War Room Lounge v7: Lead is a Totalitarian Monster Edition

[Ruprecht]

And the poor wee brain called it "the lounge"

It's like sharing space with a guy who always has Simpsons protruding upper doofus lip.

No, I think Lead renamed it "the lounge" to prevent people from thinking "OT" thread means "OT" rules.
We'll probably change this one as well, but other suggestions are welcome.

 

[Trotsky]

@Fawlty The movie Choke was my first exposure to Sam Rockwell.

Never understood why he wasn't bigger after watching hik in that.

Good actor, but he doesn't have the accessibility to be a star imo. He's not like a Tom Hanks, George Clooney, or Russell Crowe, where people are drawn into sympathizing and identifying with him. He has more of an edgy character actor type of look/vibe.

It doesn't detract at all from his acting talent, or the critical appraisal of his performances, but it does keep him from being a star. In that regard, I'd put him in the same boat as Willem Dafoe, Alan Rickman, Michael Douglas, Billy Bob Thorton, Jon Voight.

Never saw that, only read the book which I really liked. Survivor was a really good read too, but aside from Fight Club I haven't liked his writing.

Would you recommend it apart from Sam Rockwell? And why does he seem like Ed Norton 2.0?

Moon is his best performance imo.

 

[Trotsky]

On that note, @Fawlty @PolishHeadlock , what do you think are the best acting performances you've seen?

I'd go:

Ellen Burstyn - Requiem for a Dream
Benicio Del Torro - 21 Grams / Che
Paul Giamatti - Sideways
Jennifer Lawrence - Mother! (a tour de force in an otherwise frustrating film)
Jeff Bridges - Crazy Heart
Stevel Carell - Foxcatcher (and basically everything he does)
Mickey Rourke - The Wrestler
Woody Harrelson - Out of the Furnace
Forest Whitaker - Last King of Scotland
Jake Gyllenhaal - Brokeback Mountain
Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight
Tim Robbins - Jacob's Ladder
Robert DeNiro - Taxi Driver
Tom Hanks - Captain Phillips
Lupita Nyong'o - 12 Years a Slave
Joaquin Phoenix - Gladiator (stole the screen in an otherwise overrated movie)
Sean Penn - Mystic River
Naomi Watts - 21 Grams
Michael Clarke Duncan - The Green Mile
Robin Williams - One Hour Photo
Phillip Seymour Hoffman - Capoti
Judi Dench - Notes on a Scandal

 

[Cubo de Sangre]

No, I think Lead renamed it "the lounge" to prevent people from thinking "OT" thread means "OT" rules.
We'll probably change this one as well, but other suggestions are welcome.

I'll brainstorm.

• WR Fuck You Thread
• WR Social Thread
• WR Post Pics Of Your Bitch Or GTFO Thread
• WR Almost Safe-Space Thread
• WR Anti-Political Musings Thread

While none of those have a ring, the ball is now rolling.

Paul Giamatti - Sideways

Stopped right there. 90% of WR'ers could easily play as petulant a douche as Giamatti. Just feed 'em the wine-snob routine and presto.

 

[Ruprecht]

I'll brainstorm.

• WR Fuck You Thread
• WR Social Thread
• WR Post Pics Of Your Bitch Or GTFO Thread
• WR Almost Safe-Space Thread
• WR Anti-Political Musings Thread

While none of those have a ring, the ball is now rolling.
.

Well, I think the "Fuck You thread" has a nice ring to it, but we do try to avoid profanity in thread titles.

 

[Cubo de Sangre]

Well, I think the "Fuck You thread" has a nice ring to it, but we do try to avoid profanity in thread titles.

Totally agree. Anticipating the application of the rule and adjusting accordingly broke a rule of mine (i.e. Don't tell yourself no".) Maybe somehow we can sneak it through?

If not, how about "WR Celebrity Lounge Thread"? I mean, it ain't the average clown wasting time up in the stickies.

 

[Trotsky]

I Stopped right there. 90% of WR'ers could easily play as petulant a douche as Giamatti. Just feed 'em the wine-snob routine and presto.

I'd be lying if I said this didn't negatively affect my opinion of you.

Even if you don't like the character, you can still appreciate the caliber and nuance of the performance. To say that anyone could do it really reflects poorly on your ability to appreciate and appraise.

 

[Jesus H. Sherdog]

Quite a list there @Trotsky

I agree with you about Carell. I’d put him up there with Peter Sellers as the best actors known for comedy. Sellers in Dr. Strangelove and Being There. Of course now I’m thinking of how great Williams, Gene Wilder and Bill Murray are also...

Anyway I would definitely add Deniro’s performance in Raging Bull, and Daniel Day-Lewis in Gangs of New York and There Will Be Blood. Gary Oldman deserves a mention maybe for Sid and Nancy, but idk I just appreciate a lot of his smaller roles also.

 

[Son of Jamin]

* Inflation up
* Economic growth up
* Unemployment down

 

[Neph]

seems Presidential to me

 

[Trotsky]

Quite a list there @Trotsky

I agree with you about Carell. I’d put him up there with Peter Sellers as the best actors known for comedy. Sellers in Dr. Strangelove and Being There. Of course now I’m thinking of how great Williams, Gene Wilder and Bill Murray are also...

Anyway I would definitely add Deniro’s performance in Raging Bull, and Daniel Day-Lewis in Gangs of New York and There Will Be Blood. Gary Oldman deserves a mention maybe for Sid and Nancy, but idk I just appreciate a lot of his smaller roles also.

Almost every famous sitcom star struggles to shed their image in movie roles, and he was able to not only do that seamlessly, but do it while starring in that show. On top of his incredible skill, sense of nuance, and command of his expressions, his ability to camouflage into character is just incredible to me. Guys like Jim Carey and Robin Williams showed serious acting chops, but Carell is on another level.

The fact that Carell started in improv-style comedy and later on the Daily Show....is astonishing. It doesn't reflect well on the dramatic arts that he never even studied or was trained in acting, instead being a history major.

 

[PolishHeadlock]

On that note, @Fawlty @PolishHeadlock , what do you think are the best acting performances you've seen?

I'd go:

Ellen Burstyn - Requiem for a Dream
Benicio Del Torro - 21 Grams / Che
Paul Giamatti - Sideways
Jennifer Lawrence - Mother! (a tour de force in an otherwise frustrating film)
Jeff Bridges - Crazy Heart
Stevel Carell - Foxcatcher (and basically everything he does)
Mickey Rourke - The Wrestler
Woody Harrelson - Out of the Furnace
Forest Whitaker - Last King of Scotland
Jake Gyllenhaal - Brokeback Mountain
Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight
Tim Robbins - Jacob's Ladder
Robert DeNiro - Taxi Driver
Tom Hanks - Captain Phillips
Lupita Nyong'o - 12 Years a Slave
Joaquin Phoenix - Gladiator (stole the screen in an otherwise overrated movie)
Sean Penn - Mystic River
Naomi Watts - 21 Grams
Michael Clarke Duncan - The Green Mile
Robin Williams - One Hour Photo
Phillip Seymour Hoffman - Capoti
Judi Dench - Notes on a Scandal

Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler is up there.

I also really liked Ed Norton in Primal Fear
Russell Crowe in LA Confidential
Mel Gibson in Payback
Gary Oldman in Darkest Hour
Denzel in Man on Fire

 

[Trotsky]

seems Presidential to me

Stop.

This is a safe space.

 

[Neph]

Stop.

This is a safe space.

I'll take you down and you'll be crying the whole time!!

 

[Trotsky]

I'll take you down and you'll be crying the whole time!!

Honestly, the first thing I thought when I read "Joe Biden: I'd take him behind the gym" was why in the fuck can't old people talk about fighting without it sounding like gay sex?

 

[Fawlty]

No, I think Lead renamed it "the lounge" to prevent people from thinking "OT" thread means "OT" rules.
We'll probably change this one as well, but other suggestions are welcome.

I'm going to make some coffee and pretend I never saw this heresy.

 

[Fawlty]

On that note, @Fawlty @PolishHeadlock , what do you think are the best acting performances you've seen?

I'd go:

Ellen Burstyn - Requiem for a Dream
Benicio Del Torro - 21 Grams / Che
Paul Giamatti - Sideways
Jennifer Lawrence - Mother! (a tour de force in an otherwise frustrating film)
Jeff Bridges - Crazy Heart
Stevel Carell - Foxcatcher (and basically everything he does)
Mickey Rourke - The Wrestler
Woody Harrelson - Out of the Furnace
Forest Whitaker - Last King of Scotland
Jake Gyllenhaal - Brokeback Mountain
Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight
Tim Robbins - Jacob's Ladder
Robert DeNiro - Taxi Driver
Tom Hanks - Captain Phillips
Lupita Nyong'o - 12 Years a Slave
Joaquin Phoenix - Gladiator (stole the screen in an otherwise overrated movie)
Sean Penn - Mystic River
Naomi Watts - 21 Grams
Michael Clarke Duncan - The Green Mile
Robin Williams - One Hour Photo
Phillip Seymour Hoffman - Capoti
Judi Dench - Notes on a Scandal

Hard to give my opinion without going into a whole thing about acting because it's so subjective. Rourke, Bridges, and Hanks for example did nothing remarkable with those roles. Those performances were just them showing up and doing their craft in a basic, straightforward, appropriate way, and collecting a paycheck and too much praise. They weren't bad by any means. My favorites out of those are ones where the actor stole the show, like Phoenix, Ledger, and Williams. You could picture them doing those characters as a monologue on an empty stage, and they would still be incredible. Burstyn's performance haunted me too.

When it come to taste, a few performances that I go fanboy for are Tom Berenger in Platoon, Paul Newman in The Color of Money, and Kevin Kline in A Fish Called Wanda.

 

[Fawlty]

The fact that Carell started in improv-style comedy and later on the Daily Show....is astonishing. It doesn't reflect well on the dramatic arts that he never even studied or was trained in acting, instead being a history major.

Acting will always be more about raw talent than skill.

 

[Trotsky]

Hard to give my opinion without going into a whole thing about acting because it's so subjective. Rourke, Bridges, and Hanks for example did nothing remarkable with those roles. Those performances were just them showing up and doing their craft in a basic, straightforward, appropriate way, and collecting a paycheck and too much praise.

WTF?



^This is one of my single favorite acting scenes of all-time. Burstyn's is the best.^ And I'm not even a huge Hanks fan, otherwise. I just think his main thing is how ordinary and accessible he naturally is.



The great thing about Rourke's performance was its apparently coalescence (Roger Ebert used some better, more accurate term) with his life and career as a washed up former star whose promising career tanked and whose face became gross with surgery. It was an incredibly poignant meeting of actor and character.

They weren't bad by any means. My favorites out of those are ones where the actor stole the show, like Phoenix, Ledger, and Williams. You could picture them doing those characters as a monologue on an empty stage, and they would still be incredible. Burstyn's performance haunted me too.

When it come to taste, a few performances that I go fanboy for are Tom Berenger in Platoon, Paul Newman in The Color of Money, and Kevin Kline in A Fish Called Wanda

Williams?

Oh, Robin Williams. I'm leaving the gif because I like it.

 

[Fawlty]

WTF?



^This is one of my single favorite acting scenes of all-time. Burstyn's is the best.^ And I'm not even a huge Hanks fan, otherwise. I just think his main thing is how ordinary and accessible he naturally is.



The great thing about Rourke's performance was its apparently coalescence (Roger Ebert used some better, more accurate term) with his life and career as a washed up former star whose promising career tanked and whose face became gross with surgery. It was an incredibly poignant meeting of actor and character.




Williams?

Oh, Robin Williams. I'm leaving the gif because I like it.

When I watch Hanks doing that, he's acting and I see that he's acting, and it has stink of acting. I shouldn't be watching him acting, I should be watching the captain's story finish. Not much of a payoff for a boring movie about a tiny boat that definitely isn't the big boat. Castaway is far better and Hanks is better in it.

Rourke is washed up, WE GET IT (see what I mean?). It obliterates the fourth wall when I know somebody is acting. Those are appropriate performances by solid professionals nonetheless.

The end of Jeff Bridges' career was an apology by America for not formalizing its love for The Big Lebowski in its time.