Glens Falls (NY) Online Book Discussion Group discussion
Movies, DVDs, and Theater
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What MOVIES or DVDs have you seen? (PART NINE: On-Going General Thread)
I vaguely recall watching the movie once, too. I don't think I ever made it through the book, though. Le Carre's writing never captured me, although I tried a couple of times. They're supposed to be really good.
John le Carré also wrote The Constant Gardener. In 2009, I watched the movie adaptation:"The Constant Gardener" (2005)
IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387131/?...
"A widower is determined to get to the bottom of a potentially explosive secret involving his wife's murder, big business, and corporate corruption."
NETFLIX: https://dvd.netflix.com/Movie/The-Con...
"Justin Quayle, a member of the British High Commission based in Africa, launches a quest for the truth and begins his own international investigation when his wife is murdered. But he uncovers a conspiracy more dangerous than he could have imagined.
Cast: Ralph Fiennes, Rachel Weisz, Hubert Koundé
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A Netflix member wrote an interesting review:
"Author John LeCarre really does take us on journeys. In addition, LeCarre likes to have his protagonists face challenges involving the moral high ground as opposed to a path of least resistance."
"I don’t believe our generation has an actor who can portray the inner-conflict of a man in turmoil better than Ralph Fiennes. As the Fiennes character discovers details about his wife’s secret life; he give us a smile that hides embarrassment and a laugh that masks torment. He acts with his face, eyes, voice and body language. This film should be required viewing for aspiring actors."
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I gave the movie 4 out of 5 stars.
Saw a feel good at the end movie last night with Spencer Tracy, "The Last Hurrah." I wish they made movies like that now. He was such a good actor. Pat O'Brien good in it also.
Nina wrote: "Saw a feel good at the end movie last night with Spencer Tracy, "The Last Hurrah." I wish they made movies like that now. He was such a good actor. Pat O'Brien good in it also."Yes, Nina, I remember that as a good movie too. You can't beat Spencer Tracy!
"The Last Hurrah" (1958)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051845/
"Frank Skeffington is an old Irish-American political boss, running for re-election as mayor of a U.S. town for the last time. "
"An aging politician tries to get re-elected one last time in the changing world of the 1950s when TV started to play a bigger part in politics. Based loosely on the career of multi-term Boston Mayor James Michael Curley, this film examines the good and evil inherent in politics and all the things that go into an election. Tracy's uphill battle to stay in office is set against the political machinery that preyed on ethnic hatred and old-time money."
Very timely too!
Adapted from: The Last Hurrah by Edwin O'Connor.
Nina wrote: "I remember reading the book too."It's always more enjoyable if one reads the book before seeing the movie. I enjoy comparing.
I remember Spencer Tracy fondly, too. He was fantastic with Katherine Hepburn. He really impressed me in "A Bad Day at Black Rock" where he only had one arm & he did a couple of movies with Robert Wagner, too. "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner" was something else. I think he died right after that.
I know that movie, "Guess..." was his last one but didn't realize he died after making it. Was he ill during the filming I wonder? I doubt any of the "new" stars will be remembered that many years after they die.
You are both so right about Spencer Tracy! Yes, he wasn't well during the filming of "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner". Wiki says:
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Illness and death:
"As he entered his sixties, years of drinking, smoking, taking pills, and being overweight left Tracy in poor health. On July 21, 1963, he was hospitalized after a severe attack of breathlessness. Doctors found that he was suffering from pulmonary edema, where fluid accumulates in the lungs due to an inability of the heart to pump properly. They also declared his blood pressure as dangerously high. From this point on Tracy remained very weak, and Hepburn moved into his home to provide constant care. In January 1965, he was diagnosed with hypertensive heart disease and began treatment for a previously ignored diagnosis of diabetes. Tracy almost died in September 1965: a stay in the hospital following a prostatectomy resulted in his kidneys failing, and he spent the night in a coma. His recovery was described by his doctor as "a kind of miracle".
Tracy spent the majority of the next two years at home with Hepburn, living what she described as a quiet life: reading, painting, and listening to music. On June 10, 1967, 17 days after completing "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner", Tracy awakened at 3:00 am to make himself a cup of tea in his apartment in Beverly Hills, California. Hepburn described in her autobiography how she followed him to the kitchen: "Just as I was about to give [the door] a push, there was a sound of a cup smashing to the floor—then clump—a loud clump." She entered the room to find Tracy dead from a heart attack. Hepburn recalled, "He looked so happy to be done with living, which for all his accomplishments had been a frightful burden for him." MGM publicist Howard Strickling told the media that Tracy had been alone when he died and was found by his housekeeper."
FROM: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spencer...
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RIP
Interesting. We knew little about famous people then compared to now. Better that way, I believe.
Nina wrote: "Interesting. We knew little about famous people then compared to now. Better that way, I believe."I'm afraid that privacy is a thing of the past. Our culture has gone through a huge paradigm shift in its attitudes about privacy. During FDR's presidency, the fact that he was in a wheelchair was not made public. In fact, the media had a policy of not showing pictures of him in his wheelchair. How times have changed!
Nina wrote: "Interesting. We knew little about famous people then compared to now. Better that way, I believe."Agreed. Unfortunately, it's hard to do. I'd generally rather not & avoid many news streams like the plague, but still get blasted by public figures & their peccadilloes. It's impossible to avoid them. Like Joy wrote, "How times have changed!"
Not for the best. Our cities are crime ridden. Mine especially and Chicago. Yes, good to the World Series is there but what about all the children that were killed this year so far. Sad...
I know it is hard to tell, but violent crime is down. News chatter targeting every horrible thing out there is way up, though. Creates the opposite impression.
KELLSAmazon advertises the following fantasy book: The Book of Kells by R.A. MacAvoy.
I was curious about the title. Seems that Kells is a place in Ireland.
The GR book description follows:
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"An unusual and original work of fantasy ... A contemporary man, John Thornburn (a meek, non-violent and unpredictable artist) and woman ... time travel to ancient Ireland to avenge a Viking attack. Packed with fascinating details of historical time and place in Irish history and delicately balanced on the border between realism and fantasy, the story centers around one of the most famous and beautiful illuminated manuscripts in history, the legendary but entirely real Book of Kells. Celtic history blends with magical fantasy for a strange and immersive tale of adventure."
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There is a non-fiction book called The Book of Kells: An Illustrated Introduction to the Manuscript in Trinity College, Dublin by Bernard Meehan. The Book of Kells is an illuminated manuscript Gospel book in Latin, containing the four Gospels of the New Testament. It is believed to have been created c. 800. The name Book of Kells is derived from the Abbey of Kells in Kells, County Meath, [Ireland] which was its home for much of the medieval period.
FROM: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of...
There is also a fantasy animated film called "The Secret of Kells" (2009)
"A young boy in a remote medieval outpost under siege from barbarian raids is beckoned to adventure when a celebrated master illuminator arrives with an ancient book, brimming with secret wisdom and powers."
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0485601/
Available at NETFLIX: https://dvd.netflix.com/Search?oq=&am...
I plan to post this in several places.
I am going to try and get it from Netflix. Thanks for the posting.
Nina wrote: "I am going to try and get it from Netflix. Thanks for the posting."I am too, Nina. It's only 1hr and 15min long but I'm curious about it.
"The Secret of Kells" (2009) Animation, Adventure, Family.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0485601/
Netflix gives the Genres for it as: Children & Family, Family Animation, Family Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Family Adventures, Ages 5-7, Ages 8-10, Ages 11-12 . "This movie is Imaginative."
I'm currently enjoying the following by streaming it from Amazon:"The Duchess of Duke Street" ( TV Series (1976–1977)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001EA4R3Q/...
"A drama based on the life of Rosa Lewis of the Cavendish Hotel. Louisa Trotter begins as an assistant cook, becomes Edward VII's mistress and then owner of a fashionable London hotel."
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077004/?...
"Louisa Trotter works her way up from being a skivvy to being the Queen of cooks, cook to the King, and owner of the Bentinck Hotel."
Very enjoyable. It holds my attention very well. Excellent performances and wonderful scenes of the culture in England years ago.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Duc...
"The Duchess of Duke Street is a BBC television drama series set in London between 1900 and 1925."
One of my very favorites. I have seen it twice.
Nina wrote: "One of my very favorites. I have seen it twice."Unfortunately, I can only get the first season of "The Duchess of Duke Street." The second season is unavailable. https://www.amazon.com/Family-Matters...
Netflix doesn't have it either. They put it your "saved" queue which seems to mean "never".
I'm on Episode #5 of Season 1. Looks like there are 15 episodes: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001EA4R3Q/...
The actress, Gemma Jones, who plays the duchess is very good. Very likable.
Last night saw a really good movie/mostly about people, horses and dogs and of course some family problems; but just a feel good type when it was through. The bonus for me was unexpected as it was filmed mostly in Kansas City and surroundings. "All Roads Lead Home," is the title and I recommended it. It is based on a true story. Parrot is an assistant to the VET.
Sounds interesting, Nina. I'll keep an eye out for it.
Just heard from my Horse daughter that she has seen the movie and used to ride her horse next to the ranch where it was filmed.
Nina wrote: "Last night saw a really good movie/mostly about people, horses and dogs and of course some family problems; but just a feel good type when it was through. ... "All Roads Lead Home," is the title "All Roads Lead Home (2008)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0821810/?...
https://dvd.netflix.com/Movie/All-Roa...
"Following a tragic automobile accident that claims her mother's life, rebellious 12-year-old, Belle Lawlor, is sent to live with her cantankerous grandfather on his ranch in this heartwarming family tale inspired by a true story."
https://www.amazon.com/Roads-Lead-Hom...
"A young girl struggling with the death of her mother finds hope through a puppy who changes her life in this inspiring tale."
Thanks, Nina. I put it on my Netflix queue.
Found out my daughter used to ride her horse next to the ranch in the movie.
Nina wrote: "Found out my daughter used to ride her horse next to the ranch in the movie."Where is the ranch, Nina?
We live in KS but only a couple of miles off of the State Line in MO and the ranch is in MO probably about twenty miles south of us and about four miles east. My daughter has had a horse or two since she was fourteen. She and Jim are probably around the same age. She was born in 1960.
I see. Our oldest son was born in 1961. Can't believe that I have a 55 year old son. Five more years and he'll be 60! I used to think of 60 as old. Now I think of it as rather young. :)
Just about the same age. I was born in 1959. 60 isn't old to me any more, either. Marg is over 60. It's so weird to play with my grandson & realize that when I was his age, my OLD grandfather was about the age I am now. Hmmpf! What does that little monster know?;)
Jim wrote: "Just about the same age. I was born in 1959. 60 isn't old to me any more, either. Marg is over 60. It's so weird to play with my grandson & realize that when I was his age, my OLD grandfather was a..."Isn't it amazing how perspective changes everything!
I remember thinking how strange that my mother in law at fifty was attending a business school as that seemed pretty old to me and she already had a job in an office. Now my son who is sixty five who already has an Engineering degree is going for a Computer Science degree. Perspectives change with age/my age.
Joy H. wrote: "I see. Our oldest son was born in 1961. Can't believe that I have a 55 year old son. Five more years and he'll be 60! I used to think of 60 as old. Now I think of it as rather young. :)"My oldest son is 68 and that seems unreal at times. He is still into re-habbing houses. I remember thinking not past his teens. He was at college when he turned twenty and he called on the phone to say, "I'm not a teenager anymore."
Nina, sometimes growing old is strange because we live to see our kids get "old". Of course, our kids are always kids to us!
That's true our "kids" are always KIDS to us. I can remember when one son said he really didn't care if I still called him Timmie even though no one else did. So I did change it to Tim and same with my Doug that we called Dougie even when he went to college. But, alas he also outgrew that name and is forever a Doug.
Funny about the names, Nina. I had a cousin whom we called "Junior", even after he was a grown man in the service. And even after he became a doctor! LOL Of course his wife and friends called him Pat. (He was Pat, Jr.) But his mother (my aunt) always called him Junior and so did my mother and my sisters.I never realized the connotation of "junior" until I was much older. Junior was Junior to me! A regular name, not a nickname. I still think of him as "Junior". Too bad he's passed on. I guess I always had a "crush" on him, my handsome older cousin. To me he resembled William Holden.
Interesting Joy about your uncle reminding you of William Holden. I had an Uncle James/my Godfather who I always reminded me of Fred McMurray. I thought he was so handsome/my uncle and was saddened when he died in his forties.
Nina, I often see resemblances and am amazed by them. My own son looks something like Ben Stiller. One time they saw each other somewhere and stared at each for a moment, whatever that meant. :).One of my granddaughters bears a slight resemblance to Joely Richardson in certain photos.
I recently saw "A Letter to Three Wives" on TV. Very good story!Cast: Jeanne Crain, Linda Darnell, Ann Sothern, Paul Douglas, Kirk Douglas.
"A Letter to Three Wives" (1949)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041587/?...
"A letter is addressed to three wives from their "best friend" Addie Ross, announcing that she is running away with one of their husbands: but she does not say which one."
https://dvd.netflix.com/Movie/A-Lette...
"In this 1949 black-and-white classic, which won Joseph L. Mankiewicz an Academy Award for Best Director, three married women vacationing on the Hudson suddenly find themselves on the receiving end of a disturbing missive: One of their husbands has broken his nuptial vows and cheated. But whose? The answer is revealed as each woman excavates the ruins of her marriage."
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008U5KFTS/...
"Three country club wives in a small town get a letter from a local friend graciously inform them she is eloping with the husband of one of them. Told in flashbacks."
I remember the movie, "Letter to three Wives," from seeing it long ago when ladies were actually married and had husbands. Now it would be who they were in the relationship with at the time. And does any who actually marries have the ceremony in a church any more?
Nina wrote: "I remember the movie, "Letter to three Wives," from seeing it long ago when ladies were actually married and had husbands. Now it would be who they were in the relationship with at the time. And do..."Woman wants monogamy;
Man delights in novelty.
Love is woman's moon and sun;
Man has other forms of fun. . .
With this the gist and sum of it,
What earthly good can come of it? ~~~-Dorothy Parker
The 1970 movie "Scrooge" is now playing on the TCM Channel, from 8 to 10 PM. Starring Albert Finney as Scrooge!http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066344/?...
PS- RE "SCROOGE" WIKI says: "With eleven musical arrangements interspersed throughout (all retaining a traditional British air), the award-winning motion picture is a faithful musical retelling of the original. The film received limited praise, but Albert Finney won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Musical/Comedy in 1971. The film received four Academy Award nominations."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scrooge...
PPS- RE "SCROOGE"Alec Guinness plays Jacob Marley's Ghost. It doesn't look like him.
http://movie-dude.co.uk/1Actors%20Ima...
I noticed it was on TCM tonight but I've seen The Christmas Carol so many times I decided not to watch it but sounds like it was good with those actors.
Yes, it was very good. I liked this one (with Albert Finney as Scrooge) better than the 1951 version with Alastair Sim.
My daughter says, "The Lunch Box," is a very good movie. I just ordered it on Netflix. You might want to check it out.
Nina wrote: "My daughter says, "The Lunch Box," is a very good movie. I just ordered it on Netflix. You might want to check it out."
Thanks, Nina. I'll check it out.
https://www.amazon.com/Lunchbox-Irrfa...
Can't find it on Netflix. Do you have a link?
Instead, I found the following at Netflix:
"Lunch"
https://dvd.netflix.com/Movie/Lunch/7...
Joy, Just watched "The Lunchbox," last night and the ending was so convoluted I wouldn't bother getting it. Neither my husband nor I could figure it out. Couldn't believe it just ended.
Nina wrote: "Joy, Just watched "The Lunchbox," last night and the ending was so convoluted I wouldn't bother getting it. Neither my husband nor I could figure it out. Couldn't believe it just ended."I'll be sure to avoid that movie, Nina. There's enough in life to confuse us. We don't need more of that.
The Lunchbox (2013)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2350496/?...
"A mistaken delivery in Mumbai's famously efficient lunchbox delivery system connects a young housewife to an older man in the dusk of his life as they build a fantasy world together through notes in the lunchbox."
You're lucky that your husband watches with you. In our later years we've watched TV on separate TVs in separate rooms. We just don't enjoy the same kind of programs. Of course, now that my husband has vision problems, he needs special magnification on his own TV.
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I'll avoid that one, Nina. Thanks. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le Carré.
"Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)"
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1340800/
"In the bleak days of the Cold War, espionage veteran George Smiley is forced from semi-retirement to uncover a Soviet agent within MI6."