tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post367529603014454736..comments2024-03-23T21:46:50.843-04:00Comments on the passionate moviegoer: "Our special tonight is roasted partridge with a lemongrass coulis, served with a goat cheese marmalade": "the dinner," acerbic and brutaljoe baltakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11467420961490314339noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-84521877046642664622017-05-17T14:19:26.083-04:002017-05-17T14:19:26.083-04:00I would love to see this movie. You wrote a well-t...I would love to see this movie. You wrote a well-thought-out review and didn't give away what the kids did that makes Gere want them to admit and that others want to sweep away.<br /><br />As for those kind of restaurants, jeez, do I hate them! Do people still eat in places like that? And the idea of waiters with one arm behind them - well, I really thought that went out with the 90s.<br /><br />I must add that I love "My Dinner With Andre." Remarkable film. Anyway, terrific review. <br />Sheilanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-75114956795107508382017-05-17T12:27:13.621-04:002017-05-17T12:27:13.621-04:00I understand about subliminal dislikes, Joe. It co...I understand about subliminal dislikes, Joe. It could be that the prickly response to the The Dinner is that it hits too close to home and is making fun/humiliating the audience because it mirrors their own pathetic values. I remember the line in Pogo back in the 50s that went something like, "I have seen the enemy and they are us." Now I'm really raging to see it! Charlottenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-66064152375062079072017-05-17T12:21:21.656-04:002017-05-17T12:21:21.656-04:00This version of the material is rather anti-Americ...This version of the material is rather anti-American, which I believe explains the resistance to it by not only critics (who seem to get dumber by the day) and audiences, but also The Orchard, the studio releasing it. (As I said, it had no advance screenings or reviews in the Philadelphia area.) I think people dislike it (and vocally so) because subconsciously they know it <i>is anti-American</i>. It rubs some people the wrong way without them knowing exactly why. They don’t like it but can’t really explain why they don’t like it. If you know what I mean. It’s a subliminal dislike. joe baltakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11467420961490314339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-746028046389902492017-05-17T11:45:18.346-04:002017-05-17T11:45:18.346-04:00Joe, I saw this movie based on your review. There...Joe, I saw this movie based on your review. There was practically no one else in the theater and there was no reaction to it - at least, no negative reaction. I think the few people there like it. I know I did. I can't understand why an audience would be hostile to it.Charlottenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-25036243360588735092017-05-17T11:40:43.873-04:002017-05-17T11:40:43.873-04:00This sounds just like the kind of movie I would LO...This sounds just like the kind of movie I would LOVE to see but won't come to Mexico. I have a better chance of seeing it on Air France where they have the best new and vintage movie. I never was a Richard Gere fan (maybe because I first saw him in terrible movies with Julia Roberts ) but on thinking about it, some of his later roles were better. Laura Linney is super.Kikinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-29737765893210637782017-05-17T11:35:51.400-04:002017-05-17T11:35:51.400-04:00Thanks, Joe! I'll definitely check it out.Thanks, Joe! I'll definitely check it out.mike c.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-67225750720517039692017-05-13T19:17:18.315-04:002017-05-13T19:17:18.315-04:00Just saw "The Dinner" and liked it. A po...Just saw "The Dinner" and liked it. A pop Freudianism dominates the film and is inseparable from everything else in it.Christopher P. Fowlernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-62750926564628357172017-05-13T14:41:25.203-04:002017-05-13T14:41:25.203-04:00Joe, this movie sounds positively divisive, which ...Joe, this movie sounds positively divisive, which means it's my kind of movie. I've seen Moverman's other films and was really intrigued by "The Messenger."Wade Scottnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-88517361825650183072017-05-13T14:14:47.526-04:002017-05-13T14:14:47.526-04:00Vanessa wonders where she can get the "other ...Vanessa wonders where she can get the "other films." The Italian version, which is the weakest of the three, IS available on amazon.com now. The Netherlands version is not. m.h.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-45230304809492723712017-05-13T13:01:56.853-04:002017-05-13T13:01:56.853-04:00Brian- There have been critics who have praised &...Brian- There have been critics who have praised "The Dinner." I've added links to those reviews at the bottom of my essay. -Jjoe baltakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11467420961490314339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-47638151575258195712017-05-13T11:34:40.832-04:002017-05-13T11:34:40.832-04:00Joe- "The Dinner" doesn't stand a ch...Joe- "The Dinner" doesn't stand a chance finding its specific audience if the critics aren't out there to point them in the film's direction. By and large, critics don't matter in the box-office success of a movie, except in a case such as this one. I hope that there are a few critics out there - influential ones - who come out and endorse it.Brian Lucasnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-72931261968421700042017-05-12T21:59:14.400-04:002017-05-12T21:59:14.400-04:00Sounds like "Billy Wilder Meets Otto Preminge...Sounds like "Billy Wilder Meets Otto Preminger." Which means it sounds great.Alexnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-60740605974240797722017-05-12T21:17:29.943-04:002017-05-12T21:17:29.943-04:00Won't be easy, Vanessa, as they are not popula...Won't be easy, Vanessa, as they are not popular titles, but keep digging through the internet. I wouldn't mind seeing those versions either.joe baltakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11467420961490314339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-25860307852679815662017-05-12T21:13:32.794-04:002017-05-12T21:13:32.794-04:00an incredible film. It seemed to American to me t...an incredible film. It seemed to American to me that I was surprised to learn it was a remake of two others from other cultures. Do you know where I can get the other versions? Vanessa Pnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-47063473714179687892017-05-12T21:06:38.839-04:002017-05-12T21:06:38.839-04:00Excellent introductory primer to a difficult film,...Excellent introductory primer to a difficult film, Joe. Thanks. I’m sending the link to all the movie-nut newbies I know.Michael Neffnoreply@blogger.com