Like most people, I maintain a spreadsheet containing a list of all the movies I’ve watched over the last 4 1/2 years. I'm drawing from recent months of that list to bring you two movies to avoid at all costs.
- What the #$*! Do We Know!?
particleman.org is the place to bring bold new ideas to the world. I'll go way out on a limb here and postulate that science and religion don't mix well. Especially when that religion is dressed up as quantum mechanics. imagine spending 2 1/2 hours at a dianetics convention that had mostly phrenologists and astrologists on the guest-list. then imagine poking yourself in the eye with a fork. that's pretty much what watching this movie is like. - The Stepford Wives
about two minutes into this movie i found myself wondering if i was suffering from a case of amnesia. how had i arrived here? who were all these people? what was up with this tiny bit of throw-up in my mouth? seriously, why had i rented this pos?the only theory that made any sense was the inclusion of nicole kidman in the cast. apparently, at some point in the past she had been in a lot of movies that I really liked. this movie has made me forget what those movies might have been, but according to the internet, she was, indeed in some really good movies: To Die For, The Others, The Hours, Dead Calm.
if i had studied her filmography a little closer, i would have noticed that her inclusion was no assurance of a quality movie: Practical Magic, Far and Away, Batman Forever, Days of Thunder. Let's face it, with her track record, it's a wonder she hasn't been in a Smokey and the Bandit sequel. I'll be a little more careful in the future.
as always, the comment board is open.
Comments (5)
ha! What The $*(QSJ!! Do We Know... oh man... That was filmed in Portland... at the SAME theater I was watching it in... kinda freaky... because that same theater served beer... yea. i wanted to fork out my eyes...
Posted by cherz | February 10, 2007 8:16 PM
Posted on February 10, 2007 20:16
URL: http://
m - i guess that's kinda to my reasoning in choosing a movie because i've liked an actor's previous work. my theory is thus: an actor chose to be in a movie where all the elements came together. something in their decision-making process clicked. when they choose roles later on, i'm taking a leap of faith that they'll use the same decision-making process. kidman apparently uses some variant on "pin the tail on the donkey" to choose a role. fyi - i'm WAY more likely to blindly choose a movie based on the director.
Posted by skorloff | February 10, 2007 8:16 PM
Posted on February 10, 2007 20:16
URL: http://www.whiterose.org/michael/blog
I don't think she's capable of making a movie good (or bad) on her own. Right cast, right director, right story and you can get something really good from the ensemble, but poison those elements and she's not going to carry the film. "An example of each", I hear you cry? OK. I enjoyed Moulon Rouge completely. Kidman, McGregor, and company did an excellent job bringing Luhrman's bohemian fairy tale to life. On the other hand, I actively disliked Eyes Wide Shut, and while Kidman was in the one scene I thought didn't completely suck, she didn't lift the rest of the movie out of the pit dug by the really poor script.
Posted by Michael | February 10, 2007 8:16 PM
Posted on February 10, 2007 20:16
URL: http://
i think "pretty" by itself is probably why i had tended away from movies with her. once she was getting props for having something resembling skillz, i took another look. the movies i saw were good and she made them good. hence the blind "stepford" rental. i'll be much more judicious in the future.
Posted by skorloff | February 10, 2007 8:16 PM
Posted on February 10, 2007 20:16
URL: http://
hmm, that's funny. all of the Nicole Kidman movies I've seen are in your second list. plus a couple other you didn't list of course. but i haven't seen any in the first list. this might explain why i think she's a terrible actress, but very pretty.
Posted by p-man | February 10, 2007 8:16 PM
Posted on February 10, 2007 20:16