Fletch- Sure. Throw “Kalifornia” and “Babel” in there as well. Fine film’s and good acting. I will counter with “Legends of the Fall ” and “Meet Joe Black.” By the way, the longest movie I ever saw I had to re-title. It is now called “Seven Years In My Seat.”

He took a break to get an Oscar by acting retarded in Capote… but that’s it.

1. Fox, you don’t know jack because:

a). I did watch this film. I had to use the
fast-forward button on my dvd and also had
to wear a radiation suit for protection.
b). That is NOT my ego. It is a scar I got at
an adavnce screen for “A Fish Called Wanda”
when my date shanked me. I wear it with
pride and consider it an expression of my
individuality and my belief in personal
freedom.

2. G, the jury is still out on Shia. Looking
forward to “Eagle Eye.”

3. Evan, Brad Pitt is always, ALWAYS Brad Pitt.
He had his shot with “S7ven” and “Fight Club”
and didn’t pull it off. Johnny Depp is creepy
no matter what role. Compare Willy Wonka to
Raoul Duke. Same thing, just minus the
swatter. I can beleive Robert Duvall as an
aging hitman learning to dance down south more
than I can believe D Day clubbing a foe to
death in a bowling alley. But, “There Will
Be Blood” is the best film role anyone has
done since whenever. I really did weep during
the milkshake scene. It was the finest scene I
have ever viewed in my life. Pure Shakespeare.

Seriously, I appreciate you allowing me to post here and am grateful for all the feedback. It’s a nice place to vent and feel welcome. You are all very kind and I enjoy this website very much. Please keep up the good work as it is very much enjoyed on my end.

And Maurice, I’m not entirely sure what you were trying to say, but it was funny. I don’t think De Niro these days plays anyone other than himself, and I would add Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt, and Daniel Day Lewis to your list of actors who can morph into any role necessary.

I forgot to mention… props for mentioning A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints. It got passed over at the theater but it seems to be gaining play as a DVD. I love Channing Tatum in that film. Melonie Diaz too.

Word has it that the director’s second film Fighting – with Tatum again – is underway.

I just think it’s weird that Maurice called What Happened… a “vivisection” without having seen the movie.

I like Shia though. That kid can act. He was very funny in Ghostbusters, believable in Disturbia, and dominates A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints despite being surrounded by a whole slew of scene-stealers.

Are you talking to yourself or the ego that you wear on your sleeve?

Hey, Ashton! Andy Warhol called for you. You’re at 14:55 and the clock is ticking away, babe. Better make sure that your pre-marital weekly allowance is airtight cause, you couldn’t pass for a movie star if you were in a flying saucer.

Still, I liked the premise of this film. I wish they had selected a better couple to pull it off. Small ideas breed small films and small casts complement the film making process. Okay, Kutcher’s a pinhead but remember “Just Married”? A small film and he and Brittany Murphy carried it well. Maybe because of the balance between the two stars, which is (I feel) the mystical chemistry directors need to make character believable. Sure, they weren’t Hepburn and Tracy but the film wasn’t “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.” Oh heck, Mr. Demi-chew-boy-toy did make that film, didn’t he? Now we know what killed Bernie Mac.

And film characters have to be believable. You can’t just dress up and send them out like it’s Halloween night. If you can’t imagine a character in the situation in real life, it’s hard to suspend belief when they are on the screen. Cripes, that’s my only problem with Tom Cruise: He does so few film roles that I can believe he would be in real life. Like a race card driver, a samurai, Irish boxer, hanging off the side of a mountain, running UA/MGM or married to Mimi Rogers.

Robert Duvall and Robert De Niro are the only two current actors that can, believably, slip in and out of varied roles that do not remind you of all the other characters they have played. Phillip Seymour Hoffman is working down the line to that end as is Christian Bale. But to really obtain that ability, you have to have an invisible quality to what you do. Character actors do this better than leads do. Lon Chaney was the greatest character actor ever until he became one of the greatest actors ever. Charlie Chaplin could do it but seldom did. Tom Hanks is trying but he kinda lost me at “Wilson! Wilson! I’m sorry!”

Hollywood continually casts film that they think the public will want to see based on the following criteria:

1. Who is currently popular at the box office.
2. If they are popular, can we repeat the formula.
3. Are they popular enough to warrant a sidekick.
4. Can we repackage the plot and sell it to the popular stars as a small/independent/labor-of-love-based-on-a-true-story film.

Based-on-a-true-story films always grab a star’s attention. Sometimes, they throw for touchdown and sometimes are tackled for a loss. Most times, they implode a star’s career. Nothing hurts worse than barreling into the third turn at Indy while riding in your Hollywood dragster with everything riding on your film. Think I’m kidding? Look up the film “Operation: Dumbo Drop.” It axed Ray Liotta’s career faster than weed killer on a potted fern. I don’t think Danny Glover has done as well either. R.I.P. Steve Guttenburg.

Maybe Hollywood is harkening back to the olds and old ways. Scripts are cranked out like aspirin tablets and passed down to whomever in the actors pool is next in line for a paycheck. While there many stellar performances every year, we still have a huge influx of has beens and wannabies that shamble through films like a zombie donkey after a carrot. This film was like a vivisection that went to the bone.

Thanks for the review. Please be more careful in the future lest you go blind.

We all have a Hollywood cross to bear.

Conversely, there’s the stereotype of the female rom com lead who’s successful in her career portrayed an unhappy, unfulfilled workaholic who just needs the right guy to give her everything she’s been missing. How many times have we seen that? (Diaz in “The Holiday,” Sandra Bullock in “Two Weeks Notice,” Jenna Elfman in “Keeping the Faith,” just off the top of my head.) It’d also be interesting to see a woman who’s good at her high-powered job AND emotionally stable.

But then, there’d be no story, right? : )