Miscellaneous Movie Musings

[Ghoulish Delight]

We also watch Burn After Reading last night.

Meh. It was clever, and I got a little more onboard after the mid-movie debriefing scene, that helped. But the characters, while on some level were fun and well performed, were all pretty flat, too one-dimensional. It helped if I tried to think of it like we were watching a novel written by someone like Malkovich's character, but even in that context it just doesn't have enough to make it more than a little amusing.

[innerSpaceman]

We finally saw Milk, and I have to say that I didn't like it nearly as much as the documentary. Way too much romantic storyline, meh.

Hahaha, I finally saw the documentary this week, and have to say I didn't like it nearly as much as the film.

The documentary COMMENTARY was very interesting. Apparently, and this is borne out by the film, it's NOT a biography of Harvey Milk. In fact, the title is often mistaken, even in print advertising, and that's why I - and apparently so many others - think it is called "The Life and Times of Harvey Milk" when, in fact, the title is "The Times of Harvey Milk" - - and so the subject matter is the politics and not the man.

The subject of the theatrical film is the man, and that's why his LIFE is more central to the story. I think the balance is better in the movie ... and it turns out to be so much more based on fact that I at first dramatic-licentiously assumed, that I find it a better document of Harvey Milk than "The Times of Harvey Milk."

Both films are important, and moving, but the Oscar-winning movie is - imo - more entertaining and far more moving (I think I cried at 4 or 5 points, while I shed narry a tear during the docu.).



Obviously the subject matter has become very important to me in the last few months. Watching both films this week, it struck me that I had lived in California but 3 months when Harvey Milk was assassinated. And though I was aghast at the news, it meant relatively little to me. It's so odd to realize I never could have known at 18 in '78 how central to my life the tale of Harvey Milk would become 30 years later.

Ironically, I also started a complete cold-turkey withdrawal from gay activism this week, and will remain on hiatus until the Supreme Court decision is handed down. Work in the activist community is completely focused on losing, and it's been badly affecting my perhaps naive optimism re the outcome.


Of course Harvey Milk remains a rather inspirational figure to me. The documentary filmmakers remark that Harvey's story was already fading into the mists of history when they started their work, and hoped the film would cement the story for posterity. I rather think the Sean Penn movie accomplishes that worthy task far better and with much more lasting concrete. But each film offers a unique angle on an important chapter in the American story of civil rights struggle.

Great Double Feature. :snap:

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Funny, I bawled while watching the doc, and barely teared up during the film. Perhaps it's because I purposely didn't look up the history so I would be surprised (and shocked and appalled), and once the surprise was gone the emotion was too.

I should have saved the doc for afterwards. Oh well.

[flippyshark]

I plan to go in film/doc order, and very soon at that.

[Not Afraid]

I tear up every time I remember the story. It was a tragedy I'll never forget.

[Gn2Dlnd]

Came home and re-watched the documentary after seeing the movie. Hadn't seen it in about 15 years. Sobbed.

[Snowflake]

The documentary is one of my all tie favorites, I never cease to weep all over again. Moved me far more than the film, and the film was very moving.

[CoasterMatt]

I watched the Jiggidy Johnson's Jammin' DVD Volume 2 tonight- I can't wait for June.

[Andrew]

We watched Desk Set (1957) (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050307/) tonight. Hepburn/Tracy. Classic.

My phone buzzed with text messages a few times, prompting me to reflect that it probably has ten or a hundred times the supposed computing power of EMERAC.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Point Break! Finally! :D

I had never seen this film. The reason being that I was so hot and bothered for Keanu but I was totally uncomfortable watching such a film with my family in the room. My dad has seen it countless times, but I'd only seen snippets.

I have to say I loved this movie. It's an early 90's encapsulation that was like traveling back in time. There are some pretty large leaps in story (read: holes) and ridiculous circumstances, but the pace is great, the story is fun and involving, and the direction is awesome (James Cameron? I had no idea). Who doesn't love Busey going nuts, and Lori Petty? I've never been a huge Swayze fan but he did a good job. Yeah, Keanu is a piece of wood, but I love him anyway (or maybe because of it).


Admittedly the only reason we watched it is because our DVD player is getting cranky in its old age and giving us sh.t over Netflix discs. Nope, not Slumdog Millionaire, we watched Point Break (on Netflix direct download to Tivo). :D

[CoasterMatt]

You gotta see Point Break Live! (http://www.theatermania.com/los-angeles/shows/point-break-live_137639/)- and sit in the "wet seats" - I think I wanna go back and try out to be Keanu for the evening.

[LSPoorEeyorick]

...our DVD player is getting cranky in its old age and giving us sh.t over Netflix discs. Nope, not Slumdog Millionaire...

Actually, I read that a bad batch of Slumdog discs went out - it might not be your DVD player that's the problem?

[Tom]

I believe that the problem with the discs (if it's the same that I read about) was that separate discs of Slumdog were printed for renting and buying. The rented ones were printed with no special features - just the movie. But apprently some of these discs ended up being sold instead of rented, making those who bought them unhappy.

[innerSpaceman]

I believe the problem is that Slumdog is the most overrated film in decades. No since The English Patient also undeservedly won Best Picture has there been such ado about nearly nothing.


If it were not so overly hyped beyond all enjoyment, your player would have played it. Blame the Machine, not the machine.

[Ghoulish Delight]

No, our player has been flaky of late and very picky about which discs it'll read.

[innerSpaceman]

Maybe your player just has good taste.

[Not Afraid]

I'm glad to hear Slum Dog is out on DVD so I can watch it.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Oh blast! The ONE time I forget to check woot before going to bed....$30 upconverting DVD player. Already sold out this morning.

[Alex]

I believe the problem is that Slumdog is the most overrated film in decades.


*cough*Chicago*cough*

But I won't argue the more general point.

[wendybeth]

We watched 'Slumdog' last night- while I enjoyed it and thought it was a very good film, I was really questioning the Best Picture award. It was good, but not that good.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Yes, but were any of the others that good either? Milk and Frost/Nixon are the only two we've seen. Both good, but not amazingly good where I'm surprised that something else won. I could see the argument that Milk "deserves" a leg up because of its timely emotional and political importance, but those are external factors and don't change the fact that outside of its context it's just a pretty good, maybe very good, but not great film. I imagine that people for whom the realities of Indian poverty is an important issue would feel that Slumdog deserves the same artificial leg up due to ITS timely emotional and political importance.

[innerSpaceman]

Nope, I think MILK was very good. Hard to separate my bias, but as soon as I watched it, I felt its script was way beyond standard biopic kaliber and deserved the Oscar (which it won), and that Penn's performance was his best in forever and deserved an Oscar (which he won). The film was very well directed, and packed an emotional wallop (hence me crying many times) ... yeah, perhaps more of one for me, but everyone has a different emotional threshhold anyway.

So, with all those things going for it .... why not Best Picture? It was waaaaay better than Slumbog in every conceivable quality.


OK, it's all subjective. I happen to LOVE Chicago.




But that's because I'm so GAY ... and that's not the reason I love MILK.

[innerSpaceman]

For the record, for the widespread raves it got, Wall-E should by rights have won Best Picture.


Same with The Incredibles. Easily the Best Picture that year. Probably true of many Pixar films.


The Best Animated Feature category is a rip.

[Gemini Cricket]

Slumdog was glossy and the music was great. I don't know if it's Best Pic either but I'm beginning to care less and less about who/what the Academy picks for their awards. For me, a movie validated with an Oscar doesn't mean much any more. I don' know if it's just me getting older or having worked in the industry for a period of time but movies that I love are ones that impact me personally or which have such a unique and interesting take on a subject that it makes me take notice. Some awards can be bought and can be way too political to deserve much merit. Milk was not perfect but it hit me in a specific way that many, many others before it have not. That makes it a good picture, that makes it important to me. And, ironically, the awards Milk won are also political. Not sure if it would have won the two it won if Prop 8 didn't rear its ugly head close to its release. But I guess the Oscars mean stuff to lots of people and if it makes people actually watch the film then I guess I'm fine with that aspect of the awards thang regarding Milk and my own gay activism. I guess if you've read this far, you've realized that I'm just thinking 'out loud' and am rambling.
:D

---------------

On a completely different note, Jackie Earle Haley is apparently going to be the new Freddy Krueger in the new Nightmare on Elm Street movie (http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b107779_rorschach_moves_onto_elm_street_new.html). I'm sure that'll make him some dough, but I'm not sure I'd accept the part in fear of being type-cast as Freddy.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Wall-E was not best picture material.

[Alex]

Wall-E was better than Slumdog Millionaire, so while I agree I wouldn't pick it for best picture I'd say it was more deserving than the one that won.

No, it wasn't a great year. None of the actual nominees really soared and the Oscar bait movie I liked better was roundly canned by critics and did nothing at the box office.

But of the five nominees I rated Slumdog fourth or fifth (I'd have to go back and find where I said it to be sure of my mood at the time).

For me, Slumdog was simply poverty porn where we get to pat ourselves on the back for feeling bad about how such people live because poverty doesn't deprive you of the life-fulfilling happiness of true love, and hey maybe one of them will get lucky and win the lottery. In my opinion it infantilized those it was portraying.

[Morrigoon]

I liked Chicago too, so I'm not sure how much I can go by Alex's ratings guide.

[LSPoorEeyorick]

Piping in to say (or repeat from earlier discussions) that while Slumdog is flawed, I think Milk is also flawed, as is The Reader, as is Frost/Nixon, as is Benjamin Button. It wasn't that great of a movie year. Wall-E and The Wrestler would've been my top two picks, I think.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

You gotta see Point Break Live! (http://www.theatermania.com/los-angeles/shows/point-break-live_137639/)- and sit in the "wet seats" - I think I wanna go back and try out to be Keanu for the evening.Holy crap, it's at the Alexandria Hotel in downtown....where I attended my very first rave. :eek: Awesome place.

[Prudence]

While I tend to enjoy any movie that reminds me of the great hair bands of old (wow! Haven't heard from Cinderella in years!), The Wrestler seemed to consist largely of Mickey Rourke grunting.

[CoasterMatt]

The Wrestler vs. The Slum Dog Millionaire Kids would have been a far better movie. In 3D!

[Gemini Cricket]

Wall-E was good. Well, the first half was good. The rest of it was just okay. I don't think it was Best Pic material (I guess my idea of what Best Pic should be). Finding Nemo (if you erase from your mind the sub-par ride at the park) was Best Pic material, imho. I liked that one a lot. The Incredibles was good, too but not Best Pic material.

[Alex]

Adventureland: Solid meh. Kristen Bell's character just wasn't real enough to drive the psuedo-Michael Cera character's actions.

The Ryan Reynold's character was intriguing but served only to distract.

Nothing objectionable or bad, just nothing all that interesting. Biggest distraction was that all characters seemed to be in the range of 22 but were treated and acted like they were 18.

[JWBear]

We watched The Triplets Of Belleville tonight. Odd but strangely charming.

[Gemini Cricket]

We watched The Triplets Of Belleville tonight. Odd but strangely charming.
That song is a total earworm. I liked the movie a great deal. And ya didn't have to know French to understand what was going on either.

[Strangler Lewis]

"Monsters vs. Aliens" was a lot of fun. The rare animated movie where the busy scenes of animated peril actually make sense in the context of the drama and don't just scream out "And now: filler. Just to show what we can do."

[flippyshark]

Last night I watched Let the Right One In, a vampire movie from Sweden that shows Twilight up as so much overhyped cheese. LTROI is full of cold, icy exteriors, low key dramatic scenes, and an atmosphere of impending dread, done better than I've seen elsewhere in a long time. The horrific moments are few and far between, but terrific when they arrive. I'll say no more other than, it's well worth seeing.

But the bad news - I saw the dubbed version, and much of the voice acting is horrible, distractingly so, rendering some dramatic moments unintentionally comical and undermining a lot of good stuff along the way. Alas, reports on the interwebs indicate that the initial run of DVDs contain subtitles that are scarcely a better option, containing misspellings, nonsensical translations and more. I think the Blu-Ray may have an improved subtitle track, but double check before you purchase. (And renters like me will just have to live with what they get.)

As for the movie itself, it has a handful of special effects sequences, most of which are brought off flawlessly, so it's a pity that a single scene went completely off the rails. (I'll spoiler-tag it in case you want to determine for yourself which it was - but it seems to me it will be very obvious.)

It's the big cat scene - CGI cats stand out like cartoony sore thumbs, much like the various gophers and monkeys in the fourth Indy movie.

That scene wasn't all that crucial to the rest of the film, so I just pretended I didn't see it. Otherwise, it's a rewarding experience, language issues aside. Check it out.

[innerSpaceman]

Oh thanks, I've been meaning to see that. Reminder, yay! Bad dub, boo.

[Not Afraid]

It sounds like something I really should see!

[flippyshark]

It sounds like something I really should see!

I think you will appreciate it, but I fell I should warn you that there is a

"multiple kitty cats attacking a person" scene!

It's the one scene I mention above that didn't work due to crappy CGI. I really doubt it will bother you, though.

[Gemini Cricket]

Saw Grey Gardens the Drew Barrymore/Jessica Lange film on HBO this weekend. I liked it. I think their Boston accents were iffy but the film itself was good.

Watched Prayers for Bobby tonight. Wow. I can't tell you how powerful it was watching that film with my mom. One single, solitary film got through to her more than me trying so hard to talk to her about the "gay thing" for the past 20 years. Sigourney Weaver rocks. The film was not perfect, but I think it was crafted in such a way to connect to a broad audience. It hit certain chords right and that's what matters. It did the book and the real Mary Griffith justice, imho.

[LSPoorEeyorick]

I really liked Grey Gardens, too. Though I'm not sure they were actually attempting Boston accents. Little Edie was born in NYC and only lived there and Long Island (before and during the action of the film.) I figured it was more of an "old money" accent, but spotty nonetheless.

[Snowflake]

I thought Grey Gardens was excellent. Both Lange and Barrymore were terrific.

I also caught Frozen River this weekend. Compelling little film with a predictable ending, but still I do not feel the time was wasted. Melissa Leo was terrific. I don't care, you would not have caught me driving across the damned river. The tires on her car must have been something else!

[SzczerbiakManiac]

Saw Grey Gardens the Drew Barrymore/Jessica Lange film on HBO this weekend. I liked it. I think their Boston accents were iffy but the film itself was good.Have you seen the original documentary? I think the accents were spot on.

[Snowflake]

Have you seen the original documentary? I think the accents were spot on.

No, that is on my must see list now.

[Gemini Cricket]

Have you seen the original documentary? I think the accents were spot on.
Yes and I'm not sure I agree. But it has been awhile. I must dust the DVD off and watch it again...

[Alex]

I have no recollection of having heard of it before or adding it to my Netflix queue, but last night I noticed a movie called Tell No One available on my Watch Instantly list (via the Roku).

Decided to watch it and was very pleasantly surprised. It is a very well done French suspense thriller (Ne le dis à personne).

Eight years after his wife was murdered by a serial killer a Paris doctor is once again put under suspicion when two buried bodies are discovered with evidence suggesting her murder was just staged to look like the work of the serial killer.

The evidence piles up, the police circle in, he starts getting mysterious emails suggesting things are even more unlike they seem than it seems.

It is a pretty complex piece of work but in the end it all hangs together beautifully (if slightly anticlimactically).

And it is understated throughout, having a very '70s feel (something like Three Days of the Condor -- in understated style, not content) where the filmmaker doesn't need to go over the top with supervillains, crazy technology, or painfully complex plots. Just honest confusion, real tension and an unambiguous payoff in the end. Even the obligatory chase scene shows such restraint and as a result feels almost realistic.

Not a world changing movie by any stretch, but a strong recommend from me.

[Snowflake]

Thanks Alex, moved to the top on my queue. Looks good and I love a good thriller/suspense.

[Gemini Cricket]

What's that smell? Oh, it's the new Wolverine movie. P freakin U!

This movie was shot like a movie of the week. Lighting was too bright, no plot, the dialogue was trite and cheesy... bad acting...

Yeah, Jackman's great eye candy but still. Yikes.

I'm a huge X-Men comics fan but avoid this one at all costs. Wait for Netflix.

[innerSpaceman]

Hey Brad, Netflix finally sent me "Rent." The Broadway version, not the movie.

Hmmm, mixed feelings. I liked it better than the film, that's for sure. It's basically just vignettes to music, and I think that works much better as a stage device. There's really not much 'plot.'

But, for what it is ... pretty much a bunch of songs connected by a thin thread of 20-something AIDS-related relationship drama ... the songs are pretty much all really good. And that's what counts, I guess. I found it entertaining because it was all music, and I enjoyed a good 85% of the music.


BUT ... I was surprised to really hate the way it portrays homosexuals. The lesbian couple was allowed to be lesbian. Two women were shown being in love. The male couple, however, was a boy and a tranny. All the scenes and songs of them together and in love have the imagery of a man and a woman, not a man and a man. This bugged me no end.

In fact, I'm pretty sure the Angel's not in drag for the brief scene where they meet only so the audience can "know" that it's a gay relationship ... because once she's in drag - on stage much moreseo than on film - the character is a girl even if it's played by a boy (and Angel is a pretty convincing girl).

I hated, hated, hated, hated this. One more hypocritical example of how it's "ok" to portray two women together, but two men together cannot be shown.


Yes, during Angel's illness, two men were shown in a care-giving situation very intimately. But the images and musical numbers of Angel and Tom Collins falling and being in love were all boy/girl, and it pissed me off for what is reputed to be such a gay-friendly piece.


Bah.



Oh, plus when Roger confronts Mark near the end of the second act ... I thought he was going to out him. But instead, he just nails him for being detached. Um, he's the gayest character in the show!!! Queer as an eight dollar bill. WTF?


So, I hate the way Rent deals with Gay. But the songs are great!


I think I'd like the CD better than the show.



But, since I never got to see it ... I'm glad I finally got to watch a filmed version of it. I kind of grok it a little at least. The movie version was just a mess.

[Alex]

What's that smell? Oh, it's the new Wolverine movie. P freakin U!



I liked it in a mild way. Not a good standalone movie but viewing it more like an old movie serial and just a part of ongoing storytelling I was fine with it.

Though the CGI was surprisingly bad at times.

But I am not a fan of the comics (not that I don't like them, I just never read them) so I don't have much in the way expectations. I thought it was much improved on the truly horrible and much bigger budget X3.

[LSPoorEeyorick]

... pretty much a bunch of songs connected by a thin thread of 20-something AIDS-related relationship drama ...

You'll have to blame La Boheme for that. The plot is lifted pretty much note for note from the 1896 opera. (Which, in turn, was lifted from a novel called "Scenes de la vie boheme." And that was... surprise surprise... a collection of less-connected vignettes that Puccini adapted to be a singular story, though still episodic in form.)

Though there WAS no relationship between Colline and Schunard in that - it was added for Rent. Without that addition, there would have been no gay relationship at all (male-tranny or male-male or anything.)

[Gemini Cricket]

I liked it in a mild way. Not a good standalone movie but viewing it more like an old movie serial and just a part of ongoing storytelling I was fine with it.

Though the CGI was surprisingly bad at times.

But I am not a fan of the comics (not that I don't like them, I just never read them) so I don't have much in the way expectations. I thought it was much improved on the truly horrible and much bigger budget X3.
re: CGI
In the bathroom scene where he sees his claws in the mirror, his claws looked like they came straight out of Roger Rabbit. They reminded me of Eddie Valiant's gun that shot the cowboy sidekick bullets.
The scene where he chops up the fire escape, total Bugs Bunny action there.

other stuff:

Gambit wasn't used enough, he was semi-sort of interesting.
The weapon XI finale fight reminded me of the Phantom Menace Darth Maul fight from the two versus one combat to the scene where the body falls and a body part separates. And the whole head still shooting thing... oy vey.
And what's the deal with Wolverine killing off people who are being controlled by someone else? Deathstrike (I think that was her name) in X-Men 2 she's being controlled by a mind altering serum and still Wolverine kills her. Deadpool is being controlled by Stryker and still he's killed by Wolverine. That doesn't make sense to me.

[Gemini Cricket]

Hey Brad, Netflix finally sent me "Rent." The Broadway version, not the movie.

Hmmm, mixed feelings. I liked it better than the film, that's for sure. It's basically just vignettes to music, and I think that works much better as a stage device. There's really not much 'plot.'

I think you are critiquing "Rent" if it premiered today. When it came out (so to speak) in 1996, it tackled a lot of issues that had only been scratched by a some mainstream films (ie. And the Band Played On, Philadelphia) and plays ("Angels in America" comes to mind) at the time. "Rent" highlighted the following: talking about living with AIDS and being unashamed of being infected with it, out of the closet gay relationships, transgender identity etc. The play also featured a love song between two men and a sort of love song between two women. These things were rare back then. But Larson found a way to incorporate it into one musical and still have it be wildly popular.

I don't see anything wrong with the way the relationship between Angel and Collins was portrayed. It's one example of one gay relationship. Not all gay relationships are "a certain way". Angel was seen without his drag in one scene to show people what someone with AIDS looks like when they are deathly ill.

As for this specific version, besides Gwen Stewart (an original cast member who portrays the "Who the f*ck do you think you are" Bag Lady) and Rodney Hicks (another original cast member who plays Benny in this version but was ensemble in the original version) only Wil Chase gets close to depicting his/her character as well as an original cast member. Everyone else is lacking some aspect or spark that someone had in the original cast. This is why the original cast recording and, yes, the movie are precious to me. Mark's character is not gay despite being played originally by out actor Anthony Rapp. Adam Kantor's Mark played gay to me too but mostly because I think Kantor is gay or fey and this being his first mainstage appearance it showed.

I think "Rent" is a thin AIDS-related story as much as "La Boheme" is a thin Tuberculosis-related story. And remember AIDS back then was more of a death sentence than it is now and still the play was had an extremely hopeful view of the disease (that was also rare back then).

[flippyshark]

The cast of the closing RENT production can't hope to match their strongest predecessors, but they mostly worked their charms on me pretty well - and having such an up close record of the original staging and every single note and word of the show in one place is a joyful thing.

Yeah, the movie is still worth checking out for its cast of veterans, but, jeez, what a wet squib it is.

For what it's worth, I can think of at least half a dozen people, several of them family members, for whom RENT provided a lasting jolt of consciousness-raising that changed them to this very day.

[CoasterMatt]

I got to show Rose "Shaun of the Dead" today.

She loved it :)

[innerSpaceman]

Well, it's too bad I never saw it in its day. (Rent, that is, not Shaun of the Dead).


I still dig it as a good take on earlyish AIDS. And I do like most of the songs so much I'm thinking of getting the original cast CD.


But, yes of course I know the Tom and Angel relationship is just one of all possible gay relationships ... it just happens to be one where they don't have the horrible inconvenience of images of two men falling and being in love.

Eternal meh on that. It's nice to appreciate art for its effect in its day of debut ... but art that doesn't stand the test of time loses points with me. This was, imo, a dreadful cop-out. If you're going to do a story, thin though it may be, about AIDS ... have the balls to feature a male homosexual couple.

</rant>

[Alex]

I was blown away by Rent the first time I saw it (on stage, that is) and then bored with it the second time. Not entirely sure why that is.

[Gemini Cricket]

Is it too much to ask the universe for a man as handsome, carefree and fun as Albert Finney is in the movie Tom Jones? I think not.
:)

[innerSpaceman]

Ah, but look how he aged. All that fun took its toll.

[Alex]

I need to watch Tom Jones again. I absolutely hated it and consider it the worst movie (I've seen) that won Best Picture.

But maybe I was in a bad mood because a lot of people seem to like it. But then a lot of people like Chicago and Forrest Gump and they're all obviously wrong.

As for Albert Finney's declining looks I cut him slack for being 70+ years old. Not everybody gets to age like Paul Newman.

[Snowflake]

Ah, but look how he aged. All that fun took its toll.

Well, that did not happen to Alan Bates, Richard Burton, Peter O'Toole, Richard Harris, Robert Newton, right?

Now, Cary Grant, he looked great at 30 and great at 80. :cool:

[innerSpaceman]

Oh, I'm not saying it happens to everybody. And I'm not saying Albert Finney did not and does not remain a fine actor.


His particular path to age has not been graceful in the looks department. And I was just kidding about its relation to the hard-partying life of his early famous characterization of Tom Jones.

I don't follow celebrity who-ha, and have zero idea about Albert Finney's private life.


I admire his professional life quite a bit. My personal favorite performance (not indicative of his best, by my fave) is as Ebenezer Scrooge in the bizarre, fantastic 1970 Brit musical "Scrooge."

[flippyshark]

I loves me some Scrooge. I usually watch it at some non-Christmas time of year.

[Deebs]

I loved Albert Finney in Scrooge. I try to watch it at least once during the Christmas season, but my only copy is a funky old VHS tape from way too long ago, which does take away some of the enjoyment.

[Tref]

Now, Cary Grant, he looked great at 30 and great at 80. :cool:

At 83 -- not so much.

[flippyshark]

I loved Albert Finney in Scrooge. I try to watch it at least once during the Christmas season, but my only copy is a funky old VHS tape from way too long ago, which does take away some of the enjoyment.

The DVD can be found very cheaply, and the movie fills every bit of its widescreen frame with elaborate detail, so whenever you have a chance to graduate from your old VHS, you may well find it a revelation.

[innerSpaceman]

Heheh, I remember the first time I finally saw it in widescreen. Revelation indeed!

[second class citizen]

Okay, I just watched perhaps the most bizarre and most definitely "mislabeled" movie ever. Grizzly Man is listed on IMDb as a "heartrending" tale. Heartrending? Not. One for the Darwin Awards? Most definitely. All I could think of throughout the entire movie was Christopher Guest thinking, "Okay, I can retire now. Someone [Werner Herzog] has bested me. This movie is Life intimating Art."

[CoasterMatt]

Grizzly Man was a Pauly Shore comedy, right? ;)

[second class citizen]

Grizzly Man was a Pauly Shore comedy, right? ;)

Very close indeed.

[SzczerbiakManiac]

Well considering Timothy Treadwell's heart was rended from his body when the bear ate him, that seems like an apropos description. :evil:

[alphabassettgrrl]

"The Flying Scotsman" was pretty good. Hard to understand it when Scots mumble, and I thank my stars for TiVo so I can replay it, but it was a good movie. Based on a true story, which is kind of cool.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Saw The Incredible Hulk. Pretty enjoyable. The homages were fun, acting good, over-the-topness done right. The Hulk himself still looks like a cartoon character though and only seemed real in a couple of shots. I can't say that it was pulse-pounding. When the evil guy started tearing up the city and Banner says in a flat voice, "I have to fight him", it reflected my own non-excitement at the obvious conclusion. (I would say "spoiler alert", but from the first 10 min you know how this will end.) Not that I expected a plot twist...

After seeing Stark at the end I realized it just made me want to see Iron Man again and that that movie was much better. Anyway, it was good, as these films go.

[SzczerbiakManiac]

I am SO looking forward to seeing this film!

Outrage (http://www.outragethemovie.com/) (click for trailer & homepage)

Synopsis (cribbed from that site)
Academy Award nominated filmmaker Kirby Dick (This Film Is Not Yet Rated) delivers a searing indictment of the hypocrisy of closeted politicians who actively campaign against the LGBT community they covertly belong to. OUTRAGE boldly reveals the hidden lives of some of our nation’s most powerful policymakers, details the harm they've inflicted on millions of Americans, and examines the media's complicity in keeping their secrets.

[innerSpaceman]

Wow, opens this weekend? Cool. Um, busy weekend. Will.Find.Time.

[Prudence]

I saw part of Inkheart on the plane. Mediocre. But probably better than Paul Blart: Mall Cop which is playing on the way back.

(Actually, the interesting thing about Inkheart is that it's about reading characters out of books into the real world, and I was also reading a book about jumping between the book world and the real world. The book series is much better, btw. Full of literary references and Wales as a socialist republic and just a totally engrossing read.)

[SzczerbiakManiac]

One Eyed Monster (http://www.oneeyedmonstermovie.com/)
Yes, it's what you're thinking.
No, it's not quite work safe.

Looks like it could be cheesy fun.

[cirquelover]

We Netflixed The Cat Returns yesterday. It was a fun and enjoyable story. Of course I love cats and Miyazaki, so I figured I would enjoy it. So now the boy is all antsy for when last years Miyazaki movie will make it to the US!

[Gemini Cricket]

Saw Angels and Demons yesterday. I liked it. After reading all the horrible reviews of it, I thought I was going to hate it as well. I liked it better than Da Vinci Code. But I think I like the book/story of DVC better than A&D.

Once again, a movie ruins its surprise ending by casting a famous actor in the pivotal role. Often I see some name actor playing a smaller role and think to myself, 'Hmm, why did he or she take that part? Oh, there must be more to it than meets the eye.'

[Snowflake]

I'm not happy :(

Trailer here (http://sherlock-holmes-movie.warnerbros.com/)

[Alex]

It was definitely better than The Da Vinci code, but that is a low bar.

The ultimate conclusion was too obvious but didn't really matter. And, the justification given at the end for what was happening made no sense in that it did nothing to deal with that which was claimed as the cause.

But it had better energy and tempo than the first and it was a very nice replay (in locations) of our week in Rome last October. Hardly a location that we weren't standing in just months ago (though most of those locations were actually sets since no permission was given to film in church-owned facilities. Must be a daunting task for a set-building team to be told "Sistine Chapel, please."

[Alex]

I'm not happy :(

Trailer here (http://sherlock-holmes-movie.warnerbros.com/)

Just wait until Guy Ritchie gets a hold of Peter Rabbit. Actually, I'm kind of intrigued since it is a such an odd genre choice.

===

Other movies I"ve watched recently:

Born Yesterday - The original with Holden/Holliday/Crawford rather than Don Johnson/Melanie Griffith/John Goodman. Took a while but quite liked it by the end.

Nobody's Fool - Doesn't really go anywhere but a pleasant movie with fine performances.

Superbad - Saw it in theaters and still find it mostly hilarious. Michael Cera is wearing out his welcome though so I hope he finds range (Year 1 trailer provides no evidence of it though).

Noise - More an exploration of an interesting idea than a coherent movie. The sex scene was either unnecessary or had a purpose I couldn't divine.

Penelope - Amusing fairy tale. Only problem is that the movie had people running fright at the sight of Penelope (Christina Ricci) with her pig nose. Yet she was still completely adorable. Still looked relatively normal here (ignoring the nose) but sad to see she's apparently gone to the anorexic side based on her recent gig on "Saving Grace."

Krull - When I was a kid the spinning blade thing was the coolest thing ever and we all wanted one. And yet none of us had actually seen the movie. Should have left it that way.

Half Nelson - Ryan Gosling is going to be our next national treasure in the realm of acting. And he gives a great performance here as a history teacher struggling to function through drug addiction. Shareeka Epps also provides some great natural child acting. The only drawback is the movie is beyond deadly boring. I had to watch it over five sessions since I kept falling asleep or getting distracted by anything else.

[JWBear]

Krull - When I was a kid the spinning blade thing was the coolest thing ever and we all wanted one. And yet none of us had actually seen the movie. Should have left it that way.

Yeah... But it has a young Liam Neeson in it, and Kenneth Marshall was hot.

[Gemini Cricket]

Born Yesterday - I was so curious about this movie for awhile and got to see it on TCM on Demand just recently. Loved it. I had heard people impersonate Holliday before but had never seen the real performance behind it. Good stuff.

Nobody's Fool - Liked Newman in this one. Such a cool, mellow movie.

Superbad - I can watch this one again and again. It's so much fun.

Krull - Liam Neeson's in it. I think this was one of his first films. I liked it as a kid, don't think I'd enjoy it now. I think the last time I saw it was on HBO in the 80's.

Half Nelson - Couldn't get through it. It was too dull, imho. Liked Gosling's acting in it but not enough to keep me tuned in...


Last night, I watched 3/4 of The Great Ziegfeld. It's a good film, but man it's loooong. Weird that Myrna Loy gets second billing she shows up 2hrs into the film. The spiral staircase scene is still one of my favorites of all-time.

[innerSpaceman]

I'm reminded how little attention I pay to movies I Netflix by taking Alex's advice to rent Tell No One. It's been sitting at home for weeks waiting for the time I can spare to uni-task watching a film with subtitles.


I may just have to return it unwatched and move on. I don't see that day coming any time soon.

[Ghoulish Delight]

We've now seen 4 of the movies nominated in the top Oscar categories, a coup in the Sloan household.

Most recently it was Slumdog and The Wrestler.

I guess I'm in the majority with Slumdog. A good watch, but I didn't find it amazing. Plus, the guy who played Maman looked too much like Michael Ian Black for me to take seriously.

I really like the Wrestler. I particularly liked that he was not portrayed as a complete asshole, or some incompetent jerkwad that couldn't handle a simple job. Just someone who though he was doing the right thing by committing to doing what he knows best, finding himself out of his element when that doesn't pay off for him. Rourke was very good, but not so amazing that I'd consider Penn's win an upset.

[Alex]

I may just have to return it unwatched and move on. I don't see that day coming any time soon.

I just checked of the discs I currently have from Netflix, the last was mailed to me more than 3 months ago. But in the meantime I've watched 22 movies via streaming (on my regular TV with the Roku).

[innerSpaceman]

T4 is Awesome


That is all.

[flippyshark]

I'm not happy :(

Trailer here (http://sherlock-holmes-movie.warnerbros.com/)

It kind of looks like a bone-headed remake of Billy Wilder's The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes. Anyway, how ghastly - plus that trailer is rife with all the cliche whooshes, quick edits and canned hyper-chorus music that makes me roll my eyes and decide not to attend SO MANY MOVIES! Are you trailer editors listening? I've been ranting about this for years now! Cut that shyt out!

[Cadaverous Pallor]

I'm not happy :(

Trailer here (http://sherlock-holmes-movie.warnerbros.com/)

It kind of looks like a bone-headed remake of Billy Wilder's The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes. Anyway, how ghastly - plus that trailer is rife with all the cliche whooshes, quick edits and canned hyper-chorus music that makes me roll my eyes and decide not to attend SO MANY MOVIES! Are you trailer editors listening? I've been ranting about this for years now! Cut that shyt out!I have to agree. I do not buy for a second that this is Holmes. :( My cheese is sad because I love both Downey Jr. and Jude Law.

I absolutely loved The Wrestler. I grew up watching WWF so my standards were pretty high on that end. I was tickled at the terminology and the inside peek at how they pull it off (however inaccurate or fictionalized, I wouldn't know, but it's the closest we'll get.) I bet the reason they did not get ANY past wrestlers on board (and those guys are attention whores, making it extra surprising) was simply because they were honest about the faking. I also had a wake-up moment when he cut himself because I'd seen plenty of blood in the ring but always thought it was fake blood. Really realistic fake blood...but now I know what I was really watching and it's changed my perspective quite a bit.

Everything else was fantastic too, very realistic, and damn, Marisa Tomei is now the ultimate MILF. I hope I look half as good at her age.

[Alex]

I haven't seen The Wrestler yet but if you found the behind-the-scenes aspect interesting I really recommend checking out Beyond the Mat, a 1999 documentary that kind of covers the same ground.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

I haven't seen The Wrestler yet but if you found the behind-the-scenes aspect interesting I really recommend checking out Beyond the Mat, a 1999 documentary that kind of covers the same ground.Thanks, added to my queue.

I've seen a movie, nay, an Oscar nominated film, that you haven't seen?

[Alex]

Apparently. The Wrestler was poorly timed for me so I didn't see it in theaters and then I'd crammed in so much "heavy" viewing that I was kind of worn out.

I did move the DVD to the top of my queue but it has now been several months since I last watched a DVD instead of streaming. Plus I've already seen Marisa Tomei's breasts once this year (she's a stripper I assume she's naked at some point, could be wrong) so I don't want to overdo it.

[innerSpaceman]

Saw the Sherlock Holmes trailer BIG at the Chinese last night before T4, and agree I cannot buy Downey, Jr. as Holmes at all ... at least from the trailer. But those are covers by which I never judge the books.

I walked out on the trailer for Harry Potter because it looked like it was going to show every image in the movie. Hate that.


Terminator 4 was really good, though. I was surprised.

[Alex]

You're the first person I've heard really go for it (T4), but Lani wants to see it so I'll overcome my Bale dislike and go see it.

Hope to be happily surprised.

[innerSpaceman]

The friends I saw it with all liked it, but we all liked T3, too. That was widely panned.


This movie's, so far, getting only mid-30's on Rotten Tomatoes. I don't get it. I liked it WAY better than that.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Okay interesting. I kinda liked T3 also, so that makes me want to see this one now.

[Snowflake]

I'm looking forward to seeing UP nest weekend. Looks cute and different.

I caught Frost/Nixon last night on DVD and was very surprised how well I liked it. Langella was channelling Nixon (ew) so well I forgot he wasn't Nixon. Michael Sheen (whom I normally like) was not channeling Frost, more like Austin Powers. Nonetheless, always nice to see Oliver Platt and is is me or is Kevin Bacon just very good at being kinda creepy? The big surprise was Patty McCormack as Pat Nixon, I had to look her up because was she really the same Patty McCormack from The Bad Seed, yes, she was. :eek: It may have been mentioned before but I missed it and was surprised. I think Toby Jones needed larger glasses for Swifty Lazar. I missed the Rance Howard cameo.

[Alex]

Terminator 4 was really good, though. I was surprised.

I'd said I would be seeing it because of Lani and hoped to be pleasantly surprised. The result:

To start out by saying something good: McG failed to descend to the level of craptitude he achieved with Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle.

To follow up with something bad: McG is a blight on humanity for which one day we'll all be judged harshly. If he is the creation of a benevolent god his purpose must be only to elevate our regard for the crappiest of Michael Bay crap.

Perhaps it could have been different, when the story was away from John Connor (and the increasingly laughable Christian Bale) it actually showed some tremors of life and coherence.

Also, SkyNet is the apparently the stupidest sentient computer ever presented on film and that includes Keanu Reeves.

[innerSpaceman]

Yep, agree about Skynet.

Didn't fully realize the Total Fail of Bale until the movie had sunk in. He's laughable and pretty horrible. I didn't realize till a day or so later that he made zero case for John Connor being the revered leader and messianic savior of his repulation ... and our quarter-century expectation.


But I liked the Marcus Wright character, and it was basically his story with John Connor as an afterthought.


I'm not a fan of Bale's Batman either, so he should retired from the craft.


Still enjoyed it. Except for the original, in all its B-Movie nonpretentions, the Terminator films have tons of flaws to be glossed over by general slick entertainment appreciation.

[Alex]

In honor of dead soldiers everywhere -- well, not everywhere, those dead Falkland Island soldiers got what was coming to them (no offense to anybody who lost loved ones in the Falkland Islands War-Type-Thingy but if we can't mock the military dead then Al Qaeda has won) -- today has been Masochist Movie Day.

I've been going through and watching the last halves of movies that were bad enough that I never finished watching them (via Netflix's Roku).

The Hudsucker Proxy - I know! This isn't a commonly accepted "bad movie" like the others will be but, frankly, you're all wrong if you're going to defend it. Paul Newman was the only good thing in the movie and he was only in the movie for 8 minutes. Tim Robbins was demonstrating every bad overacting tic he has and Jennifer Jason Leigh was killed by the writing; yes, I know what the writing was trying to do but it was still murder.

The Bonfire of the Vanities - Sometimes you swing for the fences and whiff completely. That's understandable. Sometimes the bat flies out into the 15th row and you corkscrew yourself onto your ass and everybody laughs at you. I could see how things looked brilliant on paper but everybody here ended up on their ass.

This Girl's Life - A look at an empowered porn star. James Woods, Rosario Dawson, and Michael Rapaport all show up for this poorly shot and edited waste of tiem.

Xanadu - I assume the acid was good back then. Not because it was psychodelic but because I draw a parallel to my experience with acid. I spend a fair portion of the evening writing and while I wasn't amazed by what I was writing I thought I was writing it in the most perfect penmanship ever. Later I found that it wasn't even legible, just scribbles. Something like that is the only reason I can't think anybody involved with making Xanadu thought there was anything remotely close to merit in their output.

[alphabassettgrrl]

Hey- I liked Xanadu!

Saw "Star Trek" today. Agree with both the ones who liked it and with all the criticisms.

[Alex]

This is not meant to belittle any opinion contrary to my own but rather is honest curiosity. What did you like about Xanadu? After all, it was such a humiliation that after its release Gene Kelly died.

[katiesue]

I liked Xanadu - but only really because I think I was in 8th Grade and it makes me all nostalgic. As a movie it's craptacular. Most of it makes no sense. But I had the issue of Seventeen Magazine that showed you how to achieve all of Olivia's different hairstyles - I praticed a lot. And I think I may have taped parts of the soundtrack off the TV. And there was roller skating, and the Tubes.

[alphabassettgrrl]

I was a kid when I saw Xanadu, and all I remember is that I liked Olivia Newton John. And it made me look up the names of the nine Muses. Without the Internets.

[Snowflake]

This is not meant to belittle any opinion contrary to my own but rather is honest curiosity. What did you like about Xanadu? After all, it was such a humiliation that after its release Gene Kelly died.

I loved ELO and also saw it for Gene Kelly and came away sad.

[JWBear]

I think the shame of being in that movie is what caused the Pan Pacific Auditorium to burn itself down nine years later.

[SzczerbiakManiac]

I love Xanadu, but fully acknowledge it's a crappy movie. I love it for its unabashed craptacularity. The same way I love listening to Mrs. Miller (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mrs._Miller) butcher a Beatles ballad or Mary Schneider (http://www.maryschneider.com.au/) yodel the classics. Call me Leonard Pinth-Garnell if you will.

[Scrooge McSam]

Mrs. Miller (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mrs._Miller)

thankyouthankyouthankyou a thousand times thank you

LOL

[flippyshark]

I think Mrs. Miller delivers the definitive "Yellow Submarine." And her "Downtown" brings tears to my eyes!

On the other hand, Xanadu makes me want to smash things.

Sczcerbiak - Have you endured the awfulness that is The Apple (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BY9cvgrP1c)?
(Surely this must have come up here before.)

[SzczerbiakManiac]

thankyouthankyouthankyou a thousand times thank youHappy to be of service. FYI, her "greatest hits" CD is still available (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00000J600/).

Sczcerbiak - Have you endured the awfulness that is The Apple (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BY9cvgrP1c)?About 20 years ago I rented it, but have not seen it since. I may have been too young to appreciate it for its craptacularity.

[Ghoulish Delight]

I'm watching a SciFi movie, "BloodMonkey" (no, I don't have a good excuse).

It's awful in an indescribable way.

Nothing says entertainment like a giant primate golden shower scene.

[SzczerbiakManiac]

submitted to quotes :evil:

[Snowflake]

This weekend's fare (besides UP) was Ne le dis à personne (Tell No One) and The Reader.

Tell No One stretched plausibility a good deal, but it was not a bad film. I especially liked the character Bruno.

The Reader was, well, meh. Beautifully filmed okay performances, but can any explain to me why Kate Winslet won every award imaginable for this? Do not get me wrong, I like her, but she's done other work that more richly deserved, say, an Oscar nod than this (Eternal Sunshine).

UP was totally the highlight and I think I must go see in 3D very soon.

[Betty]

Saw Angels and Demons. I enjoyed the book a few years back. It was a fun Saturday morning diversion. I don't remember if it follows the book exactly or not.

[Eliza Hodgkins 1812]

I recently watched My Man Godfrey. I loved the writing for the most part, the set-up and William Powell. But I found myself liking Carole Lombard's character less and less as the film progressed. Despite her being Lombard, I was hoping her character was a foil and the real romance was going to develop between Godfrey and the maid, whose character was more interesting. I may have been more fond of Irene Bullock if there was more to her than bliss ignorance and kindness (though I loved that about her at the beginning). I don't know. The film ended and I felt like she got more than she deserved. Namely, William Powell. Heh.

[Gemini Cricket]

Is it just me or does Land of the Lost look really, really bad?
I have no desire to see it.
Only 6 reviews in at rottentomatoes.com... These 6 critics give it a 00%. But it's early.

[Andrew]

It does look not-so-good BUT they did not seize the opportunity to do a slick digital monster update on the Sleestaks; they look just as cheesy as the 70s TV series, so I will give the movie a chance.

[LSPoorEeyorick]

I don't personally trust rottentomatoes - it's like they assign a pass or a fail to each critic's review. Clearly nothing is that black and white.

I find that metacritic.com is a much better resource for a movie's full potential. Each critic's review is assigned a number that reflects how good they thought the movie was. So when a critic doesn't think a movie is all that great but it's better than, say, The Love Guru, it can get a 52%. But when a movie is super-brilliant, it can get a 98%, reflecting that a critic thought it was wonderful but, say, had a small problem with the ending. If you average all of those scores, you get a much better idea of how good the movie may be. If you average the rotten tomato ratings, you're just averaging whether the critics thought it was good or bad - no matter if good is 52% and bad is 48%.

For instance, a movie like Up might have a 98% on metacritic (based on the average of the critics' reviews) and it might have a 98% on rottentomatoes (based on how many of the critics gave it a fresh tomato instead of a rotten tomato.) But then a movie like The Brothers Bloom might have a 49% on average on metacritic, but they'd have a 61% on rotten tomatoes because many more critics felt moderately positive about the film, despite having problems with it. rottentomatoes is telling you it's fresh, when the majority of the critics think it's not actually a good film.

But, no, I don't expect Land of the Lost to be very good, no matter how much I love Anna Friel.

[Alex]

Watched Sex and Breakfast yesterday. Mostly because I was curious to see Macauley Culkin as an adult. This kid is 28 years old! That means I'm old! It is bad enough that I'm starting to see baseball players born when I was in high school.

Anyway, it is a horribly boring movie. A movie 98% about sex and it has almost no sex. A movie with Eliza Dushku and Alexis Dziena and it tries to impress us with their acting rather than their bodies (and the acting thing certainly isn't their strong suit).

A big part of the problem is their apparent age. This movie is about two young couples having sex issues so they seek out sex therapy. Group sex therapy (though there isn't really ever any group sex, just swapping partners). The big problem is that they seem way too young for this (not just for the having problems part but for the seeking therapy part).

The four young uns are Culkin, Dziena, Dushku, and Kuno Becker. In real life they were 27, 23, 27, and 29. On screen they looked 19, 15, 20, and 22. Just didn't work. And was boring.

So, I strongly recommend that you rush out and see this so that I am not alone in having experienced this clunker.

[Alex]

And of course the problem with combining the ratings is that not everybody is working from the same standards.

Some critics review every movie against Citizen Kane, while another will review it against the genre or against what it is trying to be (Ebert claims to do this, thus what some people consider overly generous reviews; Crank may not be a good movie on the full spectrum of all movies but it could be a well above average action movie).

So I find RT and Metacritic interesting (I find all statistics interesting) but not necessarily useful. It is of know use to me to know that the critic for the Podunk Advertiser-Gazette didn't like X without the context of knowing how he approaches movie criticism.

[Morrigoon]

Just watched Jodhaa Akbar. It's a Bollywood film starring Aishwarya Rai (available for instant viewing on Netflix!)

Enjoyed it a lot. Sort of a medieval middle eastern tale. Work checking out.

[Alex]

Watched Starman, it's been quite a while but I still like it for its relative simplicity if not completely confusing purpose of them being here.

Anyway, it's been about 24 years, so the baby should be fully into his knowledge. Wouldn't mind seeing what that means if Hollywood is looking for retread ideas. Sadly the last Indy movie showed that it might not be a good idea to have Karen Allen back.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Saw The Hangover. I love a good stupid Vegas bachelor party movie and this didn't disappoint. laughs all the way through.

[Alex]

I enjoyed it but it never really took off for me. Solid laughs (and very solidly constructed in how it all ends up hanging together without going too off the wall).

Just got back from The Brothers Bloom. Really liked the style and the first 70% was a lot of fun and then The Big Finish just didn't fit well with the experience that came before. But that is a flaw of almost all con movies.

[LSPoorEeyorick]

So far this weekend...

Away We Go
A charming but a confused pregnant couple goes on a journey to figure out not just where to raise their baby, but how to raise their baby.

This little gem of an emotional comedy was not well-reviewed but neither Tom nor I agreed with the points the reviewers were making. It made me laugh, right out loud, and frequently. At moments it became so wonderful and fragile and thoughtful. A common complaint was that the film was mean-spirited in its comedy, but I thought it was no more so than your standard comedy. I loved it. A lot.

We went to see it primarily because it was the first screenplay written by my favorite modern author (Dave Eggers, "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius") and his wife (Vendela Vida "Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name") - they are the co-founders of literacy/tutoring non-profit, 826 Valencia (and locally, 826 L.A.) The film was directed by someone I don't always like (Sam Mendes) and it starred someone I adore (John Krasinski) and someone I didn't know I adored (Maya Rudolph.) Plus a huge slew of wonderful supporting characters played by Maggie Gyllenhaal, Allison Janney, Catherine O'Hara, Jeff Daniels, Melanie Lynsky and others.

See it, and ignore the reviews.

Night at the Museum II
If you feel compelled towards family-type films, this is a harmless one. Diverting. Mostly notable is the charming Amy Adams as a tarty (almost Katherine Hepburn-like) Amelia Earhart. My love for her knows no bounds (and I can't wait for "Julie and Julia" later this summer.)

Angels and Demons
Similarly diverting. It kept my attention through its two and a half hours. I hadn't read the book, but I admit I enjoyed the etymology and puzzles within DaVinci Code (book, not movie so much) and that kind of thing followed here.

The Hangover
I worked on the website so I may be slightly biased, but I found this to be fun and pretty consistently amusing. Especially Zach Galifianakis, whose awkward creepiness was good for many of the laughs. If you enjoy Vegas comedy, or the "dude-where's-my" genre, definitely check it out.

Drag Me to Hell
I can tell that this movie is fun, gory, gross horror. It unfortunately might've been too soon to watch a horror movie; a few things started bringing back some bad memories I'm valiantly trying not to think about, so I don't think it was exactly a good experience for me. But if you love retro-style thrills and gross-out horror, you'll probably really enjoy it.

[Alex]

I'm intrigued by Away We Go but where David Eggers is a big plus for you, I can't really stand much of anything he's ever produced so I'm not sure I can overcome that. It'll probably stay on my Netflix DVD queue (assuming I can ever add it since it is maxed out and I haven't watched an actual DVD in months).

Oh, and something that occurred to me while drifting to sleep last night. Why is it called The Brothers Bloom? Only one of them is named Bloom. The other is Stephen.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

The Hangover
I worked on the website so I may be slightly biased, but I found this to be fun and pretty consistently amusing. Especially Zach Galifianakis, whose awkward creepiness was good for many of the laughs. If you enjoy Vegas comedy, or the "dude-where's-my" genre, definitely check it out.Please don't compare this to Dude Where's My Car! <shudder>

You're right, Galifianakis carries the movie.

[Ghoulish Delight]

I wouldn't say he carried it, everyone else was great too. He just gave it that extra punch that made it more interesting than the scores of other Vegas bachelor party flicks.

[Alex]

Considering that Ed Helms has never shown a lick of acting ability on The Daily Show or The Office I was most surprised by him.

[Gemini Cricket]

Galifianakis!

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Aww. I love Ed Helms. And now I finally committed his name to memory and I don't have to yell "that guy from the Office!" anymore. He doesn't look like an Ed Helms to me.

Yeah, I do think the rest of the cast was great. Didn't hurt that the 3rd lead was hotness. (Haven't worked on his name at all.)

[Ghoulish Delight]

Ed Helms funfact of the day (doubtless Alex has already learned this, from the same source I did). No makeup or special effects needed for the missing tooth. Ed Helms is actually missing that tooth, it never grew in, he's had an implant since he was 20.

Now you know!

[Gemini Cricket]

Have you seen the original documentary? I think the accents were spot on.
I just watched the Grey Gardens doc again last night. I take it back, I agree with you. Lange and Barrymore did such a good job.
:)

If anyone here hasn't seen it, check it out. It's great.

[CoasterMatt]

I just watched "The Corndog Man" on Netflix streaming.

It's not an easy film to watch- it's a very dark comedy, but it's got an excellent blues soundtrack, including Otis Rush's version of Willie Dixon's "Violent Love" (many of you know the Oingo Boingo cover), and an excellent performance by Noble Willingham.

[Bornieo: Fully Loaded]

Saw Night at the Museum 2 - It was funny and had an Amy Adams fix. Had some good moments but I felt it was nothing more than a popcorn film. Not totally brainless but an enjoyable ride.

[Strangler Lewis]

I watched half of Hellboy the other night before falling asleep. I found it implausible.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Sean Penn is reported out for the role of Larry in the Fareley brothers' 3 Stooges film. Names being bandied about as an alternative are Paul Giamatti, Adrien Brody , Simon Pegg and even Zach Galifianakis. I suggest Pegg, simply because it would be easiest to alter any existing advertising images by replacing the n's with g's.

[Snowflake]

Totally unrelated to the interest in the Iranian election and the major stuff going on over there, a spin over to HBO brought me to The Queen and I (http://festival.sundance.org/2009/film_events/films/queen_and_i). A fascinating film and quite moving and touching.

[innerSpaceman]

I don't see how it's un-related. The revolution to oust the Shah resulting in worse tyranny that was being rebelled against.

Careful What You Wish For. Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Fire. These phrases are tropes for a reason. They happen again and again. It happened in Iran. The film seems to touch on that quite clearly, though I haven't seen it (but would like to).

When do these Sundance films become Netflix films??

[LSPoorEeyorick]

Now is also a good time to watch Persepolis, if you haven't seen it yet.

[Snowflake]

I don't see how it's un-related. The revolution to oust the Shah resulting in worse tyranny that was being rebelled against.

Careful What You Wish For. Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Fire. These phrases are tropes for a reason. They happen again and again. It happened in Iran. The film seems to touch on that quite clearly, though I haven't seen it (but would like to).

When do these Sundance films become Netflix films??

Sorry iSm, it was just I happened to catch this and was not seeking it out in view of what is happening right now. That's what I meant, unrelated to the coversation going on in the election thread.

I have no idea when this will end up on DVD, but I'd like very much to see it again, and see what other additional material that did not make the cut.

[Alex]

10 Best Picture nominees? That's certainly going to bloat the broadcast next year.

And what if they still don't get any mainstream studio pictures into the mix? Though maybe they could cut the separate Foreign Language, Feature Documentary, and Animated Feature categories and give the top nom from those categories guaranteed slots in the Best Picture category.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Huhwhat?

[Snowflake]

The Academy is being stupid.

[innerSpaceman]

Please say this is a joke.

[Ghoulish Delight]

So instead of having a bunch of people narrow it down to 5, and then the same bunch of people pick 1 winner, they'll narrow it down to 10 before picking 1 winner? And that's supposed to make things better how?

[innerSpaceman]

And as quoted from a movie that was the best of its year and deserved a nomination when there were only five spots ....

" ... because when everyone is special ... NO ONE WILL BE."

[Snowflake]

And as quoted from a movie that was the best of its year and deserved a nomination when there were only five spots ....

" ... because when everyone is special Super... NO ONE WILL BE."

But, I get you totally iSm, 100%.

Are they going to stop best foreign film noms and include foreign films officially as BP or what?

[innerSpaceman]

Ah, thanks for the correction. Um, and -- d'uh.


What I hate, hate, hate about this is that animated films and foreign language film will likely still be relegated to their own category, as if it were impossible for one of them to actually be among the best pictures of the year.

Beauty and the Beast proved otherwise, and not simply because there was no animated category at the time. It was plain and simple one of the year's very best movies. And the same is true of the film I so stupidly misquoted, The Incredibles.



Where is the link to this? I just can't believe it. Though with ratings tumbling even with what I thought was their best awards show in years, I guess they have to pull whatever shenanigans they believe will include at least some pictures someone has seen in the main event.

[innerSpaceman]

Haha:

On the flip side, there are some - okay, me - who think the Academy will be hard pressed to come up with 10 nomination-worthy flicks for the '10 trophy show. The next batch of nominees will be announced on Feb. 2, 2010 and the Oscar clambake will be held Sunday, March 7 of '10.What, among the crop of flicks that have been release so far this year, is worthy of a nomination? "The Proposal"? Hangover"? "Year One"? "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen"? "Up"? Anybody? I'm asking - seriously


Though I suppose 8 of the ten will be released in December ... still, it's been quite the cruddy year for "Oscar-type" films. Or is this their bid to indeed include popular films like Harry Potter?

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Great, now "nominated for Best Picture" means nothing.

[Alex]

I've now heard (on the Hollywood chatter sites, don't know how reliable) that the expectation is that this will get quality foreign language and feature animation into the best picture pool (wonder if that will produce a return to the early years of the best foreign language category when because of different eligibility rules for best picture and foreign language you'd often have the same movie nominated in successive years for the two categories). Apparently the thinking is that if Up doesn't get a best picture nom with the expanded pool that then they'll dump the animation category altogether since it is obviously ghettoizing the genre.

I'm not necessarily opposed to 10 nominations (it was that way for the first decade or so anyway) as there's nothing magical about 5, and it should help dilute the nomination politicking while maintaining the overall advertising dollars. I just don't see how it could possibly be good for the show unless they dump other categories. Back when they used to have 8-12 best picture nominations they had fewer categories and most only had 3 nominees.

But it could be worse. In 1934 there were 18 nominations for Best Assistant Director.

[Moonliner]

I guess it was too much to hope that the new transformer movie would measure up to the origional. Rotton Tomatos has it at 22%.

[Alex]

I'm hearing such consistently horrible things about it that I'm tempted to go see it just so I can honestly rag on it.

The first one was so miserably bad that I haven't been at all interesting but I'm wondering if it is possible that it is had descended through that floor and into enjoyably mockably bad.

[Alex]

Though thinking about the nominees thing, since the official explanation is that sometimes there are just too many deserving movies I think this might be a way to reflect that:

When the nominating ballots go out, have each member vote on their 5 picks for Best Picture, then consider nominated any movie that makes some percentage (say 40%) of the total ballots with a minimum of five and a maximum of 10.

This would guarantee that any film nominated had a significant amount of support for it.

[Gemini Cricket]

Saw Frost/Nixon today. I liked it. Solid performances. Slow in places, but all in all, I liked it.

[Alex]

Oh, and just to avoid pulling scabs off wounds not yet healed, my comments above were not in any way meant as a judgment of people who erroneously enjoyed the first Transformers movie.

[Alex]

From Roger Ebert's blog expanding on his very negative review of Transformers 2:

I didn't have a stop watch, but it seemed to me the elephantine action scenes were pretty much spaced out evenly through the movie. There was no starting out slow and building up to a big climax. The movie is pretty much all climax. The Autobots® and Deceptibots® must not have read the warning label on their Viagra. At last we see what a four-hour erection looks like.

[bewitched]

Great, now "nominated for Best Picture" means nothing.


I'm not necessarily opposed to 10 nominations (it was that way for the first decade or so anyway)


Until 1939.

Personally, I think it's a good idea for no other reason then to dilute the mostly pretentious films which usually permeate the category.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Until 1939.

Personally, I think it's a good idea for no other reason then to dilute the mostly pretentious films which usually permeate the category.It's a pretty good point, since I don't usually see any of the 5 noms anyway.

[LSPoorEeyorick]

Eh, I see all 5 every year. This is really going to through my predictions game out of whack. (I take an unreasonable amount of pride in it.)

[Nephythys]

Favorite critics line about Transformers 2-

"It's the teenage male version of snorting cocaine off a hookers A**"

Saw it- not thrilled. It was...ok, had moments that were amazing, and moments of pure WTF-the result was not pleasing.

[innerSpaceman]

Considering I hated the first Transformers movie and felt like a tool for being convinced to see it by all the rave word of mouth and reviews, I'm not likely to EVER see a sequel that is considered even by not-me people to be horribly worse.

[Alex]

Nephythys, am I remembering correctly that you really liked the first one?

[Nephythys]

Loved the first one-was disappointed in most of the 2nd. HUGE let down-

[SzczerbiakManiac]

Daybreakers looks like an interesting twist on the vampire mythos. Here's the trailer (http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1809912192/video/14159298).

[Snowflake]

Any stylish photos of you on the red carpet?

[innerSpaceman]

I heard they deleted the LaToya Jackson scene out of respect for the family, but no word yet whether it will be restored with the film premieres July 10 in the U.S.

[Alex]

Because it was approximately 700 degrees here to day we decided that a trip to the drive-in might be a pleasant way to spend the evening.

Drive-in requires movie that is sure to be bad but might be fun bad (we don't want to subject a good movie to the much degraded viewing experience that is the drive-in). Only candidate was Transformers 2 so that's what we saw.

Not even a hint of good bad. Yes, I hated the first one. This one makes that one look like the pinnacle of summer blockbuster fare.

Borderline racist black stereotype transformers. Leg humping transformers. Transformer testicles. Robot mysticism. Transformer fights between machines even more indistinguishable than last time.

Remember last time how we went on and on last time about how stupid it was that the group left Hoover Dam and 10 minutes later were in downtoan LA? Well, this time they start out at (sorry, some might view this as a spoiler)

the Air & Space Museum in Washington, DC, and exit that building into what I assume was one of the plane graveyards around Mojave. Not a Mojave graveyard made to look like it might be in DC but actual desert with mountains in the background.

Then there's this fine piece of badass calculus (this really is a spoiler)

Way back in the day The Fallen was too strong for six Primes to defeat. In this sequel, Optimus Prime will be killed by The Fallen's second hand man. And yet Optimus Prime is so bad ass he can kill The Fallen.

Megan Fox truly serves no purpose in this movie other than having boobs (aka tits, since I know some here prefer that word) and looking good in Daisy Dukes.

Truly, painfully bad. It is as bad an action movie as Godzilla was. Battlefield Earth was actually better than this movie.

[Not Afraid]

I found a film I want to see! And, it's Summer!

Steven Frears has a new film that was just released - "Cheri". Now to find a place where it is playing, limited engagement and all.

[innerSpaceman]

East of Eden was a bizarrity. I thought I'd seen bits and pieces, but it turns out I was thinking of "Giant," James Dean's third film. I'm not impressed with his brief ouvre of work, though he is a brooding bit of sex, isn't he?

Claptrap 50's quasi-Freudian pop psychology permeates. Oddly, this is only the 2nd film I've ever seen featuring Julie Harris ... and the other one, The Haunting, is also a claptrap 50's quasi-Freudian pop psychfest (underpinning a damn good ghost story).


Here, though, the underpinning was front and center. Gak. Well, it wasn't horrible ... but yeah, an over-the-top Caine and Abel melodrama. James' yumminess is the only thing to recommend the film, imo ... so it will be "interesting" to see what they come up with for the remake to be released next year.






BTW, was Abra Kadabra a standard magician's phrase in Steinbeck's day? If so, I am puzzled why he named a main character "Abra." It was very distracting.

[Alex]

Yes, "abracadabra" is an old phrase of supposedly magical power (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abracadabra). But Abra is also a very old girl's name, being the female form of Abraham.

[flippyshark]

I'm glad someone else rolls their eyes at mid-century quasi-Freudian pop psychology. It's rampant in films of that era, to be sure.

[Alex]

Just to show that I can go along with stupid summer "that ****'s all blowed up" fare, I did enjoy early Michael Bay movies.

I liked Bad Boys a fair amount. I enjoyed The Rock. Armageddon pushed the limits but I was still able to let its stupidity carry me along.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Yeah, East of Eden was just weird, and somewhat bad. What is the deal with the weird twisting fighing/crying/wailing? Nearly all the characters were creepy, from the fawning girlfriend to the perfect do-gooder brother turned hating everything brother, and Dean's character as well was just, well, unlikeably strange. I found it even overwhelmed his good looks (though he's really not my type).

And the writing...if I were in that ferris wheel with the girl I would have climbed out much earlier.

Fun night at the cemetery regardless though.

[Alex]

Used a free movie coupon to see again escape the heat. Unfortunately the options across the street aren't great (either had already seen or didn't particularly want to see) so settled for Year One over My Sister's Keeper since it started 10 minutes sooner (and if that isn't quite a divergent set of options to leave to a toin coss).

I wouldn't quite say Year One sucked. It is, however, nearly spectucular in its mediocrity. And Michael Cera grows increasingly wearying. I really wish he'd stayed out of the Arrested Development movie since that is going to just be yet another performance from him that could have been done entirely by digitally inserting into the movie his identical roles from previous movies.

He doesn't need to go all Shia The Beef with action work but doing something different would be appreciated. I no longer hope for that from Jack Black.

Distracting was the fact that June Diane Raphael looked really familiar (looking at her credits suggests this was a phantom familiarity) and halfway through I'd halfway convinced myself it was Sarah Chalke with different hair and losing a bit of weight. But not so convinced I could stop chewing over who she was.

[Gn2Dlnd]

But, but, what about that guy in the Year One promo video, the Rock, Paper, Spears thing? He's funny, right? Right?

[Alex]

I'm going to say yes, very funny, because I'm guessing there's a personal connection to you or the board. But I have no idea what you're talking about.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

But, but, what about that guy in the Year One promo video, the Rock, Paper, Spears thing? He's funny, right? Right?Hilarious and repeatable! I posted it on teh Facebook. That guy is goin' places!!

[Strangler Lewis]

I'm going to say yes, very funny, because I'm guessing there's a personal connection to you or the board. But I have no idea what you're talking about.

Gn2Dlnd was the dude. He did a very fine and amusing voiceover.

[innerSpaceman]

One of the reviews I read said the film might not have been such a let down had it not been for the really amusing promo spot which led them to expect a similarly high level of comedic hilarity.

;)

[Ghoulish Delight]

I dunno, I thought it was kinda cheesey.

[Snowflake]

I found a film I want to see! And, it's Summer!

Steven Frears has a new film that was just released - "Cheri". Now to find a place where it is playing, limited engagement and all.

Embarcadero Cinema, come on up for a visit! ;)

[DreadPirateRoberts]

I found a film I want to see! And, it's Summer!

Steven Frears has a new film that was just released - "Cheri". Now to find a place where it is playing, limited engagement and all.

It's also playing at the Lido Theater (http://www.regencymovies.com/main.php?theaterId=5)in Newport Beach

[Not Afraid]

OOH! I LOVE The Lido! It would be an easier drive than going to the Grove (or to Sherman Oaks).

[Gn2Dlnd]

One of the reviews I read said the film might not have been such a let down had it not been for the really amusing promo spot which led them to expect a similarly high level of comedic hilarity.

;)

I cacked out loud

you guys are too nice (and just too prove that I'm not just some falsely modest, marginally funny, if your tastes run in that direction, actor, I must point out that not only am I the voiceover, I'm also the caveman prehistoric man)

I'm still not sure why we were afraid of offending prehistoric men

[Cadaverous Pallor]

I'm still not sure why we were afraid of offending prehistoric menDue to those effing Geico caveman commercials, no doubt.

[JWBear]

Gotta love this headline!

Hollywood Announces It's Officially Given Up (http://shakespearessister.blogspot.com/2009/07/hollywood-announces-its-officially.html)

The saddest part is not even just that "Asteroids" is being made into a freaking movie. The saddest part is that there was a four-studio bidding war over the idea.

:rolleyes:

[Strangler Lewis]

Ice Age 3: Actually passable as an adventure flick. Not funny at all, however, except for a few broad dick jokes.

[CoasterMatt]

Not funny at all, however, except for a few broad dick jokes.

They make jokes about girthiness?

[LSPoorEeyorick]

Not funny at all, however, except for a few broad dick jokes.

Hey, now. Hermaphroditism isn't a laughing matter.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Gotta love this headline!

Hollywood Announces It's Officially Given Up (http://shakespearessister.blogspot.com/2009/07/hollywood-announces-its-officially.html)



:rolleyes:
Supporting evidence (http://www.firstshowing.net/2009/07/03/brad-caleb-kane-writing-a-movie-based-on-view-masters/)

[CoasterMatt]

A live action "Joust" movie would rock- badass flying ostriches

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Any concept can be a great movie, as long as it has great writing.

[Strangler Lewis]

Any concept can be a great movie, as long as it has great writing.

Book it: Henry V--with badass flying ostriches.

"We few, we happy few, we band of brothers . . .
Squawk! . . ."

[Alex]

Finally a summer action movie (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZW2qxFkcLM0) I can get behind.

[Not Afraid]

Anyone seen Public Enemy yet? I've read some good reviews.

[Alex]

I give anything from Michael Mann a shot. I figure even if he bores me narratively he'll impress me visually. But being out of town this weekend prevented me from getting to it yet (even if I'm increasingly wary of Christian Bale).

Sometime this week, probably.

(Also, Public Enemy is the Cagney version, the new version is Public Enemies. Inflation, you know.)

[Cadaverous Pallor]

RT says 65% on Public Enemies, which means I won't be parting with $22 to see it in theaters.

[SzczerbiakManiac]

Twenty Two Dollars!?! Where are you seeing films? :eek:

[CoasterMatt]

I've got a free screening of Public Enemies coming up on July 14 :)

[Alex]

RT says 65% on Public Enemies, which means I won't be parting with $22 to see it in theaters.

I assume she is referring that she has to foot the bill for her boyfriend as well.

[DisneyDaniel]

Finally a summer action movie (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZW2qxFkcLM0) I can get behind.

Now, that's funny! The real movie trailer for the 2012 (http://whowillsurvive2012.com) film portrays it as a serious disaster movie, so it naturally lends itself for some major spoofing!

[innerSpaceman]

Public Enemies? I read only a couple of reviews, but it seems like a perfunctory biopic and yawner.



On the other hand .... Johnny Depp.



Toss-up.







2012 would indeed be better if played for laughs, but I'm sure that's how it will be taken in any event. Gonna have to plunk down $22 for that, because ePiC DiSASteR on that scale has to be seen on the biggest IMAX 3-D screen available.

[Not Afraid]

I have a TON of AMC Gold passes and no films playing at an AMC I want to see. I can throw one or two at Depp.

[Alex]

Now, that's funny! The real movie trailer for the 2012 (http://whowillsurvive2012.com) film portrays it as a serious disaster movie, so it naturally lends itself for some major spoofing!

I've got to love that an overly serious summer disaster movie starts with a pretty stupid factual error in referring to the Mayans as "mankind's earliest civilization."

It wasn't even the first "great" civilization since the Egyptian pharaohs had been going for about a thousand years by the time the Mayans were starting out.

Stupid to care, but helps establish the expectation bar.

[JWBear]

I've got to love that an overly serious summer disaster movie starts with a pretty stupid factual error in referring to the Mayans as "mankind's earliest civilization."

It wasn't even the first "great" civilization since the Egyptian pharaohs had been going for about a thousand years by the time the Mayans were starting out.

Stupid to care, but helps establish the expectation bar.

Yeah... But sh!t gets destroyed, man!

[alphabassettgrrl]

2012 would indeed be better if played for laughs, but I'm sure that's how it will be taken in any event. Gonna have to plunk down $22 for that, because ePiC DiSASteR on that scale has to be seen on the biggest IMAX 3-D screen available.

Ok, I'm with you here.

I've got to love that an overly serious summer disaster movie starts with a pretty stupid factual error in referring to the Mayans as "mankind's earliest civilization."

It wasn't even the first "great" civilization since the Egyptian pharaohs had been going for about a thousand years by the time the Mayans were starting out.

Stupid to care, but helps establish the expectation bar.

Yeah, I prefer factual accuracy in my movies as well. If they don't want to deal with accuracy, don't make a movie based on things that can be fact-checked.

[Tref]

RT says 65% on Public Enemies, which means I won't be parting with $22 to see it in theaters.

I remember when the movies were only 21 dollars.

Public Enemies was notsogood. It had its moments, I reckon, but not enough of 'em.

[Morrigoon]

Finally a summer action movie (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZW2qxFkcLM0) I can get behind.

Heaven help me... that put a smile on my face, LOL!

[Bornieo: Fully Loaded]

Saw the Proposal tonight. Funny, but has the chick flick parts that just didn't work for me. Betty White was a scream.

Saw the Hangover last week. Hysterical film that just inches over the edge. Wish they'd gone further but still one i'll get on dvd.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Watched My Name is Bruce.

I was disappointed. And I didn't really expect much from it.

[Moonliner]

Has anyone seen the "Coca Cola Kid'? We were office chatting about movies set in Australia yesterday and that's one of my fav's along with the origional "The Gods must be crazy" <-- A must see if you have not.

[Nephythys]

Coraline comes out on DVD on July 21st- if you have not seen this, well, you should!

[Alex]

Has anyone seen the "Coca Cola Kid'? We were office chatting about movies set in Australia yesterday and that's one of my fav's along with the origional "The Gods must be crazy" <-- A must see if you have not.

I've seen it but I don't really have any memory of it one way or another. I assume you're connecting it to The Gods Must Be Crazy through the Coke bottle and not for being set in Australia?

Puts to mind though, a mini-film festival of Coke-centric movies. Not just standard product placement but where Coca Cola somehow plays a central part to the story.

One! Two! Three! - James Cagney is a regional Coke executive trying to get his product beyond the Iron Curtain.

The Gods Must Be Crazy - A Coke bottle exposes malignancies in a southern Africa bush tribe and one man goes on a quest to destroy it.

The Coca-Cola Kid - Eric Roberts is a Coke executive sent to find out why one small Australian town isn't drinking coke.

Lesser but key role:

On the Beach - Nuclear war has wiped out the northern hemisphere leaving Australia to wait for death as radiation slowly spreads. A nonsensical morse code signal is received from San Diego, however, and a submarine is sent to investigate only to find that it is from a Coke bottle trapped in a some blinds and randomly hitting a telegraphy key.

Anything else? Would GC attend this film festival?

[Moonliner]

I've seen it but I don't really have any memory of it one way or another. I assume you're connecting it to The Gods Must Be Crazy through the Coke bottle and not for being set in Australia?


I was just thinking of movies I liked which are set in Australia (I've got down under on my mind (http://www.loungeoftomorrow.com/LoT/showpost.php?p=290438&postcount=85) these days....) the coke connection is more of a coincidence in this case.

[Ghoulish Delight]

I was just thinking of movies I liked which are set in Australia (I've got down under on my mind (http://www.loungeoftomorrow.com/LoT/showpost.php?p=290438&postcount=85) these days....) the coke connection is more of a coincidence in this case.
Gods Must be Crazy is Africa.

[Moonliner]

Gods Must be Crazy is Africa.

Really?

Huh. I would have bet big it was set in Australia. Funny the way memory works. Now I'll have to watch it again.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Twenty Two Dollars!?! Where are you seeing films? :eek:

I assume she is referring that she has to foot the bill for her boyfriend as well.Yup. When you're +1, everything costs double.

Watched My Name is Bruce.

I was disappointed. And I didn't really expect much from it.Aww, I liked it. It was perhaps a little bit of a let down for me, though I actually liked the fanboy's style.

It brought to mind other movies that are about film stars who think they've been hired for a role but it's a real situation. Three Amigos, Galaxy Quest. Are there any more?

On the Beach - Nuclear war has wiped out the northern hemisphere leaving Australia to wait for death as radiation slowly spreads. A nonsensical morse code signal is received from San Diego, however, and a submarine is sent to investigate only to find that it is from a Coke bottle trapped in a some blinds and randomly hitting a telegraphy key.Wow, this is one of those movie plots that my father has mentioned to me a million times over the years but I've never heard referenced anywhere else. You never cease to amaze, Alex.

[Alex]

Three Amigos, Galaxy Quest. Are there any more?

Two along a similar vein that immediately come to mind are:

In The Last Shot, Matthew Broderick plays a movie director hired to make a movie. Unknown to him, it is actually an FBI sting operation.

In The Man Who Knew Too Little, Bill Murray thinks he's participating in a a bit of theater playing out in the real streets but is actually involved in spy business.

Wow, this is one of those movie plots that my father has mentioned to me a million times over the years but I've never heard referenced anywhere else. You never cease to amaze, Alex.I'm curious as to how this would come up in conversation very often.

It is an end-of-the-world movie worth seeing. A bit melodramatic (and Fred Astaire plays an Australian) but understated in good ways that modern end of the world never will be again.

[Not Afraid]

Australia movices that come to mind:

Mad Max (1&2)
The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert
Walkabout
My Brilliant Career
The Last Wave
Picnic at Hanging Rock
Strictly Ballroom
Sirens

[mousepod]

Then there's the inverse, where someone's real life becomes a movie unbeknownst to them. The Truman Show, The Secret Cinema, and, my favorite, Bowfinger.

[cirquelover]

Saw the Proposal tonight. Funny, but has the chick flick parts that just didn't work for me. Betty White was a scream.

Saw the Hangover last week. Hysterical film that just inches over the edge. Wish they'd gone further but still one i'll get on dvd.


I really want to see both of those. In the promos Betty White looks hilarious, glad to hear she was! Sometimes a good chick flick is exactly what I need, being a chick and all;)

[Alex]

Betty White was funny in a couple spots but she's abused by the script in a couple other places and I felt bad for her.

But then I really didn't like the movie.

[Nephythys]

Aussie zombie movie- UnDead- funny as hell. Total camp...but fun. Zombies, aliens, weird rain and killer fish....

[Stan4dSteph]

Australia movies that come to mind:

Mad Max (1&2)
The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert
Walkabout
My Brilliant Career
The Last Wave
Picnic at Hanging Rock
Strictly Ballroom
Sirens
Also Rabbit-Proof Fence

You could do a NZ fest too:

The Piano
Whale Rider
Once Were Warriors
Heavenly Creatures
Lord of the Rings trilogy (although it was just shot there, not "set" there)

[JWBear]

Also Rabbit-Proof Fence

You could do a NZ fest too:

The Piano
Whale Rider
Once Were Warriors
Heavenly Creatures
Lord of the Rings trilogy (although it was just shot there, not "set" there)

There's no such place as New Zealand.

[Stan4dSteph]

There's no such place as New Zealand.Cool, guess I've been to nowhere 5 times!

[Nephythys]

There's no such place as New Zealand.

Huh? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand)


-am I missing the joke?

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Two along a similar vein that immediately come to mind are:

In The Last Shot, Matthew Broderick plays a movie director hired to make a movie. Unknown to him, it is actually an FBI sting operation.

In The Man Who Knew Too Little, Bill Murray thinks he's participating in a a bit of theater playing out in the real streets but is actually involved in spy business.Were these any good? I would love to have seen EVERY film in this micro-genre.

I'm curious as to how this would come up in conversation very often. My dad loves sci-fi, especially end-world scenarios. I may have to actually see this film.

Then there's the inverse, where someone's real life becomes a movie unbeknownst to them. The Truman Show, The Secret Cinema, and, my favorite, Bowfinger.Wow, I've seen two-thirds of those! :)

Huh? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand)


-am I missing the joke?Yes.

[innerSpaceman]

I was disappointed with On the Beach. For a post-apocalyptic movie set down under, it was really rather staid. It's been a while though, and it's a semi-classic that might deserve revisiting.


But for the micro-micro genre of post-apocalyptic down under, best stick with the first two Mad Max movies. Those are awesome!

[Alex]

Were these any good? I would love to have seen EVERY film in this micro-genre.

Not particularly. The Last Shot was pretty bad. The Man Who Knew Too Little was Murray chewing scenery, but more fun than The Last Shot.

And I wouldn't really put Galaxy Quest in the same category. It more belongs to mousepod's inverse of people thinking it is real but it's actually fake (from the alien point of view; all the humans, after a short period of confusion, knew correctly what was fake and what was real).

Another entry would be The Game which at times plays it both ways. Michael Douglas's brother gives him a weird birthday present which is to play The Game, some kind of live action role playing game. Douglas is told he has been rejected but then the game appears to start and he's not sure whether what is happening is real or fake as things seem to escalate way out of control.


I've asked on Straight Dope for help filling out the niche. Will report back any given.

ETA: Doh, missed an obvious one. Tropic Thunder. For most of the movie they think they're making a war movie while it is all real.
ETA2: And if they ever get it made Ender's Game would go on the list.

[Not Afraid]

Another entry would be The Game which at times plays it both ways. Michael Douglas's brother gives him a weird birthday present which is to play The Game, some kind of live action role playing game. Douglas is told he has been rejected but then the game appears to start and he's not sure whether what is happening is real or fake as things seem to escalate way out of control.


I forgot about that film! It is a great one.

Isn't there a M Night Shamalamadingdong film that fits in this genre?

[mousepod]

tvtropes.org (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HomePage) has a nice page on The Man Who Knew Too Little genre (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheManWhoKnewTooLittle).

[Gemini Cricket]

I watched The Reader over the weekend. I liked it, I thought Kate Winslet deserved the Oscar. But I guess I felt torn about her character...

[Alex]

A lot of the mentions on the TV Tropes page are situations where the character thinks it is real but it is actually faked/staged. That's the opposite of The Man Who Knew Too Little.

More from Straight Dope:
Shadow of a Vampire - Everybody thinks they're just making Nosferatu but he's really a vampire.
Life is Beautiful - Roberto Benigni convinces his son that the concentration camp their in is a complex game.
My Name is Bruce - Bruce Campbell, action star, thinks he's on a lark.

In the thinks it is real but it isn't camp:
Last Action Hero
Bolt

[Snowflake]

I watched The Reader over the weekend. I liked it, I thought Kate Winslet deserved the Oscar. But I guess I felt torn about her character...

Please GC, explain this to me. I watched the film recently and felt this was meh, flat (except she is curvaceous) and could not for the life of me figure out what was so earth shattering about the performance.

I like Kate Winslet, I'm a big fan, but this one mystified me as to why it received all the kudos. I've got Revolutionary Road at home waiting to watch it. I really did not understand what was so all that about her performance.

[Gemini Cricket]

To me, it was because she helped turn this pretty heartless and unlovable person into a sympathetic character. That's my feeling. (I also felt that she should have been given one long ago.)

[innerSpaceman]

I haven't seen either one yet, but I think Kate excels at playing unlikeable characters sympathetically. I'm looking forward to both, which are queued ... and at my current Netflix viewing rate, will be arriving in my mailbox sometime in October.

[Snowflake]

To me, it was because she helped turn this pretty heartless and unlovable person into a sympathetic character. That's my feeling. (I also felt that she should have been given one long ago.)

I'm with you there, so I basically viewed this Oscar as a cumulative, sort of a little overdo Kate, oops, the Academy bad.

[Alex]

For me what was good about Winslet's performance in The Reader is that she didn't (at least not to me) make the character sympathetic. She simply make the character human. Showed that evil isn't just a mighty efficient thing but can also be a passive uneducated thing.

I figure that it was a combination award for this and Revolutionary Road (though that movie didn't really work for me either).

Overall, though, I didn't really care for the movie.

[Nephythys]

Yes.

well thanks for the illumination

[Cadaverous Pallor]

My Name is Bruce - Bruce Campbell, action star, thinks he's on a lark.

In the thinks it is real but it isn't camp:
Last Action Hero
BoltMy Name is Bruce is why we brought this up in the first place. Ooh, I thought of Bolt but forgot to post it.

The Game, heh, that's an interesting one. Great movie.

[flippyshark]

The Game, heh, that's an interesting one. Great movie.

I wanted to like it, but I left the theater with an irritating question.

How the heck did they know he would jump off that one particular side of the building?!?

[Alex]

Yes, The Game definitely suffered from omniscient villain syndrome.

[Alex]

Another would be A Bug's Life, at least from the circus performer's point of view anyway. They think they're there to do a show not fight.

[Ghoulish Delight]

I wanted to like it, but I left the theater with an irritating question.

How the heck did they know he would jump off that one particular side of the building?!?
The most accurate psychological programming in the history of the universe of course.

And how do you know they didn't have something set up on any of the other sides of the building as well?

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Another would be A Bug's Life, at least from the circus performer's point of view anyway. They think they're there to do a show not fight.Ah, good one! Should have thought of that.