Jack Attack

Jack Nicholson is 75 years old today. He has only made 3 movies in the past eight years and his last great performance (About Schmidt) was a full decade past. His frequent absences would be a much greater loss to cinema if his current taste didn't lean more Bucket List and less Schmidt. But he has meant so much to so many moviegoers for so many decades that his big day is definitely worth celebrating.

So herewith ten random things off the top of my head that I love about Jack Nicholson... and it shouldn't surprise you that most of them involve his actress co-stars. That's not just because you're reading this at The Film Experience but because, for all of Jack's showboating style, he regularly ups the game of his leading ladies (and vice versa)

• "Dear Ndugu..." (About Schmidt)

• the fascinating and atypical restraint of his character work as Eugene O'Neill in Reds (1981). He lets Warren Beatty & Diane Keaton lead (which they do spectacularly well -- what a great movie) but manages to leave an indelible searing impression all the same. I sometimes wonder if it's his best performance.

• That it took him a good  long while to become JACK NICHOLSON -- he started in 1956 and he wasn't really JACK til 1969's Five Easy Pieces, and those slow burn rises to superstardom really ought to inspire all great actors who are looking for a defining breakthrough.

• The electric but very different push/pulls of his beastly seductions of Michelle Pfeiffer in Witches of Eastwick (1987) and Wolf (1994). They had great chemistry together. 

• Chinatown (1974) in general and in its entirety. Also specifically in just about every scene. Let's simplify...

• Chinatown (1974) !!!!

• "Do I ice her? Do I marry her? Which one of dese?" Dumb pussy-whipped Jack in Prizzi's Honor (1985) who is talking about Irene (Kathleen Turner) but might just as well be describing his topsy turvy relationship with his ex (Anjelica Huston) too. 

...His women keep pulling the rug out from under him, the Oriental rug to be precise.

 Right there on the Oriental. With all the lights on. 

• Everything about The Jack & Shirley Show within Terms of Endearment (1983)

• His long friendship with Warren Beatty, also newly 75. Imagine the influence and power they've wielded in their time on American cinema.

• "Heeeeeere's Johnny!" My favorite Jack Nicholson moments are rarely the iconic ones that everyone knows (in which I always find myself feeling "pull it back!") but his literally splintering-crazy work in The Shining is the best of his YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH style screen beats. 

Your turn!

What's your favorite Jack Nicholson performance? Which screen moments from his long history stick with you.

Wet Willy (via Pascal)

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Type @ Me: Leo Drowns, Josh Barks, Nicole Poses

My time has been atypically divided lately and I've missed the social interactions that are part of blogging full time, whether that's rapidfire tweeting or IMing or whatever. So in the absence of your comments (seriously a Les Miz dropping without comments? first time for everything!) I thought I'd share some brief movies notes from friends/readers via text, facebook, twitter and such that made me giggle this past week about topics you just might have been texting your own friends about.

1. Titanic is a really long movie and friends get impatient when you're watching it and are supposed to meet them. 

He forgot to type "Spoiler Alert". 

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2. Readers know from Kidmania. Respect the actressexuality!

Jei Dee is psychic. Love this I do. Honestly I haven't been this excited for a Nicole Kidman performance (Cannes entry Paperboy) since the musical Nine. Not that that one turned out spectacularly well but I'm talking about preemptive enthusiasms. shut up. I loved Nine on stage. What can I say?

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3. One of my friends likes to torture me with incessant Chloe Moretz related messages. Stop it!

I can't keep blogging about the Carrie remake but yes, Julianne's involvement would make it SO CONFLICTING somewhat confusing for me. If only because my Julianne Completism would force me to actually see the sure to be stillborn movie. If you missed the post about why I'm already in hate with the movie, that's here.

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4. The reader poll "who is cuter: Josh Hutherson or his special-needs puppy?" prompted this response which gave me good lolz 

Hee. Weirdly Josh Hutcherson is winning said poll. I guess you're all cat people (yay!)

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5. "Chloe" himself Drew Droege responded to my "nineties" nostalgia article dedicated to him.

Unexpected shout-outs are heartwarming. This was almost as exciting as that time on Oscar night live-blogging when Sandra Bernhardt tweeted me about my strong [ahem] feelings about her snub in the 80s for The King of Comedy. 

Name Dropping for the Finale!

That's all.

We need a dumb catchy word like "sexting" that's about movie texts, don't we? Nothing works. "Flixting"? pues no. Let's come up with one, shall we?

Do you hear the people sing?

Provided you have speakers on your computer, then yes. Hear them you do. Well not Hugh and Anne specifically...

I know I shouldn't be this excited for a movie. It will all end in tears!

Yes, No, Maybe So: "Looper"

The subject is time travel. It only seemed thematically appropriate to post this highly anticipated trailer for LOOPER a week before it premiered but pretend we posted it a week late. 

This time travel crap will fry your brain like an egg"

See, the following conversation actually took place in the past with your comments arriving now from god knows when; surprise us by dating your reaction in the comments. For all we know you're writing from Los Angeles the morning after Joseph Gordon-Levitt's Oscar win as Bruce Willis in the stuffy cradle-to-tomb biopic Bruce Dies Hardest (2031). You know AMPAS will still love those Star-As-Star biopics deep into the 21st century. Ohmygod. His inflection on "Yippee-ki-yay, motherfucker" alone was chilling. He BECAME Bruce Willis.

Yippee-ki-yay, motherfucker

When were we? It's time to break down the trailer after the jump with our patented Yes No Maybe So system. It's time to break down the trailer after the jump with our patented Yes No Maybe So system. It's time to break down the trailer after the jump with our patented Yes No Maybe So system. It's time to break down the trailer after the jump with our patented Yes No Maybe So system. It's time to break down the trailer after the jump with our patented Yes No Maybe So system.

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