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Post by bixaorellana on May 30, 2010 7:23:41 GMT
I don't have the kind of attention span that works for that. My frivolous offering ~~ watched It's Complicated, which is fairly slight, but fun. The only thing I couldn't understand was how it would be possible for Alec Baldwin and Meryl Streep to have such totally twitty children.
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Post by lola on May 30, 2010 15:42:03 GMT
Topsy Turvy, Mike Leigh dir, doesn't require any particular attention span really. What I love about it: it shows how this work of art can grow from a frustrated mental stagnation to the germ of an idea, and then through cajoling all the difficult personalities involved finally there's this complete thing.
Music from The Mikado takes up a minor part of the movie, so I think an operetta hating person could like it.
I'd have to like any Alec B and Meryl S. effort.
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Post by bixaorellana on May 31, 2010 6:18:53 GMT
I generally like anything you recommend a great deal, Lola, so the movie is on my list.
I just finished watching a movie I can't believe I'd never seen ~~ Children of Men.
Wow. It's on the all-time-favorites list now, just an incredible piece of movie making. My eyeballs are all dried out from forgetting to blink during parts of it. I also had never heard of this singer, whose voice, singing this song, was featured in one scene:
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Post by Deleted on May 31, 2010 13:45:30 GMT
Speaking of series, I wonder whether any of you enjoyed Deadwood as much as I did. I stumbled on DVDs at the video store, then got hooked. Lola,my husband and fell in love with this series,he initially,then, I got hooked. Watched every single episode!! Brilliant!!! Great writing,acting,everything!
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Post by bixaorellana on May 31, 2010 17:13:29 GMT
Adding Deadwood to my list. I watched an episode at my sister's when it was still a current show. At that time though, I didn't have access to it.
I have to say I really love being able to watch shows on demand and without waiting a week between episodes. And not having commercials lets you see the program the way the director intended it to be seen.
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Post by lola on Jun 1, 2010 0:39:54 GMT
I'd pay money for a paper that printed your movie revues, Bixa. Children of Men is now on my list; had been passing it over also for some reason.
Yes, Casimira about Deadwood! Would you have ever thought at the beginning that you'd like anything about Al? So many interesting complex characters. I rented a DVD originally thinking my Western-loving husband would like it, but he lasted <1 episode. Cussing vs true attention span prob? I watched the rest with door closed, alone, then, feeling that I shouldn't let my young teenage girls see their Ma enjoying such shocking stuff.
My girls called me Friday from I-90 to brag that they were just passing the Deadwood exit. My oldest and I will start at the beginning after requested first season gets into the library.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 1, 2010 1:19:27 GMT
I know the reason I was passing it over. It's because I had it confused with a couple of other movies I did not want to see. I thought it was either about the slums of Brazil or about the slums of India. Whatever you do, don't look at the Wikipedia entry, which gives away every bit of the plot. It does, however, use the word dystopian, which thrilled me. Hee hee the girls ~~ they know their mom! Looks like I have access: www.letmewatchthis.com/movie-5130-DeadwoodShould I start, or wait for the Lola Ladies?
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 1, 2010 7:54:20 GMT
Another romantic comedy recommendation: Something's Gotta Give.
Jack Nicholson is too old for the role and doesn't get off to a smooth start, but eventually gets in the groove. There's great, believable chemistry between him and Diane Keaton, who is just wonderful in this. Frances McDermond could have stolen the show -- she's brilliant, but they whisked her away early on. I have to say I thought Keanu Reeves was just fine in his role.
The music was fun and cleverly matched to the movie. There are some super-romantic choices for certain moments that are so obviously tongue-in-cheek it allows you to just relax into enjoying them.
Here's one song from the movie:
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Post by Deleted on Jun 1, 2010 10:28:48 GMT
I may have to join you guys and watch the Deadwood series again because it was a while ago that we saw. The episodes were taped on VH1 by a friend right off of the TV and we would watch weekly right afterwards. So,I can't say that I remember in detail the characters etc. Only remember how much we both really enjoyed it and my husband quotes lines from it every now and then. I do know that people either really loved it or really hated it. And,I also remember how very funny parts of it could be,side splitting laughter. Yes,time for a re-watch.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 3, 2010 5:44:23 GMT
I just finished watching Sherlock Holmes. Well, finished watching the 2nd half, since I watched the first half last night. It's an odd movie in the sense that I felt no emotional involvement in it, but was completely carried away by the suspenseful and lengthy fight scenes. I found myself with eyes stretched wide and even yelling at the screen a couple of times -- "Look out!" -- that kind of thing. The Holmes and Watson interpretations were great because of being totally different from the Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce types. Jude Law's essential blandness really worked here. Robert Downey conveyed a tightly wound Holmes committed to the fighting arts, but didn't convince me on the cool intelligence level. What I really objected to about Robert Downey was the way he spoke. He did this side of the mouth thing without moving his jaw, and I found him difficult to understand. The women were pretty dreadful. Rachel McAdams is too sort of slangily modern as Irene Adler, and Kelly Reilly, as Watson's fiancee, is just plain funny-looking and has a creepy delivery. Their parts almost felt grafted onto the movie. It's a fantastic looking movie -- the sets are monumental and the interiors hyper-real, whether Holmes' cluttered dwelling or inside palatial halls. The only set that didn't work was the important last one, which has a fakey, computer-generated feel to it. In keeping with the brilliant attention to detail in the sets and costumes, the end credits are quite clever and well done. But by that time -- the movie runs more than two hours -- I was just ready for it to be over.
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Post by lola on Jun 5, 2010 2:07:19 GMT
I want to see S.Holmes.
Deadwood still hasn't gotten to the library, and I don't know whether my daughter will like it well enough to persevere. It's not everyone's shot of whiskey.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 5, 2010 3:44:46 GMT
Didn't you mean to say "shot of hooch, Ma'am?"
Hmmm. I've been toying with the idea of viewing at least the pilot, but felt I should wait for you Others.
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Post by lola on Jun 5, 2010 14:18:45 GMT
Yes, Bixa! The very word around for which I was flailing! Though I had also considered "rot-gut."
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 6, 2010 4:16:22 GMT
I have just watched the most amazing, brilliant movie. Those of you who follow and are knowledgeable about the history of film are probably already familiar with it, but it was new and astounding to me. It is The Passion of Joan of Arc, a silent movie made in 1928 by Carl Dreyer. If, like me, you think that you'd never sit through an hour and twenty-two minutes of silent black&white, you'll be amazed to find yourself riveted to the film. Here are two versions. The first has French intertitles and is silent: www.movshare.net/video/c9f9mn3p0t1nt (you'll need DivX) The second has the French intertitles with English subtitles below and a musical soundtrack by Richard Einhorn -- "Voices of Light". It's in eight parts on youtube. Even though I was able to read the French titles, I opted for the version with the musical score. That was partly because there's a party going on near my house and I'm being blasted with Mexican polkas, but also because the music is astounding and does enhance the film. Do read this review of the dvd. It's interesting in its own right and I think would compel anyone to want to see the movie. www.brightlightsfilm.com/27/joanofarc.html
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 11, 2010 5:57:43 GMT
I just gave Revolutionary Road 49 minutes of my life, then gave up the pretense that I thought it was going to get any better.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 12, 2010 1:51:04 GMT
I just gave Revolutionary Road 49 minutes of my life, then gave up the pretense that I thought it was going to get any better. I was sorely disappointed in this movie when it first came out.Never understood what all the hype was about.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 12, 2010 6:20:09 GMT
I just finished watching Roma città aperta. Whew. I'd never seen it before. Very wrenching, very sad.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 14, 2010 6:03:38 GMT
I keep watching Treme although it seems more like homework than enjoyment. I loathe Davis McAlary/Steve Zahn and have been known to fast forward past the John Goodman parts. The whole show is fits and starts and nudge-nudge insider references which always seem labored. On the bright side, the ending music of tonight's episode was:
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Post by Deleted on Jun 14, 2010 8:01:38 GMT
I just gave Revolutionary Road 49 minutes of my life, then gave up the pretense that I thought it was going to get any better. I was sorely disappointed in this movie when it first came out.Never understood what all the hype was about. I liked it, but like many films, I feel that it is unwatchable in video.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 16, 2010 4:24:55 GMT
Well, I finally saw Picnic at Hanging Rock. To think, I've managed to make it 35 years since it was released without seeing it. I'm now left thinking I should have gone another 35 years.
Okay, first of all the pan pipes: eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Then, all that nature photography which was so beautiful, but portentously framed so that every flight of parrots seemed to Mean Something.
Some of the adults managed to put a bit of personality into their roles, undoubtedly in spite of the director, but the girls were all simpering and wooden. There was an undertone of eroticism that seemed forced and icky rather than erotic.
There was a great deal of beauty in the movie, but all of it was pretty indulgent and pointless. So often, we were given lovely tableaux in the style of Impressionists paintings to gaze upon, beautifully and accurately rendered in the costume of the period ..... but why? And the Victorian interiors were accurately presented and lovingly lingered over by the camera, possibly to convey the oppressive mores of the era or something, but more likely because someone just liked that kind of furniture.
And yes, I know all that's been written about the significance, beauty, yadda di yadda di da of this flick, but I do not concur.
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Post by lola on Jun 17, 2010 14:29:23 GMT
We watched Der Tunnel the other night. A great movie, set in a bizarre time and place: Berlin, 1961, and the Wall. Long, but enthralling, and apparently based on a true story.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 18, 2010 4:06:52 GMT
Never heard of it, but will seek it out. Just watching the trailer, my shoulders were hunched up around my ears and I was holding my breath.
Well, you all will never believe what I watched today for the very first time ever:
Alice Doesn't Live Here Any More
That's right. I don't know how it happened, but I never saw it. It was a strange experience, as part of the time I'd forget it was a movie made in 1974 and not a retro thing, and other times it was like being wooshed back in time.
Some great stuff in it -- the kid playing the son is so believable, Harvey Keitel showing what a fabulous actor he is, the realistic look of the whole thing.
The script was really good, although at times -- especially between Ellyn Burstyn and Kris Kristofferson -- the timing lagged. KK never pulls me in and I found Ellyn Burstyn's performance a little broad. It's not that she's bad, it's just that I always felt as though I was watching someone acting. This was one of the few times I've thought Diane Ladd was bearable in something -- quite good, really. The one thing about the movie I truly couldn't accept was that the style of singing Alice was doing would be marketable in 1974.
And, another shocker, equal to or greater than my never having seen ADLHAM: I didn't know the tv show Mel's Diner (is that what it was called?) was a spin-off from this movie.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 18, 2010 5:26:23 GMT
Didn't Ellen Burstyn win an Oscar for that role?
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 18, 2010 5:33:24 GMT
She may have, yes.
Oh yeah ~~ one other way you can tell it's really a movie from 1974: I'm watching the scene when Diane Ladd & Ellyn Burstyn are sunning and chatting, and I'm thinking, "Wow, they don't have very nice teeth!" Then I remembered that people in movies used to just have teeth, not neon-white chiclets.
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Post by imec on Jun 19, 2010 18:11:37 GMT
Am loving "No Distance Left to Run" - a two DVD set consisting of a documentary of Blur's 2009 reunion as well as the complete Hyde Park reunion concert. This clip of Song 2 has to be 3 of the most exciting minutes in live rock music...
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 24, 2010 6:42:03 GMT
Hooray for Memphis Beat! I watched the pilot episode and am looking forward to getting immersed in the series. It has the standard tv cop show format to some extent, but done well and entertainingly. The LA Times was a little rough on the show. Whereas I agree with the article in general -- particularly about Alfre Woodard -- I think the series shows promise, and at least has life and focus, unlike the very disappointing Treme. Oh, one note about Ms. Woodard ~~ I really need to find the devil with whom she is making pacts. I swear, she is more beautiful than ever!
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 28, 2010 16:57:46 GMT
Last night I watched Two Lovers, a really fine movie. I'd only seen Joaquin Phoenix in Walk the Line before, a movie which I felt was over-rated. If you really want to judge him as an actor, you need to see Two Lovers -- he is superb. I've never been much of a Gyneth Paltrow fan, but she was perfect in this, as was Vinissa Shaw. Really, every performance was excellent, with Isabella Rossellini, whom I love in any role, giving nuance and depth to a relatively small part.
From Wikipedia: Two Lovers is a 2008 American romantic drama film, remaking of Luchino Visconti's Le Notti Bianche, which in turn is based on Dostoevsky's short story, "White Nights." The movie is directed by James Gray and stars Joaquin Phoenix, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Vinessa Shaw. It is set in the largely Russian Jewish neighborhood Brighton Beach in New York City ...
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 30, 2010 4:55:23 GMT
Has anyone here besides Ilbonito lived in Japan? I'd love the take on this movie from people who know the country. I was totally delighted by it, and some of the humor made me hoot with laughter. It could also be enjoyed on its sheer beauty. Cha no aji / The Taste of Tea: A spell of time in the life of a family living in rural Tochigi prefecture, north of Tokyo. Though her husband is busy working at an office, Yoshiko is not an ordinary housewife, instead working on an animated film project at home. Uncle Ayano has recently arrived, looking to get his head together after living in Tokyo for several years. Meanwhile, Yoshiko's daughter Sachiko is mainly concerned with why she seems to be followed around everywhere by a giant version of herself. source of above quote, with links to actors: www.letmewatchthis.com/watch-256539-Cha-no-aji
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Post by lola on Jul 1, 2010 14:30:07 GMT
We watched Invictus last night, the Morgan Freeman/Matt Damon film about Nelson Mandela's role in the 1995 SA rugby World Cup. It takes a certain amount of work to watch, and the directing seemed a bit odd in spots, but it is a fascinating story. I do like the occasional Feel Good sports movie.
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Post by Kimby on Jul 8, 2010 17:30:02 GMT
We watched Departures on DVD last night. www.imdb.com/title/tt1069238/A very moving Japanese film about the ritualistic profession of preparing the dead for eternity though I was expecting a film about a musician from the cover photo It won the 2009 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Picture and I can see why. I had tears dripping down my cheeks at the end.
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