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Post by bixaorellana on Jan 13, 2010 7:27:35 GMT
We watched Sweet Land (2005) on DVD recently. www.sweetlandmovie.com/This is a sweet film. Independent. Mail order bride arrives in MN in the 1920's, and since it turns out to she is (hated) German instead of Norwegian, the minister won't marry her and her farmer intended. Recommended. I went looking for this movie online and instead found Land and Freedom, about which I knew nothing. Whereas I still want to see Sweet Land, I am so happy I saw this one. It's an absolutely wonderful, award-winning movie by Ken Loach about the Spanish civil war. One of the things I found most amazing and absolutely fitting is that each character in the movie has equal importance -- this despite its having "stars". However, the director's passion and respect for the workers' revolution is so sincere and the depiction of the struggle so well executed that the dignity and importance of the individual carries the day. The casting and overall look of the movie are perfect and believable in every detail. Conversation and debate are used to convey the beliefs of the combatants -- something that should be stilted and boring, but instead is compelling and convincing. There is one incredible long scene where the revolutionaries and the local people debate collectivism and it appears to be completely unstaged, plus pulls the viewer right into the spirited discussion. I highly recommend the movie, but with one caveat: it is filmed in English and Spanish, with no subtitling. I don't mean an occasional word of Spanish for effect. I mean there is probably more Spanish dialogue than English. There is even one scene that's mostly in Catalan. There are three options for viewing online. I chose the first, as my preference is always DivX when possible. If you plan to watch movies online, I suggest loading DivX onto your computer.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 13, 2010 9:08:34 GMT
Yes, Land and Freedom is a remarkable movie. It depicts a situation that still very much appeals to young activists of university age. The last chance they got to go off and do something was when the 'international brigades' went to Cuba in the 1970's to help with the sugar cane harvest, and more recently when many volunteers went spontaneously to Romania in 1990 or during the siege of Sarajevo in 1992-1996.
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Post by lola on Jan 26, 2010 15:16:04 GMT
Spurred by Producer's Guild award, we finally watched The Hurt Locker last night. It's about US soldiers who defuse, otherwise deal with terrorist type bombs in Bagdad. Very well done. Makes me think my job isn't all that stressful after all.
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Post by bjd on Jan 26, 2010 16:00:16 GMT
Land and Freedom is my favourite Ken Loach movie. Most of the others are so depressing. I took my youngest son to see it when he was about 14 (and liked history) and he came out of the movie theatre saying "No Pasaran!"
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Post by bixaorellana on Jan 26, 2010 17:06:42 GMT
Love it, Bjd! My recent small screen viewing consists of watching all the episodes of The Big Bang Theory. I am now on season two. My mother turned me on to this sit-com, and it's hilarious. It conforms to classic sit-com mold, but the writing and the acting are just excellent. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Big_Bang_Theory
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Post by Kimby on Jan 26, 2010 18:14:34 GMT
We've been watching "24" lately. Had first 4 episodes on the DVR and watched them non-stop. Rivetting. This week's episode, however, was less compelling.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 26, 2010 19:18:51 GMT
I missed The Hurt Locker (like just about everyone else), but I am certain it will get a re-release in Paris as soon as the Oscar nominations come out.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jan 27, 2010 4:30:18 GMT
I had to look up 24, Kimby. Could be my next big tv addiction! Does anyone watch Damages?
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Post by traveler63 on Jan 28, 2010 2:08:10 GMT
I tried 24 but it just was too kinetic for me. At the end of each episode I would be literally out of breath.
I am currently watching PBS's adaptation of EMMA. I don't care how many times it is done on television, I am such a fan that I watch them all. As for series, well I am loving The Good Wife on CBS. Another one I love is Bones on Fox. It is loosely based on the Kathy Reich's books.
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Post by lola on Jan 31, 2010 16:30:29 GMT
I recognized Ralph Fiennes in Hurt Locker, but didn't realize Guy Pearce was in it until I read about it later.
I watched Lady Chatterly, the French 2006 Director Pascale Ferran version, the other day, stumbled upon at the library. Beautiful. Marina Hands in title role, and Jean-Louis Coullo'ch as the gamekeeper. I thought he was a bit old and nonbuff at first, but by the end was in his hip pocket.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2010 17:22:14 GMT
That movie won the French Academy award for Best Film and Best Actress, but still practically nobody in France has seen it. I think I saw the first episode of the TV version but did not follow through.
I watched the first season of 24 and that was more than enough for me. Have not seen even one episode of subsequent seasons.
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Post by lola on Jan 31, 2010 17:56:58 GMT
I thought it was worth persevering with Lady C. The lingering shots of the countryside slow the pace, but then I started to appreciate them, and I liked the way Ferran integrated nudity with their growing intimacy. (No spoiler feature needed there, I think? ) How would they change such a film for TV, I wonder? I see on Netflix that there's an Uncut Version, with an additional hour.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2010 18:01:50 GMT
Nudity? Well, it is after all a French movie. Yes, I read that the later bits were pretty hot.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jan 31, 2010 18:32:10 GMT
I didn't know there was a newish Lady Chatterly movie, and would love to see it. Is it sub-titled, I hope? I'm beeing very resistant to The Hurt Locker. Lola says "very well done", it's gotten some good reviews, including a very in-depth, thoughtful one by David Denby (h ttp://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/cinema/2009/06/29/090629crci_cinema_denby). But nothing I've read seems to say, "must see".
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Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2010 22:02:53 GMT
Even though I haven't seen it, I am under the impression that "The Hurt Locker" will be among the nominations for Best Picture tomorrow morning.
Yes, Lady Chatterly played in England, so it is available with subtitles.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2010 22:04:17 GMT
I am watching Sandra Bullock's best movie at the moment, or at least the one in which she finally played a real adult. (It is not a comedy.)
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Post by lola on Feb 2, 2010 2:18:36 GMT
In my opinion Hurt Locker is about as Must See as they come, and not just to prompt the question "Tell me again: why did we go into Iraq?" It's very compelling. Kind of blow-uppy here and there, of course.
Yes to the subtitles on Lady C. And nice nudity.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 2, 2010 3:32:21 GMT
We've been watching "24" lately. Had first 4 episodes on the DVR and watched them non-stop. Rivetting. This week's episode, however, was less compelling. I was pretty hooked on this for the first couple of seasons. Forgot all about it,I watch so little TV. Am waiting for the new season of Mad Men which begins shooting next month.The character Sal's fate( as to whether he will return to the series) has not been determined.
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Post by bixaorellana on Feb 7, 2010 17:32:17 GMT
Last night I finally saw "The Reader". It's been several years since I read the book, which I liked a great deal. Initially, I kept thinking that so much was different from the book, then decided I was ruining the movie for myself. Are there enough superlatives to describe Kate Winslett's acting? She has a way of physically inhabiting her characters that is beyond brilliant. Ralph Fiennes as Michael was excellent, and David Kross, who played the younger Michael was perfect. I don't know if the casting directors (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0976051/fullcredits) got any awards for this, but their decisions were superb in every particular, as was the work of the art, set, costume, and make-up departments.
I was in an extremely sad mood yesterday because of some news I'd received, so maybe that affected my reaction to the movie. All I know is that the revelation of what the adult Michael does so many years later had me sobbing.
This is one of those movies that you really want to discuss with someone who has also seen it recently -- lots of questions, debatable points, etc.
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Post by lola on Feb 7, 2010 19:41:14 GMT
Sorry about your sad news, bixa.
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Post by bixaorellana on Feb 8, 2010 1:33:22 GMT
Aw, thank you, Lola. Guess movies can serve a purpose in getting the emotions out. That's a good argument for watching them at home!
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Post by bixaorellana on Feb 8, 2010 4:03:58 GMT
I just finished watching Up in the Air. I waved frantically as the plane flew over St. Louis, Lola. Did you see me? It was an awfully well made movie, I'll give it that. And I think George Clooney finally pulled me into his camp. I've always resisted him because of a prejudice I have against people who always appear to be smiling. But he really is a very good actor with a great sense of timing. The woman playing his girlfriend did a super job, as well. The ingenue was a nice piece of casting, although I have to say the poor girl looks like a young Tom Cruise in drag. It's a shame that the movie lost all its deftness when it came to bringing the point home ......... and bringing it home .......... and hitting us over the head with it.
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Post by lola on Feb 8, 2010 5:11:46 GMT
I THOUGHT that was you! The church is just a block from us. When they were filming it was fun seeing how they sprayed fake snow on a certain area of curb that could've been seen from the doorway, for instance.
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Post by bixaorellana on Feb 8, 2010 5:18:31 GMT
It was a thrill seeing the church, as I remembered your saying that it was close to where you live. The snow fooled me! When Alex pulls up in front and he gets out into the slush, I had a full-body shudder.
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Post by tillystar on Feb 8, 2010 9:46:04 GMT
Watched a few DVDs this weekend:
Milk – loved it. Very sad, but very real. Sean Penn is always fantastic isn't he? Kept thinking about the people afterwards as though they were people I knew Whiteout – absolute guff, really bad action movie. But I couldn’t help really enjoying it. Big River Man – documentary about the crazy man who swam the Amazon. Absolutely, mind-blowingly bonkers. The Baader-Meinhof Complex – fascinating and a good history, Meinhof’s journey from journalist to terrorist is well-followed but in the end you can only watch so many bank robberies and explosions in 2 and half hours without starting to nod off.
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Post by bixaorellana on Feb 14, 2010 4:59:56 GMT
Totally agree with you about Milk. I also liked that it was messy the way real life is messy. Haven't seen the others, but now feel relieved that I don't feel I must see B-M Complex ~~ thanks! Just this minute finished watching An Education. It's really, really a well-done movie with excellent acting and a look that is beyond perfect. Also in the perfect category is this pristine online streaming video: www.divxmoviezonline.com/2009/12/education-2009.htmlThe music, the clothes -- all are of the era. You'll want to rush out and buy a Juliette Greco album . The song sung over the credits at the end, though, was written for the movie & I believe is up for an Oscar:
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Post by bixaorellana on Feb 15, 2010 17:03:45 GMT
Big Love has started a new season. I think Chloë Sevigny is getting better and better. She can convey so much with the subtlest of expressions.
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Post by imec on Feb 15, 2010 17:34:28 GMT
My latest music DVD is It Might Get Loud - a documentary on the electric guitar from the poerspective of 3 of the rock world's greatest - Jack White (White Stripes, Raconteurs and The Dead Weather), Edge (U2) and Jimmy Page (The Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin). Some great discussion about the development of their styles and their works, really cool jamming and some neat footage of where they play back old demo tapes and stuff from artists who influenced each of them. Very cool to see Jack build a "guitar" out of a piece of wood, a couple of nails, a length of wire, a coke bottle and a pickup.
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Post by Kimby on Feb 15, 2010 21:36:20 GMT
Recent small-screen viewing: Does the Olympics count? Plenty of (contrived and real) drama there.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2010 20:00:13 GMT
Anything on the small screen counts.
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