(no subject)
I decided to go see Tropic Thunder this afternoon. The reviews had been generally positive and I enjoy Ben Stiller's work. I thought it was a pretty good movie.
The first scene that really grabbed me was when the director stepped on a land mine and blew himself up. Although I was sad that I wasn't going to see more Steve Coogan, it was a hell of a way to make an exit! Stiller's subsequent behavior with what he believes to be a prop head -- and the corn syrup which he notes is strangely blood-flavored -- was great, too.
I also liked the scene where Stiller mistakenly kills a panda, then calls his agent, who initially thinks that he has killed a hooker named Amanda.
The scene at the end where Stiller wants to stay behind with the drug gang was a real eyebrow-raiser. It seemed like such an odd choice. But the payoff was worth it, though, with him realizing that he did NOT, in fact, enjoy a special bond with the gang, which subsequently tried to kill him.
Amazingly, I actually rather enjoyed Tom Cruise's performance. In general, he annoys me. A couple of times it felt like he was trying just a little too hard, but I found him to be an asset to the movie. Robert Downey Jr. is an actor who, while he doesn't annoy me, just doesn't impress me the way that I would think someone who routinely racks up loads and loads of critical praise would. He also did a good job. Jack Black, fortunately, stayed away from that certain cluster of mannerisms I can't stand that he often falls back on. Matthew McConaughey stepped up to the plate as well, I thought. Nick Nolte was pretty funny as the overly serious author of the book who turns out to be a fraud on two levels.
The first scene that really grabbed me was when the director stepped on a land mine and blew himself up. Although I was sad that I wasn't going to see more Steve Coogan, it was a hell of a way to make an exit! Stiller's subsequent behavior with what he believes to be a prop head -- and the corn syrup which he notes is strangely blood-flavored -- was great, too.
I also liked the scene where Stiller mistakenly kills a panda, then calls his agent, who initially thinks that he has killed a hooker named Amanda.
The scene at the end where Stiller wants to stay behind with the drug gang was a real eyebrow-raiser. It seemed like such an odd choice. But the payoff was worth it, though, with him realizing that he did NOT, in fact, enjoy a special bond with the gang, which subsequently tried to kill him.
Amazingly, I actually rather enjoyed Tom Cruise's performance. In general, he annoys me. A couple of times it felt like he was trying just a little too hard, but I found him to be an asset to the movie. Robert Downey Jr. is an actor who, while he doesn't annoy me, just doesn't impress me the way that I would think someone who routinely racks up loads and loads of critical praise would. He also did a good job. Jack Black, fortunately, stayed away from that certain cluster of mannerisms I can't stand that he often falls back on. Matthew McConaughey stepped up to the plate as well, I thought. Nick Nolte was pretty funny as the overly serious author of the book who turns out to be a fraud on two levels.