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VanIslander

Joined: 18 Aug 2003 Location: Geoje, Hadong, Tongyeong,... now in a small coastal island town outside Gyeongsangnamdo!
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Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2006 6:20 am Post subject: who's better? (showdown) |
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Matt Damon vs. Heath Ledger
Better actor is Ledger. Proof: The Brothers Grimm. Typical Damon facial expressions (despite decent accent), totally new Ledger charactization.
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Michael Ondaatje vs. Rohinton Minstry
Better writer is Ondaatje. Proof: Anhil's Ghost can be read fast or slow and be appreciated each way; Family Matters read closely is absurdly awful: Mr. Rangarajan giggled endearingly, scraping the bottom of the plastic container. He returned to the topic that had engendered the digression.... yuck
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your turn for a showdown |
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safeblad
Joined: 17 Jul 2006
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Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2006 6:24 am Post subject: |
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blaseblasphemener
Joined: 01 Jun 2006 Location: There's a voice, keeps on calling me, down the road, that's where I'll always be
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Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2006 6:46 am Post subject: |
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I think we can classify all of humanity into two groups:
A)I watched Brothers Grimm and it was pretty good/not bad/great!
B) I paid money to see the movie, and it was a steaming pile of horse dung. That's one hour I can never have back (my Korean girlfriend at first refused to leave since we had paid for a ticket. A few minutes later, I looked over at her and she was trying to sleep; anything not to watch the train-wreck on the screen. Finally I insisted and we left. This movie made Dick and Jane look like Academy-Award material. |
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VanIslander

Joined: 18 Aug 2003 Location: Geoje, Hadong, Tongyeong,... now in a small coastal island town outside Gyeongsangnamdo!
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Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2006 7:24 am Post subject: |
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Don't forget the third group: those of us who half-watched The Brothers Grimm on Korean t.v. while cooking dinner, posting on Dave's and calling up a friend. |
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ChopChaeJoe
Joined: 05 Mar 2006 Location: Seoul
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Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2006 7:35 am Post subject: |
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Who's the better actor: Swartzenegger or Swayze? I call it a tie.
Who's the better singer: Buddy Holly or Elvis Presley? Hmmmmmm. |
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VanIslander

Joined: 18 Aug 2003 Location: Geoje, Hadong, Tongyeong,... now in a small coastal island town outside Gyeongsangnamdo!
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Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2006 8:07 am Post subject: |
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ChopChaeJoe wrote: |
Who's the better actor: Swartzenegger or Swayze? I call it a tie. |
Darn fine comparison.
I can usually come up with reasons for/against in a nanosecond, on any subject (hence honours grad school in philosophy), but with those two I'm stumped.
you have humbled me.... congrats
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Who's the better singer: Buddy Holly or Elvis Presley? Hmmmmmm. |
Clearly Elvis. Not songwriter or artist, but SINGER. Elvis is an original. He has impersonators but defines a kind of deep vocal sound. I was just listening to a collection of his greatest hits this week and was mesmerized at the timelessness of some of his songs. Ironically, I think it a bigger tragedy that Holly's burgeoning creativity died in a plane accident while Elvis went on to years of club dates and alcoholic stupors.
Likewise, Sinatra is many times better than Paul Anka as a singer (the latter originally wrote and performed My Way of course), but as a songwriter or artist in general, Anka is leagues ahead of Sinatra.
The truth is, the world needs originators and performers.
Norah Jones is NOT a songwriter, or even artist of style, but she is a SINGER and a darn fine one; Billie Holiday is an awful singer, really substandard by vocal standards, but her original style and the content of the lyrics she sang defines her as one of the greatest jazz vocalists. Ella is CLEARLY one of the greatest voices inthe history of music, period. her AND Celine Dion have vocal ranges than bring tears to the eyes to those who know how hard it is to have a range of styles come of with such precision. A good singer can sing one style, a great singer can either deine a sound or else alternate between ranges like a child pushing a Tonka truck.
Last edited by VanIslander on Sat Aug 05, 2006 8:15 am; edited 1 time in total |
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formerflautist

Joined: 30 May 2006
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Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2006 8:10 am Post subject: |
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I can't decide by acting ability so I'll decide by sexiness. Swayze wins by a landslide. |
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VanIslander

Joined: 18 Aug 2003 Location: Geoje, Hadong, Tongyeong,... now in a small coastal island town outside Gyeongsangnamdo!
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Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2006 8:25 am Post subject: |
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formerflautist wrote: |
I can't decide by acting ability so I'll decide by sexiness. Swayze wins by a landslide. |
that's not fair
OF COURSE sexiness is one way
women like Swayze, men wanna be Arnie
we're talking ACTING ability
darn tie... D- in class for each of them, C+ if they have the right script |
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daskalos
Joined: 19 May 2006 Location: The Road to Ithaca
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Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2006 10:27 am Post subject: |
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VanIslander wrote: |
Likewise, Sinatra is many times better than Paul Anka as a singer (the latter originally wrote and performed My Way of course), but as a songwriter or artist in general, Anka is leagues ahead of Sinatra.
The truth is, the world needs originators and performers.
Norah Jones is NOT a songwriter, or even artist of style, but she is a SINGER and a darn fine one; Billie Holiday is an awful singer, really substandard by vocal standards, but her original style and the content of the lyrics she sang defines her as one of the greatest jazz vocalists. Ella is CLEARLY one of the greatest voices inthe history of music, period. her AND Celine Dion have vocal ranges than bring tears to the eyes to those who know how hard it is to have a range of styles come of with such precision. A good singer can sing one style, a great singer can either deine a sound or else alternate between ranges like a child pushing a Tonka truck. |
And again I find subjectivity so fascinating. Sinatra and Dion bore me to tears. The former because I didn't believe any note he ever sang. Technically lovely, but I could always tell it was an act. He never never took me out of myself enough to get lost in anything he ever sang. It's not that I loathe him, he just leaves me cold.
I loathe Celine Dion. A technically perfect voice, an incredible range, and not one f-ing clue about what to do with it. Restraint is the soul of artistry and if she could be taught that, she might be a good singer. It took me awhile to loathe her. It took me awhile to realize why she left me flat. It's that a song is as much about emotion as it is about a voice or a note, and all of the emotion she aims to instill in her singing is false, flat, counterfeit crap. She is so focused on hitting a perfect note she has never reached a true performance.
And I get completely that the things I find to loathe in her and to find boring in Sinatra are exactly the things people who love them love in them. Life is funny. |
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blaseblasphemener
Joined: 01 Jun 2006 Location: There's a voice, keeps on calling me, down the road, that's where I'll always be
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Posted: Sun Aug 06, 2006 6:42 am Post subject: |
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daskalos wrote: |
VanIslander wrote: |
Likewise, Sinatra is many times better than Paul Anka as a singer (the latter originally wrote and performed My Way of course), but as a songwriter or artist in general, Anka is leagues ahead of Sinatra.
The truth is, the world needs originators and performers.
Norah Jones is NOT a songwriter, or even artist of style, but she is a SINGER and a darn fine one; Billie Holiday is an awful singer, really substandard by vocal standards, but her original style and the content of the lyrics she sang defines her as one of the greatest jazz vocalists. Ella is CLEARLY one of the greatest voices inthe history of music, period. her AND Celine Dion have vocal ranges than bring tears to the eyes to those who know how hard it is to have a range of styles come of with such precision. A good singer can sing one style, a great singer can either deine a sound or else alternate between ranges like a child pushing a Tonka truck. |
And again I find subjectivity so fascinating. Sinatra and Dion bore me to tears. The former because I didn't believe any note he ever sang. Technically lovely, but I could always tell it was an act. He never never took me out of myself enough to get lost in anything he ever sang. It's not that I loathe him, he just leaves me cold.
I loathe Celine Dion. A technically perfect voice, an incredible range, and not one f-ing clue about what to do with it. Restraint is the soul of artistry and if she could be taught that, she might be a good singer. It took me awhile to loathe her. It took me awhile to realize why she left me flat. It's that a song is as much about emotion as it is about a voice or a note, and all of the emotion she aims to instill in her singing is false, flat, counterfeit crap. She is so focused on hitting a perfect note she has never reached a true performance.
And I get completely that the things I find to loathe in her and to find boring in Sinatra are exactly the things people who love them love in them. Life is funny. |
That's funny. I read an article in Esquire where they were saying that Sinatra was renowned for singing a song from the soul, sort of the opposite of your take. I find a lot of that old stuff from the 50s and 60s comes off as a little contrived, but I think for instance, "send in the clowns" by Sinatra, or "under my spell" live from Vegas, both give me the chills. He was a pretty good actor too. Even if Don Corleone got him the part in the War movie that made him a big star.  |
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krats1976

Joined: 14 May 2003
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Posted: Sun Aug 06, 2006 4:20 pm Post subject: Re: who's better? (showdown) |
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VanIslander wrote: |
Matt Damon vs. Heath Ledger
Better actor is Ledger. Proof: The Brothers Grimm. Typical Damon facial expressions (despite decent accent), totally new Ledger charactization.
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Though I can't say I loved the movie, I LOVED Heath Ledger in it. I've always thought he was a good actor, but this one made me think he may just be great (jury's still out though). |
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