This has got to be a record for one of the shortest shows we have ever done. But hey, when you have got these sort of “nothing but what is on the surface” types of films, that is often all you can do with the conversation. We do not even head into spoiler territory for the two films, Cop Out and 44 Inch Chest we review and discuss. There are, however, more than a few great DVDs (and Blu Rays) coming out this week and on the horizon: The Independent Spirit Awards, the Oscars, the new Tim Burton kajillion dollar Alice In Wonderland, and Roman Polanski’s latest, The Ghost Writer. Enjoy the brevity folks, because it is not going to last.
As always, feel free to leave your own thoughts in the comment section below and again, thanks for listening!
Cinecast Episode 157 [66:25m]:
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http://rowthree.com/audio/cinecast_10/episode_157.mp3
Full show notes are under the seats…
show
IN-HOUSE BUSINESS:
Row Three new design!
Oscar Live Blog
Oscar contest
MAIN REVIEWS:
Cop Out (Kurt’s review)
44 Inch Chest
WHAT ELSE WE WATCHED:
Boogie Nights
A Clockwork Orange
Screamers
DVD PICKS:
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Andrew: Cold Souls (Andrew’s review) 
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Kurt: Where the Wild Things Are (Laura’s review) 
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Matt: The Wraith (IMDb) 
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BLU RAY:
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Andrew: Where the Wild Things Are (Laura’s review) 
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Kurt: Ponyo! (IMDb) 
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Matt: Gentlemen Broncos (IMDb) 
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OTHER DVDs NOW AVAILABLE:
2012
Bitch Slap
We Live in Public
The Neverending Story [Blu-ray]
Clash of the Titans [Blu-ray]
about a hundred different versions of Alice in Wonderland
NEXT WEEK:
Alice in Wonderland (IMDb)
Brooklyn’s Finest (IMDb)
The Ghost Writer (IMDb)
Saint John of Las Vegas (IMDb)
Mystery Train (IMDb)
PRIVATE COMMENTS or QUESTIONS?
Leave your thoughts in the comment section below, or email us:
feedback@rowthree.com (general)
andrew.james@rowthree.com
kurt@rowthree.com
This discussion currently has 21 responses.
March 2, 2010
OMG, is Burton’s Alice really out next week? That seems so…soon. Lost track of time again, I guess. Also, I need to get more proactive about keeping up with Cinecast. I’m only halfway through the last one!
March 2, 2010
Kurt, I going to do a Studio Gibli marathon for my dorm. i am planning to Gibli films that I have not seen. Now, is Grave and Fireflies too depressing for a group that is mostly going to compose of college girls?
March 2, 2010
Jeez! Just saw all the grammar that I made. I should start reading the comment before posting. K
March 2, 2010
Antho42. If you want a room full of teary, crushed ladies, sure, throw on Grave of the Fireflies. The boys will be tearing along with them. The film is devastating.
March 2, 2010
in other words, antho… YES, YOU WANT TO PLAY IT. and yes… you want to invite me.
March 2, 2010
i can’t listen to the podcast until i get home tonight because my laptop doesn’t have speakers that work… but what is the consensus on 44 inch chest without listening to it? yea or nay?
March 2, 2010
Matt and Andrew recommend 44 Inch Chest as an actor showcase, especially if you like all these guys, you’ll get what you pay for, but it’s a smidgen shy of doing anything earth-shattering in the story department.
March 2, 2010
re: Ponyo,
How is the American voice acting? I know with Princess Mononoke I had a much better time watching the movie listening to Billy Bob Thornton than I did reading subtitles. Blasphemous I know, but it seemed to work pretty well. I assume Ponyo is the same – especially for children?
March 2, 2010
The English Voice Dub for Ponyo is pretty solid, particularly some of the supporting cast (Tina Fey, Cate Blanchette, Betty White, Lily Tomlin, Cloris Leachman, Matt Damon). I’ve not heard the Japanese voice track so I can’t compare, though.
Actually, I’m inclined to agree with you on some (not all) Miyazaki dubs. Disney/Pixar/etc. spend a lot of time and energy on them, and invest in quality dialogue (Neil Gaiman for instance wrote the Mononoke ‘dub-script’ and did an upstanding job – I still prefer watching Mononoke in English rather than Japanese). The Nausicaa and Totoro dubs are also fine (Kiki’s Delivery Service and Howls are probably better with Subs though!
And if you are really strange, watch PORCO ROSSO with the french dub (Jean Reno does the lead) and subtitles on. Yes weird, and they are supposed to be in Italy in that one. FYI Andrew, Michael Keaton does Porco in the English dub, and he is pretty great – Cary Elwes as the baddie.)
March 2, 2010
Is there an English dub for Paprika? I bet I would like it a lot more.
March 2, 2010
I tried to listen to the Mononoke English dub and didn’t last more than about ten minutes. IIRC (but it’s been years, so I may not), it sounded like all the actors were bored. Which just didn’t work at all for me; anime needs the fast, high-pitched Japanese vocals to feel right.
But I haven’t tried any other English dubs on Miyazaki films since then – I know they bring out the big talent for them, though. It just never seems right.
March 2, 2010
Animated films tend to be quite forgiving to post-dubbing in a different language.
Obviously your mileage may vary.
March 2, 2010
Yeah, I can stand dubbing more in animated films than in live-action ones, because the matching of the lips isn’t as big a deal (I watched Renaissance dubbed, I think, and it didn’t bother me). It’s more the disconnect between Japanese animation style and American voice acting style that doesn’t work for me. If I’m seeing Japanese animation, I want to hear Japanese voices. Otherwise my brain gets confused. Perhaps a strange mental block, since a lot of anime is dubbed. I guess because I never got into anime in dubbed form, it hangs me up more than it should.
March 2, 2010
“Matt and Andrew recommend 44 Inch Chest as an actor showcase, especially if you like all these guys, you’ll get what you pay for, but it’s a smidgen shy of doing anything earth-shattering in the story department.”
Yep, pretty much my feelings exactly.
March 2, 2010
44 Inch Chest
**SPOILER**
**SPOILER**
If you saw the movie, do you think it’s possible that the entire movie was actually all in Winstone’s head? It’s an interesting proposition that didn’t really occur to me until my friend’s both assumed that was what happened. I don’t think that’s the case, but it is certainly possible. The way the ending plays out, it certainly hints that it is a possibility. Plus all the weird imagination sequences also add to that thought.
Thoughts?
March 3, 2010
Andrew, I didn’t feel that way at all and I don’t think that was the intent, although I see where they are coming from. Each of his friends seem to provide another perspective to whats going on and completely unique view to the situation, as if it is the inner conflict of Winstone’s mind. I think that it was purposeful that it was written in this fashion, although I don’t think the intent was to make people think they were all variations of his mind.
March 3, 2010
I don’t think so either, but it’s an interesting way to look at it.
March 3, 2010
Interpretation is the beauty of art.
March 3, 2010
I’m with Jandy on the Ghibli dubs. Dubbing in general is more acceptable with animation and in theory I don’t mind it, but every time I’ve tried to watch a Ghibli film with American actors it just sounds/looks wrong and I’d agree with the fact that they sound bored in Mononoke and I too gave up after 10 minutes. I did however catch the end of Porco Rosso dubbed into English the other day and didn’t mind it too much.
At the end of the day though, despite lip syncing being more forgiving in animation, when dubbing into a different language sacrifices still have to be made to fit the rhythm of the original language, so it’s always going to compromised to some extent.
March 3, 2010
Grave of the Fireflies is the cinematic equivalent of a sledgehammer to the heart. It’s one of a rare few movies I both loved and will never watch again.
Disney Pixar did a standout job on the dubbing of Mononoke and friends. I’d recommend the dubs to anyone who isn’t already a dedicated viewer of animé. Otherwise I’d recommend both. I prefer the calmer English voicings, Its my Northern Canadian cultural bias, but I feel they give a greater weight to the films. The japanese voices remind me that I”m watching a cartoon, but they do go well with the often similarly supercharged imagey.
March 3, 2010
Hah. Just listened to the opening minute. Have I ever mentioned that I do very much HEART Ricky Jay!
– And think it is awesome that one of his characters shares my name, and in a P.T. Anderson flick no less! Go Boogie Nights!