Films/DVD Asylum

Posted by Bambi B on May 20, 2004 at 09:17:27

In Reply to: Re: The Bambi B Lifetime Annoyance Awards posted by Buckeye on May 20, 2004 at 08:16:56:

Gary,

Thanks for the kind words. I don't like to concentrate on the negative too often, but it's awfully nice work to be able shovel a large pile done at once!

Yes, poor Rivers seems to be either heavily sedated or else the face lifts are so tight she can barely move her face. I'm sorry that someone that years ago was bright, creative, energetic, and funny but now is becoming actually repulsive. Has she become so arch and self-promoting that her friends or family can't tell her the truth- or she can't hear it?

Princess Di: Undoubtedly a nice person, but weak minded and confused in her princess role. For the Princess of Wales to die in a Parisian tunnel in a Mercedes with a discount Saudi gigilo does not indicate strong character on it's own account. She had a really unpleasant job, seeing Prince Charles almost every day and having his children required the almost unimaginable, but she sank to the occasion- so nebulous in personality she was a constant victim- and that's never too attractive. Yet, she dressed up and mugged for the cameras and the 10 year old girl level of the public decided she was their dream come true. If she hadn't died tragically and young, she would be largely forgotten- until she re-married. If she had married Dodo or whatever his name was, we would have had several weeks on the ring and three months on the dress.

Why are supposedly democratic Americans so obsessed with royalty?

Lewis is more than annoying but, as you suggest, interesting enough to follow as a phenomenon. I have never doubted his creativity, intellect, attention to detail, and energy but I could never decide who the target audience was supposed to be. It couldn't be children or adults!

I wa a little hesistant in awarding Branaugh, as he is not uniformly annoying. His job in "Shackleton" I think was his best as his depiction of Shackleton as a confident, determined man twho cared about the people under his command was very refined. But, this role was one that required a kind of command emotional restraint and this worked for him the way doing the Terminator robot worked for Schwarzenegger- low requirements.

But, Branaugh through some lack of selectivity in his roles has done enough other really annoying work to put him on the list.

It's that surprising lack of range that bothers me. He is such a stiff and he has two modes- either a droning, flat affect or does his artificial declamation mode. That's it as far as I can see- no signs of being able to do fear, love, envy, real anger, sadness. Plus when he does certain roles, his apparent smug self-opinion that he's a great actor makes the audience always congnizant that there is acting going on- I can't see past his struggle to mkae it look like fine acting.

And the force of this is most apparent with his Shakespeare. His oblivious ego with which he turns Shakespearian roles into TV superheroes. He doesn't seem to realize that Shakespeare did not write larger than life characters, life was always larger. I really hated his Henry V, and though droning, his iambic pentameter is good and he was comprehensible and articulate. But, under his Henry I don't think I would have been among those who "Shall think themselves accursed they were not here." I wish I hadn't even been in the cinema, much less Agincourt..

The other problem with Branaugh is that he he seems to take just any kind of role and became over-exposed.

On the personal side, his posturing during the Emma Thompson years that they were Olivier and Leigh was just funny.

Still, he's not a complete waste of time, but he needs to study enough that his personna does not appear studied and select his roles rather do eeverything with a paycheck. Perhaps he might watch Alan Bates as the butler in Gosford Park or anything ever done by Derek Jacobi- charcters not actors.

Cheers,

Bambi B