Cinecast #44: My Darling Clementine/Top 5 Actors

In a feat of mathematics equalled only by whatever the hell Gwyneth Paltrow and Jake Gyllenhall were blathering about in "Proof," Adam and Sam manage to squeeze nearly 30 names into their list of Top 5 Actors. Did we miss any? I'm not sure it's possible.

Also on the show, the Western-a-Week Marathon continues with John Ford's gunfight at the OK Corral classic, "My Darling Clementine." Plus, our Overlooked DVD Picks of the Week and listeners share their Top 5 Actresses.

Music by Splitlip Rayfield courtesy of Bloodshot Records ... Cinecast theme music by Age of the Rifle.



Cinecast #44
:33-10:14 - Western-a-Week Marathon #4: "My Darling Clementine"
10:15-15:41 - Overlooked DVD Picks of the Week
Music: Splitlip Rayfield
16:49-21:25 - Listener Feedback: Top 5 Actresses
21:26-32:40 - Top 5 Actors

Have a comment or Top 5 list you'd like to share? Send us an e-mail at cinecast@cinecastshow.com. Or give us a call at 206-203-CINE and leave a voice message.

Cinecast Mailbag (10/6)

Friday's show will be posted around noon CT ... to the Mailbag ...

Please, how can you call Laura Linney over-rated and accuse her of taking herself too seriously, and then go on to praise Gwyneth "I named my poor kid APPLE" Paltrow in the same breath?! She is, IMHO, the most over-rated actress of her generation. She over-emotes, has a one-size-fits-all injured, naive look, and her apparently flawless English accent fluctuates from Cockney to Upper Class and back again within the same scene in Emma, Sliding Doors and Shakespeare in Love.

Meanwhile, Renee Zellwegger and the gloriously unpretentious Cate Blanchett get completely over-looked. If you want to see real acting and a flawless Brit accent, check out Shekar Kapur's Elizabeth.

Shame on you! --Sabina from London

Thanks for the email, Sabina. Are Renee Zellwegger and Cate Blanchett really overlooked? Both have Oscar nominations; Zellwegger has a win (for Supporting, I know). [Edit: Actually, they both have Supporting Actress wins. Blanchett won for "The Aviator" last year. Thanks to Hannibal6152]. But I suppose I should point out that it's Sam who hates Laura Linney, and I'm the one who is fond of Gwyneth Paltrow. Sam seems to regard Paltrow about the same as I do Linney, which is to say that we find them each merely "good." One thing that should probably be clarified though... when Sam rips on Laura Linney for taking herself too seriously, he means it as a performer -- on screen. Off screen, I'm not sure Sam has an opinion about Linney, nor should he. I mention this because you threw in a jab about Paltrow naming her kid "Apple" (a name, for what it's worth, I kind of like). You seem to have good reasons for disliking Paltrow beyond any pretentiousness she may have as a person, but I still find it odd whenever such concerns become part of the discussion. I've heard numerous people express their disdain for Russell Crowe -- as an actor, mind you -- because they think he's a jerk in real life. Excluding the fact that his behavior off screen is irrelevant to his behavior on screen, the most troubling part is that, of course, they don't actually know what Crowe is really like. All they know is his tabloid-fueled persona. Anyway, I stand by my Gwyneth selection!

Hi guys, I thought the most recent episode's anecdote [in Cinecast #43] regarding the George Clooney quote about the montage cut from his new film was very interesting. I see his point completely. One film in which I saw such a montage, as the last several minutes of the film, where it probably rendered the rest of the movie irrelevant was in Spike Lee's Bamboozled. The movie is only mediocre overall, but the final montage showing a historical timeline of film and TV content of the depiction of black people in America was heartbreaking, sad, and extremely powerful.

I almost always agree that subtlety and thought-provoking are better qualities than hit-you-over-the-head thematic points, but this Spike Lee movie is an example where four minutes at the end of the movie is most likely much more worthwhile than the rest of the movie. How can fiction played as farce be more real than what was actually produced and distributed as entertainment. I think that this speaks so much more. In this case, anyway.

Just wanted to point out this film which most people, including Spike Lee viewers, probably haven't seen. Worth checking out to see if it alters your strong agreement of the Clooney point. I was applauding Clooney, as you did, until I recalled this film.

Best,
Rod Akizuki

Interesting comparison, Rod. I agree with you about a few things here -- that "Bamboozled" is overall mediocre and that Lee's montage at the end is pretty effective. But Clooney should still be applauded. It's not important to Sam or me that Clooney cut a montage, specifically, from his film. What matters is that he cut something significant from his film that would have been manipulative and patronizing to his audience. To some extent, Lee probably commits the same sin. But I think the difference is that Lee is always pretty blatant and in your face with his message, so the montage is consistent with the rest of the film.

That said, it occurs to me that maybe the reason we both like the montage at the end of "Bamboozled" is because it's actually far more subtle and provocative than the rest of the film. The "sad, powerful" images make the point much more effectively than the rest of the film does. It adds something to the experience rather than being redundant, which I think the Clooney montage would have been.

Cinecast Mailbag (10/5)

Return of the mailbag, with some gentle chiding from one listener who wants to point out some gaps in our Top 5 Actresses list. Oh, and some Faye Dunaway bashing ... which is always fun.

Sam, Adam -
Before I say anything else, I've got to get this out of the way. Faye Dunaway is a double decker ham and cheese sandwich. Subtlety is a word absent from her dictionary....The only range she has sits in her kitchen. That said, there can be a time and place for such performances. It works beautifully in "Mommie Dearest" or "Network," where the shallowness of the characters leaves no room for unnecessary claptrap such as vulnerability or doubt. She can play one note, can play it cleanly and can play it pretty loud. But one note does not a virtuoso make. Enough said. What surprised me most about your recent list of Top 5 actresses was the exclusion of three very reliable, accomplished actresses.

First is Susan Sarandon. Smart, strong, sexy, funny, vulnerable. She is the actress that Faye Dunaway wants to believe she is. Hell, I'd rather watch one of Sarandon's make-up commercials over any Dunaway performance. She can take the worst movie (can you spell S-T-E-P-M-O-M?) and make it enjoyable. And how many actresses can make you want to sin at the altar of baseball ("Bull Durham") and then pray for absolution from your sins at the altar of God ("Dead Man Walking") with equal conviction and authenticity? If for no other reason, she deserves to be on the list for her absolutely stunning performance in George Miller's "Lorenzo's Oil," in which she portrays a mother watching her child basically disintegrate in front of her. Her exclusion from your lists is unforgivable.

Second is Frances McDormand. Known mostly for her work in a number of Coen Bros films, she is one of the single most reliable actresses working. Does this woman ever give a bad performance? From her work in "Almost Famous" to "Wonder Boys" to "Mississippi Burning," her work is never less than believable and interesting. Add in the Coen's films, and it leaves one question: Naomi who??

Finally, I have to include Dame Maggie Smith. The woman brings a sense of class to anything she works on. Equally adept at playing Shakespeare, Agatha Christie, and Neil Simon comedy, she is truly one of the most gifted actresses out there. Her moments as the older Wendy in Spielberg's "Hook" held the only moments of magic the movie could muster. Hell, I even sat through "The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood" solely for her work in the film. I just hope to see her more often than the occasional Harry Potter film every year or so.

Well, as always, keep up the great work -- Stuart Kazanow, Reisterstown, MD

Stuart -- great e-mail. Thanks for doing my dirty work re: Dunaway. I'll try and remember your "the only range she has is in her kitchen" line the next time Adam mentions "the most overrated actress in the history of cinema." Onto your picks for actresses overlooked by Adam and I on Cinecast #42...

#1: Susan Sarandon. I don't know. You make a great point about her ability to play, with conviction, the saint and the sinner; but I always felt she took herself (and her character) too seriously in "Dead Man Walking" and as iconic a performance as hers is in "Bull Durham," I'm not totally sold on her ability to really cut loose. She's never really given a performance that's really excited me. (On a side note, I recently watched "Bull Durham" again for the first time in a while, and maybe it's because I've gotten a little older, but I found Annie Savoy to be more annoying than sexy. Maybe it's blasphemy to suggest it, but she reminded me of a lot of the hyper-literate and condescending women I'd met in my life that I've learned by now to steer clear of. Apologies to any hyper-literate, condescending women in the Cinecast audience.)

#2: Frances McDormand. OK. I'm not going to argue this one. Frances McDormand is a very good actress. She's smart and she knows what she's doing. My problem is that she seems to know exactly how good she is. And I see that in some of her performances. Particularly "Fargo." She seems to comment on the character as she's playing it. She gets all the details right. The accent. The behavior. The tone. But there's an emotional distance between McDormand and her character that bothers me. That being said, check out John Sayles' "Lone Star." It's a great movie that's worth seeing all on its own; but Frances McDormand has a single scene (playing Chris Cooper's ex-wife) and it is just astounding. A must-see if you're a McDormand fan. [Adam chimes in: "So let me get this straight, you LOVE Frances McDormand playing an over-the-top one-note role, but Faye Dunaway isn't subtle enough? Sure.]

3. Dame Maggie Smith. You're preaching to the choir on this one, Stuart. She's amazing. I definitely considered her for my list, but just hadn't seen enough of her work to justify her inclusion. It does give me an opportunity, however, to mention a favorite film of mine -- Robert Altman's "Gosford Park." A lot of people I know don't care for it. I like it more every time I see it. Great ensemble acting, a great script, and impeccable, invisible direction from Altman. And one of the greatest things about this movie is the performance of Dame Maggie Smith. As the stuffy widow who's short on cash, Smith steals scene after scene with bitterly funny one-liners.

- Sam

Cinecast #43: Fuzzy Math

Proof: An intricately constructed story about math and madness adapted from the award-winning play by David Auburn, director John Madden's "Proof" has all the elements of great high-brow entertainment. The story is compelling enough, but Auburn (and co-screenwriter Rebecca Miller) seems more taken with the play's clever plotting than with the characters caught up within it. Auburn's story and Gwyneth Paltrow's lead performance were enough to keep Adam mildly interested; Sam was turned off by the play's exploitation of madness for entertainment's sake.

Also on the show, Listener Feedback, Massacre Theatre -- presented by Movies Passions.com -- and a look ahead to Friday's Top 5 Actors.

Music by The Pale Pacific ... Cinecast theme music by Age of the Rifle.



Cinecast #43
:31-15:19 - Review: "Proof"
Music: The Pale Pacific, "Tied To A Million Things"
16:33-31:16 - Cinecast Corrections, Listener Feedback
Music: The Pale Pacific, "Fortune Folds"
32:54-35:42 - Massacre Theatre
35:43-43:16 - Top 5 Actors Preview

Have a comment or Top 5 list you'd like to share? Send us an e-mail at cinecast@cinecastshow.com. Or give us a call at 206-203-CINE and leave a voice message.