Freedomland

[Forensic Paws]

Wow. It's not out in Aus. theatres until June 8th.
Definately not expecting anything, but Spoony and i will be there with bells on to see it.

[spoony]

I'd like to assure everyone that I WON'T be wearing bells. I apologise for any confusion this may have caused.

We do plan to go see it at the movies. It shall be my birthday present. And I'm expecting the movie as a whole to suck.

[Dreamfire]

admin said:

I actually don't mind Ron's look in Freedomland:



Kind of sexy, in a weird way.

It's not exactly this:



But it could have been a lot worse:

OH my Goodness Schmeep what is this photo? I am in shock here down under on the south side of trhe planet hanging upside down with my mouth wode open??? Please tell me it isn't a truephotoi but something you photo shopped?
Natascha

[mlm828]

ashatan said:

OH my Goodness Schmeep what is this photo? I am in shock here down under on the south side of trhe planet hanging upside down with my mouth wode open??? Please tell me it isn't a truephotoi but something you photo shopped?
Natascha

Shmeep isn't around, and I can't leave you hanging upside down all night (it's after 1 a.m. in the Eastern time zone in the U.S., where shmeep is) or all day, where you are.

Yes, that is a real photo of Ron Eldard, playing "Tom" in the Showtime movie, Fathers and Sons. I think there's a thread on it somewhere on the board.

Hey, you gotta love a guy who's that secure!

Edited to add: I was sure we'd talked about Fathers and Sons somewhere on the board, but I can't find the discussion. You can find more info on the movie here: www.ron-eldard.com/fathersandsons.htm
Ron gave a truly amazing and fearless performance.

[spoony]

I love Ron. I still maintain that he always has bad hair. I love a man who is comfortable enough to always have bad hair.

[Katryna]

admin said:

I actually don't mind Ron's look in Freedomland:



Kind of sexy, in a weird way.

I liked the Freedomland look, too. I thought it made his eyes look all the more fantastic. Very nice, indeed.

[inuvik]

Freedomland is out on DVD today, for anyone who still wants to see it.

[bjobsessed]

inuvik said:

Freedomland is out on DVD today, for anyone who still wants to see it.

I bought it. Never saw it, but no matter what I think of the movie, I know I won't be disappointed with someone's performance.

[Katryna]

bjobsessed said:

inuvik said:

Freedomland is out on DVD today, for anyone who still wants to see it.

I bought it. Never saw it, but no matter what I think of the movie, I know I won't be disappointed with someone's performance.

I'll buy it, too, eventually. I saw it in the theatre and was one of the few who was not HUGELY disappointed. I thought Ron was terrific in it.

[anna]

I was not a fan of the Freedomland look originally. Now that I've seen it in the movie (I waited for the DVD), it has grown on me, and I agree with Shmeep.



However, all of this discussion about the movie has omitted the most important question: Was there a lip bite? I couldn't find one.

[Dreamfire]

longlashes said:

Dott....I wouldn't argue that the "quality" is his eyes so much as it is what he is able to reflect with those eyes. It is there that we see so much of the emotion of the characters he plays.

Honestly, I can't say that I have seen Delivered or Sleepers, but I have seen Bastard Out of Carolina, several times, and his eyes are either full of hate or full of hurt. And in those moments where the emotion is so evident by the look on his face and the look in his eyes, it is what is reflected in those amazing "choir boy" eyes that I see the "quality" that might allow me to "cut him some slack."

So much of what Ron Eldard does is captured without words; one of the best scenes in BlackHawk Down is his, sitting against that stone wall, alone, watching what is going on outside and contemplating his own fate. There isn't a word spoken - there doesn't need to be because of what is written on his face and reflected in his eyes. In House of Sand and Fog when he is sitting on the step with that bloody shirt clutched to his chest, another scene that is all him, without a spoken word - everything he is feeling is there on his face and there in his eyes.

Perhaps the eyes aren't everything, but they are so much a part of what he does and what he is able to convey.

LongLashes

I agree with you Long lashes. There are scenes where Ron holds the essense of the protrayal so cleanly and so clearly that the audiance has no choice but to exsperience them with him. And
itshows up most strongly in his silent scenes. The more I see of this actor, the more I understand about acting itself. And the more I admite him. So, I too, forgive in advance, the extra facial hair for Freedomland! I am sure he creates magic on the screen and after a moment I wont even notice.
Ashatan

[anna]

ashatan said:

And itshows up most strongly in his silent scenes.

It's true. I took the cap above from one of his silent scenes in Freedomland. In that scene, it's all in his eyes.

[maggiethecat]

I agree that RE does look terrific in Freedomland, but I wondered throughout the movie at the color of his eyes, which were a weirdly intense and glittery shade of bright blue -- not the soft grey-blue we became accustomed to (sighing over) in Blind Justice. Now, after looking at the screencap anna posted, I'm convinced he was wearing contacts.

And, after seeing the DVD last weekend, I am also convinced that 90% of RE's part wound up on the cutting room floor. What a waste! I think I would have been massively disappointed even if I hadn't read the book first. The whole movie seemed unevenly balanced between huge amounts of fill, fill, fill, and character development being cut to make room for that fill, fill, fill. Danny Martin was important to the book, but that part was reduced to basically three short scenes -- and the last one just left the character hanging and we never saw him again.

So I have to say that, IMO, for once the critics were right and this movie was a waste of the actors.

[Dreamfire]

anna said:

I was not a fan of the Freedomland look originally. Now that I've seen it in the movie (I waited for the DVD), it has grown on me, and I agree with Shmeep.



However, all of this discussion about the movie has omitted the most important question: Was there a lip bite? I couldn't find one.

Wow, that is va ery intense look, and very ...blue.

[anna]

maggiethecat said:

I agree that RE does look terrific in Freedomland, but I wondered throughout the movie at the color of his eyes, which were a weirdly intense and glittery shade of bright blue -- not the soft grey-blue we became accustomed to (sighing over) in Blind Justice. Now, after looking at the screencap anna posted, I'm convinced he was wearing contacts.

Oh, I thought so too - definitely as blue as modern technology can produce.