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Source: (consider it)
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Thread: At the movies - what are you watching?
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Mamacita
Lakefront liberal
# 3659
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Kelly Alves:
I also like Toni Collette's little turn as the popular socialite friend who isn't as together as she seems.
I loved Toni Collette in Muriel's Wedding and then managed to lose track of her. I didn't make the connection at all when I saw The 6th Sense and it wasn't until Little Miss Sunshine that I had the "aha!" moment. The latter has, by the way, an outstanding ensemble cast.
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Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world’s grief. Do justly, now. Love mercy, now. Walk humbly, now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it.
Posts: 20761 | From: where the purple line ends | Registered: Dec 2002
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Kelly Alves
Bunny with an axe
# 2522
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Posted
'm beginning to beleive that an actor's ability to work ensemble is what really shifts them from good to outstanding.
Anyway-- in my Julianne Moore rave, I forgot to give another recommendation-- lately the cable network has been re-running the film Freedomland over and over again, and I find myself getting sucked into it each time I come across it. Moore plays a woman who walks through an New Jersey housing development one night(Armostrong), bleeding and distraught, claiming she's been carjacked. On further questioning, she reveals her four year old son was in the back seat and describes her assailant as a black man. Her story gradually develops huge, gaping holes, and the redidents of the projects are pitted against the residents of the nearby predominantly white blue-collar neighborhood(Gannon), from which Moore comes.
Samuel L. Jackson also stars as the detective on the armstrong beat, and Edie Falco commands a supporting role as a volunteer child abduction investigator who finally coaxes the truth out of Moore. But Moore is blood-chilling as this fucked-up, damaged woman who has learned to rely on a thousand rationalizations to survive.
[ 14. October 2013, 21:37: Message edited by: Kelly Alves ]
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I cannot expect people to believe “
Jesus loves me, this I know” of they don’t believe “Kelly loves me, this I know.”
Kelly Alves, somewhere around 2003.
Posts: 35076 | From: Pura Californiana | Registered: Mar 2002
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no prophet's flag is set so...
Proceed to see sea
# 15560
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Posted
Boogie Nights made me uncomfortable with Julianne Moore. The circumstances of watching it were such that I could not simply leave, but would have if I could have.
Saw V for Vendetta recently, and consider the issues rather interesting given the apparent intrusion of all of our countries' government agencies in collecting all of our phone call meta data, email, purchases, and generally violating all of our privacy.
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Out of this nettle, danger, we pluck this flower, safety.
\_(ツ)_/
Posts: 11498 | From: Treaty 6 territory in the nonexistant Province of Buffalo, Canada ↄ⃝' | Registered: Mar 2010
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Kelly Alves
Bunny with an axe
# 2522
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by no prophet:
Boogie Nights made me uncomfortable with Julianne Moore. The circumstances of watching it were such that I could not simply leave, but would have if I could have.
Hm. that's another one I have watched over and over again. P.T Anderson has a phenomenal gift for pacing-- the flow of the film is almost like a folk song on celluloid. But the subject matter is indeed challenging, I understand. And Moore-- who seems to have a special gift for portraying women falling apart-- goes through a sad journey in this.
(For those who haven't seen it-- Boogie Nights is about the "golden age" of the adult film industry, as recounted through the rise and fall of a porn star, portrayed (very well, I think) by Mark Wahlberg. Things get dark and grim when drugs and AIDS come on the scene.)
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I cannot expect people to believe “
Jesus loves me, this I know” of they don’t believe “Kelly loves me, this I know.”
Kelly Alves, somewhere around 2003.
Posts: 35076 | From: Pura Californiana | Registered: Mar 2002
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Stetson
Shipmate
# 9597
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Posted
Kelly wrote:
quote:
Things get dark and grim when drugs and AIDS come on the scene.)
If I recall correctly, Boogie Nights doesn't actually get into AIDS, and the chronology might actually stop, possibly on purpose, right before it became a major health issue.
And the drugs are present right from the get-go(eg. the ODed women at the pool party), but it's only in the second half that they begin any serious negative impact on the lives of the characters we're following.
For the most part, I think, the misfortunes that befall the characters in the 80s are more a case of their 70s proclivities starting to bear bitter fruit, eg. Dirk spirals further into addiction, Little Bill finally snaps over his wife's philandering, Amber and the cowboy discover that their cinematic careers can have negative impact on other areas of their lives, etc. Admittedly, Horner's descent into cheeziness and exploitation(as compared to his earlier efforts at legitimacy) are shown as related to the video boom.
I agree about the pacing. It's on especially wonderful display in the "Wonderland" scene, when they rob the drug dealer.
EDIT: Just checked, and according to wiki, the story ends in 1985, well after AIDS had hit the public consciousness. Still don't recall it being mentioned in the film, though.
[ 15. October 2013, 14:20: Message edited by: Stetson ]
Posts: 6574 | From: back and forth between bible belts | Registered: Jun 2005
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no prophet's flag is set so...
Proceed to see sea
# 15560
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Posted
I guess I have trouble with a "golden age" of porn and the porn industry. It strikes as akin to the golden age of prostitution to me. I'm no prude, but Boogie Nights seemed seedy. I thought it was another in the chain of films that seemed to signify the disintegration of society, of the breakdown of civilization. But in an excessively explicit way, which it not merely about the sexual subject matter. Perhaps some of my discomfort has to do with blurring lines between pornography and not. Is Boogie Nights pornographic itself? I guess I'd have to say that is not as a whole, but it contains pornographic scenes.
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Out of this nettle, danger, we pluck this flower, safety.
\_(ツ)_/
Posts: 11498 | From: Treaty 6 territory in the nonexistant Province of Buffalo, Canada ↄ⃝' | Registered: Mar 2010
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Kelly Alves
Bunny with an axe
# 2522
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Stetson:
Kelly wrote:
quote:
Things get dark and grim when drugs and AIDS come on the scene.)
If I recall correctly, Boogie Nights doesn't actually get into AIDS, and the chronology might actually stop, possibly on purpose, right before it became a major health issue.
And the drugs are present right from the get-go(eg. the ODed women at the pool party), but it's only in the second half that they begin any serious negative impact on the lives of the characters we're following.
For the most part, I think, the misfortunes that befall the characters in the 80s are more a case of their 70s proclivities starting to bear bitter fruit, eg. Dirk spirals further into addiction, Little Bill finally snaps over his wife's philandering, Amber and the cowboy discover that their cinematic careers can have negative impact on other areas of their lives, etc. Admittedly, Horner's descent into cheeziness and exploitation(as compared to his earlier efforts at legitimacy) are shown as related to the video boom.
I agree about the pacing. It's on especially wonderful display in the "Wonderland" scene, when they rob the drug dealer.
EDIT: Just checked, and according to wiki, the story ends in 1985, well after AIDS had hit the public consciousness. Still don't recall it being mentioned in the film, though.
I thought is was implied-- part of what you said about the excesses of the seventies whipping back around on folk. My mention of drugs becoming more of an issue-- yeah, it was present from the beginning, but it seemed like the 1980's new year party was a real turning point in Dirk's drug story-- is knowing that at the beginning of the 80's, cocaine use suddenly spiked and became hugely problematic, not just for individuals but for the whole drug culture. Likewise, the fag-bashing scene toward the end is a hint of how AIDS was affecting culture-- because people saw AIDS as a "gay disease" at first, attacks on gay people spiked, too.
Another sub text(as you say) is about the film industry itself-- the shift from celluloid to video, and the implication that easier/ cheaper film making techniques actually lowered the quality of film artistry across the board, and instead of competing against artistry people were competing against attention getting devices-whether it be three-ways and five-ways or snappy special effects. (I find Jack Horner's story arc weirdly compelling. I empathize with his desire to find a fascinating story to tell.)
The genius moment in the film for me is the scene in the "Wonderland" homage you mentioned, where the camera focuses on Dirk and we are allowed to sit with him for several seconds and just soak in what a bad scene he is finding himself in. it's almost like you sense that he is trying to work out the most graceful exit possible.
And I dunno, Dirk grabs me from the beginning-- he's a fucked-up kid with few prospects and no support, and the porn industry becomes his family substitute. I guess stories about people trying to find family when that is lacking in their lives compel me. As for no prophet-- well, if the subject itself going to put you off, you're right, it's probably not your film.
(I could go on-- this was the first film that made me notice how wonderful Don Cheadle is. His story arc hit me too-- he's turned down for a business loan because he is a pornographer, but who would give a preschool teacher a loan, either?)
(And while AIDS was not "officially" discussed until about 1985, as you say, it was very much in the public consciousness from about 1981 on, particularly in highly urban areas like NYC, LA and San Francisco, where activists were already setting up clinics and awareness campaigns.)
[ 15. October 2013, 18:47: Message edited by: Kelly Alves ]
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I cannot expect people to believe “
Jesus loves me, this I know” of they don’t believe “Kelly loves me, this I know.”
Kelly Alves, somewhere around 2003.
Posts: 35076 | From: Pura Californiana | Registered: Mar 2002
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Twilight
Puddleglum's sister
# 2832
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Posted
Another Julianne Moore fan here. Besides being great at playing women who are falling apart she does a fabulous job portraying women who are straining to hold themselves together while under pressure; Far From Heaven is one of my favorite movies. Another thing she's good at that many modern actresses aren't is playing women from other eras and getting those small mannerisms and movements right.
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Stetson
Shipmate
# 9597
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Posted
Kelly wrote:
quote:
My mention of drugs becoming more of an issue-- yeah, it was present from the beginning, but it seemed like the 1980's new year party was a real turning point in Dirk's drug story-- is knowing that at the beginning of the 80's, cocaine use suddenly spiked and became hugely problematic, not just for individuals but for the whole drug culture.
That could well be. I'm not overly familiar with the history of cocaine, in terms of how pure or potent it was at any given time.
quote:
it seemed like the 1980's new year party was a real turning point in Dirk's drug story
Yeah, the murder of Mrs. Bill is kind of the dividing point between the two parts("happy" and "sad" for lack of better categories) of the story.
quote:
(And while AIDS was not "officially" discussed until about 1985, as you say, it was very much in the public consciousness from about 1981 on, particularly in highly urban areas like NYC, LA and San Francisco, where activists were already setting up clinics and awareness campaigns.)
Just for clarification, I meant that the movie ends in 1985, not that AIDS became an important issue then(see my edit). I agree, it had entered the public consciousness, even outside of the big cities, a couple of years earlier. Rock Hudson's diagnosis(1984 I believe) was regarded as something of a turning point, but even then, no one had to explain to me(living in a relative backwater) what AIDS was.
No Prophet wrote:
quote:
Perhaps some of my discomfort has to do with blurring lines between pornography and not. Is Boogie Nights pornographic itself? I guess I'd have to say that is not as a whole, but it contains pornographic scenes.
I'd have to come down on the side of saying it's not pornographic. If I recall, there is only one sex scene, Dirk's audition with Amber, and even that is not explicit, when compared to what can be seen in some other more-or-less mainstream films.
I'm sure that it attracted its share of audience members who were just looking for voyeuristic thrills, but they'd probably come away disappointed, and maybe even a little disquieted at just how negative the portrayal of the industry gets towards the end. Think about the Colonel's story arc, where he goes from being seen as this good-natured bon vivant to being an outright child molestor: not exactly the kind of thing you'd put in a film intended to create postive vibes about the porn industry.
Posts: 6574 | From: back and forth between bible belts | Registered: Jun 2005
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Stetson
Shipmate
# 9597
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Posted
Minor correction:
Contrary to what I implied above, Hudson's illness didn't become public knowledge until 1985, though he had been diagnosed in 1984.
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I have the power...Lucifer is lord!
Posts: 6574 | From: back and forth between bible belts | Registered: Jun 2005
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jedijudy
Organist of the Jedi Temple
# 333
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Posted
From the closed "Sunshine on Leith film":
quote:
Originally posted by Francophile:
Just been to see this film.
What a disappointment after the stage version.
The Proclaimers music didn't come alive except maybe the last scene. On the stage, it did.
Most of the external shots were Edinburgh city, not Leith. I'm convinced some were shot in Glasgow.
Don't waste your money seeing this.
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Jasmine, little cat with a big heart.
Posts: 18017 | From: 'Twixt the 'Glades and the Gulf | Registered: Aug 2001
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no prophet's flag is set so...
Proceed to see sea
# 15560
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Posted
The Proclaimers also did the end title for Benny and Joon, which is well worth seeing. It made the song 500 Miles a hit.
Makes be also think of the 1990 or so movie, The Commitments, which is about putting together an R & B band in Dublin.
We watched both on a 10° day of rain in July.
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Out of this nettle, danger, we pluck this flower, safety.
\_(ツ)_/
Posts: 11498 | From: Treaty 6 territory in the nonexistant Province of Buffalo, Canada ↄ⃝' | Registered: Mar 2010
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Kelly Alves
Bunny with an axe
# 2522
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Stetson:
I'd have to come down on the side of saying it's not pornographic. If I recall, there is only one sex scene, Dirk's audition with Amber, and even that is not explicit, when compared to what can be seen in some other more-or-less mainstream films.
I'm sure that it attracted its share of audience members who were just looking for voyeuristic thrills, but they'd probably come away disappointed, and maybe even a little disquieted at just how negative the portrayal of the industry gets towards the end. Think about the Colonel's story arc, where he goes from being seen as this good-natured bon vivant to being an outright child molestor: not exactly the kind of thing you'd put in a film intended to create postive vibes about the porn industry.
One last note in agreement with this: another moment of genuis is the scene where Dirk is "preparing" for a scene after a 2 day coke binge, and physically can't do it, causing him to burstinto tears. It's painful to watch, and I was really impressed with Wahlburg in this scene. Ordinarily I would rate him a fair actor, but Anderson really took him to great places in this one.)ISTM if anything would put a guy off a career in porn, that would do it.
And to agree with Twilight-- Moore's adaptablilty with dialogue is supreme. I love her phony bad acting voice in this one, and her "She's not English, she's pretentious!" voice in The Big Lebowski (Her description of that character.)
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I cannot expect people to believe “
Jesus loves me, this I know” of they don’t believe “Kelly loves me, this I know.”
Kelly Alves, somewhere around 2003.
Posts: 35076 | From: Pura Californiana | Registered: Mar 2002
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Gill H
Shipmate
# 68
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Posted
I really enjoyed Sunshine on Leith , but I can well believe the stage show was better - they usually are.
'Let's Get Married' was a particularly joyous scene.
At least most of the cast were actually Scottish (unlike the forthcoming 'One Chance' film where hardly anyone in it appears to be Welsh...)
I didn't know all the songs but it didn't matter - as with the under-rated 'Our House' stage musical, it works on its own merits.
And it had some of the spirit and joy which I found missing from the wispy-dreamy-doomy stage show of 'Once' - a show based around Irish and Czech musicians which never lets rip with a full-blooded, whisky-fuelled jig.
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*sigh* We can’t all be Alan Cresswell.
- Lyda Rose
Posts: 9313 | From: London | Registered: May 2001
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Figbash
The Doubtful Guest
# 9048
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Posted
And mention of Scottish casts, naturally brings me round to the fact that I have just witnessed the full, final restored, complete edition of The Wicker Man.
This is awesome on just so many levels. The extra time (running time and in the action, which now takes place over three days) helps create not so much a rush to the climax as the sense that Howie the Cop is exploring an alien world, which becomes stranger and more disorienting the longer he is in it.
What's also fascinating is that we can see far more of the natives and their lives. These aren't flower children or drop-outs. They're hard working Scottish islanders who just happen to worship nature gods. Otherwise they're all very ordinary. Which is as it should be. While Howie, with his arrogant certainty that he knows the truth, becomes more and more strange to us, almost incomprehensible, and certainly entirely unsympathetic right up to the almost ultimate moment when, inside the burning wicker man, he stops screaming verses from his Bible, and finally becomes human, collapsing into a corner and sobbing. Perhaps he may be redeemable after all?
Another thing that struck me was that, given how much nudity and sex there is, it's remarkable how lacking in lubricity, sexualisation or objectification it all is. The naked village maidens are quite natural and innocent. I wonder when I last saw a modern film of which I could say that?
And finally, what really comes through now is the fact that the film is, basically, a musical. It seems that nearly everything except Howie's dialogue is set to music. And yet, again, it's all natural, because it's all entirely diegetic.
Posts: 1209 | From: Gashlycrumb | Registered: Feb 2005
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Kelly Alves
Bunny with an axe
# 2522
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Posted
That is a fantastic analysis. You are so right.
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I cannot expect people to believe “
Jesus loves me, this I know” of they don’t believe “Kelly loves me, this I know.”
Kelly Alves, somewhere around 2003.
Posts: 35076 | From: Pura Californiana | Registered: Mar 2002
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Palimpsest
Shipmate
# 16772
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Posted
I just finished watching ten days of films at the Seattle Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. There was a great biography documentary "I am Divine". The best film imho was "Reaching for the moon" about Pulitzer Prize–winning poet Elizabeth Bishop and her Brazilian lover architect Lota de Macedo Soares.
Today I saw "Southern Baptist Sissies" the filming of a play about how the evangelical church damages Gay children. It was good but painful. Some of the people in the audience who had the experience were pretty shaken up.
Posts: 2990 | From: Seattle WA. US | Registered: Nov 2011
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Kelly Alves
Bunny with an axe
# 2522
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Posted
I can't believe I haven't raved about "Box of Moonlight" One of my favorite films ever, a nineties indie classic. Starts John Turturro as an uptight building foreman going through a midlife crisis who takes advantage of a halt in a project to take a private road trip in rural New Jersey. Things do not go as planned, and he ends up saddled with a hippie, off-grid living little freak of a sidekick, played masterfully by (who else?) Sam Rockwell. It's a gem You will never look at Hydrox the same way again.
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I cannot expect people to believe “
Jesus loves me, this I know” of they don’t believe “Kelly loves me, this I know.”
Kelly Alves, somewhere around 2003.
Posts: 35076 | From: Pura Californiana | Registered: Mar 2002
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rolyn
Shipmate
# 16840
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Posted
Stumbled on a film on the True Movie channel the other night called Silent Night .
Only had half an eye on it to start with, thinking this looks cheesy . How wrong I was . A WW2 film with a difference, and thoroughly moving .
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Change is the only certainty of existence
Posts: 3206 | From: U.K. | Registered: Dec 2011
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LeRoc
Famous Dutch pirate
# 3216
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Posted
Yesterday I watched Pina from Wim Wenders about German choreographer Pina Bausch. I was pleasantly surprised. At first I was a bit apprehensive; I like modern dance but I had never watched it as a film like this. I wasn't sure if I'd like it as much as seeing it live, but it was really good. After the film, there was a discussion where experts explained about her life and her work. A very good afternoon.
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I know why God made the rhinoceros, it's because He couldn't see the rhinoceros, so He made the rhinoceros to be able to see it. (Clarice Lispector)
Posts: 9474 | From: Brazil / Africa | Registered: Aug 2002
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Kelly Alves
Bunny with an axe
# 2522
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Posted
Wim Wenders. Have we discussed Wings of Desire yet?
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I cannot expect people to believe “
Jesus loves me, this I know” of they don’t believe “Kelly loves me, this I know.”
Kelly Alves, somewhere around 2003.
Posts: 35076 | From: Pura Californiana | Registered: Mar 2002
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JoannaP
Shipmate
# 4493
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Posted
Yesterday, it was back to the BFI for The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari - a German film from 1919 - with a live pianist! It is an amazing film with truly fantastic set design. Such a shame that realism became so dominant in cinema.
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"Freedom for the pike is death for the minnow." R. H. Tawney (quoted by Isaiah Berlin)
"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." Benjamin Franklin
Posts: 1877 | From: England | Registered: May 2003
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Tukai
Shipmate
# 12960
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Palimpsest:
I just saw the new Woody Allen movie "Blue Jasmine". Cate BlanchetT plays a woman who had been married to a shady financier (Alec Baldwin) who has been convicted and now she has to live in a San Francisco apartment with her sister and kids.
It was good, not as good as Midnight in Paris but still a worthwhile if depressing film if only to watch Cate chew the scenery as she goes downhill.
[SNIP]
Cate Blanchett is probably the best actor going around at the moment, in my opinion, as she can capture almost any character. She certainly captured the descent into depression of her character (called Jasmine, hence the title) so compellingly that there is early talk of an Oscar nomination.
And fancy Woody Allen making a film about depression without a single psychoanalyst appearing!
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A government that panders to the worst instincts of its people degrades the whole country for years to come.
Posts: 594 | From: Oz | Registered: Sep 2007
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Stetson
Shipmate
# 9597
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Posted
(spoilers)
Tonight, I re-watched The Village by M. Night Shyamalan, amd was struck by how much the scenario, dilemma, and "message" resembled that of Danny Boyle's The Beach. Basically, in both stories, a group of people think they've established some sort of protective refuge from modern life, only to find that a) human nature has a way of working its way back into the equation, and b) it's almost impossible to avoid compromises with the outside world.
Obvious differences in the type of utopia that each movie posits, ie. in The Beach, it's some sort of euro-hispter love-in, whereas in The Village it's a reversion to some idealized 19th Century American agrarianism. Plus, the narratives are constructed a little differently, as The Beach tells you right away what the community is all about, whereas The Village drops intermittent hints.
[ 01. December 2013, 13:31: Message edited by: Stetson ]
Posts: 6574 | From: back and forth between bible belts | Registered: Jun 2005
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David
Complete Bastard
# 3
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Stetson:
Tonight, I re-watched The Village by M. Night Shyamalan
If there is someone with only one decent movie in them, it's him. And it wasn't "The Village".
Posts: 3815 | From: Redneck Wonderland | Registered: Mar 2001
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Palimpsest
Shipmate
# 16772
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Posted
This week I saw "Nebraska" with a friend from Nebraska. It's an oddly endearing film even if my companion was clenching his hands during the scene where all the relatives are hanging out watching television during the visit.
Posts: 2990 | From: Seattle WA. US | Registered: Nov 2011
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Kelly Alves
Bunny with an axe
# 2522
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Posted
I really want to see that. I have pretty much liked everything in the director's portfolio, and heard a review of it on NPR that enthused me.
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I cannot expect people to believe “
Jesus loves me, this I know” of they don’t believe “Kelly loves me, this I know.”
Kelly Alves, somewhere around 2003.
Posts: 35076 | From: Pura Californiana | Registered: Mar 2002
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jedijudy
Organist of the Jedi Temple
# 333
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Posted
I took my elderly friend to see "The Christmas Candle". We both really enjoyed it! My friend was enthralled. There are times she will talk loudly about what's going on in a movie, but that was not the case here.
This is not a movie for deep thoughts, but is certainly good, lighthearted entertainment. Those who don't know a lot about Advent could possibly learn a bit watching this movie.
Oh, and I consider many romances that happen in movies as fairy tales. This is one, BTW! But I don't regret seeing it.
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Jasmine, little cat with a big heart.
Posts: 18017 | From: 'Twixt the 'Glades and the Gulf | Registered: Aug 2001
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Sir Kevin
Ship's Gaffer
# 3492
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Posted
The last film we saw was BLACK NATIVITY. It was a musical and well-sung and well-acted. It featured Forrest Whitaker as a Baptist preacher, Jennifer Hudson as a single mom and Mary J. Blige as an angel. It was about a family who was reunited on Christmas Eve. Two other parts were very well-done: the part of the estranged father living in the same neighbourhood as his father-in-law and the teenage son.
We were the only White couple in the cinema and the only other people there were a Black couple. Admittedly, we went on a weekday afternoon, but this film needs better promotion!
One of my English facebook friends recommended it, I believe. This film should not be missed.
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If you board the wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the other direction Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Writing is currently my hobby, not yet my profession.
Posts: 30517 | From: White Hart Lane | Registered: Oct 2002
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Hugal
Shipmate
# 2734
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Posted
OK so I am a known Disney fan right. The last film I watched was Frozen. Which was good and worth a watch. A lot of the lyrics are a little clunky but the script is good and the animation is wonderful. Not destined to be a massive hit but good all the same.
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I have never done this trick in these trousers before.
Posts: 1887 | From: london | Registered: Apr 2002
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Lyda*Rose
Ship's broken porthole
# 4544
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Posted
I saw Philomena a few weeks ago. It was quite good. It could have been syrupy but I didn't find it that way. Although it illustrated the disastrous consequences of the RC unwed mother/adoption programs in Ireland, it also illustrated the thinking behind them and the changes in POV on "sin" both personal and institutional.
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"Dear God, whose name I do not know - thank you for my life. I forgot how BIG... thank you. Thank you for my life." ~from Joe Vs the Volcano
Posts: 21377 | From: CA | Registered: May 2003
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Firenze
Ordinary decent pagan
# 619
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Kaplan Corday:
I'm giving this film a post of its own because there doesn't appear to be a film thread running at the moment.
I saw it a few days ago, and ever since have been making a cerebral list of all the things wrong with it, while at the same time finding myself unable to shake off its visceral impact.
Any comments?
Posts: 17302 | From: Edinburgh | Registered: Jun 2001
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Palimpsest
Shipmate
# 16772
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Posted
I saw the latest Coen Brothers film; "Inside Lewellyn Davis". I enjoyed it a great deal as it followed a folksinger who is not making it in New York City in the early 60's.
Like most Coen Brothers films there's a fair amount of Shaggy Dog to the story (in this case a cat) and it triggered a lot of nostalgia for New York City in the 60's and the music of the time.
[ 30. December 2013, 16:06: Message edited by: Palimpsest ]
Posts: 2990 | From: Seattle WA. US | Registered: Nov 2011
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Ariel
Shipmate
# 58
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Posted
My DVDs arrived today, and a dark, wet morning has been brightened up by Court Jester, starring Danny Kaye and made in 1956. Some of you may remember those immortal lines:
"The pellet with the poison's in the flagon with the dragon, but the vessel with the pestle has the brew that is true."
Funny to think that the little baby in that film is nearly 60 by now.
And there's a Hitchcock film to save for another day. Some of those old films from the great days of Hollywood are still wonderful, decades on.
Posts: 25445 | Registered: May 2001
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Twilight
Puddleglum's sister
# 2832
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Posted
I finally saw Dead Man Walking for the first time yesterday. I think it's one of the best movies I've ever seen. I knew that Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon were anti-capital punishment (as I am) so I expected the material to slant in our direction. Not. At. All. They went out of their way to present the other side of the issue to the fullest extent. The perpetrator was unquestionably guilty of a horrible crime. He was personally detestable, even a racist. We were made to feel the pain of the victims' parents and we had to watch the crime in graphic flashbacks.
Sister Prejean (Sarandon) is the best example of a Christian I've seen on film.
The acting is amazing.
Roger Ebert wrote a wonderful five star review of the film that brought out several more reasons why it is so exceptional.
Now if I could just shake it off. Where's that Danny Kaye film?
Posts: 6817 | Registered: May 2002
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Sir Kevin
Ship's Gaffer
# 3492
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Ariel:
Funny to think that the little baby in that film is nearly 60 by now.
I am 60 in a few days! I remember that film. Mr. Kaye did a lot of hilarious films. What was the one where he played a milkman?
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If you board the wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the other direction Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Writing is currently my hobby, not yet my profession.
Posts: 30517 | From: White Hart Lane | Registered: Oct 2002
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Kaplan Corday
Shipmate
# 16119
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Lyda*Rose:
I saw Philomena a few weeks ago. It was quite good. It could have been syrupy but I didn't find it that way.
Yes, that’s true.
Apparently the genre is known in the movie trade as a “womb trembler”, but this particular example fell far short of crass emotional manipulation.
I had at least three reservations about it.
First, the lead character was not integrated, to my mind, but bifurcated into toughness; experience of thirty years as a nurse; and the intrusive powerful, self-possessed persona of Judy Dench, on the one hand, and the ingenuousness (especially the religious naivete); unworldliness, and lack of cultural sophistication, on the other.
Secondly, while the actions of the RCC in the film were inexcusable, the historically ignorant could go away thinking that they were somehow unique, whereas in that era, even young single mothers in secular hospitals could have their babies removed from them straight after birth, and adopted out, without their even ever seeing them, let alone holding them.
Thirdly, part of the film’s anti-religious narrative drive is dependent on the mother’s claim in the film to have thoroughly enjoyed the sex (“Why would God give us such a capacity for pleasure and then punish us for using it?” asks the atheist journalist), but the idea that a sexually ignorant (“I didn’t know then that I had a clitoris”) virgin Irish teenager in the early fifties, having sex for the first time, outside on the ground or up against a wall, is going to have a great orgasm straight off, is a bit hard to believe.
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Welease Woderwick
Sister Incubus Nightmare
# 10424
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Posted
Ariel, I think most Hitchcock is still eminently watchable.
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I give thanks for unknown blessings already on their way.
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What part of Matt. 7:1 don't you understand?
Posts: 48139 | From: 1st on the right, straight on 'til morning | Registered: Sep 2005
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Ariel
Shipmate
# 58
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Posted
So do I. The one I've bought is Notorious, with Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman and Claude Rains (where she marries Claude Rains in order to spy on his Nazi activities, despite her being in love with Cary Grant who is the FBI agent giving her orders). I'm really looking forward to seeing this again.
Posts: 25445 | Registered: May 2001
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jedijudy
Organist of the Jedi Temple
# 333
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Smudgie:
I get to see Frozen today ![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
I saw that with my Daughter and Granddaughter on Friday!
It was a great way to spend time with two of my favorite people. They had both seen it before, and liked it enough to go again.
I think the story was well-told. Frustrating enough to relate to real life, but with the predictable 'magic' that can put a smile on a grandmother's face!
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Jasmine, little cat with a big heart.
Posts: 18017 | From: 'Twixt the 'Glades and the Gulf | Registered: Aug 2001
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Twilight
Puddleglum's sister
# 2832
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Posted
Hubs and I watched "The Reader," last night. Last Christmas someone got me the latest version of "Mildred Pierce." We realized we now know Kate Winslet's body better than our own since we've been avoiding mirrors for years.
"The Reader," raises interesting questions about how much we can or should punish war criminals. It also raises the subject of illiteracy and the shame that many people feel over not being able to read. Unfortunately, I didn't think the film delved deeply enough into either question for us to form answers and we were just left depressed by it all.
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Sir Kevin
Ship's Gaffer
# 3492
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Posted
The Mrs. and I watched Ender's Game last night and she told me what was left out. The writing was awesome: the original author imagined what we know as present-day technology - the iPad, nearly thirty years ago!
My new facebook friend, Mr. Russel Crowe, sent me a trailer of his new film, NOAH, last night. What a cool birthday present. Really looking forward to it when it hits the screens here in about nine weeks! All-star cast includes SIr Anthony Hopkins, Emma Watson and Jennifer Connelly. Re-watching the trailer even as I write...
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If you board the wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the other direction Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Writing is currently my hobby, not yet my profession.
Posts: 30517 | From: White Hart Lane | Registered: Oct 2002
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leo
Shipmate
# 1458
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Twilight:
Hubs and I watched "The Reader," last night. Last Christmas someone got me the latest version of "Mildred Pierce." We realized we now know Kate Winslet's body better than our own since we've been avoiding mirrors for years.
"The Reader," raises interesting questions about how much we can or should punish war criminals. It also raises the subject of illiteracy and the shame that many people feel over not being able to read. Unfortunately, I didn't think the film delved deeply enough into either question for us to form answers and we were just left depressed by it all.
The Reader is very thought provoking.
A review in 'The Reader' magazine prudishly said it wasn't suitable for (lay) Readers so I promptly got the DVD!
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My Jewish-positive lectionary blog is at http://recognisingjewishrootsinthelectionary.wordpress.com/
My reviews at http://layreadersbookreviews.wordpress.com
Posts: 23198 | From: Bristol | Registered: Oct 2001
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Sir Kevin
Ship's Gaffer
# 3492
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Posted
Saw Anchorman 2 yesterday: very funny! I've been to local television news studios and did not see one that dysfunctional.
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If you board the wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the other direction Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Writing is currently my hobby, not yet my profession.
Posts: 30517 | From: White Hart Lane | Registered: Oct 2002
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Eigon
Shipmate
# 4917
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Posted
I went to see The Desolation of Smaug last night.
Golly, Legolas is a show-off! And his dad is a nasty piece of work. The 'love triangle' wasn't as bad as I'd thought it would be, though.
I did like the scenes in Laketown - they made it look like a very real place to live - and the dragon was awesome (though the dwarves fought back a bit too effectively, I thought).
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Laugh hard. Run fast. Be kind.
Posts: 3710 | From: Hay-on-Wye, town of books | Registered: Aug 2003
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LutheranChik
Shipmate
# 9826
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Posted
Thanks to the nearest multiplex's "Senior Day" (we were prepared to show ID, but our grayng hair was enough for the theater employee to give us a discount) and our trying to keep a languishing single friend entertained, we've been going to the movies more lately; nothing indie or artsy at this theater, just the usual.
[spoiler alert] I really liked "Saving Mr. Banks." Of course, it's a horribly bowlderized portrayal of P.L. Travers, but you can't expect much more from a Disney-connected Hollywood major motion picture. For me, the interesting part of the film was the creative tension between all the expected Hollywood conventions and sappy ending and the real darkness and family dysfunction portrayed in an evocative way during the film: the effects of parental alcoholism, mental illness and abuse on children, and how those experiences shape the trajectory of their lives for ill or for good. I went prepared to not be impressed at all, but I was wrong.
On the other hand, I went to "Frozen" with great expectations, especially after reading that it was one of the few family films that adults could go to see without children in tow and still have a good time. The animation was indeed something amazing; but I thought the screenwriting was clunky and inarticulate, and there were some loose ends in the plot that weren't adequately explained or resolved. (And, please, does EVERY male children's movie character have to sound like a 16-year-old surfer dude?) The sung bits were all right but nothing to last the ages. DP fell asleep halfway through the movie, LOL. I just don't think it lived up to the hype. PS The animated short before the film proper IS worth the price of admission; we loved it.
[ 04. January 2014, 13:52: Message edited by: LutheranChik ]
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Simul iustus et peccator
http://www.lutheranchiklworddiary.blogspot.com
Posts: 6462 | From: rural Michigan, USA | Registered: Jul 2005
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Sir Kevin
Ship's Gaffer
# 3492
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Posted
I was an 18-year-old surfer dude and I didn't sound like that. Now, I no longer live in the LA area but I still go out into the Pacific and when at Land's End in England the Atlantic: I am a 60-year-old surfer dude!
I guess I'll give Frozen a miss!
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If you board the wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the other direction Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Writing is currently my hobby, not yet my profession.
Posts: 30517 | From: White Hart Lane | Registered: Oct 2002
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Garasu
Shipmate
# 17152
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Posted
Currently shuddering at Legend of Earthsea.
I know I'm late to the party: but did no one involved in this mess read the bloody books?
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"Could I believe in the doctrine without believing in the deity?". - Modesitt, L. E., Jr., 1943- Imager.
Posts: 889 | From: Surrey Heath (England) | Registered: Jun 2012
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Rev per Minute
Shipmate
# 69
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Kaplan Corday:
[QUOTE]
I had at least three reservations about it.
...
Secondly, while the actions of the RCC in the film were inexcusable, the historically ignorant could go away thinking that they were somehow unique, whereas in that era, even young single mothers in secular hospitals could have their babies removed from them straight after birth, and adopted out, without their even ever seeing them, let alone holding them.
But part of the story is that, in Ireland, there were no 'secular authorities'. The Irish Government largely passed social policy and large amounts of health to the Church, and the RC hierarchy had effectively a power of veto over government and Daìl proposals. So it was simply the Catholic Church who did this IN IRELAND, as the only ones who ran these homes/laundries. The woman was effectively given to the Church institutions by the State and so had nowhere to turn. (The Irish Government has only relatively recently apologised for its abandonment of young women to the Church)
Outside the scope of that book/film, though, there were other people who did this. England and Wales had 'mother and baby homes', sometimes run by or with the Church of England or other churches, which similarly removed babies from unmarried mothers for adoption by 'suitable' families. It wasn't just Ireland, it wasn't just the Catholic Church, but in that story for that woman it was the Catholic structure which let her down.
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"Allons-y!" "Geronimo!" "Oh, for God's sake!" The Day of the Doctor
At the end of the day, we face our Maker alongside Jesus. RIP ken
Posts: 2696 | From: my desk (if I can find the keyboard under this mess) | Registered: May 2001
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