Existing in a state of John Malkovich
David Joseph Greenbaum
Saturday night I went to see _Being John Malkovich_. That
film is fookin' brilliant. Worth admission price alone is
the riotously funny scene involving dolls of Peter Abelard
and his love Heloise, a streetcorner, a little girl, and
soft-core pornography. Dorothy - if you leave your house to
see a film - this one - Being John Malkovich - should be it.
It's an SF comedy - the best one I have ever seen.
I'm going to see it again, so that I can actually write some
kind of useful review and criticism.
--
Dave G
--
Such fragrance - | The LTI Homepage
from where, | http://www.people.cornell.edu/pages/djg7/lti.html
which tree? |
Dave!
>
> Saturday night I went to see _Being John Malkovich_. That
> film is fookin' brilliant. Worth admission price alone is
> the riotously funny scene involving dolls of Peter Abelard
> and his love Heloise, a streetcorner, a little girl, and
> soft-core pornography. Dorothy - if you leave your house to
> see a film - this one - Being John Malkovich - should be it.
>
> It's an SF comedy - the best one I have ever seen.
>
> I'm going to see it again, so that I can actually write some
> kind of useful review and criticism.
I read a review of it, and I could believe it actually got filmed! I
can't wait to see it, but I heard an ugly rumor that it was only going
into limited release. Any guesses?
Dave!
Frank
Heydt) wrote:
>In article <80pu0k$38r$1...@news01.cit.cornell.edu>,
>David Joseph Greenbaum <dj...@cornell.edu> wrote:
>>
>>Saturday night I went to see _Being John Malkovich_. That
>>film is fookin' brilliant. Worth admission price alone is
>>the riotously funny scene involving dolls of Peter Abelard
>>and his love Heloise, a streetcorner, a little girl, and
>>soft-core pornography. Dorothy - if you leave your house to
>>see a film - this one - Being John Malkovich - should be it.
>
>Well, I've heard about it. Seems Malkovich is a professional
>director, yes? (I had never heard of him.) Then it seems some
>young film student called on him with a hand-held camera and
>asked to film him in action, is that what the papers seem to be
>saying? Or am I completely off-base?
I don't know what movie you're thinking of, but it's not BEING JOHN
MALKOVICH. Malkovich is a moderately well-known actor (having played
characters ranging from Valmont in DANGEROUS LIASONS to a presidential
assassin in IN THE LIFE OF FIRE to Lennie in OF MICE AND MEN to Jekyll
and Hyde in MARY REILLY).
In BEING JOHN MALKOVICH, a puppeteer takes an desk job and finds a
tunnel in his office that leads into the mind of John Malkovich. You
get to inhabit Malkovich's mind for fifteen minutes, after which you
are deposited onto the side of a New Jersey turnpike.
Dorothy J Heydt
David Joseph Greenbaum <dj...@cornell.edu> wrote:
>
>Saturday night I went to see _Being John Malkovich_. That
>film is fookin' brilliant. Worth admission price alone is
>the riotously funny scene involving dolls of Peter Abelard
>and his love Heloise, a streetcorner, a little girl, and
>soft-core pornography. Dorothy - if you leave your house to
>see a film - this one - Being John Malkovich - should be it.
Well, I've heard about it. Seems Malkovich is a professional
director, yes? (I had never heard of him.) Then it seems some
young film student called on him with a hand-held camera and
asked to film him in action, is that what the papers seem to be
saying? Or am I completely off-base?
In any case ... we had this thread a while back, wherein people
suggested to me films they thought I should watch because (a)
"It's a great work of art" and (b) "I love it."
Neither of which are reason enough that *I* should love it.
I did, however, unfold a chair in the middle of the living room
yesterday and watched a movie. We had just gotten in a good tape
of "The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T." I love that movie. I grant you
it's neither "2001" nor "Citizen Kane," but every part of it is
the perfect example of what it is and perfectly linked to every
other part.
(And anyway I don't like soft-core or any other kind of
pornography, sorry.)
Dorothy J. Heydt
Albany, California
djh...@kithrup.com
http://www.kithrup.com/~djheydt
Lawrence Watt-Evans
Heydt) wrote:
>Well, I've heard about it. Seems Malkovich is a professional
>director, yes? (I had never heard of him.) Then it seems some
>young film student called on him with a hand-held camera and
>asked to film him in action, is that what the papers seem to be
>saying? Or am I completely off-base?
You're completely off-base.
You maybe picked up part of the plot of "Bowfinger."
"Being John Malkovich" (Malkovich is an actor -- don't know whether
he's done any directing) involves people who find a way to climb
inside John Malkovich's psyche and experience his life for awhile.
I haven't seen it yet, but I hope to; it sounds supremely weird.
--
The Misenchanted Page: http://www.sff.net/people/LWE/ Last update 10/1/99
DRAGON WEATHER is now available -- ISBN 0-312-86978-9
jere7my tho?rpe
wrote:
*In article <80pu0k$38r$1...@news01.cit.cornell.edu>,
*David Joseph Greenbaum <dj...@cornell.edu> wrote:
*>Worth admission price alone is
*>the riotously funny scene involving dolls of Peter Abelard
*>and his love Heloise, a streetcorner, a little girl, and
*>soft-core pornography.
*(And anyway I don't like soft-core or any other kind of
*pornography, sorry.)
Oh, for heaven's sake. He didn't say the film _was_ soft-core
pornography, or that it _contained_ soft-core pornography, but that it
_used_ soft-core pornography in a scene. Yeesh. I don't like beer, but I
didn't walk out of "American Beauty" when Kevin Spacey swigged one.
(Another fantastic movie, btw.)
I'm hoping like hell we get BJM at our theater after the Michigan is
done with it. I happen to love pornography--soft, hard, and middling--but
that has no bearing on my desire to have the privilege of projecting it.
---j7y
******************************* <*> *******************************
jere7my tho?rpe "Being an Osmond, you must
c/o kesh...@umich.edu have many arch-enemies."
(734) 769-0913 ----Space Ghost
Dorothy J Heydt
Frank <fch...@nospam.usa.net> wrote:
>
>In BEING JOHN MALKOVICH, a puppeteer takes an desk job and finds a
>tunnel in his office that leads into the mind of John Malkovich. You
>get to inhabit Malkovich's mind for fifteen minutes, after which you
>are deposited onto the side of a New Jersey turnpike.
<marvin>Sounds awful.</marvin>
gary hayenga
>
> On Tue, 16 Nov 1999 03:46:17 GMT, djh...@kithrup.com (Dorothy J
> Heydt) wrote:
>
> >Well, I've heard about it. Seems Malkovich is a professional
> >director, yes? (I had never heard of him.) Then it seems some
> >young film student called on him with a hand-held camera and
> >asked to film him in action, is that what the papers seem to be
> >saying? Or am I completely off-base?
>
> You're completely off-base.
>
> You maybe picked up part of the plot of "Bowfinger."
>
> "Being John Malkovich" (Malkovich is an actor -- don't know whether
> he's done any directing) involves people who find a way to climb
> inside John Malkovich's psyche and experience his life for awhile.
>
> I haven't seen it yet, but I hope to; it sounds supremely weird.
I have seen it. Supremely weird is an excellent description. Extremely
funny and surreal. On a scale of 5 stars I give it a 4 1/2. Go see
it.
Gary Hayenga
Rachel Brown
> > he's done any directing) involves people who find a way to climb
> > inside John Malkovich's psyche and experience his life for awhile.
> >
> > I haven't seen it yet, but I hope to; it sounds supremely weird.
>
> I have seen it. Supremely weird is an excellent description. Extremely
> funny and surreal. On a scale of 5 stars I give it a 4 1/2. Go see
> it.
It's definitely one of the weirdest and funniest movies I've seen in a long
time. It falls apart a bit about four-fifths of the way through, but it's
still well worth seeing.
Probably the first ever good movie to involve a chimpanzee. Dialogue that
has to be heard to be believed. Possibly my favorite moment involved a
nutso training film. Truly bizarre, and I'm amazed it actually got made.
Usually one can't get one-hundredth of that much strangeness through the
movie-making system.
Though this has certainly been the year for unusual movies that either
broke out of the art-house or came through the system, from _Malkovich_ to
_Fight Club_ to _The Blair Witch Project_.
Rachel
Erin C. D.
David Joseph Greenbaum wrote in message
<80pu0k$38r$1...@news01.cit.cornell.edu>...
>
>Saturday night I went to see _Being John Malkovich_. That
>the riotously funny scene involving dolls of Peter Abelard
>see a film - this one - Being John Malkovich - should be it.
>
>
>I'm going to see it again, so that I can actually write some
>kind of useful review and criticism.
>
>Dave G
I saw it the other day...it was so hilarious! Personally, the whole 7
and a half floor thing was the most funny part. Sublimely surreal, the whole
movie rocked, and i was amazed that it got made. If i were Malkovich, and
someone had presented me with a script wherein people entered my psyche and
tried to control my actions, i would have screamed "Stalker!" and sicced my
bodyguards upon them.
This movie plays upon the general public's need to be someone else, just
for a bit -- (just like authors do, because while F&SF may be mind
stretching, meaningful, etc, it is also escapist) -- and takes it to
extremes, where people pay to be someone else, in this case John Malkovich
(actor extraordinare :)). The despiration these people have, looking for
something better, even if it can't really be theirs, or be true, is sickly
sweet -- who hasn't wanted to shift lives, if even for a moment? -- and it
resounds with the human condition. John Cusack does an excellent job as the
puppetteer who loves his art above all else (perhaps with the exception of
his co-worker Maxine), even if no one appreciates it (forget the soft-core
porn statement above, it isn't even that. :P) and who sees the portal into
Malkovich's head as a way to exploit him and bring puppetry forward as an
artform.
Go see it. It is really truly good. Don't be a fuddy duddy. Pay the 7
bucks.
Are movie reviews of f&sf flicks allowed here?
Erin Cashier Denton (who also recommends renting the movie Ravenous, if
you're into cannabalism and native american myths set in the gold rush era.)
http://www.worldcontrol.org/theri
It's no better to be safe than sorry.
Alex Jay Berman
<th...@worldcontrol.org> wrote:
<snip>
> Erin Cashier Denton (who also recommends renting the movie Ravenous, if
>you're into cannabalism <...>
Um, Erin? You're beginning to worry me here.
I begin to understand why you haven't posted to the "Edible Goop"
thread ...
Alex Jay Berman
"I cannot believe that God plays dice with the universe."--Albert Einstein
"... but as a fiction writer, I _do_."--Alex Jay Berman
Erin C. D.
Alex Jay Berman wrote in message <38350f76...@news.erols.com>...
>On Thu, 18 Nov 1999 18:27:18 -0800, "Erin C. D."
><th...@worldcontrol.org> wrote:
>
><snip>
>> Erin Cashier Denton (who also recommends renting the movie Ravenous,
if
>>you're into cannabalism <...>
>
>Um, Erin? You're beginning to worry me here.
>
>I begin to understand why you haven't posted to the "Edible Goop"
>thread ...
>
>Alex Jay Berman
Hey Alex! :) -- lol -- i was off for a bit, and i just skipped that
thread whole.
Seriously tho, Ravenous is a great movie if you can take the gore. Very
mind stretching in a "holy shit if i were the main char what the hell would
i do?" way. If your world is black and white, don't watch it, but if you
understand shades of gray (and as a fiction writer you ought too) it is a
twisted -- yummily so -- flick. Maybe yummy isn't the best term.... Anyhow,
apart from a great storyline, it has possibly the most realistic setting for
frontier life that i've ever seen (a tie with Johnny Depp's Dead Man,
perhaps) that convinces you once again that going back in time is not all
SCA cracks it up to be ;).
Erin Cashier Denton