Miscellaneous Movie Musings - Page 124

Eliza Hodgkins 1812 · 11-26-2006, 11:26 PM

It was a movie filled 4-day weekend, a bunch of which was laying in front of a tv that has cable. At the theaters, I saw Stranger Than Fiction and The Fountain.

Stranger Than Fiction was, for me, a perfectly lovely movie in every way, and includes one of my now favorite on screen love stories. I adored every performance, every inclusion of "animation" and just about every line of dialogue. It also make great use of its soundtrack.

The Fountain was delightfully ambitious and gorgeous to watch. I appreciated what it attempted to do more than it actually did, I think. It's essential flaw may be that the story needed more time. It deserved at least four hours and I think it needed at least that amount of time to tell the story it was trying to tell. I felt like there were pieces missing, like I was watching an exciting but early cut of the film. A scene would end and I'd be left thinking, "But, but, but...more, more, more."

innerSpaceman · 11-27-2006, 12:59 AM

Saw two Queen movies, care of screeners coming my way.

Marie Antionette was far better than I'd expected, and actually made me look at the infamous last French queeen in a different light.

The Queen is a wonderful film, with Helen Mirren in the title role - in top form. A week in the life of the British Royal Family ... heheh, what a week, following Diana's death in 1987.

I recommend either film if you're in a Royal mood, but The Queen is the finer of the two.

wendybeth · 11-27-2006, 01:15 AM

I saw 'Happy Feet'- twice. Adorable penguins, great music and beautifully animated. I really loved it. The ending was a bit rushed, but overall it was a lovely movie.

Cadaverous Pallor · 11-27-2006, 10:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wendybeth

I saw 'Happy Feet'- twice. Adorable penguins, great music and beautifully animated. I really loved it. The ending was a bit rushed, but overall it was a lovely movie.

Really? Everyone else I've spoken to says Happy Feet was a preachy environmentalist movie (this from liberals, btw) that was nothing what they expected and, well, bad.

We watched Bednobs and Broomsticks the other day (GD hadn't seen it). I never realized before that this was a pretty sad grasp at Mary Poppins The Sequel. It has fun moments and the actors are great but there's a looming shadow over all of it....from the out of control inanimate objects to the street performer to the jaunt into an animated world....I'd know that sill-ya-wett anywhere. I loved it as a kid....

wendybeth · 11-27-2006, 11:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cadaverous Pallor

Really? Everyone else I've spoken to says Happy Feet was a preachy environmentalist movie (this from liberals, btw) that was nothing what they expected and, well, bad.

Everyone I know (locally) who has seen it liked it. Maybe it's because we're closer to a polar region than you.

It could also be that we have sat through a slew of really awful kid's movies and our standards have fallen.

LSPoorEeyorick · 11-27-2006, 08:42 AM

Second votes on "The Queen" and "Stranger Than Fiction." We saw both a few weeks ago, and both were lovely. Mirren's performance is a marvel, so is Ferrell's. Writing for both films shines.

Can't give my vote on "Marie," though-- there were fleeting moments of loveliness, but not much else, I thought. Parallels to the eighties were clever, at least.

innerSpaceman · 11-27-2006, 09:55 AM

I think I liked it because it gave me a different motivation for her playland of peasant life at Versailles. From visiting the lush palace, I had assumed the Let Them Eat Cakery attitude of mockery in Marie's pretending to be a peasant, with an entire village set up for her faux-poverty pretence on the vast grounds.

But the movie easily portrayed a different option ... that the peasant village was a true escape from the stiffling ritual and empty luxury of palace life, an escape to the true happiness of a simpler existence that could reasonably be longed for after years of pampering and vacuousity at the pinnacle of the French court.

I found that rather sweet, and I liked Kirsten Dunst in the role.

Not a candle to The Queen, but hardly the disaster I was led to expect.

.

CoasterMatt · 11-27-2006, 11:28 AM

I still love Bedknobs and Broomsticks...

Cadaverous Pallor · 11-27-2006, 11:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CoasterMatt

I still love Bedknobs and Broomsticks...

Don't get me wrong, it's still a good movie and fun to watch.

Alex · 11-27-2006, 12:20 PM

Well, I can tell you that the circle of top movie critics in this country are overwhelmingly liberal and they overwhelmingly liked it (84% according to RottenTomatoes). Not that this means much.

I'm overwhelmingly libertarian and I liked it very, very much.

I find it interesting that some are turned off by the conservationist message (which isn't, in my mind, any worse than in dozens of other movies). Essentially it is the same message as Open Season a couple months ago: animals, if given their druthers, would really prefer us human stop screwing with them.

The conclusion of the conflict is really bizaare, but to my mind a good kind of bizarre.

Like I said in the Bond thread it pretty much all worked for me (particularly how the humans were handled at the end) but I can understand why people don't like it. I had the same reaction to Babe: Pig in the City. I loved it, most hated it, and while I could understand why still think they are wrong.

11-26-2006, 11:26 PM	#1
Eliza Hodgkins 1812 Sputnik Sweetheart Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Long Beach Posts: 2,685	It was a movie filled 4-day weekend, a bunch of which was laying in front of a tv that has cable. At the theaters, I saw Stranger Than Fiction and The Fountain. Stranger Than Fiction was, for me, a perfectly lovely movie in every way, and includes one of my now favorite on screen love stories. I adored every performance, every inclusion of "animation" and just about every line of dialogue. It also make great use of its soundtrack. The Fountain was delightfully ambitious and gorgeous to watch. I appreciated what it attempted to do more than it actually did, I think. It's essential flaw may be that the story needed more time. It deserved at least four hours and I think it needed at least that amount of time to tell the story it was trying to tell. I felt like there were pieces missing, like I was watching an exciting but early cut of the film. A scene would end and I'd be left thinking, "But, but, but...more, more, more."
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11-27-2006, 12:59 AM	#2
innerSpaceman Kink of Swank Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Inner Space Posts: 13,075	Saw two Queen movies, care of screeners coming my way. Marie Antionette was far better than I'd expected, and actually made me look at the infamous last French queeen in a different light. The Queen is a wonderful film, with Helen Mirren in the title role - in top form. A week in the life of the British Royal Family ... heheh, what a week, following Diana's death in 1987. I recommend either film if you're in a Royal mood, but The Queen is the finer of the two.
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11-27-2006, 01:15 AM	#3
wendybeth Nevermind Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 7,847	I saw 'Happy Feet'- twice. Adorable penguins, great music and beautifully animated. I really loved it. The ending was a bit rushed, but overall it was a lovely movie. __________________
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11-27-2006, 08:42 AM	#6
LSPoorEeyorick scribblin' Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: in the moment Posts: 3,872	Second votes on "The Queen" and "Stranger Than Fiction." We saw both a few weeks ago, and both were lovely. Mirren's performance is a marvel, so is Ferrell's. Writing for both films shines. Can't give my vote on "Marie," though-- there were fleeting moments of loveliness, but not much else, I thought. Parallels to the eighties were clever, at least.
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11-27-2006, 09:55 AM	#7
innerSpaceman Kink of Swank Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Inner Space Posts: 13,075	I think I liked it because it gave me a different motivation for her playland of peasant life at Versailles. From visiting the lush palace, I had assumed the Let Them Eat Cakery attitude of mockery in Marie's pretending to be a peasant, with an entire village set up for her faux-poverty pretence on the vast grounds. But the movie easily portrayed a different option ... that the peasant village was a true escape from the stiffling ritual and empty luxury of palace life, an escape to the true happiness of a simpler existence that could reasonably be longed for after years of pampering and vacuousity at the pinnacle of the French court. I found that rather sweet, and I liked Kirsten Dunst in the role. Not a candle to The Queen, but hardly the disaster I was led to expect. .
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11-27-2006, 11:28 AM	#8
CoasterMatt BRAAAAAAAINS! Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: One Step Beyond... Posts: 8,802	I still love Bedknobs and Broomsticks... __________________ Do you like my photography? Visit photosbymatt.tumblr.com to purchase prints!
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11-27-2006, 12:20 PM	#10
Alex . Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 13,354	Well, I can tell you that the circle of top movie critics in this country are overwhelmingly liberal and they overwhelmingly liked it (84% according to RottenTomatoes). Not that this means much. I'm overwhelmingly libertarian and I liked it very, very much. I find it interesting that some are turned off by the conservationist message (which isn't, in my mind, any worse than in dozens of other movies). Essentially it is the same message as Open Season a couple months ago: animals, if given their druthers, would really prefer us human stop screwing with them. The conclusion of the conflict is really bizaare, but to my mind a good kind of bizarre. Like I said in the Bond thread it pretty much all worked for me (particularly how the humans were handled at the end) but I can understand why people don't like it. I had the same reaction to Babe: Pig in the City. I loved it, most hated it, and while I could understand why still think they are wrong.
	Submit to Quotes