative for those of us that don't get a rise out of the latest Transformers sequel? Not begrudging those that love the latest Michael Bay or Tween Vampire flick, as there's plenty of differing tastes out there that I in no way wish to change, but why hate on a festival that helps to bring to light some original films that reach a different, albeit smaller, segment of the movie-going public.

Big Hollywood : Daily Call Sheet: Why Studios Hate Streaming and America Doesn't Care About Sundance or '30 Rock'

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 20:18:26 +0000

a timely article from FSR on the topic of Sundance, which shows a large number of examples of major films and directors who essentially got their start through Sundance: http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/film-festivals/s... I think it's a folly for people to write-off Sundance as just another left-wing hollywood parade

Big Hollywood : Daily Call Sheet: Why Studios Hate Streaming and America Doesn't Care About Sundance or '30 Rock'

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 19:54:08 +0000

and in 2010, a few "conservative" films premiered at Sundance including the documentaries "Restrepo" and "Waiting for Superman" and the film "Four Lions" which mocked Muslim extremists and probably got a Fatwa put on Chris Morris and the whole cast of the film. independent film festivals showcase far better films than the major hollywood studios produce. 2011, especially was a fantastic year for the independent filmmaker vs the hollywood studio pictures.

Big Hollywood : Big Movie Flashback: 'Natural Born Killers' (1994)

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 16:04:25 +0000

wow... haven't thought about serial mom in a while, but definitely am going to be watching again soon. Kathleen Turner was hilarious in it.

Big Hollywood : 'Carnage' Review: Polanski's Latest a Bloody Good Time

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 22:53:14 +0000

Is it just me or did your statement not make sense? Perhaps it was missing some punctuation, but the "If you cannot see the difference is supporting..." part threw me off. Should "is" be "between"? Clear writing is a skill not everyone possesses it seems.

Big Hollywood : 'Carnage' Review: Polanski's Latest a Bloody Good Time

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 22:49:33 +0000

you keep giving me these great hypothetical situations (first hitler is making movies, now I've got a daughter who wants to date Polanski...) which I know are just attempts to get me to say something contradictory, but that's fine because it at least gives me some chances to think and take this in a direction I never would have thought it would go. Again, I don't have a daughter, so don't know what it will be like to have one and how my reasoning and emotions will change if I'm ever blessed with one, but I'll play along. No I would not want my daughter to date Roman Polanski, but wow what a horrible way to judge a man. There's probably a lot of people that I would not want to date my daughter, but may be otherwise fine individuals. I would never use that as a litmus test of a person. Sure, recidivism is a concern, and often past behavior can be used as a predictor of future behavior. My point was that you can't assign burden of proof on innocence. Sure, you could have suspicions or doubts due to recidivism rates, but you asked me to PROVE that he hasn't committed further acts of statutory rape. So everyone that's done something illegal or immoral in the past must prove that they no longer engage in those activities? We're gonna need a lot more courts, judges, and probation/parole officers. The current administration never met a government expansion that they didn't support, so your new standards for justice should fit right in to their agenda, and since we don't need a federal budget anymore, they can just pencil those expenses right in.

Big Hollywood : 'Carnage' Review: Polanski's Latest a Bloody Good Time

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 22:23:49 +0000

"If you cannot see the difference is supporting people who exercise their constitutional right to free speech and people who perform criminal acts of the most disgusting kind, then to debate you would be an exercise in futility." I don't think I'm following what you mean here. Of what "difference" are you speaking?