BS: Seen any good movies lately?

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any good movies lately?
From: RangerSteve
Date: 20 Feb 08 - 07:48 AM

The King of California was a nice pleasant movie. The Hunting Party was a good action/adventure movie that didn't rely on high speed chases or impossible heroics.

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any good movies lately?
From: Diva
Date: 20 Feb 08 - 03:12 AM

We went to see Beuoweulf.....loved it

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any good movies lately?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Feb 08 - 11:57 PM

Don,

Best Jane Eyre is the one with Timothy Dalton. The best Pride and Prejudice is the one they've been playing on PBS, with Colin Firth. Hands down.

I just had a quirky little four-part John Mortimer drama from NetFlix called Summer's Lease (1989). Susan Fleetwood, and an over-the-top John Gielgud. I remembered bits of it from when it originally played on PBS. Interesting story, ironic (it is Mortimer, after all) and sad. That Fleetwood would die a few years later, age 51, of ovarian cancer. Beautiful woman, good actress.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any good movies lately?
From: Peace
Date: 19 Feb 08 - 08:51 PM

"Charlie Wilson's War".

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any good movies lately?
From: Hollowfox
Date: 19 Feb 08 - 08:48 PM

La Vie en Rose.

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any good movies lately?
From: Goose Gander
Date: 19 Feb 08 - 12:13 AM

Persopolis.

Based on the graphic novel.

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any good movies lately?
From: GUEST,John O'L
Date: 19 Feb 08 - 12:00 AM

My daughter and I really enjoyed Stardust.
My son wasn't impressed, but he saw it on DVD, we saw it at the theatre.

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any good movies lately?
From: GUEST
Date: 18 Feb 08 - 11:58 PM

A plug for my favorite director, Jim Jarmusch ..one of his earlier flicks "Down By Law."

...and a short film "The Accountant." (fairly recent)

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any good movies lately?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 18 Feb 08 - 09:05 PM

Very strange French movie called Angel-A. Fun, but strange.

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any good movies lately?
From: Don Firth
Date: 18 Feb 08 - 08:37 PM

I used to go to movies a lot, but the last movie I saw in a theater was "Jurassic Park." A few years back. Watched a lot of videotapes since then.

Both Barbara and I got new laptops a couple of years ago, complete with DVD/CD player-burners and 15.4" "brightview" screens, and a friend enrolled us in NetFlix, and he keeps re-upping the subscription as a Christmas present. We've seen some really great movies lately. We sit on the bed with one of the laptops in front of us, the screen less than three feet away. Not Cinemax, perhaps, but crystal clear and the laptops have surprisingly good sound systems (Harmon-Kardon). We can put the movie on "hold" for a bathroom break or snack break, and if we miss a line, we can back it up and play it again. No hunting for a place to park. No waiting in line. And no kid behind you kicking that back of your seat.

But here's the big thing. Most of the DVDs have "Special Features," which include such things as deleted scenes, interviews with the actors and directors, all kinds of information about the movie.

Barbara's a Jane Austin/Charlotte Brontë junkie, and I bought her a couple of different versions of "Jane Eyre," and I'm looking at the various filmings ("diskings?") of "Pride and Prejudice."

I also recently bought the "Platinum Series Extended Edition" DVD set of "The Lord of the Rings." All three movies, 12 discs altogether, with an extra 2 hours and 10 minutes of scenes they didn't show in the theatrical or taped releases. Along with this, a whole bunch of interviews and such, including how some of the special effects were done.

I've seen the taped versions, but I haven't watched the DVDs yet. The box is sitting across the room still in its shrink-wrap. In a couple of days I'm going to take the phone of the hook, lock the door, board up the windows, and spend a few days on an Epic Quest through Middle Earth.

Don Firth

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any good movies lately?
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 18 Feb 08 - 07:45 PM

I don't really think seeing a video or DVD on the box really counts as actually seeing the film. Just not the real thing. Which means that there's an awful lot of good films I tend to think I've seem, which I turn out not to have, when I think a bit harder and consult my memory.
.............

A film I did see recently (in a cinema) which I really enjoyed was Juno. Not great art, but a good film for all that.

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any good movies lately?
From: PoppaGator
Date: 18 Feb 08 - 03:07 PM

Speaking of Czechoslovakia (or more properly these days, the Czech Republic), I recently rented, and thoroughly enjoyed, the low-budget Irish musical "Once," which was a hit at Sundance 2007.

The story concerns a (male) Dublin busker who meets a young (female) Czech immigrant who turns out to be a fellow musician. Their flirtation does not lead to romance, but to a strong musical relationship. She likes the songs he writes, accompanies him on piano and vocal harmonies, and they quickly recruit three additional band members to record a demo before heading off on the their separate ways ~ all in less than a week's time.

The main characters do not have names; they're listed in the credits as "The Guy," "The Girl," "Guy's Father," Girl's Mother," etc.

If you like the music, you'll like the film ~ and I liked it all. It's not folk music ~ indeed, when they appoach the prospective bandmates, they are asked, "What is it? Singer/songwriter crap?" The Guy replies, "Yeah, it's singer/songwriter stuff," and the Girl quickly interjects "But it's very good!"

I don't always play the commentaries and all the extra features that come with DVDs, but I did so for this one. The writer/director used to be a musician himself, and in fact was a member of a band headed by Glenn Hansard, who plays the leda (The Guy) in this film.

He made a great deal in his commentary about the low-budget aspect of the film, including how nicely his players fulfilled their roles in spite of "not being actors," but musicians pretty much playing themselves.

I thought this was pretty disingenuous, since (like many viewers) I instantly recognized Hansard from his earlier major movie role as "Outspan," lead guitar player in The Commitments. He's just a little older now, with a tighter haircut. Now, I'll concede that when that earlier film was made, none of the players had prior acting experience, and also that Glen Hansard has probably not acted since then ~ but he was not exactly a novice at this filmmaking business when they started work on "Once."

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any good movies lately?
From: Tweed
Date: 18 Feb 08 - 02:50 PM

I saw one a month or so ago called Schultz Gets the Blues.
He's a laid off or retired miner/German oompah accordionist who accidentally tunes into a radio show broadcasting zydeco music, goes nuts over the sound and ends up going to Louisiana to experience the real thing. A nice quirky sorta film.

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any good movies lately?
From: Bill Hahn//\\
Date: 18 Feb 08 - 02:24 PM

Bill Hahn

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any good movies lately?
From: Bill Hahn//\\
Date: 18 Feb 08 - 02:19 PM

Bill Hahn

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any good movies lately?
From: Mark Ross
Date: 18 Feb 08 - 02:19 PM

THERE WILL BE BLOOD with Daniel Day-Lewis is a thought provoking and an excellent film.

Mark Ross

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any good movies lately?
From: Bill Hahn//\\
Date: 18 Feb 08 - 02:16 PM

JIM: Thanks for the above advice let me see if this works

Bill Hahn

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any good movies lately?
From: michaelr
Date: 18 Feb 08 - 01:34 PM

Atonement. I highly recommend this beautiful film.

Cheers,
Michael

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any good movies lately?
From: Mr Red
Date: 18 Feb 08 - 01:15 PM

Beyond the Sea
Darrow
and
The Queen.

Kevin Spacey does it for me but Helen Mirren does it better!

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any good movies lately?
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 18 Feb 08 - 12:09 AM

Once- fairly new but available on DVD.
The Wind that Shakes the Barley- on DVD (The soundtrack cd is pretty good too)
La Vie en Rose (Cotillard is superb)
Showboat- the old one with Paul Robson singing Old Man River. VHS
An American in Paris (Paul Kelly was a great dancer) DVD
Goya in Bordeaux- DVD
Moulin Rouge- DVD
Several operas and a zarzuela- on DVD
Now looking for "Midnight Cowboy." Haven't checked for price yet.

Haven't been to a film theater for years, although one of my sons owns one. Much rather buy the DVD or VHS and loan out to family.

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any good movies lately?
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 17 Feb 08 - 08:28 PM

You mean like this?

Bill Hahn

I did it like this:

<a href=http://billhahnprogramnotes.blogspot.com>Bill Hahn</a>

Now, don't ask how I did that, 'cause I don't know how to show you!

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any good movies lately?
From: Bill Hahn//\\
Date: 17 Feb 08 - 08:06 PM

OOps---clicked the wrong button---it was supposed to be just my nam,e---never did figure out how those links can obscure your address and just have the name as a link---I shall look for a 7 year old to teach me---they know

Bill Hahn

Subject: RE: BS: Seen any good movies lately?
From: Bill Hahn//\\
Date: 17 Feb 08 - 08:05 PM

YES!   That answers the question.

Seriously---Kolya was brilliant and came out over 5 years ago now---or thereabouts.

Want some really great ones --current and otherwise:

The Savages                  Current
Gloomy Sunday                On VHS and DVD
The Lives of Others          Current and on DVD
Away From Her                DVD--fairly current


http://billhahnprogramnotes.blogspot.com

Subject: BS: Seen any good movies lately?
From: katlaughing
Date: 17 Feb 08 - 07:45 PM

We just watched a wonderful movie, from netflix, called "Kolya." It is Czechoslovakian and takes place during the "Velvet Revolution." Here's what IMDB has on it:

Franta Louka is a concert cellist in Soviet-occupied Czechoslovakia, a confirmed bachelor and a lady's man. Having lost his place in the state orchestra, he must make ends meet by playing at funerals and painting tombstones. But he has run up a large debt, and when his friend, the grave-digger Mr. Broz, suggests a scheme for making a lot of money by marrying a Russian woman so that she can get her Czech papers, he reluctantly agrees. She takes advantage of the situation to emigrate to West Germany, to her lover; and leaves her five-year-old son with his grandmother; when the grandmother dies, Kolya must come and live with his stepfather - Louka.

I see it got an Academy Award. It was really well directed, the music was gorgeous, and the whole thing had a touching loveliness without getting at all sappy. I highly recommend it.

My girlfriend just watched Across the Universe and really liked it. She said it used a lot of Beatles' music, which I know I would like.

What have you seen lately?