tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169151311037688512.post3736765511943460349..comments2024-01-07T09:36:51.796-08:00Comments on Chess, Comics, Crosswords, Books, Music, Cinema: The Quick and the Dead, 1995Prashant C. Trikannadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16079354501998741758noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169151311037688512.post-20155176937864015452014-10-25T05:05:27.469-07:002014-10-25T05:05:27.469-07:00Todd, well said. The tobacco lobby in India is pow...Todd, well said. The tobacco lobby in India is powerful and has much influence in political circles which explains why regular cigarettes or "beedi" (Wikipdedia: a thin Indian cigarette filled with tobacco flake and wrapped in a tendu leaf or possibly even Piliostigma racemosum leaf tied with a string tied at one end) are not banned in spite of the growing clamour for a total ban on all forms of tobacco. Instead, the government increases excise duty on cigarettes every year in the hope that the price will deter smokers. I don't think it has. On the other hand, more and more youngsters are staying away from the lethal stuff and that includes alcohol. Of course, prohibition has seldom worked.Prashant C. Trikannadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16079354501998741758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169151311037688512.post-56472354676259360052014-10-24T07:14:01.756-07:002014-10-24T07:14:01.756-07:00Alas, though, to want women to adhere universally ...Alas, though, to want women to adhere universally to higher standards, to allow men to be more debased in even a trivial way with somehow less criticism, again lands you in the double-standard nettles...sadder still, considering all the damage they can do, there are reasons why tobacco and alcohol, or at least the nicotine in tobacco and the tannins in wine, might have some medicinal value (very fuzzy and initial and no doubt Tobacco Institute-sponsored findings that nicotine Might help with Alzheimer's, for example). Ah, well. Todd Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01815516018079824802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169151311037688512.post-71028817822029063702014-10-24T01:20:39.843-07:002014-10-24T01:20:39.843-07:00Todd, I understand your point. As I said before, w...Todd, I understand your point. As I said before, women have as much right to smoke and drink as men do. However, I was alluding to the sheer futility of the two cheap vices and that if they must be indulged in at all, then I'd prefer men doing it. I mean, what is the purpose? There is nothing aesthetic or dignified about smoking and drinking. It's self-indulging and self-destructive, and a drain on one's health and finances. I can understand women carrying guns in line of duty or for protection.Prashant C. Trikannadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16079354501998741758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169151311037688512.post-23598268840136104992014-10-23T23:17:03.507-07:002014-10-23T23:17:03.507-07:00Well, you see...if it's OK for men to do it, e...Well, you see...if it's OK for men to do it, even if solely esthetically, and not for women, then it's a double-standard. And by definition, that's...(and, of course, there are those who fetishize seeing women with weapons...and those who festishize seeing men with weapons and with cigarets!). If women aren't allowed to be as Bad as men, then they are being denied full humanity...even if only in terms of sorrow at the sight of them doing what it might be more common to see men doing...Todd Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01815516018079824802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169151311037688512.post-16716131791815151982014-10-23T10:35:00.252-07:002014-10-23T10:35:00.252-07:00Hi Todd, I thought my view might be deemed sexist,...Hi Todd, I thought my view might be deemed sexist, hence the explanation at the beginning. Personally, I don't like to see women smoking, or even drinking, because I find the two repulsive and compulsive habits so debasing as to associate them only with men. Fortunately, I come from a place where most women still don't smoke or drink.Prashant C. Trikannadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16079354501998741758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169151311037688512.post-64629057941256235152014-10-22T02:13:42.089-07:002014-10-22T02:13:42.089-07:00Well, Prashant...you are being a bit sexist, if in...Well, Prashant...you are being a bit sexist, if in a sort of quasi-positive way. Tens of millions of women smoke (and not a few people who fetishize watching women smoke), and probably millions have handled guns at some point in their lives...and violence will out. I liked this one, as an intentionally serio-comic tribute to Sergio Leone (I like it a bit better than the other Leone tribute from about the same time, UNFORGIVEN, with Eastwood, Freeman...and Hackman playing a Very similar role). The Raimi touch is obvious, and I like its swagger. And Stone's character is even convincingly torn between her human feelings and her lust for revenge on Hackman's...Todd Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01815516018079824802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169151311037688512.post-40096277292802075172014-10-11T02:17:02.452-07:002014-10-11T02:17:02.452-07:00Sergio, I agree. Now that you mention it the film ...Sergio, I agree. Now that you mention it the film has the makings of a spaghetti western. The casting was good though I felt Crowe was wasted.Prashant C. Trikannadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16079354501998741758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169151311037688512.post-52075040647416851352014-10-11T02:09:49.246-07:002014-10-11T02:09:49.246-07:00Yvette, Kathy Bates as a cowboy? Interesting! She&...Yvette, Kathy Bates as a cowboy? Interesting! She'd make a fine gunslinger and a funny one too. .Prashant C. Trikannadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16079354501998741758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169151311037688512.post-83213563062970020722014-10-10T00:22:19.387-07:002014-10-10T00:22:19.387-07:00I enjoyed this one as a sort of weird hommage to t...I enjoyed this one as a sort of weird hommage to the Spaghetti Westerns I grew up with in Italy, but despite the great cast it's not very memorable - shame really. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169151311037688512.post-26000807793080856682014-10-09T15:58:04.420-07:002014-10-09T15:58:04.420-07:00Yeah, I pretty much agree with you, Prashant. I sk...Yeah, I pretty much agree with you, Prashant. I skimmed through this because I kept thinking this can't be it? And yet, it was. I thought Sharon Stone looked like a model dressed as a cowboy, she looked pretty cool but so not of the time and place. Now, Kathy Bates, I might have accepted as a gun-toting gunfighter. Yvettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08919246184376538331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169151311037688512.post-21523210514215115312014-10-08T07:38:23.294-07:002014-10-08T07:38:23.294-07:00Col, thanks for mentioning HARRY BROWN. I was goin...Col, thanks for mentioning HARRY BROWN. I was going through Caine's portfolio of 150-plus films and that name stood out. I haven't seen it yet.Prashant C. Trikannadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16079354501998741758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169151311037688512.post-12295201384937998992014-10-08T07:35:43.465-07:002014-10-08T07:35:43.465-07:00Charles, good point. I didn't think of the fil...Charles, good point. I didn't think of the film as being experimental but you are right. At least I hadn't seen anything like it. DiCaprio was impressive too.Prashant C. Trikannadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16079354501998741758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169151311037688512.post-51204643597137481102014-10-08T07:30:25.409-07:002014-10-08T07:30:25.409-07:00If you like an older Caine - I would recommend HAR...If you like an older Caine - I would recommend HARRY BROWN.col2910https://www.blogger.com/profile/06422138069939709043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169151311037688512.post-26942406605906441342014-10-08T07:28:56.523-07:002014-10-08T07:28:56.523-07:00Tracy, with CAPTAIN PHILLIPS, Hanks reaffirmed my ...Tracy, with CAPTAIN PHILLIPS, Hanks reaffirmed my faith in him as a very gifted actor. Prior to that, it was CAST AWAY and THE TERMINAL. I have always liked Caine, especially in his films of the past two decades. I recommend his FLAWLESS (2007) opposite Demi Moore. Is there a role he hasn't been cast in? Freeman puts me at ease.Prashant C. Trikannadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16079354501998741758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169151311037688512.post-91369946042364949072014-10-08T05:45:09.598-07:002014-10-08T05:45:09.598-07:00It was a kind of experimental western. I liked Gen...It was a kind of experimental western. I liked Gene Hackman, of course, and thought his relationship with his son was interesting. Other than that, fairly forgettable.Charles Gramlichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02052592247572253641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169151311037688512.post-20274354527592855142014-10-08T05:35:56.920-07:002014-10-08T05:35:56.920-07:00I don't have a top 5 list of authors, but your...I don't have a top 5 list of authors, but your list has a lot of my favorites too, especially Caine and Freeman. Nicholson and Hanks are both great actors, but I haven't seen a lot of Hanks' movies. We did just see Captain Phillips and enjoyed it.TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169151311037688512.post-59037046523857689232014-10-07T21:47:28.572-07:002014-10-07T21:47:28.572-07:00Tracy, I watched it because it was a western and i...Tracy, I watched it because it was a western and it had Gene Hackman. The other four actors in my top five are Jack Nicholson, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, and Tom Hanks. The top five hasn't changed in over a decade. Al Pacino and Johnny Depp would be close on their heels.<br />Prashant C. Trikannadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16079354501998741758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169151311037688512.post-77044765045232974472014-10-07T21:43:19.403-07:002014-10-07T21:43:19.403-07:00Bill, thank you for visiting and commenting. I did...Bill, thank you for visiting and commenting. I didn't know Stone had co-produced the film. When you put it that way, I don't mind giving her credit for picking Crowe and DeCaprio. Both look very young, especially DeCaprio, who actually looks like a kid, but then he was only twenty-one when he acted in the film.Prashant C. Trikannadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16079354501998741758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169151311037688512.post-48565652862681452472014-10-07T21:35:40.339-07:002014-10-07T21:35:40.339-07:00Moira, you can watch the film when it shows up on ...Moira, you can watch the film when it shows up on your cable. As mentioned, I'm a big Hackman fan too. I thought he was really good in CRIMSON TIDE (with Denzel Washington) and BEHIND ENEMY LINES (with Will Smith). Besides, I'll always prefer him to Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor, the bald villain in Richard Donner's SUPERMAN.Prashant C. Trikannadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16079354501998741758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169151311037688512.post-32375272917544007242014-10-07T21:30:59.883-07:002014-10-07T21:30:59.883-07:00Col, I like Hackman in MISSISSIPPI BURNING, too, a...Col, I like Hackman in MISSISSIPPI BURNING, too, as well as in THE FRENCH CONNECTION. He makes a darned good agent or cop. He is good in parts in this particular film.Prashant C. Trikannadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16079354501998741758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169151311037688512.post-46241429430988974972014-10-07T19:28:59.150-07:002014-10-07T19:28:59.150-07:00This one doesn't sound like my type of movie e...This one doesn't sound like my type of movie either, Prashant. I do like Gene Hackman. Who are the other four in your top five?<br />TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169151311037688512.post-21447848139645738502014-10-07T14:53:23.402-07:002014-10-07T14:53:23.402-07:00Gender swapped Once Upon a Time in The West, inclu...Gender swapped Once Upon a Time in The West, including a final Woody Strode cameo. Stone produced this, hired Raimi, Crowe, and DeCaprio pre-stardom, so give her points as an eye for talent.Bill Ohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06041905291496937729noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169151311037688512.post-57689410093351402122014-10-07T14:20:57.653-07:002014-10-07T14:20:57.653-07:00This one passed me by, I don't remember it com...This one passed me by, I don't remember it coming out, and you're not making me think I should seek it out! Like Col, I'm a big Gene Hackman fan, but not all his films were up to standard. Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169151311037688512.post-47431681078853446302014-10-07T11:51:41.001-07:002014-10-07T11:51:41.001-07:00Prashant, I haven't seen this one and don'...Prashant, I haven't seen this one and don't think your review has me rushing to find a copy now, but I might keep an eye out for it, if it turns up on the small screen. I do like Gene Hackman - my favourite film of his would be Mississippi Burningcol2910https://www.blogger.com/profile/06422138069939709043noreply@blogger.com