baleanoptera | Flotsam and jetsam of the celluloid persuasion.

See a few days ago I watched Good night and Good Luck. Better later than never I suppose – for it was slightly brilliant. I loved the black and white feel, and how they had integrated it with actual footage. It gave the picture a documentary feel, which was backed up by the films near refusal to delve into the characters personal background. Also David Strathairn was close to mesmerising.

And I thought – wow, George Clooney in black and white looks like one of those old movies stars – they should cast him in a film noir flick. Well – apparently they did; for lo and behold the next day I saw the trailer to The Good German. I have never heard of it before a few days ago, but it looks so noir in all its black and white glory, and it stars George Clooney and Cate Blanchett, it’s directed by Steven Sodebergh and its set in post-war Berlin. So now I’m intrigued. And according to IMDb Robin Weigert has a small role. If it’s possible to love a film solely on who is slated to play in it, then I’m half way there.

The trailer for the new James Bond has started showing, and on my way to work I’m each morning greeted by a huge picture of Daniel Craig. And yes, it is a very nice way to start the day. He looks like he could make a good Bond, and better than Pierce Brosnan who too much "La! I’m James Bond – I might kill people, but I prefer to play golf" for me to like him. I’m very particular about James Bond. Watching the movies were my father’s choice of father-daughter activity, along side going to "The National War and military museum". These two things might have affected me. But surely I'm not the only one with clear prefrences in the James Bond apartment?

That said I suspect part of my brain will always identify Daniel Craig as the murder-monk from Elizabeth. *g*

But further joy! Mads Mikkelsen is playing the bad guy. He was last seen with facial tattoos and a hawk in King Arthur (aka the movie I know is a little bad, but kind of love any way). Apparently Mikkelsen was a professional dancer for 8 years, and is a painter on the side. First Viggo Mortensen, and now him – what is it with these multi-talented actors from Denmark?

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See a few days ago I watched Good night and Good Luck. Better later than never I suppose – for it was slightly brilliant.

Your "slightly brilliant" comment makes me incredibly happy! I haven't seen "Good night.." yet , but I keep wanting to.

on my way to work I’m each morning greeted by a huge picture of Daniel Craig. And yes, it is a very nice way to start the day

And yay! I agree whole heartedly. If you like Daniel Craig, you can like to watch him in "Archangel" http://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/archangel/characters_actors.shtml It is good good BBC drama about Stalinism, Daniel Craig is mervelous there and has some lovely Russian lady as OTP).

I haven't seen "Good night.." yet , but I keep wanting to.

It's definitly worth it. It's a little strange though - because it doesn't deal with people so much as belief and the need for truth. In the opening scene it's even somewhat stated that this will not be for entertainment, but for thought and consideration. I watched it with my other half and for me that was good - since he and I then could discuss it after wards. For me it was a movie that needed discussion.
Also all the actors are very good, and George Clooney looks disturbingly good in black and white. ;)

If you like Daniel Craig, you can like to watch him in "Archangel"

Ooo - thank you! This looks very good. I've noted it down. This is so great about LJ - people keep recommending me to see this or read that, and the result is that I discover so many great things. :D

Hi! I wandered over from

winterspel's LJ.

I agree about Daniel Craig as a nice way to start the morning; I adored him in The Ice House - have you ever seen that? He may have had funny hair in Moll Flanders, but it's where I first noticed him. I think that everyone mainly knows him as the villain in Elizabeth! I didn't mind Timothy Dalton as Bond, perhaps because it seemed darker and less, as you so eloquently put it, "La! I'm James Bond". I'm eager to see this one! (Mads Mikkelsen was one of the best things about King Arthur, so I'm kind of sad that he's the bad guy, but on the other hand, any Mads is a good thing.)

I adored him in The Ice House - have you ever seen that?

This would be the one based on Minette Walters yes? For I have seen that - but such a long time ago and wha! I didn't connect him to that. I remember thinking the detective was quite nice, but that is about it.
For me it was Elizabeth, followed by all things with "Tomb Raider".

I think Timothy Dalton made a good Bond. I suspect his problem was that his films came out in the late 80's. Not a time when darkness and introspection was high fashion.

Mads Mikkelsen was one of the best things about King Arthur

He was yes. *g* Before that I had only seen him in a cop show from Denmark, where everything was gritty and realistic. So seeing him as a mythical warrior was quite fun (and led me to discover an unknown preference for facial tattoos)

But King Arthur is a strange film. I suspect I would have liked it better if they had called it something else than "King Arthur" and dropped the Arthur-references. Then it would be just a fantasy film, and the strange plot holes wouldn't be so annoying.

That's the one! I was startled by Daniel Craig's eyes - he was really quite charming in that one. Ah, and Tomb Raider too! I was so glad that he wasn't evil there.

Good point about Timothy Dalton and the stories of the time. I wonder how the new Bond will fare, as it is supposed to be much darker.

Mads Mikkelsen reminds me of the actors in The 13th Warrior - all these great, unknown-outside-their-own-countries actors who never seem to be in other films. Or maybe just not in enough films! And I agree completely about King Arthur: making it part of the legend seemed like an afterthought and it could have been so much better!

I see that you're a Deadwood fan too! May I add you to my flist?

Mads Mikkelsen reminds me of the actors in The 13th Warrior - all these great, unknown-outside-their-own-countries actors who never seem to be in other films.

*huge grin* I'm Norwegian so "the 13th Warrior" has a very special place in my heart! So many of the actors there are Norwegian - like Dennis Storhøi, who plays Antonio Banderas' friend and calls him brother and such. Also the old woman who was the 'volve' that told their fortunes? She used to have children's programs each saturday. Very strange to see her like that. ;)

about King Arthur: making it part of the legend seemed like an afterthought

It really did. And the strange thing was that the movie started with "based on new archaeological evidence" which struck me as odd. It's a legend - it doesn't need evidence. But that seems to be a strange trend in films lately -to take is clearly fiction and turn it into something aching to realism. The same thing happened with Troy, out went the gods and most of the story, in came so-called realism, with the fighting sequences based on vase-paintings.
That left me with something of a "huh?", because it's The Iliad. It's largely mythical to begin with, and so it doesn't need to conform to our standards of realism.
And what is so wrong about having a story be clearly fictional at any rate?

I see that you're a Deadwood fan too! May I add you to my flist?

Please do! I'll add you back. :) And I love "Deadwood" - it's one of the best tv-shows I've ever seen.

I love The 13th Warrior, and I think that it's so under-rated. The story really isn't about Antonio Banderas, and I appreciated how much the other characters were able to take centre-stage, as it were. I also really liked the litany
Lo, there do I see my father
Lo, there do I see my mother and my sisters and my brothers
Lo, there do I see the line of my people, back to the beginning
Lo, they do call to me, they bid me take my place among them In the halls of Valhalla where the brave may live forever

And I thought Dennis Storhøi was fabulous. I wish he'd make more films that I could find here in Canada! One of the warriors, the tall tall one, is from here, so he was a bit of a celebrity after.

Have you seen all of the Deadwood series now? Truly great writing. I think some film writers could learn from it!

The litany is very good. It sounds like some of the songs in the old sagas, what with the repetition and the small use of alliteration.

Hmm..sadly I cannot remember the tall warrior you mention - it has been a while since I saw the movie. I remember the archer with the braid though - but not if he was particularly tall.

Dennis Storhøi was fabulous. I wish he'd make more films that I could find here in Canada!

*g* Norwegian films are not the biggest export article, I know. But as far as I can tell he is mainly a stage actor - does a lot of Ibsen and Shakespeare and so forth. Apparently he can also so sing, for he usually stars in musicals. (The Norwegian theater scene is very tiny, so actors never play just one kind of theater. So Iago one time, and Fiddler on the Roof another.)

Have you seen all of the Deadwood series now?

Yes, I have seen through season three. And I agree, it has some of the best writing out there. Wonderful actors too, and some amazing cinematography - but the writing just blows me away. From the dialogue, the exposition of narrative to the way they draw parallels between the characters - it's all so well thought out, and so well crafted.
I also adore "Deadwood" for managing to be gritty, violent and horrible - at the same time as funny, hopeful and human. :)

Flotsam and jetsam of the celluloid persuasion.

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