#Rade Serbedzija

[shadowcatgirl09]

Agent Allison Miles & President Dallas Edwards Moments {28/∞}

[gospocki]

i ako me sretneš negdje

u gradovima stranim

u kojima se muvam

u posljednje vrijeme

sretni me ... kao da me srećeš prvi put

ej , ti nismo li se mi već negdje vidjeli

kaži ... i zaboravi ...

\ Rade Šerbedžija /

[thishadoscarbuzz]

269 - Eyes Wide Shut

Listeners have been asking for this episode for years and today, Santa is bringing it to you! Happy Holidays, it's time for Eyes Wide Shut! In 1999, the film was hotly anticipated for many reasons: it starred Hollywood's most famous couple, it was the final film of master of masters Stanley Kubrick, its very long production was hounded by the press, and it promised lots of onscreen sex. Adapted from Arthur Schnitzler's Traumnovelle, the film cast Tom Cruise as a doctor who goes on an odyssey of sexual obsession after his wife (a haunting Nicole Kidman) confesses to an unrequited sexual fantasy about a stranger. A ritual orgy, Todd Field playing jazz piano, and a flirty Alan Cumming followed, and baffled audiences reacted viciously.

This episode, we discuss the film's initial negative reaction from audiences and critics alike and its contemporary reassessment. We also talk about its formative place in Kidman's emphasis on auteurs, how the film unpacks Cruise's screen persona, and the film's mystery box marketing.

Topics also include Sidney Pollack barechested in suspenders, the film's censored orgy, and the Blockbuster Entertainment Awards.

Links:

The 1999 Academy Awards

Vulture Movies Fantasy League

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[adamwatchesmovies]

The Fog (2005)

Unfortunately, only two kinds of movies seem to get remade: great movies with a built-in audience that are almost guaranteed to disappoint viewers, and fan-favorite horror movies. Of all the films you could remake, I don’t know why anyone chose John Carpenter’s The Fog. Even in 1980, it was basic and didn't leave much of an impression. In 2005? It’s so unimaginative it fails to justify its own existence.

As the residents of Antonio Island prepare for their town’s centennial, artifacts from the Elizabeth Dane begin washing up on the beach. Soon, a mysterious fog rolls in. Within roam vengeful spirits tied to a dark secret.

The film basically gives away the reason for the ghosts in the opening scene but even if it didn’t, you’d guess it immediately. The Fog is so familiar. You swear you’ve seen this tale somewhere before. More than likely, it was in an episode of Are You Afraid of the Dark, around a campfire or in a children’s collection of spooky stories. It’s so generic you’re shocked by the ending. Was that it? No twists? No new angles? Nothing? Well, that’s not entirely true. There is a crazy reveal at the last minute but it makes no sense, whatsoever. In a way, it’s the ultimate “Gotcha!” because no one could ever foresee it. I don’t mean that in a good way. I realize I’ve just been criticizing this movie for doing nothing new and now I’m criticizing it for making the “interesting” choice to mix two seemingly contradicting versions of the afterlife but it isn’t enough for something to be unexpected; it also has to have some sort of logic to it.

I suppose we should talk about the film’s characters. They’re all descendants of the four founding fathers (though that seems impossible considering that opening flashback…), which should make the reason for the specters coming back even more obvious. Nick (Tom Welling) is surprised when his former girlfriend, Elizabeth (Maggie Grace), returns to Antonio Island after being away for six months. Her return isn’t tied to the fog. Something else has drawn her back. How "peculiar". She and Nick are… in love? Not really. They’re just together. We learn that in her absence, Nick and local radio personality Stevie (Selma Blair) were an item but nothing comes from it. In fact, I don’t think Stevie and Elizabeth do more than acknowledge each other during the whole film. Anyway, they’re the people we follow as the town gets torn apart by spooks hidden in the mist. You don’t care about them or about anyone put in danger. Driving to work with low visibility is scarier than The Fog.

The best thing about this effort by director Rupert Wainwright (whose well-known film might be Blank Check, not exactly an exciting filmmaking career) is the makeup effects. I wish I had more positive things to say, as even these raise more questions with no answers when we see them in modern day.

This picture is instantly forgettable. The “unrated” cut is so mild and dull it makes you wonder what the poor chumps who saw this in theaters did to stay awake. What’s frustrating is that John Carpenter’s The Fog isn’t particularly jaw-dropping either. It’s fine but from someone who kicked off the slasher genre, you expect something grandiose, and it isn’t. Remaking it was a golden opportunity to try something different. Apparently, “trying” was too much to ask. (Unrated version on DVD, April 26, 2022)

[nofatclips-home]

Ježeva kuća (Hedgehog's Home) a short film by Eva Cvijanovic based on the story by Branko Ćopić

[movie--posters]

[motionpicturelover]

"Eyes Wide Shut" (1999) - Stanley Kubrick

"February Film Favourites" Day 5/28

Kubrick's final film is a truly beautiful work of art which I can not recommend highly enough.

One of my Top 10 films of all time.

Full film on Archive.org.

[2ndaryprotocol]

The steely stylish shoot ‘em up ‘Proud Mary’ stormed theaters this week 5 years ago. 🔫👥💥

“𝙽𝚎𝚠𝚜𝚏𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚑, 𝚊*𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚎! 𝙸 𝚊𝚖 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚢𝚙𝚎!”

[retro-vintage-time]

[movie-titlecards]

The Saint (1997)

My rating: 5/10

Imagine basing your entire personality around a single gimmick, and then choosing such an utterly dull one.

[manitat]

1986: Mnoge smo i mnogo voljeli

[watchingalotofmovies]

Slow Horses Season 02

Slow Horses Season 02    [trailer]

Follows a team of British intelligence agents who serve as a dumping ground department of MI5 due to their career-ending mistakes.

Another good old-fashioned spy story. Tense, tight, not unnecessarily stretched. The smaller budget works as an advantage over movies, no boring action showdown at the end.

It took me a while to again get used to the way Lamb constantly insults his team, even if we know he deeply cares about them. Though some of the verbal exchanges are quite sharp and funny.

Seeing Oldman eating disgustingly is definitely an improvement over him farting all of the time.

I regret the fact that the ridiculous, arrogant character, who feels more like over-the-top parody than real, apparently survived.

I'm already looking forward to another mini-season.

[luka-3]

[byneddiedingo]

Rade Serbedzija in Before the Rain (Milcho Manchevski, 1994)

Cast: Katrin Cartlidge, Rade Serbedzija, Grégoire Colin, Labina Mitevska, Jay Villiers, Silvija Stojanovska, Phyllida Law. Screenplay: Milcho Manchevski. Cinematography: Manuel Teran. Production design: Sharon Lomofsky, David Munns. Film editing: Nicolas Gaster. 

Before the Rain wears its fractured and inconsistent narrative proudly, as if daring us to make sense of not only the film's plot but also the centuries-old tradition of violent revenge that had recently manifested itself in the states of the former Yugoslavia. It seems to be three stories that, by the time the film ends, have merged -- or like the snake eating its tail, begun to swallow up one another. The first story, "Words," set in the Republic of Macedonia, is about a young monk (Grégoire Colin) who shelters a girl (Labina Mitevska) from a pursuing mob. The second, "Faces," which takes place in London, centers on a photo editor, Anne (Katrin Cartlidge), and her relationships with a prize-winning photojournalist, Aleksander (Rade Serbedzija), as well as her husband, Nick (Jay Villiers). The third, "Pictures," returns with Aleksander to his home village in Macedonia, where, weary of and disillusioned by his career, he plans to settle. Each segment of the film ends violently, suggesting that the murderous impulse is immanent not only in the world's hot spots but in the heart of civilization itself. As director and screenwriter, Manchevski attempts to explore the dark side of human nature and society without suggesting that he has an explanation, much less a solution, for it. He intentionally undercuts the coherence of the film by introducing inconsistencies between the three sections, such as photographs in one section of events that have not yet happened if the three stories are to be rearranged as a linear progression. The effect is to unsettle the viewer, to heighten the emotional impact of events by denying the intellectual response to them. I think Manchevski largely succeeds, although the London section strikes me as the most weakly conceived, and its climax rather too cinematically staged, especially in comparison with the more subtly terrifying scenes in Macedonia.

[olivierdemangeon]

PROUD MARY (2018) ★★★☆☆

PROUD MARY (2018) ★★★☆☆

[motionpicturelover]

"Eyes Wide Shut" (1999) - Stanley Kubrick

Films I've watched in 2023 (24/119)

Full film on Archive.org.

Another GIF-set I've made for this film.