tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211112229982829419.post815659496982946677..comments2022-03-24T16:11:50.124-04:00Comments on The Man From Porlock: Old Dogs, New Tricks (Tetro and Redbelt)Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01450775188328918558noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211112229982829419.post-71205510666619878472009-09-19T13:45:08.625-04:002009-09-19T13:45:08.625-04:00Thanks, Fox. We were bound to concur sooner or lat...Thanks, Fox. We were bound to concur sooner or later. Personally, I don't find Mamet terrifying in the least, but if he looks to Chiwetel Ejiofor as a source of inspiration then the guy must have some finer qualities.Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01450775188328918558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211112229982829419.post-16963269372673383632009-09-18T00:37:51.447-04:002009-09-18T00:37:51.447-04:00Totally agree with you on Redbelt here, Craig. I ...Totally agree with you on <b>Redbelt</b> here, Craig. I know it was pretty well received, but I still see it as an underrated film. <br /><br />I can only guess that the balance of professionalsim and machismo that Ejiofor gives off is something that Mamet feels about himself and deals with in his life. I enjoyed the way it came out through the Ejiofor's character.<br /><br />Also, I'm pretty sure Mamet is a blackbelt himself. He's already an intimidating person to me, but knowing he can tear my head off makes him even more so.Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08067136509248849744noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211112229982829419.post-34988381667706821072009-09-14T18:58:39.509-04:002009-09-14T18:58:39.509-04:00Adam, I went about it roundaboutly, but let me tha...Adam, I went about it roundaboutly, but let me thank you directly (along with everyone else) for your comments. I've read your contributions to Tony's De Palmathon and enjoy your knowledge and enthusiasm.<br /><br />Kevin: let us know what you think about "Youth Without Youth." It's definitely different.Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01450775188328918558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211112229982829419.post-50212929103808840042009-09-14T06:32:07.179-04:002009-09-14T06:32:07.179-04:00"Redbelt": "Mamet's Rocky"..."Redbelt": "Mamet's Rocky" may have been the pitch to help get it made, but it's very much his own spin on a particular genre like all of his other works.<br /><br />I agree with Kevin that the con is really pretty basic this time out; it just <i>seems</i> complicated while watching it because we bring a set of expectations to the film that Mamet has fun using against us, piling up coincidences that have nothing to do with anything.<br /><br />And I agree with Steven that Mamet's misogyny could fill an entire graduate-level college course, though he may be getting better at writing women. Rebecca Pidgeon's character in "State and Main" is one of my favorite characters -- male or female -- in recent years. (Her con is inverted so that it helps the protagonist rather than harms him.) The Braga character in "Redbelt" is a wash but Mortmer's suggests a believable human being. It takes a while to realize she's not a femme fatale either.<br /><br />I still enjoy "The Spanish Prisoner," particularly Campbell Scott's lead performance, which radiates a kind of resourceful decency. But Chiwetel Ejiofor brings more charisma than Mamet's had from anyone since Pacino. I felt Mamet was bringing something more this time too. The finale of "Redbelt" didn't work for me on a narrative level, but it did work on a personal level -- the sense that the filmmaker was revealing something about himself, or at least the kind of person that he admires and wants to be.Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01450775188328918558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211112229982829419.post-81316009013641471422009-09-14T06:21:11.436-04:002009-09-14T06:21:11.436-04:00It's nice to see Coppola still stirs the passi...It's nice to see Coppola still stirs the passions.<br /><br />It was Ryan and Steven's reviews (among a few others) that prompted me to see "Tetro." I'm not sorry I did. Like Steven noted, there's definitely more emotional investment from the director than most of his work from the previous two decades. I respected it for that. (I felt that engagement in "Youth Without Youth" too; it's just a more oblique movie -- like a Lynch film without malevolent dwarves.)<br /><br />Here's the thing, though: For me, Coppola does such a commendable job creating the laid-back, sensual, artistic, playful atmosphere of Buenos Aires in the early scenes that the big secret (which I won't spoil for those who haven't seen it) lands like an Acme anvil. Would it be inappropriate to say that, with the proper tone, "Tetro" might have worked as a comedy? From a certain skewed angle, it is kind of funny.Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01450775188328918558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211112229982829419.post-51548258249933687712009-09-14T02:06:22.644-04:002009-09-14T02:06:22.644-04:00I also loved Youth Without Youth, so you can't...I also loved <i>Youth Without Youth</i>, so you can't imagine my disappointment when <i>Tetro</i> failed to show up here in St. Louis. I'm eagerly awaiting its DVD release.<br /><br />Did you read what Ryan Kelly had to say about <i>Tetro</i>? He gave it an outstanding thumbs-up, and his review definately made me want to see it. Though I have yet to see <i>Tetro</i>, you might want to ask Ryan about any quibbles you have with the film; he could probably help you out!<br /><br />I hesitated to see <i>Redbelt</i> when critics began to refer to it as "Mamet's <i>Rocky</i>", and that of course sounds less than enticing. And while I've always been a fan of Mamet's writing, he's still a novice when it comes to directing. <i>House of Games</i> and <i>Spartan</i> both have snappy dialogue from beginning to end, but they wouldn't work with the sound turned off if you see what I'm getting at.Adam Zanziehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14524618281515322239noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211112229982829419.post-49825495662009479612009-09-13T20:47:06.144-04:002009-09-13T20:47:06.144-04:00Interesting takes on both movies.
I actually foun...Interesting takes on both movies.<br /><br />I actually found "Tetro" to be one of Coppola's more relatable films in years. Sure, I think he goes a little overboard with the melodrama, but I was willing to go along with it (except maybe the final revelation isn't really necessary). <br /><br />A lot of Coppola's misses for me have been when he drowns in technique which makes his films effective to watch with the sound off, which I would put "Youth Without Youth" into that group. With "Tetro", I finally thought Coppola was investing himself more emotionally into his film for the first time in a long time, while acknowledging that he does it somewhat awkwardly.<br /><br />I did think "Redbelt" was lesser Mamet. Not unlike "Public Enemies", it often felt like a director stuffing one movie with the greatest hits of previous films whether it fit the subject matter or not. Did we need to see David Mamet work in another con into this type of movie? <br /><br />Somebody does need to write a thesis one day on David Mamet's issues with women. Because I had seen previous Mamet films, I never had any doubt that Alice Braga's character would betray her husband and kept waiting for that and other Mamet plot turns to happen in this movie. The problem is that most of those plot turns did show up.<br /><br />Although, like Kevin, I loved "Spartan", which I thought broke away from Mamet's usual plot mechanics (which I think is one of his weaknesses) and dealt with the struggles of being honorable in a corrupt world more effectively than "Redbelt" did.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05571206086671634525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211112229982829419.post-77372347735054768522009-09-13T19:03:07.705-04:002009-09-13T19:03:07.705-04:00I haven't seen Tetro yet, and I still haven...I haven't seen <i>Tetro</i> yet, and I still haven't watched the other new Coppola <i>Youth Without Youth</i> (although it's next on my Tivo), so I skipped the Coppola portion of this review.<br /><br />I did, however, see <i>Redbelt</i>, and I placed it in my top 10 of last year. I thought it was great that Mamet simplified his con (read: not as convoluted as the film you line it to <i>The Spanish Prisoner</i>) and made the movie more of a "traditional" movie -- like he did in his superb <i>Spartan</i>. <br /><br />I like your connections between <i>The Spanish Prisoner</i> and <i>Redbelt</i> and how they both have idealistic characters (you could also throw in the Lindsay Crouse character from <i>House of Games</i> as the focus. I actually didn't feel like Mamet was jerking me around and just making shit up by the end of the movie (as he seemed to be doing at the end of <i>The Spanish Prisoner</i>, and that added to the pleasure of what I thought was a highly entertaining film.<br /><br />Chiwetel Ejiofor was phenomenal in the movie, too. One of the most overlooked and underrated performances from last year.<br /><br />Great thoughts as always, Craig.Kevin J. Olsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17275402809912728035noreply@blogger.com