Recently viewed films

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BlueChair
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Re: Recently viewed films

Post by BlueChair »

Red and I are hoping to catch Frost/Nixon tomorrow, in our annual attempt to see all five best picture nominees (we've already seen Milk and Slumdog Millionaire, which leaves The Reader and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button on the "to see" list.

For my money, The Wrestler should have been up for Best Picture. But I'm fairly certain Mickey Rourke will at least win Best Actor for that one.
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Re: Recently viewed films

Post by johnfoyle »

At the risk of inviting a spoiler alert, how come? This is a Frost thing, right?
Exactly. I was , maybe a bit too obliquely, making fun of the fact that , it seems, many have since sported such tacky garb because they think it makes them as sophisticated as David F..
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Re: Recently viewed films

Post by miss buenos aires »

BlueChair wrote:Red and I are hoping to catch Frost/Nixon tomorrow, in our annual attempt to see all five best picture nominees (we've already seen Milk and Slumdog Millionaire, which leaves The Reader and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button on the "to see" list.
I saw Slumdog Millionaire and Milk (both of which were excellent), and The Curious Case of Benjamin Butthole this week (which was just okay). I want to want to see The Reader and Frost/Nixon, for my own annual attempt, but I can't help not being at all interested in either one. Plus, movies cost $12 here. And I don't think either of them are going to win.

Also saw Mike Leigh's Happy-Go-Lucky this week, which was interesting. There's a real "I'm incredibly annoyed by this character" hurdle to get over, but once you do, it's very enjoyable.
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Re: Recently viewed films

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Milk is well made with a heartfelt performance by Penn but is still a decidedly flat film. There was very little grit or sense of venom to counterbalance the , essentially, sedate forward motion of the narrative. The packed cinema I saw it in sat through it with not a murmor of reaction. I kept noticing the technical aspects ( photography, music etc.) which is bad 'cos it meant I wasn't involved with the piece on a emotional level.

Going back to The Reader , before Milk I ran into a customer( name unknown) of my shop in the packed coffee bar of the Lighthouse cinema here in Dublin. We chatted ,as her male friend nodded on, about recent films, how great the recently opened Lighthouse is etc. As we parted she recommended The Reader. I said I'd seen it and was about to say why I didn't like it when she added ' He ( her companion) produced it'. I was paused and , deciding to edit my comments , said I prefered the book. He, Redmond Morris as I later learnt, smiled , saying ' Well it got the Oscar nominations'. I mumbled something about ' well done' etc. and we parted in the crowd. They were sitting near us at Milk and nodded. I ran into him coming out of the film and he agreed with what I posted above. Only in Dublin etc...

http://www.lighthousecinema.ie/index.php
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Re: Recently viewed films

Post by Otis Westinghouse »

Great story! Can't find a photo of RH, which I wanted to post, but he's done a lot of stuff:

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0606877/

Radio 4's Front Row critic reckoned Benjamin Butthole had a truly awful script, and also that Milk made the man out to be far too much of a saint, whereas a docu film about him from a few years ago, I think, made him seem much more interesting.

MBA: I knew several people who had issues with Poppy being irritating in Happy Go Lucky, and in one case someone insisted the entire depiction was ironic, but I liked it from the off. Partly it was 'my God, a Leigh character who is breezy, bright and cheerful'. but I just liked her and found her uplifting. Enraha-man was hysterical, the dark counter to her HGL nature. Imagine learning to drive with that!
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Re: Recently viewed films

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BlueChair wrote: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.
You guys owe me 90 minutes of my life, as I just watched it based partially on your recommendation. It was completely mediocre and not funny AT ALL. It wasn't offensively bad, but between you recommending it and it popping up on a couple of best-of lists, I thought it would at least make me chuckle, or affect me in any way. A huge yawn.
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Re: Recently viewed films

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Well, that's what taste is all about though, right - differences of opinion? I think the fact that I went in with utterly low expectations was part of why I liked it. Clearly it's not for everyone, though.

Next time we're in New York we'll give you your 90 minutes back :P
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Re: Recently viewed films

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I spent a few days lying on the couch. Here's some of what I watched. Lars and the Real Girl - which was lovely. Tropic Thunder had its hilarious moments and several that I just didn't get. Stepbrothers - very funny to watch Mary Steenburgen say the f word. And several episodes of a "Behind the Music" type Biography - Sitcoms Revealed, in which I learned just what a bitch Ginger really was.
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Re: Recently viewed films

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Revolutionary Road is a near perfect visualisation of the book. Every mood and emphasis transfers with a truly exhilirating performance by Di Caprio. Lots of relatively long takes with the ravishing photography acting as a counterpoint that gives added emphasis to the bleak, inner turmoil of the characters. The book is so good that the film could have been such a disappointment - it's such a relief that it is not. Michael Shannon is shockingly good - you just cannot take your eyes of him. One of the most satisfying pieces of cinema in a while.
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Re: Recently viewed films

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Slumdog Millionaire - excellent film. Sad, funny, clever, happy and very well made.
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Re: Recently viewed films

Post by pophead2k »

I also saw Slumdog Millionaire yesterday and absolutely loved it. Although I'd obviously heard of the film quite a bit with all the award nominations, I honestly hadn't heard anything specific about it. I think that really enhanced my enjoyment. The story was original, the stylization was great, and the performances, particularly by the children, were outstanding. I don't know where this would stand in a list of favorite films, but I can say that I haven't enjoyed a film more in the last few years.
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Re: Recently viewed films

Post by ice nine »

Just caught this on Starz. It's a slow paced independent little witty film film. It is a romantic comedy between two 'losers' who find each other. The male lead is Jermaine Clement of Conchords fame. It is called Eagle Vs. Shark. The name comes about because they met at a costume party where he was dressed as an eagle and she was a shark and they end up playing a video game against each other. If you like Napolean Dynamite you may like this one.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0494222/
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Re: Recently viewed films

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Hamlet 2.

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Re: Recently viewed films

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I was immersed in 1972-73 this weekend with Kansas City Bomber and The Seven-Ups



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Re: Recently viewed films

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johnfoyle wrote:Revolutionary Road is a near perfect visualisation of the book. Every mood and emphasis transfers with a truly exhilirating performance by Di Caprio. Lots of relatively long takes with the ravishing photography acting as a counterpoint that gives added emphasis to the bleak, inner turmoil of the characters. The book is so good that the film could have been such a disappointment - it's such a relief that it is not. Michael Shannon is shockingly good - you just cannot take your eyes of him. One of the most satisfying pieces of cinema in a while.
I haven't read the book (I hadn't even heard of it until the film came out :oops: ), but my wife read it in two days ahead of seeing the film and needless to say was regretting all the many details from the book the film couldn't convey (April's childhood, more on Shep and April, etc.). Inevitable with a film version, of course. [SPOILER ALERT] It sounds like the book makes it seem her death was more obviously a suicide (she wrote various letters, incinerated them and wrote a note) whereas the film is more ambiguous - you think the weird breakfast, his best ever, and watching him go to work is valedictory, but there's nothing more than that. I agree with your comments on both actors, but would have to single out Winslet above all with the endless complexities of facial expression. Tremendously watchable, Very, very good all round (camerawork, as you say, and music also very impressive). Will read the book soon.
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Re: Recently viewed films

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pophead2k wrote:I also saw Slumdog Millionaire yesterday and absolutely loved it. Although I'd obviously heard of the film quite a bit with all the award nominations, I honestly hadn't heard anything specific about it. I think that really enhanced my enjoyment. The story was original, the stylization was great, and the performances, particularly by the children, were outstanding. I don't know where this would stand in a list of favorite films, but I can say that I haven't enjoyed a film more in the last few years.
I am currently in India and while the people in delhi seem very excited about the success of this film, the upper caste in Mumbai hate that they feel this depicts India and Mumbai unfairly, falsely representing the abject poverty and failing to properly represent the true balance of poverty and affluency.

I have not sen the film, but I can say this wilthout reservation: I have traveled the world and this is, without a doubt, Mumbia had miles and miles and miles of the most destitute slums that I have ever seen in anywhere in my travels. I cannot imagine a film that could falsely represent the magnitude of poverty that I have experienced. As we walked into a government hospital (for indigents who cannot pay...the lower castes and the majority of the populace) I asked my driver (sounds sickening in context..makes me a little sick to write it) how long the literally thousands of people with healthcare tokens had been waiting for care, literally camping in every nook and cranny within a quarter mile radius of the hospital. "5-6 hours"", I asked. No, 5-6 days. Some, with broken limbs and riddled with sores and coughs, literally were sitting in their own waste, fearful to move lest they lose the chance to see a physician.

Oh God. There is a beauty that you can't grasp through the tears. What a strong people...I dunno. No words. I drove me back to express to good people who, in general, care. I think I might change careers

Count your blessings everyday.

There is no way, and it sounds like Bill murray the film credit from the old Sat Night Live because I haven't seen the film, that the film misrepresents the poverty. Nothing could overestimate this. Nothing.

I will see it when I return to the States next Thursday.

God Bless India.

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Re: Recently viewed films

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Took my boy to see Coraline this afternoon (his sister had seen it with my wife a week earlier). But we got the cool 3D glasses. Wildly inventive, unbelievably beautiful stop motion animation. Quite dark in places, but nothing my boy couldn't handle. There was a mother and son in the lobby when we were buying tickets who had left the previous showing because it was too "weird" for them. No, it's not a Disney-style animated feature, but if you appreciate animation as high art or if you have kids who dig stuff that is a little offbeat and dark, go see this. It's a gorgeous piece of work.

Also, last night we watched Frozen River, an independent film that was shown at Sundance last year about a woman who gets involved in smuggling illegals across the US/Canadian border. It's a pretty harrowing film. Melissa Leo was nominated (Best Actress) for her performance in this and it's well-deserved. It reminds me a bit of the hardscrabble kinds of movies that were being made here in the States during the early and mid-70s, focusing on the lives of unglamorous and often desperate people. Mike Leigh might be the best British equivalent. The film also perfectly captured the icy, desolate quality of the Northeast in winter. Definitely worth seeing.

Tonight we'll watch Changeling and then I will try to squeeze in The Visitor tomorrow if we have time before the Oscars start.
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Re: Recently viewed films

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So....

Changeling. Hard to believe that it's based on a true story. Jolie is quite good as the aggrieved mother whose son has been snatched away. Man, those lips are something else and they went nuts with the fire engine red lipstick. Costumes are gorgeous and they do a great job of evoking 1920s-1930s LA. The film looks terrific - all earth tones, set off by those lips. But...

There are times when you feel that the dialogue is a little stilted. Clint's not the most subtle director in the world and he drives his points home with a big old sledgehammer. Malkovich is more or less wasted as the Presbyterian minister who comes to Jolie's character's aid in her fight against the LAPD. It's never less than competent and the story keeps you wondering what's going to happen next, but it's not a terribly daring film either. All the bad guys get their comeuppance and the good people get vindicated and you can walk away feeling that you've watched a profoundly moral film.

Three stars out of five. Certainly worth a rental.
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Re: Recently viewed films

Post by Otis Westinghouse »

Who Shot Sam? wrote:It reminds me a bit of the hardscrabble kinds of movies that were being made here in the States during the early and mid-70s
Sounds like an interesting film, as does Coraline (love the image of the weirded out mother and child!). I was struck by the word 'hardscrabble'. Very much an American one. Lewis and Clark noted it in 1804. It made me think of struggling to get a word out in the board game, which I love, but it is a very vivid word, conjuring up images of dustbowl prairies devoid of water and means.

Talking of early 19th century US etymology, and not films, pardon me, 'discombobulated' is also US coinage. 1820s. I used it the other day and was dismayed to find colleagues around me didn't know the word. What's wrong with these people? I was then hugely gratified when someone used it in a meeting the other day.
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Re: Recently viewed films

Post by bambooneedle »

Something to do with someone stealing your comb?

Wecome back, Mr. Average.
Mr. Average wrote:I am currently in India and while the people in delhi seem very excited about the success of this film, the upper caste in Mumbai hate that they feel this depicts India and Mumbai unfairly, falsely representing the abject poverty and failing to properly represent the true balance of poverty and affluency.
Because they want everyone to know the truth, or because they want to deny it? Just curious because I have met a few Indian people who have seemed a bit uptight about things like that.
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Re: Recently viewed films

Post by Who Shot Sam? »

Otis Westinghouse wrote:
Who Shot Sam? wrote:It reminds me a bit of the hardscrabble kinds of movies that were being made here in the States during the early and mid-70s
Sounds like an interesting film, as does Coraline (love the image of the weirded out mother and child!). I was struck by the word 'hardscrabble'. Very much an American one. Lewis and Clark noted it in 1804. It made me think of struggling to get a word out in the board game, which I love, but it is a very vivid word, conjuring up images of dustbowl prairies devoid of water and means.

Talking of early 19th century US etymology, and not films, pardon me, 'discombobulated' is also US coinage. 1820s. I used it the other day and was dismayed to find colleagues around me didn't know the word. What's wrong with these people? I was then hugely gratified when someone used it in a meeting the other day.
That is one of my favorite words! I didn't realize that "hardscrabble" was coined here. Interesting. It does suit the film perfectly.

Back to Coraline, I was thinking about t again last night. It strikes me as almost the anti-Disney film. The child is strong-willed and not at all starry-eyed. The (real?) parents are distant to the point of negligence. Very unusual in what is ostensibly a "children's" film. Definitely worth your time.
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Re: Recently viewed films

Post by Otis Westinghouse »

Doesn't release here till May 9, so will make a note for then. Looks interesting. French and Saunders among the voices.

I'm praying Kate gets an Oscar and loses her composure again. The run of 'Oh God, who's the other one? ... Angelina!.. Gather... Is this really happening?' is easily the funniest thing I've heard recently. She did OK at the BAFTAs, but come on, tonight's the big one!
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Otis Westinghouse wrote:Doesn't release here till May 9, so will make a note for then. Looks interesting. French and Saunders among the voices.

I'm praying Kate gets an Oscar and loses her composure again. The run of 'Oh God, who's the other one? ... Angelina!.. Gather... Is this really happening?' is easily the funniest thing I've heard recently. She did OK at the BAFTAs, but come on, tonight's the big one!
She's the favorite, so you may get your wish! You'd think she would have a speech planned.
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Re: Recently viewed films

Post by Otis Westinghouse »

Yes, and pray that she completely fails to deliver it!
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Post by Who Shot Sam? »

Loved The Visitor. A beautiful story, modestly told. I think the director is the same guy who played the Baltimore Sun reporter on the last season of The Wire. Actors from that series are popping up all over the place. Amy Ryan, McNulty's erstwhile girlfriend and Port Police officer, was the prostitute who ended up in the psych ward with Angelina Jolie's character in Changeling.

Would love to see one of these massive underdogs win a big award tonight, but I know it's unlikely.
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