Crime on film and the Criminals that inspired the writing.

[JackFavell]

Depp is good as long as he stays in his comfort zone, which he usually does. He's very savvy about picking roles that suit his quirks, but I get the idea he has a narrow range, preferring to disappear into a costume role than to loosen up and give as an actor. That doesn't mean I don't like him, his quirks suit me, I tend to like actors who hide like he does, and I like him very much. I'm just trying to be honest. I think he's very good at style, he can mimic pirate movies or silent films from years ago very successfully, and I am pleased that he seems to know a lot about certain areas of classic film, unlike so many newer stars. He's an odd duck as an actor, and I'm all for that. But I'd love to see him really dig deep once in a while.


I'm sorry I haven't been participating much here, Alice has been home from school all week because of the hurricane, and I just sneak in a look here and there when I can. Today is the first day I've been able to write much.

[charliechaplinfan]

I feel much the same as you about Depp, I like him and I like his knowledge and respect for films and artists that have gone before. I like quirky people.

I hope your neighbourhood is OK, Wendy, I bet Alice isn't complaining about staying home. My kids have been off because of half term holidays, as has Chris. Moaning time, Chris likes to cook and I like to have meals made but why can't he see the kitchen needs cleaning after he's been in it? I'm not meaning he doesn't put pots away but the splashes he creates everywhere? He's blind to them. I can't get a cleaning routine going when they're all off, at least when they're at school the house looks tidy for an hour or so. I swear Chris can be worse than the kids, at least they try to confine it to their rooms.

[JackFavell]

Yes, I totally understand, it's much easier to clean when they are not underfoot! I can never get anything done when they are home, or I get sidetracked with something else leaving a big pile of something undone while I make a snack and never get back to it.

[charliechaplinfan]

We run parellel households Wendy. I don't know which one of the 3 of them is the hardest work, probably the guys, Libby is less likely to make a mess of her clothes, whereas Joe changes at least twice daily, whereas Chris takes over in some areas and creates more disorganisation in his helpfulness.

[RedRiver]

This is why men are so often not allowed in the kitchen. It's not that we can't cook. It's the cleaning we're not so good at!

[RedRiver]

Johnny Depp certainly migrates toward offbeat roles, and usually chooses well. He's fine as Ed Wood, Hunter S. Thompson and Ichabod Crane. He's not the natural choice for Dillinger. He does a credible job with it. He's talented. But surely Public Enemy Number One, lady's man though he was, was no Hollywood heartthrob!

[charliechaplinfan]

This is why men are so often not allowed in the kitchen. It's not that we can't cook. It's the cleaning we're not so good at!

At least you'll admit it, far more than my hubby will. The cooking is the fun bit, the cleaning up the pay back for having a good time in the kitchen.

Dillinger wasn't as handsome as Depp although he looks like he carried a charm. I'd rather have Depp portraying him than Brad Pitt, who doesn't posses the quirkiness of Depp.

[JackFavell]

Andrew is not the type to make a mess while cooking, he only makes a few things. He is more likely to get frustrated and blow through the house or garden (aaggghh) raking through like a tornado has hit in an attempt to clean everything up. He will put dishes in the wrong place, or not put things back at all, leave them on the counter or on a chair or somewhere else. Then he doesn't understand when a month later I get frustrated because I can't put my hand to something that has been in the same place for 11 years.

In the garden it's worse, he likes an extremely tidy garden and will literally rake out small flowers so he can get every leaf. Or mow over a small lilac that I have just put in, even though I showed him where it was and marked it with a stick. Or he wants to prune at the wrong times, like right now as we are heading into winter which is the worst time, but all he sees is "OVERGROWN". I have roses he has hacked back, and I have to tell him that they will get borers if he doesn't put a drop of glue on the end of every cut cane.. he is extremely money conscious, but doesn't understand that if he kills my plants, I will just have to go out and buy others. Or if I come out to check on plants he is ripping apart, he'll lie and say he didn't take any flowers or good plants, but then I find them in the trash.

It hurts me more that he doesn't listen to the things it took me years to learn, than that he kills things. He actually brought home a book on roses this last week to check and see whether he could prune them, after I have explained pruning every year we've been in this house, almost twelve years. I had actually told him when to prune a couple of weeks ago, but he didn't believe me. His mother is the same way, asking my gardening advice then stubbornly telling me I am wrong when I give it.

[CineMaven]

Listening...being listened to. So very important. So validating.

* * * * * *

Johnny Depp. Quirky is easy. I'd like to see him play a very plain normal average guy, instead of hiding behind the quirks and beards and make-up.

[JackFavell]

Did you see Secret Window? I think you'd like it and it's about as normal a role as he's ever played.

I made Andrew sound terrible didn't I? Sorry. He's really not that bad, but I think he hates to be confronted with his mistakes especially when he thinks he's doing me a favor, tearing apart my garden, lol. He is just one of those people who have to be busy, which drives me mad sometimes. I am the type to be busy during the day, but I like to take evenings and weekends off, and play with my family. He's always got a to do list at those times, and can't seem to relax. His mother once told me that when he was little, whenever he sat down, she'd find another chore for him to do.

[CineMaven]

Awwww...I know he's not that bad at all. I'm sure of it. Vent sis. Vent.

[RedRiver]

I'd like to see him play a very plain normal average guy, instead of hiding behind the quirks and beards and make-up

In a college acting class, I chose a scene where I would play a "normal guy." Sure enough, everybody said "You should have played so and so." The character part. I know that! That's why I went the other way. It's my only chance to play the straight man.

I used to trade comic books with Johnny Depp's older brother. I don't think young John had been born yet. This was a LONG time ago! His brother was a pleasant, well mannered boy, and had some cool Marvels!

[JackFavell]

That's cool, red! Did he look like Johnny? Are you still in touch? Can you introduce me?

[charliechaplinfan]

Your philosophy sounds spot on Wendy there's nothing wrong with chilling out at night and weekends. My bugbear with Chris is that he sits around for ages before getting on with a task, like tidying the garage out which we were trying to do whereas I like to get these things done, so I end up doing other jobs and he'll start tidying the garage after tea requiring my help. I leave the garden to Chris, now I know why, I'm not a gardener, he's better than me but neither of us is good.

[JackFavell]

Oh that's frustrating too, Alison! We have a ton of unfinished projects, but mainly it's due to his mother's illnesses and needs. He just doesn't have time here. Like the siding that's ripped off half the house... for 2 or 3 years now we've had half wood and half aluminum siding, but he can't get the time to finish. I feel like the poor white trash part of the neighborhood when I realize that our house looks like such a mess. But I can't complain about that, he's doing the best he can with his mom. I keep thinking a stone facing would be better than the wood, because then we'd never have to paint or anything, but then that's just more money to spend either way.

Sometimes Andrew will steal my jobs away from me, if he hasn't got something else to do. I'll start something, but then Alice will need lunch and the next thing I know, he's doing the project I wanted to do. It's not that he's trying to help get it done, either, it's that he thinks I'm not doing it right. LAst night I almost killed him at the store. I needed laundry soap, and he made a big deal over one bottle of detergent. "Are you SURE you need that? Don't we have 3 bottles of detergent already? I'm SURE we have some." He forgets that 2 or 3 months has gone by since we bought that last bottle, and that I check the amounts every time I do the wash. I get tired of having to OK every purchase through him... it's laundry soap for goodness sakes! Not some splurge on something we don't need. And I don't ask him if we need gasoline for the mower. He can buy anything he wants for home upkeep, but I get the third degree.

Then to the grocery, where thankfully he took Alice out for dinner while I shopped. They came back too quickly though, and more criticism. "That's not the right aisle for rice (it was). Are you SURE you need a 2 dollar spray bottle? It doesn't work this way, see? If you screw it down it won't do that" uurgggh. It was all I could do to remain calm and carry on. I've been shopping for 30 years, and I'm a frugal person. I know how to shop, and I know what I need. I don't just go to the store for fun... I'd rather not do it at all if I could avoid it. But mostly I like to do it alone. I tried everything I could to get him to not go with me, but he decided he needed to for some reason. Oh, and he repacks my bags after I've done it. Control freak.

OK enough of the ranting. I blame his mom for all these quirks. Let me do my own shopping and bagging.