tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1163321594858726822.post97827390250599236..comments2024-01-30T04:32:47.585-05:00Comments on The Cooler: Close to Greatness: The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert FordJason Bellamyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18150199580478147196noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1163321594858726822.post-39536082567107713302009-04-30T12:01:00.000-04:002009-04-30T12:01:00.000-04:00Rick: Thanks for the comments. I know what you mea...Rick: Thanks for the comments. I know what you mean about the style vs. substance debate, which is why there's the parenthetical "unless the style becomes the story" note, which I was kind of using using as a get-out-of-jail-free card on the topic (not effectively).<br /><br />I think what I was trying to get across there (I wrote this when the film came out) is that a hum-dinger of a story can make up for boring direction/cinematography while the latter can't always make up for the former. Maybe I'm too dumb-American in my tastes there, but I'd still stand by that.<br /><br />Still, I'm with you that it's unfair to consider mostly stylish (not story-driven) films to be without substance or otherwise lacking as a rule, but I'm not trying to do that here.<br /><br />In this case, sometimes the style (to keep with that term) is all that I need (the train robbery scene is amazing); sometimes the film feels empty.<br /><br />It's probably too controversial a topic for me to reference it in such a quick, throw-away fashion, so if I had it to do over again I'd write it differently.<br /><br />Very good points. I'm glad you raised them. And, yes, awesome in Blu-ray!Jason Bellamyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18150199580478147196noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1163321594858726822.post-45335354094345547472009-04-30T11:44:00.000-04:002009-04-30T11:44:00.000-04:00I love this movie, and doesn't it look fine in Blu...I love this movie, and doesn't it look fine in Blu-ray? The robbery scene has to be one of the most beautifully shot, edited and scored sequences of all time.<br /><br />And I appreciate your thoughtful review, especially your analysis of Affleck and Pitt's performances. They were right on.<br /><br />But I challenge the classic Hollywood (and film-school) notion that story trumps everything else. I think that it does only in the way Hollywood and the rest of the West makes and thinks about film. If you consider films from folks like Hou Hsiao-hsien or Wong Kar-wai or Jiang Zhang Ke, they don't have a lot of story, or even linear ones, and yet "Flowers of Shanghai", "In the Mood for Love," and "Still Life" are considered by many to be among the greats.<br /><br />When I'm in the mood for linear, no-meat-wasted storytelling, I'll sit down with "The Terminator" or "Jaws," but a movie like "Ford" (see? I listen) has it's own pleasures, and I'm more than happy to spend a little extra time running down a rabbit trail or two with the likes of Schneider and Renner. I don't forget what the main thread is about, and I don't think most other folks do either.<br /><br />Sorry to ramble on this, I really did like the piece. The "style versus substance" debate just gets to me sometimes.Rick Olsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04846018585978997261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1163321594858726822.post-79621896251381090302009-04-28T20:15:00.000-04:002009-04-28T20:15:00.000-04:00Only upon first viewing did I feel that the film w...Only upon first viewing did I feel that the film was a little lacking in movement - but on multiple repeat viewings I have been enthralled by the performances and the captivating narration. <I>Jesse James</I> achieves greatness in its stunning integration of words, images, acting, and sound.Richard Bellamyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12397053921647421425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1163321594858726822.post-63902828275151764302009-04-28T16:40:00.000-04:002009-04-28T16:40:00.000-04:00I don't think that's overly simplistic at all.
It...I don't think that's overly simplistic at all.<br /><br />It struck me re-reading my review that I like the film a little more now than I did upon seeing it once; one of those cases where my gripes kind of fade while what I admire rises to the surface.<br /><br />I still think the film drifts a little aimlessly -- without purpose or effect -- in places, and I still wish the Ford epilogue had more meat on its bones, but the "classic loss of innocence" is all the more compelling each time.Jason Bellamyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18150199580478147196noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1163321594858726822.post-54046699153225409032009-04-28T15:36:00.000-04:002009-04-28T15:36:00.000-04:00For me this was all about the aging process, and s...For me this was all about the aging process, and so I appreciated the slow, steady pace. You had the past-his-prime Jesse James who actually does have something else to do before dying, which is to say growing old, mean and bitter, since he no longer has an outlet for all of that in the form of his crimes.<br /><br />And you have Ford, who undergoes a classic loss of innocence, discovering that his hero as a kid was actually just a man, and a man with flaws at that. But rather than accept that his idol isn't a legend, he puts the perfect capper on the legend. Then it's his own aging process, in which like a lot of us he hopes his life's accomplishments will be respected by others, only to discover that all that truly matters is how you value your own life's work, which he does not.<br /><br />Maybe overly simplistic, but that's what I was thinking about when I watched the movie.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12643896750707390405noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1163321594858726822.post-2795110031451515292009-04-27T21:07:00.000-04:002009-04-27T21:07:00.000-04:00Your timing is flawless. Just watched this Saturda...Your timing is flawless. Just watched this Saturday night, and wondered if you'd reviewed it. Can't wait to dive in.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12643896750707390405noreply@blogger.com