Miscellaneous Movie Musings

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Originally Posted by Alex

Two along a similar vein that immediately come to mind are:

In The Last Shot, Matthew Broderick plays a movie director hired to make a movie. Unknown to him, it is actually an FBI sting operation.

In The Man Who Knew Too Little, Bill Murray thinks he's participating in a a bit of theater playing out in the real streets but is actually involved in spy business.

Were these any good? I would love to have seen EVERY film in this micro-genre.

I'm curious as to how this would come up in conversation very often.

My dad loves sci-fi, especially end-world scenarios. I may have to actually see this film.

Originally Posted by mousepod

Then there's the inverse, where someone's real life becomes a movie unbeknownst to them. The Truman Show, The Secret Cinema, and, my favorite, Bowfinger.

Wow, I've seen two-thirds of those!

Originally Posted by Nephythys

Huh?


-am I missing the joke?

Yes.

[mousepod]

Then there's the inverse, where someone's real life becomes a movie unbeknownst to them. The Truman Show, The Secret Cinema, and, my favorite, Bowfinger.

[Alex]

Betty White was funny in a couple spots but she's abused by the script in a couple other places and I felt bad for her.

But then I really didn't like the movie.

[Nephythys]

Aussie zombie movie- UnDead- funny as hell. Total camp...but fun. Zombies, aliens, weird rain and killer fish....

[innerSpaceman]

I was disappointed with On the Beach. For a post-apocalyptic movie set down under, it was really rather staid. It's been a while though, and it's a semi-classic that might deserve revisiting.


But for the micro-micro genre of post-apocalyptic down under, best stick with the first two Mad Max movies. Those are awesome!

[mousepod]

tvtropes.org has a nice page on The Man Who Knew Too Little genre.

[Gemini Cricket]

I watched The Reader over the weekend. I liked it, I thought Kate Winslet deserved the Oscar. But I guess I felt torn about her character...

[Snowflake]

Originally Posted by Gemini Cricket

I watched The Reader over the weekend. I liked it, I thought Kate Winslet deserved the Oscar. But I guess I felt torn about her character...

Please GC, explain this to me. I watched the film recently and felt this was meh, flat (except she is curvaceous) and could not for the life of me figure out what was so earth shattering about the performance.

I like Kate Winslet, I'm a big fan, but this one mystified me as to why it received all the kudos. I've got Revolutionary Road at home waiting to watch it. I really did not understand what was so all that about her performance.

[Alex]

A lot of the mentions on the TV Tropes page are situations where the character thinks it is real but it is actually faked/staged. That's the opposite of The Man Who Knew Too Little.

More from Straight Dope:
Shadow of a Vampire - Everybody thinks they're just making Nosferatu but he's really a vampire.
Life is Beautiful - Roberto Benigni convinces his son that the concentration camp their in is a complex game.
My Name is Bruce - Bruce Campbell, action star, thinks he's on a lark.

In the thinks it is real but it isn't camp:
Last Action Hero
Bolt

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Originally Posted by Alex

My Name is Bruce - Bruce Campbell, action star, thinks he's on a lark.

In the thinks it is real but it isn't camp:
Last Action Hero
Bolt

My Name is Bruce is why we brought this up in the first place. Ooh, I thought of Bolt but forgot to post it.

The Game, heh, that's an interesting one. Great movie.