Have you seen any good movies lately? (Part THREE - 2010) Showing 1,151-1,200 of 1,349

[Jackie]

I saw Unthinkable. I thought it was really good, brought up some really interesting points for debate. A movie that will make you think, and question, is a good movie to me.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Earl wrote: "Netflixed Unthinkable
http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Unthi...
I give it 4 stars out of 5, which surprised me, as I figured it'd be a shoot-em-up. You have to a..."

RE: "Unthinkable" (2010)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0914863/
Below is from a Netflix member review:
=========================================================
"Michael Sheen delivers yet another fantastic performance, playing an American-born terrorist who is claims to have placed a nuclear bomb in three separate US cities and Samuel L. Jackson is good as the black ops agent brought in to question him. ... Carrie-Anne Moss ... delivers a great performance as the FBI agent who has a conscience about the whole thing."
FROM: http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Unthi...
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A few days ago Michael Sheen won The Britannia Award for British Artist Of The Year.
http://www.neontommy.com/news/2010/11...
The show was aired on the TV Guide Channel.
Here's Sheen's Wiki page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_...

I'm going to watch Sheen in a Netflix DVD of "Frost/Nixon" (2008). He plays David Frost.
http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Frost...
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0870111/

[Jim]

There was a Nova on PBS the other night called "Dogs Decoded". I just got to watch it tonight. It was really good. How dogs came to be domesticated, the differences between them & wolves and lots more.

There was some wild stuff on dog communication. They took recordings of dogs barking & people listened to them. The people could tell what the dog was saying, like intruder or give me the ball.

I was glad they put in the fox study in Siberia. We read about that in Discover magazine a few years ago & it was really interesting. Aggression is actually genetic. Domestic foxes changed their fur color in 8 generations.

It's really worth watching, if you get the chance.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/dogs/

[Jackie]

Jim, I just watched it this morning. I especially liked the part about wolves and agression; the nature versus nurture debate is solved. I often wondered how a wolf would act if raises as a dog, now I know for sure.
I've always felt that Juneau's territorialism and food aggression was hardwired. Prior to getting Juneau, I researched Malamutes extensively and kept coming back to territorialism and food aggression. I bought numerous books with techniques to combat these traits...and none of them worked on him once he started to mature. I'm sure the techniques would work on other breeds but Mals are too close to their wolf ancestry to successful eliminate this trait on an individual basis. It would have to be selectively bred out of them, and Dog Decoded showed my why.

And the shape of the wolf skull. Juneau's skull is the same shape, I always grab the bony protrusion at the back of the skull. It inspired today's nickname: Wolfskull. LOL

The simple experiments illustrating how dogs have evolved to pick up on our facial expressions is pretty amazing. They do have an uncanny talent for knowing our feelings.

I saw another dog doc, I can't remember the name, but it stated that without domestic dogs, our civilization would never have been able to rise. Dog Decoded reiterates that fact. We truly owe dogs our existence as a society.

[Jim]

Yes, I found the nature vs nurture very interesting, too. I said to Marg, before they went into it, that I thought it was obvious. Primitive man would have killed off any 'pets' that were too aggressive or didn't fit in. I killed one of my dogs for biting & one of Mom's because she was sneaking chickens & eggs. Then there is the 'pick of the litter' & favoritism. Yeah, I could definitely see a very fast evolution for them.

One of the most fascinating things was the huge physical changes that went along with domestication in the foxes. Who would have expected all of that?

I was sorry they didn't test or go into the obverse of their domestication theories - what happens when a dog goes feral? I read about that occasionally in post apocalyptic novels. I also have a little experience with them from 40 years ago. There were a lot of wild dogs on the Eastern Shore of Maryland back then. They're a Frankenstein's monster - like the vicious foxes they bred.

[Werner]

One thing that's always intrigued me about the descent of dogs from wolves is the fact that wolves apparently have a verbal language, on the evidence presented by Farley Mowat in Never Cry Wolf. (An Eskimo shaman who understood it was able to correctly predict the arrival and number of a group of travelers to a sub-Arctic camp --information he couldn't possibly have known otherwise-- simply by listening to the distant howls of wolf packs warning each other about the newcomers.) Among humans, of course, language is learned, but the capacity for it is instinctive. I've always wondered how that works in dogs, given their wolf ancestry. The fact that this documentary indicated that humans attuned to them can differentiate what they're saying in different kinds of barks certainly suggests a rudimentary language, at least.

Of course, this probably isn't an area "mainstream" science bothers to investigate much. Given the way the "fraud or hallucination" hypothesis is routinely trotted out by some scientists to preemptively dismiss any out-of-the-ordinary observation, I'd expect many of them to simply argue that Mowat was obviously lying; case closed!

[Joy H., Group Founder]

What an interesting conversation!

Steven Pinker talks about the development of language in his book, The Language Instinct: How the Mind Creates Language. I've seen him speaking about it on YouTube. He says that the brain has the basic mechanism for the development of language. So that even though there are many languages, they all have similar characteristics. (I've paraphrased that idea. So the words may not be exact.)

I remember reading or hearing about an experiment done with dogs. If I remember correctly, they knew when a person's eyes were closed so that they could steal a treat. (That's not an exact memory either, but the idea is there.)

[Jim]

Communication isn't only spoken nor even primarily spoken from my understanding - a slight problem I had with the show. Where language stops & communication continues is slippery, at least in my mind. Misunderstandings occur all the time here in the various topics because people simply forget an emoticon.

The program noted that dogs could read our emotions from our faces. They barely touched on body language (just the gross pointing that the chimps couldn't understand) & there is a lot more to body language than that. They barely touched on scent, either. That's another huge area to explore that I don't think science understands well.

Most of the language that they discussed, we know with our dogs & even with the horses & goats. Horses have a fairly rich vocabulary, almost as much as a dog. The goats are far more limited, but we can tell if one gets out by the bleats of the other or if Cutter is harassing them too much. Pain, fear or fun are also easily differentiated. They can all certainly tell the same about us & the dogs, too.

We've always known that dogs & horses know when they can bully people. That made the wolf raising experiment a little iffy to me. Too much sparing of the rod to spoil the child. In any animal group, the dominant members tend to beat the hell out of those beneath them & continually remind them who is boss. I got the impression those young ladies with the wolves didn't prove their dominance properly. I've seen people with spoiled dogs like that.

Dogs tend to listen & learn better than a lot of animals, though. For instance, dogs pick up not to bite humans quickly & extend the courtesy to all, except enemies. Our horses tend to need each human to assert their authority. It doesn't take much, but they will take advantage if a person lets them.

Like kids, you have to teach each one differently, but with all of them, you need to be firm about who is in control & prove dire consequences for any kind of injury. They can bite, kick or butt each other, but humans are beyond that. If they do, they get hurt badly.

Many wild animals just aren't good subjects for domestication, though. We raised enough raccoons, deer & such over the years to see that. While a few make it, most raccoons turn a year old & get pretty mean as they become adults. That's pretty typical with all wild critters, so the wolves didn't surprise me, although I think there could be a much higher success rate if the humans knew what they were doing. I'll bet you wouldn't have to go through many wolf pups before you'd find one you could live with.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Thanks for the interesting comments, Jim. You sure have had a lot of experience in dealing with different animals!

[Jackie]

The long term fox study was informative, and illustrates that other traits like color, head shape etc are all by-products of breeding out aggression. I'd never have put that together on my own and assumed they were different traits to be bred for.

Wolves almost never bark, it's definitely a dog thing. Besides the howl as verbal communication, wolves rely mostly on body language to communicate.
Body language is all important IMO. With Juneau, besides the obvious with his growls, he often displays ear, face and tail movement without making a sound to indicate his food aggression or ownership of territory. When his ear are flat and out to the side, back away. It's important to be clued into the body positionings. I did a lot of wolf research and I find it amazing how Juneau's body language mimics the wolf's. The research made it easier for me to uderstand Juneau's movements and what he's telling me.

The nose is the most important sense of wolf and dog, it tells them everything they need to know.

I would think that a dog going feral would be much the same as domestication, except in reverse. Without humans to interact with, there's no reason to develop or use the senses and observations that make them domestic.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

It's so true about animal body language, e.g., the ears flat, as Jackie mentioned. And don't forget about tail-wagging! :)

[Earl]

Netflixed The Girl Who Played With Fire

http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/The-G...

I gave 4 stars out of 5. It didn't grab me quite as hard as The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo but it was pretty good. English subtitles and dubbed English.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Earl, I see that Roger Ebert had a similar opinion about the film:
"The Girl Who Played with Fire" (2009)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1216487/
Excerpt from Ebert's column:
===========================================================
" The Girl Who Played With Fire is very good, but a step down from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, if only because that film and its casting were so fresh and unexpected. A thriller is incomparably more arresting when it involves plausible people doing plausible things, rather than archetypes co-starring with animation."
FROM: http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/p...
==========================================================

[Jackie]

I didn't know it was dubbed in English. Maybe I'll rent it one of these days.

[Nina]

I have loved almost anything Farley Mowat ever wrote and I don't know many people who have read him. nina

[Werner]

Actually, Nina, Never Cry Wolf is the only one of his books that I've read. My wife and I both found that one quite fascinating, though.

[Nina]

One of Farley Mowat's books I also liked was, "The Snow Walker" which was made into a good movie. nina

[Nina]

I got The Snow Walker on Netflix. nina

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina, thanks for mentioning the book, The Snow Walker (1975) (by Farley Mowat), and also the movie:
"The Snow Walker" (2003)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0337721/
"A pilot and his passenger struggle for survival after crashing in the Arctic tundra."

I see that the film is available from Netflix as a DVD or by streaming.
http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/The-S...
I plan to watch it. I had never heard of it before. So I'm glad you told us about it. Thanks again.

[Nina]

You will find it exciting. nina

[Joy H., Group Founder]

I watched a real oldie (via a Netflix DVD) this week:
"The Talk of the Town" (1942)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0035417/
http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/The-T...
The excellent cast included Cary Grant, Jean Arthur, and Ronald Colman. It was nominated for an Oscar for best picture, best writing, and other categories.

The plot was engaging, an old-fashioned light drama... a little suspense and a little romance. A pleasant way to pass some time.

[Earl]

Netflixed Percy Jackson and the Olympians - The Lightning Thief.
http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Percy...

I liked the book ok, for a kids book. But I give the dvd 2 stars out of 5. It was not made for my tv screen (too dark, maybe an LED screen would help). I was going to pop it in the laptop, but didn't like it well enough to fool with it. Lots of clish-clash and cgi. I went to sleep towards the end.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Thanks, Earl. I started reading The Lightning Thief but it didn't hold my interest. So I never finished it. I probably wouldn't enjoy the movie either. I never cared for anything related to Greek mythology. Also, I'm not a fan of "clish-clash and cgi". :)
"Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief" (2010)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0814255/
"A teenager discovers he's the descendant of a Greek god and sets out on an adventure to settle an on-going battle between the gods."

[Jackie]

I read the book and saw the movie. For kids, I think they're good. But I have no desire to continue with the rest of the series. I had considered it, but came to the conclusion that it'd be a waste of my time and I have other books I'd rather read.

[Nina]

I think any book that gets kids to read is probably a great book, in it's own right. My great grandson read, The LIghtening Thief," and told his mother he would continue to read anything that author wrote as long as he lives and even if the next ones aren't as good he will still read them all. What more could an author ask for? nina

[Jackie]

What more could a mother ask for?

[Nina]

I am presently reading, "As the Crow Flies," by Jeffery Archer. He makes me think the characters are living down the street from me except the locale is London, rather than Prairie Village, KS. I recommend it to anyone who likes a good story, good characters and good writing. nina

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Thank you, Nina. Here's the Goodreads page: As The Crow Flies (1991) by Jeffrey Archer. The book description promises a good story.

[Nina]

Joy, Thanks for the book, As The Crow Flies, link. It was quite interesting to read the glowing comments. One person read it five times and another, a dozen times. This is an 800 page book, I have rarely read such glowing reviews. So far I agree but doubt if I read it more than once. nina

[Jackie]

I watched two movies this week:
The Extra Man, which I stopped watching a half hour in. Kevin Kline's character was too annoying and I felt that I was wasting my time. It probably goes on to have good story and ending but when nothing happens in the first half hour, and I truly mean nothing, then I can't bring myself to stick around.
I would be interested if anyone else rents it and finishes it to see how it is.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1361313/

Inhale was the other. Good cast. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1196340/
Inhale was good...until the unrealistic ending. The movie was about a father's search for black market lungs to save his young daughters life; she has one week to live and UNOS isn't going to put her at the top of the list. I can completely understand what drives this man, what I couldn't understand is the choice he makes in the end, after coming so far. This is not a movie for everybody.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina: I rarely read a book more than once. I can't imagine reading a book a dozen times! :)

Jackie: I have "The Extra Man" in my Netflix queue. I usually enjoy Kevin Kline. So I may give the film a try. On the other hand, if the "hook" doesn't happen near the beginning of a movie or a book, I usually don't have the patience to wait for it to take hold. Something has to hold my attention. I get bored easily. :)
"The Extra Man" (2010):
http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/The-E...

As for the other movie you mentioned, it doesn't sound like it's for me. Sounds too dark. Netflix calls it "gritty".
"Inhale" (2010):
http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Inhal...

[Jackie]

I feel the same about the hook. Especially with movies, they have a time limit, and to waste a significant portion on nothing just doesn't do it for me. I think many movies are too long and stuffed with nonsensical filler, which is bad enough. But in the beginning of a movie, it's intolerable to me.

Gritty is a good description of Inhale. I wish I thought of it.

[Werner]

Barb and I watched two good movies last night (neither of which can be described as "gritty" :-) ). Both are Hallmark made-for-TV productions; one was The Good Witch's Gift, the third installment in a film trilogy starring Catherine Bell (of JAG fame), and the other was The Most Wonderful Time of the Year, which has Henry Winkler, formerly Fonzie on Happy Days, in a strong supporting role. A link to more information on the latter is: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1327788 . For a wiki on the original movie of the Good Witch trilogy (with links to wikis on the other two) click on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Good... .

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Thank you for the suggestions and info, Werner. Netflix lists one of them. So I can save it on my Netflix queue until they have the DVD available:
"The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" (TV 2008):
http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Most-...

I will watch for "The Good Witch" and its sequels on the Hallmark Channel. Perhaps they will be repeated some day.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

PS-Speaking of Henry Winkler, there's a good interview of him at the following link:
http://www.emmytvlegends.org/intervie...
He's such an interesting person.

[Jackie]

The Good Witch movies are some of my favorite feel-good TV movies. It has all good things in them, and none of the negative things we often see on TV. These are great for the whole family, all ages are appropriate. I love them.

[Earl]

Jackie wrote: "I feel the same about the hook. Especially with movies, they have a time limit, and to waste a significant portion on nothing just doesn't do it for me. I think many movies are too long and stuff..."

Jackie, this sounds very much like the way my tv shows wear out their welcome with me. I record all the series that don't make me retch, to get my money's worth out of my cable. Then, at some point, I realize, in the midst of watching one of these, that I'm simply waiting for it to end. Off my record list they go.

[Jackie]

Earl, I have a hard time giving up on my weekly shows. I don't know why I give them more of a chance than I do movies. I think maybe it's because I think they'll get better. I has happened before when I drop a show, only to find out it picks up. But more often than not, I'm relieved when a show finally ends.

[Nina]

In our Book page this morning: National Book Awards

fiction: Lord of Misrule," by Jaimy Gordon
Nonfiction: "Just Kids," by Patti Smith
Poetry: "Lighthead," by Terrance Hayes
Young People's literature: "MOckingbird," Kathryn Eslkine
Lifetime Achievment Award: Thomas Wolfe

Nina

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina wrote: "In our Book page this morning: National Book Awards
fiction: Lord of Misrule," by Jaimy Gordon
Nonfiction: "Just Kids," by Patti Smith
Poetry: "Lighthead," by Terrance Hayes
Young People's literature: "MOckingbird," Kathryn Eslkine
Lifetime Achievment Award: Thomas Wolfe"

Nina, thanks very much for posting about the National Book Awards. Below are some related links with the details:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacke...
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/18/boo...
http://www.nationalbook.org/nba2010.html
http://www.borders.com/online/store/L...

Below are some bits from an article online about the author of Just Kids, winner of the non-fiction category:
========================================================
Headline: "Patti Smith, godmother of punk, wins award for her first book – at 65."
"Memoir of her bohemian days with artist Robert Mapplethorpe earns acclaimed musician National Book Award in US."
"The latest accolade for the 65-year-old "godmother of punk" was the National Book Award for non-fiction, which she won on Wednesday night for her memoir of her bohemian days in the Chelsea Hotel with the artist Robert Mapplethorpe."
FROM: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/...
==========================================================

Here's the Goodreads link for the fiction category winner:
Lord of Misrule by Jaimy Gordon
From the GR description: "Lord of Misrule is a darkly realistic novel about a young woman living through a year of horse racing while everyone's best laid plans go brutally wrong. ... 'A novel of luck, pluck, farce and above all horse racing... Exceptional writing and idiosyncratic characters make this an engaging read.'--Kirkus Reviews"

PS-I'VE CREATED A SEPARATE THREAD ABOUT THESE NATIONAL BOOK AWARDS AT:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/4...

[Jackie]

I just watched Alice in Wonderland and it was so much better than I thought it would be. Typical Burton, complete with visually unique sets, costumes and characters.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1014759/

[Jim]

Oh, we've been wanting to see that & forgot about it. Thanks for the review, Jackie.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Jackie, I see that the 2010 "Alice in Wonderland" film is streamable from Netflix. So I've put it in my queue. Thanks.
"Alice in Wonderland" (2010):
http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Ali...

Roger Ebert's review of the movie is very interesting.
==========================================================
Excerpts from his review:
"Burton is above all a brilliant visual artist, and his film is a pleasure to regard..."
...
"As a young reader, I found Alice in Wonderland creepy and rather distasteful. Alice's adventures played like a series of encounters with characters whose purpose was to tease, puzzle and torment her."
...
"This has never been a children's story. There's even a little sadism embedded in Carroll's fantasy."
...
"Burton shows us Wonderland as a perturbing place where the inhabitants exist for little apparent reason other than to be peculiar and obnoxious."
...
"The film is enchanting in its mordant way until, unfortunately, it arrives at its third act."

ABOVE QUOTES ARE FROM:
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/p...
===========================================================

PS-James Berardinelli's review is interesting too:
http://www.reelviews.net/php_review_t...
Excerpt:
"Mia Wasikowska, a 20-year old Australian-born actress, is immensely appealing Alice. ... She makes Alice in Wonderland her own, stealing it away from supporting actor Johnny Depp."

[Linda]

The time Traveler's Wife - anyone watch the movie? After 30 minutes my husband and I looked at one another and shrugged. We were missing something - couldn't get the gist of the movie.

Your reviews on the book sound good. Perhaphs I'll try the book.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Linda wrote: "The time Traveler's Wife - anyone watch the movie? After 30 minutes my husband and I looked at one another and shrugged. We were missing something - couldn't get the gist of the movie. Your reviews on the book sound good. Perhaphs I'll try the book."

Linda, I think the time-shifts in the story made it a bit confusing.

For reference below is a link to my review of
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
Excerpt from my review:
==========================================================
"I gave the movie 3 Netflix stars out of 5. It was OK, but not terrific. For some reason, it didn't draw me in. The audio-book version had a more "other-world" quality than the movie, as Henry appeared and disappeared. Perhaps, in this case, one's imagination is better than seeing the real thing on film."
==========================================================

[Jackie]

I liked it. I read the book first but I don't think that made a difference for me. Time shifts are natural to me, I'm a scifi fan with plenty of time travel under my belt. You have to pay attention to time travel movies, books. If not, you can get lost real quick.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Jackie, sometimes the writers don't make the time shifts clear enough and I'm left wondering. :)

[Jackie]

It's not supposed to be clear right away; there's some work on the viewer's/reader's part too, they must pay attention and remember. There is an element of mystery, otherwise, there'd be no story to tell, if you know the ending why bother with it at all?
I like the way time shifts are generally presented and I don't mind paying attention, it's better than being spoon-fed the info, IMO. It's challenging and I like that in my entertainment.

[Jim]

Being lazy again today, I re-watched "Hancock" with Will Smith. It's a fun movie, a different take on the super hero thing.

I've been watching far too much TV, but I can't concentrate to read & can only spend an hour or so up & about before I run out of steam. It's driving me nuts. Marg & Erin say I'm hyper active, like my mother. I don't think so. I just like to be doing something worthwhile. Sitting in front of the boob tube just doesn't qualify.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Jim, I wish I could be lazy today. :) The family is coming for the Thanksgiving weekend and we're gearing up.

Hope you'll soon have your stamina back. When you get it, please send me some. LOL