|
|
Post by tipou on Jan 17, 2009 1:21:08 GMT
ok so people, you will have to count me out on that one.
not that ru-ru cheri was not good - doing his job as always. cute as hell. but that is exactly it, the cuteness of it all, that got on my stomach.
rufus had the merit to look totally natural while everybody else seemed artificial. the story made no sense to me. the accents got me lost. england? not likely. canada (because of sarah mclaughlin singing)- nah. at one point i thought it was australia.
i usually like minnie driver very much, there, she just got on my nerves with too much mannerisms.
and the treatment of the film has aged unfavourably. if i once again get to see bits of films put in there just to plug a song, with actors goofing around to kill time, i sell my dvd player.
still a lot of delightful rufus stills to pick up for my pic collection. oh he looks niiiiiiiice.
|
|
|
|
Post by peach on Jan 17, 2009 3:50:12 GMT
TP, my sister didn't like this movie very much either.After I put away my Ruf biases, I took it for what it was, on face value, I expected to be entertained and I wasn't dissatisfied with the result. Yes it was cloying at times, but I thought Nigel Hawthorne (I'm a huge fan of his) was perfect and Ruf, well, what can I say. The guitar thingy was not realistic, but there were scenes esp. w/Laurie (ha, that's my name) that made my heart melt. It's his reaction to what is going on around him that makes him so truly endearing. Notice his facial expressions say when you watch TOTS, one scene in particular comes to mind. It's when Petruchio and Harry are outside the villa, Ruf eating an olive and Harry going on about marrying a rich widow. Just look how intently he is watching and listening. This and many other mannerisms of his are what set him apart from many, far too many of his contemporaries . It all seems so forced to me, Hullo, can someone say Clooney, Penn, Affleck? The only other actor worth his weight or is of the same caliber IMHO is Daniel Day Lewis, a true chameleon if ever there was one.
That's why Sachem is such a treat for me, yes it's hokey but that's the joy of it. I don't look for hidden messages or anything intellectual from it, it's just a sweet and sentimental little film.
|
|
|
|
Post by tipou on Jan 17, 2009 12:14:44 GMT
however, i like syrup, but just in small quantity.
even if i was not a rufian, i would have to say that he is the redeeming quality of the movie though. that was fine acting for sure, despite all.
about his face, i call it a silly putty face. do you remember silly putty? it came in a tiny ball, it was kind of a paste, you could mould it into anything, use it as a bouncing ball, you could even transfer images with it. amazing stuff. rufus' face is like this. just a twitch - there's another emotion, or another character. photograph can never render this. only movies can.
i made a theater student friend of mine notice this recently. he was wowed. apparently people train for years trying to achieve a portion of that skill. but, says julien, such sensibility is not learned, but a gift from birth.
|
|
|
|
Post by GreenEyesToo on Jan 17, 2009 13:09:26 GMT
If you want to see another perfect example of how emotions flit across Rufus's face in the blink of an eye, watch the scene in Charles II where Lady Castlemaine is trying to tempt him with the sleeping Lady Frances - desire and doubt and longing and wariness in the space of just a couple of seconds.
Sometimes I have to watch scenes like this twice straight off - once to watch his eyes, the other to watch his mouth. There is nothing he does on screen that doesn't have meaning.
|
|
|
|
Post by tipou on Jan 17, 2009 14:12:33 GMT
YES !!!!! this scene is a fave of mine too, same reason - there is even a tiny bit of horror in there...
oh my this is just what i mean by "silly putty face" and "rufusmorphing": how many things he can efficiently, yet subtly, convey in the matter of what? 3, 4 seconds? and with no general change in facial composure either! just a twitch here and there, a flash in the eye...
and the way he just nonchalantly leans over a post, like he has his charles posing throughout the movie, like he does not care, and then you fixate on that face and see all the conflicts..
really, had it been someone else in this role, you may have wondered why, at the end, he so suddenly reacts this way, and gets everything transformed around him, only rufus was there, and you have seen, all along, his visions build up, moulded by the events, the people around him, his own convictions...
this is a masterpiece-level rufus role for me too.
|
|
|
|
Post by GreenEyesToo on Jan 17, 2009 14:16:57 GMT
It's the role that hooked me on him, Tip, so it has a special place in my heart.
|
|
|
|
Post by dreamer on Jan 17, 2009 17:24:21 GMT
If you want to see another perfect example of how emotions flit across Rufus's face in the blink of an eye, watch the scene in Charles II where Lady Castlemaine is trying to tempt him with the sleeping Lady Frances - desire and doubt and longing and wariness in the space of just a couple of seconds. Sometimes I have to watch scenes like this twice straight off - once to watch his eyes, the other to watch his mouth. There is nothing he does on screen that doesn't have meaning. GE2 may you tell me about at what point of the movie is that scene? It's hard to me check out being it in english, thanks. |
|
|
|
Post by tipou on Jan 17, 2009 18:51:33 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by dreamer on Jan 17, 2009 22:15:51 GMT
Thanks a lot Tipou.
|
|
|
|
Post by dreamer on Jan 22, 2009 10:26:18 GMT
Finally I saw Uncorked last night.  Silly me, first I saw it without English subtitles and actually I didn't understand so much, Rufus goes fast when talks, I got just some of the plot. Then I found out eng. subs and I watched it again together with my daughter. We liked it pretty much, it's both funny and deep and Rufus is wonderful, as usual. The uncle is special and Nigel Hawthorne is perfect in that role, I had seen him before in "The Madness of King George", great. Has the name "uncorked" a double meaning, one real and one in metaphorical sense? |
|
|
|
Post by tipou on Jan 22, 2009 12:33:48 GMT
well i can oly offer my humble opinion:
"uncorked", of course can describe the "treasure" of old wine bottles that ross wants to sell in order to fulfill his dreams.
the uncle, "uncorking" the said bottles, seems to be destroying ross's future.
but at the same time, he forces his nephew to a deeper understanding of what he is and what he needs, gets him to focus on himself, and not only his loved ones..gets him to take his guitar again...
so ross, at last, can "uncork" his soul.
does it make sense?
|
|
|
|
Post by maxx02 on Jan 22, 2009 14:17:47 GMT
The film takes place near the Simi Valley just north of Los Angeles, to clear up that mystery. That's why "the family" are all Brits but the steering wheel of the car is on the right and all of the workmen sound like Americans.
I think this is a deceptive film. A lot of very fundamental and frightening concepts are being explored in it. One of my favorite scenes is the one where Ross want's to kill his Uncle. It's not funnmy and it's not meant to be. But we've all been in a spot when we wanted to throttle someone we care very deeply about then find it frightening after the fact.
It's interesting to watch Ross grow-up and realize that noone but himself was imposing the restrictions on him. It's interesting to watch him admit that he's afraid but it was easier to blame everyone around him for his inability to follow his dream.
This isn't just a sugar coated comedy. For Ross and actually even Kendel it's a huge leap forward toward accepting who they really are.
I love this film. I hate rom coms, can barely choke my way through Martha Meet... but this one is something special. It has something to say...
|
|
|
|
Post by tipou on Jan 22, 2009 14:29:39 GMT
i love rom/coms, but "uncorked" had peculiarities i had problems with, mostly technical.
but i will admit so much: it grows on you. about it, i may have to see it again. i keep being reminded of nigel hawthorne's performace, of the candid obstination rufus gives his sweet character.
i really like the meaning you give to ross's "enlightenment", i beleive it is very correct...
i definitely have to give this little movie another chance.
|
|
|
|
Post by tipou on Jan 22, 2009 15:58:04 GMT
dreamer, i saw "the madness of king george" wasn't it the nicest little movie ever? nigel hawthorne & helen mirren were so adorable! in bed, they would say: "ggod night mr. king! - good night, mrs. king!" it was such a good film.
|
|
|
|
Post by dreamer on Jan 22, 2009 15:58:29 GMT
I think this is a deceptive film. ... ...This isn't just a sugar coated comedy. For Ross and actually even Kendel it's a huge leap forward toward accepting who they really are. I love this film. I hate rom coms, can barely choke my way through Martha Meet... but this one is something special. It has something to say... I perfectly agree maxx. Ever since my first view (without subs) I got the inner meaning and (coincidence?), I watched the movie just when I was discussing with my family about "what is the true way of living". Of course I agree with uncle's thought. Said that, I found some hilarious scene: when Mr.Tang was singing or when the cook brings "tofu in the shape of a ham", Rufus face was great, too funny!  |
|
Silly me, first I saw it without English subtitles and actually I didn't understand so much, Rufus goes fast when talks, I got just some of the plot.
