Real Genius! I totally forgot about that, very good.

kicker_of_elves wrote: Thu Apr 03, 2025 9:49 am Real Genius is the most 80's movie of 80's movies. It hits all the buttons.

NC, no WF.

I loved that film. Maybe a revisit will be worth it.

I think his best acting was in Heat. He wasn’t just a different version of Val Kilmer in that one. He transformed himself into the character.

Gramsci wrote: Fri Apr 04, 2025 5:20 am I think his best acting was in Heat. He wasn’t just a different version of Val Kilmer in that one. He transformed himself into the character.

I agree that was the one where you don't immediately think...oh there's Val Kilmer. Understated. Luckily Pacino chews enough scenery to fill the void. It also helps that Heat is awesome.

No opinion on him as an actor, but I hope to read any anecdote half as good as the one he posted shortly after Lou Reed’s death.

My first memory of him is Batman Forever … I would have been 9 or 10. I thought he was pretty terrible.

Years later I saw him in Herzog's fake sequel to Bad Lieutenant. That clued me into the dude's talent. And I just rewatched Top Gun and I thought he was great there, too. He doesn't quite burn up the screen like, I don't know, Brad Pitt or somebody, but he was a very, very good actor and I was sad to hear he had died. I recommend that documentary that came out on him a few years back. You get the feeling he never quite got around to having the career he had envisioned for himself, particularly on stage.

I watched Heat in tribute a couple of days ago. I'll probably watch The Doors (for the first time) sooner rather than later.

There is no reason for anyone to watch an Oliver Stone movie, ever. He's a hack even by Hollywood standards, and The Doors biopic is just "bad boy rock star" projection. I think it did more damage to The Doors' legacy than Other Voices. Watch Harmony Korine's The Beach Bum instead, it's the same message but even more over the top 'til it hits full satire.

But if you haven't seen MacGruber . . .

This explanation of Doc Holliday's voice is great (start at 3:28):

gotdamn wrote: Tue Apr 15, 2025 4:53 am There is no reason for anyone to watch an Oliver Stone movie, ever. He's a hack even by Hollywood standards, and The Doors biopic is just "bad boy rock star" projection. I think it did more damage to The Doors' legacy than Other Voices. Watch Harmony Korine's The Beach Bum instead, it's the same message but even more over the top 'til it hits full satire.

But if you haven't seen MacGruber . . .

Okay, I'll give The Beach Bum a shot and will stay away from The Doors.

Coincidentally the Lonely Island Podcast just put out a tribute episode to VK, it's good value so far. I'll have to check out MacGruber too.

braddock wrote: Tue Apr 15, 2025 6:50 am

gotdamn wrote: Tue Apr 15, 2025 4:53 am There is no reason for anyone to watch an Oliver Stone movie, ever. He's a hack even by Hollywood standards, and The Doors biopic is just "bad boy rock star" projection. I think it did more damage to The Doors' legacy than Other Voices. Watch Harmony Korine's The Beach Bum instead, it's the same message but even more over the top 'til it hits full satire.

But if you haven't seen MacGruber . . .

Okay, I'll give The Beach Bum a shot and will stay away from The Doors.

Coincidentally the Lonely Island Podcast just put out a tribute episode to VK, it's good value so far. I'll have to check out MacGruber too.

Beach Bum has no Kilmer. It's also a steaming pile of garbage, and this coming from a formerly devout Korine fan, but he's rudderless and trite without drugs in his system.
The Doors is much better than Beach Bum, but also quite bad....but it does have Val Kilmer in leather pants and lots of Doors music....also it has Kyle MacLachlan as Ray Manzarak and Crispin Glover as Andy Warhol. I always hated Oliver Stone, but strangely like Born on the 4th of July....probably because it's almost self parody. Also Wall Street is a workable satire.

gotdamn wrote: Tue Apr 15, 2025 4:53 am There is no reason for anyone to watch an Oliver Stone movie, ever.

He definitely had his ups and downs, but this is not true at all. There were very few other directors in recent memory that were able to confront American empire at the scale he did.