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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)
It's a good book, Werner. You should. So is "The Man in the Iron Mask".
Thanks for those links, Joy! I'll try to explore some of them when I get a chance.Yes, Jim, I loved the movie adaptation of The Man in the Iron Mask, and I want to read that one too someday. We have both books here in the library where I work, but I actually own a copy of The Three Musketeers, which is buried in one of my piles of unread books. I'm putting it as high on my to-read list as I can, once I clear some other loose ends and reading commitments out of the way! (Of course, that won't be soon.... )
I love Dumas. I gave 4 stars to The Three Musketeers. I gave 5 stars to The Man in the Iron Mask and one of my all time favorite books The Count of Monte Cristo.I'm pleased you'll be reading some of his work soon. I can hardly wait to hear your assessments.
I pretty much love any of the adaptations to Dumas' novels. It would have to be done pretty poorly for me to dislike it.
I understand the fawn problem and the solution but I still grieve for Bambi's mother. The Tatoo movie was good but the old cliche, the book far better. The movie left out a lot. I read all three books and saw all three movies and they were good but different. All grim; don't know why I liked them. Whatever- I think he was a great story teller. Some don't agree, however.
Nina,Below is a Goodreads thread discussing _The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo_:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/4...
Netflixed Farewellhttp://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/p...
Mole in the KGB. An irritating movie in that it starts at the end, then slams into the beginning without much workup, introduction of characters, slam-bang. One thing about using familiar American actors is that I can more easily tell who's who. Maybe I'm getting too old for movies with directors who are too artsy-fartsy with the story line. I can't keep up. Especially with subtitles that are too small to read on my set without pausing the dvr and getting 4 feet from my set. And said subtitle matches the background so nicely, it'd be nice to have them a different color! That said, I still gave the flick 3 stars out of 5. I like spy movies, what can I say? Some people hate voice-overs, I've gotten so I love them, helps me keep up.
On another note, I just mailed back a Wallander (the Swedish detective from BBC). Again I got lost and when the murderer was caught there was several details that puzzled me. If I was real anal about these things I would have watched it a 2nd time the next day and looked for the those 'missing' details.
Jackie wrote: "I pretty much love any of the adaptations to Dumas' novels. It would have to be done pretty poorly for me to dislike it." I agree 100%! I loved the miniseries of The Count of Monte Cristo; that's also one I definitely want to read!I'm flattered by your interest in my reviews, but as I said, I won't get to these soon; as I sometimes say, "They're right at the top of the list, but there are several lists ahead of it!" That comes about partly because I hate to say no to fellow writers who want me to review their books, and because family and friends tend to gift me with books because they know I'm an avid reader (such as the entire trilogy of Civil War novels I got from my Aussie son-in-law last Christmas --and that one will probably require prior background reading on the Civil War for context :-( ); and naturally, when you get gift books, it can hurt people's feelings if you don't read them fairly soon! But I AM going to try to read The Three Musketeers in 2012, if it's humanly possible! :-)
Werner, There was a miniseries? Arrh, now I'll have to try and find it! There's a good movie of TCOMC with Jim Caviezel and Guy Pearce. Some changes from the book, but that's Hollywood.
No rush on reading. I'll be here whenever you get to them. I completely understand: too many books too little time.
Jackie, my mistake; I did some checking, and the Caviezel version (2002) was the one I was referring to. It was a movie, not a miniseries.It turns out there was a four-part miniseries version made in France in 1998, starring Gerard Depardieu as Dantes. It has links on Imdb and Amazon (I just don't have them here, sorry!); it's apparently in French, but was broadcast on U.S. cable TV (maybe with subtitles?).
Even better, now I don't have to add one more thing to my WatchList.
Earl wrote: "... On another note, I just mailed back a Wallander (the Swedish detective from BBC). Again I got lost and when the murderer was caught there was several details that puzzled me. If I was real anal about these things I would have watched it a 2nd time the next day and looked for the those 'missing' details."Earl, that's why I don't usually enjoy mysteries, especially if they're convoluted.
I just got a book review I did posted on Amazon.com. If you go there and press on books/used and new and then press that and type in The Language of Small Rooms and the book cover comes up and you press on the boats, my review is right beneath the book. It is a book of poems; love affair set in Venice.
Nina wrote: "I just got a book review I did posted on Amazon.com. If you go there and press on books/used and new and then press that and type in The Language of Small Rooms and the book cover comes up and you ..."Nina, I found your review. It's at:
http://www.amazon.com/Language-Small-...
I liked it where you said: "But, be forwarned, while reading this book, your own long forgotten love may surface once again. Not unlike the city of Venice."
Earl, I watched the first season of Wallander, 3 episodes, rather than read the books. It was OK but not enough for me to continue with season 2.Luther is a far better detective series. It's on BBC America.
Joy, Thanks for looking at my review. My friend who wrote the book has a great gift for poetic language so I meant every word of the review. It spoke to me.
I watched 2 movies this weekend:"Xmen First Class" was good. I loved Hugh Jackman's contribution! (It lasted about 10 seconds, consisted primarily of 2 words, & sent our heroes beating a hasty retreat.) The rest of the movie was a lot of fun & stayed true to the movie universe of how things are. A lot of history is explained. If you liked the others, this is a must-see.
"Hannah" was OK. Kind of interesting, but had too many Hollywood moments - unbelievable, but "we need you to believe this so we can make it work" moments - to really be good. If you miss it, don't worry about it.
I googled for "Hannah". The Yahoo movies page gave a thumbnail description they call a "Logline". It says:"Logline: A 16-year-old raised by her father to be a cold-hearted killing machine must learn how to be a girl."
Genres: Drama and Thriller FROM: http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1810163...
This is the first time I've heard the expression, "logline". Wiktionary defines it as: "A very short summary of a script or screenplay." We need more of those.
Below are a couple of links to one-minute-reviews:
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/p...
http://www.oneminutereview.com/OMR/Ho...
(Forget this one. It doesn't even tell you what movie he's reviewing until you click on the video.)
Poor Ebert. He gave Hanna 3.5 stars & says, ""Hanna" is a first-rate thriller about the drawbacks of home schooling.". Really? Second rate is more like it & her schooling was hardly a drawback in this case, it was the entire point, but it was overdone & Hollywooded into ridiculousness. No scouting civilization, just train to a certain point & then announce to the bad guys that we're alive & right here. Literally.He also says, "He demonstrates that action movies need not be mindless." Again, really? We have this fanatically trained young woman who, besides the above idiocy, at the end of the movie, in the middle of a perfect site for her talents, runs herself into a corner instead. Does it get any more mindless than that?
I notice the uses also gave it only 3 stars. Personally, I'd go 2.5. I did watch it all the way through, but like it less the more I think about it.
Jim, I saw both. As a Marvel-girl myself, I was pleased to see another Xmen movie. Eric took me to the theater for Mother's Day, it was 2 weeks after Mother's Day but he planned it well in advance. Wolverine's 2 word sentence had the entire audience roaring with laughter.
However, once again, Hollywood made a mishmash of the storyline; changing relationships is my biggest complaint. One example, Mystique and Charles, not in this universe. Magneto found Mystique in Europe, in fact, they have a child together, Nightcrawler. Another, Moira is not an American law enforcement agent but an Irish scientist. There's more, but I don't expect Hollywood writer's to know these things as we fans do. I take it for what it is and be happy they made the backstory at all.
Hannah. I totally agree with your assessment, can't add much there. Nor can I say much about the observational powers of the critic, lol
I saw the extra that came on the DVD & they address the differences in the movie universe & the comic universe by saying, "When in doubt, we went with the movie universe figuring people who watched the movie would be more familiar with it." Of course, that does nothing to address your perfectly valid complaints. They certainly shouldn't have strayed on the Mystique love thing. Oh well, it's Hollywood. What else can we expect? They take a perfectly good story & screw it up for reasons beyond our knowledge.;-)
I kinda figured that when they messed with the characters in the first movie, more would necessarily follow.
Jackie wrote: "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 watched a Netflix DVD of "The Ledge" (2011). Yes, it held my interest throughout, as well. Charlie Hunnam was excellent. So was Terrence Howard. I would have changed the story a bit, but all in all, it was intriguing.
I liked Charlie Hunnam so much that I searched for more movies he was in. I realized that in March of this year I had seen him in the title role of the 2002 film adaptation of Charles Dickens' Nicholas Nickleby. Of course, he was almost 10 years younger then.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0309912/
http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Nic...
I see that he also played in: "Green Street Hooligans" (2005), "Queer as Folk" (1999), and "Queer as Folk 2" (2000), but after reading the summaries, I don't think they're for me.
I hope that in the future he'll get a role in a movie I can enjoy.
I liked Ken Burns' Civil War series.So, I have spent the last two nights watching his new 3-part series on Prohibition. The last segment is tonight.
The script is wvery well done and makes some intersting points. But then, I expected a good documentary from Ken Burns. No doubt PBS will repeat it later--imho it is well worth seeing.
That Prohibition series would be interesting. We're watching "Boardwalk Empire" a fictional series about Atlantic City during Prohibition on HBO. We really like it. One thing I found funny was that all the corrupt people were for Prohibition. It didn't slow down their ability to get what liquor they wanted & provided a wonderful opportunity to make a LOT of money selling it on the black market.
Jim wrote: "Poor Ebert. He gave Hanna 3.5 stars & says, ""Hanna" is a first-rate thriller about the drawbacks of home schooling.". Really? Second rate is more like it & her schooling was hardly a drawback i..."Ebert is kind of hit or miss these days. I think that since his illness he's been using helpers. I still say that I can read between the lines of Ebert reviews and determine what I might like though. I'm mistaken about 25% of the time. But then I need to find a certain number of new movies to keep the mailman busy delivering my Netflix and 'get my money's worth' out of it
Joy, you didn't mention Charlie Hunnam's most famous role: Jackson Teller on Sons of Anarchy. So many people tried to get me to watch SoA. Bikers, criminals, no thank you. Then a friend, who shares similars TV tastes, told me she spent the entire day watching one episode after another of Sons of Anarchy, finishing an entire season in one day! That was quite the testamonial so I decided to see what the hubbub was about. And I spent the next week watching all three season, one episode after another. Quite addictive and very good. Not what I thought it would be and better than I could have ever imagined.
Mary JL wrote: "I liked Ken Burns' Civil War series.So, I have spent the last two nights watching his new 3-part series on Prohibition. The last segment is tonight.
The script is wvery well done and makes some intersting points...."
Mary JL, thanks for reminding us.
I had heard it publicized on VPR-Radio but didn't watch the TV show.
I've put it on my Netflix queue.
Ken Burns: Prohibition (2011)(Documentary)
Netflix: http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Ken...
IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1950799/
PBS website about the film: http://www.pbs.org/kenburns/prohibiti...
Jim wrote: "That Prohibition series would be interesting. We're watching "Boardwalk Empire" a fictional series about Atlantic City during Prohibition on HBO. We really like it. ..."Jim, I don't have HBO. So I've put "Boardwalk Empire" on my Netflix queue:
"Boardwalk Empire" (TV Series 2010)
http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Boa...
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0979432/
"Chronicles the life and times of Nucky Thompson (played by Steve Buscemi), the undisputed ruler of Atlantic City, who was equal parts politician and gangster."
Earl wrote: "... Ebert is kind of hit or miss these days. I think that since his illness he's been using helpers. ..."Yes, Roger Ebert's illness is very sad to think about. Wiki says: "In early 2002, Ebert was diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer."
Below is a Wiki link which tells about his "Current Health":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Eb...
==============================================
It says:
"As of February 2010, Ebert has a full-time, live-in nurse attend to him when needed. Although doctors have asked him to allow them to make one more attempt to restore his voice, Ebert has refused, indicating that he is done with surgery, and will likely decline significant intervention even if his cancer returns, as he feels that the last procedure he underwent did more harm than good."
"Regarding his death one day, he has written in a journal entry titled,
'Go Gently into That Good Night'":
"I know it is coming, and I do not fear it, because I believe there is nothing on the other side of death to fear. I hope to be spared as much pain as possible on the approach path. I was perfectly content before I was born, and I think of death as the same state. What I am grateful for is the gift of intelligence, and for life, love, wonder, and laughter. You can't say it wasn't interesting. My lifetime's memories are what I have brought home from the trip. I will require them for eternity no more than that little souvenir of the Eiffel Tower I brought home from Paris."
"By January 2011, Ebert had been given a prosthesis for his chin created by University of Illinois craniofacial doctors and other specialists. The prosthesis, which took two years to fabricate, is worn by Ebert on Ebert Presents: At the Movies, in a medium shot of him that is used for the 'Roger's Office' segment."
==================================================
I wonder how he's doing.
Jackie wrote: "Joy, you didn't mention Charlie Hunnam's most famous role: Jackson Teller on Sons of Anarchy. ... Quite addictive and very good. Not what I thought it would be and better than I could have ever imagined."Jackie, I guess I skipped over "Sons of Anarchy" because I thought it was just another TV Series, which I'm not usually interested in. But your recommendation makes me curious. So I'll put it on my Netflix queue.
=============================================
"Sons of Anarchy" (TV Series 2008– )
http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Son...
"Charlie Hunnam stars in this gritty drama series as Jax Teller, VP of the Sons of Anarchy, a gun-running motorcycle club that seizes control of its California town but soon butts heads with rival biker gangs, racist groups and the law."
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1124373/
"A man in his early 30s struggles to find a balance in his life between being a new dad and his involvement in a motorcycle club."
=================================================
Last night I watched an interview with Charlie Hunnam (Bonus Feature on the DVD). I realized that I preferred seeing him in the movie ("The Ledge") because he smiled more in the movie. He has a beautiful smile, full of feeling and simpatico. They should capitalize on that smile and show more of it. I wish someone would write a script in which he could play a good guy with a teasing personality. Films with Cary Grant come to mind... that sort of thing. I guess I'm just old-fashioned.
The character of Jacks in SoA is a good guy but he doesn't smile that much; he carries a heavy load on his shoulders. He does have a great smile, a very handsome man. I'm not sure if you'll like SoA; while I love it, it's not for everybody. But it is different. I'm ever on the search for unique and SoA delivers.
Jackie, I'll try "Sons of Anarchy" just to see what it's about. I know it's not my usual fare but one never knows.Meanwhile, Charlie Hunnam's great smile is going to waste. I can't understand why producers don't see the potential in it.
I remember when Greg Kinnear was just starting out on that TV program called "____ Soup". It was a newsy gossip show about celebrities, I think. Greg had a great smile and I liked his personality. Before long he showed up in a some good movies and now he's well-known. I hope that happens to Charlie Hunnan. I suppose he's well-known now, but I just found out about him recently. In his interview he said that he is fussy about which films he agrees to be in. Perhaps light movies don't appeal to him.
BTW, I enjoyed the arguments about faith vs atheism in "The Ledge". And I thought Patrick Wilson did a good job as the born-again Christian. It was riveting watching him go over the edge. As I said before, Terrence Howard was excellent as the cop. Great acting.
Liv Tyler is lovely but it looks as though she's done something to puff up her upper lip. I know that many actresses have done it and it ruins their looks, IMO. She played a good part in "The Ledge" but that ugly lip bothered me.
Trust me, in Sons, there's other parts of Charlie on display that are far more enticing than his smile, lolThe faith arguments were interesting.
No, that's Liv's natural lips, her father is Steven Tyler from the rock group Aerosmith. If you see what his lips look like, hers are an improvement. I like Liv and I'll watch her in anything. I think she's gorgeous and I love her soft spoken voice.
How Steven Tyler, one of the ugliest men in the world, managed to have Liv is one of the wonders of the world. She's a hottie. Loved her in Armageddon, one of my favorite movies.
Yes, Liv Tyler's voice is very soft. I wonder if it's that way all the time in real life.I found some pics of Steven Tyler.
His lips look OK here:
http://pappd.com/media/papps/photos/m...
And here:
http://media.jukebo.com/news/Steven%2...
But his lips look different here:
http://ll-media.tmz.com/2010/12/07/ce...
PS-Below are links to pics of Liv Tyler. Her lips look different in each picture:http://wallcrow.com/images/L/Liv%20Ty...
http://www.musicrooms.net/files/celeb...
http://www.rm-uk.com/wp-content/uploa...
http://cdn.activedesktopwallpapers.co...
Jim wrote: "How Steven Tyler, one of the ugliest men in the world, managed to have Liv is one of the wonders of the world. She's a hottie. Loved her in Armageddon, one of my favorite movies."Jim, you've reminded me that years ago, in the Dick Tracy comics, the ugly "Gravel Gertie" and funny-looking "B.O. Plenty" had a beautiful baby called "Sparkle Plenty". I'm sure your mom would remember. :)
B.O. Plenty: http://02varvara.files.wordpress.com/...
Gravel Gertie; http://popartpete.files.wordpress.com...
Sparkle Plenty:
(Click on thumbnail.)The things I remember!!! (lol)
Jim wrote: How Steven Tyler, one of the ugliest men in the world, managed to have Liv is one of the wonders of the world.That's one of life's greatest mysteries: he's hideous, even when he was young. I don't know what women see in him. He's freakish looking.
But his daughter resembles him... in a good way.
It's amazing how Liv looks so good and he doesn't, yet she does have some of his features. Maybe it's because he looks like a woman, an ugly one. Maybe if he dressed and looked like a man he wouldn't be so hideous.
Maybe he doesn't mind the way he looks. Even if he does, he cries all the way to the bank. :)
I'd imagine he's happy with his appearance. A lot of women think he's gorgeous.
Jackie wrote: "Joy, you didn't mention Charlie Hunnam's most famous role: Jackson Teller on Sons of Anarchy. So many people tried to get me to watch SoA. Bikers, criminals, no thank you. Then a friend, who s..."
I've been watching SOA since its inception. I declare it second only to Sarah Connor Chronicles - Terminator. A shame they cancelled that series. SOA ranks up there with Breaking Bad. I think we all have a fascination with criminal enterprises, the more so when they're done RIGHT. I don't miss many tv shows or series. I watch the paper like a hawk for new shows, record one, watch it right away to either keep recording or boycott. But then I have too much time on my hands.
Earl wrote: "... But then I have too much time on my hands."Earl, I suppose that I, too, have too much time on my hands, but despite that, somehow I don't have enough time to do all the things I want to do (or SHOULD be doing)! :)
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POEM: Loafing
I looked into the room a moment ago,
and this is what I saw--
my chair in its place by the window,
the book turned facedown on the table.
And on the sill, the cigarette
left burning in its ashtray.
Malingerer! my uncle yelled at me
so long ago. He was right.
I've set aside time today,
same as every day,
for doing nothing at all.
-Raymond Carver, from All of Us: The Collected Poems
From Writer's Almanac for May 25, 2004
http://www.writersalmanac.org/
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For several days I've been trying to get through a Netflix DVD called "Wings of Desire" (1987). (I had heard it praised when I was listening to an autobiographical CD.)http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093191/
http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Win...
One of the member reviews at Netflix says:
==============================================
"About as enjoyable as getting a root canal. The screenplay can be summed up as pretentious, interminable and indecipherable yapping about nothing."
==============================================
I have to agree.
Another Netflix reviewer says: "This movie is not about plot, so don't come to it expecting a story."
That's right!!! Sorry I rented it.
PS-About the movie mentioned above ("Wings of Desire"), Roger Ebert says:"'Wings of Desire' is one of those films movie critics are accused of liking because it's esoteric and difficult. 'Nothing happens but it takes two hours and there's a lot of complex symbolism,' complains a Web-based critic named Peter van der Linden."
Ebert says that "City of Angels" (1998), is a remake of "Wings of Desire" and spells out what the original film only implies. It stars Nicolas Cage as the angel and Meg Ryan as the woman. I'm not sure I want to see that movie either.
I never heard of, or saw, Wings of Desire but City of Angels was good. It had a good story and wasn't difficult. From what I've just read above about Wings of Desire, I don't want to see it. I think City of Angels is a better bet.
Jackie, now I'm curious about "City of Angels". I think I'll rent it so I can compare the two movies. The Netflix description is as follows:City of Angels (1998):
==================================================
"When guardian angel Seth (Nicolas Cage) -- who invisibly watches over the citizens of Los Angeles -- becomes captivated by Maggie (Meg Ryan), a strong-willed heart surgeon, he ponders trading in his pure, otherworldly existence for a mortal life with his beloved. The couple embarks on a tender but forbidden romance spanning heaven and Earth in this fantasy based on German director Wim Wenders's 1987 film, Wings of Desire."
FROM: http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Cit...
==================================================
IMDb description: "Inspired by the modern classic, Wings of Desire, City involves an angel (Cage) who is spotted by a doctor in an operating room. Franz plays Cage's buddy who somehow knows a lot about angels."
FROM: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120632/
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Werner, I too enjoy comparing and contrasting. I wish my memory were better so I could do a better job of it.
Below are some links, related to The Three Musketeers, which might interest you:
"A history of the The Three Musketeers' films":
http://www.thenational.ae/arts-cultur...
Cliffnotes on The Three Musketeers:
http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guid...
Sparknotes on The Three Musketeers:
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/3musk
I'll leave you to investigate them since your brain is nimbler than mine. :) I should probably read a child's simplified version.