Just watched "House of Games" for the first time in a long time. Still a very odd movie for me. Love some of the dialogue.

My main problem with Mamet is he gets this really stiff performance from his actors. I think he goes for this stiff delivery because he is shooting for some sort of "hard boiled" characters to rapid fire his dialogue.

He also has a penchant for casting his wives. Rebecca Pidgeon was OK in her roles, but Lindsay Crouse was just painful to watch at times in HoG. She has played the EXACT same character at least three other times (CSI, L&O, Columbo).

Haven't seen "Heist" in a very long time, but remember it as pretty good. Too many twists just for the sake of having twists. Same with "The Spanish Prisoner".

I also seem to remember really liking "State & Main"

I just think that Mamet is a better screenplay writer than director.

For better or worse he makes his actors do that

He also hates women but he's a great wrter

Check out Glengarry Glen Ross it's great

I recently rewatched About Last Night. I was squinting at my TV, and mentally recasting the movie, wondering if it was the thespian talents of Jim Belushi, Demi Moore, and Rob Lowe which made it feel so flat. Maybe. I don't know.




Yeah, that's what I've heard--but when I think about his movies, he seems to enjoy torturing his male characters, also. Usually he doesn't have a nice, likeable character--and if the character is nice, he is somehow sniveling and weak, as well. Of course he could write female characters like that--but he seems exclusively interested in watching men talk.

His philosophy is that the emotion should not be acted by the actors, rather it should arise from the story itself.

I find it both interesting and somewhat annoying.