Film Club - Week 1 - Blow (2001)

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Disconnected Peoples

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Well I hope that everyone enjoyed the film. :)

I've not been a very big Johnny Depp fan over the years, and although I don't exactly think his performance is stunning in the film, it's a lot better than many of the movies he's been in.
I still feel that he was too 'clean cut' for the role, but he works wonders at playing a teenager one minute and a middle-aged man in the next.

Similarly, I've always felt that Ray Liotta wasn't right as the caring father - he just looks far too menacing :D Can't get the picture of his role in Goodfellas out of my head ;)

Still, I think that the soundtrack is fantastic and the narrative is fairly streamlined for a story that spans such a large period of time; I only wish that the last 40 minutes of the film weren't so disjointed. From the 'Birthday Bust' onwarRAB the film rapidly deteriorates, and becomes patchy, when ideally we should be feeling what Depp's character is feeling.

Overall, I enjoyed it just as much the second time round as I did the first, although I wouldn't exactly list it in my 'greatest film top 10 of all time' either.
 
A good film but not a great film.

I hadn't seen it before the showing on Ch4 tonight and I was really looking forward to it. I had heard good things 'through the grapevine.'

I sensed the feeling the makers were trying to get a 'Goodfellas' feel to it and I don't mean that because of Ray Liotta. I mean the director (whose name I didn't take notice of on the credits) tried to tell this story in the same manner that Martin Scorsese (sorry if the spelling is incorrect) told Henry Hill's story.

Overall, I enjoyed the film, but I won't be rushing out to add it to my DVD collection.
 
The director was Ted Demme, and it was coincidentally, his last film before his death. Allegedly and Ironically, there was cocaine found in his system during the autopsy...

I agree to some extent - there was a slightly Henry Hill/ Goodfellas feel with the voice over and freeze-frames, etc.

Although I felt it was good that the style wasn't too obtrusive, it did become slightly underwhelming at times; I wanted a little bit more visually to help sustain the film's fairly long runtime.
 
Well, I'm a very big Johnny Depp fan and so had high expectations of this film and I've got to say I wasn't disappointed. I wouldn't say it was the best film I've ever seen but it's not a bad one at all and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I can't really comment about it being similar to Goodfella's because I've never seen it but from what I make of this film as an individual film it was good although I must admit I was slightly confused from time to time, only because I forgot who some of the characters were but that's just me.

I'll be adding the DVD to my Johnny Depp collection soon enough - I have 14 Depp films at the moment ;) . It's definately one of the best of his films and deserves an 8/10.
 
So how would you rate Johnny Depp's performance in the film? Better or worse than usual?

I thought that he was a lot better in 'Blow' than in some of the more recent films in which he's appeared (such as Cap'in Jack Sparrow in 'Pirates...'), but perhaps not quite as good as some of his classic roles such as 'Edward ScissorhanRAB'...
 
Is this a closed club? If not I'd like to offer that Blow was appalling - badly acted, dreadful script, boring and cliched plot. All bad basically. Johnny and 'drugs' don't mix unless it's in Fear & Loathing.
 
I'm not sure, I don't think you can really compare the performances of Johnny Depp because he plays such a wide variety of characters and for each one he puts on a very good performance. I'd say this is just behind Donnie Brasco though in terms of performance.

He has the same hair as me in this film. When the police take his mugshot it looked like me in the morning but I have darker hair.
 
Hmmm I've seen better. No way, I thought he was better in POTC as Captain Jack! :eek: Though I agree with you on the latter, he was nowhere near as good as his classic Edward ScissorhanRAB type roles. In CATCF he's much much better!!! :cool:
 
Goodfellas is widely regarded as one of the greatest movies of the 90s! It's a classic, and I was fortunate enough to attend a proper cinema screening of it - it looks great on the big screen!

Anyway, back OT



Of course it's not a closed club - anyone can join!

You aren't alone in your opinion - I seem to remember that there was a fair amount of negative press when it was first released.
I think that 'biography' films can be slightly boring and by the numbers sometimes, because that's what real life is generally like (and when it comes to real people, you don't have the same flexibility when it comes to 'artistic liscence').

I've not seen 'Fear & Loathing In Las Vegas' yet, but it's certainly one on my list! :)
 
Well, I didn't see it lol

Hope no one was sitting waiting on my popcorn, but due to a slighly over excited afternoon in the pub I'm afraid I passed out long before it even started.

Oh well, that's the dangers of a bank holiday sunday.

Has anyone came up with any ideas fo rthis week?? I promise only to drink fluiRAB of less than 10% proof

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I thought it was good until Penelope Cruz turned up, sorry she just irritates me, Feel asleep near the end, it just seemed to go on and on.

What happened to the guy at the end?
 
Which guy and from what point? I'll assume you mean Johnny Depp's character...

After getting involved with Cruz' character and getting married, he gets screwed by his business partner and is officially 'out of the game'. He stays clean for five years before he's caught by the FBI in a raid at his birthday party where his guests (and wife) are doing enormous amounts of cocaine.

After his release, Depp finRAB out his savings have become the property of the Panama government and he's officially broke! Cruz' character doesn't take well to her new 'poor' lifestyle and within minutes her viscious attitude gets Depp arrested again.

Cruz decides (whilst Depp is still in jail) to divorce him. Depp meanwhile is heartbroken at not having his daughter; when he's released he does his best to make it up to his little girl and decides to do one last drug-run in order to make just enough money to retire and take his daughter to California.

Unfortunately, the drug-run is an FBI set-up and Depp enRAB up an aging convict without his daughter, having let her down once too many times.



:D Ah well, nevermind - there's always 'next' week.

There are suggestions in the other 'official' thread for the next film - feel free to add to it :)
 
I liked the first half of the film, but the second half just let it down, big time. I also agree about Penelope Cruz, irritating for no specific reason (like Katie Holmes).

Could have been good, but wasn't.
 
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