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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)
Yes, Jackie. Down with under-lit scenes and over-loud background music!I know that scenes with firelight create a certain atmosphere, but I've come to dread them while streaming.
If I didn't accept the occasional poor quality of streaming, I would miss a lot of the good parts. (Not every scene is darkly lit.) So I've learned to put up with the occasional dark screen. Like everything else in life, it's a trade-off.
I was quite lost when trying to buy our new TV, but I talked to various people here at work about it & then got to pick out the TV with my daughter's boy friend, a young techy & up on all of that stuff.My new TV is an LED LCD & that seems to have solved quite a bit of the glare & low lit scene problems I had with our CRT (tube) TV. I have 2 large windows that I can see in the TV screen. There is a much higher contrast ratio plus an overall brighter picture, not to mention faster screen redraws. The LED LCD is fairly new & replacing the LED screens in the market.
Plasma is supposed to be even brighter & faster, but they have a worse glare problem since there is glass protecting them. They're also a power hog. This LED LCD doesn't even register a bar on the UPS it's plugged into. The CRT used to redline it when it started up & then use 2 bars.
Jim, it's good to know that the LED LCD has lessened the problems with low-lit scenes.
Lessened, but not done away with. Earl's peeve is one of mine, too. Shadows on shadows isn't creepy, but a pain in the tush.Another thing I learned after I bought the new TV, the speakers aren't nearly as good & my old DVD & VCR will only make a picture on part of the screen. Apparently what I need to do is buy a Blue Ray player with surround sound & hook everything in to it. It will control everything, including the TV, & give me much better sound & picture on everything, except the VCR, maybe. I'm not sure. I am sure I don't have the money to buy it right now, though.
They do it on purpose, so you have to buy more gadgets to optimize the ones you already have.
Oh, please, not more gadgets! LOL
Jim wrote: "I was quite lost when trying to buy our new TV, but I talked to various people here at work about it & then got to pick out the TV with my daughter's boy friend, a young techy & up on all of that s..."Jim, I just tried to message you but it didn't take, so I'll post here and sidetrack(?) the thread. I seem to recall you are in the computer business? I have, possibly, a video card problem in my PC. I built this with a huge expensive, power-hog video card that can drive 2 screens, which I never needed. It crapped out inside 3 years and I took a guess, bought a cheaper video card from NewEgg. Solved that problem but I noticed the BIOS screen on my OLD 19" monitor are now too dim. HOWEVER with my old PC I can still see these screens just fine. Power Supply on new PC is 610 watts and voltages seem ok. Any thoughts? I'm wondering if the newer video cards are not geared, somehow, for the old CRT monitors? Brightness inside Windows is ok.
Earl, the only thing that comes to mind is power settings. CRT's take a while to warm & brighten up. If you get the PC up & then reboot, is the BIOS screen still dim?I'll try to PM you & we can take this there. I know this new security system for the PM's is a pain.
Last night I streamed a delightful and thoughtful movie from Netflix:"A Green Journey" (aka "The Love She Sought") (1990):
http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/A-G...
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100063/
In this movie, Angela Lansbury plays a schoolteacher who has an unusual experience. I'm glad I didn't know much about the plot before I saw the movie. It was much more interesting to watch as things developed. Of course, Angela Lansbury played the part to perfection. Highly recommended. I gave it 5 stars out of five. Has some beautiful scenes of Ireland.
PS-I forgot to mention that the movie mentioned above was adapted from the book,A Green Journey, by Jon Hassler.
I read Hassler's book, Simon's Night, and enjoyed it very much.
Joy, I looked up A green Journey on imdb but it keeps directing me straight to The Love She Sought with Angela Lansbury. Can you take a look and let me know if this is the correct movie? It sounds like it might be it.http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100063/
As an aside, I saw her performance as Mrs. Lovett in the original play, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, along with Len Cariou.
Jackie wrote: "Joy, I looked up A green Journey on imdb but it keeps directing me straight to The Love She Sought with Angela Lansbury. Can you take a look and let me know if this is the correct movie?..."Yes, Jackie, it's the correct movie. I indicated the second title in my post above (See Message #260).
See the line:
"A Green Journey" (aka "The Love She Sought")
I didn't notice it, my eyes only saw the Bold Type. Sorry. I'll check and see if the library has a copy, I'm pretty sure the vid store won't have it.
Thanks
Jackie wrote: "I didn't notice it, my eyes only saw the Bold Type..."Jackie, know what you mean. Our eyes do funny things. One time, when I was in my twenties, someone came around my school taking a survey of the effectiveness of various advertisements. I was shown an ad with text in different colors. (The different colors were supposed to emphasize certain words.) After I read the ad, I was asked questions about what the ad had said. Turns out that I didn't absorb what the words in red said. I had completely ignored them.
I saw an atricle about how our mind fills in words, that as long as the first letter and last letter are correct, we interpret the correct word. The brain is a strange instrument.I watched The Tourist with Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie. It was good, though predictable.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1243957/
Netflixed The Americanhttp://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/The...
I gave 3 stars out of 5. Fairly predictable assassin movie. I've always wondered why we seem to like these things so much, hit men aren't very much above the guy in the slaughterhouse with a stun gun and a knife in my book. If you do watch it, see if there's some kind of weird jump/stutter in the movie during the lovers picnic. I was going to rewind and rewatch it but forgot.
Earl: I like George Clooney, but not in that genre. :)Jackie: I don't usually like espionage but I've put "The Tourist" (2010) on my Netflix queue anyway. Netflix will have it available on April 19.
Netflix says:
================================================
"Little does the Yank know that the artful lady has gone to great lengths to arrange their "chance" meeting and is using him to trap a thief who happens to be her ex-lover."
http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/The_T...
================================================
That sounded interesting. :)
Earl, I heard The American wasn't that good so I never bothered. It seems to me that most movies are so similar these days, I can forego most of them.Joy, it was interesting. Not the greatest movie either actor ever did but good enough to spend two hours on. Some people hated it, some loved it.
We watched the American, too. I think I agreed with Earl or maybe gave it 1/2 star less. I guess it says a lot that I just watched it a couple/few weeks ago & already can't remember it well...I didn't care all that much for "Men Who Stare At Goats" originally, but I find it flashing into my mind on odd occasions. Erin & Josh gave me the DVD for my birthday, so I think I'll watch it again. There's something quirky about it that makes it memorable.
Jim, "Men Who Stare At Goats" is streamable from Netflix. So I put it on my queue.http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/The...
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1234548/
"A reporter in Iraq might just have the story of a lifetime when he meets Lyn Cassady, a guy who claims to be a former member of the U.S. Army's New Earth Army, a unit that employs paranormal powers in their missions."
Cast: George Clooney, Jeff Bridges, Ewan McGregor, Kevin Spacey
Not sure it's for me, but one never knows. Netflix says:
"Genres: Comedy, Spoofs and Satire, Dramas Based on Bestsellers, Dramas Based on the Book"
The book: The Men Who Stare at Goats by Jon Ronson
Joy, I wouldn't think you'd like it. It's kind of weird.
Jim, you're probably right. :)
Interesting that my daughter in law in CA just recommeneded A Green Journey to me. She said, "Put it on your list." Now that is two people and that's enough for me. And glad you liked, "Major Pettigrew..."It was funny at times. Wasn't his son dreadful? I had to laugh at his remarks. At least it was a plesant read. nina
Nina, I know you will like the film, "A Green Journey".My husband is now reading the Major Pettigrew book. Yes, the son wasn't very likable. I liked Jasmina Ali. She was her own person, a strong character. Of course, the Major was a sketch! (g)
Isn't the name "Jasmina" a pretty name! I've never heard it before this.
Yes, it is a pretty name. Tomorrow I am going to my daughter's book club meeting and the book they will be discussing is, "Major Pettigrew..." Should be fun. I will fill you in on some of the comments. I am now engrossed in "Gone With the Wind," thanks to you. nina
I recently watched the movie, "Thirty Nine Steps." I don't remember which version but he did go up thirty nine steps. It was a good movie, as I recall. nina
Nina, I'm watching a DVD of "Gone with the Wind" right now. It's the 70th Anniversary Edition (2009)(Warner Home Video). I borrowed it thru our town library system. The Bonus Section has a wonderful commentary by Historian Rudy Behlmer. He gives a detailed background on the movie and its performers. Very interesting, especially if you enjoy Hollywood talk.
Sounds good. Maybe I can find one here. nina
I'm halfway through 39 Steps. We watched The Fighter last night. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0964517/
Based on junior welterweight boxer, Micky Ward:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micky_Ward
The movie was decent, not great, but worth the two hours. The family they came from was so low class and petty, it disgusted me. Usually I detest Christian Bale, but he did a fantastic job in the role of Dickie Ecklund.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dicky_Ek...
I have "The Fighter" on my Netflix queue. I want to see why Christian Bale won the Oscar.
I didn't know he won. As much as I don't like him, I have to admit he was really good. Watch the credits, while they're rolling, on the side is a clip of the real Micky and Dickie, you'll see how Bale nailed Dickie perfectly.
OK, I'll try to remember to do that, Jackie.Here's an article about Bale winning the Oscar:
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1658...
The critics weren't too kind to "Gable and Lombard", but I thought it was pretty good. Clayburghh was outstanding( no big surprise there).
I'm wondering if anyone saw "Social Network" and what you thought.
Arnie, I gave the film, "Gable and Lombard", 4 stars out of 5 at Netflix when I streamed it. Can't remember much about it at this point.http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Gab...
After I saw "The Social Network", I posted a review at the following link which is really a place for reviews of The Accidental Billionaires. As you know, "The Social Network" is a movie based loosely on Ben Mezrich's book, _The Accidental Billionaires_.
See my review here:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
Arnie, what did you think of "The Social Network"?
Arnie, what did you think of "The Social Network"? At first, being a a Luddite baby-boomer, I was not enthralled. I thought of calling Bombay tech support to get a clue---Eisenberg's dialogue was spoken in such a rapid monotone, I had a hard time undersatnding what he ( and many of the other characters ) was saying.
This turned to appreciation of what you might call a latter day "Citizen Kane"---a person driven to make it big, but because of his personal flaws, ultimately winds up betraying his own dream.
I loved the irony of the Zuckerberg character trying to get back in touch with the only woman who might have made things go differently for him---and through the very alienating social network he himslf developed.
(It took me three viewings to fully appreciate it.
Arnie, I too thought that the dialogue was delivered too fast in "The Social Network" film. I had to keep rewinding my DVD to catch the words. I was probably using captions as well.Here's what wrote in my review:
=================================================
I came away from the film feeling a bit sorry for what Mark Zuckerberg and Eduardo Saverin went through in founding Facebook. Justin Timberlake was excellent as Sean Parker, the fellow who spurred Zuckerberg on to spread Facebook around the globe and find big investors.
Jesse Eisenberg was excellent as Zuckerberg, the computer genius, as was Andrew Garfield playing Eduardo Saverin (Zuckerberg's classmate at Harvard and the original investor). Eisenberg is up for an Oscar for "Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role".
The final financial settlements for all those involved in the legal proceedings were mind-boggling. Zuckerberg's head must have been spinning throughout the ordeal, but he proved his skill in creating the code for phenomenon of Facebook. He was driven at a very young age and became "the world's youngest billionaire as of 2008".
===============================================
Yeah, Joy, I did a lot of rewinding to catch the dialogue---call me ol' fashion, but I don't think audiences should have to do this--and don't get me started on many British films. Remonds me of Oscar Wilde's callingf 'the US and England being two nations separated by a common language.'
I hear you, Arnie. Some of the British dialogue is pretty hard to catch. It's a shame because the stories are usually good. I'm currently in the middle of streaming an adaptation of Dickens' Nicholas Nickleby and I miss a lot of what they're saying. With streaming, Netflix doesn't provide subtitles."Nicholas Nickleby" (2002)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0309912/
http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Nic...
"A young compassionate man struggles to save his family and friends from the abusive exploitation of his coldheartedly grasping uncle."
Some of the cruelty to children in the story is hard to take. Really awful. But they say that Dickens had a hard childhood himself. So he wrote about what he knew.
Netflixed The Killer Inside Mehttp://movies.netflix.com/Movie/The_K...
I gave it 4 stars out of 5 because I can't figure out how to award 3½. It's about a West Texas sociopath. That West Texas part gives it a strange and exotic (to me) feel. I knew a few Texans in the Army, and something about the way they talk makes them a bit hard to figure out. Or something. Anyway I was quite taken with this film. There's some good amateur reviews at that link, better that I would write. Not much profanity in this film, LOTS of perverted sex.
And since Jessica Alba had a big role, of course I HAD to see it.
Oooh, Earl! "A brutal, psychotic killer!" Not my cup of tea. :)I see from the Netflix description that the movie was adapted from Jim Thompson's classic noir novel, The Killer Inside Me.
As for the member reviews at Netflix, I too have found some very good ones there. I've come to trust what they say, allowing of course for the differences of opinion.
I saw The Killer Inside Me a while ago, mainly because Alba was in it. It's a hard story to 'like'; when Affleck beat Alba, it was too much for me. It made me nauseous. The acting was very good but it's not a movie I'd like to see again and part of me wishes I'd never seen it at all.
Josh & Erin gave me "Machete" for my birthday.http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0985694/
It stars Danny Trejo, the ugliest man alive, as the hero. (He was great as a rapist in ConAir, but doesn't make a good hero.) The rest of the cast was impressive; Robert DeNiro, Jessica Alba, Lindsey Lohan, Don Johnson, Jeff Fahey & Cheech Marin. Others in the cast were less impressive, like Steven Segal, but just as recognizable.
IMDB gives it 7 out of 10 stars. I gave it about 3. Reminded me of most other Steven Segal movies - lots of fun, dumb action, a stupid plot, & some pretty girls. I can't believe some of these people starred in it. It was just made last year, too.
Jim, Netflix says that the film, "Machete", is violent, exciting, and gritty. It shows only 1 and 1/2 stars out of 5. Pretty bad. Looks like your assessment is right on.http://movies.netflix.com/Search?oq=m...
Last night I streamed "Wildflower" from Netflix.The film was adapted from the book, Alice (1988), by Sara Flanigan.
"Wildflower" (TV 1991)
http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Wil...
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103266/
"An abused and partially deaf [and epileptic] girl is helped back into society by two resourceful children."
The cast included Reese Witherspoon and Patricia Arquette, both very young at the time. Beau Bridges played Witherspoon's father. Patricia Arquette played the abused girl. (Her real-life grandfather was Cliff Arquette.) William McNamara played Withspoon's brother. I don't remember ever seeing him before.
This was a very touching story and was well-acted. It kept me interested throughout. I had never seen such a young Reese Witherspoon. She was delightful. What a great smile!
I gave it only 3 stars out of 5 because it was hard to believe the way the deaf, epileptic girl was kept in filthy conditions in an old broken-down shack in the yard. The whole story seemed a bit extreme to me even though it was interesting and had some poignant scenes.
Jackie wrote: "I saw The Killer Inside Me a while ago, mainly because Alba was in it. It's a hard story to 'like'; when Affleck beat Alba, it was too much for me. It made me nauseous. The acting was very good ..."The beating was a bit shocking, but we've gotten inured to bullets hitting bodies, which is really much more horrible. They don't show those huge wound channels that's all. And slicing off a head with a sword we are also accustomed to. Funny how we're finicky about which violence shocks us. They should have shown his patsy trying on those weighted gloves earlier (to make sure they would fit) and, again, the murderer putting them on his victim after the killing. Be kind of funny if his bare hands showed no sign of trauma. As it was, her shooting him when she was is such in dire shape caused some doubts in the sleuths. Directors got tunnel vision when they're trying to make a point.
Earl, I prefer more upbeat films. I try to ignore the violent ones.
I read a review in goodreads of a true story of a young woman who helped Afganistan girls with sewing projects and it was some kind of school. I have lost the title and wonder if any of this rings a bell.If it does help me out. nina
Nina, it doesn't ring a bell. Sorry. In the same vein, I've been trying to think of the name of an old movie with a sad looking little girl who travels around with a show man of some sort. I think it was an Italian film.
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The dark screens don't bother me exactly, I just don't see the point of it. Realism, blah blah blah, I get it, but often we don't need that much realism, esecially if you can't see what's going on.
The worst thing, for me, in a film, is the very loud background music or noise that overpowers the actors voices. It is called 'background' music for a reason and that's where it should stay. One more thing directors, editors, (whoever's job it is) seem to forget.
There's no way either of these two issues could possibly enhance the film-watching experience and I'm at a loss as to why they insist on continuing this irritating practice.