That god damn trailer's more popular than Uncle's Day in a whorehouse!

I watched Where the Truth Lies last night. It's the one with Colin Firth and Kevin Bacon as what all the reviewers were calling "a Martin-and-Lewis-esque comedy team", directed by Atom Egoyan, adapted from a book by the guy who wrote the Pina Colada song. The one over which a bunch of people went crazy about because it had a scene in it with two men naked in the same room at the same time, so it got rated NC-17 and nobody watched it. Ebert and Roeper famously threw a hissy on their show over the rating, and good on them for it.

I must have rented the watered-down version. Either that, or I'm not cynical enough and I give the public at large way too much credit for being sophisticated, which would be alarming given how misanthropic I am already.

At any rate, I liked it a lot. It was told in a old-Hollywoodish, stylized fashion, which is maybe what inspired those who called it the worst film since Showgirls (a comment which, to me, is pure madness). The filmmaking is elegant and stylized. Bacon and Firth were very strong, and the partner dynamic between their characters was well-formed -- which it needs to be, since it's the spine of the film.

Nobody in this movie is what they appear to be, except for (possibly) the mother of the victim. But she's kind of a cipher anyway, there to represent the idea of the innocent who suffers. She's also the creepiest character in the film. While everyone else can't have truth and needs to settle for stories, she can't have her daughter and has to settle for a tree.

The Reuben character (David Hayman) is a kind of background presence through the story, of very little importance until late in the film. All of the evil from the whole story gets compressed into his last spoken line -- not the words, but the delivery.

I'm still not decided on the question of whodunnit.

Bleep you, & bleep the establishment, and bleep all of you who are trying to make me part of the unestablished establishment.

Bleep you, & bleep the establishment, and bleep all of you who are trying to make me part of the unestablished establishment.

That god damn trailer's more popular than Uncle's Day in a whorehouse!

"Every day holds a new beginning and every hour holds the promise of an Invitation to Love." 

Jamie, I saw this film a few months ago and I also enjoyed it.  Atom Egoyan is one of my favourite directors, if not my favourite.  Have you seen any of his other films?  They all follow a non-linear style, building up layers of time and memory that eventually overlap.

I was also surprised by the certificate it received in the UK (I think it was 18).  I assumed at the time that it was due to the Alice in Wonderland goes AC/DC scene.

~ 'I will give you my finest hour, the one I spent watching you shower' ~

Masters of Horror episode 7: Deer Woman

I took a break from this series in order to keep my head from exploding. Seeing this I think that maybe they are bound by certain rules, like some crappy movie competition.

While this mini movie is poor, it's not as bad as the other two I've seen. That's probably because it doesn't take itself seriously. I do not like humor in horror.
Then again this show is a runaway production, and those suck in 9 cases out of 10.

Booth, did you happen to see "Penny Dreadful" in that Masters of Horror thingie?  If so, a little more in-depth quickie review, if you please. 

Susan 

     
“Half a truth is often a great lie.”

Ben Franklin

Yeah, it's amazing what a little moisture can accomplish...

The only other Egoyan I've seen -- which I suppose makes me a bad Canadian -- is Exotica, which I liked, The Adjuster, to which I vaguely recall feeling indifferent, and Speaking Parts, which I don't remember at all. Might be time to schedule a catchup for myself.

{Meanwhile, here at the font park, my blue Georgia 10 pt and your purple Georgia 10 pt get to chase each other around in circles for a bit.}

"Every day holds a new beginning and every hour holds the promise of an Invitation to Love." 

Oh my god, who can keep track with these horror fests? 

Meanwhile I've got my latest Netflix "Witness for the Prosecution" and will be watching it for the first time though it's from 1957.  Something tells me the prosecution is blaming the wrong guy but we'll see.

Susan 

     
“Half a truth is often a great lie.”

Ben Franklin

Yeah, I saw The Adjuster a looong time ago too.  I'm afraid I can't remember a thing about it (first date, long story).  The Phoenix in East Finchley showed it as a double bill with The Sweet Hereafter.  I'd recommend giving Felicia's Journey a whirl - it takes a while to get used to Bob Hoskins doing a Brummie accent but it's a film that grows on you.  Exotica is one of my top five films, I'm glad you like it.  I know Egoyan's films can seem a little cold, perhaps a bit over stylised at times, but on the whole I like that.  I like Canadian films in general, I think it's s'thing to do with the humour.  Maybe it's closer to English humour, I dunno.   Ha, I've been wanting to use this little fella for yonks.  He looks kinda French don't you think...? 

Catch you later in the font park
 

~ 'I will give you my finest hour, the one I spent watching you shower' ~

My sister expressed interest in seeing that Dixie Chicks' documentary. Although I don't dig the country music scene, it did sound like it might be interesting. 

Last night I watched Elephant for the second time (by Gus Van Sant)...still not sure if it was worthy of all the Cannes accolades, I would have to check back and see what other films were in competition that year. I understand what he was trying to do, showing all the various kids going through their day, unaware it was going to be their last. And his matter of fact introduction to the two shooters only made the last 20 minutes that much more harrowing. Very short at about 80 minutes, still it's something one should see for themselves (oh and all the students are portrayed by first timers)>

The Man Who Knew Too Much (1955) - A Hitchcock film that I enjoy although not so much as others. Did he really have to feature Doris Day singing that much? Can you say fingers against a chalkboard? There is some great humor in this one though, I found myself laughing a lot. Yes, the ending in Royal Albert Hall is tense and I liked the way you can just see the characters talking as the performances goes on and that adds to the tension, but it is just a tad drawn out...

So, Elephant not long enough...Man Who Too Knew Much too long...I guess that;s one way of putting it.          

"Every day holds a new beginning and every hour holds the promise of an Invitation to Love." 

That god damn trailer's more popular than Uncle's Day in a whorehouse!

Bleep you, & bleep the establishment, and bleep all of you who are trying to make me part of the unestablished establishment.

If Elephant had dragged on any longer than it had, I might have been left in a permanent state of comatose, Smokey! Watching that film reminds me of when I rented Pedro Aldomovar's All About My Mother. The film would reach the point of a terrible accident and then return to the beginning. The first time, I thought, oh this is clever! I'll watch super close because this repeat will probably have something slightly different. But then it reached that same point, and returned to the beginning again. I finally realized the disc itself just couldn't make it past the first chapter stop.

I think I've asked you before, but have you seen Zero Day? In my opinion a far better film on the same subject but with a clearer understanding of the murdering teens. Made before Elephant with a fraction of its budget.

I agree with you on The Man Who Knew Too Much. It seems that audiences of days gone by had longer attention spans though. I readily admit I will fast forward through the camels in the sand scenes when watching one of my all time faves, Lawrence of Arabia.

Susan

     
“Half a truth is often a great lie.”

Ben Franklin

Fast forward through Lawrence? Sacrilege!!

So, Susan, did you ever see All About my Mother in its entirety? One of my favorites by Pedro, although my favorite is probably The Flower of My Secret...there are too many to list...the trailer for Volver of course makes his new film look intriguing as they always do. And I was wondering what you thought of TMWKTM, I though you'd agree with me too. And as for Lawerence, I am not sure what the studios thought of the average moviegoer in the early 60's but they did make David Lean shorten the film...twice...thankfully I have the director's cut...I haven't watched any movies since my last double feature...With all the college football games on yesteday (special ahout out to Susan for the Bruins) and pro games today, I'll probably end my night with a Six Feet Under episode or two...       

"Every day holds a new beginning and every hour holds the promise of an Invitation to Love." 

 Actually I'm 17 (but thank you for guessing older)... wow that's a thirty year difference... I'm surprised you say that older audiences would like the Fountain better... I remember thinking I would've been more impressed with it if it'd come out when I was 13 or 14.

btw I have to say that if Lawrence of Arabia was any longer I would've fallen asleep... Maybe I'm too young for that one or something but I couldn't see what was so great about it... it seemed really self indulgent. I might've just been in the wrong mood when I saw it though.

That god damn trailer's more popular than Uncle's Day in a whorehouse!

• It's a contemporary horror movie
• It's a Dark Castle production
• Paris Hilton
• A soundtrack that seemed to be put together to just sell CDs