What movie did you see TODAY? Part 2

The other one is taking too long to load.

I should have got The Simpsons movie from Netflix today, but it seems my mail is backed up one day because of the holiday Monday.

I'm anxious because it'll be my fist viewing of a Blu-Ray movie.

Oooh, good luck with that! Let us know if you see a really big difference.

>2 DaynaRT: "I'm anxious because it'll be my fist viewing of a Blu-Ray movie."

I'd recommend using a Blu-Ray compatible player, instead. Playing the disc on your fist or another format will not get you the HD quality picture. ;)

/commences launching of warships across Lake Michigan towards Wisconsin

*gets friends from Michigan and Chicago to blockade Indiana coastline by holding a rope in front of it*

Crap. Hoosiers are allergic to rope.

RETREAT!

I haven't watched a movie today, but I am watching one disc of Muppet Show episodes -- checked out the first season from the library and am working my way through it.

Watched "Emma" on the Ovation Channel. Had no idea what was going on, apart from the main male suitor being a cradle-snatcher ("I remember when I held you when you were only three weeks old!" he says! Jane Austen, what went on in your head?).

And love prevails because of... TURKEY THIEVES!

It's like the craziest romance I've ever seen...

I missed the cradle-snatching aspect of Emma, although I can see it a bit now. I actually found pretty much all the Emma characters really quite annoying when I read it last year (sacrilege!), although I suspect Jane Austen might have done that deliberately.
I think if I were a woman, I'd take Mr Knightley over Mr Darcy. I like Knightley better as a role model, but if I were Mr Knightley, I'd be spending far more time telling Miss Woodhouse to get over herself, and then gone off to find someone more worth my while. (I'm not arrogant at all :) )

Saw Blood Diamond last night. Intense. And Leo DiCaprio didn't annoy me at all, which is quite an accomplishment for him!

Watching The Simpsons now...it looks AMAZING in Blu-ray!

I've had Gone Baby Gone, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, Peter's Friends, and two discs of Buffy from Netflix for like, a month, but haven't felt like watching them. I'm going to put on Gone Baby Gone, but I doubt I'll pay much attention because I'm writing.

#8 Oh, the Muppet Show. I loved the Muppet Show. I'm having fierce nostalgia pangs now.

Okay, I didn't see a movie today, but yesterday I saw Charlie Wilson's War. Much better and more interesting than I expected. Some very good acting, and an interestingly roundabout way of getting at some current issues. Sort of like a funny version of The Quiet American, if you can imagine that.

8, 14 - It's so much better as a grown-up - I get it now. :)

We rented Elizabeth The Golden Age last night. Great movie! Has anyone watched "American Gangster"?

Hi guys - I'm new to the Green Dragon (I've been eyeing the group for awhile and decided, for whatever reason, that today was the day to join).

Last night The Husband and I watched Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (trying to make my way through the AFI comedy list, plus Cary Grant is sooo dishy), and then, for a change of pace, we re-watched SuperTroopers (one of my all-time favorite comedies).

I half-watched the remake of The Fog on TV last night. Terrible film. Too many unexplained character motivations and logical inconsistencies, even for a ghost flick.

I say half-watched because I was also getting a good deal of reading done. So, the evening wasn't completely squandered.

Hubby and I just watched the amazingness that is Desperately Seeking Susan. It's one of those ones I saw as a teenager and loved way too much. So still do. Yay for total retro eighties-tastic movies :-)

#19 LizT: Oh, I'm right there with you - I get sucked into The Breakfast Club every time I'm flipping through channels and come across it.

Strictly Ballroom, and then Oliver!. I'm having a veg day. I'll probably watch The Butterfly Effect after I've had some lunch.

Will, I gave my sister-in-law Strictly Ballroom thinking she would love it. They watch Dancing with the Stars all the time. It is a wonderful movie. My sister-in-law didn't enjoy it. Go figure... (I'm 0 to 3 in picking out movies for her.)

I finally watched Gone Baby Gone.

It was amazing. At one point I burst into tears, and covered my face whimpering, because I knew what was going to happen, and it was so hard to watch. My esteem for Ben Affleck is now through the roof (as opposed to its former nonexistence).

Now I'm going to watch Elizabeth: The Golden Age, and try to fall asleep.

#22 - xorscape, I have a sister like that. We get along and can discuss many things, but I've learned to never recommend a book or movie for her. She just comes from another place than I do.

I saw Sweeney Todd. More bloody then expected for a musical.

Watched National Treasure with Nicholas Cage and Sean Bean. Fun.
Tried to watch Beowulf and Grendel, not the newest version but the one with Gerard Butler and Sarah Polley from 2005. Didn't get very far with it.

Husband and I watched Pan's Labyrinth last night. Very strange, but good. I was really surprised because, stupidly, I was expecting a kid's movie, and it's really not!

Ah, Pan's Labyrinth. The Spanish idea of a children's movie. No dancing teapots there!

I liked The Devil's Backbone, by the same writer/director, even better.

#28 margaretplays: Oh, I'll definitely have to check that out - thanks for the tip!

Just finished The Matrix with the son. Just as freaky as ever. "Do you think that's really air you're breathing right now?"

I saw In Bruges this afternoon. It was good, not great. The city was lovely and not a shithole as the lead character kept pointing out. I'm planning to visit there in the fall.

#28: True. The whole idea behind Pan's Labyrinth was to get back to the unsanitized fairy tales from before Disney. Of course, back then fairy tales were told, not shown, so it's not really going to be the same kind of audience showing up.

I loved Pan's Labyrinth, and I've always loved reading the folk and fairy tales, the older and darker the better. I wonder if a cinematic fairy tale is in some ways closer to the old oral tradition than written tales. Of course, what both film and page lack is the constant evolution and change of the oral tradition.

#31 I haven't heard good things about In Bruges. Too bad. McDonagh is such a terrific playwright, but I was afraid it wouldn't transfer well to film. His short film that won the Oscar (can't remember the title) was very good.

I'm watching Little Miss Sunshine at the moment. It's nicely cathartic, but I can see why some people don't like it. It might be a little too close to home.

We watched Willow last night as part of our "100 Top Fantasy Movies" collection effort. Fun!

'We are not afraid of you!'

"Now!"

"ARRRRRGH!" *run away*

#35: Ah, Willow is awesome! I haven't watched it in so long... (goes over to her netflix page and adds to the list...)

Husband and I watched The Awful Truth last night. A very funny Cary Grant film (and by Cary Grant I actually mean Cary Grant, unlike my previous post, in which I really meant Gary Cooper when I said Cary Grant - I *always* get those two names mixed up!). Highly recommend it.

Finished Season 5 of MI-5 (Spooks) and now will have to wait an unknown amount of time for Season 6 to make the leap over the pond.

Watched the first ever episodes of Dr. Who today, from Netflix. I like the new ones better...you have to admire what they did though.

I am so excited, Hogfather will be available from Netflix on March 4th!

Finally got to see the 3rd Pirates movie: At World's End. I know I was pretty tired last night but, boy was the movie bizarre.

Watched The Queen and The Painted Veil last night. Loved both.

I saw Jumper with some friends on Saturday night. It was entertaining, and a somewhat fresh idea in popular sci-fi films. Plus, it had Anakin Skywalker in it.

I rented The Brave One yesterday, and watched it before bed. Jodie Foster played a female Charles Bronson(Death Wish)-type. I liked it.

#31, 33

I saw In Bruges, and I'd like to say I thought it was fantastic. It's a very dark comedy, and very violent in parts, and if that isn't your thing I could see you disliking it. It got good reviews overall (on rottentomato.com and metacritic.com), and it's nice to see Colin Farrell giving a great performance again.

That's good to hear. I avoid reading reviews before I see a movie, but I've heard negative word of mouth. But yes, McDonagh's work is exceedingly dark and violent, which I usually don't like, but he's an exception. He really is a remarkable writer.

I'm going with a friend to see The Bucket List tonight. Looking forward to it very much.

I watched Rescue Dawn yesterday. Great, powerful film. Very moving.

I've had Gone Baby Gone, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, Peter's Friends, and two discs of Buffy from Netflix for like, a month... (#13)

I've had House of Flying Daggers for over a year. I didn't have much access to DVD players during the renovation -- and for a while after it was done, too. The occasion I did, I watched the other disc I had (I'm on a two-disc diet).

#46 My problem is I watch them, and forget to send them back, because I'm stupid. Then I wonder why I'm not getting any Netflix.

I saw Be Kind Rewind last night, and I really loved it. It was such a sweet, cute, fun movie. I can see why people wouldn't like it, and understand the complaints, but honestly, it just made me very happy, and reminded me of my days working at a dying video store that still clung to VHS...

Also saw Charlie Bartlett, which was strictly OK. Had some good parts and some pointless parts.

Do documentaries count?

The boy had a snow day so we are watching BBC's Civilisation.

Going to see Atonement tonight with a friend.

Will be catching up on Torchwood tonight. Last one I saw was Meat. I get the feeling James Marsters will be back.

I need to watch the latests Torchwood as well but instead I'm watch the Democratic Candidates Debate instead. Torchwood would be more fun.

I just came back from watching Juno. Ellen Page is so good in this film. Her delivery and on liners really addto the script. Great writing.I highly recommend the flick to you all.

I watched the end of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. That seems like a strange one. Do I bother to watch the entire movie?

I enjoyed it, but if you're a HHGttG purist, you probably won't. It's a somewhat distorted and not as humorous version, but if you're not familiar with the books, it comes across as an enjoyably quirky and bizarre comedy.

I haven't read it yet. So I will give the movie a try again before I read the book. I find that if I read it first , I hate the movie.

MargaretPlays: if you liked Pan's Labyrinth, look into Mirror Mask. I thought it was an absolutely gorgeous film (can't gush over it enough), and sorely under-appreciated.

"Annie Hall," for the umpteenth time. . . . gorgeous Diane Keaton!!!(Sad pix)

Saw The Bucket List. LOVED it! So much better than I expected.

#56 I loved Mirror Mask....haven't seen it in ages.

Today I rewatched the documentary Born into Brothels. What a wonderful movie, despite the dreadful title.

I watched Amelie today. It's one of those movies you can revisit again and again without getting sick of it, because it's just a great movie. Also had great company to enjoy it with, some of my friends at the FilmBuffery club.

We watched 3:10 To Yuma last night. It was really good! I say that with surprise because I'm really not into westerns. Redeemed with Christian Bale and Russell Crowe, both of whom were well cast I thought. And there were some interesting little twists at the end.

I'm glad you liked The Bucket List MrsLee, we really liked that one too. Morgan Freeman is just such a great actor.

56, 59 - Mirrormask was great, but it's quite a different look to Pan's Labyrinth. A lot of my friends just didn't get the surreal dreamworld aspect of it, and just thought it was shoddy animation around real people.

60 - Amelie gives me a warm feeling every time I see it. I pity those who can watch it and not awww at the end.

I watched The Darjeeling Limited last night. It was perfect for my mood, which says something. I did like it, but it doesn't compare to Wes Anderson's best movies.

Beowulf was also really good, and confirmed some of my own theories about the epic poem. Angelina Jolie was sexy/scary as Grendel's mom. And I always feel bad for Grendel. He just needs a hug. From far, far away...

I'm fairly amused by the trend in adaptations of classic literature as action movies--Beowulf, Troy, etc. But a good story is a good story, matter how it's told.

I've been listening to the soundtrack to Children of Dune (sci fi channel miniseries) at work, which made me want to watch it...but I decided to watch the miniseries of Dune first, since I haven't seen it in ages. In fact, I haven't seen it in so long, that there is a lot about it that I don't remember at all. Huh. It's still pretty good, though, and I think I like Paul a lot more than I did when I first saw it.

I watched an Asian horror film called "Shutter" & then "Fatal Attraction".

I scored a ticket today to Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band!!!

So I'm watching the DVD I have of his show at Hammersmith Odeon, London 1975.

Ah Bruce, yez were such a scruffy lil bugger back then...

I couldn't drag myself out of the house in time for a show at the theatre, so I stayed home and watched All About Eve instead. That movie is so delightfully bitchy. :D

Took the bigger kids to see Asterix and Obelix at the Olympic Games on Thursday. Don't bother, few good moments, get it on DVD. Michael Schumacher as a chariot driver is a nice touch.

just saw Black Sheep on DVD, a new Zealand film about genetically-engineered sheep running amok and killing people. Completely over-the-top gruesome, but hysterically funny.

I saw an ad for Black Sheep and was completely tickled by the concept.

I'm watching Singing in the Rain for the umpteenth time. It's great after a few glasses of wine. Dang I wish I could dance like Gene Kelly.

Watched two movies last night:
Horse Feathers - Marx brothers, and not that great, I think, although my movie review book says it's their best...
And You, Me & Dupree - also not great, even though I really like Kate Hudson and Owen Wilson. So, overall, not a very successful movie night.

Went to go see Shrek the Third today. The local theater by me plays free kids movies every weekend in March and April, so I took advantage of it. Of course, I have no kids, so get some weird looks sometimes, but I can't turn down a free movie!

I saw Gladiator last night. It was okay. I don't see what all the fuss was about.

Watched Disturbia the other day. Ho-hum. Teenage angst. Yawn. What a waste of David Morse.

Watched The Hard Word last night. Reasonably competent Australian caper film with the added bonus of the eminently lickable Guy Pearce. Rachel Griffiths looks really bad as a blonde, though.

I watched Navy SEALS early Sunday morning, after getting home from the bars. Nothing to write home about, but a famous cast: Charlie Sheen, Bill Paxton, Dennis Haysbert (24), S. Epatha Merkerson (Law & Order).

"Michael
Clayton".Movies are free here, and so many people came early for the one o'clock showing that they closed the door and began the film at 12:45.

re:72 Don't we all? *sigh*

I watched three Harold Lloyd films tonight, one of them a talkie! I love Harold Lloyd.

The Husband and I watched Accepted last night - stupid, but in a really hilarious way. I love dumb comedies.

I'm going to The Other Boleyn Girl in a few hours. After all the blood in Sweeny Todd, No Country for old Men and There Will Be Blood, it is time for a nice costume drama. Looking at Nathalie Portman also is a feast.

I just recently saw both Michael Clayton and Across the Universe. One right after the other, which was a study in style shift. :) Both were awesome.

Watched The Fountain. Nice love story. Weird plot. Visually pleasing. Weak execution of concepts though. Jackman did a nice job although I always find Rachel Weiss offputting.

Watched the first season of Dexter. Liked it, a lot. Now I have to wait for Season 2 to be released on DVD.

I watched Cirque de Soleil Reinvented which I enjoyed and Collateral which I found extremely depressing. Not that it was this huge stretch for Tom Cruise to play a sociopathic freak. Heh.

In our ongoing Coen fest, we watched Fargo the other night.

"Hon, prowler needs a jump!"

God, I love Marge Gunderson.

>87 littlegeek:

Speaking of Marge Gunderson / Frances McDormand, I saw Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day over the weekend. She gives a very good performance. Even with the backdrop of an impending World War II, it's an enjoyable and light hearted film. I'm sure it's a little too sweet for some but If that doesn't bother you, it's worth a watch.

>#87: oh yah.

I just got back from seeing Penelope and I just think its one of the best movies ever. Great screen play,great cinematography and great acting. The friend I went with is actually going to see it again as I type this that is how much she liked it.

I'm watching s2 of Alias. For about the third time. Not counting when it was on originally. Sure, it has its flaws, but my whole family just loves this show.

Just watched Empire of the Sun, now I want to read the book. Christian Bale was so sweet, and very good in it. I didn't realize he had been a child actor. My daughter caught that Ben Stiller was in it too, I never would have suspected. Poignant film which has left me rather somber.

During last weekend's storm, I watched Michael Clayton, Across the Universe, The Darjeeling Express (or Limited, whichever ...), The Queen, 3:10 to Yuma, and Elizabeth: The Golden Age. I thoroughly enjoyed all of them, although now I can't stop humming Beatles tunes.

It was the first weekend since I can't remember when that I didn't have to go anywhere or do anything, so I just sat around in my comfy pjs, wrapped in a comfy throw, ate comfort food, watched movies ... and laughed at the snow/ice/sleet/rain/hail.

Ahhhh, that was bliss. :-)

And I did finish a biography about a woman who worked as one of the first two female pages on the sales floor at Tiffany's (NY) back in the summer of 1946. (or was it '45??) It was kind of a Gidget-y read ... pleasant, not overly deep.

Last night I saw Vantage Point. I really liked it.

No movie (yet), but I just got back from seeing a variety show an opera. It was Purcell's King Arthur, choreographed by Mark Morris. A good fun time, as long as you aren't expecting a discernable plot.

Been watching old Jack Benny shows. Lots of fun, but some of the humor has now become uncomfortable. Other parts of it are surprisingly modern and naughty.

Just finished watching Key Largo and am into Rear Window now, which is an old favorite. Whenever it's on and I catch it, I have to watch it through.

We had our traditional St. Patrick's Day dinner with the family, then watched Waking Ned Devine. I almost want to watch it again tomorrow! :D

Well I havnt watched any movies today, but I saw a few on my trip that are worth mentioning... I watched Enchanted on the plane on the way there, very cute, funny & well worth seeing I thought :) Saw Chronnicles of Riddick on the movie channel in Phuket which was interesting & saw the last 2thirds of Memoirs of Geisha as well, very powerful movie, I couldnt tear myself away even though I missed the start... Also watched My stepmother is an alien while in the hotel in bangkok, one of the funniest movies I've seen I think, even though I've seen it a few times allready :)

Last night I watched Wordplay, a documentary about crossword puzzles and the people who solve and design them.

Rewatched Becoming Jane yesterday. That James McEvoy is so gosh-darned cute. :-)

Watched No Country for Old Men last night and was completely underwhelmed. Why do films like that win Oscars?
Have seen Elizabeth:the Golden Age and loved it. Who watched The Other Boleyn Girl this weekend? Tell me what you thought.

I watched Casino Royale and Clue on Saturday. I liked Casino Royale way more than I thought I would. I had seen one Bond film previously with Pierce Brosnan, which I didn't like, so I was surprised to enjoy this one so much. And Clue is funny in an 80's kind of way.

We watched The Adventures of Baron Munchausen. My husband said I would like it but I was wary because I can take only a little of the stupidity of Monty Python. An entire movie of it gets on my nerves. However, I was pleasantly surprised and really enjoyed it.

I watched the first half of the 90s TV Pride and Prejudice. OMG! I LOVED it. LOVED LOVED LOVED it. And it made the book better for me as well. I really understood more of the humor. I can't wait until I get the second DVD from Netflix!

I've seen all the Bond movies, and Daniel Craig is my favorite Bond, but Casino Royale suffered, in my opinion, from what The Return of the King was criticized for ... multiple, draggy endings. I'd think it was over, and could have been, but no, there was more.

Perhaps I just need to watch it earlier in the day when I'm not so tired. :-0

Morphy, are you talking about the BBC miniseries? I don't even know how many times I've seen this version of P&P.... mmmhh, Colin Firth ;-)

Is that the one with Colin Firth, Morphidae? Or is it a previous one? There was one prior to the Colin Firth one that was quite good.

Jane Austen has to be one of the keenest observers of human nature, and absolutely nails the humor of ordinary situations, in my opinion.

We don't have HBO, so I didn't get to see the start of their new John Adams miniseries.

We do, however, get BBC America, so I got to see Calendar Girls.

Firrrth. Yum yum yum. Yes, the BBC one.

Watched the 3rd season of Slings and Arrows. Heartbreaking.

I watched V for Vendetta and A Beautiful Mind on Sunday evening. V for Vendetta is great to watch, even if it has nothing on the GN, but A Beautiful Mind never fails to bug my brain out. I think it taps into a deep seated fear I have of going absolutely stark raving mad. I teeter on the edge often enough that the whole insulin shock therapy freaks me out, big time.

I've seen both A Beautiful Mind and the Colin Firth version of Pride and Prejudice, and they are both incredibly well done.

But today I saw High Sierra, an old Humphrey Bogart movie. He's one of my top three favorite actors, and he was as good as ever in this film. I found that it lacked the exceptional writing that made The Petrified Forest so brilliant, but it was a solid four-star film.

Last night I watched Babel for the third time. What a wonderful movie.

Watched The Great Escape yesterday, but forgot to post about it.

Steve McQueen steals the scene!

I'm watching Secret Lives: Hidden Children and Their Rescuers During WWII witha box of Kleenex® nearby.

We watched "Chocolat" last night, and now I've been looking thru the book to confirm my memory : BIG difference!

Currently watching Gosford Park--I'm not going to be able to bring myself to delete it from the DVR (can't delete Serenity, either) . . . what if I run out of room??

I wonder if Gosford Park would make more sense now that I know some of the actors from other movies? I saw it with my sister a few years ago and she loved it but I thought it was one of the most boring movies ever, because I couldn't tell anyone apart (except for whatshisname, the blond kid).

Tried to watch Casino Royale - the new one - but it was SO BAD that we had to turn it off. Oy vey...what crap. The worst Bond movie I've seen in ages.

My daughter-home-on-spring-break and I watched "I Am Legend" last night. She called it a 'standard vampire movie' with a virus). I enjoyed it, but wasn't crazy about the ending. It left us discussing for quite a while afterwards--how Will Smith's character should have acted differently, how we would rather have seen it go, as well as a few unanswered questions about God and the universe. I guess a successful movie is one that makes you think and talk, and so on that basis it worked even if it was a bit cliche.

Watched Ratatouille with my brother and mother on Saturday, it was surprisingly a very good movie. The love interest was gutsy and didn't wilt, a first for a Disney movie as far as I remember. The human characters were as interesting as the rat characters, and a balance of both human/animal worlds was well achieved.

Right now we are switching back & forth between Sports Center and Sound of Music. Talk about crossing the streams!

122>

"THE HILLS ARE ALIVE... with the sound of..."

*switch* "AND it's a Goal!"

Last night a friend of mine and I went to see Definitely, Maybe. It was a delightful little chick flick....very formulaic but cute and good way to lose oneself for a little bit.

I saw Gosford Park the other week and loved it, but right now I am on a Kevin Spacey roll: "Pay it forward", "shipping News", "L.A. Confidential" and (yesterday) "The Negotiator". A mixed bag, really :-). The Negotiator is pretty good, but nothing tops L.A. Confidential!
I am tempted to drive to Recklinghausen to see Spacey on stage at the Ruhrfestspiele now. It's something almost always worth my while, seeing people on stage instead of in movies.

I'm watching Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth.

#125 GirlFromIpanema

"L.A. Confidential" is great, but my favorite Kevin Spacey movie has got to be "The Usual Suspects." Brilliant!

ejj, I actually had it in hands at the library on Thursday, but decided 3 DVDs were enough for the long weekend :-). I'll put in a reservation for it (due back 31/3, someone else snapped it up, of course).

Over the weekend I saw Atonement, Enchanted, and Dan in Real Life. I loved Atonement, liked the others well enough, but not enough to rewatch.

I took refuge from the miserable weather today in the cinema to bask in the warmth of "Be Kind Rewind".

This is a playful, feelgood movie, an affectionate reminder of the power of cinema and of community. French born writer/director Michel Gondry has to be one of the most visually inventive directors working today and his style perfectly suits the lo-fi production values.

Jack Black is not as irritatingly wacky as he can be and after this performance I can just about forgive Mos Def for denying the role of Ford Prefect in the H2G2 movie to a more worthy actor. A very likeable movie.

I saw one this afternoon i had never even heard of before coming across it while channel surfing. "The Adventures of Priscilla; Queen of the Desert" w/Hugo Weaving(Elrond) as a drag queen in the land of Oz, I liked it-sort of reminded me of "Goodbye Julie Newmar: Thanx for all the.... " or something like that w/Patrick Swayze which was set in the American SW & Sin City USA. 8^)

It's a very strange one, Priscilla. It took me some years to have seen it, because my father wouldn't have it on in the house. I liked it, too. It was quite entertaining, and equally used and broke stereotypes.

Oooh, I love Priscilla! To Wong Foo with Swayze actually came afterwards.
Priscilla was the first movie I ever saw Hugo Weaving in. I'm glad because even as Elrond, I am constantly seeing him as Agent Smith and wait for him to call someone "Mr. Anderson"...

I still have to finish my "Elrond: Queen of the Desert" LOTR/Priscilla crossover fan-fiction some day. Especially the scene where Arwen catches Elrond wearing her dress, much to Gimli's amusement.

Priscilla is one of those movies that while I don't own it, if I catch it on TV I have to watch it all the way through. Terence Stamp was positively transformed for me. Love Guy Pearce in this, too. Weaving did a video in drag as well...for some disco song whose name eludes me for the mo. He was a pilot I think and then came home to his dreary family and vamped out royally. Great stuff.

I saw August Rush yesterday. It was sappy and silly, but I enjoyed it (and I quite liked the music, too).

#127
Oh Kevin Spacey, how I love thee! :P Yeah, The Usual Suspects is one of my favorite movies. I also love him in American Beauty.

Tonight it was "La Môme" or "La Vie en Rose" for me. The life story of Édith Piaf. Free screening/première, because I won two tickets at a local contest, so I took my mom.

Poignant film, very good music obviously (I read somewhere that almost all songs in the film were the original ones, because the director said it was impossible to reproduce Piaf's unique voice), great performances.

I recently watched For Your Consideration, a mockumenrary from Christopher Guest, the guy who directed Spinal Tap. I love his films.

Nuh uh. Rob Reiner directed Spinal Tap.

Well, he was in it and helped write it, whatever.

Watched Hogfather last night. Not horrified, but not moved to buy it either. Something was off for me, it seemed to lack heart and soul. My son liked it though, so maybe I can get him to read Pratchett now.

Also watched 3:10 to Yuma. I had seen it before, but the special features were nicely done. Sort of startling to hear the two main characters in a wild west film speaking with a British and Aussie accent. Watching the movie I had forgotten.

3:10 to Yuma! Still waiting for that one. The company was so terminally stupid as to release it the week before Christmas in my country...--at least in my cinema it got kicked out to make room for family/kiddie movies. It had a run of two (or 1.5) weeks here, and I missed it of course. Waiting for the DVD now (not available yet).

More Kevin Spacey stuff. "The Usual Suspects" prove difficult to obtain! I wanted to put in a reservation, but it said "back in". I went looking for it but it couldn't be found. Waiting until it shows up again.
Instead I took "The Life of David Gale", which really got to me. I was eyes and ears only, completely engrossed in what was going on. And moping big time at the end. I watched this one without knowing *anything* about it except the few lines in the booklet. Which was probably the best way to see it.

I have got two more lined up:
"Flight 93" Dir. Paul Greengrass (I borrowed this once before, and brought it back after 2 weeks without having watched it. I couldn't get myself to watch it at the cinema. Guess plane crashes just cut too close to the bone for me, although I am usually not scared of films).

And "The Syrian Bride" Dir. Eran Riklis.

"Talladega Nights": So stupid, but so funny I didn't care. Sascha Baron Cohen as a Frenchman was a change from Borat I suppose, but he does cultural stereotypes like nobody else (reading Existentialist literature while driving a race car, for example. I mean WHO ELSE WOULD DO THAT AS AN ACTOR?).

Will Ferrell was also not horrible. He's gaining his cred back since he did Stranger than Fiction.

My home-for-spring-break daughter and I also watched the Hogfather. At the very first musical score in the background, she said "They made it too dark, too serious!" and I did think it missed out on a lot of Pratchett's lighthearted fun. The interview with Pratchett was interesting, although I don't think the female interviewer had ever read a Discworld novel and didn't come up with a single interesting question although Pratchett did his best to give them very interesting answers.

We also watched Enchanted on DVD--light and fun, and Patrick Dempsey dressed in 'courtier clothes' for a ball and dancing. Ooooh MacDreamy! Poor old prince wouldn't stand a chance.

I got a couple from the library - an Inspector Alleyn mystery Death at the Bar and Bride and Prejudice. They're both due back Monday, so I need to watch them soon.

I am watching White Fang for the very first time and getting very stressed about that poor wolf.

I looooved Bride and Prejudice. It's so beautiful (boy, do they know how to throw a wedding in India!), as is the stunning star, and the musical numbers are funny--"No Life without a Wife" comes to mind.

If you find that you like it, let me recommend another: "Monsoon Wedding." Sweetly romantic, but also funny and colorful.

#143
Will Ferrell was also not horrible. He's gaining his cred back since he did Stranger than Fiction.

Indeed. That film was perfect. And I've always said Ferrell is a good actor, but he has to steer clear of those stupid comedies. Well, I haven't watched Talladega Nights and I probably won't (and... Bewitched? wtf?), and it may be stupid, but fun, as you say, but still... I do think he should make more brainy comedies. He has such an expressive face for playing a lovable but completely clueless, innocent man... and those sad eyes, too.

Really, stay indie, Will!

And now I am watching Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I think either my tv is broken or he has green tinted skin. How can he still be good looking with green tinted skin? And that hair?

Yep. He has green tinted skin. It's creepy.

144 - We wanted to strangle that interviewer. And whoever edited it. Sad. Yet, in a way, kind of funny. Like watching a spoof of an interview. Was she even listening to his answers?

We also watched Enchanted today. I really enjoyed it!

I went to see Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day and really enjoyed it. Pre WWII London - nightlife scenes makes me think of my father who was a Yank in London at this time. I could see him in the glamorous nightclubs, dancing and drinking, and smoking. The cigarettes really did look as if they enhanced sexual attraction. Weird.

Loved Giaran Hinds as an "older man" in the film and I'll be happy to have him although I might be considered robbing the cradle.

Oh, well, if you like Kate Hepburn type romantic comedies you might love this as much as I did.

edit for spelling, as usual

We watched I am Legend. What an emotional ride. Will Smith was amazing. Great movie but a sad ending. I give it four of five hankies.

@154 - I recently saw this too, and was surprised by Smith's emotional depth. I haven't seen Pursuit of Happyness (can't tolerate suffering-children or children-in-jeapordy stuff as well as I could before becoming a parent), though I've read he showed great range in that film, too.

Anyone who's a fan of The Bard, and in particular, movies where they take the original, Olde English dialog and put it into a modern context (i.e., Romeo + Juliet, Hamlet 2000): do consider renting or buying The Revengers Tragedy. It's not by Shakespeare, but it's the same kind of thing and---dare I say it?---at times I thought the writing was actually superior to that of Shakespeare's plays.

I love that rating system Morphy!

April, I think you should try Pursuit of Happyness. I don't think the child is ever in peril, and the dad is wonderful. I don't as a rule like children in danger in movies either, for the same reason.

The Husband and I watched Land of the Dead last night. I'm a huge Romero fan and I have a soft spot for zombies, but it was hard keeping Husband in the room for the whole movie - he doesn't really like scary movies (not that I think these zombies were particularly scary). Not Romero's best, IMO, but still a pretty good zombie flick. Put a zombie and a jackhammer together and what do you get: hilarious zombie fun!.

I just saw Black Water, which was quite enjoyable...

Just finished "United 93" (as it is correctly called in English). Wow. I knew Paul Greengrass could pull it off and, boy, did he. No Hollywood mushy tearjerker, and he meticulously evaded every single standard film device for disaster movies. The last ten minutes were hard to take, but I knew that before. Still, I was shaking at the end. No hankies, but 5 sparkling stars.

An aside: I usually cannot spot goofs, but this time, in the midst of all the confusion I did. Probably just too bloody obvious for someone who has been piloting planes herself, when the plane is descending but the "artificial horizon" in the middle of the frame shows it in a climb :-).

There is no way on earth I will ever, ever watch United 93 or any similar movies. Ever.

I did watch a movie today, though - I watched Shrek. I have got to get a new dvd player. It's a pain to watch movies on my laptop. The picture and sound suck.

I watched United 93 (i needed to be talked into it) but was favorably impressed w/the restraint its makers showed by not making it maudlin (thank goodness). I did not & will not watch the movie that was made about what happened in the towers after the planes hit- I saw the trailer & it confirmed my suspicions that Hollywood would not be able to resist making that one into a maudlin mess! 8^)

I take back the "no way on earth". I'm pretty broke right now; I could probably be bribed into it. But it would have to be unreasonably high amounts of money, in advance, and I'd probably have my eyes closed and my hands over my ears for most of it.

I'd been in NYC for about 10 days when that happened :P

#163 Bluesalamanders--how awful. I'm so sorry that anyone had to experience that.

I remember the sick feeling of irony when I heard some psychologist a couple of weeks after 9/11 saying people shouldn't watch the images repeatedly--helpful timing, when naturally I watched the TV coverage for about 15 hours that day. As I'm sure millions others did.

I agree that "United 93" does a good job of avoiding maudlin story lines and sentimentality. The emotional impact of knowing it's a true story is quite enough.

I just finished watching Zodiac and now I can't sleep.

164 ejj

I agree, it probably wasn't useful to watch it over and over again, but we all did it. I was "studying abroad" (for interesting definitions of "abroad"; I guess NYC is like a foreign country to a Midwesterner ;) in college, and I was in a house that was basically a dorm with almost 50 students - we couldn't do much of anything, so most of us watched tv for about 3 days straight.

Watched Seraphim Falls last night. Decent, but too long and parts of it were really stretching reality (hypothermia anyone?). It took forever to get to the big reveal as to why one guy was after the other one. By the time we were told, we didn't care much anymore. The ending was really strange, too. What was UP with the Angelica Huston character?? And the weird non-naked indian. And the creepy kid in the cabin? These elements really detracted from the gritty realism I felt they were going for during the rest of the picture.

#164 and #166: I consciously pulled the plug that evening. We got the news of the collapsed WTC shortly before work ended that day (I am in Europe). I went home and watched TV for about 2 1/2 or 3 hours. Then I switched off and didn't watch TV for a week. Self-preservation, I think.

Blue-Salamanders, I can quite understand. My reservations came from the fact that I witnessed a mid-air collision of two glider planes years back. All pilots jumped and walked away from it, but the image of having a plane seemingly heading straight towards you makes movies with falling planes a bit difficult to watch (the plane hit the ground about 200 m away). I remember bursting into tears, when I saw the news footage of the Ramstein Air Show disaster the year after (with one of the jets heading straight for the camera). It does get better, though. Ten years ago, I probably wouldn't have watched United 93. It's not the film itself but the pictures it evokes/re-evokes.

I didn't have problems watching the documentary "9/11" by the Naudet brothers. Not an easy film to watch, but it didn't cause distress the way United 93 did.

Watched Pirates of the Caribbean 3

#166: "for interesting definitions of "abroad"; I guess NYC is like a foreign country to a Midwesterner ;) "

*ggg* Well, culture shock makes for a good film topic, I think ;-). Any films out there about the Midwesterner coming to New York?

Well, there's "Hair" (but that was San Francisco, right?). More?

I'm not sure where she was from, but "Nothing Sacred" with Carole Lombard was about a small-town girl in NYC; "The Secret of My Success," with Michael J. Fox, details the adventures of a Kansas boy in NYC; then there's the "classic" tale of the small-town girl making it in the city, "Valley of the Dolls"; and the wholesome tale of a Texas boy in NYC, "Midnight Cowboy"--

You shouldn't ask me questions like this!!

>#170: Breakfasy At Tiffany's, perhaps? Wasn't Holly from out of NYC originally?

Also, for delightful adventures of visitors to NYC, there is the Godzilla remake from the 90s, and more recently Cloverfield.

Hey how about "Crocodile Dundee II"? I just love the scene where a thug is waving a small knife in Mick's face & his girl is screaming "he's got a knife" but Mick is grinning & pulls out his own huge knife & says,"no, that's a knife" & the mugger runs off ! Mick may be a 'fish out of water' but he can handle whatever NY has to offer! 8^)
Edited for punctuation goof!

172>

She was, but I still hated that movie. I didn't understand much of it at all. Style my arse. Give me some substance!

And Audrey Hepburn is a gold digger in that movie, not like how I imagined her acting at all. Isn't she supposed to be a "good girl" role actress like in My Fair Lady?

174 TA

That's awfully limiting, to expect someone to always play the same kinds of roles.

My father in law gave me a tape full of the Canadian show called Corner Gas. Anyone familiar with this? At first I thought I hated it, but then it drew me in and I found myself really enjoying it, but not able to say why. I think it's more to do with the way they all look at each other than anything else...

>174 Jakeofalltrades:
And bear in mind that Audrey Hepburn is a reasonably versitile actress. While her charecter in Charade might have been "good," it's hardly the same kind of role she played in My Fair Lady or Roman Holiday.

I saw Jane Austen Book Club this morning. I might have gotten a little more out of it if I knew all the books rather than about half of them, but overall I really enjoyed it (and Hugh Dancy! Geeky Hugh Dancy, no less! Yum!).

I loved the "Oh, you might like Ursula Le Guin" bit - it is so exactly what a real book conversation is like.

#178

Now I really want to see this!

Saw The Hammer this weekend in the theater, and can't recommend it highly enough! It's one of those funny, real, "small" films that hardly ever get made anymore.

The producer (and I think co-writer and co-director too, though uncredited as such) is Adam Carolla, who has a reputation for being a somewhat loudmouthed, insensitive comedian, but this movie sure goes against that grain. It's the story of a 40-yr-old guy with few prospects, eking out a living in construction, living paycheck to paycheck, driving a crummy car, disrespected by his boss, etc. etc. He has a 2nd job teaching 'foxy boxing' at a gym and one day he gets a lucky break when he spars with a middleweight up-and-comer and knocks him out. This leads to a shot at the '08 USA Olympic boxing team.

The movie isn't just a typical sports movie though, I generally don't like those little-guy-wins-the-big-game movies. It's more about what it means to be a grown-up and to take responsibility for your own future in life. As funny as it is all the way through, what sticks with me most is how touching it is.

No one in Hollywood wanted to make it, they thought it wasn't commercial enough, so Carolla raised the money and made the film himself. He's also having to distribute it himself, which means it's not in a very wide release, but it's a great little movie that deserves an audience, and one I'll be buying on DVD when it goes on sale.

179 ejj

I hope you like it :)

#181

Well, if there's a target audience for this, I'm pretty sure I'm smack dab in the middle of it!

OK, "The Usual Suspects" was snapped up last night and watched right away! I think I'll have to watch it again *confused is*. Well, it was late... The ending was unexpected, though!

Oh, and another aviation goof in this one: Don't you love it, when she comes in as a 747 and lands as a 737 *snerk*.

Even though one can only have the experience of finding out the surprise ending once with "The Usual Suspects," it's the kind of thing that makes re-watching interesting once you know . . . or so I think!

Love the aviation goofs, because of course I'd never spot any of these myself.

I agree, watching The Usual Suspects again won't have the same effect as the first time (that's impossible) but there are all sorts of things to notice along the way that you'll never see the first time around. It's one of my favorite movies, I've probably watched it a dozen times at least over the years.

Me too...love The Usual Suspects. We watch it frequently and quote lines to each other all the time. Great film.

We went to the movies today to see Miss Pettigrew. The ticket seller sold us tickets to 21. We didn't notice (with a title like that it just looked like a code). So we sat in the theater waiting...and waiting. Finally I asked the people behind us if they were there to see Miss Pettigrew. No, they were there to see 21. Miss Pettigrew had started 20 minutes earlier so we saw 21 instead.

So, I liked it but thought it draggy and not much plot. (It was a look-at-my-watch four times rating.) There were lots of pictures of cards and chips. I love Kevin Spacey and think the casting made the movie better. My movie buddy liked it.

We'll go see Miss Pettigrew next week or the week after. I was disappointed not to see it today!

yesterday (before midnight) I saw Terminator 2 (love that movie, 3 is okay, the series is awesome), and some action flick called Black Dog about a trucker who gets roped into running guns and ends up in the middle of a joint FBI/ATF sting.

Ta Da! Finally watched Sweeny Todd with my daughter. She is taking care of a house with a big screen TV (really rather huge), so we thought we would take advantage when we saw the movie was out on DVD already.

Yes, I liked it a lot, skipped the first couple of throat slashes, but reminded myself it was Hollywood and made it through the rest of them. Johnny voice, fine, Carter, thin, favorite, the little boy (was it Toby?). Now I'd really like to see some of the other versions.

Finally got around to watching Bride and Prejudice. Just what we needed as it's been very sad and stressed around my house lately. But it was so much fun that I actually got to sleep without staying up all night worrying. I love Mr. Collee. So funny! That laugh! We tried to recreate it to demonstrate for our kids, but it just made my throat hurt. I don't know how the actor kept it up!

I watched The Big Lebowski. It was a very enjoyable film, and it was a plot which wasn't typical of Hollywood: bowling + kidnapping caper. The message of the film is essentially this: The "Dude" will go through his life and enjoy it, without worrying about what kind of $&!+ happens to him. And that is a comfort.

I also watched a whole disc of Metalocalypse, because I am a fan of metal music. It's kind of like Spinal Tap, only for Death Metal instead of Heavy Metal. It also has a slightly different humor style, as it is a cartoon for adults. It's one of those late night Cartoon Network cartoons for grown ups, and if you like Metal, it is quite funny.

Tonight I watched Anne Frank Remembered. I think that's all I need to say about that.

Last night's treat was The Sentinel. Pretty conventional thriller, with not a lot of surprises. Still, sticking M. Douglas and K. Sutherland in a scene works pretty good :-). I just wished they had invested more time&work in the screenplay.

Watched Fight Club again today for my school project. I have a better understanding of its main themes than a lot of people, essentially it's saying that a reverting to a primal masculinity would present its own challenges for the future, and that within every man there is a primal man who is the same person but a lot more savage, like Tyler Durden for example. A lot of the late 90s critique of "finding yourself as men" is savagely satired in the brutal means of discovery Tyler Durden inflicts on his disciples, most likely pointing out that self discovery isn't always warm and fuzzy (see the "Chemical Burn" scene, where this is the most obvious) like the support groups the nameless insomniac attends at the beginning of the film. I suppose the critique of New Age self help is valid, in the 90s there was a massive crisis of identity and the Self Help phenomenon was big business. So in attempting to destroy consumerism, the men in this film are destroying a false identity that is projected on them by the media and self-help books.

194> I think you may have missed the point of Fight Club. Instead of going into a dissertation of postmodern masculinity; I'll simply put a link to a well-written master's thesis on the subject here.

There are some key details you seem to be overlooking in both the book and the movie, which indicate that the story isn't saying what you seem to have written in your post. I encourage you to attempt to read the thesis and reread the novel itself to see if your conclusions change at all.

195>

This is just what I need for my PIP project research!

Once again, confirmed as wrong by somebody on the Internet. I just don't know what I was thinking. Gee, it's tough when a movie doesn't even mean what you think it means, and for a 18 year old student this is really harsh on my developing intellect... the realisation that I don't know what I'm talking about... GAH! I die!

196:

Welcome to Academics.

;)

(If you knew all the answers, there wouldn't be any point to getting yourself an education, right?)

doh. I can't count.

196> Kass is right; if I had a dime for every time I was wrong in the realm of any academic subject... well, Bill Gates would have nothing on me. The point of my post wasn't to tell you that you were right or wrong (that doesn't matter); the point was to point out some information you may not have known about. After all, it's all about discovering new information to broaden your current perspective.

Again, don't worry about being wrong... indeed, academics is probably more about being wrong than being right. ;)

I have a fairly vivid memory of discussing the same poem (something short and medieval by an anonymous poet--so, not that vivid) in two different classes during the same semester. One professor was male and the other female; each offered convincing and detailed arguments that the poet was the same gender as the person teaching the class.

I learned something from that experience--but probably not what they thought they were teaching!

We saw "Biloxi Blues" with Christopher Walken as a cruel drill sargeant. (To 191-- we watch "The Big Lebowski" often: it just keeps on getting better and better!)

I watched Yentl, mostly for the music which I love. I was really surprised by some of the actors who are in it, though - I haven't seen it in years and years, and I had no idea that Mandy Patinkin was in it, or Amy Irving, who played Emily in the tv show Alias.

Oh, did I mention that I am on a Kevin Spacey roll? (Yeah, I did, but anyway...)
Tonight saw "Hurlyburly" (1998), an adaption of a play about three friends, pretty self-absorbed members of the Hollywood crowd. Originally a play, it still has a bit of a "stagey" feeling, but that's OK for me. This is definitely not for everyone, so consider yourself warned ;-). Great cast, and a dark satire that leaves the laugh dying on your lips...

I am on a roll of very good films lately. The last couple of weeks I went to see There Will Be Blood, No Country For Old Men, The Other Boleyn Girl, Sweeney Todd, I'm Not There (the excellent biopic on Bob Dylan), last night on TV: As Good as it Gets and just now I watched Before the Devil Knows You're Dead. Depressing, but very good movie.
Still, I prefer I'm Not There over any of the other

Spike is showing all the Star Wars movies this weekend and next. I watched the first one tonight. I don't remember the name (besides Star Wars I). I'm more familiar with IV, V and VI.

Saw Sweeny Todd for the second time Friday, and loved it. I'm gonna have to agree with MrsLee on the voices. The boy who played Toby was amazing, both his singing and acting. The scene where Mrs Lovett comes into the room and Toby's fallen asleep holding the bottle of gin makes me cry every time. On the other end of the emotion scale, the scene of Turpin sentencing the little boy to hang makes me want to hurt him, a lot.

The Husband and I watched Waiting... last night. Crude, more than a little obscene in parts, but still pretty funny. It has Ryan Reynolds (The Van Wilder guy) in it, and I love him - v. cute and v. funny.

I've been working my way through the BBC version of the Barchester Chronicles lately. I'm really enjoying them.

I also watched "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and remembered that I don't particularly like that movie.

Last night we saw For Your Consideration which I'm sure way way funnier for b-movie actors than it was for us.

I am sitting here with my new DVD of last year's performance of "Othello" at The Globe theatre in London (I saw it live in June and was in tears at the end). Got it today. :-) OK, at 3 hours that will be enough for at least 2 evenings, but I have visitors for the weekend. *whinge* Can't wait!

I saw Waiting for the first time when it was in theaters. I couldn't go to a Denny's type restaurant for almost a year after that. Lets just say if you ever go to one of those places, be VERY nice to the wait staff.

Went to see Brick Lane, very topical and interesting film about Bangladeshi Muslims living in the Whitechapel Road area of London. Since I've been to Whitechapel Road, it was a very enlightening look at the place beyond what my (at the time) 15 year old eyes saw when I visited.

It was heartwarming at the end without being trite and fluffy, with some important social commentary mixed with some very subtle humor in a reasonably serious story involving a woman who moved to London via an arranged marriage to an educated man. Do see it if you can.

Hubby and I watched Pan's Labrynth last night and we both enjoyed it. There were parts I couldn't watch. Since it was in Spanish, hubby had to read the captions at those points. Hubby says, "It was an interesting take on some of the old legends."

I saw the first few episodes of Eureka on saturday. I quite enjoyed it. I wouldn't say it is the highest class of SFTV, but it was very entertaining.

On wednesday we're getting the last of Torchwood S2 and the first episode of Dr Who S4. I'm jiggling with anticipation already.

Just finished Holes on TV, and found out why I like it so much. The screenplay for the movie was written by Louis Sachar. I'm watching the old Charlie and the Chocolate Factory now. Haven't seen the new one with Depp yet, but I might be watching it tonight (if I don't opt for T3, or something similarly violent).

I just saw Eurotrip, I'm not too sure what to think about it... while it had a lot of funny scenes in it, there was just too much of a sexual focus overall...

After the mail gets here in about an hour, I'll be watching Waiting for Guffman.

fleela: Waiting for Guffman is one of my favorites! Have you seen it before? Well, either way, enjoy! *jealous now that I won't be watching it tonight too*

>217 scaifea:
I had seen a small part of it one night on IFC (I think). I am on a Christopher Guest marathon of sorts right now. Maybe I'll even getting around to finally seeing all of Spinal Tap.

*blinks* *shock*

flee, you've never seen This is Spinal Tap!!!!?!!!

Like a lot of movies, I've seen bits and pieces of Spinal Tap. I'm just not a movie person, unless it's a documentary. I guess that's why I like Guest's mockumentaries.

Spinal Tap is a mockumentary.

I finished watching the Masterpiece Theater's Sense and Sensibility and I watched Star Wars II. I still have Star Wars III and Eight Below to watch.

And tomorrow is another try for Miss Pettigrew!!!

Watched Wallace and Grommit. It's pretty punny.

Spinal Tap is classic and hilarious. You have to be a metalhead and/or hard rock fan to get some of it, but overall it is pretty accessible. Absolutely great movie. Subtle and over the top at the same time.

Tried "Four Weddings and a Funeral" on TV again, last night. Failed again. Just can't do it.

#225

I enjoy "Four Weddings and a Funeral" except for one unfortunately major problem: I can't stand Andie McDowell. I just don't think she can act and I didn't find her character charming or endearing at all--so failed to understand Hugh Grant's character's fascination with her. I loved the rest of the cast/characters, though.

I just finished "The Lake House" and as much as I dislike Keanu in general, he occasionally does things that I really, really like, and this is one of them.

It reminds me a lot of the Griffin and Sabine books by Nick Bantock. Which I hope they don't ever try to make into a movie...

>227 bluesalamanders:: I feel the same way about "The Lake House". I think it's the chemistry between Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves, even though they're only on screen together twice in the whole movie.

I just finished watching "The Secret Window". Don't know what to think about it yet. I thought Johnny was great, but I saw where the story was going pretty early on... I might have read the plot somewhere ages ago though.

They are actually on screen together a few more times than that - there is some creative editing that makes their letters more like conversations and at times it looks almost like they're in the same room. But not much more than that.

And you're right - the two of them do have good chemistry. I, ahem, have always liked "Speed" as well...

Yes, you're right, there's some "split-screen action" as well, but I think they're only in the exact same shot twice. You often feel like they're in the same shot even if they're not. And, I like "Speed" as well. All other Keanu movies are kinda blah... except "The Matrix", but not because of him.

And now I am watching "The Seventh Sign". A little horror before going to bed...

Thalia: the ending of Secret Window freaked the heck out of me!

The very end did that to me too, but I knew very early on who the psycho was. I must have read that somewhere, probably in some review. I still enjoyed it, mainly because of the great acting.

230 Thanlia

You're right. The voiceovers of the letters are really well done.

Yes, The Matrix was good for other reasons. And I like A Walk in the Clouds, too. But...I think that's it.

Constantine.

>#226: I'm with you on andie mcdowell. Ruins every movie she's in, for me.

Wasn't she (Andie McDowell) the one in Groundhog's Day? I kinda like that movie, but then again, Bill Murray makes any movie worth watching.

>#235: good point. She didn't manage to ruin that one for me. In fact, i could watch it over, and over, and over...

Watched Merrily we Live, an oldie from the 30's. Cute in a predictable way. Saved by the ditzy mom. I hope ditzy isn't a horrible word now. I'm not going to look on the Urban Dictionary.

Oh, the ditzy mom was the actress who played Glenda the good witch in the Wizard of Oz, I think. Sounded like her anyway.

#237: Weird. I just watched an oldie that I think had Glenda in it too (Topper was the movie)...

I just watched The Remains of the Day with Anthony Hopkins in it. Quite sad, I will have to read the book. I may have shed an actual tear without noticing, because I feel a salty substance on the side of my face...

I am on a business trip right now (in a small village with just one B&B for accomodation), and I get to see a movie on TV each evening ;-). Last two nights were "Primal Fear" (1996) and "8 Mile" (2002). I remember seeing Primal Fear ages ago, but couldn't remember the exact resolution. Pretty good film, and Edward Norton is amazing.
"8 Mile" is really a fascinating portrait of US hip-hop/rap culture --at least to this European, who has never been to the US and is not particularly interested in Rap and the associated culture. It seems a realistic portrait of a young man, without the gangsta attitude, just someone trying to get on his feet. Oh, and it took me half the film to recognise Kim Basinger! ;-) We got the film dubbed, as usual, but unusually, the rap passages were all subtitled. Great stuff.

240>

They're probably subtitled because no German's (or whatever nationality that dubs films from English) gonna out-rap Eminem... even though Eminem is tasteless sometimes...

The Boy and I are watching National Treasure. Nicolas Cage is wooden as usual but the movie is so fun. We're having a great time taking turns deciphering the clues as they come up.

The Boy and I are watching National Treasure. Nicolas Cage is wooden as usual but the movie is so fun. We're having a great time taking turns deciphering the clues as they come up.

#241: "no German's (or whatever nationality that dubs films from English) gonna out-rap Eminem..."

...at least not in English, that's right ;-) I don't know how much of the stuff was ad-libbed (or what portion was scripted), but it was also mostly funny as hell! Also, I don't believe in dubbing, but on TV you haven't got a choice... So we're happy with what we can get.

OK, today's treat was an obscure, black-humoured little Australian road-movie "Heaven's Burning" (at home, on DVD, with subtitles, since Aussie English isn't taught in schools over here ;-) --I took an earful of the German dubbing, but switched back to OV right away. Yikes.) Anyway, really way-out, and fun to watch, if you don't need oscar-worthy scripts. Expect some blood and gore, and a not-very-nice storyline. A soundtrack worthy of a road movie. And you get Russell Crowe in one of his early films.

Just came back from Ken Loach's It's a free world.
Pretty good. If you like Ken's other work, I can recommend it.

239 - I loved the book Remains of the Day. I wasn't sure at first, because it's really slow to get moving, but by about page 50 (which is my cutoff) I was gently drawn into the story. It was one of those books I couldn't stop thinking about after I was done.

I watched this crazy German movie, which was based loosely on Greek Myths. Very bawdy, and very funny. Hermes was a hermaphrodite, and Calypso was a husband snatching hussy in this film. There was also this lovable Professor lecturer who kept on being interrupted during his lectures by his mobile phone. Both a German and Greek setting got equal screen time.

Names, we want names! (At least the title, please.) ;-)

It was something like Looking for Love in somewhere, but the title was long and hard to remember, search "Looking for Love" in IMDB and if you get a film that has some tanned looking Greek guy in it, and a blond bespectacled professor in it, that's the film.

Ahhh! "Vom Suchen und Finden der Liebe".
Haven't seen that one.

>250 GirlFromIpanema:: Ooooh, and with Moritz Bleibtreu in it! I have never even heard of this movie and now I need to see it!

#251: I was at the library today and saw it in the DVD section. But I already had two other films in my basket, so I left it for next week (or later). You're right, it has some real A-list actors in it :-). I probably wouldn't have picked it, hadn't TeenAuthor pointed me towards it (but that's the point of this thread, no?).

On a possibly less intellectual note, today will be Road to Hong Kong with Bob Hope and Bing Crosby. :) I have all the other Road movies, but haven't seen this one yet.

Watched Amelie today -- interesting!

I saw Devdas tonight, it was EPIC. Didn't exactly make me cry, but I wanted to. Shah Rukh Khan can act, and he's usually a gentleman, but in this one he was an untidy drunk who was being slowly killed by unfulfilled love that burnt him out...

If I was a teenage girl I'd be swooning if a man did that over me, but then I'd be quite creeped out if it was someone I didn't like. But Devdas is a good movie that gives Peter Jackson's special extended edition of LOTR: Return of the King a run for its money in running time.

Do see it!

>252 GirlFromIpanema:: Yes, and it's funny that someone from Australia talks about a German movie I've never even heard of. So thanks TA! I now have it on my wishlist for the next time I go out to get movies.

256>

Glad to be of service.

The Husband and I watched the first episode of Dead Like Me last night. Very cool little show - can't wait to see the rest of it!

ET fix stupid typo.

>258 scaifea: We own the DVDs of both seasons. A favorite for both of us.

Yesterday, a friend came to visit and we watched Stranger Than Fiction, which is the one Will Ferrell movie that I don't hate. In fact, I really, really like it.

Currently (re)watching Rent.

Watched The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi on Spike TV tonight.

I watched Step Up yesterday & loved it, twas a bit soppy/romancy, but I LOVE dance movies :)

Lookin fwd to seeing Step Up 2 the Streets soon :)

No. 1 this weekend from the category Guilty Pleasure: Possession (UK 2002). Three hankies and four Awwwws :-) Just fun, and an observation or two about the academic world. Also, nice to see the Brits having a go at the Americans for a change, instead of the Germans ;-)

No. 2 was River Queen (NZ 2005), set in the mid-1800s during the Pakeha - Maori wars. I loved the images and photography, and although the characters weren't as nicely developed as I hoped, it was a very interesting story about a young Irish woman between two cultures.

#263: I love dance movies too! All sorts of -- The Company (about ballet, something else entirely), Billy Eliot, ...

264>

"Also, nice to see the Brits having a go at the Americans for a change, instead of the Germans"

That fateful episode of Fawlty Towers set back British-German relations further back than when the Royal Family Surname had to be changed to Windsor.

I have met a German girl at my school and there was nothing wrong with her. Why the constant suspicion?

*ggg*
Well, it's not that bad really. They badger us about WW2, and we teach them about football *snerk*.
That famous quote from Fawlty Towers comes in handy, actually, when getting into "arguments" (my sister and I once left a guy speechless, when quoting it to him after he had been blathering on about Topic No. 2).

("It's okay, losing to the Jerries on penalties comes natural to you English. You're part of tradition now!" (Bend it like Beckham, 2002) ) *ducksandruns*

The Magnificent Seven! In HD on AMC...The wife said "Oh, the movie that The Three Amigos makes fun of." Sigh...

#267

For some reason that makes me think of all the young folk who refer to the great star Paul Newman as "that guy on the salad dressing."

"Juno," and I wonder what you thought of it?

King Kong - the Peter Jackson version. I love this movie...

I watched Water Horse on dvd and really liked it. Best kid/family movie I've seen in a long time (well, since Shrek III anyway).

I watched "Lars and the Real Girl" on DVD today. Quirky but sweet.

270 drneutron

I thought King Kong would have been a much better movie if it had been about an hour shorter :P

Just finished watching Casino Royale for the second time. Admittedly the first time I didn't really like the aryan bond, but Craig as a more violent, emotional, dare I say ruthless bond is growing on me. I'm about to start the extended edition of Dune. I've only ever seen the original cut and the miniseries, so this should be interesting.

#273 - Yeah, King Kong is definitely long. But I love the cinematography, so I'm willing to sit for it.

I think most of it is ok. The overdone dinosaur stampede and the giant bugs (which I have quite deliberately never seen; I'm not a fan of regular-sized bugs) could easily be cut without losing any of the story or cinematography.

# 276

I really liked the big bugs scene. My favorite part of the film was the fight between Kong and the Tyrannosaurs (or were they Allosaurs?).

The fight is fine, it's the stampede that goes on...and on...and on...and on...and on...and on...

Waiting for the mailman to get here with disc 2 of Little Britain: Series 3.

hurryuphurryuphurryuphurryuphurryuphurryuphurryuphurryuphurryuphurryuphurryup!

Blue: not only endless, but nonsensical as well. The brontosauruses (or whatever they were) can take one stride that's more than equal to dozens of a human's, but the humans could keep ahead of them??

My favorite scene in Kong is the dino pileup...That was just freakin' awesome! Well, ok, my *favorite* scene is at the end as the sun is rising on Kong on top of the Empire State Building and the biplanes are coming and...But I really like the dino pileup, too.

Went to see La Grain et le Mulet.
Wonderful film about a Tunisian family in France who open a Couscous restaurant. 2.5 hours of family relations and the good and bad things in life.

This week there was only Shooting dogs (2005), a film about the first 4 days of the Rwandan genocide, specifically about the Kigali Polytechnic School where about 2000 people were slaughtered after the Belgian troops pulled out on April 11, 1994. Technically not as good as Hotel Rwanda, and a few inaccuracies, but for me it shows better what was going on in the city and the mounting tension and threats of the Interahamwe dancing outside the fences of the school.

Incidentally, I got an info-mail this morning that Roméo Dallaires book Shake hands with the devil was available used at my favourite online bookshop. Took me all of three minutes to order it (the first ed. had been long out of stock, and has only been re-issued as a paperback).

I watched Prime last night on TV, twas pretty good :)

I went to see the Forbidden Kingdom last night with my friend. A very fun escape from life. She's remodeling her kitchen and needed to escape. :)

Seems like I am on a "serious film" trip now. Tonight Fail Safe of 2000. A TV film, but one broadcast live! A look back at the Cold War days and a chilling one at that. A US bomber with two 20kt bombs aboard heads toward Moscow and cannot be recalled...
Quip by Richard Dreyfuss in the cast interviews on the DVD: "The fact we've got them all together to do live television, really means that there's only one reason... which is pure and utter terror. We want to scare ourselves silly." A-ha!

Last night I watched Braveheart. First time seeing it. I'm not a Mel Gibson fan but it was a good movie.

Watched a few minutes of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. My 11 year old son *loves* that one, so whenever a friend comes over, he tries to talk them into watching that one. I think it's pretty fun, but not like the book.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is on ABC tonight. I'm too lazy to get up and put the DVD in, so I'll watch the commercials, I guess...

I saw Bridge to Terabithia, a fun movie that made me cry at the end... I guess I'll have to read the book at some point...

I watched two movies yesterday:
Diner, which had a surprising amount of stars in it. I liked it, mostly because I really like Mickey Rourke.
Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein: Great movie. I love that Bella and Lon are both in it, reprising their Dracula and Wolf Man roles.

I watched Lost in Translation today. I enjoyed it, but not as much as the people who recommended it to me did.

Tonight "Mrs. Doubtfire," for the third time. . . just as good as the first and seond! We've seen more pix in last 2 weeks than in a usual year. Thought "Juno" a triumph, "Raiders of the Lost Arc" crappy, "The Insider" excellent. Tomorrow "Roberto Devereux" (to see/hear Beverly Sills when young). All free. No popcorn.

Watching "My Boy Jack" now on Masterpiece Theater. Heartbreaking. How incredibly futile war seems.

Been watching Stargate SG1 all weekend. Loved the episode with Dom DeLuise.

>#295: me too. very silly.

Did you watch the groundhog day episode? I love that one.

# 295, 296

Seen the Wormhole Extreme episode? Great stuff.

Hubby and I are watching SG1 on DVD from Netflix from the beginning.

My fave is the double Tokra episode with Sam's father--love the scene where he finds out what she *really* does.

Me too!

Not sure?

Yep, same here, except we have a friend who owns them all!

Ya, that's good, but I'm thinking it's an iffy thing to be related or emotionally involved with any of the SG1 team!

The OH and I had a busy movie-watching schedule for our detox weekend (or intoxication weekend, depending how you look at it).

Friday - Juno It's now in my top 3 Minnesota Movies with Fargo and Drop Dead Gorgeous.

Saturday - I introduced the OH to Krull. :)
I just wish they had re-mastered the sound for DVD because the score was in mono.

Sunday - In the afternoon, we watched Death at a Funeral, which was so funny we were gasping for breath. In the evening, we watched Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. :)

Waaaaaaaah! OK, this is another one for the "Culture Shock" theme we touched upon up-thread.

*lol* Movie of the month, the year!
I just finished watching Full Metal Village a documentary about one of the largest European Heavy Metal Festivals, taking place in Wacken, a tiny village in Northern Germany (incidentally only 30 km from where I grew up).
It was made by a Korean film student (I think as her degree work). She spends about half the film presenting the village, its people (and cows!) before the festival comes to town. A group from the village has been organising a festival since 1990 and it has just grown exponentially. And then you get to meet the Metalheadz... Great fun, especially for me, because the people from the village could have been me, my family, friends and neighbours (they have the same houses, jobs, they even talk like me :-) ). Favourite quote: "So macht Landwirtschaft Spaß." - "That's how to enjoy Agriculture." From a farmer sitting on a barrel outside his barn, watching the neighbourhood.

And then the neighbourhood is invaded by the Metal fans. The brass band of the fire brigade is the first act on stage (chorus of the Metalheads: "Wacken, Wacken, Feuerwehr!") and the festival is on! Great fun, and a fairly unusal way of telling the story. If you ever enjoyed Roskilde, Glastonbury or any other Open Air, you might want to look for this film (it has subtitles in English, French, Spanish, and is Region code free).

Wacken Open Air is a spectacle, that's for sure.

Last night watched Renaissance. French animated noir film with English dialogue added. Nicely done. Very stylish animation - black and white only, no gray and no color. Good story, but could have done a better job with dialogue in the sense that they wanted noir, but didn't quite get there.

Wow, you know Wacken Open Air...? I hadn't even heard of it until last year (I moved away from the area in 1987, and haven't been back for more than a visit). Truth be told, I even had to look up Wacken on a map!

I just finished watching Devdas again. It's shorter than I remember it being, but of course this time I started from the beginning when I wasn't tired.

It's worth a watch, it really is. Devdas is a classic adaptation of an Indian novel worthy of the Pretty Boys III thread, but man-candy aside it has a decent plot.

NO KISSING! IT'S BOLLYWOOD!

Just finished August Rush about a half hour ago. Amazing movie, with some mind-blowing music. Its about a child prodigy trying to find his parents in New York after growing up in an orphanage. The music throughout is, as I said before, amazing, including scenes of him playing the guitar, piano, and organ. The guitar work is my personal favorite, its all done street performer style, banging on the strings, drumming on the body, sliding. If it was actually Freddie Highmore playing, he must have been playing for a couple years before he starred in this movie.

Saw August Rush on an airplane with lousy quality headphones, and was still amazed at the guitar playing. Now I'm curious as to whether the actors were really playing...

Saw The Frighteners last night. I didn't realize Peter Jackson directed it. I really liked it!

GirlFromIpanema - yeah, I am a metalhead, have been for 20 years, so I've heard of Wacken, but have never been. Now I'm just too damn old. It looks positively insane from what I've seen. The metal center of the universe for those few days.

"The metal center of the universe for those few days."

I can believe that. The film features a group of 6 or 8 Africans schlepping their stuff and tents to the campsite. I have no idea what language they were talking (Swahili is the only language I can identify by ear). It's pretty common to meet other Europeans at festivals, but people from overseas? Amazing.

Well, maybe they were living in a bigger German city. Who knows. But yeah, festivals are the best for people watching. If you can stand the crowds. : )

I watched A Dog's Breakfast last night. It was pretty funny. If any of you Stargate fans haven't seen it yet, you should. They did a great job considering they were just filling time between seasons. :)

# 311

I'll have to check that one out, MrsLee. I saw Harvey (you know, the 6 foot tall invisible rabbit), with Jimmy Stewart on TV the other night. Great film. I've also seen it as a play.

I just got my new (replacement, free!) dvd player today and for the inaugural event, I decided to watch RENT.

I watched Pulp Fiction today for the first time, with my Mum and my visiting brother Jonathan as a bonding experience. And quite an experience it was. Samuel L. Jackson was brilliant. But I still don't understand why John Travolta's character gets shot by Bruce Willis and still appears in the final scene in a completely different outfit to his bloody suit.

Before that I watched Top Gun with my brother as well. It has truly earned a spot on my "Top Ten" favorite movies. Tom Cruise used to be such a good actor before he went crazy, what a shame...

Pulp Fiction is one of my favorite movies. I've seen it at least a dozen times. The reason why Travolta appears at the end is that the time line is not linear, it jumps around. Watch it again. It's great.

Hate Top Gun though. I think it has to do with dating a pilot the summer it came out and was forced to sit through it and told how great it was way too many times. Bah.

I liked both films a heck of a lot considering I hadn't seen them before, I'd heard they were good, but never believed people when they said they were great movies.

Now I finally understand my brother's "Iceman and Goose" wingman metaphors when he describes his pub adventures... all because of a Tom Cruise movie. I really never thought there was a time when Tom Cruise was a good actor, until now.

Probably my favorite Tom Cruise movie is "Risky Business," though--definitely see it if you haven't. There are a lot of great lines in that movie! I like the music a lot, too . . .

Saw "Into the Wild" by Sean Penn.
Not entirely sure what to think of it. A bit too much hippie stuff and philisophy for me, but still an impressive film. If you like the great outdoors combined with Eddy Vedder, this is a must see.

The book Into the wild was one of the few that made me really, REALLY angry. Hippie culture and all, but how can a man be so terminally stupid and go out into the wild with just a bag of rice and no basic knowledge of survival techniques? I am not sure I want to see the film, I would be throwing things at the screen, probably.

Unleashed, Rush Hour 2, and August Rush for the second time. I love that movie, the guitar work is incredible, and is well worth watching the movie, just for that. At least I think so.

I reag Into The Wild a long time ago, and thought that the protagonist was an idiot then, but the book was compelling. I watched the movie recently and still think the protagonist is an idiot, and an asshole in many ways too, despite the actor making a decent fist of appearing sympathetic, with the director/writer's assistance.

What a mix this weekend. We saw Lucky Miles, a film about refugees being dropped off on the West Australian coast, which turned out to be absolutely hilarious. But also got Alien Vs Predator II, which is an absolutely appalling slasher film. We switched if off halfway. Shame.

Saw Marie Antoinette with Kirsten Dunst. Beautiful to look at and interesting--a lot was simply shown, rather than battered into the viewer's head with obvious dialog, which I liked. Also was surprised that I wasn't bothered by the anachronistic music. All seemed to work somehow.

*snif* I have to admit to another guilty pleasure. I got "The Thornbirds" from the library, and watched it over the course of a few days. First time since the late 1980s. And first time in original version. At least they had one Aussie in this Australian family story :-), although most of the others weren't bad in putting on a British accent at least.

And I saw Sabah! I watched it on TV last year by sheer coincidence and thought it was brilliant, and now it is out on DVD. A fun story about a traditional Syrian immigrant family in Canada and their oldest daughter, 40-year-old Sabah, who falls in love with a guy named Stephen... a romantic comedy, and miles ahead of "My big fat Greek Wedding", in my opinion.

We watched Rescue Dawn last night, with Christian Bale, Steve Zahn and Jeremy Davies (who was intriguing). Very slow moving, but what else could a story of a POW camp during the Vietnam war be? I thought the three main actors did an excellent job, it was nice to see what Steve Zahn could do besides comedy, though he does comedy so well.

I'm watching Superbad right now and laughing so hard I have to pee.

Watched "The Grapes of Wrath" last night for the first time. Great movie, fairly depressing at times, but a good reminder of what many people went through. I thought it was interesting that when they finally got to a camp that seemed like heaven after the other places they had been, it was run by the government. Can't imagine a movie today in which that would be the case.

Watched Perfume - The Story of a Murder and Pan's Labyrinth over the weekend. What a twisted *#%! Jean Baptiste was and I found the overly romanticized ending to be idiotic and fatuous. Pan's Labyrinth was brutal and beautifully shot and featured the stupidest collection of human beings I've seen in a while.

I watched On the Beach (1959). Finally I managed to tape it from TV (although I bungled, and cut the last 2 minutes, because the Sat receiver switched off early). I have read Nevil Shute's On the beach and wrote a scathing review (will be back when library goes public again). I love the remake/new version from 2000 (it's one of my all time favourites and never fails to move me to tears). So I was eagerly awaiting a chance to see this one.
Sigh. Like the book, it hasn't aged too well. It doesn't pack a punch like the modern version does, and the characters don't really get under your skin (although I have to admit that Gregory Peck delivers flawlessly, again). Still, I am thinking of buying it on DVD, because it *is* a classic.

My husband convinced me to watch Cloverfield with him on Sunday. I had no clue what the movie would be about, but once I figured it out it was pretty predictable. I still liked it, even my son watched it with us. He loves the old Godzilla movies so it was right up his alley.

I've been watching the whole series of Firefly over the past few days. Love it! I'll be watching Serenity with my parents when they come to visit in a few weeks.

Watched Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind today. I have to admit, it wasn't bad. Not bad at all. The visual representations of memories were interesting to say the least, and compelling to say the most.

I don't know what weirdness it is that makes me watch movies on TV that I have on DVD, but I watched "Les Enfants du Paradis" last night. Yep, still brilliant.

Driving Miss Daisy was on last night. Morgan Freeman has got to be one of the best actors ever...

I watched Murder on the Orient Express while LT was down. Lauren Bacall and Vanessa Redgrave are so awesome.

Advance notice: May 10 = Pangea Day. . . films from all over the world will be showing. Please Google for info and spread the word.

Went to see Nim's Island on Sun. w/my grand daughter. We had both read the book before going to the movie. Of course they changed a lot of stuff like usual. It's a cute story & we both enjoyed it! Abigail Breslin is a very good actress. 8^)

Further info: Pangea Day endeavors to bring the world together and promote understanding and tolerance through film. Over 2,500 movies were submitted from 102 countries; the Pangea committee winnowed them down to 24 short movies, which will all be shown on May 10 in a four-hour marathon.You may be able to see them in a movie house, but they will be on-line. . . I hope you will share this day for world peace thru understanding.

Went to see the animation thriller Peur(s) du Noir (Fear(s) of the Dark). 6 short horror stories by renowned artists Blutch, Charles Burns, Marie Caillou, Pierre di Sciullo, Lorenzo Mattotti and Richard McGuire. The film will be/was shown at the Sundance Festival, International Film Festival Rotterdam and the Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival.

I saw Perfume: The Story of a Murderer on cable. It was an entertaining and surreal film, Alan Rickman and Dustin Hoffman were great in it. So much more satisfying than the cliched slasher horror you get these days. But then again it WAS based on a work of literature.

Last two were "Beyond the sea" (2004, biography of Bobby Darin) and "Dear Frankie".
Beyond the sea is somewhat surreal, it has no linear timeline, and things keep happening that wouldn't happen in real life (like people breaking into dance on the street), but I liked the approach. I had no idea who Bobby Darin was, before. My suspension of disbelief suffered a major blow though, when I regognised the "Italian" palace and park for what it was: Schloss and park Sanssouci in Potsdam, near Berlin! Turned out that the whole film was shot at Babelsberg Studios in Potsdam.

Dear Frankie is a family story set in Glasgow, where Lizzie has been lying to her nine-year-old son for years, that his father is a sailor, and has had no chance yet to visit him. Suddenly father's (purported) ship is listed in the shipping new as coming into the harbour... So Lizzie has to find a dad, and quick. Sounds comedic, but is a really nice, serious drama about family, and what it means to be a mum or dad. It avoids almost every single cliché you could think of in connection with the topic. Still, it has the longest-ever build-up to a kiss in cinematic history! *lol* Well worth your time.

Watched Cat on a Hot Tin Roof last night. Talk about a tense movie! I almost couldn't finish it, I get very uptight when families treat each other so poorly. Was a bit disgusted with the ending. Seemed to me some men had some mighty big apologies to give to those women, but the women didn't care. Guess that's my modern non-Southern sentiments interfering with art, but I wanted to hurt them all. I would like to read the story (was it a play?) now to know the undercurrents which Hollywood could only hint at.

Peter Jackson's KING KONG, where to begin, LOL?

I know! If you liked PJ's Kong, make sure you check out the original 1933 movie! It's a blast.

I enjoy PJ's version, but he goes TOO crazy with too much Slow Mo. The Kong FX are brilliant, other FX seem sloppy and rushed. The V. rex battle was fun, but would have been better had it been just one-on-one, 1 big rex versus Kong (see 1933). (A Vastatasaurus rex is what PJ called it, a made up name for a T. rex type of dino).

The dino stampede was too over-the-top, and the bug pit scene simply stupid. Kong himself was brilliantly rendered, although I would have love dmore of the classic Kong face.

Naomi Watts put in a great performance, except that I wish she didn't fall in love with Kong. Fay Wray's original portrayal of Ann Darrow was much more believable, as you should feel nothing but FEAR when in the paws of an oversized and undersexed primate.

The ice skating scene has to go!!!

Jack Black's performance as Carl Denham was okay for what he was given to work with, I just hate the characterization he was given to perform. Carl Denham in the original is noble but misguided, a lovable rogue. PJ's version was a total rat bastard with no redeeming qualities. Black nailed it, but I wish he was given better material to work with.

An hour can and should be easily cut ouf PJ's Kong. it was waaaaaay too long!

We never know what happens to those crazy natives, either! In the original, their fate is clear, and you end up sympathizing with them.

I can go on for hours but will stop here, except to say that Fay Wray's Ann Darrow was the first woman I ever had a crush on, so I am a bit biased, LOL!!!

I Am Legend, with Will Smith - boy, that movie was better than I expected.

Premonition, with Sandra Bullock - heh, when my friend Nikki and I watch a movie together, it will always be bad. Somehow we are unable to collectively pick a good one. I thought we might break the tradition with a Sandra Bullock movie, but nope.

Will Smith! We watched Ali last night. Great performance, but the whole pacing of the movie seemed off somehow. Will rocked, though. :o)

Still chewing my nails here! Re-watched the BBC mini-series The State Within for the last few evenings... and I still haven't figured out everything. That I finally treated myself to the DVD (uncut, plus 50 minutes, as opposed to my taped-from-TV version) did help, though. I just love this and I am sure I can watch it a few more times before I have figured it all out.
The story is basically a week in the life of the British Ambassador to Washington. A crash of a British plane, a Brit on death row and some shady dealings of a British private military contractor with a central-asian republic. He finds a few things that don't really tally. And suddenly he gets the feeling that he's being watched...
Well worth your time. It's "24" with brains actually, and without the body count ;-) (although there are a few deaths, and it's not rated "15/16" for nothing).

Iron Man. One of the best of the glut of Marvel superhero movies so far...And there's an Avengers movie lead-in!

Watched both '27 Dresses' & 'Charlie Wilson's War'. "27 Dresses' is a cute comedy. 'Charlie Wilson's War' is just what i expected when i saw Adam Sorkin's name in the credits. As a fan of the 'West Wing' i know that Sorkin understands the realities of politics-he knows how things really get done! This movie was a real life example of what Machiavelli (sp?) told the world a long time ago about the political game i.e. it may not be pretty but it gets the job done!
The ending of this movie tells us exactly why we are where we are today in regard to Iraq & the rest of that region. We have gotten no smarter since! 8^)

Edited by author:
Rather i would say that our leaders have gotten no smarter since!

I am currently watching Miss Marple: A Caribbean Mystery on Netflix.com.

Oh, flee, let me know what you think of the shows compared to the books. :)

My daughter and I watched Stargate SG1 all weekend. Finished season 5 and are still working on 6. I loved the episode last night which had three nerdy scientists along on the mission. Seems like it was an homage to The Three Stooges.

I finished watching Heroes season one the other day. We ended up late for a class because we had to squeeze in the final episode. Breathtaking. The spoilers I've seen for the first episode of season two had me worried a little (not the one at the end of the episode, I mean internet spoilers). Has season two kept up the fun?

I also watched the Golden Compass (finally) on the weekend. I deliberately didn't think about the book, and mostly enjoyed it.

Finally got to see Iron Man. It had its points, especially Robert Downey, Jr., but...I think I liked Transformers better. My son is the opposite. He loved Transformers, now he says Iron Man is better.

I'm watching a behind the scenes documentary about the Lord of the Rings stage musical.

Last night I watched I'm Not There, the biography of Bob Dylan which was just released on DVD. Dylan was played by six different actors including Cate Blanchett and a young black boy. The movie was strange and wonderful. And haunting. Did I say strange and wonderful?

And haunting

Currently watching A Beautiful Mind (and typing this during commercial breaks).

You will be able to see 4 hours of film from around the world!
Saturday, May 10, 2008, is Pangea Day!

The program on Pangea Day, May 10, is a celebration of the power of film to unite us all. You'll see films that are funny -- sad -- gorgeous -- stark -- powerful. Voices that have never been heard before. Things you've never seen. Scenes from worlds you didn't know existed. A cross-section of our amazing, complicated, noisy, beautiful world. Tune in or find a viewing party to watch on May 10, 2008, at 6:00 PM GMT.
~~~~Please check the website~~~~

Esta, here is the website of Pangaea Day:
http://www.pangeaday.org/
And lots of Google hits:
http://www.google.com/search?q=pangea+day+films (insert your local country domain, instead of *.com/, for more local info)

I watched P.S. I Love You, and I liked it a lot better than I thought I would, but I have no desire to read the book - if the movie could make me sit here and cry through much of it, well, I don't need a book that sad.

I have just returned from seeing 'Iron Man' for the third time since its release last Friday.

The worst part? If given a chance, I'd totally go again. One of the top three superhero movies ever. End of story.

Saw Stardust last night, Robert De Niro was fabulous as a discreetly gay sky pirate, and it wasn't a bad movie at all. Much better than other Fantasy films I've seen like Eragon (what a pile of Dragon dung!).

Just saw The Painted Veil. Edward Norton and Naomi Watts were great in it, it wasn't a sappy love story, and the Chinese style of humor came across very well in a movie I expected to be bleak and depressing. Do see it!

Joyeux Noel. It destroyed and restored my faith in humanity in equal parts.

Finally got around to Charlie Wilson's War yesterday. That man is a Hero. Not as much of a Hero as say Br. Gen.

Teddy Jr., but a Hero nonetheless.

Watched Road to El Dorado w/ a couple friends. Old disney cartoon from the late 90's IIRC, while they were still capable of making interesting cartoons.

Watched part 2 of the Masterpeice Theater Masterpeice version of Cranford.

Me, too. Went through exactly the same thing with the name when trying to search online for subsequent airings of the episode (a friend missed it). Was it Masterpiece Theater? Masterpiece Theatre? Exxon-Mobil Masterpiece Theater? Why no, now it's simply "Masterpiece." Classic in its simplicity, right?

Anyway, Cranford was fabulous. Can't wait for next week's episode, but hate to have it end.

Watched Apocalypto over the weekend. Good, but WAY too long. Ended up fast forwarding through some painfully overdone sections.

Last night watched Boondock Saints again. It just never gets old. Laughed our asses off. Great stuff. I forget how good it is until I watch it again.

#362: "Joyeux Noel". *grrr* It could have been a good film, but they had to introduce that stupid love story! At least it has made this episode a little better known in Germany.

If you missed the FOUR hours of film and celebrities on Friday, please go now to pangeaday.org for highlights. It was/is a wonderful experience, truly.

364>

Road to El Dorado wasn't Disney, it was Dreamworks.

Animation Geeks: Because they know their cartoons.

Flee- which version of Caribbean Mystery did you watch? I like the Joan Hickson one.

I just watched The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. I thought they did a very good job of translating the book into a movie. I think it would be impossible to capture the feel exactly (no spoilers, I hope!), but I really enjoyed it.

And I watched some of Samantha Who? Fun series.

The Husband and I watched Death at a Funeral last night. Very funny stuff, with a great cast. Highly recommend it for those who like dark, slightly strange humor.

Love in the Time of Cholera.

So here's my problem - now I will never be able to watch Javier Bardem in any movie without thinking of his creepy killer from No Country for Old Men. It really makes watching him in a love story weird.

Today I will watch The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, on the recommendation of my daughter.
Still on my marathon of SG1.

Yesterday, Persuasion (1995). My comment on the LT Jane Austen Group was:
"I just got the chance to see Persuasion 1995 for the first time (On German TV, dubbed).
*crash*
Ooops, that was Pride&Prejudice falling from its pedestal ;-D. I have to agree with #48 and #49: This is my favourite adaptation. It allowed me to get to know the characters almost as good as in P+P, in 1/3 of the time. Root and Hinds just nailed their characters. I loved how Anne bloomed over the time of the film. And my favourite scene is, of course the letter scene, followed by the scene in the street, kiss, circus and all. Gorgeous shot of the two walking down the street with those columns."

#375

I have a hard time deciding which of these is my favorite Jane Austen book--P&P just seems perfect, yet I feel a warm glow around my heart whenever I think of Anne--Elizabeth Bennett is a pretty strong character, but Anne Elliott has suffered and we can all empathize with her emotions, her longing and regrets. I agree that the movie is wonderful--the scene in which Amanda Root/Anne is meeting Captain Wentworth for the first time in years and she simply clutches the back of a chair and conveys her emotions that way--brilliant.

'The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari'....interesting....slow.

Finished watching "Children of Men" (very interesting) and now I started watching "A.I.". I may watch "Pulse" after that, depending on how late it is.

Will watch "Royal Space Force: Wings of Honneamise" tonight. It's an Anime movie in space, by the same studio responsible for Neon Genesis Evangelion.

After that, time for Speed Racer (the TV series, not the new movie, which isn't out in Australia yet).

"Outbreak" (kind of the tail end of my Kevin Spacey run of #125 to #200). OK...--I hope they can really cook up anti-sera as fast as in this film (not!). And the Casey Schuler character probably fell through that plot hole ;-D (he just "vanished" towards the end of the film).

Watching Order of the Phoenix right now. Fudge is trying to haul Dumbledore off to prison...

I've been watching one of my so-called "guilty pleasures" - Charmed. I have the entire series on dvd, thanks to my sister's birthday and xmas gifts. It's so ridiculous, but I love it.

Blue: I know the feeling. Do you ever think it's ridiculous how they should be practically indestructible when together, but their chief battle plan seems to be "we each get one hit, then we stand around until he hits one of us and escapes"?

383 ArmyAngel

I think most of their battle plans are ridiculous, actually, and yet somehow I love to watch it anyway.

The demons are the same way, though - there are twelve demons against three little witches! They can throw fire, energy balls, and acid, all from a distance! They should clearly attack one at a time, at close range, so the witches can kill them all! Or just stand around waiting for Piper to blow them up, instead of shimmering away!

American Dreamz. Hilarious!

Hello All - Will try to watch 1408 tonight. I don't remember the short story very well - it's been awhile since I read it.

Watched some of Speed Racer. It's really growing on me, in a way I didn't expect it to. What I didn't expect was how violent the crashes are, even though they've been toned down in the English translated show, to the extent it was originally banned in Germany!

But Speed Racer has its own charms, and is much better than watching some other Anime of the recent past such as Love Hina. I am not going to give a link, Wiki it yourself if you dare.

Really I'm a gentleman, I won't even use the term T*A without bowdlerising it, but the latter show (not Speed Racer, the OTHER ONE) has it in spades.

>374 MrsLee: Oooh! I love Caligari! Really, most German expressionist films from that era are fantastic.

Just finished watching Goldfinger. Now I want a kitty cat so I can say "Well hello Pussy" with a slight Scottish accent. Instead, I'll probably say it to someone who won't understand the reference. ;^/ Still, it brings back memories of family trips and belting out "Gold-FIN-gah! Wah-WAH-wah!" with Shirley Bassey in the family van. We had interest trips... Haha!

Next up: Diamonds Are Forever, or maybe some complete fluff flick.

#388

LOL. Not the best reason for pet adoption, yet I understand it!

Went to see Le Voyage du Ballon Rouge with Juliette Binoche and Song Fang. A film about a single mom in Paris without a start, an end or even a storyline, but with a red balloon in it. A great way to spend 2 hours.
It is a hommage to the short film by Albert Lamorisse from 1956

Just saw the original Caddy Shack with a bunch of friends. I absolutely love that movie!

Skipped Diamonds Are Forever and went with The Vikings. Oh, how I love that movie! The music, the dialogue, the cinematography! The very swishy king of England! "This girl will give me an heir." *audience snickers*

Now I just need to find out where I can burn a longship with my corpse and library on board...

Hubby and I have been watching season one of the HBO series Deadwood, really good show, can't wait for season 2 to arrive.

#382 - Blue, I find myself watching the Charmed show in the afternoons sometimes, could you please tell me what happens between Piper and Leo. I know they get married and have 2 sons, but where and why do they split up? I've never seen the episodes that deal with that, just that they are no longer together. Just curious.

#393
Jeri

I've been re-watching Deadwood--really worth seeing again, as I'm picking up on things I missed the first time around--there are just so many characters and so much going on. One thing I love is the language--by which I mean not the profanity, but the cadence of the speech. It's fascinating.

And--SPOILER ALERT--on Charmed Piper and Leo break up in between their two sons--can't definitively say why, it was stuff like she wanted a normal life and he was always off doing White Lighter stuff and there were some differences between the Charmed ones and the White Lighter powers-that-be . . . but they do get back together and eventually live happily ever after! All three of them end up with great guys, of course.

We watched The Pursuit of Happyness last night! It was painful to watch, in parts, but so worth it. I just adore Will Smith.

I really liked that one clam.

Me too, MrsLee.
And now we're watching Premonition.

I bought The Golden Compass today and am going to watch it tonight. I enjoyed it so much at the theatre and saw it on sale at the store so treated myself.

I liked The Pursuit Of Happyness too, an amazing story. Will Smith has developed into such a talented actor. I can't wait to see his new one which comes out this summer, it looks great.

I am watching Grease. Again. I love that movie and it's perfect to do homework while watching it...

I just watched Knocked Up. I am almost embarrassed to say that it had redeeming features. I kind of enjoyed it, which really surprised me.

#394 - I remember watching an interview once with the creator/head writer of Deadwood, and he said they actually wrote much of the script in iambic pentameter. (!!) I am not smart enough to pick up on something like that when I'm watching the show, but I bet that has something to do with why the cadence is so cool. =)

I watched Being John Malcovich last night. Too weird for me. Blech.

#402 - I like weird, but I've never seen that film.

Might be time to start a new thread. This one is getting loooong.

"The Importance of Being Earnest" (2002), with Rupert Everett und Colin Firth.
Hum. I saw it on TV, dubbed in German, and I guess that somehow made the whole experience less funny. I might try and track down a DVD to have another try with the OV.
Last thing I saw Everett and Firth together in was "Another Country" (1985), and that was just plain brilliant, so maybe I was expecting too much?

Tonight I have lined up a classic: "For whom the bell tolls" (1943)

#403: Maybe we should start monthly threads? That would make for shorter threads (about 120 to 170 messages per month).

My niece is becoming 11 next month and getting her ears pierced.
So I got her silver earrings and a copy of Roman Holiday with Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn.

Just finished watching THE BLACK SCORPION, a wonderfully cheesy StopMo B&W flick about giant scorpions terrorizing a small Mexican Village! Wild and weird fun!

Watched Coneheads for the first time today. Brilliant and hilarious! I also watched Tremors for about the dozenth time. No matter how many times I watch that movie, it never gets old. I just wish the show had lasted longer.

Watched "Knocked Up" and "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer" tonight. The first was sweet but not really riveting at all; the second seems to be action packed but again, not riveting. I guess each is, in its own way, formulaic Hollywood. Not in a good way!

Watched The Last King of Scotland over the weekend. Reminded me that nothing much changes in the world. And holy shit that cow scene was intense.

I finally got to see Elizabeth: The Golden Age on DVD yesterday. Fabulous cinematography. Really some beautiful shots! However as a warning there were a few incidents of appalling violence that I'd be leery of showing to kids under the age of 13.

>411 jillmwo:
I totally agree with you on the cinematography. There were also a few instances of obvious history-adjustment (the most obvious of which is that Geoffrey Rush's charecter was really a composite of Walsingham and Burleigh). But generally worth seeing.

On another adaptational subject, did anyone else see part 3 of Cranford last night on PBS?

#412 - You are the second person to mention/recommend Cranford in the last two days!

#413

I'll happily be the third to recommend Cranford--it's really, really good. I have the third part (or fourth and fifth hours, depending on how one looks at it) on my DVR and I am delaying what I'm sure will be the deliciousness of viewing it. I'm also thinking of transferring the whole thing to videotape to keep. And now I want to read the book, too.

And now I want to read the book, too. (#414)

Me too.
Edited for incorrect HTML.

#410 Bookmarque: For someone who hasn't seen the movie, your 'cow scene' comment is very intriguing...hmm, this one may need to move up the netflix list a bit...

I loved Cranford. They really did a beautiful job of it didn't they? Judi Dench is such an amazing actress. Here she plays this lovely, lovable spinster and I kept thinking of her as the hard boiled head of James Bond's spy network, or that terrible teacher in Notes on a Scandal. And she's completely convincing in all of those roles.

I recorded Cranford, it's definitely one to keep.

Have any of you seen the Brit-Com 'As Time Goes By' which stars Judy Dench & Geoffory(sp?) Palmer? It is great & they make a great couple; she is so whitty & he is so droll! They even made a couple of movies of it too. 8^)

We catch "As Time Goes By" on tv sometimes. . .They made 4 series and rerun rerun rerun 'em. Enjoy them even repeated! Today on TV saw wonderful Met Opera "Peter Grimes."

#416 scaifea - once you see it, you'll never forget it. Besides being the pivotal scene that connects the two main characters, it is gut wrenching and I had to fast forward. As a decidedly non squeamish person, it was almost a first.

#402 I used to love that movie, until I dated a guy who was just like the John Cusack character, without the benefit of BEING John Cusack.

Now the movie freaks me out, because I realize how creepy that guy was. Too bad; it's a great flick.

I last watched The Golden Compass, and hated it. The whole ending monologue caused my skull to bleed.

I also watched the season finale of House, and cried for about two hours. So good.

I watched Becoming Jane last night and really enjoyed it once I got past trying to think it might have happened and just accepted it as pure fiction. Did sign language even exist in England in Austen's time? But James McAvoy is such a delight, I could watch anything he's in. And Jane Hathaway is good too.

I watched Poirot: The Hollow this morning. David Suchet portrays Hercule Poirot just as I've been picturing him in my head.

When was Austin's time? Sign language as we think of it has roots as far back as the 1600s/1700s, though there isn't one type of sign language, it differs by country.

Jane Austen wrote in the very early 1800s. Sign languages were around, but there was no standardisation, so it would have been different everywhere you went, even within a country, or even county.

I have just seen '3:10 to Yuma'. Highly recommended old-style western, lots of 'grey area' ethics and at-the-barrel-of-a-gun decision making. And who doesn't love Christian Bale? Excellent performances from Peter Fonda and Russell Crowe as well.

Just got back from the midnight premiere of "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" about 45 minutes ago. Freaking awesome movie.

#424 &425, well, okay, that makes me feel a little less irritated. Thanks.

I'm watching Hamlet, with Kenneth Branagh, I say watching because it is two disks long and I fell asleep last night at 1:30 before I could finish. I love it. The production is rich, even if it is a different time period, it is beautiful! And all the guest stars, oh my! The strangest was Jack Lemon. Somehow, his American accent doesn't work very well with Shakespeare, but it got better when he slowed down. Lots of fun.

#429 Doing that big soliloquy in the room full of mirrors is inspired (not to mention hellish for camera angels, one assumes). Very spotty as to performance with some of the minor roles, tho. How many times do you expect to get enough money to stage Hamlet on that big a scale? Why not cast for posterity?

#430 - I wondered about that too, the casting thing. Cameos are all good and fun, but usually for a lighter movie. The best one yet has been Charlton Heston, I loved him as the lead player.

I've just watched the R.O.D.: Read or Die OVA, and it was great.

It had a German Aviator in a mechanical bird!

Two Mata Hari clones in a cat/gunfight!

Killer money wielded by a secret agent bibliomaniac who can manipulate any paper into structures or weapons!

British jabs at America's national defense policy!

Went to Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull last night. Enjoyable fun.

Finished Hamlet as well. I love that production. Someday it would be great to own it. I'll be watching Sir Lawrence Olivier's version next, but have to get in disk 2 of SG1 season 9 first. :)

I just watched Poirot: Hickory Dickory Dock. They made a lot of changes from the book version and the plot lost some steam because of it.

Now I have all weekend free to watch the 3 episodes of BSG I missed.

fleela - I'm not sure about that movie, was it one filmed for BBC, or the public channel? Or was it one of the big movies? I found I really enjoyed those shown on TV, but I never compared them to the books. I did not like Peter Ustinov as Poirot, I prefered David Suchet. Hope I have those names right. I've just put all the Cadfael episode on my Netflix queue.

>423 DaynaRT: & 435 I agree with you both. David Suchet is the definitive Poirot. My mother considers that an article of faith, along with "There are no bad Jane Austen movies" and "There are no bad Kenneth Branagh movies." We only agree on Poirot. ;)

Watched National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets last night. Meh.

ExVivre, did you mom ever actually see Frankenstein?

David Suchet rocks.

Der Untergang der Pamir (The Sinking of S.S. Pamir). A fictional account of the real story of the German sail training ship Pamir, one of the Flying-P liners, that sank in hurricane Carrie in 1957, taking 80 of the 86 men (mostly boys, actually) down with it.
That story has so much potential, but they botched it...- a very average TV movie, nothing one needs to see...

>435 MrsLee:
I think (?) it was made for BBC. I left you a note on Netflix so you could look at it.

I'm not liking the previews at the movies I've been seeing. They are creating more desire to go see more movies in the theater. This is not good for my pocketbook. At the Indiana Jones movie there was one for Hancock, must see and another Mummy movie with the original actors! Brandon Fraser, the other ones (not important), AND JET LI!!!!!! I can't ignore that one.

I agree MrsLee (hee hee, rhyming), Hancock looks like it will be fun, and the Mummy movie too - I really like John Hannah who plays the bumbling brother-in-law.

I'm hoping to go and see Indiana Jones today.

Just saw Wings of Honneamise. Very powerful sci-fi film about the first man in space on a planet like our Earth. And there's Japanese spirituality. TAKE THAT DAWKINS!

I saw Indiana Jones last night and it didn't grab me - some how I could believe in the whole plot, whereas previous Indiana's while I didn't believe them didn't strech my incredulity so far.....

carefully written to avoid spoilers

I saw Dan in Real Life on the plane home last week, depsite a tiny awkward screen and being interuped (dinner service and all that) wasn't too bad - good plane movie I thought. The last good movie I saw was the Painted Veil

My mother was raving about Four the other night - something to do with Vivaldi's Four Seasons being set in different countries around the world - the cineamatogy is supposed to be excellent

I just saw My Neighbour Totoro, SO CUTE!

It has everything, a big furry critter, a Catbus, and an all amusing cast of characters. And it's not depressing!

We watched Pan's Labyrinth last night.

Holy BLEEP! What an unusual movie.

LOL, great way to put it clamairy!

Went to see Narnia w/my granddaughter last nite. Seems to be more violent & war-like than the first one or maybe just my imagination. I keep hearing a lot of people saying that the Indiana Jones movie is just too implausible-but have they ever been plaulible & if that's what you are looking for i'd say you're looking in the wrong place. Suspend your disbelief & enjoy the ride! That's what i plan to do. 8^)

Finally went to see Iron Man. About half of it was Robert Downey Jr. making robots, but who cares. I little disconcerting that we have to have the obligatory mean Afghani baddies. Jeff Bridges' shaved head gets a big thumbs up.

Saw "Savior" (1997) on DVD last night. Set in Bosnia in 1992, it is depressing as hell, with just a tiny little note of hope at the end. An American mercenary who ends up in Bosnia after a stint in the French Foreign Legion suddenly finds himself the caretaker of a serb woman and her baby. Definitely no Friday night fare --as I said, depressing and with a good lot of the atrocities we used to read about in the newspapers back then.
But highly recommended.

Saw part of Erin Brocovich yesterday. I needed some background noise while sewing a button onto a piece of knitting.

Saw Indiana Jones & The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull
& Little Children.

Wildly different movies. I went from being happy to deeply disturbed.

Also saw Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Thought it was an enjoyable popcorn movie -- rollicking ride and larger-than-life heroes and villains.

However, yesterday my son and I watched the end of Season Two of Babylon 5. I really do respect the work of J.M. Straczynski in that series. Even the so-called dull episodes provide useful characterization and exposition. I think it stands as a television novel, maybe the first of its kind.

I just saw National Treasure 2, and my head still hurts from all the logic holes. Olmec? South Dakota?? *scratches head*

I watched the Monty Python marathon today, thanks to someone who mentioned it here. :)

452 - Babylon 5 - It is, isn't it. I just watched the exciting part near the beginning of season 4 again (you know what it is if you've seen it) and it still makes me all excited.

453 - It was just a *little* stretched, wasn't it. It was the Chinese writing in the temple that made me lose it. I couldn't stop laughing for a long time over that.

Re-watched "E.T." tonight, still rather sweet; now watching the A&E new version of "The Andromeda Strain." I've seen the original 1971 movie many times and really enjoy it--this is newer and glitzier but doesn't hold a candle to the earlier version, IMHO.

Watched The Painted Veil over the weekend. It was nice, but everything felt rushed, compressed and too obvious. First the fact that she didn't love him, was humiliated into her marriage, was a cheating whore and then finally a worthy human; and then the fact that he was a long-suffering, noble scientist just putting up with her shenanigans for the greater good; bah. Give it a rest already.

So to make up for it, we watched Escape from New York again. Cheesy goodness!

My parents were in town for the weekend, so last night Mom and I watched While You Were Sleeping. She had never seen it before, which amazed me, as I've had it for a long time. It was a nice evening.

#455 - See, the way my dad figured it, the Olmecs had originally built their city near somewhere they had actually lived, but then completely dismantled it, moved it hundreds of miles, dug a hole under the mountain, and entirely rebuilt it just to hide it from people. ;-D I can't explain the Chinese writing, though. hehehe

I watched Newsies again for the first time in a long while. Love that movie.

Haha Newsies! I was a huge obsessed fan of Newsies back in high school (fanfic and everything...oh the embarrassment ;). It's still a fun movie, though. My mom showed it to her 5th grade class a month or two ago and they all loved it.

I bought a dvd once, but I've lost it. I wish I knew where it was, I get the urge to watch it every once in a while.

(*hums* I'm the King of New York...)

Watched Cloverfield over the weekend. Meh. Now, I'm a big monster/disaster movie fan, and I did like the premise, but somehow I thought it could have been better.

I needed something lighthearted last night so we watched Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

Last night I watched Beowulf & Grendel. I liked it. I have to admit that I only watched it for Gerard Butler and his Scottish accent, but the movie wasn't that bad.

The son and I watched I Am Legend because nothing was on the 150 channels or so that we have on cable. Then 300 came on HBO. What a weird movie...Parts of it were positively repellent.

Doc, 300 was an awesome movie!

I watched The Dark Crystal today. What an interesting film. It's so much better than many fantasy films I could name that are recent, like the Spiderwick Chronicles adaptation for example.

Old school animatronics, yo!

Oh I remember the stir The Dark Crystal generated when it first came out. I was in high school and quite liked it even though it is ostensibly a kids' movie. A bit primative, but Henson was a genius and it worked. Now I have it on DVD as part of my nostalgia collection.

Have 300 on the DVR...will have to watch it soon.

I watched 27 Dresses. It was rather The Wedding Planner meets The Runaway Bride, but it was cute and fun and the dresses were hilarious. Anyone who's seen it (or been a bridesmaid, I suppose, or just want to hear a funny song) should look up The Bridesmaid Dress Song by Deirdre Flint.

I looked up the lyrics, blue, pretty funny. :) My SIL and I were talking about my bridesmaid dresses the other day. They seemed a good idea at the time.....

*g* Yeah, that seems to be how it goes fairly often.

A friend of a friend had an interesting idea - she said, here is the color I want you all to wear, find a dress you like in this color. Which wouldn't work if you absolutely had to have them all look exactly the same, but...it's a lot easier on the bridesmaids...

My friend did that for us, so I now have a lovely red dress that I might actually wear again. Although to be honest, it's still not very likely.

Better than spending money on an awful dress that there's no chance you're ever going to wear again.

And if you're really not going to wear it again - maybe try selling it? A lot of people sell clothes on ebay and such.

Watched Iron Man with Robert Downey jr.
Not too bad. Not a Spider-Man or X-Men or even Unbreakable quality, but far better then The Fantastic Four.

Watched National Treasure: Book of Secrets on DVD with the Green Girl and the Tiger. I am going to describe it as entertaining and leave it at that

Watched 300 in high def last night. Wow. Pecs Ahoy!!

I watched Serenity again with a couple of friends yesterday.

I really like the movie, but I found out that I don't so much like watching movies with one of those friends. She wouldn't freaking shut up and since she hadn't seen the movie before, she kept asking about what was going to happen!! For pete's sake, just watch the freaking movie!

The questions my other friend asked was "what did she (or he) say?" when he didn't understand some line of dialogue. That I can deal with.

Rogue.

Is there any movie that can't be improved by the addition of an oversized crocodile?

102 Dalmatians. Trying to keep the kid occupied so I could doze a little longer. Didn't work. :P

was #478 an answer to #477? Because if so, i disagree. 102 Dalmatians could indeed have been improved by the addition of an oversized crocodile.

Would have cut down on the likelihood of yet another sequel, also.

I had a movie day with myself on saturday, so I watched X-Men, X-Men 3, Equilibrium, and Ace Ventura: Pet Detective last night. There was something else, but I forget...

Oh, and I watched 5 episodes of Buffy with a friend on Friday night, finishing with The Body. Oh, the pain.

480 WillSteed

What a truly strange combination of movies!

In my opinion those are a fun movie, a disappointing piece of crap, an okay movie, and one of the worst cringe-worthy wastes of time I was ever forced to watch in my life by being confined to a band trip bus *sigh*

I liked all three X-men movies, but I'm not really into the comics much, so I'm not irked by that, nor am I irked by the presence of Dark Phoenix in X-men 3. I'm familiar enough with the comics that it didn't make me groan in disbelief (her presence was already made known, comics-wise). I love that they make fun of the comics with cross-references. Oh, and the very end of X3 - really didn't need it. It was more out of place then the epilogue of HP:Deathly Hallows.

Equilibrium is fun, when you ignore the fact that most of the plot was cribbed from other movies and novels (plus, hand to hand pistol fighting? Testosterone hit!). Ace Ventura, well... It is hardly quality anything, but it has an element of nostalgia to it. I was the perfect age for it when it first came out.

I'm not irked by the presence of Dark Phoenix - I knew she was going to be there, they made that known at the end of the previous movie to anyone who was looking - just by the fact that they took two separate movie ideas and smashed them together into one movie and did a poor job of it. The "mutant cure" part and the Dark Phoenix part could (should!) have been been two entirely separate movies. As it was, the whole thing was just rotten.

Also, HP fans everywhere will strike me down where I sit, but I don't get what's so all-fire bad about the epilogue at the end of HP. It's no worse than the rest of the books, anyway...

And I wouldn't have liked Ace Ventura at any age *cringe* Sounds like we just have different tastes :)

Hee-hee! I think we need a thread about movies you stand by no matter what anyone else says. :) I think having two boys and a man with a young heart in my house makes me see movies differently. I hate to confess it, but I enjoyed Ace Ventura, Napoleon Dynamite, Master of Disguise and Van Helsing. They have a quality of in your face corn that appeals. :)

#476 I have a friend JUST like that.

"I have no idea what's happening, because you keep talking whenever the actors are talking, you FOOL."

Best question she ever asked: "Is he the good guy?"

We were watching Harry Potter 4. She was talking about Voldemort. My brain cried.

Just rewatched Monty Python & The Holy Grail with my ten year old brother. Still funny.

MrsLee

Really, it says more about you than about who you live with that you like those movies. If I lived with people who watched those kinds of movies (with the exception of Van Helsing, which was fun bad instead of embarrassing bad) then I would go do other things when they watched them.

I mean, I grew up with a father and sister who are crazy about sports and a mom who, while she's not crazy about it, tolerates it. And me? I hate sports.

Well blue, living with other people whom you love changes you. I am still me, but stretched and more flexible. I can appreciate their appreciation of these types of movies and anytime I hear my sons in gut wrenching laughter, I have to have a bit of love for whatever made them so. I don't watch the Three Stooges on my own, but I can truly enjoy it with my men. Whatever that says about me, I'm fine with.

MrsLee

I lived with family for 25 years. Just because I don't like all the same things as my family doesn't mean I don't love them.

Arrrrghhhhh! Are we talking at cross purposes here? It seems to me you're trying to insult my taste in movies, and obviously you are taking what I say personally as well. It was not my intention to question your love of your family, only to explain that my love of mine influences how I see things. I am not looking for a fight here blue, I just think it is interesting that some people love movies that others find horrible. Personally, I think of it as viva la differance (I know I've murdered the French language there).

>479 MrAndrew: MrAndrew:

LOL!

And agreed!

#490 MrsLee

I understand what you are saying--I had a boyfriend who watched basketball, and even after we broke up I continued to watch the Lakers-Celtics rivalry throughout the 1980s--I enjoyed it a lot but don't watch basketball now. Sometimes the enthusiasm of others is enough that you can share their enjoyment, and other times you actually develop an appreciation for the genre. On the other hand, I recently watched NASCAR with my dear sister and nothing would make me voluntarily do that again.

Anyway . . . I'm currently watching "Cat People," the 1982 version with Nastassia Kinski and Malcolm McDowell. Worth it for the theme song alone! ("Putting out fire with gasoline . . ."--not sure of the proper title.)

490 MrsLee

Of course I'm not insulting your taste in movies. Just because I dislike a movie doesn't mean that nobody else is allowed to like it.

I recently watched Marie Antoinette. To be honest, it was a bad movie, but I understood what it was getting at, which is that she was just a teenager and did what teenagers do. Regardless, eh. I didn't like it. It didn't touch at all on the issues of France aside from her inability to seduce her husband, so anyone who didn't know the actual history would have been totally confused. At least, my mom was.

The Husband and I have been watching the HBO series Rome on DVD. Good stuff - they've done a fairly good job of being historically accurate, for the most part (there are a couple of glaring mistakes that nearly made me fall off my chair, though). But I like the 2 main characters (both fictional, as far as I know), and how they fit into the actual historical stuff in a sort of Forest Gump way - they're present and mixed up in a lot of it, but in a way that doesn't alter known history too much.

I'm watching The A.B.C. Murders right now. Later I'm going to watch Puni Puni Poemy, a satirical Japanese anime.

Hoo boy. Puni Puni Poemy looks like it could be either compelling satire or depressing reflection of the artform. I hope it IS satire...

Well, I did say it was satire. I wasn't lying.

I don't know what's more nerdy, knowing what Puni Puni Poemy is or arguing about whether it is satire.

Lucky Star could equally be called satire because it's a huge joke on Anime otaku. I'm watching Lucky Star and it's fun, but at the same time I feel that when watching it otaku have a lot to answer for. It's like they've finally figured out who actually watches the Anime that the studio who makes Lucky Star produces, and they're catering to that demographic. Still excellent fun though, since I'm a geek myself.

Went to see Prince Caspian yesterday. What can I say, Disney has Disneyfied Narnia. I didn't hate it, I didn't love it. I was a bit disappointed.

Last night I watched The Ark of Truth to round off my Stargate adventure. It was....corny and fun.

Watched Shrek the Third last night--thought it started off a bit slow/unfunny, but it picked up pretty well during the last third or so. Good music, too.

#500, MrsLee

I love Stargate and Stargate Atlantis both. It's one of the rare instances in which the original movie and the series are both thoroughly enjoyable, even with different actors playing the roles.

Saw A History of Violence last night, and was slightly disappointed. I guess I expected a more complicated plot. Oh well.

Back to my Dragonball marathon to cheer me up :)

Snuffle..whimper..I just saw Tristan and Isolde. I am such a sucker for those Dark Age romances!

And besides, its based on my favourite romantic legend anyway...

Saw the new Indy movie last night, it was fun. If they had left out the FBI "we think you're a commie traitor" stuff (which didn't go anywhere, anyway) they would have had more time for the story.

This thread was taking too long to load, so I opened a new, monthly, movie thread. It can be found here:
http://www.librarything.de/talktopic.php?topic=37980

*turns key and locks thread* ;-)

<unlocks thread>

Did you really mean to post the link to the German thread?

<re-locks thread and tosses the key to GirlFromIpanema>

ha! good one, GirlFrom! I went there and got this:

Warning! Access to this site has violated the Information Use and Security Compliance (IUSC) policy.


My lawyers shall be in touch.

I guess it was supposed to be this:

http://www.librarything.com/talktopic.php?topic=37980

No, it wasn't, MrAndrew ;-). Sorry, I forgot to make the link universal (by leaving out the http://www.librarything.de part and just give you . That way everyone automatically gets his preferred domain, e.g. DE, FR, NL or COM.