Kyle Smith at PJ Media lists Robin Williams's ten most underrated movie performances. I concur with all of them, and the order he put them in, particularly saving the 2002 Insomnia for the Number One spot. Williams, Al Pacino and Hillary Swank all turn in stellar performances in this murder mystery set in an Alaskan fishing village. This was from the period when Williams was branching out beyond comedy (One Hour Photo dates from the same era), a move that would add depth to some of his subsequent comedy roles. He's truly and utterly convincingly wicked and chilling in his villain role here. It had to be gratifying, given that his original ambition was dramatic acting, and that he only turned to standup comedy when that didn't pan out.
He was a true artist - that is, he served the work always, but in the process revealed his full humanity as a person.
Glad to see you don't shove his leftism in his deceased face like some we've heard of. And I am impressed with your movie review skills. I didn't know you were that on to film but then again, when you like a f I l or perf op romance you can really rhapaodize. Yet you are not the only rocker excelling at reviews. Google Patti Smith's review of Murikami's latest at NYTN last Sun. I found it to be one of the best reviews of a book I have ever read.
ReplyDeleteI refuse to concede the realm of artistic activity to the Freedom-Haters and perverts.
ReplyDeleteI know, probably need a war against them or some sort of Final Solution to rid the globe of them. Is Patti Smith a perv? Some say her boyfriend was. Still, she can write a mean review. Murakami?
ReplyDeleteSorry, I get it, you feel out manned if not outgunned in the arts arena.
ReplyDeleteI haven't had time to read the Smith review or familiarize myself with Murakami yet.
ReplyDeleteHaruki Murakami’s 13th novel, Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage: A Novel, was first published last April in Japan, and, within the first month, it sold one million copies. This week, the novel (translated by Philip Gabriel) finally arrives in bookstores in the U.S. If you’re wondering where this novel will take readers, you can read an excerpt of Murakami’s novel recently published in Slate, and then Patti Smith’s book review in The New York Times. Smith, the “Godmother of Punk,” won the National Book Award for her 2010 memoir Just Kids. She knows something about writing, and she’s clearly no stranger to Murakami’s body of work. While planning to go on tour, Smith once wondered what books to take along, and wrote on her personal web site:
ReplyDeleteThe worse part, besides saying goodbye to my daughter Jesse, is picking out what books to take. I decide this will be essentially a Haruki Murakami tour. So I will take several of his books including the three volume IQ84 to reread. He is a good writer to reread as he sets your mind to daydreaming while you are reading him. thus i always miss stuff.
Read her review here at http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/10/books/review/haruki-murakamis-colorless-tsukuru-tazaki-and-his-years-of-pilgrimage.html?_r=1