Wow, some of these I don't remember Oscar buzz for at all. Some, like Lions for Lambs, I remember laughing at at the time. Some I don't even remember. There was a Claire Danes and Toni Collette movie?
If you take Simon Birch for what it is (a very loose adaptation of the first couple of chapters of Owen Meany) it's not bad. The problem with adapting Owen Meany (one of my favorite novels) is that it's SO sprawling--it'd have to be a 6-8 hour HBO miniseries. Also, Owen's voice is so important to the novel, and would very quickly become grating in an "accurate" adaptation.
All good points. I know it's not a rational wish. Simon is just so sweet and perfect, where Owen is not, and that's more interesting to me.
As for the voice, I have a cassette tape of one of John Irving's readings. I wanted to hear the version of Owen's voice that was in his head. It didn't disappoint.
I looked at the linked tumblr, which made me laugh, but didn't realize until I saw a mention in Monkey See that the author of the tumblr was Joe Reid, aka, Joe R from TWoP. Nice.
Leaving aside the Oscar stuff, Secondhand and House are both pretty good. House is one of the things I point to when people blame Hayden Christensen for the Prequels.
The Kevin Kline stuff in House is pretty maudlin, but the stuff with Christensen and Jena Malone is quite good. (And why hasn't Jena Malone had a TV series built around her?)
I would have sworn Jena Malone had a larger career ahead of her after Saved!, but since then it's been House and Into The Wild and that's about it for what I've seen.
She was the third lead in Sucker Punch, a film that I'm somewhat ashamed to admit I saw. Part of the problem is that while TV has gotten better at crafting drama series around strong female perfomers, they've typically looked to performers in their 40s+ (Glenn Close, Maria Bello, Kyra Sedgwick)--of last year's 6 nominees for lead actress/drama at the Emmys, only 2 were under 40 (Elisabeth Moss and Mirelle Enos).
Wow, some of these I don't remember Oscar buzz for at all. Some, like Lions for Lambs, I remember laughing at at the time. Some I don't even remember. There was a Claire Danes and Toni Collette movie?
ReplyDeleteThe existence of Simon Birch still angers me. Someone needs to give A Prayer for Owen Meany a proper adaptation.
ReplyDeleteIf you take Simon Birch for what it is (a very loose adaptation of the first couple of chapters of Owen Meany) it's not bad. The problem with adapting Owen Meany (one of my favorite novels) is that it's SO sprawling--it'd have to be a 6-8 hour HBO miniseries. Also, Owen's voice is so important to the novel, and would very quickly become grating in an "accurate" adaptation.
ReplyDeleteLay off my Spanglish, dude who does this Tumblr!
ReplyDeleteAll good points. I know it's not a rational wish. Simon is just so sweet and perfect, where Owen is not, and that's more interesting to me.
ReplyDeleteAs for the voice, I have a cassette tape of one of John Irving's readings. I wanted to hear the version of Owen's voice that was in his head. It didn't disappoint.
I looked at the linked tumblr, which made me laugh, but didn't realize until I saw a mention in Monkey See that the author of the tumblr was Joe Reid, aka, Joe R from TWoP. Nice.
ReplyDeleteI bet that kid on The Middle, Atticus Shaffer, could do a decent enough Owen voice. (And he's a pretty decent kid actor.)
ReplyDeleteAnd of the always enjoyable Extra Hot Great Podcast.
ReplyDeleteOn which I allegedly have a game time submission (though not one as hard as this week's was) coming up.
ReplyDelete"Extra Hot Great" is tied with "How Was Your Week?" for my favorite podcast. I think I'd make a fabulous fill in guest for EHG!
ReplyDeleteHalf these movies are made up, right? I mean, "Tea with Mussolini"? "Secondhand Lions"? "Life as a House"? Come on.
ReplyDeleteLeaving aside the Oscar stuff, Secondhand and House are both pretty good. House is one of the things I point to when people blame Hayden Christensen for the Prequels.
ReplyDeleteThe Kevin Kline stuff in House is pretty maudlin, but the stuff with Christensen and Jena Malone is quite good. (And why hasn't Jena Malone had a TV series built around her?)
ReplyDeleteI would have sworn Jena Malone had a larger career ahead of her after Saved!, but since then it's been House and Into The Wild and that's about it for what I've seen.
ReplyDeleteIf not for Tea With Mussolini, I never would have visited San Gimignano, Italy. The real life trip made sitting through that film worth it.
ReplyDeleteShe was the third lead in Sucker Punch, a film that I'm somewhat ashamed to admit I saw. Part of the problem is that while TV has gotten better at crafting drama series around strong female perfomers, they've typically looked to performers in their 40s+ (Glenn Close, Maria Bello, Kyra Sedgwick)--of last year's 6 nominees for lead actress/drama at the Emmys, only 2 were under 40 (Elisabeth Moss and Mirelle Enos).
ReplyDelete