You are killing me, @gano . I guess this means that George Clooney doesn't work for Alan Jackson?
Movie/film suggestions.
While this is of course a forum for the discussion of all things audio/hi-fi and music, pretty much all of us are also lovers of movies, the enjoyment of which is effected by the reproduction of the sound they contain (with the exception of silent movies 
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I've been focused on David Lynch movies since his death, but with current events so much a part of our lives at the moment, I plan on re-watching a movie I’ve seen only once, and years ago. That movie is:
The Madness Of King George. Apropos, no?
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If you leave the casting to me @immatthewj you can be in charge of the script |
You might have to throw in me putting the soundtrack together, @gano . |
Yes, but you will be limited to ONE Bruce song, sorry @immatthewj And you would let me pick one song (Aimee Mann of course) It would be hard not pick Ben Affleck to be the director. Or Clint Eastwood? John O'Keefe = Jeremy Renner? |
That is one more than I thought you would be agreeable with, @gano ; but actually I want to load it up with Bob Dylan. Jeremy Renner might work in that role . . . I am not sure as of yet. However, I have been thinking about Michael Proctor, and how about Cole Hauser for his part? |
we need to audition for the Michael Proctor role some unknown locals too. It’s role that could jump start anyone’s career. Dylan is an interesting choice. I imagined Aerosmith. Bostonians are proud of their local musicians just like everything local, their sports, their food, their beaches, etc. (The food sucks) |
I was just kind of joking about Dylan. Actually, I am not sure I see/hear much of a soundtrack for the movie. I think that I recall from one of the documentaries (probably dateline) that she said that she thought that she had the stereo blasting as she pulled away from 34 Fairview. Aerosmith would probably be a good choice. A lot of those Boston cops and Ma state troopers appear as if they have the extra Y chromosome (the Navy SEAL look). I was kind of thinking about an actor who looks as if he could meet that criteria. I guess I'll give you Affleck for director, Eastwood would be my idea of a hard no. I see the movie as happening in flashback scenes.
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Flashback scenes of course! That’s a must. Smoke filled bars with with the townies, weird New England locals that Casey Affleck would hang out with. I think we are obsessed with this. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/movies/best-movies-21st-century.html the Departed is highly ranked
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It would be an epic, @gano . (Would you consider Alec Baldwin for Hank Brennan?) |
I have mixed feelings about Baldwin since Rust @immatthewj I don't know if it has to be so star studded :) But Brennan has such a British look, I would probably look for someone from across the pond.
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I like Baldwin and see him as another versatile actor (I really liked him in The Departed), @gano , but shortly after I posted I reconsidered. Not because I think the actor playing Brennan has to have a "British look", but I think he has to have an authentic "Boston sound." (For example, Brennan’s trademark "lawer" for law/"sawer" for saw.) After thinking about it, Baldwin seems to be a bit too polished for that role. But I did like what he used to do on SNL when he was portraying you-know-who. |
I typed a novel and it got lost @immatthewj yes, Baldwin is a brilliant actor. I will type it up again… |
I was just going on and on about how, when I lived in Boston, I felt like I was in a movie because of the people, many of the old-timers felt very rich and extreme characters, theatrical, almost cartoonishly so. The folks there feel it’s worth preserving their identities, despite being American, maybe because the nuances are still holding up, along the power structure between the Irish, Italian and Jewish quarters, and the blacks of course. And these Canton people are no different. Even when they move away from Boston - and not many do, when I go to weddings there, it’s usually one or two family members in a big family - 20 or so - who come from California, the rest moved 5 miles in their whole life. And the ones who do live out of state (outside of 128 haha) remain Bostonians, they find other Bostonians in their new home. They know which bar to go to on day 2 to watch Celtic games. I only found it with New Yorkers and Chicagoans to some extent, the rest are just "yeah, I was born in [X] and moved around". The "Bostonianship" is almost a spice, a sauce that you can pour on anything and make it way more interesting, enthralling, and also darker, mysterious. It’s like the mist and fog of London for Dickens. The Boston strangler, the Isabella Gardner robbery, Whitey Bulger, the Kennedys, etc. all swim in that gravy.. So not much lost with that novel. Have you seen; A Deadly American Marriage ? I don’t know if it’s a fascinating story or presented in a tricky way, but I was fascinated. Baldwin > Brian Higgins
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No Country For Old Men Wind River Hell Or High Water Sicario 1&2 and I am sure 3 13 Hours Black Hawk Down American Sniper Slaphot Goon The Mule Letters from Iwo Jima Flags Of Our Fathers The Town The Usual Suspects Pulp Fiction Gran Torino Den Of Thives A Perfect World The Song Remains The Same The Last Waltz
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@gano , I have never been to Boston; I have not even been in and out of their airport. But the vivid and colorful manner you describe the impact that Boston had upon you intrigues me. As far as Brennan versus Jackson during the trial, although Brennan's physical appearance was always impeccable with every hair in place, I was wondering if the jury would be prejudiced in his favor as he seemed to me to come off as what I perceived as "being Boston," as opposed to Jackson, who had been described as the "California celebrity lawyer" (which I thought might be off putting to the jury). No, I have not seen A Deadly American Marriage; I did just find it on 'on demand,' and unfortunately it is only accessible via Netflix right now. The blurb about it looked interesting (I love true stories) and I could see my way clear to a 48 hour rental, but I am not doing Netflix. I will keep my eye on it, and if it becomes a rental or available via some free streaming service, I will jump on it. Thanks for the suggestion--I am always open to watching a good movie.
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re: Brennan versus Jackson yes, that's an astute point. The trial was about Boston vs. Outsiders. Karen Read wasn't from Massachusetts either. Ordinary people are not always happy about the good old boy culture, the dynasties. The locals in the legal and law enforcement world would not go against other Bostonians normally to defend someone who killed one of their own. It was significant in how all the cops would try get her convicted and lined up for the prosecution. |
I totally enjoyed Kill The Irishman, @slaw , I think I may have commented on it after I watched it. I don't think I finished Iceman. Maybe it was too depressing for me, I cannot remember. @gano , this is my last casting suggestion--I promise. I know you aren't into a start-studded production, but I was watching Very Scary People on HLN a while ago (they were doing a doc on BTK) with Donnie Wahlberg narrating, and I couldn't help but thinking he (Wahlberg) might be a good Hank Brennan. A Bostonian who doesn't present as exceptionally flashy, and he sort of has Brennan's look. Put him in an expensive suit and have his hair styled immaculately and I think he could pull it off. |
@immatthewj do not stop with casting suggestions. I enjoy shooting them down :) I thought the Wahlbergs will enter the picture, eventually, as they should. I think Donnie could pull it off... |
In that case, @gano : we have got to give Rebecca Pidgeon a part! She is from Cambridge and she is not exactly what most would consider a big name. I see a few roles she could play that include Jen McCabe or Kerry Roberts. She is way too old for the part, but I think she would really crush the part of the Canton cop who got hired by the Boston PD, Kelly Devers. I think Rebecca Pidgeon could recreate that hostile witness attitude, but, as I typed, she is too old. Back to Brennan--I know you are going to shoot this one down, but I bet Matt Dillon would fit in real well for that. But he is not from Boston. . . . Maybe Brennan would agree to play himself?
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@immatthewj yes, Rebecca Pigeon is good. Fun fact, I looked her up, her husband is David Mamet who directed Glengarry Glen Ross which has Alec Baldwin. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- more on that how you can be a Bostoner subject: Now it’s a freak show. It’s as transient as ever. People in Boston proper are unlikely from Massachusetts, maybe a few old families on Comm Ave and Beacon but it’s mostly people who can afford it, and want to be hit by Chinese tourists as they step outside. It has lost a lot of its old charm with all the tattooed, energy drink addict bitcoin licking hipsters. The "real" townies, multi-generation families are out in Medford, Milton, Braintree, etc. in Suburbia. Or Canton. Next week I should probably go over to pick some scenes for aerials.
@immathewj
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@gano , have you seen Haunted Heart (2024)? I watched it last night after I thought of Matt Dillon for the Brennan role, and I really enjoyed it. It wound up going somewhere different than where I thought it was going when it started. Anyway, the reason I thought of Matt Dillon for Brennan, was his (Matt Dillon's) ability to come off as devious in a gruff way. |
@immatthewj I watched Phil Spector per your recommendation (Mamet, Pigeon again) and found David Aaron Baker could play Brennan. Very prosecutorial figure. Have not seen Haunted Heart . Yet :)
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And David Aaron Baker played Alan Jackson. What a turn-about of casting that would be. Out of curiosity, @gano , what did you think of Al Pacino as Phil Spector? I truly enjoyed his performance, but I have noted that we don’t always agree when it comes to actors and movies. As far as the whole Phil Spector thing, I came away from that movie thinking he may well have been factually innocent. Later on down the road, on public radio, I was listening to an interview with someone about Phil Spector, and this person was talking about how well known it was that Spector liked to pull out guns and point them at people, and it was just a matter of time before one went off. Who knows. But if all one had to go on was the movie, I thought that a compelling defense was presented (which assumed the hammer was back and front sight caught on teeth causing finger to depress trigger, and lack of blood spatter). However, forming opinions and judgements on solely the basis of a movie would be a mistake. Unless it was a very good movie, such as the one we were working on. As far as Haunted Heart, I won’t throw any spoilers out (except to say that there is a twist), but if you appreciate Matt Dillon's acting, you will enjoy this one. And speaking of Matt Dillon, how about Wild Things(1998)? I don’t think that it has been mentioned yet on this thread, but that was another movie I found to be truly enjoyable with a great cast. Bill Murray has added something good to almost every movie I have seen him in.
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I arrived late to this conversation, but I’m really glad I found it. Thanks to all who took time to share your faves! The list of recommended films I haven’t seen is looong and will, I predict, provide for many hours of movie watching joy. And, it is great to have been reminded of old favorites I now want to see again. Here are a few directors I love and didn’t see mentioned above: Bela Tarr: especially Satantango and The Werkmeister Harmonies (if you’re a reader, I strongly recommend the books upon which these films are based, both by Laszlo Krasznahorkai: The Melancholy of Resistance and Satantango) Hal Hartley: especially The Unbelievable Truth, Trust, Simple Men, and Henry Fool John Waters: Pink Flamingos, Female Trouble, Polyester, Hairspray, Cry-baby (where I first saw Johnny Depp sing and play guitar) Atom Egoyan: someone mentioned The Sweet Hereafter above, which I enjoyed thoroughly. Also of note: Exotica, Calendar, Speaking Parts, and Ararat Gus Van Zant: Drugstore Cowboys and Good Will Hunting were mentioned above, and I second those recs. Also excellent: To Die For (written by Buck Henry, with stunning performances by Nicole Kidman, Joachim Phoenix, Matt Dillon), Paranoid Park, Elephant, Milk, Finding Forrester David Mamet movies, especially State and Main, House of Games, Heist, and The Winslow Boy Bong Joon Ho: Parasite, The Host, Snowpiercer Akira Kurosawa: Seven Samurai was mentioned above, and several others also are essential: Rashomon, Ran, Yojimbo, Red Beard; my two favorites are Ikiru and Dersu Usala Majid Majidi movies, especially Children of Heaven (one of the most moving and profound I’ve ever seen) and The Color of Paradise Yasujiro Ozu: Early Spring is, to me, his masterpiece. I especially recommend everything he did after 1940 Jan Svankmajer: I’m a huge fan of the Czech new wave, but I’ll mention only one here; it is one of my very favorites and funny as hell: Little Otik.
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that is just fascinating . I thought Al Pacino was spot on and flawless for Spector. When I learned that he killed a woman I was conflicted about listening to his music. I felt I should have refused to but I have loved his body of work since I was a teenager. I do not have a strong feeling whether he was innocent or not. I think putting a loaded gun in someone’s mouth is risky enough to warrant a conviction. It’s kind of like Baldwin and rust, you cannot play with a loaded gun, and call it an accident if t goes off. Falling off the first vs the 20th floor can be both accidents but with very different consequences which is why we behave differently in those two situations. I have no doubt Spector was "crazy". I don’t know if he was a decent human being before his decline/bipolar diagnosis, but being mean is not a crime. He should not have had a gun. (and I could go on about who else should not have a gun, and have my comment deleted)
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This may have been why I didn’t finish it. I like dark, but I think Iceman out-darked me. Another one I cannot watch anymore is Casualties Of War (1989) because it depresses me so badly.
I have been a big fan of Bill Murray since the early days of SNL. I remember way back thinking that The Razor’s Edge (1984) seemed to be a bit out of character for him. Scrooged (1988) is an X-mas classic in my mind, and the films Mad Dog And Glory (1993) and Kingpin (1996) would not have been nearly as good as they were without him. But my very favorite movie with Bill Murray in it was Rushmore (1998) with Jason Scwartzman and a pretty good supporting cast and a good soundtrack. It made me literally laugh out loud several times, but beyond that, it was deeply layered with themes and characters. IMO it was a magnificent movie and Bill Murray was at his best in it. I am pretty sure that I listed it earlier in this thread as one of my all time favorites. I actually cannot say enough good about that one. A while back ago I did rent St. Vincent (2014) and I may have to see if I can get it (for free next time) again, as for some reason I do not remember much about it. I do not remember McCarthy’s role (which is bad on me, because she is generally fantastic), but I do remember Naomi watts and I also seem to remember a nursing home being in part of the story. |
@gano , I am glad you got back to me on both of these:
well, if the movie is accurate, Spector’s defense contended that Lana Clarkson put Spector’s .38 in her mouth, which alarmed him to the extent that he yelled out at her, which startled her to the extent that she jerked her pistol hand out and the front sight caught on her upper front teeth but her trigger finger kept going back, hence, the handgun discharged. That is how the film portrayed his legal defense anyway. The defense as depicted by the film also brought into question the lack of blood spatter on Phil Spector, who, if he had actually stuck the pistol in Ms. Clarkson’s mouth, would have been in very close proximity. But with all that typed: it was only a film maker’s representation, and I believe in the opening sequence it stated something to the effect that it was not intended to be an accurate representation. Or something to that effect. And I will also allude to that interview I mentioned earlier (I wish I could remember who it was with) and the person being interviewed saying that Spector’s behavior with firearms was, to say the least, bizarre and unsafe, and tragedy was just a matter of time. So I don’t know. As I typed a few times in this thread, I loved the movie and what Pacino did with his role. And didn’t Rebecca Pidgeon to a beautiful cover of Spanish Harlem? I was going to get back to you about Rust as well, particularly after you typed that you had just watched Phil Spector. I remember you made a reference to Alec Baldwin and Rust several posts ago, and I have an opinion on that subject as well (surprise). I actually like guns and am quite familiar with them. I suppose I am what one might refer to as "a well armed liberal." (It’s not a political thing with me--when I was growing up in Montana, all my friends had firearms and so did I, and I still have an appreciation for them and still enjoy going to the range. I don’t hunt anymore, and I never will again, and now I wish I never had, but that’s another subject and I am not going to get into it any time soon.) So as far as Rust: Alec Baldwin was an actor on a movie set and someone handed him a loaded revolver. I don’t know this for sure, but I don’t think Baldwin had much familiarity at all with guns (of any kind) and I think he probably just saw them as nothing more than authentic looking toys that are used as props to make movies with. And I would think that this probably holds true for a lot of actors that make movies where firearms are an integral part of the script. And a negligent discharge occurred that resulted in a lethal and tragic accident. I do not know how live ammunition would have got on a movie set where the script probably involved actors without firearm training pointing operational firearms at each other, but (and I am stating this objectively and NOT to defend Baldwin) that is where I think the real culpability lies. And I do not know that this completely absolves Baldwin or not in my mind. I don’t know if firearms familiarization and safety training for all actors who handle guns in a given movie is a production requirement or not--I am thinking it is not, but I guess maybe it should be. When I was in my early teens I had to take a hunter’s safety class, and one of the first rules was something to the effect of treating every gun as if it was loaded and not to point a gun at anything that you did not want to "destroy" (I believe "destroy" is the updated language that is now used), and these are good rules, but if they adhered to them on movie sets, it would certainly effect the quality of movies, and imo, not for the better. Maybe they should only be allowed to use firearms that have been disabled, as in no firing pin or the chamber modified/blocked in some manner that would prevent a round from being chambered, although that would also prevent them from firing blanks at each other. And, even if they went that route, if live rounds could make it on a set, who is to say an operational firearm couldn’t make it as well, even though prohibited? |
. . . I missed this, @gano
but you are correct, he should not have had a gun, let alone as many has he did have. There is a BATF form (I just googled it and it is 4473) that has to be filled out and then a background check completed prior to successful purchase from a FFL dealer, and some of the questions that have to be answered correctly regard use of certain drugs, PFAs, felonies, and psych diagnoses. For some of these questions, there is a record that would come up on the background check, and for others, the honor system applies. I suspect a psych diagnosis might meet the latter criteria due to laws related to medical records and privacy. And then of course, there is always the straw purchase option. Someone with Spector's money and influence could have probably easily have paid someone to make the purchases for him. A lot of ways to get around it, which does mean that a lot of people that own guns shouldn't be allowed to. |
@hce1 , welcome to the movie club within the audio club!
Although I don't pay enough attention to directorial credits I like some of your movie choices and there are a couple I am not familiar with (Paranoid Park, Elephant) but I'll do some googling and if they look interesting enough, I'll check 'on demand.' I remember being mesmerized by Drugstore Cowboys not only because I like Matt Dillon, but also because, in my misguided youth, a few years before it came out, I had known someone who acted as a middleman for someone else (who I never met) who specialized in the Drugstore Cowboy thing. Although I think it was a short career. And coincidentally, quite recently I watched The Trials Of Pamela Smart. |
Baldwin was the producer of the film. |
Yes, and I thought of that after I posted that reply. As well as being an actor on the movie set, he was also one of the producers. So I guess that needs consideration as well. If your kid is playing with another kid in your house and they come across a loaded firearm in the house and one kid shoots the other kid, as the homeowner and firearm owner I imagine that you are going to be in trouble. So considering that, I suppose an analogy could be made between Baldwin and the negligent homeowner. But maybe that comparison is apples to oranges. Regardless, he was also an actor in the movie. And actors are all the time pointing weapons at each other as part of the various scripts. So if an actor is handed a firearm loaded with live ammunition and someone gets hit, who's to blame? The actor or whoever loaded the firearm with live rounds and handed it off? |
In my mind, @thecarpathian , this is the six-million-dollar question. |
@immatthewj I can't argue about guns, here or anywhere, I am anti-gun. If Baldwin thought it's fun to point the gun at someone and pull the trigger, he was well aware of the 0.001% (being generous) that the gun could go off with a bullet. Which is a reason not to play with gun and when you do, you take responsibility. He should have been convicted. He killed a person, a mother, a wife for no good reason other than recklessness. I believe it's a charge category, involuntary manslaughter which is even more unintentional than pointing a gun at someone and pulling the trigger, such as a vehicle accident. |
Well, possibly so, @gano , and there is no point in us going circular, but as I previously typed, he was an actor on a movie set where actors routinely are pointing guns at one another. (I suspect that these actors are basically taking it for granted that the guns they are being supplied with are not loaded with live rounds.) However, I realize that they were not rolling at the time and that Ms. Hutchins was not an actress on the set, and perhaps that bears consideration as well. |
That's a valid point. But if I were on the set in charge of safety, here is what I would do: 1. lock the guns 2. lock (NOT HAVE) live ammo 3. when someone requests a gun, they have to hand it over to someone who looks at the magazine. Preferably 2 people, one after another. Then s/he can hand it back to the actor 4. why can't they use fake guns? |
Well, theoretically I believe that would be the job of the armorer, who, in this case, was Hannah Gutierrez Reed. And I believe she took the fall.
I am about as tech-retarded as one can be, but I would assume that in this day and age of quite advanced AI, that something like that could be done and a shooting scene could be made to be quite realistic thanks to the magic of technology. But I truly don’t understand that tech stuff. Back when I was an airline mechanic I once worked in a shop where there were some guys with what I thought were some pretty wacked out ideologies. Which is the polite way of referring to the subject. Anyway, they were into Civil War re-enactments, and one of them was telling me about one where someone slipped in some live ammo. I don’t remember all the details, or even if it was a local re-enactment, but I said, "Good thing it wasn’t a Vietnam War re-enactment," which this guy didn’t think was as humorous as I did. But that brings me to the movie Heat which you once mentioned you really enjoyed. How about that last full-auto shoot-em-up scene? I really don’t know what kind of special effects and graphics went into that, but just think if it was done with real guns and blanks (which maybe it wasn’t) and someone slipped in a 30 round mag loaded with live rounds into one of those ARs . . . wow. Anyway, I suppose that scenario isn’t actually viable, as without getting too esoteric, I believe when they shoot blanks out of something in semi or full auto, they have to use special devices fitted to the muzzle which directs the muzzle gases backwards to work the action of the firearm. (I think that’s how it works, anyway.) So although the intention is not safety, it would work out as such. Except for the operator of the particular firearm involved, in whose case it might be catastrophic.
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@hce1 , I did some scrolling on my TV and I can get Snowpiercer for free (Tubi) but I am generally not a huge fan of the futuristic stuff. But I may give it a whirl anyway, when the time is right. I am going to watch the trailer after I finish this. However, I did watch the trailer for Elephant, and that looks to be a fascinating movie. (It looks to be coincidentally appropriate considering the ongoing discussion at the moment and the current events unfolding as I type.) Unfortunately, I guess I will have to buy it for $9.99 as it is not accessible as a rental. But it looks good enough that I may go that route anyway, even though I am generally opposed to that on principle. But 10 bucks won’t break the bank, and there are rentals that go for that much. Since I am on a Matt Dillon kick at the moment, I am kind of planning on watching American Dreamer (2022) tonight, as I can get it on Peacock which I am presently subscribed to and just haven’t got around to unsubscribing from yet. |
Actually, a blank is a fully functioning cartridge without the bullet. What most people refer to as ’bullets’-aren’t. That is just the little projectile that comes out of the gun. What goes into a gun is called a cartridge. It consists of 4 parts- the casing, the primer, the powder, and the projectile (bullet). A blank consists of 3 out of the four so it sounds and acts identically to a full cartridge without discharging a projectile. That whole Rust debacle was just pure stupidity and negligence. |
@thecarpathian oh boy why do you know sooo much about guns? and yes it was HUGE negligence |
@immatthewj Elephant may bowl you over; it’s gripping. Snowpiercer is a rollercoaster ride, a genre in which I think Bong Joon Ho excels. Get out the popcorn and hold on. I haven’t seen American dreamer, but I’m a big fan of Matt Dillon. And, I, too, am a current Peacock subscriber. I’ll throw it into negotiations with my wife. |
