I've seen it and I love it but, as I said, I'm fascinated with everything related to that subject so I was always going to. And compared to the book, the doc is, if anything, really toned down. A lot of it's fabricated but enough isn't for it to be a total mindfuck.

The problem for the film is that because it could never really go into some of the violence it kind of had to focus more on exotic characters like Griselda and the glamourous lifestyles. It's all in the book too but more as a backdrop to the more brutal stuff. The problem with the gun porn argument is that that's how people like Roberts saw it and pretty much lived it. Same with the glamour. To underplay it would've been to pretend that they weren't leading playboy lifestyles, which they were. For a time anyway.

Same with the issue of the cartels. The film (and the book) isn't really about them. It's really about some young American upstarts who pioneered the drug trade in Miami prior to their arrival so it's not really fair to criticise it for not dealing with a topic it's only tangentially about. There was definitely violence before the cartels got involved but its a historical fact that once the likes of Carlos Lehder got involved it escalated out of all control, but that's really when the story of people like Jon Roberts and Mickey Munday sort of ends. There's plenty of books and docs about the cartels. This tells another story where they're really not at the centre. If you want to get more into that stuff, Simon Strong's book Whitewash is far better, and there's countless docs on people like Lehder and Escobar.

There's a sequel to Cocaine Cowboys that's pretty much all about Griselda. It's not as good as the first one but obviously goes into lots more details about her. But it seems much more tailored to a kind of gangsta-rap friendly audience than the original was.

Cocaine Cowboys II: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cx_M3_FBUTY

Hunting Escobar: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwuud6vwkhw

There's a Cocaine Cowboys II?? Ye gods! (Have saved that onto my "to view" list on YouTube, & ditto w/"Hunting Escobar").

The cartels stuff you mention sounds completely insane/psycho - will defo have to look more into that. Have added "White Wash" to my Amazon wishlist - will buy it once I've bought and read "American Desperado".

And on this: "The film (and the book) isn't really about them. It's really about some young American upstarts who pioneered the drug trade in Miami prior to their arrival so it's not really fair to criticise it for not dealing with a topic it's only tangentially about." - I hadn't factored in the cartels stuff, so I think that's fair comment, even if, on balance, I still personally feel that "CC" is highly flawed. But as you say, there is plenty on this subject to get your teeth into.

The Caine Mutiny

I tried watching On The Road, but even Kristen Stewarts nipples couldn't get me through it...

Excellent interview with Joaquim Pheonix, discussing HER and more:

http://www.npr.org/programs/fresh-ai...ate=2014-01-21

i like her face a bit, but i think she's a terrible actress

AM I WRONG?

Did you see Adventureland? It's with Kristin, before she got big. I remember thinking how much I liked her and how I wanted to keep an eye on her future projects. Boy, was I wrong.

She's no longer a real actress. She's just "Kristin Stewart" the celebrity/product. Good or bad doesn't matter. She shows up in a movie and you either go, "She's cool" or "She's annoying" and that's about it.

All that said, I'd enjoy seeing her nipples.

adventureland…. yes yes. with zuckerberg? sure! and that snl guy. that was fun, if a bit of a cliché ending. i liked her character, and i liked her face, but she was pretty wooden though, as i recall.

An excellent atmospheric horror effort from Wise, and a film where Hammer-style theatrics are ignored in place of psychological tension and dread. Great performances from the cast, and the black and white cinematography looks fantastic. Perhaps slightly overlong (this one hits the 2 hour mark), "The Haunting" nevertheless is a stellar example of 60's horror at its finest. In fact, it comes close to being as seminal and powerful as "Carnival Of Souls" at points, so you know that this is an exemplary one. If you're into your horror stuff, this comes very highly recommended indeed.

Why? She was never an actress to begin with. She can't act when it comes to delivering lines, she is one of those "faces" actors, who makes faces, pantomimes, and expressive gestures. Essentially movies just pan in an out of her facial expressions.


Meh, chalky white girl nipples are a dime a dozen, I'd be more interested in Kristen Bell yo! Damn. Years ago I watched every single damned episode of Veronica Mars religiously, rushing home from University classes and never missing a new episode for both seasons, until the honeymoon was over and I realized the acting and production was fine, but realistically I just had a huge school boy crush on Kristen Bell.

https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/i...yI5JKD8yXz3lUV

Totally agree. One of the few horror films (along with Carnival of Souls and a handful of others) that's actually frightening.

Death Wish IV.. and just for demonrail, I hated every damned minute of it, but I watched at least half an hour just out of crass spite!

philistine

Yes, that was definitely a Philistine movie, the first one was decent enough, but by the III or IV sequel it become not only redundant but Bronson's character devolved into a caricature of the first one.

In this case I'd obviously have to agree. I like the first one and II has a decent sleazy quality but the rot was setting in even then. III was awful though and I'm not sure I even bothered with the 4th one. But Bronson was a has-been by then. The difference is for you he's a never-was. So you're still a philistine.

blue jasmine
august: osage county
dallas buyers club
so far the latter has been my fav in all aspects.


gonna look for the cocaine cowboys today. thanks.

All round decent effort from Joel and Ethan Coen in their latest film, in which folk singer/guitarist (Oscar Isaac) navigates the early 60's Greenwich Village scene, and one by one burns his bridges as he struggles to get gigs, gets a female folk singer (Carey Mulligan) pregnant, and surfs from couch to couch as he attempts to establish himself as a folk musician. An ill-fated trip to Chicago sees him sharing a car with a heroin-using jazz pianist (John Goodman), and eventually he decides to rejoin the merchant navy, but even this doesn't work out for him. Thje film ends as Issac's set at a folk club is followed by that of a somewhat well-known emerging protest-folk musician, and Isaac (after taking another beating) sees his life going absolutely nowhere.

Oscar Isaac acquits himself well as the dissolute musician who just can't seem to get anywhere. Carey Mulligan is striking and mean-mouthed at the same time, and John Goodman's role is brief but still convinving. The plot moves along at a fair old pace, and there are one of two laugh out loud moments amongst the more sombre scenes of the film. The folk music soundtrack is overall fairly decent, and the film looks very good - Greenwich Village of the time being evoked pretty well. There's a long-running meme about a runaway cat, and Garrett Hedlund's short role as a near-silent, chain smoking beat poet is certainly textbook Coen territory.

So, "Inside Llewyn Davis" is a nice addtion to the Coen oeuvre, and worth seeing, even if folk music doesn't particularly interest you. One slight issue, however: in the recording seesion scene, an electric guitar can clearly be heard on the soundtrack, even though the scene in question has acoustic guitars only. A bit early to be citing Dylan's electric period, methinks!

I disagree about Carrie Mulligan, I thought she was non convincing and also thought the John Goodman role was pretty gratuitous. The driver, who I thought was supposed to be Neal Cassidy was great, as was the sister and the club owner in Chicago. One of my favorites in a while. I also saw a few not correct for the period objects and styles, but it was all in all pretty accurately done. Left the movie house with a good feeling. A good antidote movie for either the reality is tremendously awful movies or the alternative, life is just grand and love is in the air fakiness out of Hollywuud.

Man the Coen Bros are so hit or miss for me, at least since 2000.

I HATED Oh Brother Where art Thou. fuck all that shit, the music, the period, the shitty yellow filter on the camera. I hate it all.

The Man Who Wasn't There was just plain boring.

Intolerable Cruelty I stopped watching after 10 minutes. I let my wife finish it by herself.

The Ladykillers was 1/2 funny 1/2 stupid, and not in a good way.

No Country for Old Men was amazing. AMAZING

Burn After Reading was such a piece of SHIT. Fucking horrible stupid, pointless fucking movie. such suck-ass shit.

A Serious Man was boring as FUCK as well.

True Grit I enjoyed OK, but it was a piffle. It was a unnecessary remake of a movie/book. 1/2 the time I could have given a fuck.

From 87 to 99 they made so many films I love, and only one I really HATE. That would be the fucking infuriating Hudsucker Proxy. HATE THAT FUCKING MOVIE

Coens. Love 'em or hate I guess.

INSIDE is typical Coens: perfect visuals, dark dry humor, John Goodman, and the sense after the thing ends that it ultimately doesn't have much of a point.

First four movies are great and I've watched 'em all a billion times since they came out. Since then, "hit or miss" nails it. Have they made a comedy better than Raising Arizona? A better noir than Blood Simple? Pushed themselves as far as they did in Barton Fink? Personally, I don't think so. I might add Fargo to the first four, but that's probably it.

Instant classic, in my opinion.

By the way, of the nine Oscar flicks, six of them are based on true stories. Nebraska is an original script, but not Payne's. Only her and Gravity were written by the directors, and the director of Gravity co-wrote it with his son. Make of all that what you will.

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Gonna watch Inequality for All tonight.