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Movies, DVDs, and Theater
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What MOVIES or DVDs have you watched lately? (PART FOUR - 2011) (ongoing thread)
I saw that movie a long time ago, Joy. I don't remember much of it, except that I wasn't impressed. I thought it would be better since I like both actors.
Jackie, I felt the same way, but I never really was crazy about Michelle Pfeiffer.I LOVE Bruce Willis!
Netflix viewers gave the movie 3.3 stars out of 5.
James Berardinelli gave it 3 stars out of 4.
Roger Ebert gave it 1 star out of (I-don't-know-how-many)
Why doesn't he indicate how many? :-(
I would assume it's out of a 5 star rating, since that's what the others are using. But you're right, it should be clarified.
Yes, Jackie. I'm big on clarification! LOL You know how I hate books without enough exposition. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be the artistic way these days. Everything has to be vague and ambiguous in order to seem sophisticated.Hogwash, claptrap and poppycock!
Joy wrote: Hogwash, claptrap and poppycock! I concur.
That's an interesting point of view, Nina. I never thought of it that way. I suppose that in some cases, ambiguity might be a sign of laziness. But it's also a matter of style, I think.
There has apparently been more than one movie adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs' novel The Land That Time Forgot (which I haven't read). I watched a recent (2009) one yesterday on the SyFy channel. (That venue has a poor reputation for its own movie productions, but this one was apparently made by a different company.) It probably does not follow the original novel in anything more than basic premise, and it's not Citizen Kane; but taking it on its own terms, I actually considered it pretty good. More information is available at: www.imdb.com/title/tt1410205/ .Hmmm! I just checked that link three times, and it does not work; but if you do a Google search by title and click on the obvious imdb link, that's the URL it takes you to! (I don't attempt to explain anything that computers do. :-) )
LOL - Werner, true, your link doesn't work. When I tried getting the link, I got the same faulty link. However, by some tricky maneuvering, I found the following links which DO work. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1410205/m...
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1410205/f...
What I did was go to the "full cast" page (second link above). When I got to that page, I clicked on "main details" at the left. That gave me a link that worked.
PS - I-Yi-Yi! "Man-eating dinosaurs!"
IMDb description of "The Land That Time Forgot" (Video 2009): "Shipwrecked castaways stumble upon the mysterious island of Caprona in the Bermuda Triangle, confronting man-eating dinosaurs and a stranded German U-Boat crew while trying to escape."
Netflix description: "When survivors of a shipwreck wash ashore on a mysterious island, they soon find themselves fighting for their lives against rampaging dinosaurs, a hostile German U-boat crew and other castaways from different eras in history. As they puzzle over how time expands and contracts on the island, the survivors must work together if they hope to escape. C. Thomas Howell directs and stars in this adventure based on the novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs."
Werner wrote: "There has apparently been more than one movie adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs' novel The Land That Time Forgot (which I haven't read). I watched a recent (2009) one yesterday on the SyFy channe..."You got dyslexic in your link, Werner. It's fine if you change IMBD to IMDB.
;-)
We gave that one a skip. Didn't Brendan Fraser do another one or a similar movie about the same time? They all get mixed up in my head, along with "Journey to the Center of the Earth" (is that what Fraser did?), & the Earth Core (Pellucidar) series. I read all the stories several times & have seen a bunch of movies, so it all kind of gets mashed together. There are a lot of similarities.
Thanks, Jim! I corrected that typo in my post, and now the link there works like a jewel.Not sure about the Fraser film (I don't follow movies closely enough to keep track). I know that Treat Williams starred in a miniseries version of Journey to the Center of the Earth several years ago, which also doesn't follow the book (its interior of the earth is more like Pellucidar), but which is pretty well-done if you consider it as a completely original work in its own right. :-) Yes, Burroughs wrote both the Pellucidar series and The Land That Time Forgot, and his work was heavily influenced by Verne; so all the adventurous pulp-era SF in that tradition has a lot of conceptual similarity. (I enjoy it as a time-passing diversion.)
Gee, I had the impression that the typo was the fault of IMDb. Oh, well. Glad it's solved.
Today TCM-TV ran the old 1936 movie, "Anthony Adverse". I had always heard of the novel, Anthony Adverse (1933) by Hervey Allen, but never read it. I've posted a book review giving details and links:http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
We watched a couple of the new series I mentioned a while back from this link:http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/geek...
"Unforgettable" was OK, but didn't do much for me. Marg said we should give it another show or two, though.
"Person of Interest" was pretty good. Marg liked it a fair amount. I thought it was watchable, if slightly ridiculous at times. Not as bad as most action shows, though.
"A Gifted Man" is on the DVR, but we haven't had a chance to watch it, yet. I'm not holding out much hope for it. "The Ghost & Mrs. Muir" with a sex change on the set of "ER".
Not on the above list is "Alphas" which we're about ready to stop watching. It was fun seeing Data (from STNG) on there, but everything revolves around these super powered people being exceptionally dense.
I agree with Alphas, it had great potential but never lived up to it. And it's so predictable. If it gets another season, I won't be watching it.I was bored with Person of Interest, will not continue.
The big surprise for me was Revenge. Sort of soapy and I figured one ep and it'd be off the DVR, but not so. It was very well done, surprisingly so. Excellent writing, acting, dialogue and direction.
The majority of new shows I chose this year were fantasy types. Secret Circle, meh, not as good as Vampire Diaries but I'll give it time to develop, as the CW does some really good shows given the chance to develop. Terra Nova is premiering tonight so I'll see how that goes.
I hadn't heard of "Revenge" (or forgot about it). I'm sending an email home to find & DVR it. We didn't even try "Secret Circle" We didn't like the "Vampire Diaries" so figured it wouldn't appeal.
Revenge is on ABC, I think. Definitely Wednesday at 10pm. But you have to see the first ep. Vamp Diaries started out as your run of the mill teen-drama but it got good quickly. Interesting and inventive supernatural storylines. Far batter than Twilight. So on the strength of that, and other CW shows that started out meh and got much better like Smallville and Supernatural, I'm giving Secret Circle a chance. Yep, lots of the teen drama format but with an added element of the parents involvement in witchcraft which is of more interest to me than the kids but is a sub-story right now. I'll give it a few episodes to decide whether or not to keep it, as of right now, no, but if the parent's involvement gets deeper soon, then I'll keep it.
Just now, I did a little more research on the Brendon Fraser angle (message 761). He starred in a 2008 version of Journey to the Center of the Earth, which appears to be another one that sort of blends Verne's premise with that of the Pellucidar books (though here, unlike in the Williams miniseries, the writers did at least locate the volcano in Iceland :-) ). Fraser does action roles with panache, so I wouldn't mind seeing that one sometime, given that I like that sort of movie. (As Jim said, they do rather blend together; but I enjoy comparing and contrasting the different nuances different productions can bring to the same or similar material.)
Jackie wrote: "Revenge is on ABC, I think. Definitely Wednesday at 10pm. But you have to see the first ep...."Unfortunately, they don't seem to be playing the 1st episode again. I have the 2d & all new set to record, but the 2d one is the only one available & only once, in the range of the DVR. I guess I'll have to read a spoiler before watching it.
Werner wrote: "Just now, I did a little more research on the Brendon Fraser angle (message 761). He starred in a 2008 version of Journey to the Center of the Earth, which appears to be another one that sort of b..."Ah, good! I'm not completely senile.
;-)
Jim, Reading a recap of the first episode would be good too, then you'll know what's going on, the reason why 'Emily' want revenge so badly.
Jim wrote: ""Unforgettable" was OK, but didn't do much for me. Marg said we should give it another show or two, though."
As of right now I think Unforgettable is a keeper.
Jim wrote: ""Person of Interest" was pretty good. Marg liked it a fair amount. I thought it was watchable, if slightly ridiculous at times. Not as bad as most action shows, though.
"
"Not as bad as most action shows" is a suitably apt condemnation.
Jim wrote: ""A Gifted Man" is on the DVR, but we haven't had a chance to watch it, yet. I'm not holding out much hope for it.
"
My notes on GM say "fairly ok". I'll keep recording it.
Jim wrote: "Not on the above list is "Alphas" which we're about ready to stop watching. It was fun seeing Data (from STNG) on there, but everything revolves around these super powered people being exceptionally dense.
"
I watched 10 minutes of the 1st episode of Alphas and crossed it off my list.
Likewise Vampire Diaries. I never went back, Jackie, I don't think I've missed much regardless of your recommendation.
by forgetting to turn off my vcr I missed the 1st epi of The Good Wife, dang it. And CBS is not fond of rerunning anything like the more civilized cable stations.
We watched "A Gifted Man" last night, Earl. I thought it was sappy, but Marg liked it. It wasn't horrible & will give me a chance to read if it doesn't improve. I don't really see how it can, given the premise of the show: success-driven doctor who's a jerk & is brought back to humanity by his ghost, ex-wife. He's a bit of a 'House', but doesn't seem to have the sense of humor. Maybe he'll find one. That would help.
Earl wrote: I don't think I've missed much regardless of your recommendation. No, you probably didn't. I think of shows like Vampire Diaries as 'specialty shows', and if you don't like that genre or specialty, then it's not gonna do it for you.
I gravitate towards the fantasy type shows, so of course I'd go for in for Vamp. Diaries. It's a matter of personal taste. The other shows mentioned, Unforgettable, Person of Interest, Gifted Man, bore me to death; they're too mainstream, too much 'been done before' and nothing unique. Which is why Revenge surprised me, I assumed it'd be another been there done that kind of show. I start out the season with so many shows and quickly start the culling process. The more TV I watch, the less time I have for books, so the shows better be worth my time and give me what I want to see.
Jackie wrote: "... The more TV I watch, the less time I have for books, so the shows better be worth my time and give me what I want to see."Jackie, the more I read and listen to CDs, the less time I have for TV.
Joy, that's an excellent way of putting it!I'm over my TV obsession. You have to remember, I never watched TV til I moved up here so it was a novel experience. But I'm getting over it now.
I watched Terra Nova last night. I really liked it, there's a lot of potential. I feel the premiere episode was well done, covered a lot of information, started the mysteries. The opening scene was intense, I was sitting there with one hand on my heart, the other covering the big O that was my mouth. Pretty tough to get me to feel emotional about characters in a situation I am brand new to. For that alone, it deserves to stay on my DVR.
Jackie, I see that "Terra Nova" premiered on 9/26 on Fox.http://www.fox.com/terranova/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terra_No...
Netflix: "In this sci-fi drama series, the Shannon family travels with other settlers from the scorched Earth of the 22nd century to the prehistoric past, where they establish a colony to give humanity a second chance at survival."
http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Ter...
IMDb: "Centers on the Shannons, an ordinary family from 2149 when the planet is dying who are transported back 85 million years to prehistoric Earth where they join Terra Nova, a colony of humans with a second chance to build a civilization."
IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1641349/
Hmmm, I wonder how I would have liked that premiere. Oh, well, I've saved it to my "saved" queue at Netflix, just in case.
It's scifi, part Jurassic Park, part drama; I don't know if you'd like it, Joy.
I know, Jackie. It's not my usual fare. But I have lots of time to think about it because Netflix won't have it available for a long time.
That's true. And we can let you know if it's good or not when the season ends.
We watched "Terra Nova" tonight. 2 hours! We made it, though. We'll watch another, but the dialogue & some of the plot was pretty badly done. Maybe it will get better.
I love good dialogue. I'll bet it's hard to write.
Some was good, some was bad; the son annoyed me. It's scifi so it won't last the season, it rarely does.
What a business! They never know if a show will make it.I'm still listening to the audio CD of the Tony Curtis' memoir, American Prince: A Memoir (2008). It's great. Another "tell-all" book... and he tells ALL! LOL
He died in 2010 at the age of 85. He had a great career at the beginning but it went downhill as he aged. It's sad to think about it. He married 5 times and had 6 children altogether. Of course, the famous one is Jamie Lee Curtis, whom he had with his first wife, actress Janet Leigh.
The audio-book is read by Mitch Greenberg. He sounds very similar to Tony Curtis in expression. I imagine that's intentional. I wish Tony Curtis had read it, but Greenberg does a good job.
Tony Curtis was a charmer.
Curtis' Wiki page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Curtis
PS - Below is another GR member's review of Tony Curtis' memoir. Gail writes:==============================
"having now read the book, I can honestly say that it was a hard book to put down. curtis is so brash and bombastic, it's like listening to a favorite uncle regale you with stories from his youth. You suspect that they are somewhat embellished for your benefit, but yet you enjoy them just the same.
"Curtis' stories of his early time in Hollywood are a delightful peek into the last days of the studio system. HIs story of returning to NY and meeting Walter Matthou (sp?) is probably the funniest thing in the entire book
"Both sweet and sour, Curtis reveals himself to be an engaging individual.
"Just ask him. He'd agree."
FROM: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
============================
Yes, there are parts of the book where I wondered if the anecdotes were really true or not. But they were entertaining, nevertheless.
I saw a preview last night for a new "Three Musketeers" movie. It looks action packed, but very, very far removed from what Dumas wrote.The "Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" movie looked interesting. I haven't read the books yet, thogh.
I saw the Three Musketeers preview also. I'm debating on whether or not to add it to my Movie List. I saw the Swedish version of "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo", definitely a good story but I have no interest in the books. I might see this version eventually.
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy looks good too. Based on the book by John le Carre which I haven't read nor intend to read. Action translates better on the screen for me. http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3394...
Man on a Ledge might be good. If they do it properly.
http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi8272...
And speaking of ledges, I just rented The Ledge only because Charlie Hunnam and Liv Tyler are in it. I didn't hold out any hope that it would be good. Yet it was, it held my interest throughout. I'd give it 3 stars. I wouldn't recommend rushing out to see it, but if you've got some time to kill, you could do worse. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1535970/
I read the Dragon Tattoo book and saw the movie too. The only thing I liked about them was the ending.In my review, I wrote:
============================================
4/18/11 (my final estimation):
IMO, the plot about the missing girl was the best part of the book. It was an absorbing mystery. I liked the way it ended.
If they had left out the entire subplot about the Wennerstrom financial fraud, it could have been a very satisfying story. The Wennerstrom subplot made the book dull and boring. It ruined the beginning and the ending of the book which was overly drawn out. The investigations never seemed to end. They were unnecessarily complicated. I grew tired of the tedious financial talk and the dull computer tech talk. Also, there were too many character-names, some thrown in who didn't matter much at all.
Furthermore, IMO, Lisbeth Salander is not a believable character. She's about as believable as Wonder Woman was in the old comic books.
More of my review can be seen at: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
====================================================
About "The Three Musketeers" (2011)Netflix description:
"The original three musketeers are past their prime and working menial jobs in Paris when their friend D'Artagnan rallies them to defend the nation. To do so, they must undermine Cardinal Richelieu's plot to have himself crowned France's next king."
Cast: Juno Temple, Logan Lerman, Milla Jovovich, Orlando Bloom, Ray Stevenson, Christoph Waltz, Luke Evans, Matthew Macfadyen, Mads Mikkelsen, Til Schweiger
FROM: http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/The...
IMDb description:
"The hot-headed young D'Artagnan along with three former legendary but now down on their luck Musketeers must unite and defeat a beautiful double agent and her villainous employer from seizing the French throne and engulfing Europe in war."
FROM: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1509767/
"The Ledge" (2011) sounds like a very interesting suspense thriller.Netflix description:
"This unusual, character-driven thriller follows young hotel manager Gavin (Charlie Hunnam), who steps out onto a high ledge to commit suicide. World-weary police officer Hollis (Terrence Howard) is assigned to talk him down but is tormented by traumatic issues of his own. The men find themselves debating atheism, faith and the meaning of life, and soon are embroiled in a battle of wills that has each man questioning his commitment to his chosen path."
Cast: Charlie Hunnam, Terrence Howard, Liv Tyler, Patrick Wilson, Jaqueline Fleming, Jillian Batherson, Mike Pniewski, Dean J. West, Katia Gomez
FROM: http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/The...
IMDb description:
"A police officer looks to talk down a young man lured by his lover's husband to the ledge of a high rise, where he has one hour to contemplate a fateful decision."
FROM: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1535970/
I've put it on my Netflix queue and it's available after a short wait.
PS-More from IMDb re "The Ledge":
Storyline
"A thriller in which a battle of philosophies between a fundamentalist Christian and an atheist escalates into a lethal battle of wills. Ultimately, as a test of faith, or lack of it, the believer forces the non-believer onto the ledge of a tall building. He then has one hour to make a choice between his own life and someone else's. Without faith in an afterlife, will he be capable of such a sacrifice?" Written by Foresight
=============================================
PS-Jackie, I just started watching the preview of "The Ledge" at the link you posted. Yikes! I'm afraid of high places! LOLhttp://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi8272...
PPS-Jackie, why are there two different titles for "The Ledge" (aka "Man on a Ledge")?
PPPS-Ooops, Jackie, I see that they are two different movies:The Ledge (2011):
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1535970/
Man on a Ledge Trailer (U.S. Version)(Not yet released):
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1568338/
http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi8272...
Summary from IMDb:
"An ex-cop framed turned con threatens to jump to his death from a Manhattan hotel rooftop. The nearest New York Police officer immediately responds to a screaming women and calls dispatch. More Officers arrive with swat and tactical command along with FDNY. The NYPD then dispatches a female police psychologist personally requested to talk him down from the ledge. However, unbeknownst to the NYPD on the scene, the suicide attempt is a cover up for the biggest diamond heist ever pulled. Be ready to journey on a roller coaster ride of many twists and turns and see what happens!"
NOTE: Someone at the IMDb Boards (forum) commented:
"This looks like a case of Hollywood seeing a lesser-known film have a good premise, but without too popular of actors, and basically just making a copy of it with small differences. Haven't seen The Ledge, but Hollywood does this far too much, trying to succeed off another lesser-known film's premise."
FROM: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1535970/b...
Joy, there is very little scenes on the ledge, most of it is flashbacks to tell the story of what led Gavin to the ledge, and Hollis' flashbacks as well, though fewer than Gavin's.I don't see how Ledge and Man on the Ledge have anything in common except the ledge itself. The Ledge is straightforward, about why he's about to commit suicide whereas Man on the Ledge is subterfuge, about a man on a ledge pretending he's going to commit suicide but it's really a ploy while others involved with him are pulling off a diamond heist.
Maybe that someone at the imdb board should have actually seen The Ledge before making a comment from ignorance. What he should have said is that Hollywood makes movies with similar titles, not similar movies, which they are guilty of, just not here. I can't stand when people make a statement of fact about things they have no knowledge of.
Yes, but they copied the title, more or less. And the idea of suicide does enter both pictures. Wonder what the back story is on that.As long as the movie isn't in 3D, I can stand the height scenes. I just get a tiny frisson of fear and then it goes away.
That's why I'm saying he should have said something about the similar titles, not saying they're similar movies, because they're not and the commenter didn't know what he was talking about so he should have remained silent than give out false information.Oh, I don't think I could see a scene in 3D on a ledge, my stomach would do a flip-flop!
I've seen several film and TV adaptations and spin-offs of The Three Musketeers; I like that whole milieu, and as with "lost world" sci-fi action films, I enjoy comparing and contrasting the different versions. But probably none of them follow the book very closely. (One of these years, I've GOT to read it; it's been on my TBR list forever!) The historical Richelieu, of course, while not a nice person, didn't harbor any ambitions for actually usurping the throne.
Jackie, flip-flop is a good word for it. It's a strange sensation that only those people with Acrophobia, fear of heights, can understand.http://www.vocabulary.com/definition/...
BTW, just now I learned that Acro comes from the Greek word akron, which means "summit" or "high point." Whoever named Akron, Ohio, must have studied Greek; it is located on a plateau in Summit County.
FROM: http://www.vocabulary.com/definition/...
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http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/The-S...
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0160916/
"Ben and Katie Jordan are a married couple who go through hard times in fifteen years of marriage."
Director: Rob Reiner
Genres: Comedies, Romantic Movies, Dark Comedies, Romantic Comedies
This movie is: Dark, Sentimental, Romantic
I gave this movie only 2 Netflix stars out of 5. I felt that the dialogue was very contrived. There was something clumsy about it. It didn't ring true to life. It TRIED to portray a marriage on the rocks but IMO, it did a poor job. It didn't show exactly why the couple fell out of love... the excuses weren't detailed enough.
Bruce Willis did a good job with what he had to work with, but Michelle Pfeiffer didn't seem to fit the part. It was as though she was trying to wear a shoe she didn't fit into.
The movie portrayed the typical ups and downs of a marriage. I recognized that. But it missed the mark somehow.
Roger Ebert panned the movie.
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/p...
He ends his review with the following comment:
"There is a famous short story about an unhappy couple and about what happens when it comes time to tell their children they're getting a divorce. It is called "Separating," by John Updike. Read it to understand how much "The Story of Us" does not reach for or even guess."
James Berardinelli gave the movie half-hearted praise.
http://www.reelviews.net/movies/s/sto...
He says:
"For about 90 minutes, we are witnesses to the erosion of a marriage. ... While there are many things to appreciate about The Story of Us, there are problems as well. Too many of the arguments between Ben and Katie have a contrived feel."