J Edgar (Eastwood, 2011)

[shariqq]

The Man With No Name is at it again, and this time, he's gone big, big, big!

(Big, considering it stars the man who gets the best scripts in Hollywood).

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/wHkNFC8vEh8&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/wHkNFC8vEh8&rel=1</a>

[shariqq]

J Edgar is a biopic of J Egar Hoover, the man who founded, and in fact, *was* the FBI for almost 50 years (1924-1972).

The movie not only looks at the man in office, but also his personal life, and probably also at the fact that he was a closet homosexual. Not surprising, since the writer of the movie is DustinLance Black, he of Milk and swimming in the deep-end of the gay pool.

Movie stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Armie Hammer, Naomi Watts, Judi Dench, Josh Lucas, Lea Thompson and others.

Armie Hammer (of the Winklevii twins) plays J. Edgar's assistant and probably his lover. Get this, Wikipedia says:

...Hoover described Tolson as his alter ego: they worked closely in the daytime, ate their meals together, and socialized in night clubs and went on vacation together.
.
.
.
When Hoover died, Tolson inherited his estate of $551,000 and moved into his house; he accepted the U.S. flag draped on Hoover's coffin. Tolson's grave is a few yards from Hoover's grave in the Congressional Cemetery.

Naomi Watts plays Helen Gandy, the secretary to J. Edgar Hoover and his confidante. After Hoover's death, she apparently "spent weeks destroying his Personal File, thought to be where the most incriminating material he used to manipulate and control the most powerful figures in Washington was kept."



Interesting movie to look forward to.

(And the race for Best Actor Oscar heats up!)

[animatedude]

i'm sick and tired of Leo playing all these serious figures and starring in big serious period films...

[fizz]

i'm sick and tired of Leo playing all these serious figures and starring in big serious period films...

Whatever he's doing, he's ahead of the curve. Look at his track record, lots of films I don't like but the recognition they've gotten, the accolades they've collected, the way they've left their imprint for future movie goers cannot be denied. Possibly one of the greatest living actors working today? You bet.

[animatedude]

true but i rather see him do the edgy early indie roles he did when he was a bit younger than what he is doing right now which is starring in every single serious oscar whore directed by the big boys...it's getting boring.

this looks like The Aviator 2 and i'll be the first to watch it on the big screen but i still think Leonardo Di Caprio is one of those actors we still haven't seen his best performance yet.....which says a lot because he is amazing in almost every thing he did.

[ayaa1977]

Whatever he's doing, he's ahead of the curve. Look at his track record, lots of films I don't like but the recognition they've gotten, the accolades they've collected, the way they've left their imprint for future movie goers cannot be denied. Possibly one of the greatest living actors working today? You bet.

Agree! Leo is a very smart actor who is one of a handful actors of our generation who managed to be superstars and great actors in the same time. His calculations are impeccable. I think if it was someone else we will be talking about him as that one hit wonder who was the lead in Titanic, and his career sunk with that ship. I mean how do you match this? Instead he managed to work with the biggest directors and scored several Oscar nods in the his way. Incidentally, you could say the same about his co-star in Titanic Kate Winslet. So is he the best actor of his generation, probably yes, and that is a generation of great actors. The likes of Christian Bale, Matt Damon, and Edward Norton, he is certainly the closest to being the perfect superstar of them. 

And animatedude, go f** yourself. The guy made Catch Me If You Can, The Aviator, The Departed, Blood Diamond, Inception, and Shutter Island. He is certainly doesn't need nor care for your approval.

[animatedude]

did you at least read what i typed? Leo is my favorite actor of all time...but i'm just saying.

[ayaa1977]

did you at least read what i typed? Leo is my favorite actor of all time...but i'm just saying.

I have read it. You talk the talk but don't walk the walk. You claim he is your favorite actor then shit all over his career. Why is it so important toyou that he make small films? Is it so he can generate a so-called indie credit that he does not need. I have nothing against small films, but as long as he is great in everything he does, I could not care less what type of roles he chooses. He always challenges himself in every thing he does, and give himself entirely for the roles he makes. Sometimes the films does not work, I know that, but you can not say that he was not at least good in the role he plays in each film. You my friend are a bitching addict and a serial complainer who thrives on drama. That is why I said to you to go fuck yourself, and I am saying it sincerely and lovingly.

[animatedude]

happy national day princess

[ayaa1977]

 

happy national day princess

Oh well, I would tell you to kiss my ass, except I am afraid you would think I am being lateral and take me to task on the offer

[shariqq]

[X.]

Could this be the film that will finally get Leo the Oscar?

Most importantly...could this be the film that will finally make Leo look like an adult?

[madali]

Most importantly...could this be the film that will finally make Leo look like an adult?

This is the most important question ever for Leo's career. No actor has tried as much as Leo to look like a grown-up than Leo.

[animatedude]

you should see how they made him look like in The Great Gatsby...they made him looked like when he made Titanic!

[ayaa1977]

This film has many good things going for it, but to ultimately the way Eastwood approached it made very ordinary and lacking. It was like watching TV educational docoumentary with reenactment. Of course no one can do intense like Leo and I really can't fault his acting, the script gave him almost monopoly it's was all about him. Even when he was not on the screen for two seconds, those two second will feature people talk about him.

What I like the most about Leo is that he could have gone big and chewed the scenes but he underplayed even the big scenes. I did not care particulary for the way the film treated Naomi Watts and Armie Hammer's characters, especially Watts. The film had her as the obedient secretary who admires and follow his orders without a question but she has no other angles to her, it was a very one dimensional portrayal saved by Watts who infused a some of energyto otherwise a very boring character. Armie Hammer made his character look like an obedient wife, even though he started up more charismatic and ambitious, in the latter years he is a broken old wife taken for granted. It did not help that his old make up looked terrible compared to Leo's which looked convincing and realistic. I guess they spent all their make up budget on the star. You may not believe me but please look up photos or scenes from the film and you would know what I mean. In the beginning I had problems with the choice of Jodie Dench as his mother because she looked very old, but his youth scenes were very brief. Later, she brought so much gravitas to the role. The mother was apparently was his biggest influence on his personal and of course career. The scenes between the two are the best and strongest in the film, and it made me believe such a woman can build such a man and inspire his legacy.

Some aspects of the man's life, Like his reported crossdressing was checked in a brief scene, which made me think the writers had a checklist of things they had to include, even if it serve nothing in the story, or looked out ofplace. I think they should have either commit to what they want to say, or leave it all together. The portion of him building the FBI and fighting to do so were also intersting. But then the scenes with him telling the story of his life to young agents were a hudgebudge of good to mediocre. The juxtapose between the past and the present scenes was effective sometimes, and the attention to details of the eras was admirable. But the actors who played public figures like Bobby Kennedy (Jeffery Donavan) and Nixon (Christopher Shyer) draw too much attention to the accents and mannerism, which was somehow annoying.

Bottomline, it is not one of the strongest Eastwood films, but it is worth watching nevertheless, at least it got me curious to know about the man who was married to his job and defined modern investigation techniques, as well as he perfected the survillence and intrusion on people's life under the pretnice of protecting the land of its enemy, thus justifying all the big brother pullshit that later adopted by the American administration and perfected by W and his cronies. He was the man hated but needed by every president, and that was the one point that the film made a home run with it successfully.

My Rating: Good