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R. Dittmar
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
420 Posts |
 Posted - 12/30/2006 : 11:27:53 AM
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My wife and I watched and were incredibly disappointed by De Palma's very weak adaptation of The Black Dahlia last night. I won't point out all it's manifest flaws here, but it has to be an exemplar of the worst instance of an informed attribute that I have ever seen.
The entire plot revolves around the alledgedly perfect resemblance between Hillary Swank's character and the Black Dahlia - played by Mia Kirshner. The murder itself is motivated by the resemblance and everyone is constantly remarking upon it. But here's the thing. Mia Kirshner doesn't look anything at all like Hillary Swank! It would be easier to confuse Swank with Mr. Ed than it would to confuse her with Mia Kirshner! Its as if the movie took place in some Twilight Zone where everyone took the twins joke from that Schwarzenegger/DeVito movie with the utmost seriousness. |
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brandywine
Diocesan Ecclesiarch of the Sacred Order of Jabootu
56 Posts |
Posted - 12/30/2006 : 2:00:36 PM
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| In general, my least favorite informed attributes are about the heriones' looks. It's when a plain actress has been cast in the role of a great beauty, and they compensate by having everyone remark on how gorgeous she is and I'm like WTF? (See Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia, Cate Blanchett as Galadriel, etc.) |
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Bobby-G
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
904 Posts |
Posted - 12/30/2006 : 5:03:03 PM
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There was that same problem with Ms. Blanchett in THE GOOD GERMAN.
Rob |
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Sardu
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
1126 Posts |
Posted - 12/30/2006 : 5:30:45 PM
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Isn't this an offshoot of the IA that says that when a model puts on glasses and doesn't do her hair she's an ugly duckling and when she takes the glasses off and does up the hair she's gorgeous again? See also: Superhero disguises.
Carrie Fisher IS gorgeous BTW, and Kate was pretty hot too, though I'd take Eowyn first. *g*
"Meeting you makes me want to be a real noodle cook"
--Tampopo |
Edited by - Sardu on 12/30/2006 5:33:06 PM |
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hbrennan
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
Philippines
1455 Posts |
Posted - 12/30/2006 : 6:03:55 PM
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Weirdly enough, I find Jamie Lee Curtis to be pretty hot. But, then again, I always preferred Bailey over Jennifer on "WKRP in Cincinnati".
"...yet it hadn't destroyed his brain."
re: Charles "The Butcher" Benton (1956)
http://www.henrybrennan.com/
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Prankster
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
Canada
727 Posts |
Posted - 12/30/2006 : 7:46:04 PM
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I was nodding in agreement until you called Cate Blanchett "plain". She's one of the most gorgeous actresses working today. Her unconventional facial features make her MORE gorgeous if anything. And the camera loves her.
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Check out my online comics at [URL]http://www.phantasmictales.com[/URL]! |
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Pip
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
333 Posts |
Posted - 12/30/2006 : 11:45:22 PM
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Your informed attribute reminds me of another movie: The Talented Mr. Ripley. The premise of the movie is Matt Damon (Mr. Ripley), a dorky nearsighted, pimply, greasy haired, corduroy blazer wearing dorkus, is sent to Italy to retrieve Jude Law (Dickie), an unemployed European wannabe freeloading off daddy, and bring him back home. Gwyneth Paltrow plays Dickie's wife, the token blond stick woman. While in Italy, Ripley becomes so enamored with
Dickie and his lifestyle, that he wants to become just like him. So
one day, Dickie hurts Ripley's feelings and Ripley bludgeons him to death.
Then Ripley decides to actually become Dickie. The plot sounds good, but it takes way too long to fall into place. The entire movie was about six hours long and Dickie didn't die until the movie was half over. Then, Dickie's acquaintances all start calling Ripley, DICKIE!!! They look nothing alike!!! Even stick woman couldn't tell the difference.
The plot is full of holes so you don't know why certain things are
happening. Lots of big leaps. The authorities investigating Dickie's disappearance can't seem to make the connection to Mr. Ripley, although I think Jon and Ponch could solve this one.
Sad.
Pip
"These five fingers: individually they're nothing, but when I curl them together like this into a single unit, they form a weapon that is terrible to behold!" - Lucy Van Pelt |
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Altair IV
Preeminent Apostolic Prelate of the Discipleship of Jabootu
Japan
110 Posts |
Posted - 12/31/2006 : 12:23:23 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by hbrennan
But, then again, I always preferred Bailey over Jennifer on "WKRP in Cincinnati".
Y'know, I've heard this comment so often (and it's true for me too) that I'm starting to wonder if anyone really thought Loni Anderson's character was as attractive as she was meant to be. Yes, she was good-looking, but only on a superficial level. Bailey just seemed more naturally attractive, both inside and out. I remember it always bugged me that nobody on the show ever seemed to see it that way. But then again it needed to be that way for the humor to work, so perhaps in this case we should just let it slide. |
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New Hinda
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
Israel
469 Posts |
Posted - 12/31/2006 : 01:12:02 AM
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| In 1992's THE LOVER, the heroine is repeatedly referred to as "White." She sure looked Eurasian to me. |
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RossM
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
427 Posts |
Posted - 12/31/2006 : 3:53:57 PM
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As is almost always the case the novels are far better than the movies. By nature a movie has to be compressed and linear. Sometimes that works to a movies advantage as in Rear Window, but in Black dalia it works against the grain. James Elroy's 4 LA novels creat a complex tale of very,very flawed human beings and carries them through a complex history. The words seethe with anger and drive forward with relentless force. As good as LA Confidential is as a movie it loses the force that Elroy puts in that novel. For example the hero of the movie is depicted as a pure and honest cop. Int he novel we learn that he is far more complex a character with a far less than pristine background. The same compression harms the Black Dalia. The movie also loses Elroy's anger and intensity.
Check out these novels and I recommend that they be read in order. The Black Dalia, The Big Nowhere, LA Confidential, and White Jazz. White Jazz is very difficult at first because Elroy is experimenting with new compressed writing styles. With caereful reading though it does clear itself up if you can give it the time.
rossM |
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Prankster
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
Canada
727 Posts |
Posted - 12/31/2006 : 5:26:48 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Pip
Then Ripley decides to actually become Dickie. The plot sounds good, but it takes way too long to fall into place. The entire movie was about six hours long and Dickie didn't die until the movie was half over. Then, Dickie's acquaintances all start calling Ripley, DICKIE!!! They look nothing alike!!! Even stick woman couldn't tell the difference.
It's been a while since I saw it, but I think you're misremembering. Gwyneth never mistook Dickie for Ripley. And she wasn't his wife. Ripley passed himself off as Dickie to people who only knew him vaguely or by reputation.
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Check out my online comics at [URL]http://www.phantasmictales.com[/URL]! |
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BradH812
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
1294 Posts |
Posted - 01/01/2007 : 11:00:51 PM
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Gotta agree with Prankster regarding Cate Blanchett. The more I think of it, the more I believe she was absolutely perfect for Galadriel. She is a gifted actress with plenty of screen presence, and she is very beautiful but in an unconventional way: she really does look Elfin.
Informed Attribute or not, Hillary Swank was the only thing about The Black Dahlia I wouldn't change. Everything else was a bust. And would someone please explain to me why my friend Diane starts drooling whenever she sees Josh Hartnett? All I see is a pretty-boy who had his charisma surgically removed at birth. |
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