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I am amazed that a director of this quality has chosen such a mediocre actress for the role. The movie plot is ok(ish) but Kidman's terrible acting made me want to leave after 15 minutes.

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I usually like Nicole Kidman but I hear this movie is awful and most of it is because of her. Don't think i'll ever get around to see it even though it does have Sean Penn.

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she seems to have that effect on all the movies i've seen her in. what is it that such a shockingly terrible actress gets to make the breaks? she must do quite a bit of 'sleeping with the brass'!

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quote:

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Originally posted by Marco
she seems to have that effect on all the movies i've seen her in. what is it that such a shockingly terrible actress gets to make the breaks? she must do quite a bit of 'sleeping with the brass'!

---

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Last 5 seen (out of 4)
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Those are two films I avoided because she was in them - 'The Interpreter' has reinforced my opinion of her. She might be able to put on a passable accent, but with barely any talent and absolutely no charisma, I think she is better suited to bit parts. There are hundred of better actors / actresses who have not got the breaks she has, and I think this is because they were not willing to drop their standards / morals into the sewer as she has.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Marco
Those are two films I avoided because she was in them - 'The Interpreter' has reinforced my opinion of her. She might be able to put on a passable accent, but with barely any talent and absolutely no charisma, I think she is better suited to bit parts. There are hundred of better actors / actresses who have not got the breaks she has, and I think this is because they were not willing to drop their standards / morals into the sewer as she has.

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Ummmm....yeah, she's a total slut.


What movies with her have you seen?

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Well at least we agree on that!

Dead Calm, Days of Thunder, Moulin Rouge, Batman (can't remeber which one it was), Eyes Wide Shut, The Others, Far and Away, Panic Room....can't think of any others...to this day don't know why Moulin Rouge got any of the attention it did....tried giving it a second watch recently, but I doubt I got half wasy through...Nicole was at her infuriatingly useless best.

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i have to say i think Kidman was really good in Birth (even though that kid really freaked me out) and it was an amazing film but i didnt really like her in the interpreter that bit where her brother had died and she had all these cheesy memories of them like hugging and stuff just had me laughing and sean penn kept making all these really gross mouth noises when he talked

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quote:

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Originally posted by Marco
Well at least we agree on that!

Dead Calm, Days of Thunder, Moulin Rouge, Batman (can't remeber which one it was), Eyes Wide Shut, The Others, Far and Away, Panic Room....can't think of any others...to this day don't know why Moulin Rouge got any of the attention it did....tried giving it a second watch recently, but I doubt I got half wasy through...Nicole was at her infuriatingly useless best.

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Last 5 seen (out of 4)
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Panic Room was Jodie Foster.

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I'll try giving Birth a watch then...but I'm afraid it won't be with an open mind...I don't think she deserves any of the credit you're trying to give her.

Right you are Anthony...now we're talking! There is a great actress...along with Sandra Bullock...Mini Driver...

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quote:

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Originally posted by John40
Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.......

Trust me, she can act. She is brilliant in Dogville and Birth. Saying she can't act without seeing these performances is like saying De Niro can't act without seeing Taxi Driver and Raging Bull.

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quote:

---

Originally posted by Marco
I am amazed that a director of this quality has chosen such a mediocre actress for the role. The movie plot is ok(ish) but Kidman's terrible acting made me want to leave after 15 minutes.

---

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quote:

---

Originally posted by Marco
Well at least we agree on that!

Dead Calm, Days of Thunder, Moulin Rouge, Batman (can't remeber which one it was), Eyes Wide Shut, The Others, Far and Away, Panic Room....can't think of any others...to this day don't know why Moulin Rouge got any of the attention it did....tried giving it a second watch recently, but I doubt I got half wasy through...Nicole was at her infuriatingly useless best.

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Nicole Kidman is only a voice on the telephone in Panic Room.
Fact is, this was only a cameo for her, and a short one at that.

quote:

---

Originally posted by John40
Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.......

Trust me, she can act. She is brilliant in Dogville and Birth. Saying she can't act without seeing these performances is like saying De Niro can't act without seeing Taxi Driver and Raging Bull.

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Wow.
Two of the most brilliant and universally acclaim movies in American cinema have just been compare to one film who is a hypocritical attack on America culture by a filmmaker who admit knowing shit about it, and to other one so hollow and soulless that most of the people who have seen it can't even remember it... Like I said before: Wow!
Now, because I have done it before, and it turned out to have been totally pointless, I am not gonna comment on John's opinion that Dogville and Birth are good movies. All I'm going to say goes directly to the lucky majority who haven't seen either one of those movies: don't do it. You'll hate yourself if you end up ranting those films. Hell, I'm pretty certain that you'll hate yourself if you just end up watching them! Both of them are creeping (and not in a good way); both of them are too long; both of them will leave you empty inside and will make you realize that there's definitely better ways to waste 3 hours of your life (that's the running time of Dogville, BTW, and, believe me, you will fell them. Birth is more around 2:20 hours, but it still feel just as long!) Let's face it: in my book, it takes a special kind of person to get any sort of enjoyment out of any of those movies. If you're like John and are one of those few... more power to you! I, for one, will never subject myself again to such misery.
The bottom line: saying that Dogville and Birth are comparable to Taxi Driver and Raging Bull is like saying that Steven Seagal deserved a Oscar for Half Passed Dead. Period.

... As for The Interpreter: it's your standard political thriller, nothing more, nothing less. The performance of the cast is quite solid, but not at all impressive - Kidman, Penn, Catherine Keener, they all have been better, in better movies. The biggest problem of this picture is really Sydney Pollack, who's directing the whole thing as if we were still in the 80's or something. He doesn't seem to have realize that today's audience are way more savy than those back in the days. So, unless you're braindead or something, you pretty much can figure out who's behind all this assassination attempts the minute that you see him/them on screen. I wasn't surprise, anyway, and, what worse, I didn't really care, toward the end of the film.
So nothing really special to report, here. 5.5/10

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quote:

---

Originally posted by mightymad
Wow.
Two of the most brilliant and universally acclaim movies in American cinema have just been compare to one film who is a hypocritical attack on America culture by a filmmaker who admit knowing shit about it, and to other one so hollow and soulless that most of the people who have seen it can't even remember it... Like I said before: Wow!
Now, because I have done it before, and it turned out to have been totally pointless, I am not gonna comment on John's opinion that Dogville and Birth are good movies. All I'm going to say goes directly to the lucky majority who haven't seen either one of those movies: don't do it. You'll hate yourself if you end up ranting those films. Hell, I'm pretty certain that you'll hate yourself if you just end up watching them! Both of them are creeping (and not in a good way); both of them are too long; both of them will leave you empty inside and will make you realize that there's definitely better ways to waste 3 hours of your life (that's the running time of Dogville, BTW, and, believe me, you will fell them. Birth is more around 2:20 hours, but it still feel just as long!) Let's face it: in my book, it takes a special kind of person to get any sort of enjoyment out of any of those movies. If you're like John and are one of those few... more power to you! I, for one, will never subject myself again to such misery.
The bottom line: saying that Dogville and Birth are comparable to Taxi Driver and Raging Bull is like saying that Steven Seagal deserved a Oscar for Half Passed Dead. Period.

---

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The New World (Terrence Malick, 2005) D

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quote:

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Originally posted by John40
You'll notice that I never mentioned the quality of the movies, but only Kidman's performances. However, neither movie was made in an attempt to garner universal acclaim like Taxi Driver and Raging Bull. Remember Roger Ebert's quote: "Good movies aren't for everyone, bad movies are."

The anti-American theory about Dogville may have some merit, but it's a shallow response to such an important movie. The themes present are universal. Lars von Trier has made it clear in interviews that it isn't just about America. I see the film as being far more religious than political.

Birth is much like Vertigo. Vertigo was trashed by critics upon its initial release in 1958, because most didn't understand the movie was about obsession, not the identity of Madeleine. Birth was also trashed, because most didn't understand it is about the battle between the heart and the mind, not the identity of the kid. They both only use mysteries to drive the story.

Oh, and Birth is barely over 90 minutes.

Dogville is, however, a very brisk 3 hours.

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Taxi Driver and Raging Bull were purposely made so that they could receive universal acclaim?

Dogville is an 'important movie'?

Birth, one hell of a long, pointless and tedious movie (like I've said before, it felt like 3 hours to me...), is being compare to Vertigo? TO VERTIGO???!!!

OH-MY-GOD.

Exactly like I said before, arguably about those movies with you, John, will lead to nowhere, so, as I said previously, I won't even bother...

For the rest of you lots, however, the warning is still in full effect: STAY AWAY FROM THOSE FILMS, NOTHING GOOD CAN COME UP OUT OF WATCHING THEM. There's probably, right now, some kind of perverse curiosity growing inside of you, telling you to check out what the fuzz is all about. I know damn well that feeling; it's the exact feeling that made me go to a sjhowing of Caligula, a full years ago, and, let me tell you something: I have regret it ever since. Now, so we be clear, I'm not saying that either Birth or Dogville are as bad as this horrible trash-film, but it's in my opinion that they are way closer to it that they are related to such films as Raging Bull, Taxi Driver or Vertigo.

Anyway, from where I stand, they are that bad. Now, if you're still willing to view such trivial pieces of crap, well, go for it! But don't say that no one warn you....

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MightyMad's DVD Collection

"War does not determine who is right - only who is left." - Bertrand Russell
"I am free of all prejudices. I hate every one equally." - W. C. Fields
"Women who seek to be equal with men lack ambition." - Timothy Leary
"It's not enough that I should succeed - others should fail." - David Merrick

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quote:

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Originally posted by mightymad
Taxi Driver and Raging Bull were purposely made so that they could receive universal acclaim?

Dogville is an 'important movie'?

---

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'Doesn't change anything. Those two movies remains worthless.
And the fact that the huge majority of those glorios reviews come from a bunch of nobody certainly won't change my mind of this.

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"War does not determine who is right - only who is left." - Bertrand Russell
"I am free of all prejudices. I hate every one equally." - W. C. Fields
"Women who seek to be equal with men lack ambition." - Timothy Leary
"It's not enough that I should succeed - others should fail." - David Merrick

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Fine.

Critics consensus poll.

Considering there are only a handful of recognizable critics, it would seem likely that many of them wouldn't have familiar names. It doesn't mean they don't have valid opinions, nor does it mean they aren't talented critics.

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Fine.
It also doesn't mean that they're impervious to mistakes, either.
At the end of the day, they're exactly like us: only human.

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MightyMad's DVD Collection

"War does not determine who is right - only who is left." - Bertrand Russell
"I am free of all prejudices. I hate every one equally." - W. C. Fields
"Women who seek to be equal with men lack ambition." - Timothy Leary
"It's not enough that I should succeed - others should fail." - David Merrick

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Although using reference material is an admirable way of trying to prove a point, I wouldn't trust the opinions of anyone of the so called 'critics' that made up that poll. Their veiws are biased by the green $$$$$'s that the producers and publishers stuff into their pockets. Maybe if you watch lots of rubbish movies, then Nicole Kidman will seem brilliant, but, hey, life is too short to watch bad movies and support rubbish actresses...a tiny little bit of bad talent, no charisma, zero style....I don't expect to change your perceptions of her, but some people seem to agree with me.

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WOW!

Sounds like this movie turned out pretty bad... i guess i wont be seeing it anytime soon....

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Oh, don't listen to these people. One of them has an obvious (rather extreme) bias against one of the lead actors! Any time you go into a film with such a closed mind, expecting to hate the performances you are going to see... of course you aren't going to enjoy yourself. People take movies way too seriously sometimes, and forget that the point of films is to escape reality and have fun. It seems that far too often people (not critics, just normal joes) go into a theater looking to over-analyze every aspect of the film.... desperately searching for a reason to critically bash it. I am not sure why exactly... It really drives me nuts to see how hostile people can get about films... telling someone to avoid seeing a film because the subject matter is controversial (in the case of Dogville) is absurd. In fact, telling someone to avoid a film at all costs is ridiculous in the first place. You can intelligently state your reasons for disliking the film, but do not try and force your opinions on someone else. As is blatantly evident in this thread.... different people like different films. I happen to enjoy Dogville on several levels... it was thoughtful, daring, well-acted, provocative and an extremely interesting experimental film. The film was indeed quite lengthy, but it was just the right amount of time to tell the story Von Trier was looking to tell. It never felt drawn out or uncessarily bloated.... it was just right. I was not in love with the film, but I'm definatley glad I saw it. Films like that are important for any self-proclaimed 'film-lover' to see... whether you like them or not, it is almost essential to see movies such as this. Birth on the other hand was a masterfully directed film with solid performances, especially from Kidman. She was absolutley amazing in the lead role...she conveyed such powerful emotions so naturally. She didn't over-act as many actors do when trying to portray 'sadness' or 'anger' (Ie. Sean Penn in Mystic River), but instead quietly used her facial expressions to let the audience know what she was feeling. Such a graceful, subdued performance... truly underrated. I wish I could say the same for the film, but I wasn't too enthralled with it. That doesn't mean that I can't praise the direction, cinematography, soundtrack or acting... I just didn't appreciate the story as a whole. HOWEVER, on to the topic at hand. I can't believe that so many people here didn't enjoy the Interpreter. It was a very solid film on nearly all levels. It was a good film, and a great political thriller. The acting couldn't have been better for this type of film. The chemistry between the leads was pitch-perfect in my opinion. I truly bought into the bond that formed between Kidman and Penn's character... and adored how it was portrayed in the film. The director never cheapened the relationship by having them sleep together or forge some torrid affair for the sake of having Kidman take off her clothes. Instead they had a mutual admiration and respect for one another, and at this particular point in their lives they NEEDED one another. It was really quite beautiful, in my opinion. The movie itself was well-paced and intellectually engaging... it was not insanely accessible and actually required a bit of thinking. I always admire a film that isn't dumbed down for the sake of attracting an audience. The movie also had several very suspenseful moments, including one of the best 'nail-biter' scenes of recent memory (the bus). I also thought that the dialogue was quite sufficient, the score was incredibly effective, and the supporting cast added quite a bit to the over-all quality of the film. Keener especially added a good amount of much needed comic relief... she's a truly talented actress. I thought the film deserved a solid 7 or 7.5/10. Not perfect, but certaintly a good way to pass the time.

As for Nicole Kidman.... I can't understand not being able to recognize how talented she is. I guess it's just one of those things where the more successful one becomes the more nay-sayers appear. Kind of like the 'Titanic' backlash.... people seem to hate it when something or someone becomes very successful. It's funny, really. However, most people never give any real substantiated evidence as to why they hate something. Oh well, I think that her performances and accolades showered upon her speak for themselves.....but, she truly does shine in almost every film she stars in:
To Die For
The Others
The Hours
Moulin Rouge! (This was a phenomenal performance... you tell me what she could have done to make it better. Absolutley nothing...she played that character exactly how it was supposed to be played. You don't like the film, that's a different story... You need to learn to tell the difference between acting performances and over-all film.. they don't always go hand-in-hand.)
Eyes Wide Shut
.....and many many more.

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I would like to direct a question straight to Marco, Who do you consider to be better than Nicole Kidman?.

Nicole Kidman is an actress who isn't afraid to try different projects and different roles, IMO she is a hugely talented woman who can pull of anything, she is fascinating to watch.

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...
Here's a question for you, Interpreter fans, a question that is actually about the movie:
I heard somewhere that Pollack reshoot the film's original ending, 'cuz an advanced audition didn't like it at all, and he wasn't to hot for it, to begin with. It's suppose to be include in the movie's DVD version... so, what's in it? Did anyone actually saw that ending?
Please describe here, if you did so.

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MightyMad's DVD Collection

"War does not determine who is right - only who is left." - Bertrand Russell
"I am free of all prejudices. I hate every one equally." - W. C. Fields
"Women who seek to be equal with men lack ambition." - Timothy Leary
"It's not enough that I should succeed - others should fail." - David Merrick

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