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Post by Richard on Oct 21, 2005 12:33:08 GMT -5
The past two weeks I watched I Never Sang For My Father with Gene Hackman, Mrs. Brown, You've Got A Lovely Daughter with Herman's Hermits, The Country Girl with Grace Kelly, Swing Time with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, Waterloo Bridge with Viven Leigh, The Incredible Shrinking Man with Jack Arnold, Tom Thumb with Russ Tamblyn, Tom, Dick, And Harry with Ginger Rogers and a young Burgess Meredith, and Young Tom Edison with Mickey Rooney.
I need a job.
Kung Fu Hustle (2004) It is hilariously absurd. And funny too. I had a great time.
The Amityville Horror (2005) It occured to me about half way into this picture that this remake makes the mediocre original seem like a masterpiece. It was that bad. First off, the whole "child ghost thing" needs to go... fast. It's overused and frankly not scary at all. The entire movie is practically filled with bad clichés, one after another, like probably most of the other horrible "horror" films that has come out this past year. Usually when I watch a remake I often make comparisons with the original. There were many that were different and also many that were the same, but done worse. They clearly went for the modernistic approach to everything in this film. It doesn't even look like it takes place in the 70s... it said one year later, did it not? Oh, and not once do we hear that creepy music the original had. I was looking forward to it. I was disappointed.
The entire film as a whole just doesn't work, however, it does have its moments. During the ending, Kathy and George with the kids all escape on the speedboat with us looking at the town across the bay. It was nice sense of relief... yeah, relieved that the film was over! Oh poo, I can't seem to remember the rest. ;D
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Post by Shaun on Oct 21, 2005 12:44:59 GMT -5
Richard, how do you find the time to watch all those movies? I've seen the new Amityville Horror and it was pretty bad. But how about that new movie The Fog? Lord, that looks like a crappy movie! What did you think of Waterloo Bridge? I've never seen a Vivien Leigh movie, but I hear she's pretty good (especially in A Streetcar Named Desire); she intrigues me. I've pretty much given up on modern actors, except for a select few.
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Post by Richard on Oct 21, 2005 13:25:26 GMT -5
Richard, how do you find the time to watch all those movies? I've seen the new Amityville Horror and it was pretty bad. But how about that new movie The Fog? Lord, that looks like a crappy movie! What did you think of Waterloo Bridge? I've never seen a Vivien Leigh movie, but I hear she's pretty good (especially in A Streetcar Named Desire); she intrigues me. I've pretty much given up on modern actors, except for a select few. I don't have a job yet. I'm constantly looking, but been having no luck at the places I WANT to work at. I don't want to work just anywhere, you know. Whenever I have spare time I watch movies. I tape the ones I might like from TCM, AMC, FMC, and IFC and watch them whenever I can. I'm not some lazy bum either. I'm currently enrolled as a full-time student at my local college. I'm sorry, but I haven't seen The Fog. It does look like crap, though. No surprise. Wha? You've never seen a Vivien Leigh picture! Outrage! Might I recommend Gone With The Wind and definitely A Streetcar Named Desire. She's great. I didn't really like Waterloo Bridge. I didn't think it was bad, it was just boring. I felt like I've seen that type of movie before... you know, man falls for a woman, he leaves for battle, she gets the news he presumed dead, he's actually alive, they rekindle, and ultimately somebody dies. There is absolutely nothing wrong with watching Waterloo Bridge, it was just somewhat of a disappointment.
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Post by Shaun on Oct 21, 2005 15:32:59 GMT -5
You should major in filmmaking. It sounds like you know a lot about movies.
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Post by Richard on Oct 21, 2005 15:36:40 GMT -5
Film is my major. My class this semester is horrible... the students... my god, they make me want to eat my nails! But it's very informative. I've learned quite a few things I never knew before.
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Post by Cate on Oct 21, 2005 18:21:44 GMT -5
The Son -- A French movie about a man -- Olivier -- who works as a carpentry teacher and finds out the boy who killed his son five years earlier is out of prison (for boys) and has enrolled in the school. Perhaps to know the kid who killed his child... or for some other odd reason, he asks the boy to join his class. The kid shows promise as a carpenter and wants Olivier to be his mentor and guardian (as he has no parents). The plot is interesting and the movie is very slow-paced but I still found myself glued to it. The camera follows him around like a shadow. There is no music. It's a rather slice-of-life (or slice-of-the-life-of-a-father-who's-son-has-been-killed) movie. I recommend it if you're into indie/foreign films (which I find tend to be grouped together at movie rental stores as if a foreign film is automatically independent...) It's a Canal + movie which I usually like. The Son's Room - Italian... Very good. I can't elaborate because for one, it's hard to describe without giving away anything and I need to go. Talk to Her -- Yeah, I'm on a foreign movie kick. This one's Spanish. I've seen it about 3 times... Back to the Future II -- I LOVE this movie!!
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Post by Cate on Oct 21, 2005 18:23:03 GMT -5
PS Richard -- what are you going to do with your film degree? Are you in theater or anything? I would love to study cinematography and/or costume design. First I need to go back to school A friend of mine studied film/theater at Sarah Lawrence College -- and later journalism. I visited her a few years ago and fell in love with the campus. Sort of Bryn Mawrish with more trees and buildings. Hard to get into I hear... and the tuition is extremely high so I would be paying back student loans until I'm 80!
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Post by Richard on Oct 21, 2005 22:04:42 GMT -5
I'm undecided. As my college years progress, more doors to my career should open up. Right now, I'm just taking all the film classes my college has to offer. I do hope to become a filmmaker, that much I do know.
Frankly, I'll probably become an assistant to somebody for awhile. I definitely want to be on a film set as much as possible, and I'm not in a hurry to make my mark. I'll break through in time. But first I want to learn everything there is to know, being shown the ropes before I go way over my head. I'd like to make film shorts.
I don't want to be a hack director and a person who doesn't know what the hell he is doing.
Cinematography is great. I never even thought about studying that.
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Post by Cate on Oct 22, 2005 14:00:14 GMT -5
Cinematography can save a really horrible movie... i.e. Gerry. And even then I had to fast-forward. So think about what cinematography can do to an already great movie! ;D It's all about the visuals.
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Post by Cate on Oct 27, 2005 11:52:40 GMT -5
Dummy: My willingness to watch this movie was based entirely on Milla Jovovich and her hilarious character. I couldn't stop laughing. I didn't realize she could play anything other than Sci-Fi chicks that don't talk much. The glasses with the beanie... and the camouflage. So awesome. She reminded me of myself in high school except I was a little less crazy. Sometimes she resembles Kate Hepburn. (i.e. Joan of Arc). Perhaps with the right make-up and hair guy she could play her. Except I highly doubt she could do the Bryn Mawr accent since she can barely speak English without an accent.
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Post by Richard on Oct 27, 2005 12:05:45 GMT -5
I watched Dummy when I was hyped up on Milla. That was about two years ago.
I remember the movie pretty well. I especially enjoyed that Target scene. It looked a lot like my Target.
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Post by Cate on Oct 27, 2005 12:13:24 GMT -5
Other movies I've seen in the past week or so but might not have actually watched attentively:
Pieces of April - I actually like this movie. It's cute and sad and touching and symbolic. Katie Holmes (excuse me, Kate Holmes) is a "troubled" youth who is hated by her family because she doesn't live by their rules. She moves to New York and when Thanksgiving is coming up, she decides to invite her family to her little apartment. She plans on making all the fixins. She's very excited because she wants to prove to her family that she is worth something. So she's getting the turkey ready when she finds out her oven doesn't work. She knocks on the doors of everyone in her apartment building and when that proves pointless, she yells and asks everyone passing by. So eventually she finds someone who -- after opening the door and seeing her with the turkey in hand -- says she is a vegan and does not permit the cooking of flesh in her apartment. She then finds a guy (played by the guy who plays Jack on Will & Grace) who is extremely fond of his new stainless oven. He allows her to use it but only if she bastes the turkey properly and pays close attention to it. When she spends a little too much time attending to her yams in her own apartment, he knocks on her door and reminds her that her turkey needs tending to. She shrugs him off and says she'll be there in a minute. He loses patience and kidnaps her turkey. Eventually she begs him enough that he lets her have it back. She then takes the half-cooked turkey to an Asian couple's home. They speak pretty much no English but seem to understand her problem. She leaves it with them and when she returns, they have sculpted the missing leg (which I forgot to mention) out of dough. When she takes the turkey back up to her apartment, she patiently awaits the arrival of her boyfriend and her family. During the family's trip to New York we find out that her mother has cancer and is smoking "medicinal" marijuana to ease the pain. We listen to them go on and on about how useless April is and get to be tortured by her sister's annoying singing. Anyway, when they arrive at the apartment, they are appalled by what they see (which is actually what a normal New York apartment looks like if you're not a millionaire). April's boyfriend shows up, freshly beaten up by April's ex, and greets the family. He is greeted by stares because they weren't expecting a black guy. So he goes upstairs and tells April they're there. Ugh. This is the saddest part. She's so excited. Like a little girl. She runs downstairs to see them and when she gets out onto the street, the car is gone. They left her! Pissed, she stomps up the stairs, tearing down the cute little decorations she's made along the banister and wall. In the end, her mother shows up (who is the only one in the family realizing that it's fun to live -- but only after she has smoked some grass) after escaping from a nearby diner with a motorcycle dude. The Asian family is there, the mother, the boyfriend, then eventually the annoying sister, her dad and brother. It's just a happy Thanksgiving feast. ;D Now that's what Thanksgiving is all about. lol I'm sorry that was really long but I was in the writing mood.
Speak - With Kristen Stewart from Panic Room. That girl is going to be big someday... very talented and beautiful. She plays a 15-year-old who is raped at a party and doesn't tell anyone. The repression leads to her depression and anger. She eventually learns to 'speak' up about it. Pretty good Lifetime-type movie.
And some others but I spent so much time writing about Pieces that I don't have the enthusiasm to write about anything else. ;D
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Post by Cate on Oct 27, 2005 12:14:28 GMT -5
Yeah the Target scene! That so reminded me of me and my friends when we had nowhere to go (being in the midwest) but Tarjay or the mall. I don't recall buying clothes for a dummy but that's a pretty good idea.
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Post by Shaun on Oct 29, 2005 10:53:49 GMT -5
American Psycho (2000)-I didn't get this movie when I watched it; I had to do some reading on the internet to find out what it was about. It's about a man named Patrick Bateman, played phenomenally by Christian Bale, who desperately tries to gain an identity through serial killing. I guess what I didn't understand was the whole 1980s yuppie thing; I don't know much about 1980s culture. Overall, a decent film with great acting.
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Post by Cate on Oct 29, 2005 14:02:34 GMT -5
Leonardo DiCaprio was supposed to get that part.... I don't remember why he didn't.
Body of Evidence: When I was going through a total Madonna phase a few years ago, I bought this movie only because she was in it... and I probably watched it once. So I watched it again last night (because I find myself once again going through a Madonna phase -- as I do every time she comes out with a new album). It's actually not a bad movie and.... Madonna isn't half bad as an actor. Yeah, I said it.
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