Miscellaneous Movie Musings - Page 138

Stan4dSteph · 12-21-2006, 09:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by katiesue

I watched Little Miss Sunshine last night, really loved it.

There's an old thread on that you could probably dredge up.

innerSpaceman · 12-26-2006, 08:03 AM

Well, I hated Curse of the Golden Flower, while I loved Hero and was so-so about Flying Daggars. The production design on this one was gorgeous, but the story was just operatically uninteresting and nothing much other than machinations were going on until one big army battle at the end. Bleh.

I had a chance to watch Rocky Balboa on DVD in the comfort and convenience of my own home ... and it still doesn't interest me.

Alex · 12-26-2006, 08:10 AM

Still doesn't interest you in the sense that you watched and still don't care or that you could easily watch it and don't care enough to actually do so?

What I found with Hero and House of Flying Daggers is that people seem to prefer whichever they saw first and then begin to grow weary of the slow beauty. Unfortunatly, I grew weary of it halfway through the first one (Hero) and had no tolerance for it in House of Flying Daggers. I liked that Curse of the Golden Flower kept the same style but focused the actual story down to a family of five people without losing the wu xia excesses.

Though he's still struggling to reach the balance of grace and story that Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon had (and allowed it to reach such crossover success with American audiences not inclined towards the wu xia style).

innerSpaceman · 12-26-2006, 08:18 AM

RB - didn't even care to watch it though it couldn't have been more convenient and free.

Maybe Alex is right about liking better which was seen first. I saw Daggers after Hero. But the similarish Crouching Tiger came first, and that's not my favorite of the wire-work bunch.

I find the whole "magical martial arts" to have worked better in the context of an obvious "story" being told by a character within Hero (rather than presented as actually happening). But I also found the plot of Hero more interesting, and the film far more beautiful than any of the others of its ilk.

.

Alex · 12-27-2006, 12:31 PM

Watched Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House on my commute yesterday.

What a chore that was to sit through. It's like a live-action Goofy movie. You know the type where Goofy listens to some how-to LP and completely screws up the instructions to comedic effect. Well, this movie was like that complete with stupid narration (provided by Melvyn Douglas, the only moderately interesting person to grace the screen).

Have any two actors supposedly in love ever had less on screen chemistry than Cary Grant and Myrna Loy? I know Grant is capable of it (he does ok with Deborah Kerr) and I know Loy is as well (see The Thin Man). But together they are like dead fish. And it wasn't a fluke, they are similarly flat in The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer.

I was eager to see what would have been a very young Jason Robards when I saw his name in the opening credits, but he passed unrecognized (and now, looking at IMDb, I see it wasn't the Jason Robards I know but his father that was in the movie).

innerSpaceman · 12-27-2006, 09:10 PM

Whadaya know? Over the Hedge really is better than its trailers and the current state of animal-laden computer-animated glut films led one to believe.

The Fountain was a fairly interesting film, but I'm wondering which fringe religious group produced it, and how they got Hugh Jackman to star. A neat take on the Fountain of Youth mythos, but kinda slow-mo ... and I'm not surprised it tanked theatrically.

Alex · 12-27-2006, 09:29 PM

Today I watched the 1999 version of That Championship Season. It is actually a remake of the 1982 version which starred Robert Mitchum, Stacy Keach, Bruce Dern, Martin Sheen, and Paul Sorvino.

In this version, Paul Sorvino got promoted into the Mitchum role and then he is joined by Vincent D'Onofrio, Gary Sinise, Tony Shalhoub, and Terry Kinney.

That Championship Season is one of the rare play adaptations that I enjoy even though very little was done expand it cinematically from a one set theatrical experience. I don't know why that is, it just touches on themes that work for me.

Considering it was made for TV it looks pretty good (though maybe it was made for HBO or Showtime, I didn't notice anything that screamed "commercial break").

Sorvino was the weakest link in the first version and is again in this version. If you overlook Sinise and Shalhoub being offered up as Polish brothers everybody else is quite the actor and comports themself well.

So, this is one remake where I think you can watch either version safely (though the former is interesting for a "old man" Robert Mitchum performance). But according to IMDb neither version is very well regarded so I may be alone in enjoying them.

Cadaverous Pallor · 01-25-2007, 11:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by innerSpaceman

Whadaya know? Over the Hedge really is better than its trailers and the current state of animal-laden computer-animated glut films led one to believe.

Agreed. Very well put together. This is our first DreamWorks animated film and I was pleasantly surprised. Far beyond watchable - it was enjoyable. And pretty too!

Alex · 01-25-2007, 11:39 PM

Just finished watching This Film is Not Yet Rated, a documentary about the MPAA and its rating system.

It is somewhat rough in its construction but is an interesting discussion of a force of evil among us (not that I'm taking sides).

Ghoulish Delight · 01-26-2007, 09:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cadaverous Pallor

Agreed. Very well put together.

Yeah, the storyline felt surprisingly non-contrived, and a good mix of gags vs. plot and other humor. My only knock against it was the turtle character. Anthropomorphized out of scale with the rest of the characters, and the running gag of him getting tossed around in ridiculous situations got old quick. I likes me some slapstick, but not when the character of interest is just a passive object being thrown from gag to gag.

Quote:

This is our first DreamWorks animated film and I was pleasantly surprised. Far beyond watchable - it was enjoyable. And pretty too!

I agreed with you last night, but seeing this statement again this morning it suddenly occurred to me...duh, Shrek.

12-26-2006, 08:03 AM	#2
innerSpaceman Kink of Swank Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Inner Space Posts: 13,075	Well, I hated Curse of the Golden Flower, while I loved Hero and was so-so about Flying Daggars. The production design on this one was gorgeous, but the story was just operatically uninteresting and nothing much other than machinations were going on until one big army battle at the end. Bleh. I had a chance to watch Rocky Balboa on DVD in the comfort and convenience of my own home ... and it still doesn't interest me.
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12-26-2006, 08:10 AM	#3
Alex . Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 13,354	Still doesn't interest you in the sense that you watched and still don't care or that you could easily watch it and don't care enough to actually do so? What I found with Hero and House of Flying Daggers is that people seem to prefer whichever they saw first and then begin to grow weary of the slow beauty. Unfortunatly, I grew weary of it halfway through the first one (Hero) and had no tolerance for it in House of Flying Daggers. I liked that Curse of the Golden Flower kept the same style but focused the actual story down to a family of five people without losing the wu xia excesses. Though he's still struggling to reach the balance of grace and story that Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon had (and allowed it to reach such crossover success with American audiences not inclined towards the wu xia style).
	Submit to Quotes

12-26-2006, 08:18 AM	#4
innerSpaceman Kink of Swank Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Inner Space Posts: 13,075	RB - didn't even care to watch it though it couldn't have been more convenient and free. Maybe Alex is right about liking better which was seen first. I saw Daggers after Hero. But the similarish Crouching Tiger came first, and that's not my favorite of the wire-work bunch. I find the whole "magical martial arts" to have worked better in the context of an obvious "story" being told by a character within Hero (rather than presented as actually happening). But I also found the plot of Hero more interesting, and the film far more beautiful than any of the others of its ilk. . Last edited by innerSpaceman : 12-26-2006 at 08:37 AM. Reason: Confusion about movies from the land of Confusious.
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12-27-2006, 12:31 PM	#5
Alex . Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 13,354	Watched Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House on my commute yesterday. What a chore that was to sit through. It's like a live-action Goofy movie. You know the type where Goofy listens to some how-to LP and completely screws up the instructions to comedic effect. Well, this movie was like that complete with stupid narration (provided by Melvyn Douglas, the only moderately interesting person to grace the screen). Have any two actors supposedly in love ever had less on screen chemistry than Cary Grant and Myrna Loy? I know Grant is capable of it (he does ok with Deborah Kerr) and I know Loy is as well (see The Thin Man). But together they are like dead fish. And it wasn't a fluke, they are similarly flat in The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer. I was eager to see what would have been a very young Jason Robards when I saw his name in the opening credits, but he passed unrecognized (and now, looking at IMDb, I see it wasn't the Jason Robards I know but his father that was in the movie).
	Submit to Quotes

12-27-2006, 09:10 PM	#6
innerSpaceman Kink of Swank Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Inner Space Posts: 13,075	Whadaya know? Over the Hedge really is better than its trailers and the current state of animal-laden computer-animated glut films led one to believe. The Fountain was a fairly interesting film, but I'm wondering which fringe religious group produced it, and how they got Hugh Jackman to star. A neat take on the Fountain of Youth mythos, but kinda slow-mo ... and I'm not surprised it tanked theatrically.
	Submit to Quotes

12-27-2006, 09:29 PM	#7
Alex . Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 13,354	Today I watched the 1999 version of That Championship Season. It is actually a remake of the 1982 version which starred Robert Mitchum, Stacy Keach, Bruce Dern, Martin Sheen, and Paul Sorvino. In this version, Paul Sorvino got promoted into the Mitchum role and then he is joined by Vincent D'Onofrio, Gary Sinise, Tony Shalhoub, and Terry Kinney. That Championship Season is one of the rare play adaptations that I enjoy even though very little was done expand it cinematically from a one set theatrical experience. I don't know why that is, it just touches on themes that work for me. Considering it was made for TV it looks pretty good (though maybe it was made for HBO or Showtime, I didn't notice anything that screamed "commercial break"). Sorvino was the weakest link in the first version and is again in this version. If you overlook Sinise and Shalhoub being offered up as Polish brothers everybody else is quite the actor and comports themself well. So, this is one remake where I think you can watch either version safely (though the former is interesting for a "old man" Robert Mitchum performance). But according to IMDb neither version is very well regarded so I may be alone in enjoying them.
	Submit to Quotes

01-25-2007, 11:39 PM	#9
Alex . Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 13,354	Just finished watching This Film is Not Yet Rated, a documentary about the MPAA and its rating system. It is somewhat rough in its construction but is an interesting discussion of a force of evil among us (not that I'm taking sides).
	Submit to Quotes