i thought the coda was the best part of the movie.
you could be right; it was certainly necessary, and provided a refreshing counterpoint - but by that point i felt i'd been there long enough and god would you hurry up and finish already!
Keeping the coda and lopping 1/2 hour of the main movie would have made sense.
― ledge, Thursday, 10 January 2008 16:47 (sixteen years ago) link
or just rescreening The King of Comedy
― Dr Morbius, Thursday, 10 January 2008 16:48 (sixteen years ago) link
3:10 to Yuma was fun, but it doesn't seem like these movies have much in common besides being westerns? 3:10tY was an actiony trad western w/maybe better acting etc. than it needed.
― Jordan, Thursday, 10 January 2008 16:52 (sixteen years ago) link
morbs, do you actually have anything substantive to say about this movie other than that it's "heavy-handed"? i see upthread you use your standard trope of comparing the movie unfavorably to another from 50 years ago that has a vaguely similar theme, which is as retarded an argument as it always is
― n/a, Thursday, 10 January 2008 16:54 (sixteen years ago) link
I grew increasingly interested as it went on, but there is no reason why it couldn't have been longer - and as you say about the coda is a lot more interesting than its running time suggests. Casey Affleck was terrific I thought, though partially due to looking enough like Ben in places for me to turn against him - making him thoroughly unsympathetic even when I started feeling for him.
Who'd want to be a woman in this picture though! (Clearly filming on the Weeds backlot)
― Pete, Thursday, 10 January 2008 16:54 (sixteen years ago) link
self xpost, nevermind, who cares
― n/a, Thursday, 10 January 2008 16:56 (sixteen years ago) link
xxp: yeah, but I don't write long things for ILX for obvious reasons persons. Eat it.
http://www.stylusmagazine.com/articles/movie_review/the-assassination-of-jesse-james-by-the-coward-robert-ford.htm
― Dr Morbius, Thursday, 10 January 2008 16:57 (sixteen years ago) link
i took the bait :(
― n/a, Thursday, 10 January 2008 16:57 (sixteen years ago) link
or just read Manohla Dargis, ie, let's turn another psycho killer into Jesus.
― Dr Morbius, Thursday, 10 January 2008 17:12 (sixteen years ago) link
Qu’est ce que c'est?
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Thursday, 10 January 2008 17:16 (sixteen years ago) link
Unpopular opinion of the year: Casey was better in Gone Baby Gone.
― Eric H., Sunday, 13 January 2008 16:36 (sixteen years ago) link
Movie's as pretty as its lead actors, but ultimately hollow.
I second that afflecktion.
― Dr Morbius, Sunday, 13 January 2008 22:29 (sixteen years ago) link
yeah, i don't know about that. there's at least a subtheme about pop culture and mass behavior, though i too am at least skeptical about how much they intended that to get over.
pretty decent movie, though. and i was maybe more impressed by pitt than affleck - where people just surprised that the bro could act?
― banned substance (gabbneb), Thursday, 15 January 2009 20:51 (fifteen years ago) link
where
i cant believe i didnt post on this thread. i liked this movie a lot....but, and this probably sets me apart from almost every other person ever, i kinda wish there was MORE narration from the ken burns guy and less acting and talking. i like the literary conceit, the sense of someone sitting down and telling you a story.
― ryan, Thursday, 15 January 2009 20:54 (fifteen years ago) link
don't need a movie for that.
― Dr Morbius, Thursday, 15 January 2009 20:58 (fifteen years ago) link
this is pretty fkn boring tbh
― FREE DOM AND ETHAN (special guest stars mark bronson), Monday, 15 June 2009 21:22 (fourteen years ago) link
is that james carville? wtf.
― FREE DOM AND ETHAN (special guest stars mark bronson), Monday, 15 June 2009 21:24 (fourteen years ago) link
The shamelessness with which this movie rips off Malick was infuriating.
― Matt Armstrong, Monday, 15 June 2009 22:49 (fourteen years ago) link
I got "interviewed" for a local publication (more of a "complete the sentence" thing) and I said I could watch this repeatedly. What won't make print is that my girlfriend likes to fall asleep with a quiet movie on, and this one has been it for a long time. Not my favorite film, but it's really tranquil, even in the violence, with the exception of the scene where Pitt is railing on that kid for information.
― mh, Tuesday, 16 June 2009 13:58 (fourteen years ago) link
this film is like the cinematic equivalent of that guy phosphorescent - all earnest and croaky and 'old timey'
― the heart is a lonely hamster (schlump), Tuesday, 16 June 2009 14:13 (fourteen years ago) link
OTM.
Also, fucking impossible to work out what anyone was saying half the time.
― Matt DC, Tuesday, 16 June 2009 14:15 (fourteen years ago) link
― Matt Armstrong, Monday, June 15, 2009 5:49 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
I'm not sure in what universe ripping off Terrence Malick is a bad thing.
― congratulations (n/a), Tuesday, 16 June 2009 14:16 (fourteen years ago) link
no? how about just mangling his tropes?
― Dr Morbius, Tuesday, 16 June 2009 14:22 (fourteen years ago) link
his tropes? i suppose they're both about societyazzawhole, but one's just about celebrity and the other's about life, the universe and everything, no?
― Fidel Gastro (gabbneb), Tuesday, 16 June 2009 14:28 (fourteen years ago) link
ya what tropes and mangled how?
― s1ocki, Tuesday, 16 June 2009 14:29 (fourteen years ago) link
i wasn't NUTS about this movie but i kinda got into its slow groove
i like the narration too.
― Kerm, Tuesday, 16 June 2009 14:31 (fourteen years ago) link
"Trope" doesn't mean what people think it means.
― Zelda Zonk, Tuesday, 16 June 2009 14:34 (fourteen years ago) link
it means testicles
― Mr. Que, Tuesday, 16 June 2009 14:35 (fourteen years ago) link
I loved this movie on first viewing, though I think it just caught me right when I was in the perfect mood for it. I watched it again with my wife and didn't love it quite as much but would still consider it one of my faves for 2007.
― congratulations (n/a), Tuesday, 16 June 2009 14:35 (fourteen years ago) link
is it as dull as dead man?
― Tracer Hand, Tuesday, 16 June 2009 14:37 (fourteen years ago) link
yeah me too--i dug it a lot. casey affleck was surprisingly great and brad was ok, too
― Mr. Que, Tuesday, 16 June 2009 14:38 (fourteen years ago) link
it's not as good as dead man
― s1ocki, Tuesday, 16 June 2009 14:39 (fourteen years ago) link
doesn't really have anything to do with it tho
sort of like cricket and baseball are entirely different sports
― Tracer Hand, Tuesday, 16 June 2009 14:41 (fourteen years ago) link
only, with movies
― s1ocki, Tuesday, 16 June 2009 14:43 (fourteen years ago) link
the fact is i can get into any boring movie about life and shit if its shot as well as this one was
― rip dom passantino 3/5/09 never forget (max), Tuesday, 16 June 2009 14:43 (fourteen years ago) link
i watched like half of this on TV last weekend, no real clue what it was about but it was really pretty
That's how I feel about most Malick.
― Bud Huxtable (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 16 June 2009 14:45 (fourteen years ago) link
max i believe it's about the assassination of jesse james by robert ford, who some say is not the most courageous dude around
― Tracer Hand, Tuesday, 16 June 2009 14:45 (fourteen years ago) link
― rip dom passantino 3/5/09 never forget (max), Tuesday, June 16, 2009 2:43 PM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
me too kinda, i like long slow burn type movies. not every movie has to be as action-packed as star trek, dr morbius!
― s1ocki, Tuesday, 16 June 2009 14:47 (fourteen years ago) link
Still not sure what's up with the head-on view of the train shot, although the shot with lights coming through the woods before it is pretty great.
― mh, Tuesday, 16 June 2009 14:49 (fourteen years ago) link
this is pretty fkn boring tbhOTM.Also, fucking impossible to work out what anyone was saying half the time.― Matt DC, Tuesday, 16 June 2009 09:15 (28 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
― Matt DC, Tuesday, 16 June 2009 09:15 (28 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
Thirded, if they were trying to explore the relationship between between James and Ford then they did a poor job, which is a shame because the story has so much potential, much scope for drama and tension but it largely failed to exploit this.
― Mornington Crescent (Ed), Tuesday, 16 June 2009 14:49 (fourteen years ago) link
actually as long as this doesn't have a sound track by neil young i think i'll be ok w/it
― Tracer Hand, Tuesday, 16 June 2009 14:49 (fourteen years ago) link
you're in luck, it's by neil diamond
― s1ocki, Tuesday, 16 June 2009 14:50 (fourteen years ago) link
Nick Cave + Warren Ellis. xp oh now you've made me look boring.
― man saves ducklings from (ledge), Tuesday, 16 June 2009 14:52 (fourteen years ago) link
not every movie has to be as action-packed as star trek, dr morbius!
hahahahaaaaa
― unicorn poop evaluator (WmC), Tuesday, 16 June 2009 14:52 (fourteen years ago) link
This is one of the great american folk tales, famous in song and penny dreadfuls the films seems like such a missed opportunity.
― Mornington Crescent (Ed), Tuesday, 16 June 2009 14:52 (fourteen years ago) link
what's with the Scoot hard-on? he was fine, but it's an awfully familiar character type and he's no Elisha Cook Jr.
― ballin' from Maine to Mexico (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 5 June 2013 11:36 (ten years ago) link
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/28/business/media/a-fans-mission-resurrect-a-little-watched-movie.html?_r=0
― johnny crunch, Monday, 28 October 2013 12:43 (ten years ago) link
Rad. I love this movie.
― Immediate Follower (NA), Monday, 28 October 2013 14:40 (ten years ago) link
Garret Dillahunt's career shift from stuff like this and "Deadwood" to being the dad in "Raising Hope" is still so weird to me.
― Immediate Follower (NA), Monday, 28 October 2013 14:43 (ten years ago) link
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/terrence-malick-thought-it-was-too-slow-10-things-learned-from-the-revival-screening-of-the-assassination-of-jesse-james-by-the-coward-robert-ford-20131209?
interesting that he sez hes making 'Blonde' next from JCOs novel -- he tried to make it back a few yrs ago -http://theplaylist.blogspot.com/2010/05/andrew-dominik-returns-with-marilyn.html
― johnny crunch, Tuesday, 10 December 2013 01:49 (ten years ago) link
dominik sounds cool
― Hungry4Ass, Tuesday, 10 December 2013 02:16 (ten years ago) link
Anyway, Dominik took the opportunity to say, bluntly, that he is “embarrassed by the stylization in 'Killing Them Softly.'”
otm
― Number None, Tuesday, 10 December 2013 13:15 (ten years ago) link
He should be embarrassed by some of the the stylization in this one too.
“Have you seen 'Bonnie & Clyde' lately?” Dominik interrupted, scrunching his face in disapproval. “Has some good editing in the end, I suppose...“
lol f u
― eclectic husbandry (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 10 December 2013 16:58 (ten years ago) link
bonnie & clyde sucks, hes right
― Hungry4Ass, Tuesday, 10 December 2013 17:06 (ten years ago) link
only if you insist on long, subdued, and nearly action-free
― eclectic husbandry (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 10 December 2013 17:11 (ten years ago) link
my friend went to this, said dominik came across as a dick.
― akm, Wednesday, 11 December 2013 04:28 (ten years ago) link
johnny crunch and hungry4ass otm re: killing them softly. i did actually worry when 'heroin' came on the soundtrack and also i thought 'the man comes around' was a dreadful choice for pitt's intro song (i think dominik's music library must consist entirely of other movie trailer songs) but overall it was a strong movie imo.
― LIKE If you are against racism (omar little), Saturday, 27 December 2014 03:27 (nine years ago) link
dominik is finally getting blonde off the ground, naturally for netflix
https://thefilmstage.com/news/andrew-dominik-begins-production-on-marilyn-monroe-biopic-blonde-as-full-cast-is-announced/
― johnny crunch, Tuesday, 10 September 2019 01:39 (four years ago) link
Based on JCO book?
― The Fearless Thread Killers (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 10 September 2019 01:42 (four years ago) link
yessir
― johnny crunch, Tuesday, 10 September 2019 01:44 (four years ago) link
"my friend went to this, said dominik came across as a dick.
― akm"
weird, I have no recollection of writing this or who this person may have been.
― akm, Tuesday, 10 September 2019 02:49 (four years ago) link
The Character Assassination of Andrew Dominik by the Coward akm
― Simon H., Tuesday, 10 September 2019 02:56 (four years ago) link
Killing Them Softly seems to have been getting some defense lately from people who don't want to be on the wrong side of the film's thuddingly obvious politics, so I finally watched it. I had put it off because I didn't want it to diminish my estimation of the source material, Cogan's Trade, which I consider a masterpiece of lowlife dialogue. I'm afraid it's so bad it might have done just that. I feel bad for ever criticizing Nicolas Winding-Refn or Zack Snyder for ever having some crass and dumb ideas because Dominik belongs in movie jail. Plenty of people have mocked the ubiquitous C-SPAN footage and the moronic music cues, but ripping off the use of "Love Letters" from Blue Velvet is particularly annoying.
I will say Ben Mendelsohn is great playing an all-time disgusting loser. James Gandolfini gave his character an even more sinister dimension than I remember him having in the novel. He used to complain about what a toll playing a dark character like Tony Soprano took on him, this role might have finished him off.
― Chris L, Saturday, 13 March 2021 11:54 (three years ago) link
https://nypost.com/2022/02/11/marilyn-monroe-biopic-director-says-movie-will-be-nc-17-rated/
“It’s a demanding movie,” Dominik said. “If the audience doesn’t like it, that’s the f–king audience’s problem. It’s not running for public office.”
― johnny crunch, Sunday, 13 February 2022 19:17 (two years ago) link