Recently viewed films

This is for all non-EC or peripheral-EC topics. We all know how much we love talking about 'The Man' but sometimes we have other interests.
Post Reply
johnfoyle
Posts: 14852
Joined: Wed Jun 04, 2003 4:37 pm
Location: Dublin , Ireland

Re: Recently viewed films

Post by johnfoyle »

I don't know if it's different in the film, but I read The Reader a few months ago, and the person on trial is not innocent. Is it different?
Yes , it is indeed based on the Bernhard Schlink's book. I remember being riveted by it, wishing I could understand German so that I might get even more of a treat and see if it could top Carol Brown Janeway's translation.The themes of betrayal and morality are beautifully played out and hugely satisfying. It's a text that relies very much on literary devices and the readers willingness to engage with them. It would be difficult to transfer it to other mediums. It fails badly in this film version. Leaving aside the cod German accents the production is doomed by particularly idiotic portrayals by the 'stars' Winslett and Fiennes. Fair dues to Kate W. for bareing all , showing a real middle aged body . However she just does not convince as a person fighting inner demons etc. Fiennes is just plain awful ,doing his one note broody bit. Technically the film is excellent. Producers Sydney Pollack and Anthony Minghella both died before the completion of the movie and you just have to wonder what subtle changes they could have brought to it. Nico Muhly's music is overly intrusive and annoying.

Kate Winslett's limited range should be perfect for her role in Revolutionary Road . Well , if it sticks to how ' April Wheeler' is depicted in Richard Yates' book. It doesn't get here 'til Jan.30 so I'll hold fire 'til then. I 'did' Yates' book in my book group a few months ago. Another engrossing read. A radio show here in Dublin was looking for comments and I nicked a few ideas from our discussion, threw together a few paragraphs and ended up winning a €50 book token - yah!
User avatar
Who Shot Sam?
Posts: 7097
Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2003 5:05 pm
Location: Somewhere in the distance
Contact:

Re: Recently viewed films

Post by Who Shot Sam? »

Watched Charlie Wilson's War last night on DVD with the missus after viewing Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom for the umpteen millionth time with the kids. Philip Seymour Hoffman was superb as usual in Charlie Wilson's War (quite a few LOL lines, mostly because of his deadpan delivery). I've never been Tom Hanks' biggest fan, though he seems like a decent enough fella. Not really having much knowledge of the ins and outs of the Soviet-Afghan war and the US' part in it, I'm not really in a position to say whether they oversold the role Wilson played, but I suspect they did.
Mother, Moose-Hunter, Maverick
User avatar
Boy With A Problem
Posts: 2718
Joined: Sat Jun 14, 2003 9:41 pm
Location: Inside the Pocket of a Clown

Re: Recently viewed films

Post by Boy With A Problem »

I watched Peckinpah's Straw Dogs yesterday. He manages to make Cornwall look menacing - just a claustrophobic, mysoginstic difficult film to watch. I give it four stars. It contains a rape scene nearly as disturbing in Leone's Once Upon a Time in America - both for the length of the scene, the resulting flashbacks and Susan George's reactions during the rape. Dustin Hoffman is downright creepy as the hero (or is he the villian?) and I can't figure out why David Warner (great as Jack the Ripper in Time After Time) goes uncredited as the murderous pedophile.

And then last night we watched Nicholas Ray's In A Lonely Place - late 40's film noir with Bogart going over the edge as screenwriter/murder suspect - one of his great perfomances, getting more dislikable as the film goes on. Great photography/lighting.

John F - if you are interested in Yates I highly recommend the Blake Bailey bigography, A Tragic Honesty. Larry David even makes an appearance.
Everyone just needs to fuckin’ relax. Smoke more weed, the world is ending.
User avatar
BlueChair
Posts: 5959
Joined: Mon Jun 02, 2003 5:41 pm
Location: Toronto, Canada
Contact:

Re: Recently viewed films

Post by BlueChair »

Saw two great and very different films this weekend.

First up was Ghost Town (starring Ricky Gervais, Greg Kinnear and Tea Leoni) on DVD. Red and I are both big fans of Gervais' work on Extras and The Office, but after seeing the previews for this one we were a bit concerned that it would be a romantic comedy with a majorly toned-down Gervais in the middle of that. Thankfully, the movie has a lot more substance than that - it's very funny and has some great performances. I would recommend it.

Then yesterday we went to see The Wrestler, which is getting a lot of Oscar buzz for Mickey Rourke's outstanding portrayal of 1980s (fictional) wrestler Randy "The Ram" Robinson as he struggles with age and relevance twenty years after his peak. This was a great film that managed to transcend the subject matter (I mean really, how many of us are interested in wrestling) by exploring the inner humanity of the characters. Highly recommended.
This morning you've got time for a hot, home-cooked breakfast! Delicious and piping hot in only 3 microwave minutes.
User avatar
miss buenos aires
Posts: 2055
Joined: Wed Jun 04, 2003 7:15 am
Location: jcnj
Contact:

Re: Recently viewed films

Post by miss buenos aires »

Blue, I put Ghost Town in my queue after Salon said it was one of the ten best films of the year. I remember the trailer making me laugh.

This weekend we watched Waitress (entertaining, but kind of a mess—the tone was all over the place, there was too much going on to wrap up neatly, and you can't stop thinking about what happened to poor Adrienne Shelley, which is no fault of the movie, but still) and Serenity (meaning that in about two years I've seen everything Joss Whedon has ever done, besides the Internet Dr. Horrible thingy, but I still don't think of myself as one of those people. Whatever happened to bobster, by the way?).

Next in my queue: La Ronde.
User avatar
Otis Westinghouse
Posts: 8856
Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2003 3:32 pm
Location: The theatre of dreams

Re: Recently viewed films

Post by Otis Westinghouse »

Rourke was on a chat show here drooling embarrassingly all over a petrified Jessica Biel who sat next to him. He looks astonishing these days. Good for him to have made an acting comeback, though.
There's more to life than books, you know, but not much more
User avatar
Who Shot Sam?
Posts: 7097
Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2003 5:05 pm
Location: Somewhere in the distance
Contact:

Re: Recently viewed films

Post by Who Shot Sam? »

Watched Jean-Pierre Melville's Army of Shadows tonight. A really outstanding film about the French Resistance.

Image
Mother, Moose-Hunter, Maverick
User avatar
Otis Westinghouse
Posts: 8856
Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2003 3:32 pm
Location: The theatre of dreams

Re: Recently viewed films

Post by Otis Westinghouse »

Great cover.
There's more to life than books, you know, but not much more
User avatar
miss buenos aires
Posts: 2055
Joined: Wed Jun 04, 2003 7:15 am
Location: jcnj
Contact:

Re: Recently viewed films

Post by miss buenos aires »

Otis Westinghouse wrote:Great cover.

Better movie. I luuuurve Army of Shadows. It's about the Resistance, but made like a film noir. I could see it again, as it just struck me that I don't really remember anything else about the movie. Except in the beginning where the prison guard is thinking about someone and as things come to mind, he thinks, "Carrot...stick...carrot...stick."
User avatar
Who Shot Sam?
Posts: 7097
Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2003 5:05 pm
Location: Somewhere in the distance
Contact:

Re: Recently viewed films

Post by Who Shot Sam? »

miss buenos aires wrote:
Otis Westinghouse wrote:Great cover.

Better movie. I luuuurve Army of Shadows. It's about the Resistance, but made like a film noir. I could see it again, as it just struck me that I don't really remember anything else about the movie. Except in the beginning where the prison guard is thinking about someone and as things come to mind, he thinks, "Carrot...stick...carrot...stick."
I really liked how the film shifted around to those different internal monologues. There is also that great scene where Gerbier and another man are about to be interrogated and it's all done with very little dialogue and the clock just ticking in the background. Very tense, without much really happening at all. It's a very clear-headed, gritty, un-romanticized picture of the Resistance. It would be interesting to watch this in tandem with Lacombe, Lucien, which is perhaps the best picture ever made about a collaborator.
Mother, Moose-Hunter, Maverick
User avatar
Who Shot Sam?
Posts: 7097
Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2003 5:05 pm
Location: Somewhere in the distance
Contact:

Re: Recently viewed films

Post by Who Shot Sam? »

Watched The Dark Knight last night on the Blu-ray (yes, about a year after everyone else). I really really liked this one - maybe the best superhero movie ever. You have a well-crafted plot without too much extraneous nonsense, an outstanding villain, a top-notch cast and some pretty incredible action scenes. I read somewhere that very little CGI was used in making the film (only for Two Face's mangled face), and it's almost hard to believe. I remember thinking that all of the praise of Heath Ledger's performance was overblown as a reaction to his death, but I can't see anyone ever playing that character better than he did. Not the cartoon figure that Nicholson or Cesar Romero gave us. Man, he was developing into quite an actor. RIP.

As for the rest, the only one I might quibble with a bit is Christian Bale's Batman, mainly because he's so bland in comparison to everyone else. There's also the matter of his Batman voice, which sounds suspiciously like Clint Eastwood in that new Gran Torino film. I half expected Batman to approach the Joker with a sawed-off shotgun, telling him, "Get off of my lawn!" But that's kind of who Batman is I guess. He's always been a little dull. The other roles were all cast perfectly, I thought - Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Michael Caine all outstanding, as was Gary Oldman as Gordon.

This is the kind of thing that a Blu-ray player and home theater set-up is made for.
Mother, Moose-Hunter, Maverick
User avatar
bambooneedle
Posts: 4533
Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2003 4:02 pm
Location: a few thousand miles south east of Zanzibar

Re: Recently viewed films

Post by bambooneedle »

Who Shot Sam? wrote:This is the kind of thing that a Blu-ray player and home theater set-up is made for.
Had the same thought when I saw Pearl Harbor last week.
User avatar
ReadyToHearTheWorst
Posts: 956
Joined: Wed Jun 04, 2003 5:44 am
Location: uk

Re: Recently viewed films

Post by ReadyToHearTheWorst »

Slumdog Millionaire quality - grim,funny, uplifting etc. Highly recommended.
"I'm the Rock and Roll Scrabble champion"
User avatar
mood swung
Posts: 6908
Joined: Thu Jun 05, 2003 3:59 pm
Location: out looking for my tribe
Contact:

Re: Recently viewed films

Post by mood swung »

I want to see that one, RTHTW.

Watched Love in the Time of Cholera on dvd. Very lovely. And not just Javier Bardem.

Also had Dogtown and Z-Boys documentary on as I took down the Christmas tree - compelling stuff. Skaters and surfers and reinventing the wheel.
Like me, the "g" is silent.
User avatar
Otis Westinghouse
Posts: 8856
Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2003 3:32 pm
Location: The theatre of dreams

Re: Recently viewed films

Post by Otis Westinghouse »


Most ludicrous speech ever! 2'00 in 'Oh God! Who's the other one?... Angelina!' Priceless.
There's more to life than books, you know, but not much more
User avatar
miss buenos aires
Posts: 2055
Joined: Wed Jun 04, 2003 7:15 am
Location: jcnj
Contact:

Re: Recently viewed films

Post by miss buenos aires »

Saw Trouble the Water last night, a documentary about Katrina... Great story, but I literally had to shut my eyes about 20 minutes in and stay that way, as the camerawork made me sick to my stomach.
User avatar
Who Shot Sam?
Posts: 7097
Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2003 5:05 pm
Location: Somewhere in the distance
Contact:

Re: Recently viewed films

Post by Who Shot Sam? »

The Godfather, again, last night. It seems like I revisit these pictures every ten years or so. The Blu-ray set was on sale at Blockbuster this weekend and was calling my name. What a gorgeous canvas it is - all those deep blacks and earth tones, set off in places by splashes of color - i.e. the bridesmaid's dresses at the wedding, the red splatters when Sonny gets gunned down at the tollbooth, the crimson of the horse's head in Woltz's bed, the sickly green walls in the hospital. Beautiful filmmaking.
Mother, Moose-Hunter, Maverick
User avatar
oily slick
Posts: 1864
Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2003 5:07 pm
Location: st louis

Re: Recently viewed films

Post by oily slick »

saw Benjamin Button this weekend and it was superb. a meandering, wonderful story, splendid cast and the technology is amazing. apparently it is possible to decorate brad's head and place it anywhere you want seamlessly.
I'm not concerned about the very poor.
User avatar
Otis Westinghouse
Posts: 8856
Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2003 3:32 pm
Location: The theatre of dreams

Re: Recently viewed films

Post by Otis Westinghouse »

miss buenos aires wrote:the camerawork made me sick to my stomach.
In what way?

Cate Blanchett. As mentioned above. Another for the list...
There's more to life than books, you know, but not much more
User avatar
miss buenos aires
Posts: 2055
Joined: Wed Jun 04, 2003 7:15 am
Location: jcnj
Contact:

Re: Recently viewed films

Post by miss buenos aires »

Otis Westinghouse wrote:
miss buenos aires wrote:the camerawork made me sick to my stomach.
In what way?
Well, imagine you had just bought a camcorder, and you were walking around with it and talking to people, and then you were in the middle of a huge hurricane, and filming that. It was so shaky, I felt like I was on a ship.
User avatar
Boy With A Problem
Posts: 2718
Joined: Sat Jun 14, 2003 9:41 pm
Location: Inside the Pocket of a Clown

Re: Recently viewed films

Post by Boy With A Problem »

Was I dreaming when I thought someone had posted about watching The Pope of Greenwhich Village recently?

I watched it last night for the first time in over twenty years and have been thinking about it all day. What an unbelievable over the top performance by Eric Roberts. It's funny how you don't remember things like you should -

(SPOILER ALERT FOR A 25 YEAR OLD FILM) I've been quoting "Charlie! Charlie! They cut off my thumbs!" for years and the line is "Charley! The took my thumb!" - Though "Cop shit his pants! Cop shit his pants!" was well retained. And still - a heartbreaking character (Paulie) - the more mental the performance; the more you're firmly on his side.

It makes me want to see Star 80 again. I remember that perfomance scaring the crap out of me. I think it was made around the same time - the Dorothy Stratten story.

Mickey Rourke is the voice of reason and sanity in Pope and hasn't changed his clothes since Diner.

look out for the Soprano's Phil Leotardo playing himself.

...........and the back of Darly Hannah...............................
Everyone just needs to fuckin’ relax. Smoke more weed, the world is ending.
User avatar
migdd
Posts: 3009
Joined: Sun Jun 22, 2003 6:16 pm
Location: Rolling in Clover, SC

Re: Recently viewed films

Post by migdd »

Pope is a wonderful film; however, it's truly amazing to see Mickey Roarke really reach his potential in the best acting performance I've seen this year in The Wrestler, even trouncing Sean Penn's turn in Milk.
User avatar
Poppet
Posts: 939
Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2003 7:49 am
Location: Boston, MA USA

Re: Recently viewed films

Post by Poppet »

Repo! The Genetic Opera


NOT for everyone. gory. but good. yes, it is a musical.

i don't do horror movies generally. i wouldn't watch the Saw franchise if you paid me millions.

but i've seen this twice now, and oooooooh, i like.

and i LOVE the soundtrack. anxiously awaiting its arrival, having ordererd it yesterday. also ordered the dvd, though i expect the soundtrack to get lots more playtime.

i can see this movie running at midnight showings for years to come, if the theaters can get prints. it's in VERY limited release.
... name the stars and constellations,
count the cars and watch the seasons....
johnfoyle
Posts: 14852
Joined: Wed Jun 04, 2003 4:37 pm
Location: Dublin , Ireland

Re: Recently viewed films

Post by johnfoyle »

Frost/Nixon is a entertaining, well made transfer of a stage play. Instead of trying to mask the theatrical aspects Howard intelligently plays up the central performances, showing every tic and grimace of Sheen and Langella's depictions. The sheer mundanity of t.v. commerce ( Frost pitching to dog food makers for sponsorship) are beautifully contrasted with hysterically funny '70s touches ( being serenaded by Neil Diamond in a celebrity restarant). It also explains why , perhaps, contrast collars for gentlemen were such a constant feature for the next few decades.
User avatar
Otis Westinghouse
Posts: 8856
Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2003 3:32 pm
Location: The theatre of dreams

Re: Recently viewed films

Post by Otis Westinghouse »

johnfoyle wrote: It also explains why , perhaps, contrast collars for gentlemen were such a constant feature for the next few decades.
At the risk of inviting a spoiler alert, how come? This is a Frost thing, right? Gave him a bit of saintly radiance?
Image
There's more to life than books, you know, but not much more
Post Reply