Friday, August 7, 2009

Some thoughts while watching "True Romance"

  • Interesting that the Blu-ray people would advertise the Blu-ray format on a Blu-ray disc. I mean, the only people who will see it are the people who are already on board, right?
  • I forgot that I used to eat Chef Boyardee ravioli. Like, I used to think of ravioli as something filled with beef, that came out of a can.
  • My theory that any movie with Brad Pitt in it is good, no matter how small his part, holds true. This movie demonstrates, in fact, that that theory trumps my theory that anything with Bronson Pinchot in it is terrible, no matter how small his part, if both Brad Pitt and Bronson Pinchot should happen to be in the same film.
  • Why did I put True Romance on my Netflix list in the first place? Who or what suggested to me that I would like this movie? I mean, I do, but why would I think that? Maybe because I liked Donnie Darko?
  • I have personally seen several much better Elvis impersonators (at the Lithuanian Hall in Baltimore, for starters) than Val Kilmer is in this movie.
  • Wait, Val Kilmer?
  • Yup. Val Kilmer.
  • Why is the part of Elvis credited (and subtitled) as "Mentor"?
  • This is the second movie in a week that I've seen Jack Black in from before I knew Jack Black existed.
  • This is also the second movie in a week that I've seen Samuel L. Jackson in from before I knew Samuel L. Jackson existed.
  • Seems like I watch a lot of movies.
  • How do you know when it's too many movies?

8 comments:

Cousin Mouse said...

How can anyone possibly watch "too many" movies? There are more movies than anyone has time to watch in one lifetime. The problem will always be not watching enough movies.

There's a project for someone - if all the movies ever created were screened one after the other, how long would the film festival last?

I'm in awe of your ability to remember actor's names. Personally, until recently I got Johnny Depp and Brad Pitt confused.

I've been watching John Ford westerns with friends lately: My Darling Clementine, Fort Apache, all shot in Monument Valley. Great movies and even more interesting once we saw a documentary feature on Ford and M.V.

Rick said...

True Romance is one of my all time favorite flicks. Quentin Tarantino writing at its best and Gary Oldman at some of his very best.

bzzzzgrrrl said...

Yeah, but you don't want to watch all the movies. Two that I will save you the time of watching: The Gay Bed and Breakfast of Terror and The Echelon Conspiracy.

I should add, I am not so much good at remembering actors' names as I am interested in it. I almost always watch a movie with a computer nearby, and IMDB is my best friend. Val Kilmer, for example, is a bad Elvis, but he wasn't (to me) recognizable as himself; that was an IMDB revelation.

As you know, but other readers may not, I just watched John Ford's The Searchers this week, too. That man knows how to make a pretty movie -- even when it's creepy and scathing social commentary.

bzzzzgrrrl said...

Rick- Don't know that it's one of my all-time favorites, but agreed absolutely: Tarantino is at his Tarantinoiest, and Gary Oldman is perfect. It takes some doing to be "The Villain" in a movie where the good guys murder and deal drugs, but both Gary Oldman and Christopher Walken are amazing. Oldman is a real bad dude.

bzh said...

True Romance contains one of my favorite movie scenes of all time.
Christopher Walken.
Dennis Hopper.
“So you're Sicilian, huh?”
Gives me chills just thinking about it.

bzzzzgrrrl said...

In the commentary, bzh, Hopper talks about how great that scene was to be in, and how later, he and Walken were on a press tour of some kind, and someone said something about what great actors they once were, and Walken allowed as how he doesn't know whether they're good actors, but he started as a dancer, and thinks they partner well together. Hopper loooooved that. I'd say they do indeed partner well together, but they are both pretty great actors.

Joe said...

I used to think that Manwich came out of the can with the meat, too.
So, you know. . .

bzzzzgrrrl said...

To clarify: Chef Boyardee ravioli is still canned and filled with beef. It's just that now, when I think of ravioli, I think of something fresh or frozen (and usually cheese-filled). I had forgotten how recently the fresh or frozen stuff wasn't an option (unless you were making your own from scratch).

We never had Manwich; I am not sure whether that's because my parents weren't interested in sloppy joes, or because the name was deemed to be sexist. I'd believe either (or both).