Two feh movies

[ellen_datlow]

The Quick and the Dead, a very silly western, stupidly directed by Sam Raimi of all people--with weird shenanigans with the camera (he really must have been desperate) but with a very interesting cast--Leo Di Caprio looking like a little kid --the movie was released in 1995--and Russell Crowe also looking much younger, a gorgeous (as always) Sharon Stone, and Gene Hackman as the bad guy --who looks like...Gene Hackman. Lone woman rides into town controlled by baddie Hackman who has organized a competition of shootouts, winner take a LOT of dough. All but the principles are gunshot fodder and over the top characterizations of different types. Crowe was one of the criminal gang but got religion after Hackman played one too many of his nasty games. But he's forced to participate. Stone's looking for revenge.

Then Margot at the Wedding with Nicole Kidman playing an utter monster attending her long estranged sister Pauline's (Jennifer Jason Leigh's) wedding to Jack Black. If you're going to have family drama with family members being awful to each other rent Rachel Getting Married or even Pieces of April.

Comments

[glvalentine.livejournal.com]

I always thought it was a shame about The Quick and the Dead - a woman gunslinger is a terrible thing to waste.

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

Oh it was kind of fun, but awfully silly. Did you see it?

[glvalentine.livejournal.com]

I own it. Every time I watch it I think it will somehow be better; strangely, it never is. ;)

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

LOL. Yeah. It could have been really good with a better script and avoiding the fancy, really dumb camerawork. Wasn't Leo adorable in it?

[glvalentine.livejournal.com]

He was. Russell Crowe did very well, and Gene Hackman clearly enjoyed chewing the sceney, and all the day players enjoyed scowling around. It was just too much whimsy for such a gritty story; if I saw one more close-up of that clock tower, I was going to scream.

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

Yes. I was thinking of that-tick tick tick strike :-0

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

Crowe was very good and you could see his charisma rising --Hackman played the same role in Eastwood's Unforgiven IIRC.

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

I was just wondering about Hackman and saw in Imdb that he retired from acting in 2008 at age 78-which is a real pity. I hope some project gets him out of retirement.

[glvalentine.livejournal.com]

Until that day, we'll always have the Lowe's commercials with his voiceovers on them!

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

I saw that mentioned at Imdb. But as I don't watch tv I won't hear them ;-)