Paul Thomas Anderson - The Master

[syd syside]

that first shot is amazing... cannot wait

[ghOsty]

Yep, excitement raised even more

[Dpek]

New trailer

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iokPRd1fGhI

[Blir]

Love Philip Seymour Hoffman. I will be watching this.

[Guest A/D]

looks great.

[Candiru]

There will be awesomeness.

[SR4]

very interesting...looks like Phoenix is going to be troubled and manipulated for the duration of this movie. looking forward to seeing it! rewatched TWBB a few days ago to keep anticipation up.

[jules]

greenwood's music sounds dope as shit too

[chenGOD]

greenwood's music sounds dope as shit too

 

Yeah the music for that trailer was fucking perfect. Just the right amount of manic.

[lumpenprol]

Here's hoping Anderson can pull a good performance out of Hoffman and Phoenix. Hate to be a hater, but I haven't seen either give a great, unmannered performance since very early in their careers. Probably Gladiator was Phoenix's last, Boogie Nights was Hoffman's last. I know, I know, I'm opening myself up for a bunch of hate, Phoenix had the Johnny Cash movie, which some may have liked, and Hoffman has been "quite good" in Synechdote and Before the Devil Knows you're Dead among others (never saw the Capote movie). But I feel both have become quite lazy actors, Phoenix has gone into reptile mode and never fully recovered, and Hoffman has gone into forced crying and beady-eyed smug schemer mode. They're both coasting, like DeNiro and so many others. Plus, they're both "cold" actors. I hope the girl injects a bit of warmth into the mix. I have to admit at this point in their careers there are no two "big name" actors I would less like to see onscreen that Phoenix and Hoffman.

 

I don't see anything in the acting in the trailer that flashes brilliance yet, just a lot of near-mumbling. Hope I'm wrong and Anderson wrenches great performances out of both guys. Agree that the set, lighting, camerawork, and music are as great as one would expect. Particularly like the scene where Phoenix walks by the bus, it feels so perfect for some reason...has that sparse feel I somehow expect in 50's America...

[chenGOD]

Really? After Boogie Nights? Did you mean in a starring role or in any capacity?

Cause I thought he was great in Big Lebowski, Punch Drunk Love, and Moneyball.

 

I didn't enjoy Synechdoche, New York as a film, so that probably put me off his performance there.

[lumpenprol]

I hardly remember him from Big Lebowski...he was probably fine, that was pretty early on in his career. Did not see Punch Drunk Love, could not sit through more than a half hour of Moneyball...I guess I like him more than Phoenix at this point, I did like him ok in Before the Devil Knows You're Dead...but I think I ended up thinking he was bested by Ethan Hawke's performance in that flick. I just think it would be more interesting if Anderson took someone who is not typically thought of as a true "A list" performer and made us see a new side of him, like he (apparently) did with Sandler.

 

But I do have very strong faith in Anderson, so I don't think there's any way the film can be less than "very good." He's just too muscular a director to let a really shabby performance slip through.

 

Still, if this is a thinly-veiled retelling of the Hubbard story, I would have hoped to see a bit more of that wild Hubbard insanity showing up in Hoffman's eyes...here's hoping!

[Mr.Sensi]

I don't see anything in the acting in the trailer that flashes brilliance yet, just a lot of near-mumbling. Hope I'm wrong and Anderson wrenches great performances out of both guys. Agree that the set, lighting, camerawork, and music are as great as one would expect. Particularly like the scene where Phoenix walks by the bus, it feels so perfect for some reason...has that sparse feel I somehow expect in 50's America...

 

I don't know, man. I was quite shocked by Phoenix's face in the first trailer. Amy Adams will be great, I'm sure of that. As for Hoffman, I kind of agree with you, but I think he'll deliver. He's not bad in any way, but I do feel, like you said, Boogie Nights was his last great performance.

[lumpenprol]

I was just thinking back to the guy who played Daniel Plainview's brother in "There Will Be Blood". I don't even know who that guy was, and he delivered a superb, superb performance I thought. Everyone focuses on DDL and Paul Dano, and that guy always slips under the radar.

 

*ah, I see from IMDB he is Kevin J. O'Connor, and he'll be in The Master too!

 

Anyway point being Anderson is great at getting fantastic performances from all his actors, so I do have faith.

[Candiru]

There's no way I could be skeptical or cynical now. You are now entering PT Anderson land where shit gets real.

 

I don't think either of the teasers are giving away any of the real meat of the story or content of the film. Just teasers in the true sense of the word, but stuff is there if you listen closely when they show Joaquin walking, stressing out.

[Guest Mirezzi]

Lumpy, you should indeed see Capote. It's a fairly understated gem. No masterpiece, but well worth a spin and PSH is indeed excellent. Equal parts bang-on impersonation and thoughtful performance.

[lumpenprol]

There's no way I could be skeptical or cynical now. You are now entering PT Anderson land where shit gets real. I don't think either of the teasers are giving away any of the real meat of the story or content of the film. Just teasers in the true sense of the word, but stuff is there if you listen closely when they show Joaquin walking, stressing out.

agreed, as a teaser it's perfect (apart from the mumbling, which is something it shares with the new Batman trailer...or else I'm getting old and deaf). But when PSH gives his "looking directly at the camera" talk, and when Joaquin yells at PSH in the prison, I didn't feel anything. It was more "Oh, there's Joaquin Phoenix yelling", the same way I feel when I see Al Pacino do the "Al Pacino" yell. But of course I'm making way too much out of too little. Just a bit excited!

 

Lumpy, you should indeed see Capote. It's a fairly understated gem. No masterpiece, but well worth a spin and PSH is indeed excellent. Equal parts bang-on impersonation and thoughtful performance.

Hm, ok, will check it out if I get the chance. I did like In Cold Blood when I read it back in Uni, but I don't really have much interest in a dude who seems to have thrown away his talent into a bowl of cocaine. Have about as much interest in that story as I do in Labanna Babylon...

 

Thinking about PSH in Magnolia, I didn't particularly like him in that film, either. He's just so adept at playing smarmy (being smarmy?) that his teary-eyed epiphanies strike me as trying too hard. I do think he has really good potential at playing evil, I think he could really stretch out when given the chance to play a wholly evil guy, which is probably why Anderson chose him for the role. I just haven't felt that electricity yet in the trailers.

 

For the record, I really loved him in Boogie Nights and The Talented Mr. Ripley. I thought he was superb in both those roles. Generally speaking, just like rock bands, I think actors are best when they are just starting out and still have something to prove.

 

Unless we're talking about someone like Keanu Reeves. He can bend time and space at will.

[Redruth]

jazz

 

http://forum.watmm.c...son-the-master/

 

plees merge?

[chenGOD]

I hardly remember him from Big Lebowski...he was probably fine, that was pretty early on in his career. Did not see Punch Drunk Love, could not sit through more than a half hour of Moneyball...I guess I like him more than Phoenix at this point, I did like him ok in Before the Devil Knows You're Dead...but I think I ended up thinking he was bested by Ethan Hawke's performance in that flick. I just think it would be more interesting if Anderson took someone who is not typically thought of as a true "A list" performer and made us see a new side of him, like he (apparently) did with Sandler.

 

But I do have very strong faith in Anderson, so I don't think there's any way the film can be less than "very good." He's just too muscular a director to let a really shabby performance slip through.

 

Still, if this is a thinly-veiled retelling of the Hubbard story, I would have hoped to see a bit more of that wild Hubbard insanity showing up in Hoffman's eyes...here's hoping!

 

fair enough. and yes, here's hoping some of the insanity shines through - I'm sure it will develop into more manic shit, these two trailers look like early bits - setting the scene so to speak.

[Squee]

LET THE MIGHTY THREAD MERGING BEGIN!!!!

 

Ok, I'm done.

[Guest Gary C]

Lumpy, you should indeed see Capote. It's a fairly understated gem. No masterpiece, but well worth a spin and PSH is indeed excellent. Equal parts bang-on impersonation and thoughtful performance.

I love Capote too. PSH is practically addictive when on screen.

[Guest Franklin]

really really looking forward to this.

[patternoverlap]

I thought PSH was good in Flawless, Love Liza (though this is one of the most depressing movies I've ever seen), and Owning Mahoney.

[Atop]

PSH needs to play PKD in a biopic. I heard Paul Giamotti was doing one, and no thanks! I enjoy him as well, but wrong casting.

 

 

Philip Seymour Hoffman is an actor that I hold in such high esteem. So much that I have often said he is my favourite actor.

 

You hurt me with your words lumpy.

 

I am a sensitive man person.

 

I still cherish our virtual interactions.

[Guest Gary C]