恶人谷

终于还是去看了这部电影，主要是怕自己对Paul Giamatti失去了兴趣（我承认，我不是个长情的人），趁现在还喜欢他的时候享受一下。

我十分讨厌The Six Sense，对Shyamalan没啥兴趣，从这部片子里倒是看出一些特点，对他也增加了一些好感。不过，如果不是Giamatti担纲，我大概会昏睡过去的。。。好处在于，第一，这种中年男人的苦闷的题材是我的弱点，林岭东搞的中年人的苦闷的影片（高度戒备，目露凶光），我也非常吃这一套。当然中年男人夹在老婆和二奶之间的苦闷我是不领受的。水中女里面的中年男人其实也没什么特别的，有些情节甚至写得相当俗套。但是Giamatti 出手就能把俗套的故事演得自有一套。他跟水女＂故事＂第一次见面的那场戏，演得真是好，让人一下子就爱上他了。可惜，作者在后面三分之一中为了情节转折，浪费了他。要没有Giamatti，换个Kevin Costner之类"I'm too sexy for my shirt"的明星就完了，可是用了Giamatti 又觉得屈才，真是难办。有些地方，他真的很sensitive，很可爱的样子，让人恨不得scoop up his face and kiss his cheek.

影评普遍对此片狂批一通，我觉得是因为里面有些地方从对话到特技都幼稚得可笑，让习惯好莱乌轰轰烈烈的大片的人们十分不舒服。幼稚是真幼稚，不过你说那是纯真倒也可以，反正是他自己编出来的童话，有点campy，倒给人留下某种印象。不过还是没有Mr. & Mrs. Smith这种剧本来得幼稚及无聊就是了。

片子第二好处在于作者不是吃美国民间传说的奶长大的，所以没有太多让我一看就腻的套路(例如一个男孩子成长的过程)，倒能认出点安徒生什么的（人鱼救个不英俊的王子，呵呵）。Roger Ebert认为Shyamalan的片子有东方哲学的影子，或许没那么玄，只不过是文化的差异。但是在此片里还是逃不过西方original myth的影响，用到了无所不在的Missiah主题，甚至把这个重要角色留给了自己（尽量低调也没用），照这样下去，下部片子他要自己担纲主演了！

片子虽然比较小儿科，似乎成本也小得很，估计不会让投资的片商亏本。

最重要的是：一点也不可怕！

附：八卦一把。我在费城附近住的时候曾经参加过一个很随便的业余写作组，领头的老师在Penn State教写作，说起他好几年前曾经受人之托干过一件consulting的事，一个年轻人写了个电影剧本，需要找个好题目，请他帮忙想想。他接了下来，提了些建议，后来也没下文了，但是他自己说当时就感到这个作者很有创意。这个作者是谁呢？就是Shyamalan. 那时还没有出名。不，那个剧本不是The Sixth Sense. 水中女的故事设在费城附近，因为他自己是当地人。

Saw Giamatti in the trailer of The Illusionist in a significant supporting role. He sounds very different from his usual voice. It's not just the "English" accent he puts on but the actual pitch of his voice is quite different, almost like what Diane Weist did to her voice in "Bullets Over Broadway."

很可爱的样子，让人恨不得scoop up his face and kiss his cheek.

哈哈哈，我倒觉得Jun你更可爱

强烈推荐！Little Miss Sunshine.

1,Jun你不知道？Shyamalan的电影都是选费城附近的，Sixth Sense是在城里，Unbreakable是在Norristown，The Sign是在西边一点某片玉米地

我真不知道哎。Shyamalan 原来还挺本土的。

Little Miss Sunshine 包管你看了又开心又温暖，同时一点也不廉价肤浅。喜剧是最难搞好的了，这类的eccentric character comedy也有很多，这部片子分寸尤其掌握得好，演员也都非常出色（尤其是Steve Carell)，举重若轻啊。

Little Miss Sunshine看Trailer似乎很不错，但Jun说的这种eccentric character comedy，dorky可爱小孩等等我最近实在看到倒胃

Which ones did you see lately? This is indeed very good. Eccentric but recognizable and generalizable.

Elysees wrote:

很可爱的样子，让人恨不得scoop up his face and kiss his cheek.

哈哈哈，我倒觉得Jun你更可爱

小E我打赌你对老V的感情远远超过我喜欢Giamatti的程度。

看样子还是会去看The Illusionist的，虽然我对Ed Norton很不待见。奇怪，反正又不是用德语演戏，大家那么费劲地讲英国口音做什么？美国电影没有逻辑的事太多了，乱搞。

Jun wrote:Which ones did you see lately? This is indeed very good. Eccentric but recognizable and generalizable.

都不算新片。

Everything Is Illuminated
(don't know if Jonathan Safran Foer really looks like Elijah Wood with big wooden framed reading glasses. according to the cast list, he actually had a cameo appearance as a "leaf blower". but i suppose dorkiness is the new coolness, no?)

Junebug
Me and You and Everyone We Know
Clerks
Brick

actually they are all pretty entertaining.

I have seen Junebug and MaYaEWK. Both are actually melancholic. And quirky. Typical indie films. Clerks I have not seen, but I intend to have a crash course on Kevin Smith one of these days...

Little Miss Sunshine is more upbeat than Junebug and MaYaEWK. More in the tone of Wonder Boys.

Saw Pulp Fiction again on TV this weekend at a friend's house. I can't believe how clearly I've memorized Sam Jackson's final scene. I could even mouth some of the words he said to Tim Roth -- "Maybe you are weak, and I am the tyranny of the evil man. But I'm trying REAL HAAAARD, to be the shepherd." He is so COOOOOOL.

en. i actually watched clerks 2 first.

我举手。 上周看了Little Miss Sunshine, 确实很不错。虽然这个家庭dysfunctional得比较老套，但是很有新意，还有，让人从头笑到尾。

我前几天看了lIttle Miss Sunshine, 昨天看了Illusionist, 都挺好看的。
Little Miss Sunshine 的确是典型的eccentric character comedy , 这类喜剧最近好像越来越多了，至少在indy 电影里。可能是我贪心不足，觉得虽然比好莱坞大片好看十倍，看完了也就是看完了，没什么回味。

Illusionist, 拍的又美又神秘又惊涑，就是情节简单了点，我从头就猜了个七成。魔术表演这东西搬到银幕上就是不讨好，观众想切有什么稀奇都是特技而已，一定得自己坐在现场捉不出漏洞才会瞪大眼睛“挖塞好神奇！”Giamatti 很可爱啊.

Chris Doyle is the cinematographor for Lady in the Water. Wow is he permanently moving to Hollywood?

I guess I like Little Miss Sunshine more than you do. I love Steve Carell in this movie, especially contrasting it with his crazy self previously in The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and now in The Office (although no one compares to the incredible Ricky Gervais!). And the kiddie pageantry at the end was SOOOOO CREEEEEEEPY!

Steve Carell is hilarious in that movie. The part he was explaining why he made suicidal attempt?? OMG I love his facial expression when saying "That is not it". Also the "Leave no one behind" reference was awesome.

The father is great too. So is the grandpa! It is amazing how this indy movie has such a strong cast.

And the kiddie pageantry at the end was SOOOOO CREEEEEEEPY!

Yeah! I mean, they seriously all like like Barbies. If anyone would have thought of it as "cute" before JonBenet Ramsey case, certainly creepy is first word that pops up now.