From: Eric Baker
To: Adam Kempenaar; Sam Hallgren
Subject: Loose Ends
Thought I should tie some things up before the subjects get too unwieldy for mere posts. First off, I apologize for the Brittany Murphy comments: not since Jennifer Connelly at the Oscars has someone fallen so far in such a short span of time. She looked unhealthy in a Lara Flynn Boyle kind of way on 'SNL.' She's a decent actress but without movie makeup and movie lighting, nothing's going on there. I once found her attractive, but as Ash would say, "You got ugly, baby." Moving on, I'm not sure what Adam means by cartoonish (Is she Jim Carrey?), but I don't have any problem with a transplanted Southern drawl, since both Basinger and Debbie Mathers are from the South. Hers is a flawed character, but at least it was a character. I won't rehash my feelings about Eminem's acting, but watching Rabbit throughout the movie was like looking into an abyss: there was nothing there. FYI -- Mr. Mathers will be doing lines at the West Hollywood Actors Troupe later tonight, and I'm not talking about a script reading. But then I'm too dense to grasp subtle acting (what about Brendan Fraser? He just stands there in "Encino Man.") so I could be wrong. I'm glad I've developed "fans" in the Feedback Forum. Of course, there is no qualification to blog about movies; what I write is mainly opinion, just as are your posts, and a Movie Club is a discussion, not a posting of reviews. I have listened to Eminem's songs, and I'm glad he's believable in videos (probably a tongue-in-cheek comment), though as Sam points out, that is something completely different than movies. One important comment that dovetails the believable performance/are actors lying?/why should I care thread: on a fundamental level, I think I ask myself "Is this role believable?" And hopefully most of it is. But then I do ask why should I care about this character? Granted, it's not always about an actor's performance that generates interest, but bad acting can almost certainly kill any interest I might have in the resolution of a dilemma. I think Eminem was believable but I didn't care what happened to him and I disagree with Adam about his character. I don't think Rabbit has changed a lot, except in the sense that Rocky changed, and he doesn't really overcome anything or take responsibility in the end. Perhaps it's because I've read too much about Eminem's real-life story for me to be sucked into this idealized version of it. I hope the discussion continues in the Feedback Forum after more people have seen the movie. Enough of M&M. I'll give the big boss man the first shot at dissecting 'I Am Trying to Break Your Heart' and 'Bowling for Columbine,' but I might try to anticipate Movie Club topics by asking some questions. Is it possible to make a documentary about a band without slipping into hero worship? Presumably the director has got to be close to the band to get access in the first place. Does 'Bowling for Columbine' fit into either of your top 10 lists? I don't really have a process I go through like Sam, mine is more of a gut feeling, so I am likely to be partial to films seen more recently, but I love this movie. I found myself sitting through some of it thinking "Does Michael Moore exploit his subjects?" as Adam and I have had a few discussions about this, and I really don't believe he does. I don't think documentaries have to be objective, and I think several of the best are quite subjective. Talk amongst yourselves.
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