Blue Jasmine

[aud19]

Finally watched Blue Jasmine last night and Allen was at his awkward best here. Extremely uncomfortable to watch but equally as intriguing and well acted. Cate Blanchett cements herself further in my mind as one of my favourite actresses. The entire picture is wonderfully moody and engaging. Dice-Clay surprises a bit here as well.

As Allen ages he seems to be getting even better at painting a picture (even if the picture is less lighthearted than his earlier work).

9/10 and probably the best picture I've seen this year.

[George Bellefontaine]

I've never been an Allen fan, Jason, but I do plan on seeing this particular movie. I'm encouraged by the high rating you give it.

[aud19]

I LOVED it George. It's just so tactile, moody and full of tension. You feel like a fly on a very interesting (if pitiable) wall while watching it. It completely absorbed me in to it's world.

And I cannot overstate how unbelievably fabulous Blanchett is in it. All the performances are quite good but she just takes it to another level. It's worth seeing on her performance alone IMO, that it's a good film on top of that is just the cherry on top.

I haven't seen the competitors but I have trouble believing anyone would better her performance for best actress this year.

[madmac]

I think I wrote a review on this film awhile back because I saw it in the Theater. I went with a buddy of mine because we are both Woody Allen fans. We both went in hoping for laughs. We did not get them. This is an angry film......tense.....sad......at some points actually uncomfortable. In my opinion, Woody's best work is his earlier stuff Like "Hannah and her sisters" and before. I'm not saying this film is bad, and Cate B does do a great job in her role, but it's NOT comedy. All I can say is to go into this film knowing that fact.

[aud19]

Yeah, definitely a drama in my mind. There's some laughs at how awkward/uncomfortable things get but overall, definitely a drama IMO. I could see how one might be disappointed going in expecting guffaws.

[George Bellefontaine]

Blanchett is the main reason I want to see this film.

[Chris D]

Rented it, based on recommendations here. I enjoyed and appreciated aspects of it. I agree--I got big laughs at parts, but definitely a drama, not a comedy. I had forgotten until I came back here that you guys said it was a Woody film. I wouldn't have guessed that. To be honest, I found the story fairly ho-hum. Not too much compelling about it, although I do like movies that really explore the human condition, and there were those kind of aspects in the film.

But I was BLOWN AWAY by Blanchett's performance. I've always seen her as a good, solid, actress, but nothing really special. Well, she did a totally amazing job in this film, and THAT is what I really enjoyed watching.

Just after watching, it kind of struck me as being a modern-day film in the vein of "All About Eve", an exploration of a sad and somewhat tragic life, with a fascination of resulting or associated mental illness.

[wkhanna]

Last night The Wife & I watched this film.
Cate gives an absolutely amazing performance here.
There is no question this was an Oscar winning effort.

As for the movie itself.......yawn.
For a character study, it had Allen's DNA all over it.
For a film that left you moved & contemplating a day later.......hardly.
We were both disappointed.

[aud19]

Glad to see everyone agreed with my (and the Academy's) impression of Cate's work here :T

A little surprised nobody else seemed to care much for the movie itself though. I tend to agree that none of the characters are terribly likable (perhaps that's why?) but they all seemed relate-able, pitiable etc. It's certainly a hard/uncomfortable watch but I was happy with the story itself in that context. Cate's performance certainly is the best part/elevates it but IMO the story is worthwhile, awkward entertainment.

[wkhanna]

I did not have a problem watching / liking the other characters.
Frankly, i saw them all as victims.
The story just seemed not so much uncomfortable, but just plain boring.

Personally, if i want reality TV (which almost is what the film reminded of), lord knows there is more than enough of that crap all over the boob tube.
I know this only due to the fact that The Wife wastes so much precious time watching so much of it.

[aud19]

Well I don't watch any reality TV beyond Amazing Race...so perhaps that's where the difference is :lol:

I thought it was an interesting commentary on many of the pitfalls of modern western society myself.

[wkhanna]

....or the dysfunctional condition of the majority of human relationships...........?????

I see where you are coming from......but the triteness of it all was simply failed from my POV.

Maybe you are right, maybe it portrayed the uselessness of life with a little too much authenticity?

If so, it seems an odd message for Allen to be delivering as he is certainly facing his own mortality in the autumn of his career.

[aud19]

Majority? I hope not! They're certainly not rare though! :lol:

Doesn't seem odd to me, pretty poignant in fact. If you fall prey to the pitfalls of greed, loneliness, not being true to yourself etc (the themes touched on in the film) life can and will be a rather useless exercise consisting largely of futile unhappiness in the long run. That seems like exactly the thing someone in the Autumn of his life might be pondering.

And having worked in the entertainment industry for so long, he's no doubt had countless examples of vanity, greed, dysfunction etc to illustrate the point.

[wkhanna]

Interesting counter-points, Jason.
I have V much enjoyed hearing your observations & this discussion of this movie.

But now it is time to indulge in some viewing guaranteed to please my taste......
...my Pens are about to start defense of a winning record against the Capitals in a few minutes in the second of a back-to-back meeting that finishes up in Pgh tonight.

Hockey......now that is the true meaning of life! :W

[aud19]

Normally I'd agree...my Canucks are having some pretty glaring growing pains with their current re-tool/injury woes. It's not a lot of fun to watch currently.

The film discussion has been a pleasant distraction :lol:

[Ovation]

Tonight the HT gear will be devoted to the Habs-Bruins game (Go, Habs, Go!)

That is all. :lol:

You may return to your film discussions.

[wkhanna]

I honestly feel quite bad for you guys.
If my team were ever to hire John Tortorella I would have to start watching golf & give up totally on hockey.

[aud19]

I honestly feel quite bad for you guys.
If my team were ever to hire John Tortorella I would have start watching golf & give up totally on hockey.

Torts is far from the "problem". I actually don't mind him as a coach (though he's certainly still learning about the team, playing in the West etc).

It's a combination of things really.

One, the previous management left the prospect cupboards pretty bare meaning we have little in the way of ready prospects on ELC's able to supply much needed depth. The current regime has done a great job restocking (while providing one of the best NHL teams in the league the last few years) but they're just now starting to become viable options...in a trickle.

Two, the new CBA/cap decrease vastly dented our NHL depth that was already on the thin side due to point one.

Three, they've been absolutely injury riddled. Most of the year one (and sometimes two) of the players on our first line have either been playing hurt or out with injury all together. Not to mention that thin depth noted above ALSO being injured.

Those are the three major things that are the "problem". That we're in the midst of a re-tool (that usually involves some losing) is just a symptom of those things.

[Ovation]

I think Tortorella is mismatched with the players on the team, at least if he wants to keep playing the style he employed in New York. He should go with the style he had in Tampa. Injuries are a big factor, but the front office has to take some of the blame too. The goalie situation is a fiasco. To go from having both Luongo and Schneider to having neither in about 18 months is a sad state of affairs. Lack may well blossom in a year or two (and Markstrom, with proper attention, has the tools to be a strong goaltender) but that's no excuse for the poor management of the goalie situation. Also, allowing the Kesler situation to reach the point it did is another sign of weak management.

My favourite team is, of course, the Habs. But I have two other teams among my favourites (and this goes back to the 70s, it's not a recent thing), the Rangers and the Canucks (1994 was a difficult time for me). It was unpleasant to see the Rangers start so poorly and its unpleasant to see the Canucks go poorly now. The Rangers seem to have righted the ship--the Canucks need new management.

[aud19]

I think Tortorella is mismatched with the players on the team, at least if he wants to keep playing the style he employed in New York. He should go with the style he had in Tampa. Injuries are a big factor, but the front office has to take some of the blame too. The goalie situation is a fiasco. To go from having both Luongo and Schneider to having neither in about 18 months is a sad state of affairs. Lack may well blossom in a year or two (and Markstrom, with proper attention, has the tools to be a strong goaltender) but that's no excuse for the poor management of the goalie situation. Also, allowing the Kesler situation to reach the point it did is another sign of weak management.

My favourite team is, of course, the Habs. But I have two other teams among my favourites (and this goes back to the 70s, it's not a recent thing), the Rangers and the Canucks (1994 was a difficult time for me). It was unpleasant to see the Rangers start so poorly and its unpleasant to see the Canucks go poorly now. The Rangers seem to have righted the ship--the Canucks need new management.

I think that Torts has show some difficulty in adjusting to the team he as. I'll give you that. Injuries surely haven't helped. That we're in the midst of a re-tool (to get more the players he wants) doesn't help either.

The goalie situation was blow WAY out of proportion, largely by Eastern Canadian media (who continues to pull the same garbage now with Kesler). Gillis should have dealt Corey sooner and/or not signed Lu to that damn 12 year contract (that the league retroactively screwed us over). Gillis mostly did the best he could with the cards he was dealt there.

Lack and Markstrom will be fine and this year was already a write-off. There's also no reason Gillis can't sign a UFA vet to play with Lack if deemed necessary in the summer. A year or two works just fine with the re-tool as that's when we start reaping the benefits of our rebuilt prospect pool.

IMO management is fine. Losing is part of re-tooling. Fans need to be patient (even though it sucks).

[Ovation]

I think that Torts has show some difficulty in adjusting to the team he as. I'll give you that. Injuries surely haven't helped. That we're in the midst of a re-tool (to get more the players he wants) doesn't help either.

Same problem plagued Habs under Jacques Martin. Martin's style of hockey was NOT suited to the players on the Habs roster. I don't know why some coaches insist on forcing a roster to play a style for which it is ill-equipped. Even Therrien, though not quite as inflexible as Martin, has that problem.

The goalie situation was blow WAY out of proportion, largely by Eastern Canadian media (who continues to pull the same garbage now with Kesler). Gillis should have dealt Corey sooner and/or not signed Lu to that damn 12 year contract (that the league retroactively screwed us over). Gillis mostly did the best he could with the cards he was dealt there.

But he did sign him to that 12 year contract--that's on Gillis (and it was a horrible idea regardless of what the league did). So by not trading Schneider sooner and/or granting that contract, I fail to see how the goalie situation is anything but A) a fiasco and B) Gillis' fault.

Lack and Markstrom will be fine and this year was already a write-off. There's also no reason Gillis can't sign a UFA vet to play with Lack if deemed necessary in the summer. A year or two works just fine with the re-tool as that's when we start reaping the benefits of our rebuilt prospect pool.

I hope it works out well enough but it's still a crappy situation overall for which Gillis is responsible.

IMO management is fine. Losing is part of re-tooling. Fans need to be patient (even though it sucks).

We've been "re-tooling" since 1995, so I know from patient. I've also seen far worse management than what Vancouver has at the moment (the Rejean Houle era was not pleasant). But we'll have to agree to disagree about Gillis. I don't have much confidence in his management skills.

[George Bellefontaine]

Things are getting interesting as hockey season end nears. Not sure where it will all end, but just letting Bill know that I'll be keeping my stick on the ice.

[madmac]

Huh???.....I thought this threat was about Blue Jasmine ??. Maybe we should start a new 'Hockey forum' ???!!!

ps.......GO HABS GO !!!........sorry!!!

[wkhanna]

did not you know?

This is not really a movie forum, it is a secret hockey forum created by Sir George.

And you need to know the secret pass-phrase to participate......

Pass-phrase is: Keep Your Stick on the Ice :W

[George Bellefontaine]

:W

did not you know?

This is not really a movie forum, it is a secret hockey forum created by Sir George.

And you need to know the secret pass-phrase to participate......

Pass-phrase is: Keep Your Stick on the Ice :W

You got it, Bill !:W

[aud19]

Same problem plagued Habs under Jacques Martin. Martin's style of hockey was NOT suited to the players on the Habs roster. I don't know why some coaches insist on forcing a roster to play a style for which it is ill-equipped. Even Therrien, though not quite as inflexible as Martin, has that problem.

But he did sign him to that 12 year contract--that's on Gillis (and it was a horrible idea regardless of what the league did). So by not trading Schneider sooner and/or granting that contract, I fail to see how the goalie situation is anything but A) a fiasco and B) Gillis' fault.

I hope it works out well enough but it's still a crappy situation overall for which Gillis is responsible.

We've been "re-tooling" since 1995, so I know from patient. I've also seen far worse management than what Vancouver has at the moment (the Rejean Houle era was not pleasant). But we'll have to agree to disagree about Gillis. I don't have much confidence in his management skills.

Yeah, I'm willing to give him a mulligan considering it's his first year and being in the midst of a re-tool. But next year he needs to make strides of utilizing the assorted skill sets he has available to him for sure.

The 12 year contract was a risk/reward move IMO. If we hadn't signed him to it we likely would have lost Lu for nothing and Gillis would have been crucified for poor asset management. It was really a no win and LU was holding most of the cards there. As for moving Corey sooner, I agree, he should have seen the writing on the wall sooner that Lu wasn't trade-able at the time. That said, we couldn't have moved Corey before the fiasco started and we'd still be in the same position now. It would have simply minimized the soap opera that occurred a bit.

Goal tending is one of the things I'm least worried about. It's not really a crappy situation IMO. We have three, top flight Swedish goalie prospects and an excellent goalie coach. Lack's going to have some rookie "bumps in the road" but he's an excellent young tender and has rebounded VERY well after bad games.

I'm one of the few fine with him. Frankly (while he has had some missteps/moves not work out like any GM), there's not much to complain about when you look at the work he's done in context and without some of the emotional bias of a fan.

Keep Your Stick on the Ice

[wkhanna]

Keep Your Stick on the Ice

Sage advice from my second favorite Canuk, Red Green!

[Chris D]

Very well. I'm changing my username to Todd Bertuzzi can go F&#$% himself.

[George Bellefontaine]

Very well. I'm changing my username to Todd Bertuzzi can go F&#$% himself.

:rofl::rofl::rofl:

[aud19]

:lol: That was a bit out of left field Chris...

[wkhanna]

Careful, Jason.......Chris might sneak up behind you and cold-cock you on the back of your head......:frypan:

[Chris D]

:rofl: