two movies, one song

[coyotegoth]

Had a particularly unconventional singing lesson today, which seemed to incorporate elements of yoga- at one point, I was physically holding my own shoulders down, while doing scales. The "Fire and Rain" sheet music is at home, spread out for drying after the mermaid parade (I don't think I've been that sustainedly drenched since the AIDS ride of '98, when they were handing out garbage bags as impromptu rain gear), so we went (cautiously) through "The World Goes Round," which was interesting- another belter.

Other than that, things are quiet. The Hulk does an acceptable job of depicting superheroic destruction-type stuff, but Ang Lee is trying way too hard to do Darkman-style clever camera tricks, which gets wearisome over two and a half hours. (It doesn't help that James Schamus' script tries far, far too hard to explore every possible moment of classical resonance in the material, throwing narrative sense to the wind in the process (particularly in the climax, but I don't really feel like LJ-cutting potential spoilers at the moment- it's too hot out).

Conversely, I have to say a brief word in favor of Paul Verhoeven (granted that there are many, many things one could legitimately say against him). Rented Turkish Delight, an early (read: Dutch) film of his; much to my amusement, the copy I had was neither dubbed nor subtitled. However, this wasn't the impediment it might have been; Verhoeven's visual storytelling is so clear and direct, and Rutger Hauer's acting so natural and unaffected, that I was able to follow the storyline without major difficulties, through to its (surprisingly affecting) conclusion. Frustrating to see him throwing his talent away on second-rate material like Showgirls and The Hollow Man; for all of his juvenile obsessions and problems with actors, there's definitely a talent there.

And so much for that; Pride march and Harry Potter this weekend; T3 to skip next week, and the world goes on.d

Comments

[genders.livejournal.com]

I feel the same way about Rutger Hauer, particularly in the Dutch films with Verhoeven.

Would you have liked Robocop better with Hauer?

[coyotegoth.livejournal.com]

I don't think so; aside from having odd Blade Runner flashbacks with Hauer in that role, there's something about Weller's eerily clear blue eyes that really works for Murphy- it's almost like he's an android already.

[genders.livejournal.com]

I'll buy that for a dollar!

[ophi.livejournal.com]

Hey, Turks Fruit indeed is a classic. And yes, his talent is going to waste in the kind of movies he makes now.


BTW, halfway through Harry Potter here :-p

[coyotegoth.livejournal.com]

Harrumph! ;)