What MOVIES or DVDs have you watched? (PART SEVEN - 2014) (ongoing thread)

[Jackie]

Eric and I are having a Marvel Movie extravaganza! We saw Captain America: The Winter Soldier http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1843866/ a couple of weeks ago, even better than the first Capt A movie. Tomorrow we're going to see The Amazing Spiderman 2 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1872181/. I really like the actor who plays Peter Parker, and this one is gonna be great! Then later in the month we have one of my all time favorite story-arcs, X Men: Days of Future Past http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1877832/. I am so excited for this story, been waiting a long time for it to come to the big screen. It's gonna be spectacular!

[Jim]

Woah! Great movies. I just saw a preview for the new Xmen movie last night. I liked the sentinels in the cartoons & comics. I have the Xmen & Iron Man cartoons, at least one iteration.

[Jackie]

The Marvel movies of the 21st century have come a long way! Spiderman was so good, we really enjoyed it. Marvel has a way of writing compelling villains. Anyone can make a hero sympathetic, much harder to do with a villain.

X Men looks so good, I can barely contain myself. I get all bouncy, complete with a goofy smile when I see the trailer, lol I have the 1992 X Men cartoon series that Eric and I used to watch. And the later series, X Men Evolution, not as good but we liked the earlier characters.

Did you ever watch Beast Wars: Transformers? I love that cartoon, I'm waiting for the Transformer movies to do a Beast Wars movie, when that day comes I'll be bouncy and smiling, lol

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Glad you're enjoying the movies, Jackie.
I keep watching the oldies on TCM and from Netflix. :)

[Nina]

I just finished the 800 page "The Goldfinch," novel and wow. I stayed with it but thought the author must have gotten tired by the time he had to come up with the ending/not satisfying to me even if it did win the Pulitzer.

[Nina]

Wondering if any Goodreaders have an opinion about this book? I think we skipped spring this week/hot and dry but maybe rain will follow. Tired tonight from planting but didn't stop me from watching, "Mr. Selfridge."

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina wrote: "I just finished the 800 page "The Goldfinch," novel and wow. I stayed with it but thought the author must have gotten tired by the time he had to come up with the ending/not satisfying to me even i..."

Congrats on finishing The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt ! That's a long book!

PS-You might find the following GR review interesting (as well at its comments):
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina wrote: "Wondering if any Goodreaders have an opinion about this book? ... Tired tonight from planting but didn't stop me from watching, "Mr. Selfridge."

I see that I can stream "Mr. Selfridge" via Amazon.com because I have Amazon Prime:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_...
"Upstart American Harry Selfridge moves heaven and earth to build his visionary department store in London. But opening day is just the start of his retail revolution."

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2310212/?...
"Centers on the real-life story of the flamboyant and visionary American founder of Selfridge's, London's department store."

[Nina]

I totally agreed with the Goodread reviewers of "The Goldfinch," but how did it win the Pulitzer?

[Werner]

Nina, I haven't read The Goldfinch, so I can't speak about it specifically. In general, though, books win the Pulitzer Prize if they meet with the favor of the literary critical establishment. For about the last 50 years and more, that's been an establishment that intensely disparages any work of fiction that's accessible, wholesome, or in any way likely to appeal to the "ignorant masses" of readers who read for pleasure. If I know that a contemporary novel or story collection won the Pulitzer, I usually feel safe in assuming that it's probably pretentious trash. :-(

[Joy H., Group Founder]

I tend to agree with Werner regarding the Pulitzer Prize. The "Emperor's New Clothes" syndrome seems to be in effect there.

[Nina]

Joy. I am trying again. Let's see if this comes back to me. I will say I totally agree with Werner on the most part, especially with the book I just finished, "The Goldfinch," which is a far cry from one of my favorite Pulitzers, "To Kill a Mocking Bird."

[Nina]

Today is May 8th and I'm trying again. I wss able to get this somehow but not by my email. Hope the HELP goodreads crew can help. Also, sent back a Netflix with a crack and waited a week for a replacement and here it came today with, of course, a crack. Not my good week so far. But, tomorrow is my husband's birthday so hoping for a better day. Predicting golf ball size hail tonight's storm coming our way. And severve weather but no tornados. My son was in a motel in Little Rock Ark on the Sunday evening when the next town had a tornado killing twelve people. He was lucky.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina, I hope you will have better luck receiving Goodreads notifications.

Glad your son is OK.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

PS-Happy Birthday to your husband, Nina!

[Jim]

Good luck with the notifications, Nina. Tell your husband happy birthday for me.

[Werner]

Nina, I join in wishing your husband a happy birthday!

[Nina]

Thanks, I'll tell him. We are having dinner at our favorite Italian deli/spliting a lucious sandwich and sharing dinner with friends and family. It's a neighborhood deli that always puts a water dish out for the dogs in warm weather. I somehow read this message through the "back door." Still not receiving them through email. Sounds like I'm not the only one with this trouble.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina, I received an email notification today for your post above. Have a good time!

[Nina]

Joy H. wrote: "Nina, I received an email notification today for your post above. Have a good time!"

Thanks for letting me know, Joy that you received my message. I still am not getting my notifictions by email. I got this by clicking on an old one from May 1st. I told my husband "happy birthday" from my goodread friends. Happy Mother's Day...my husband was born on Mother's Day.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina wrote: "... Happy Mother's Day...my husband was born on Mother's Day."

Nina, what a nice Mother's Day present he was!
Happy Mother's day to you and to all the moms!
(I received an email notification for your post here.)

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Just watched an excellent film: "The Space Between" (2010) via streaming from Netflix (available for streaming until only 5/15/14):
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1525898/?...
https://www.netflix.com/WiMovie/70137...
"While her flight is grounded on September 11, 2001, a flight attendant discovers that passenger Omar Hassan's father works at the World Trade Center."

I gave it 5 stars. It's an absorbing bittersweet movie with a wise ending which explains the title in a beautiful way. The acting is excellent by both Melissa Leo, the flight attendant, and Anthony Keyvan, who plays the little boy.

[Nina]

Thanks for letting me know you are receiving my notifications. I am still not receivng emails. I look at this when I go to Goodreads on my computer and press on notifications. Hope something comes through sometime soon. Hope your Mother's day was nice. I still miss my mother and she has been gone since 1984.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Yes, Nina. I still miss my mother too. I think of her every single day. She died in 1992 at the age of 90.

[Mary JL]

A Belated "Happy Mother's Day" to all ladies in this group.

[Mary JL]

Went to Half-Price Books Sunday night and somebody had sold them about 15 Doctor Who DVD's!!

And I only could afford two. Watched one Monday and one today---"Pyramids of Mars" and "Terror of the Autons" /

[Jim]

You & Jackie should have plenty to discuss then, Mary. She's a Dr. Who fanatic. I never got into watching it for some reason, although I'd probably like it. It's such a long series that it is daunting & I have so many other things I can't keep up on, though.

[Mary JL]

Jim: Yes, Jackie and I have discussed dr. Who and we both like it.

I feel for you in having so many things that you cannot follow everything. I keep seeing books I'd like to read or DVD's I'd like to watch and they produce faster than I can keep up. I know I am probably missing some series I would like but there is--ah, the old cliché!---so many books, so little time!

[Jim]

goats riding horses
http://www.horsenation.com/2014/05/15...

[Nina]

It is the most amazing thing I've seen all day.

[Jim]

Good natured equines, weren't they, Nina. Our horses would bite our goats if they tried anything like that.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Thanks, Jim. Great pics! Those goats are amazing.

[Werner]

Jim, Barb and I just watched the goats on horseback video. We both got a kick out of it; thanks for sharing it!

[Jim]

Glad you enjoyed them. You probably would have liked the Trouble Twins helping me today, too. Indy & Rascal are both young & kind of bored, so as soon as I do something interesting in the field, they come over to help. Chip has been joining them lately, but he just wants a biscuit. I was doing some fence repairs & they kept getting underfoot - well, not really since they're horses, so they were getting overfoot. Every time I'd turn around there was a nose or a butt in the way.

Our microwave broke tonight. Don't know what happened, but Marg started thawing some steaks & it made a big spark & sounded like a firecracker. The light, fan, & turntable all work, but it doesn't heat any more. It's an over the stove one, 12 years old, very powerful with an exhaust fan in it, so it will probably cost body parts to fix or replace.

Anyway, we have a small old one out in the barn. I went out to get it & the horses were no where around. I left the door cracked & while I was wiping the dust off the little microwave, Rascal & Indy trotted into the barn & proceeded to charge around & knock over the dogs' agility equipment. My neighbor was riding by on her bike & almost wrecked laughing at us as we all charged out of there - horses first, me cussing up a storm at them with Lily bringing up the rear.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Too bad about your microwave, Jim. I remember when there was no such thing. Now we can't live without one. :)

[Jim]

I agree, Joy. I lived half my life without one, but now find living without a real pain. It's amazing how fast we can turn a convenience into something approaching a necessity.

[Nina]

I raised six children without a micro but of course we hardly ever had leftovers. What would all those users out there do without their cell or smart phones or I-Pads? Don't you think their lives would come to a screeching halt? Or at least they'd think so. My husband grew up without a phone and he has reached the age of 88.

[Jim]

I'm not saying we can't live without it, just amazed at how much we miss it when it's gone. Surprising for something we've only lived half our lives with. Still, things have changed. A lot of food is now packaged for microwaves & we don't even have a tea kettle around any more. No need for it with the microwave. So, we get by with a pot to heat up cold coffee & make tea.

I've never bought into all the different gadgets. I didn't get a cell phone until work got one for me about 20 years ago. Before that, they provided a beeper. I'm on call 24x7, but it was their responsibility to give me the tools, IMO. When I left my last job, I got my first cell phone. That was 7 years ago. I still have the same one, finally replaced the battery last year. It doesn't get used much, although I do call Mom on the way to work twice a week. No one else wants to chat at 5am & it's one time when we're both free, too.

Some gadgets are better than others, though. I prefer paper books, but a lot aren't available in that format any more, so I have an ereader. Audio books & music are readily available for download, so I have an MP3 player. Could I live without them? Sure. Do I want to? Nope. I get more books 'read' by listening to them than by actual reading, any more. I've only read 15 or 20 books in paper or electronic format this year, but listened to over 50. They've really fit into my life style.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

I enjoy audio books too.

[Nina]

I enjoy my Kindle too. Could I do without it? Sure,but sometimes it is soooo convenient I really do like it. And I lived at least half my life without a computer. Would I miss it, yes. I grew up without TV but radio was better back then; at least for kids.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Yes, radio had great programs back around the 1940s!

[Jim]

There were some good ones into the 80's. Ray Bradbury's theater was playing then. I love some of the old radio programs. You can find them around on the web for free. The Internet Archive (archive.org) has a lot.

I have a lifetime membership to NoNags.com, a site devoted to freeware utilities. As a member, I can get to their OTR (Old Time Radio) files & download as many as I want. Some aren't the greatest quality unfortunately, but they do have a lot. The old Lux Soap & Mecury Theater programs to the Bickersons, X Minus One, & The Shadow. Some are pretty weird like the old "I Was An Informant For The FBI" which is full of communist paranoia & hysteria.

[Nina]

Lux Radio Theater was good as was The Lone Ranger, and The Hit Parade and of course I am old enough to have listened to "Little Orphan Annie," and Grand Central Station and Let's Pretend and Red Skelton and Bob Hope and Edward R. Murrow among other good ones. My great aunts and grandmother loved Ma Perkins and Stella Dallas.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Yes, I remember most of those old radio programs!

[Jackie]

Just watched The Monument's Men, a true story about art historians braving war to find the works of art the Nazis stole and return it to their rightful owners. Fantastic movie, highly recommend it. It's On Demand on Time Warner for $5. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2177771/?...

[Nina]

Three of the Monument Men are from my area and worked at our museum at one time.

[Nina]

Forgot to say it was The Nelson/Atkins Museum of Art. Once I used to volunteer at that museum and one of the articles I wrote for their newsletter about a Middle Eastern exibit is in their archives. Nice to be asked to donate it.

[Nina]

You can order The Monuments Men on Netflix free if you belong. It is number 2 on my queue. Thanks Jackie for reminding me of it.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Thanks for the info re "The Monuments Men".
http://dvd.netflix.com/Movie/The-Monu...

[Werner]

Back in the late 70s or early 80s, the BBC and Time-Life Television joined together in an ambitious project: producing quality film versions, faithful to the original scripts, of every play that Shakespeare ever wrote. Ambrose Video subsequently brought out the entire series in VHS, and the BBC library has the whole set. Since another Goodreads group I'm in is doing A Midsummer Night's Dream as a common read this month, I hope to read the play for the first time later in the month; but I wanted to also experience it as a dramatic presentation, so I watched the 1981 BBC/Time-Life version over the weekend. (I'd previously seen it performed as a student theater production in my senior year at Bethel College; but I remembered little of the plot.)

In terms of production values, I'd say this version (the imdb entry is here: www.imdb.com/title/tt0082746 ) is well-done. Overall, the performances are more consistent than in the student production, though the delivery of some individual lines in the latter was actually more effective. I'm guessing the film version is more faithful to the original text (some of the best lines I remembered from the stage version were probably ad libbed :-) ). For the most part, the Elizabethan diction here is reasonably intelligiible. (The setting is pre-classical Athens; but the garb of the cast is Elizabethan or Jacobean.) Its comedy is actually comical in places. I wasn't familiar with most of the cast (which I think is predominately British); but Helen Mirren delivers a fine performance as Titiana, the Fairy Queen.

In terms of content, it's not one of Shakespeare's more substantial works, IMO, and some of the attitudes in evidence haven't worn well in the intervening centuries. The aspirations of some of the female characters are quite clearly in opposition to the heavy-handed patriarchalism they're saddled with, and Shakespeare actually telegraphs sympathies with the former rather than the latter; but the resolution is rather mixed, and I could critique other aspects of the play unfavorably as well. But I think it should spark very interesting discussions!