Thursday, May 24, 2007

So I guess this wasn't that Oprah movie

#98 Unforgiven directed by Clint Eastwood

It doesn't take Scoob and gang to realize Scrabby Doo always sucks.

Unforgiven (no. 98) is supposedly Clint Eastwood's masterpiece - or was in 1997 when AFI did its list. Eastwood stars in this "anti-western" with Morgan Freeman, Gene Hackman and Richard Harris. This won best picture and best director in 1992, among others.

Basic plot is a whore gets slashed in the face by some drunk cowboy and her fellow 'toots feel he isn't punished enough. So they raise some money and put a reward out to kill this mo-fo. Cue Eastwood, formerly a mo-fo himself, but now a timid, washed-out pig rancher. With his saint of a wife dead (the lady who reformed him of his evil ways), he feels he needs the money to support his young kids. So he, Freeman and some little shit ass-ed annoying Scrabby-Doo type go up to Wyoming to collect the heads and the cash. Mayhem ensues as Hackman is a mo-fo sheriff in his own right.


For me, Hackman really steals the show as Little Bill. Eastwood - though good - is boring at times and isn't nearly as bad-ass as he could be. Hackman kicks the shit out of several people and is not someone I ever want to fuck with. Ever. He definitely earned his best supporting actor nod in this one.

Harris aka Albus Dumbledore is only in two scenes but steals them as fast-talking Brit, "Cowboy Bill." Anyone who references the James Garfield assassination so much is a man after my own heart. However, I wish one of his scenes was more than Hackman kicking his ass.

I liked this movie and can see how it made this list (it must have been tough putting the last few on here). Often, though, I wonder how much some people are acting. Eastwood plays a cool, distant philosopher who has a pain he just can't describe; seems like I've seen it before. Same thing with Freeman as wise, ol' black man, and Harris as...well a British dude. I'm not making the point as clear as I would like to, it seems to me that sometimes famous actors get type-cast into awesome roles that they can easily play because the characters are often very similar to the actors themselves (Eastwood did direct this - and won best director - so, he kinda thought it was good for him).

Good start to my blog for me anyways.
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(Backtracking)
100 - Yankee Doodle Dandy

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

In the beginning.....

The Genesis of My Blog






"And God said to Sam 'Waste your time.'"




Hello world, I finally got roped into this blogging bit. My note on all this is that mine won't be personal, more of a commentary section. Specifically, my comments - on this blog - will be limited to two areas: books and films. Getting even more to the point: it is my goal to read TIME Magazine's 100 Greatest Novels and watch AFI's 100 Greatest Films. My opinions will be anything but expert. If I have already read the novel, then I'll look at a literary criticism or something; I'll watch the movies again....maybe not Citizen Kane, but if I get that far, why not?

I hope to elicit responses and maybe make people look at stuff they wouldn't before.

Either way, I'm in this game now.

UP FIRST

Novel - 100 - Gone With the Wind
Film - 98 - Unforgiven - (I reserved #100 and 99 on InterLibrary Loan....yeah Gloucester County Public Library Branches)