Thursday, January 25, 2007

Comments on Leonardo DiVincio

Tom Charity wrote about Leonardo DiCapricio:
"Gangs of New York and The Aviator had an awful lot going for them, but by common consent, neither felt as essential as, say, Raging Bull, or GoodFellas."

I guess. Personally:

I tried Raging Bull recently. I got twenty minutes into it, and I got so sick of low-brow people yelling at each other that I had to drop it. I mean, come on. (The same is true for many films of the period, like Mean Streets.)

Goodfellas I didn't get. I didn't see the great interest, just as I don't see it with The Godfather. And it's not that I don't like the gangster genre necessarily, The Sopranos is one of my favorite TV series.

Gangs of New York I may get around to seeing. Though I hesitate, for the idea of gangs of poor boys struggling in old-time NYC turns me off. (Though not as much as a love story taking place on the a sinking ship. I'll watch Mexican soaps for a year before I'll watch Titanic.)

The Aviator I loved. I thought Leo was good, the visuals were amazing, and I am still punch-drunk from the double wammy of Cate playing Kate. O mama, such beauty, such style.

Leo was awesome in What's Eating Gilbert Grape.

14 comments:

laurie said...

aw c'mon Eo, Titanic brought up so many postromantic feelings. A lovely nude art scene as well.
Was it Cate Blanchett? Love for all eternity . . . . . It was less sappy than I thought it would be however. Just visually in many parts it was quite stunning. Overhyped . . . yeah. But I would see it again.

The Song of Solomon, the Song of Songs, said it well: "Love is stronger than death and hard as hell."

David Toyne said...

Gangs of New York...Mmmm

Gets my Oscar for Vilest subtext.

I walked out.

laurie said...

Leo looks 14. Even as Howard Hughes he looked 14.

Anonymous said...

Titanic was one of THEE best films I have ever seen! The music, the drama, the special affects, superb!
Visually stunning and well protrayed! Grade A+
You can have your mexican soaps lol, I'll take Titantic any day!

Anonymous said...

Gangs of New York I may get around to seeing. Though I hesitate, for the idea of gangs of poor boys struggling in old-time NYC turns me off.

I'm sure many said that about the " cult classic "The Warriors" nearly thirty years ago, yet today the movie is a phenomenon!
Walter Hill is a genius!

Anonymous said...

signalroom said...
Leo looks 14. Even as Howard Hughes he looked 14.

yes he does. his acting isn't really all that either.

Anonymous said...

Leo was awesome in What's Eating Gilbert Grape.

yes he was! grand movie.

Eolake Stobblehouse said...

David,
Please explain.

Anonymous said...

"I'll watch Mexican soaps for a year before I'll watch Titanic."

Oh yeah? Well, clearly you haven't watched many of those. Titanic was just amateur's warm-up compared to THEIR maudlin.
For more than a decade now, dubbed latin soaps (Mexican in majority) have been a big craze here in Lebanon, so "s'al mjarreb la tes'al hakim". (Ask the experimented, not the wise thinker.)
I've quit watching lebanese TV. It tends to short out my Prozac. :-P

At least, Titanic is mercifully over in few hours. Plus, you get to see Kate Winslet posing naked in a very Domai style at some point.

The arabic dubbing of "mexican" language has, admittedly, made for some very entertaining moments. "Big mammas", for instance, are dubbed by the local equivalent. Which are usually long-running heavy smokers, and this gives them a very "virile" voice! Sometimes more masculine than the handsome male lead.
:-D

Islamic culture requirings (since these soaps are sold throughout the Arab world), a typical expression like "Madre de Dios" has been... adapted, into equaly typical "Bismillahil rahmane arrahim" ("By the name of Allah, the powerful and merciful").
:-)

More amusing, is "Caramba!" (it's very easy to verify what they say from lip movement). It's become "Tabban!". The equivalent of "Damn!". Except it's much shorter, so it has to be pronounced "Taaabbbbbbaaaaannnh!" in order not to sound like a classic Seventies kung-fu movie.
:-D

Once, a local comic program took excerpts of the ongoing soap, and re-dubbed them in a very hilarious manner. There's some huge potential there, I believe. Could be the next great comedy thingie of the millenium.
Like the movie "Kung Pow" did with a classic kung-fu flick, incidentally!

Anonymous said...

At least, Titanic is mercifully over in few hours. Plus, you get to see Kate Winslet posing naked in a very Domai style at some point.

not much of a romantic huh pascal? that film was a gigantic hit! everything from acting to the tremedous special affects, the music score alone went double platinum.
also Winslet was only topless in the film. but still a very lovely lady.

Anonymous said...

The Song of Solomon, the Song of Songs, said it well: "Love is stronger than death and hard as hell."

? Where is this located in scripture?

Overhyped . . . yeah. But I would see it again.

Well, I've seen it ten times already and it was anything but overhyped. The producers were smiling their way to the bank.

Anonymous said...

paxil said...
"not much of a romantic huh pascal?"

Well, I was just trying to drive Eolake into taking some perspective. ;-)
I haven't seen Titanic myself. But I heard that at the end, the ship sinks. (And according to some rumors, so does handsome Leonardo! Sniff, boo-hoo, waaah!!!)

"The producers were smiling their way to the bank."
Hey, this sounds like hype to me. ;-)

Anonymous said...

Gangs Of New York is one of the best movies I've seen. I loved the characters and scenes. A definite masterpiece.

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