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Movies, DVDs, and Theater
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Have you seen any good movies lately? (Part THREE - 2010)
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Werner
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Aug 05, 2010 04:37PM
Thanks, Joy and Jackie. As I told my daughter, I won't be reading the book --and so far, I can't say I'm very attracted to the idea of watching the movie, either. :-)
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Thank you, Nina.For reference: Chanel
Haven't read it. I have no interest in the world of fashion. I know it's a billion-dollar business, but it seems so superficial.
I watched the following movie via a Netflix DVD:
"Coco Chanel" (2008):
http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Coco_Cha...
I gave it only 2 stars. A Netflix reviewer said:
==================================================
"This Lifetime film about the life of Coco Chanel lacks dynamism and is at times boring, but its sumptuous visual style compensates for the lack of any dramatic revelations."
==================================================
Jackie wrote: "... Joy, I'm sorry you didn't like The Tudors. It did start out slow, but picked up with increasing pacing. I'd forgotten about that first season with Henry and his numerous mistresses but that doesn't last.What I found most astonishing about Henry was how easily manipulated he was by those surrounding him, Cardinal Woolsey, Anne, and later by other characters."
Jackie, That's an interesting observation about Henry VIII. I never thought of it that way.
I Netflixed Brothershttp://www.netflix.com/Movie/Brothers...
I thought it was excellent. I give it 4 stars on the 5 star Netflix scale. The Netflix blurb is extremely misleading. Much better is Ebert's review
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/p...
The film explores family dynamics and it is 'heartwarming', a description I usually use with sarcasm. Accompanied by that music I CAN'T STAND on the Oxy Channel, it usually turns my stomach. However, this time I ate it all up and even teared up a couple times. As Ebert says, the Taliban scenes are handled with 'ruthless realism', so the squeamish among you may want to avoid this one. I would have liked some attention paid to the Captain's unfortunate legal problems should the media have gotten hold of his story. To say more would be a spoiler.
Earl wrote: "I Netflixed Brothershttp://www.netflix.com/Movie/Brothers...
I thought it was excellent. I give it 4 stars on the 5 star Netflix scale. The Netflix blurb is extremely misleading..."
Earl, thanks for your comments on the film, "Brothers". Below is a plot summary from IMDb:
===================================================
"Before leaving on his second tour in Afghanistan, Marine Captain Sam Cahill, a leader, an athlete, a good husband and father, welcomes his screw-up brother Tommy home from prison. He'd robbed a bank. In country, Sam's helicopter is shot down and all are presumed dead. Back home, while Sam wastes away as a prisoner in a remote encampment, Tommy tries to take care of the widow and her two children. While imprisoned, Sam experiences horrors unbearable, so when he's rescued and returns home, he's silent, detached, without affect, and he's convinced his wife and brother have slept together. Demons of war possess him; what will silence them?"
FROM: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0765010/p...
====================================================
FROM IMDb TRIVIA:
"Tobey Maguire and Jake Gyllenhaal play the brothers in this film."
Earl,I found the previews misleading also. The movie turned out to be quite different than what I expected. Much better than I thought. I think this was Tobey Maguire's best role to date and showed what he can really do on the screen.
I gave the following film 5 stars out of five. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's a different kind of comedy."The Invention of Lying" (2009) (Netflix DVD):
http://www.netflix.com/Movie/The_Inve...
"In a world where everyone can only tell the truth,.....he's just invented the lie!"
FROM: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1058017/t...
This film stars British comedian, Ricky Gervais, who also co-wrote it. I chose it because I like Ricky Gervais' humor and his personality. I wasn't disappointed.
This is a hard movie to describe. It's best just to watch it without any previous expectations or assumptions. Let yourself be the judge.
I loved that movie. Ricky Gervais is a fantastic comedian. I'll watch any movie he's in. Have you seen him in Ghost Town?
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0995039/
Jackie, Yes, I watched "Ghost Town" over a year ago. I had forgotten about it until now. I gave it 3 stars at Netflix. It was good, but I liked the "The Invention of Lying" better.BTW, you mentioned Tobey Maguire. I liked the role he played in "The Cider House Rules". (1999).
Jackie, Ricky Gervais hosted this year's Golden Globes award show. He was hilarious. Did you watch the program? Below is a link to a YouTube video showing him hosting the show.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwH0Hf...
He's brilliant!
No, I don't watch Awards shows, but that clip was hilarious!
Jackie, here's another hilarious clip of Ricky Gervais at the same Golden Globes award show:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZp6cR...
He's too much! LOLI watched a weird movie last night, After.Life with Liam Neeson and Christina Ricci.
From imdb: A young woman caught between life and death... and a funeral director who appears to have the gift of transitioning the dead, but might just be intent on burying her alive.
For a full synopsis: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0838247/s...
I can't really say it was good, but it wasn't bad. Just very strange.
Jackie wrote: "... I watched a weird movie last night, After.Life with Liam Neeson and Christina Ricci. ..."The Netflix description calls it a "macabre thriller". Eeek!
"After.Life" (2009):
http://www.netflix.com/Movie/After.Li...
Does a re-watching of an older movie count? I was not a member of GR when I saw TITANIC, but I just re-watched it and I really enjoyed it. Leonard DiCaprio rocks and so does James Cameron!
Sure does!I saw Titanic in the theater mainly because nothing else good was playing. I heard so much hype about it that I thought it couldn't live up to the expectation. I was wrong. Titanic was an excellent film. I think I want to see it again. Thanks for reminding me of how good it was, Mary JL.
I'll echo what Mary JL and Jackie just said! Titanic is an outstanding film, one that brings history to vivid (and horrifying) life, and a really riveting human drama. (We didn't see it in the theater, but we have it on VHS.) If you've never seen it, I highly recommend it!
for you trivia buffs: Only two movies have won 11 Academy Awards. One was Titanic. The other was Ben=HUr.
Mary JL wrote: "for you trivia buffs: Only two movies have won 11 Academy Awards. One was Titanic. The other was Ben=HUr."Thanks, Mary.
For reference:
The "Titanic" (1997) award page:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120338/a...
The "Ben-Hur" (1959) award page:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052618/a...
IMO, Titanic is if not the greatest film ever made, certainly in the running on a very short list. A Masterpiece!!
On the other hand, take "Inception" which I saw last night---PLEASE!!
An utterly absurd, incomprehensible, annoying and overlong exercise in sowing confusion.
Dicaprio was excellent though, but too bad he was in this thing.
Arnie wrote: "IMO, Titanic is if not the greatest film ever made, certainly in the running on a very short list. A Masterpiece!!
On the other hand, take "Inception" whic I saw last night---PLEASE!! ..."
Hi Arnie. Nice to see you here again.
For reference:
"Inception" (2010):
http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Inceptio...
"sci-fi thriller"
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1375666/
PLOT: "In a world where technology exists to enter the human mind through dream invasion, a highly skilled thief is given a final chance at redemption which involves executing his toughest job till date, Inception."
MORE PLOT SUMMARIES AT:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1375666/p...
The plot summaries describe an interesting premise, but I'll take your word for it about how bad the film is, since it doesn't sound like my kind of thing anyway.
Werner wrote: "I'll echo what Mary JL and Jackie just said! Titanic is an outstanding film, one that brings history to vivid (and horrifying) life, and a really riveting human drama. (We didn't see it in the th..."I liked The Titanic, and I've re-watched various sections as I've come across it on tv. (I think that 're-watching' is the ultimate compliment to pay to a movie). But the most invasive (the one that interferes the MOST with my vcr tape watching) is Pulp Fiction. And Kill Bill's a close second.
I'm hardly ever motivated to re-watch or re-read anything. However, there are times when, in the middle of a film, I realize that I'm re-watching it. :) That happened recently while watching the old screwball comedy, "The Awful Truth" (1937) starring Cary Grant and Irene Dunne:http://www.netflix.com/Movie/The_Awfu...
I streamed it from Netflix and gave it 5 stars out of 5.
FROM IMDb TRIVIA:
"Premiere voted this movie as one of "The 50 Greatest Comedies of All Time" in 2006."
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0028597/t...
The film is truly funny with both Irene Dunne and Cary Grant displaying their memorable comedic talents. She teases him mercilessly after his unfounded jealousy gets the best of him. One thing leads to another, leading to hilarious results. I'm glad I had forgotten I had already seen it. Otherwise I might have passed it up. I had forgotten what a great comedienne Irene Dunne could be.
My son really liked Inception and I think I will too. I like sci-fi movies.
Interested to hear your take on "Inception" Jackie.
That'll have to wait til it's available on DVD but I'll be sure to tell about it.
Thank goodness for the TCM movie channel (Turner Classic Movies)! Every once in a while I discover an enjoyable old movie which I had never seen before. Last night they aired "So This Is Love" (1953), a biopic of opera star Grace Moore starring Kathryn Grayson:http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046334/
The TCM description said: "Grace Moore goes from choirgirl to Metropolitan Opera star, from 1917 to 1928."
If you enjoy music and the good old songs, you would enjoy this movie. The music was beautiful and Kathryn Grayson was at her best. Grace Moore was a singer of Broadway musicals as well as an opera star. One of the user reviews says: "What Grace Moore was however was one of the greatest entertainers of the 20th century. She conquered five mediums, the musical stage, grand opera, recordings, radio, and film."
Other excerpts from the user reviews:
" 'So This Is Love' is said to be based on a biography of singer Grace Moore, but it only touches on her early life and determination to become an opera singer, up until her New York City debut at the Metropolitan Opera House in 'La Boheme'."
"This seems to be fairly accurate as a biopic. certainly, the sequence where Grace Moore's vocal trauma was dealt with appeared to follow the events and treatment described in
You're Only Human Once (1977), Moore's autobiography."
FROM: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046334/u...
Evidently this movie is not out on DVD. Thanks to TCM, I was able to see it. Kathryn Grayson was unbelievably beautiful and her voice was gorgeous.
BTW, Merv Griffin plays a part in the movie. One of the user reviews says: "Merv Griffin, before his celebrity and TV fame, makes his second appearance in a movie as one of Miss Moore's admirers and gets to warble 'I Kiss Your Hand Madame' while doing a nice job on the vocals."
PS-One of the best things about the TCM movie channel is that the movies are not interrupted by commercials. The movies play straight through.I am really getting sick of the commercials on the other channels. They seem to be getting longer and longer and they are taking up more and more of the time segments on TV. I dread them, especially the medical and legal ads, not to mention some of the idiotic ads which insult one's intelligence.
Joy; so many people watch only the new blockbusters.They are missing so much by not watching older movies.
There are so many good ones that today's audiences have never seen and don't know what they are missing.
MIdnight Kiss was also on TCM last night, also starring Kathryn Grayson & Mario Lanza. That's the one where the truck driver becomes an opera star. I remember Merv Griffin singing "I've Got a Lovely Bunch Of Coconuts". Anyone else remember that?
I sometimes watch Prime time on Demand, where you can watch shows after their initial airing. There is only one or two network promotions during the hour shows and no commercials. Length of an hour prime time show? 43 to 45 minutes. That's an awful lot of commercials to are asked to watch within an hour.
TCM is my husbands favorite channel. He loves the old movies; he says "They don't make 'em like that anymore" and is he right! Commercials are the biggest deterrent to people watching regular TV these days. Many channels offer their programs online, usually with 3 or 4 commercials breaks but they last no more than 1 minute.
Some programs are a short as 39 minutes in the hour slot. My nephew lent me Smallville from Season 1 to Season 8. In Season 1, the length of each episode was approximately 45 minutes long. By Season 8, it was between 39 and 41 minutes.
I, too, saw the 2008 Chanel movie and like you, wasn't too impressed. However, the one I just mentioned is a new one and just left our area. I have had mixed reviews. One of my friends saw it twice; two of my friends hated it. The one who liked it was fascinated by the settings and details in her homes etc. Filmed in France.All of her clothes were black and white. I guess it is amazing when you think of it that someone who was raised in a home for prostitues is still in the public domain(people know who she is just by her name.) nina
Katherine wrote: "... I remember Merv Griffin singing "I've Got a Lovely Bunch Of Coconuts". Anyone else remember that? ..."Yes, Katherine, I do remember that. I also remember my cousin singing it at a family get-together. Those were the days when people sang songs for their own entertainment, often around a piano.
Jackie wrote: "... Commercials are the biggest deterrent to people watching regular TV these days. Many channels offer their programs online, usually with 3 or 4 commercials breaks but they last no more than 1 minute. ..."I watch episodes of "Hot in Cleveland" online because I usually miss them on Wednesday nights when they're on the TV Land Channel. I love Betty White. I hope she lives a long time. It's too bad I missed her recent appearance on Saturday Night Live.
Nina wrote: "I, too, saw the 2008 Chanel movie and like you, wasn't too impressed. However, the one I just mentioned is a new one and just left our area. I have had mixed reviews. One of my friends saw it twice..."Nina, I haven't been able to locate that recent Coco Chanel film at IMDb.
Joy, that SNL with Betty White was absolutely hysterical--I'm pretty sure they'll rerun it again before the summer's done!! I'll try to give you a heads up!!
Arnie wrote: "Joy, that SNL with Betty White was absolutely hysterical--I'm pretty sure they'll rerun it again before the summer's done!! I'll try to give you a heads up!!"
Thanks, Arnie. I was hoping they'd run that SNL show again.
Jackie wrote: "Here's some clips from youtube:http://www.youtube.com/results?search..."
Thanks, Jackie. Betty White is adorable. Naughty but nice. :)
Netflixed Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans. http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Bad_Lieu...
Nicholas Cage is a dysfunctional cop who we are seduced into considering a hero. Cage is likable, of course, in anything he does. But a dirty cop is a dirty cop, whether he has a PERSONAL code of honor or not. I gave it 3 Netflix stars.
Netflixed Mongol
http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Mongol/7...
Supposedly a bio of Attila the Hun. I enjoyed it. I don't suppose it bears much resemblance to his real life, whatever it might have been. It didn't get as far as his confrontation with the Pope. I gave it 3 Netflix stars.
Thanks for your comments, Earl. As for the number of stars to choose at Netflix, since two stars mean I "didn't like it" and three stars mean I "liked it", sometimes it's hard to decide. When I give 3 stars at Netflix, it usually means I liked parts of the film, but had reservations about the other parts or qualities.BTW, two stars at Netflix mean: "didn't like it".
However, two stars at Goodreads mean: "it was OK".
I like the Goodreads star system better.
Just watched Leap Year. Loved the scenery and some of the music. Typical Romance movie but cute.
In Leap Year weren't the two old Irish men funny? I thought it was entertaining and a pleasant way to spend a hot evening looking at all that green grass. Also,"My Life in Ruins," is along that line if you haven't seen it. I forgot the name of the actress but she was in "My Great Big Greek Wedding." and good in this one. Richard Dryfus is good in it also. nina
Very funny! What about the one old drunk one who said he'd drive her to Dublin then promply fell on his face, LOL
Tonight AMC is running the original movie, "Mash" and the paper this morning said it was a great movie that was overshadowed by the TV series by that name. I think Robert Altman won an Oscar for that movie; not sure. nina
Excellent movie. And the series was good. Just last night I found the Pilot episode of M*A*S*H* on TV Land.
Nina wrote: "Tonight AMC is running the original movie, "Mash" and the paper this morning said it was a great movie that was overshadowed by the TV series by that name. I think Robert Altman won an Oscar for th..."Thanks for letting us know, Nina. I started watching it but fell asleep.
MASH (1970):
http://www.netflix.com/Movie/MASH/600...
"My Life in Ruins" (2009) is on my Netflix queue:
http://www.netflix.com/Movie/My_Life_...
It stars Nia Vardalos.
Jackie wrote: "Excellent movie. And the series was good. Just last night I found the Pilot episode of M*A*S*H* on TV Land."By coincidence, I've been reading the book,
Laughing Matters:: On Writing M*A*S*H, Tootsie, Oh, God!, and a Few Other Funny Things, by Larry Gelbart who wrote the pilot for M*A*S*H on TV. You can see and hear him tell the story in his own words about how M*A*S*H got started on TV and how the show was cast, etc., at:
http://www.emmytvlegends.org/intervie...
I think it's in Part 4 of the clips there. He gives lots of details.
PS-Of course we can't fail to mention here that the original story of MASH was written by Richard Hooker.Here are the Goodreads links: Mash by Richard, Hooker
Here's the Wiki page for the book, which was originally published in 1968:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MASH:_A_...
It says: "MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors, the original novel that inspired the film MASH and TV series M*A*S*H, was written by Richard Hooker, himself a former military surgeon, and was about a fictional U.S. Mobile Army Surgical Hospital in Korea during the Korean War."
About the movie, MASH, I didn't think it was believable when 'Hot Lips' O'Houlihan was brought into the operating room to be introduced to the doctors while they were operating. That made me lose interest in the movie.The movie certainly wasn't for the squeamish who faint at the sight of blood. :)
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