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)
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Nina
(new)
Jan 03, 2017 02:36PM
Joy H. wrote: "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 am lucky as none of my friends seem to have the same tastes as their husbands either. Mostly, neither of us like violence and mostly we watch Hallmark movies and Netflix and that seems to satisfy. Actually, we start about seven in the evening/almost every evening and mostly enjoy the show. As a child I saw many movies with my dad and maybe this is just a hangover. Some nights my dad would say, "Hurry up and finish your homework and we'll go to the show."
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Nina wrote: "Joy H. wrote: "Nina wrote: "... Mostly, neither of us like violence and mostly we watch Hallmark movies and Netflix and that seems to satisfy. Actually, we start about seven in the evening/almost every evening and mostly enjoy the show. As a child I saw many movies with my dad and maybe this is just a hangover. Some nights my dad would say, "Hurry up and finish your homework and we'll go to the show." "Nina, you are indeed lucky to have had that situation with both your husband and your father! Did you watch movies with your dad on TV or at the theater? Your dad sounds like a wonderful man.
Actually, as I think about it, my dad and mom were separated and when my dad would visit on occasional Sundays, he would take my sister and me out to the Loew's movie theaters. Then we would go have a hamburger at White Castle.
My dad was wonderful too but I do wish circumstances had been different. My folks separated when I was 13. We had to sell our beautiful big private home and move into a 3 family house. It was pretty traumatic for everyone but we survived. We always felt loved and that's really all that matters in the end.
When you get old, you get a perspective on things like this. Each person has his own little perspective. Sometimes when I compare perspectives with my sister, who is 4 years younger, our perspective on things is very different, even though our early experiences were similar. I'm sentimental and she's not. She's more of a networker than I am. She's much more gregarious. We used to call her "our Lady of Perpetual Motion". LOL
Gee, that could start a conversation about nature and nurture. I do believe that our genes determine more than we think.
My husband grew up poor in the Depression years/sometimes his father didn't have a job and it was pretty rough but he remembers those times rather fondly/had friends and knew both parents loved him and his sibs but like you said, sometimes the sibs feel differently as my brother in law who was five years younger than my husband was terribly upset at those times and his main objective was always money although he is a good husband and father. There was no TV when I was young/the thirties and so I went to the movies with my father and also he loved White Castle hamburgers and we often went there too.
Nina, it's interesting the way parts of our lives are so similar. Today I came across something which said that a good question to ask people is: "What did your father do for a living?". I read that today while "looking inside" a book online. The book is Extraordinary Lives: The Art and Craft of American Biography. If I remember correctly, it was in an email ad for "book deals". The link is:
https://www.amazon.com/Extraordinary-...
When you "look inside" the book, there's a lot of interesting reading (with anecdotes) about how the authors of biographies go about their business of collecting info.
PS-You can download a free Kindle sample of the book at the link in my previous post. https://www.amazon.com/Extraordinary-...Now all I need is TIME to read all this stuff! LOL
I don't have Kindle unlimited so that book wasn't free for me but I really enjoyed reading the book reviews after clicking on the website. It turns out the main bio of David Mc... was on Harry Truman and as I had already read that book I decided not to bother getting this one. But thanks for the posting as it was interesting.
Nina, I don't have Kindle Unlimited. I have Amazon Prime. It's the Kindle SAMPLE of Extraordinary Lives: The Art and Craft of American Biography that's free.I just recently finished listening to the audio version of Truman by David McCullough. Now Eddie is listening to it. It was excellent. I finally created my review page for the book just now. Gave it 5 stars but I didn't go into any detail about it. No time!
It must have taken a long listening time as it did take me a while to read the one thousand page book and It was probably one of the most interesting books I've ever read so much history I could identify with as his coming from this area.
Nina wrote: "It must have taken a long listening time as it did take me a while to read the one thousand page book and It was probably one of the most interesting books I've ever read so much history I could id..."Well, I listened to the Truman book in the "Reading Room" where I DO spend a lot of time! So I didn't mind the length. And you're right when you say you could identify with the subject. I too identified with it since I, like you, lived through that era.
One of the most riveting parts was the way McCullough described the way Truman received the news about Roosevelt's death. They told him to report to the White House but they didn't tell him why until he got there and Eleanor Roosevelt broke the news. She said something to the effect: "YOU are the one who is in trouble now" ... because now HE was now president!"
PS-Nina, I just checked and found out that my CD of Truman was abridged. Hmmm, I wonder what I missed!
Did you hear about his ancestral beginnings? Or his early life on the farm? Or early life in KC and then back on the farm? How about his wife's father's suicide and her errant brother? I really can't guess what you missed.
Nina wrote: "Did you hear about his ancestral beginnings? Or his early life on the farm? Or early life in KC and then back on the farm? How about his wife's father's suicide and her errant brother? I really can..."Nina, it's hard to remember. Yes, Truman's farm life was mentioned. Not sure about the other info. I'll ask Eddie what he remembers about the wife's family. He listened to the same abridged version.
PROGRAM ALERT!Golden Globes - 8 p.m. ET on NBC Sunday night, 1/8/17.
http://www.goldenglobes.com/winners-n...
I don't recognize half the names!
Today I enjoyed streaming the following movie via Amazon but Netflix has the DVD as well:Café Society (2016)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4513674/
https://dvd.netflix.com/Movie/Caf-Soc...
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01IARNQJ6/...
"In the 1930s, a Bronx native moves to Hollywood and falls in love with a young woman who is seeing a married man."
Director: Woody Allen - Writer: Woody Allen
Stars: Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Steve Carell
I loved the music in the background as well as the bittersweet story!
Might be good, as you say Joy but I usually don't like Woody Allen.
Nina wrote: "Might be good, as you say Joy but I usually don't like Woody Allen."I think a lot of people may say that about Woody Allen, especially with his personal history. But beyond his personal life, there's a talent that can't be denied. He has a particularly droll view on things which resonates with me much of the time. His movies also seem to have a certain kind of nostalgia which reaches in and tugs at you. And when he does that through his films, it's as though he's saying: "This is life. That's how it is. Try to find the find the good in the bad." He's quite the philosopher.
I think we have to separate the art from the personal life of the artist... if we're going to be able to appreciate the art itself. I've heard people put down Willie Nelson because of his personal life. When I hear him sing, I try to forget those things and just appreciate the touching timbre of his voice by itself.
PS-Nina, in the film "Cafe Society" [ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4513674/ ], Jesse Eisenberg plays such a great part. His characterization of the character named, Bobby, is exquisite. You see him change from his youthful innocence into a mature man. The change is so poignant. You really feel for him. He was perfectly cast for the part You wouldn't think he had it in him as an actor. But he does. Here's his picture:http://www.thewrap.com/wp-content/upl...
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.c...
http://www.gigareel.com/wp-content/up...
I've never found Woody Allen funny. I sometimes wonder at my sense of humor, but Marg shares in a lot of it, so we're good. We never found Friends or Seinfeld funny, either.
I clicked on the website you gave for Cafe Society and read the bad review. If I believed it I'd say it reminded me of this writer's view of the other Woody Allen movies I didn't like either. I really wasn't referring to Woody himself when I said I didn't like any movies he was connected with so guess I'll pass on this one.
Jim wrote: "I've never found Woody Allen funny. I sometimes wonder at my sense of humor, but Marg shares in a lot of it, so we're good. We never found Friends or Seinfeld funny, either."Seinfeld was funny sometimes. Friends was funny occasionally.
Woody Allen usually isn't ha-ha funny. He's witty.
My sister and I have similar senses of humor. Sometimes we SCREAM with laughter! It's such fun.
Nina wrote: "I clicked on the website you gave for Cafe Society and read the bad review. If I believed it I'd say it reminded me of this writer's view of the other Woody Allen movies I didn't like either. I rea..."Nina, I saw some negative reviews for Cafe Society and I disagreed with them. The reviews I read didn't accept the movie the way it was. They wanted it different in some way. I accepted the movie for what it was and enjoyed it very much. Some people criticize things I would never even think of as issues.
PS-Nina, now I'm curious about what YOU might think of the movie, Cafe Society. :)
PS-Jim, I hardly ever enjoyed the Kramer character in Seinfeld, but I liked the other characters.
Joy, I probably won't order it as the theme doesn't appeal to me and as I mentioned I really haven't liked any movie I've seen before that W. Allen had anything to do with it.
Nina wrote: "Joy, I probably won't order it as the theme doesn't appeal to me and as I mentioned I really haven't liked any movie I've seen before that W. Allen had anything to do with it."Nina, I understand. We can't all like the same things.
Wouldn't 'it be awful if we were all the same? But I wish some like the ones who kidnapped those two hundred little girls had never been on this earth.
Nina wrote: "Wouldn't 'it be awful if we were all the same? But I wish some like the ones who kidnapped those two hundred little girls had never been on this earth."Nina, here's a Wiki page about that awful happening:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chibok_...
Today I streamed the following movie from Amazon Prime. It was very entertaining. It stars Kevin Spacey as President Nixon and Michael Shannon as Elvis Presley."Elvis & Nixon" (2016)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DTFE5Y4/...
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2093991/?...
"The untold true story behind the meeting between Elvis Presley, the King of Rock 'n Roll, and President Richard Nixon, resulting in this revealing, yet humorous moment immortalized in the most requested photograph in the National Archives. "
https://dvd.netflix.com/Movie/Elvis-N...
"Among the many strange episodes that took place in Richard Nixon's presidential administration, one of the most bizarre was Elvis Presley's surprise visit to the White House, followed by a secret meeting with the nation's commander-in-chief."
I always enjoy Kevin Spacey when he does imitations. He's a very funny man in a his own subtle way. I laughed out loud at some parts of his performance as Nixon.
I just got the movie Kansas City from Netflix and will check to see if they cut me out. Let you know, Joy
Nina wrote: "I just got the movie Kansas City from Netflix and will check to see if they cut me out. Let you know, Joy"OK, Nina! If you see yourself, try to identify exactly how to spot you.
Joy the man whose wife had been kidnapped was walking into the railroad station at Ft. Madison, Iowa to call home and I am then coming out of the restroom and walking past him as he talks into the phone and I continue down the aisle to sit by my movie husband. Actually, just before the man comes into the station there is a brief picture of myself and movie husband sitting on a bench in the waiting room. And yes it is a grim movie but some of my life as a young child was during those times. Mostly, I was unaware of the crime etc except for the one election day in 1934 when violence erupted a block from my house.I was six years old at the time and my mother said, "Get the dog and we'll go to the dry goods store as I need a spool of thread." Then a couple of minutes later she changed her mind and decided to run the sweeper/that's what she called it. After about five minutes we walked up to the street across from the store and there were police cars and sirens etc. There were several small stores and a voting place next the the dry goods store and apparently just minutes before we arrived two Pendergast factions got into a gun battle over the election ballots and four were shot and killed. One was the owner of the dry goods store person who just peeked outside to see what was going on and he was shot in the crossfire. My mother always contended we'd have been killed if she hadn't stopped to run the sweeper.
Nina wrote: "Joy the man whose wife had been kidnapped was walking into the railroad station at Ft. Madison, Iowa to call home and I am then coming out of the restroom and walking past him as he talks into the ..."Nina, it's too bad that I was unable to catch that scene when I watched the movie. ("Kansas City") I would have enjoyed seeing it.
That's quite a memory you have about the gun battle years ago. It's frightening just to think about how close you came!
I wrote a poem about it and it was put into a coffee table book published by the Kansas City Star magazine and I forgot who else and once I was invited to read it in an auditorium in the ghetto. My black audience was wonderful. If I find it on my computer I'll send you a copy.
Nina wrote: "I wrote a poem about it and it was put into a coffee table book published by the Kansas City Star magazine and I forgot who else and once I was invited to read it in an auditorium in the ghetto. My..."Received the poem, Nina. Well done!
I'm streaming the first episode (the pilot) of "Z: The Beginning of Everything" from Amazon. [TV Series (2015– ) ]http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4878612/?...
"Z is a biography series based on the life of Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald, the brilliant, beautiful and talented Southern Belle who becomes the original flapper and icon of the wild, flamboyant Jazz Age in the 20s. Starring Christina Ricci as Zelda Fitzgerald, Z starts before she meets the unpublished writer F. Scott Fitzgerald, and moves through their passionate, turbulent love affair and their marriage-made in heaven, lived out in hell as the celebrity couple of their time."
Zelda's father is played by David Strathairn who has a distinguished filmograpy. I knew he looked familiar. So I looked him up.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000657/?r...
PS-An ad online says: "Learn more about Zelda Fitzgerald from the book that inspired the series."Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Anne Fowler
I got the DVD of "Running with Scissors" from Netflix.Based on the memoir: Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs.
"Running with Scissors" (2006)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0439289/?...
https://dvd.netflix.com/Movie/Running...
"Young Augusten Burroughs absorbs experiences that could make for a shocking memoir: the son of an alcoholic father and an unstable mother, he's handed off to his mother's therapist, Dr. Finch, and spends his adolescent years as a member of Finch's bizarre extended family."
Don't waste your time. It's too weird for words. Full of disorder. Very depressing. Most of the characters in it are EXTREMELY disfunctional human beings. The famous actors* in the movie must have really needed the money.
Below is from the Netflix reviews:
"This is probably the worst movie in the history of movies."
"Did not like, didn't even watch it all. Probably should have but just couldn't watch anymore."
I felt the same way.
I can't believe that some people really liked this movie (according to the Netflix reviews). The world is even crazier than I thought!
*Cast: Annette Bening, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jill Clayburgh, Brian Cox, Joseph Fiennes, Evan Rachel Wood, Alec Baldwin, Vanessa Redgrave, Kristin Chenoweth, Colleen Camp, Patrick Wilson
Tonight I streamed a delightful movie via Amazon Prime."Tortilla Soup" (2001)
It made up for the awful movie ("Running with...") which I posted about above. Not only was the plot of "Tortilla Soup" delightful but the cooking scenes made my mouth water! I enjoyed the musical background too. In fact I was doing the rhumba during the closing credits to the tune "Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps"!
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0255653/?...
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HUGA1AU/...
https://dvd.netflix.com/Search?oq=&am...
"Widower Martin Naranjo (Hector Elizondo) is a Los Angeles restaurateur with a booming business and three headstrong daughters, who are all on the verge of leaving the house to pursue their individual destinies. He knows he must let go, but things get even more complicated when brassy neighbor Hortensia (Raquel Welch) sets her sights on Martin."
FIVE STARS!
(This movie also made up for the fact that I forgot that I had theater tickets on Saturday for a local school's performance of "The Lion King, Jr." at the Wood Theater. I missed the show! I was so disappointed.)
Thank you for reminding me of the "Tortilla Soup," movie that I loved and saw many years ago. I will order it again. Are you watching, "Victoria" on Masterpiece? It's good but not great in my opinion. Too many good things on tonight. I would like to see Tom Brokaw but also will probably watch TCM instead for two of my favorite movies, "Shenandoah," and "Friendly Persuasion."
Thanks for all the ideas, Nina. Haven't seen "Victoria" yet.Of course, Tom Brokaw is always worth watching. I love the timbre of his voice and value his opinions as well.
Nina wrote: "It's fifty years of his broadcasts."There's a lot going on tonight:
PROGRAM ALERT!
SAG AWARDS - 10 pm - TNT CHANNEL - 1/29/17
"23rd Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards"
http://www.sagawards.org/
I missed the 8 pm airing. Thank goodness they're repeating it.
RE MOVIE: "The Kettering Incident" (NOT RECOMMENDED!)Crime, Drama, Mystery - TV Series (2016– )
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4228802/?...
"Doctor Anna Macy finds herself inexplicably linked to the disappearance of two girls, fifteen years apart."
I started to stream this movie but was annoyed by the slow pace and the endless scenes of people staring into space before they do anything. So I went out to search reviews to see if anyone else was just as annoyed as I was. I found a review at IMDb which validated my impressions. Below are some well-expressed thoughts from the review at the link above:
======================================
"Yes the pace was slow but that doesn't bother me if it is building up to something. Unfortunately nothing is resolved, though plenty of herrings are thrown into the mix at a surprising rate for a show that merely crawls along. ... it promised a great deal more than it delivered and the abrupt editing and fascination for shooting so many scenes in either semi or absolute darkness was confusing as well as infuriating. ... The taciturn locals all seemed to be sharing the same part. I could not tell one from another until 2/3 of the way through, and when anyone referred to an absent character by name I had no idea who they were talking about. ... Surely someone, somewhere could have come up with an actual story? Even a far-fetched one, rather than an endless series of scenes that didn't connect or have any relevance to each other, and the ultimate betrayal of the viewer was no ending at all."
FROM IMDb review by "chris-bushwacker" (Canada)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4228802/?...
======================================
WELL SAID!
Did you wonder what tempted the author to write it?
So far after the first section of "The Gentleman in Moscow," remains one of the best books I've read ever and we'll see what I think after Part Two which I am into today.
Nina wrote: "Did you wonder what tempted the author to write it?"Lord knows what they were thinking! They tried to hard to create suspense with a slow pace... and all they did was bore me. (RE: "The Kettering Incident") To me that means they had no concept of good timing.
Nina wrote: "So far after the first section of "The Gentleman in Moscow," remains one of the best books I've read ever and we'll see what I think after Part Two which I am into today."A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
Sounds really good, Nina!
A couple of notes from The Gentleman in Moscow/One is the author describing a small girl when she looked at the Count/"she had a canine tilt to her head." I so remember my Irish setter titling her head in that kind of fashion. Another line I liked, among so m any other wonderful descriptions, "he tiptoed down the stairs of reason."
Watched a good movie last night, "Everybody's Fine," starring Robert d'Nero and Drew Barrymore. Nexflix.
Nina wrote: "Watched a good movie last night, "Everybody's Fine," starring Robert d'Nero and Drew Barrymore. Nexflix."My Netflix record shows that I "rated this 3 stars on 12/31/2013. I guess it was so-so.
Everybody's Fine - 2009
https://dvd.netflix.com/Movie/Everybo...
"Recent widower Frank Goode goes on a road trip -- against his doctor's orders -- to connect with his grown children after all four blow off a planned visit. Along the way, he learns some truths about himself and his kids."
I recently watched (via Amazon Prime) the film adaptation of Empire Falls by Richard Russo. It was the second time I had seen it but I had forgotten most of it. It was OK but I wasn't enthralled.
"Empire Falls" - (TV Mini-Series (2005– )
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0376591/?...
"A decaying New England town is the backdrop for its unique citizens, led by unassuming restaurant manager Miles Roby."
It seemed like a soap opera. I hated the role Helen Hunt played. She seemed miscast. Paul Newman played a poor old man. Joanne Woodward played a mean rich lady. Ed Harris was likable enough but I didn't like the plot. Small town intrigue.
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