danieljparsons
http://www.flixster.com/user/danieljparsons
| Name | Daniel Parsons |
|---|---|
| Gender | Male |
| I'm From | London, England |
| Member For | 673 days |
| Last Login | Wed. Aug 20 |
| Profile Views | 2297 |
| Age | 26 |
| MCT Score |
| Movie: | I love independent cinema, particularly ensemble drama stuff, as well as horror, sci-fi, romance, quirky flicks. check out my fave movies. |
|---|---|
| Actor: | Tend to appreciate character actors more than movie stars - usually the actors who play supporting roles in big movies or lead roles in indie stuff. Lauren Ambrose, Mary-Louise Parker, the Gyllenhaal siblings, Catherine Keener and Joseph Gordon-Levitt are among my faves. |
| Director: | Alexander Payne, Alfonso Cuarón, Richard Linklater, François Ozon, Lucas Belvaux, Quentin Tarantino, Woody Allen, Gus Van Sant, Steven Soderbergh, Martin Scorsese, Pedro Almodóvar, Jacques Audiard, Christopher Nolan, Alfred Hitchcock, Chan-wook Park, Steven Spielberg, Greg Araki, Curtis Hanson, Wes Anderson. |
| Quote: | "I don't know what drives me to love music the way I do, to never tire of its alchemy and its ability to heal me or others, or balance light and dark, but I hope to be able to share that gift for years to come, the gift of loving it so completely and with a full heart, no matter what it may sound like, or seem like to people, and I hope I find more ways to share that. In essence, what a person loves is what they are." - Ryan Adams |
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"Well my tongue is tied and I'm seeing stars, I got a million ugly words for what you are, I got a busted back and a broken heart, I guess that everything is better wherever you are." - Callbacks by We Are Scientists Everyone should experience Brain / Thrust / Mastery
Little Blab from me:
I'm getting very restless when it comes to the background on my page at the moment, so you may see it change a lot. I if I had the inclination, patience and talent I'd design some of my own... maybe one day when I'm really bored. So, just to reiterate it for anyone who stumbles on this page, I'm here for my love of film. Film is a constant in my life that has never wavered; even when slogging through the latest Adam Sandler 'comedy' or Michael Bay crapfest, I know there's always another gem right around the corner. I'm particularly interested in independent films, French films, GLBT flicks and anything with an original sounding premise or some talent behind or in front of the camera. I'd rather watch a film that is incredibly depressing and downbeat than something that is instantly forgettable. I don't understand people (which includes some of my closest friends) who like watching movies that just 'pass the time' that they don't have to concentrate on. Flixster is a truly great website when used correctly. I'm trying hard to write reviews for every film I watch but it can be a long process and I sometimes find it hard to get motivated to write up a review on a mediocre or bad film. I also very much appreciate any recommendations and am happy to share opinions. I'm a nice guy usually but if you've added me just to send me crap about having a relationship or checking out your widget then I'll, politely, tell you where to go and block the fuck out of you. If I've added you it's because I've looked at your profile and read some of your reviews, and found them interesting or helpful. I log onto Flixster practically every day so feel free to write me a message, and I'm also on Facebook for any Flixster friends who want to add me (link below). Peace out, Dan x
 "Bush invaded a Sovereign Nation in defiance of the UN. He's a war criminal and now I'm supposed to be one of his disposable thugs with a fuckin' target on my head in the middle of the desert, waiting to be blown up by a car bomb rigged by a twelve year old who loved 'Friends' and 'Metalica' until one of our missiles blew up his house?" - Andy, Weeds.
![Ryan Adams, Parker Posey, Lauren Ambrose, Keith Murray, Mary-Louise Parker [Personal Heroes]](http://s200.photobucket.com/albums/aa95/danieljparsons/?action=view¤t=Heroes.jpg) |
Daniel's Recent Reviews
Heavy Petting
Unrated
OMG, look at that AWFUL AWFUL cover art. But..... Brendan Hines, Brendan Hines, Brendan Hines.
Towelhead
R
It's from the creator of the best TV series in the history of the universe (Six Feet Under) and one of the greatest films of the 90s (American Beauty), and stars Toni Collette and Maria Bello. Expectations are high.
Daniel's Favorite Movies
1.
Rosemary's Baby
R
Much imitated, never bettered horror classic. Polanski ratchets up the tension practically from the beginning and the story cleverly puts doubt in the viewer as to whether Rosemary is right to be paranoid or if she's just delusional (for instance, was the dream real or imagined?). Mia Farrow is inspired casting, giving a pitch-perfect perfomance and using her physicality to great effect (she seems to get paler and more fragile as the movie progresses). Little bit of trivia: Ira Levin, who wrote the book the film is based on, dedicated the sequel, Son of Rosemary (which was also made into an abysmal made-for-TV film) to Mia Farrow.
2.
Swimming
R
Three things, to me, elevate this movie to five-star excellence. The first is the brilliance and relateability of Lauren Ambrose's exceptional performance. She can project five emotions just through a facial expression. The second, is the simplicity of the story, and its realism. And the third is perhaps more personal; one scene features the Leona Naess song "Comatised" - one of my faves of all time!
3.
Shortbus
Unrated
We all get it in the end.You know, I'd read so many positive things about this film in the press and through recommendations that I had exceptionally high hopes, but even so I didn't think I would fall so head over heels in love with it. The last time a film has left me feeling so simultaneously happy and reflective was after seeing C.R.A.Z.Y. for the first time.
Shortbus is infamous for its explicit, real sex featuring the leading cast in all different forms, partnerships, genders etc. It's also become something of a cliché to read reviews stating how the sex is just a small part of the film when in fact the story goes deeper (no pun intended) than sex itself. But the sex is a necessary part of the film and is a part of the narrative, and in a way quite apart from other 'real' films featuring real sex (9 Songs and twenty-nine palms for instance, both of which feature real sex, completely fail to achieve anything except boredom; they're not even arousing). It helps that the cast all seem to be genuinely 'into' it, and director John Cameron Mitchell gets fantastic, way beyond the call of duty performances from pretty much the entire main cast; they should all be proud of the film they have made and deserve to be cast in more features.
Things I loved about this film include: The way the city of New York is visualized through computer graphics and art design (which includes an almost show-stopping power out moment). The end music number. The music, period. The story of the 'spying' guy. The funny, relatable script. The homes of the characters set design/props are extremely well thought out and fit well into the stories. The heartbreakingly funny moment when a character confesses their real name, and another moment where a character gets a visual of how worthless they feel. The uplifting ending. And everything else.
"...it's a great workout, it feels good, and I love, you know, loving my husband. It's just you know there comes a point sometimes where it just gets really... a lot of pressure, and kind of like, uh, it feels a little bit, ah, kind of like, um, like someone's gonna kill me and I just have to, you know, smile and pretend to enjoy it. Yeah. That way I can survive."
4.
Dans Paris (Inside Paris)
Unrated
Fabulous experimental homage to French New Wave cinema; it is warm, perceptive, tender and funny without being pretentious - quite a feat for a film that features direct to camera narration, voice-over and one (superb) musical number. It's one of the few films I've seen that effectively portrays what it's like to feel your heart break, how no one can help you through it but yourself, how wallowing in depression can be an addiction, and how the smallest incident can gradually take you out of it.Romain Duris (The Beat That My Heat Skipped) as the heartbroken Paul, and Louis Garrel (The Dreamers) as womanising Jo, two of France's most talented actors, give effortlessly truthful performances as the brothers. A number of narrative tricks and 'gimmicks' are used but the film never stops flowing - this is what experimental cinema should be about. I loved every minute - more please!
5.
The Mudge Boy
R
A film quite unlike anything I've seen before, The Mudge Boy deserves a larger audience then it is ever likely to get, thanks to its peculiar title, cheap, 70s looking cover art and "funded by cable" credentials. But it's a stunning film.Duncan (Emile Hirsch) is a teenager trying to come to terms with the unexpected death of his mother. An outsider who doesn't have the self-awareness to express himself adequately and without any support in friends or his emotionally unavailable father, Duncan, who helps out on the farm he lives on, cycles the countryside with his favorite chicken and begins to form relationships with some of the people he meets.
Psychologically rich and complex, realistic, beautifully photographed and stunningly performed (Emile Hirsch, Richard Jenkins and Tom Guiry are all superb), The Mudge Boy builds to a devastating conclusion that is truly shocking and difficult to watch; a brilliant depiction of teenage life, sexuality and grief in all its forms.
Nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, winner of the Grand Jury Award at L.A. Outfest.
6.
The Bridge
R
"He just kind of held his arms out and disappeared. And I wasn't sure if I was imagining this, and so I drove for a few seconds and looked in my rear-view mirror and my heart rate went up. And I almost felt like I wanted to start crying because I thought to myself, 'wow I might be one of the last people to ever see this person alive'. When I went into the tower and I talked to the highway patrolman, you know I asked him blatantly, I said 'is this a rare occurrence or does this happen often?' And he looked at me and kind of smiled and just said 'it happens all the time'."A touching, perceptive and sometimes unexpectedly beautiful documentary, concerning one of the few remaining taboos - that of suicide. Eric Steel interviews witnesses, friends and family members of 23 of the 24 people who chose to end their life by jumping from the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco in 2005. Not easy viewing, the film shows footage of the suicides themselves that is undeniably disturbing and difficult to watch. Much criticism was levied in the press at Steel suggesting that he was in someway culpable for those who died - the argument being that surely he should intervene and stop those shown from jumping. It's an argument that's difficult not to find some truth in from watching the film alone, but something that has been rectified by the DVD's liner notes, which features a Director's statement outlaying Steel's intentions and methods. In fact, the crew would call the authorities whenever they saw someone they believed could potentially be a 'jumper' near the railings and probably did prevent some people from (at least initially) committing suicide. But the manner in which the film was shot - from a long distance away from the bridge itself with telescopic lenses - meant the crew were rarely on the bridge itself and therefore had to rely on the authorities getting to those about to jump in time. And of the 24 people who ended their life, most did not hang around on the bridge for long, but very quickly, and shockingly easily, stepped over the railings and plunged to their deaths.
Amongst many other things, Steel finds in his interviews with friends and family members reasons as to why so many people choose the Golden Gate Bridge to end their lives.
"I think the bridge has a romance... a false romantic promise to it. Because he's dead. And he doesn't get to benefit from the romanticism of it... It romanticises him a bit in the legend, but he doesn't benefit from it. So what if his story has that at the end? He's gone. And so I think there's an empty promise; it's almost like when alcoholics talk about the romance of the bottle... maybe the first sip is really good, and everything else is hell... Maybe walking out there he had a romantic moment or two or an hour, but hitting the water can't be fun."
Almost without exception, the interviewees are intelligent and articulate people and some of their testimonies are very, very moving. The insight contained in this film is invaluable, rare and honest. There's an extremely painful and truthful moment when a close friend of one of the people who jumped from the bridge declares that they wished they had done something more;
"I made the mistake of giving him some space to recover, and that was a bad call I think... I didn't want to humiliate him and have him be in a psych facility, cause I wasn't sure they were really gonna help him, and I didn't want to cross my boundaries. But I will never again not intrude. I wont respect their privacy. And I will not ever again not do something because I'm afraid they might be embarrassed."
The bridge is shown from different perspectives: in close-up, from a field where young girls play soccer, in the distance as artists sketch and paint the powerful architecture. Contrasting the different shots, different reactions to the suicides are offered, showing the many different ways the actions of those who have died have affected those they have left behind. Some feel relief that those obviously in so much pain and depression now no longer have to struggle. Some are in denial; one family member hides behind religious beliefs and tries to justify his sister's suicide as an accident or a conspiracy. Many can't believe how a person could find the courage to take the step into something so final. Others are profoundly angry that they could do something they see as selfish.
"I couldn't fully cry - the overwhelming emotion was anger. I was extremely pissed... I don't see any reason for people to do that. And Gene had people in this world that loved him. And he hurt them. If I see him again, that's what I wanna tell him. He hurt me. And I didn't think he would ever do that."
The Bridge is undeniably bleak and sometimes depressing. Even the remarkable story of the young man who jumps and lives to tell his story doesn't really have a happy ending. Suffering from bipolar disorder, his friends walk on eggshells around him, his father doesn't seem to understand what he's going through, and his declaration that he wont try taking his own life again doesn't really convince. But there are moments of absolute beauty here too. The bridge itself of course is a stunning, iconic image, and the photography makes full use of this. There's hope in itself from understanding about mental illness and suicide, and the preciousness of life. The Bridge even proved to be a convincing polemic: in 2006 when it was shown a part of the Tribeca Film Festival, the authorities went ahead with a study into looking at providing a 'suicide barrier' (the construction of which is estimated to cost some $25 million); at present action has yet been taken. Investment was made into 'non-physical' suicide prevention in the mid 1990s by means of bicycle patrols, security cameras and phone lines, but the suicide rate shows no signs of decreasing and there are still around 25 to 30 suicides every year.
Daniel's Movie Scrapbook
Daniel's Talk
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I recommend you see...
WALL-E
by Robertposted 8 hours ago -
I recommend you see...
Sleepover
by Marvin
Directed by : Joe Nussbaum
Casts : Steve Carrell,Alexa Vega
ALMOST TWO THIRD OF THIS MOVIE CONTAINS NOTHING INSIDE,AND THE OTHER ONE THIRD IS ALL THE WRONG TURN OF "MEAN GIRLS"
FIRST THING FIRST,WHY I EVEN WATCH THIS MOVIE?One of my dearest friend persuade me to watch her "Favourite movie of all-time",and I ridiculously fell off.So,I guess the blame is not on me now.
Despite ever thought that Sleepover would'nt be such a mediocre,now,my eyes is wide open,Sleepover has the most standart feature ever as a teen-movie.Sleepover is a painful combination of teen-mediocre,social caste climber,and romance in the most unimportant notion.Thought it will be a Mean Girls' escape,I didn't receive a thing like Mean Girls.
Sleepover is trying too hard to bring up such a simple topic,a group of lame girls who want to climb the social caste up to the highest.In the most typical fashion,Sleepover is succeed to bring up a movie full of ambition and desperation they needed,despite it's huge-hole of missing fun and a comedy that no one could ever buy.
Sleepover is a teen-universe mediocre,who merely didn't bring up any sense of originality,and moreover,it's so shallow,I think a 12 years old is choosing "Fight Club" over this one.
LAME & BORING.OH GOD!
posted 12 hours ago -
I recommend you see...
Dear Frankie
by MarkUtterly charming, family drama about a mother who, out of love for her 9 year old son, maintains a deception designed to protect him from the truth about his father. Bittersweet and touching, this film tugs at your emotions, not in a manipulative way, but genuinely, with a heartwarming story. British Shona Auerbach is a director to watch.
I rarely give 4 stars, so believe me when I say this is a great movie!
posted 16 hours ago -
I recommend you see...
Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle
by DanielleIt is the tale of two post-college 20-somethings and their attempt to satisfy some pot-induced late-night munchies. They are the Korean-American Harold (John Cho), a responsible type with much work to do for his investment-banker job this particular Friday night; and Kumar, an Indian-American with great MCAT scores who refuses to go to medical school because he'd rather loaf around, smoke weed, and live off his father's money. They are residents of Hoboken, N.J., and they realize in order to sate their cravings for White Castle hamburgers, they will have to drive to a nearby town. Thus begins a series of adventures, sidetracks and distractions. White Castle is stocked with priceless cameos, one-liners, and running jokes. Every single scene is more surreal than the last, and filled with more randomly funny situations than you can imagine. White Castle relies on creating surreal situations for incredible laughs. It carves a niche by being one of the first mass-market films to portray Indians and Koreans as people rather than stereotypes. Cho and Penn's easy-going work as well as their palpable chemistry with one another tends to carry the film through its admittedly hit-and-miss structure. And as funny as some of the more over-the-top moments are when Harold and Kumar's run-in with a creepy mountain man aptly named Freakshow (Christopher Meloni) there's no denying that the movie's most entertaining interludes are generally its simplest.
Hey, you should really see this!
posted 2 days ago -
I recommend you see...
The Tracey Fragments
by QuintoThe visual style is interesting and under the right hands, could potentially make a great film. The problem is, this is not that film. Every character is annoyingly one-dimensional thanks to Tracey's emo-bullshit mind.
To everyone who likes Ellen Page: Avoid like a Tijuana hooker if you want to keep that love.
posted 2 days ago -
I recommend you see...
Leatherheads
by QuintoThe film is never really sure of what story it's trying to tell or how, the football only being bookends in the movie, but the cast is fun, funny and has great chemistry together, especially Clooney and Zellweger screwballing, as well as the 1920's setting being absolutely beautiful.
A complete departure for Georgle Clooney the director from his previous work, but it's still a very enjoyable film thanks to its cast.
posted 2 days ago -
I recommend you see...
Tarnation
by RobertA little too self-indulgent at times to be considered a "documentary", but all in all a very creative and moving look at life.
Once you let go and just go along for the ride...you are off on a journey into the psyche of a family in turmoil.
It's not always an enjoyable journey, but it is one in which (after being led through a gamut of emotions) you are ultimatley led back to the point of origin, which is love.
A great reminder of the fact that while we can not choose our families...we are (ultimatley) in control of just how much we allow them to adversely effect our lives as adults.
One of the tough questions that we all have to deal with at some point is: At what point do you let go of all of the negative family baggage (that we all carry to some extent) and decide to start living your own life and making decicions based on doing what is best (and most helathy) for you?
These are some of the hard choices in life and this film really makes you think about them.A very intersting and creative and touching look at "family" and life in general.
posted 2 days ago -
I recommend you see...
Bridget Jones - The Edge of Reason
by Marvin
Directed by : Beeban Kidron
Casts : Renee Zellweger,Colin Firth,Hugh Grant
A FANCY ITZY-GLITZY OF BRIDGET JONES LIFE IN COMPLETE MEDIOCRACY
When you're a 33 years old plus-size woman with ass in the size of 2 bowling balls,what life can you deal with?Kissed by a lesbian,went to Thailand and get incarcerated,and trying to forget your ex-boyfriend who dumped you,and a naughty affair with a big fat liar.
And that was this movie literally all about,the itzy-glitzy part of oh-so-dramatic Bridget Jones' life,isn't that too much for a single-movie to hold?
The sequel is all about your life post-happy ending,and it's surprisingly as delicate as it's predessesor and still not running out of Bridget-esque jokes.Renee Zellweger played her part consistently silly and a great repetation from the first one.Bridget's character is still worth to buy,still funny,and at the end,we love to dig more about her.Unfortunately,Bridget Jones is so drowned with snappy life melodrama which left us questioning the basic logic of this story,"Is she in the episode of The Hills or something",and lead us to the fact that Bridget,really is a drama-queen.
The story of Bridget Jones : Edge of Reason is unfocus,and forcing too much elements to blend into.And the result,a melodramatic story,with serious problem of ambiguity,and serious lacks of sense.Bridget 2 is less fresh and less clever to bring out many memorabilia,who can really declare Bridget Jones as a plus-size role model.
At the end,no matter what recycling problem this movie might have,I'm so glad to see Bridget Jones back,a above-average romantic comedy yet compiled with it's funny ensemble casts,and sweet serenade from it's rocking out lout backgrounds song.As I can say,I am desperately hoping some more of Bridget Jones,Bridget 3 maybe....
The 360 Spin - A funny,adorable memoir of Bridget Jones,still piled with energetic soundtracks,and fun-pacing story.Hey, you should really see this!
posted 2 days ago -
I recommend you see...
Witness for the Prosecution
by Lucy"Oh, Leonard can be very charming...Leonard has a way with women. I only hope he will have an all-women jury. They will carry him from the courtroom in triumph."
- Christine Vole
Segundo Rubens Ewald Filho
(famoso crítico de cinema brasileiro), já foi dito que este é um dos melhores filmes de Alfred Hitchcock, só que dirigido por Billy Wilder. E que também é a única adaptação de um trabalho de Agatha Christie, neste caso uma peça teatral, de que a escritora gostava.
Enfim, 'Testemunha de Acusação' é a melhor adaptação de Agatha Christie para o cinema. Um verdadeiro clássico do cinema!Hey, you should really see this!
posted 2 days ago -
I recommend you see...Hey, you should really see this! This film just had a re-premiere during the Copenhagen Pride Week celebrating its 30th anniversary. It is a tender and lovely coming of age film. For more info go to IMBD!!!
posted 3 days ago -
I recommend you see...
The Other Boleyn Girl
by QuintoThe film has its fair share of problems, yes, but like a bad soap opera, it just kept me glued to screen; much of this, of course, was thanks to Natalie Portman's wicked little schemes and fantastic performance. Ana Torrent was underused, though, and what the hell happened to Scarlett Johansson? This has got to be her worst performance.
Complaining about the film's historical inaccuracies is like when they complained about Marie-Antoiette's soundtrack: Completely pointless! Just get past all that and enjoy Natalie Portman's performance and all the pretty costumes.
posted 3 days ago -
I recommend you see...
The Air I Breathe
by BrianCould have been better, but pretty good. Slow to start, but good once it got going. Forrest Whitaker and Kevin Bacon are underused and Sarah Michelle Gellar is overused.
I enjoyed how it was put together in segments that all were related to each other in the end.Hey, you should really see this!
posted 3 days ago -
Yeah. I read that that doesn't even come close to happening in the original novel. I think it's really funny that they put it in just to capitalize on the mounting sexual tension. Haha, I said "mounting." And the whole sleazy-hot shame I felt was rivaled only by when I found Vince Vaughn attractive in the Psycho remake, which I'm still flogging myself for. I mean...he wore a turtleneck. What have I done to ever deserve finding a man in a turtleneck hot?
posted 4 days ago -
I recommend you see...not a recommendation
me and EarthlyAlien made a blog
http://doistakes.blogspot.com/
please visit it ;)posted 4 days ago -
I recommend you see...
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
by IrisThere are just too many complaints here to write everything in prose. So, let's do the pros and cons thing, and see where we land:
Pros
1. Brendan Fraser. Who cares if he's nearing forty, the man is still sexy. And it's hardly his fault that he has no decent dialogue to speak of (oh, I beg your pardon - pun).
2. John Hannah. At least you tried, guy.
3. The special effects. Sure, they come in overdose, but you still have to hand it to the people behind the scenes.
Cons
1. The most godawful script in history. Unlike the first in the series, the dialogue seems forced and tries so hard to be witty it's painful. Falls flat every time, and is definitely my main complaint.
2. Maria Bello. She is not exactly the problem, so much as the transformation of her character. From the smart, adventurous Evelyn Carnahan in the 1999 movie, to an overbearing, fussy Mrs. O'Connell, who still treats her circa 20 - year - old son like a toddler. And there is absolutely no chemistry between her and Fraser, which gave the first (and even the second) movie a push.
3. That Luke Ford guy. Horrific actor, and doesn't even provide something to look at as redemption. And don't even let me get to the whole clichéd Chinese girl/Western guy thing, or the estranged father/son formula.
4. No suspense. The first film (here I go with the first film again) provided tension. Here? Don't even ask.
5. We have a Mummy movie, but no Imhotep, and no desert. I mean, what the f!*k? That's the whole idea gone down the drain! The Dragon Emperor doesn't even touch the concept. He's just another guy in need of moisturiser and a throat lozenge (just wanted to give an example of the flat one - liner concept).
All this together brings me to the conclusion that this movie should never have been made.Stay away.
posted 4 days ago -
I recommend you see...
Rory O'Shea Was Here (Inside I'm Dancing)
by BrianThia is somewhat of a different kind of film because you think it's going to be somewhat of a kighthearted comedy in the beginning, but it really surprises you in a good way.
Great performances by James McAvoy and Steven Robertson. Totally worth watching on several levels and I'm glad we finally got around to it.
Why do people talk trash on McAvoy? See this and maybe you won't.
One complaint: too slow at times.Hey, you should really see this!
posted 4 days ago -
I recommend you see...
The Twilight of the Golds
by BrianThis movir pissed me off a little biy. I can deal with dated movies, after all this came out in 1997, fine, but where my issue is is with the dated characters. All the gay men in the movie are such stereotypes. YAWN!
Other than that tho the movie is good. It starts off slow, but gets good towards the middle.Hey, you should really see this!
posted 5 days ago -
I recommend you see...
A Man for All Seasons
by Lucy"William Roper: So, now you give the Devil the benefit of law!
Sir Thomas More: Yes! What would you do? Cut a great road through the law to get after the Devil?
William Roper: Yes, I'd cut down every law in England to do that!
Sir Thomas More: Oh? And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned 'round on you, where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat? This country is planted thick with laws, from coast to coast, Man's laws, not God's! And if you cut them down, and you're just the man to do it, do you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then? Yes, I'd give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety's sake! "
Brilhante!Hey, you should really see this!
posted 5 days ago -
I recommend you see...
In Bruges
by DanielleRay: "What are they doing over there? They're filming something. They're filming midgets!
Ken: Ray...
[Ray runs off and watches Jimmy being instructed by the director, who Jimmy flicks off as soon as he leaves]
Ken: Ray, come on. Let's go.
Ray: Fuck off, Ken. They're filming midgets."
Bruges, the most well-preserved medieval city in the whole of Belgium, is a welcoming destination for travellers from all over the world. But for hit men Ray and Ken, it could be their final destination; a difficult job has resulted in the pair being ordered right before Christmas by their London boss Harry to go and cool their heels in the storybook Flemish city for a couple of weeks. Very much out of place amidst the gothic architecture, canals, and cobbled streets, the two hit men fill their days living the lives of tourists. Ray, still haunted by the bloodshed in London, hates the place, while Ken, even as he keeps a fatherly eye on Ray's often profanely funny exploits, finds his mind and soul being expanded by the beauty and serenity of the city. But the longer they stay waiting for Harry's call, the more surreal their experience becomes, as they find themselves in weird encounters with locals, tourists, violent medieval art, a dwarf American actor shooting a European art film, Dutch prostitutes, and a potential romance for Ray in the form of Chloë, who may have some dark secrets of her own. And when the call from Harry does finally come, Ken and Ray's vacation becomes a life-and-death struggle of darkly comic proportions and surprisingly emotional consequences.
Ken: "We shall strike a balance between culture and fun.
Ray: Somehow I believe, Ken, that the balance shall tip in the favor of culture, like a big fat fucking retarded fucking black girl on a see-saw opposite...a dwarf."
Helping to maintain that balance are the strong central performances from Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson. Taken separately, their work here is highly impressive is Farrell nails the quicksilver mood changes of his character and turns in one of the strongest turns of his career and Gleeson, while having the less overtly flashy role, anchors the entire story with the kind of grave and quiet demeanor that says more than mere words ever could. However, as good as they are on their own, they are even better when they are playing off of each other the two are perfectly in sync with each other right from the start and their double act is alternately hilarious and strangely touching to behold.
Policeman: [to Ray, who is trying to escape from Bruges on the train] "Are you Irish?
Ray: Yea.
Policeman: What is your name?
Ray: Er-Derek Fer... ler.
Policeman: You eet the Canadian.
Ray: What?
Policeman: You eet the Canadian.
Ray: I eat the Canadian? I don't know what you're talking about.
[the policeman motions down the compartment toward more policemen and the two Canadian tourists whom Ray beat up earlier]
Canadian Guy: That's the motherfucker!
Policeman: Come along. We are taking you back to Bruges.
Ray: Brilliant."
Instead of sticking with this basic plot and trying to stretch it out into an entire film, he deploys that particular twist from earlier in the proceedings and thereby frees his story to go off in any number of unexpected directions. Other advantage is that it frees the film to go off on any number of amusingly oddball tangents, there is an especially funny sequence in which the aforementioned dwarf turns up in a drug haze to clumsily advocate a race war that he hasn't quite thought all the way through and while it doesn't really push the story forward in any significant way. There is quite a bit more to In Bruges than these hitmen nattering on about the town and their comic interactions with locals, ranging from charming drug dealers to a dwarf American actor, and it's in Ray's occasional bursts of frightful sadness that it starts to come out. McDonagh starts teasing away the layers to the characters' pasts, the real reasons why they've come to Bruges, and the judgment that awaits once they get that call from Harry.
Ken: [Ray walks into the bar high on cocaine] "How was your date?
Ray: Well, it started off with me bein' thrown out of a restaurant for pickin' a fight, then leading up to the young miss's hand on me cock, but then gettin' interrupted by her skinhead boyfriend, so on average I'd say it went fine."Hey, you should really see this!
posted 5 days ago -
Hey - try this quiz and see how we compare
Do you know your movie objects and pictures?posted 5 days ago
