Film Experience Blog: "Don't stand in the way of my actualization as a man."

Thursday, January 15, 2009

"Don't stand in the way of my actualization as a man."

23 comments:

Anonymous said...: THANKs NAT FOR SINGLING OUT THE BEST PERFORMANCE FROM THE FILM AND THE BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS PERFORMANCE OF 1999 she will never be this good again!!! ever!!!; 4:33 PM
Anonymous said...: not a fan. no thanks. i wasnt a huge fan of the movie outside of Keener and Malcovich himself; 4:36 PM
Mikadzuki said...: This is still probably my favorite Kaufman-scripted film.; 4:53 PM
NATHANIEL R said...: just brilliant.

this is why i couldn't get into synecdoche new york ... It's so mired in the writer's self pity. that elemnet is all over Being JohnMalkovich too but its still so buoyant because the filmmaking works to counter it instead of also getting mired down in the depressive nature of hte characters.

so saith I.

where am I?; 4:56 PM
Anonymous said...: God, that film was so hilarious! I still wonder how on earth Kaufman topped this screenplay (and he did in 2004).
I preferred Keener, though Diaz was terrific as well.; 4:57 PM
Anonymous said...: Wow. That hair... They did such a job of making Cameron Diaz be so un-Cameron Diaz.; 5:28 PM
Leah P. said...: I didn't like synecdoche either. I mean I really appreciated it afterwards and it was more rewarding the more I thought about it, but I just hated watching it. I didn't like Caden as much as Craig or even Charlie Kaufman.; 7:35 PM
Unknown said...: lol, i just saw this film for the first time 2 days a go, and i'm still thinking about it.; 8:39 PM
Anonymous said...: This one and "Magnolia", the best films of 1999. Can't wait for "Where the Wild Things Are", but I'm kind of nervous about it. It just looks so different from the other two (we'll get the eye candy, that's for sure -we've all seen the music videos-, but how good will the story work? I hope it's not a straightforward fantasy, but something a bit less predictable).

And on a side note not in the very least related to the post, a couple of days ago I saw "Boogie Nights" for the millionth time, and God how bad I want Paul Thomas Anderson to make another "fun" movie. I'm not saying that "Magnolia", "Punch Drunk Love" and "There will be blood" aren't great or that I didn't find them entertaining (I wasn't bored for a single second in any of those movies), and I believe at least two of them ("Magnolia" and "TWBB") are better than "Boogie nights", but "Boogie" is so funny, and colorful, and action-packed, and musical, it's impossible not to think "wow, I want another one like this". I don't want to say something like "I'd prefer PTA to be another Scorsese rather than another Bresson" because it would be completely idiotic. He's not the new somebody else, but his own brilliant, insanely talented person. I'm not sure I'm making my point here (my english needs some -a lot of- tuning), but the idea is: I adored "There will be blood". It was a work of genius. BUT I didn't feel the people who made it were having all that much fun at the time. It felt more like they were trying to accomplish something great, which they did.

...oh yeah, this wasn't about PTA.

I want to see "Synecdoche, New York" so badly...; 9:57 PM
NATHANIEL R said...: anonymous i wish you'd typed your name because i completely agree with you without having ever put that into words.

so you put it into words well.

another fun one like BOOGIE please; 10:15 PM
Sally Belle said...: Adding a frizzy wig and contact lenses does NOT make a mediocre actress great.

I love the film, and if it took Cameron Diaz to get the financing...so be it. But, there are hundreds of actresses who would have been better in the role.

Maybe thousands if you look into the regional theatres of this country alone.; 12:03 AM
Bernardo said...: Cameron Diaz in Being John Malkovich is one of my favourite supporting girls from the 90's. The film itself is ranked at #3 in my Decade Top Ten after Cinema Paradiso (which I consider (1990) and Happiness.; 12:10 AM
Cluster Funk said...: My favorite Cameron Diaz performance BY FAR.; 12:55 AM
Anonymous said...: OT

Cheri will premiere at the Berlin Film Festival in february.

We'll know very soon if Pfeiffer is awards-worthy; 1:47 AM
Anonymous said...: I will say this i think keener is way way way overrated in this film being a bitch a hundred theatre actresses could have done that too or any young star of the time.; 2:33 AM
Anonymous said...: But 99 so packed with great supporting performances when it comes to the ladies

Antonia San Juan in Todo Sobre mi madre
Cate Blanchett in The talented Mr Ripley

were the most overlooked.

I agree with sally belle : a bad haircut is not enough; 3:29 AM
NATHANIEL R said...: yes, 99 is disgusting with how many performances were worthy of "Best"

too bad every year isn't that way.; 7:36 AM
Anonymous said...: Sorry for not writing a name before (hadn't notice your kind request for us not to use the "anonymous" option).

...I was about to complain that Catherine Keener wasn't overpraised for her work in BJM and that Cameron Diaz was a joy to watch in it, but just read the following note, about John Waters (would be) next movie "Fruitcake" (at IMDB):

,the movie has been axed, and Waters is blaming the economy, and unpredictable studio executives.

He says, "I can't get it made.

And he insists he is baffled by the decision: "I saw The Reader. Here's a movie that asked you to root for a paedophile Nazi guard. That got made.",

It's been FIVE years since "A Dirty Shame", and now God only knows how long it'll be until he pulls something else together. He sould have started making the damn thing right after "Hairspray" opened! Now it's going to be like that eight year span between "Polyester" and the original "Hairspray". I always wondered how his older fans felt at the time with all that waiting, and guess what? Now I know. It sucks.

At least there's supposed to be an "Untitled Todd Solondz 2009 project" being filmed right now.

I hope to disagree with you on "Synecdoche, NY". The movie gets mired down in the depressive nature of the characters? Count me in!; 11:40 AM
NATHANIEL R said...: pony -- i guess i should clarify. I actually have nothing against depressive films. i've met people who were really snide about me liking depressing movies too much.

i just think the filmmaking should always counteract thinks like dull pain and monotonous grief and stuff like that so that it's not a slog.

this is why i think jennifer aniston is bad in The Good Girl (whereas some people like her performance a lot)... she's just playing one note and, having experienced depression myself it does FEEL one note... but it shouldn't be portrayed that way for the sake of the movie's entertainment value ;); 12:05 PM
Anonymous said...: Nathaniel,

i doubt Aniston in the good girl was depressed for Pfeiffer losing the Oscar

your depression must have been more diva-esque; 12:57 PM
NATHANIEL R said...: ha ha. funny javier.; 1:13 PM
Anonymous said...: If I remember correctly you named "Dancer in the dark" the best film of 2000 (good call), so you obviously have no problem with feel-terrible movies. I just said I want to disagree with you on "Synecdoche" because I've been expecting it for so long, and loved Charlie Kaufman's output as a writer so much that I really want to like the movie. Even love it. A lot, if possible.

You know what? I didn't even have high expectations for it until I read the "We can't wait" feature here. My most anticipated movie before that was "Otto; or, up with dead people" (I'm still waiting for that one also), and the new Harmony Korine movie, which I really liked. He and Bruce LaBruce had proven themselves as directors (maybe not the best directors ever, but they did their own thing, and people knew if they liked them or not), and Charlie Kaufman was making his debut so it was kind of a toss up.

btw I can't wait for the next "We can't wait". Last year's was amazing, and I really want to see what you are expecting (other than the most obvious ones, the ones we're all dying to see: "Avatar", "Inglorious basterds", "The lovely bones", "Where the wild things are" and the like). "Mary and Max" sounds great, and if it's half as good as "Harvie Krumpet" it will have been a wonderful way to start the year.; 1:44 PM
Chris Na Taraja said...: Can we get Cameron Diaz to play ugly again?

She is such a hotie cutie goddess of smiles and hips, and i love that, but she's even better as a hopeless mess.; 11:06 AM

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