Recently viewed films
I know I'm totally in the minority of action-fan film lovers on this, but I was dissapointed by "Kung Fu Hustle", I just never felt grounded in what was going on and out of the loop, like I was the only sober person in a room of drunks or something -- though there were definitely moments.
Tried to see "40 Year Old Virgin" last night, but that was sold out, so I wound up at "Red Eye". It's really nothing special at all and the script is pretty by the numbers stuff Hitchcockian stuff, but that Wes Craven guy really knows how to keep the tension high and got some pretty good performances. Also saw "Batman Begins" a second time -- didn't hold up as well as I'd expected, but there were some great moments still and I remain in awe of Christian Bale and Michael Caine.
Definitely looking forward to "Constant Gardener" (loved "City of God" from -- depending on who you believe -- the same director and I'm a big John Le Carre fan, though I haven't read any books of his since "The Russia House"..actually, I need to read "A Perfect Spy" at some point...), also the new Jim Jarmusch film, "Broken Flowers" with Bill Murrya is out here too and that's a must for me....
Tried to see "40 Year Old Virgin" last night, but that was sold out, so I wound up at "Red Eye". It's really nothing special at all and the script is pretty by the numbers stuff Hitchcockian stuff, but that Wes Craven guy really knows how to keep the tension high and got some pretty good performances. Also saw "Batman Begins" a second time -- didn't hold up as well as I'd expected, but there were some great moments still and I remain in awe of Christian Bale and Michael Caine.
Definitely looking forward to "Constant Gardener" (loved "City of God" from -- depending on who you believe -- the same director and I'm a big John Le Carre fan, though I haven't read any books of his since "The Russia House"..actually, I need to read "A Perfect Spy" at some point...), also the new Jim Jarmusch film, "Broken Flowers" with Bill Murrya is out here too and that's a must for me....
http://www.forwardtoyesterday.com -- Where "hopelessly dated" is a compliment!
- miss buenos aires
- Posts: 2055
- Joined: Wed Jun 04, 2003 7:15 am
- Location: jcnj
- Contact:
Bobster, I wouldn't be sad about seeing "Red Eye" instead of "40-Year-Old Virgin." "Red Eye wasn't great cinema, but for what it was, it was expertly done, all that claustrophobic tension and the little touches with the other passengers, I thought were dead on. I thought "40-Year-Old Virgin" was really nothing special as a comedy; I went in last night expecting to be greatly entertained, but it just wasn't that funny. Lots of setups could have led to something great, but the punchlines were just lazy and fell flat. The only part I thought truly funny was the dance sequence. Other than that, it was just a chuckle here and there.
- bambooneedle
- Posts: 4533
- Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2003 4:02 pm
- Location: a few thousand miles south east of Zanzibar
True Crime - very impressed again by Clint Eastwoods' high directorial, production and acting standards. Everything comes together beautifully in it, with a stream of little nuances constantly giving one something to think about. Not a dud bit of acting in it. Good to see Clint as a fading reporter and struggling husband. I liked that there's pathos in his character but with levity, offsetting his own story cleverly against the main story. And a Diana Krall-sung song during the end credits, composed by Eastwood, about how some love didn't work out...
The Rage In Placid Lake - Mug might enjoy this film-- it stars Ben Lee as lead actor. I'd never seen Lee in a film before but he carried it off very well. A thoughful blackly comic Australian movie set in suburbia with Lee the son of nerdy new age parents, trying to figure out how he fits after having been bullied at school.
The Rage In Placid Lake - Mug might enjoy this film-- it stars Ben Lee as lead actor. I'd never seen Lee in a film before but he carried it off very well. A thoughful blackly comic Australian movie set in suburbia with Lee the son of nerdy new age parents, trying to figure out how he fits after having been bullied at school.
Last edited by bambooneedle on Wed Sep 07, 2005 10:02 am, edited 1 time in total.
- King Hoarse
- Posts: 1450
- Joined: Thu Apr 22, 2004 11:32 pm
- Location: Malmö, Sweden
- miss buenos aires
- Posts: 2055
- Joined: Wed Jun 04, 2003 7:15 am
- Location: jcnj
- Contact:
Eep! Double post.
Last edited by miss buenos aires on Sat Sep 17, 2005 12:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.
- miss buenos aires
- Posts: 2055
- Joined: Wed Jun 04, 2003 7:15 am
- Location: jcnj
- Contact:
Just saw "The Constant Gardener" and "The Corpse Bride," both of which were quite good, though the first was better. It was also almost twice as long, probably because every frame didn't have to be nudged and tweaked into place. Anyway, depending on your mood, they both have plenty of merits to recommend them. (Not the least of which is a maggot that sounds like Peter Lorre.)
Yesterday I took my 6 year old son to see "Sky High"... fortunately the session times listing I listened to on the phone the evening before was no longer correct (it was for the previous week that happened to end that night) and it was either wait an hour and a half to see "Sky High" or go directly to see "Wallace and Gromit: the Curse of the Were-Rabbit".
Luckily for me, young Dec was in a very accommodating mood and was happy to go see W&G.
I had been a little concerned that Aardman might not be able to pull off a full feature length W&G story, but as it turned out, my fears were unfounded. It is a very funny film. It has all of the crazy contraptions that we have come to expect in a W&G story, a screamingly funny British upper class villain (in the tradition of Terry Thomas or George Cole) and a nice little plot twist thrown in for good meassure. Highly recommended (and not just for the kiddies).
A great extra at this session was an excellent short film featuring the penguins from Madagascar... it was brilliant and I only hope to goodness that they include it on the W&G DVD when it eventually gets a release.
Luckily for me, young Dec was in a very accommodating mood and was happy to go see W&G.
I had been a little concerned that Aardman might not be able to pull off a full feature length W&G story, but as it turned out, my fears were unfounded. It is a very funny film. It has all of the crazy contraptions that we have come to expect in a W&G story, a screamingly funny British upper class villain (in the tradition of Terry Thomas or George Cole) and a nice little plot twist thrown in for good meassure. Highly recommended (and not just for the kiddies).
A great extra at this session was an excellent short film featuring the penguins from Madagascar... it was brilliant and I only hope to goodness that they include it on the W&G DVD when it eventually gets a release.
- bambooneedle
- Posts: 4533
- Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2003 4:02 pm
- Location: a few thousand miles south east of Zanzibar
The Tom Green Show: Tonsil Hockey. Very funny stuff.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/de ... 6?v=glance
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/de ... 6?v=glance
- Who Shot Sam?
- Posts: 7097
- Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2003 5:05 pm
- Location: Somewhere in the distance
- Contact:
Anyone planning to see "Capote"? Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener, Chris Cooper. That's a helluva cast. Really looking forward to this one. There was very positive review of the film in today's Wall Street Journal by Joe Morgenstern (honest, I only read it for Peggy Noonan's column! ). He said it was "the most thoughtful mainstream feature ever made about writers and writing".
Mother, Moose-Hunter, Maverick
WSS -
For shizzle! I love Capote and I love both Hoffman and Keener so this is a no-brainer for me. Yeah, the reviews have been pretty ecstatic and it sounds like they took the right approach to this biopic and avoided all the breakfast to bed details that bog down most of them and focused on THE pivotal event in Capote's life.
For shizzle! I love Capote and I love both Hoffman and Keener so this is a no-brainer for me. Yeah, the reviews have been pretty ecstatic and it sounds like they took the right approach to this biopic and avoided all the breakfast to bed details that bog down most of them and focused on THE pivotal event in Capote's life.
- Who Shot Sam?
- Posts: 7097
- Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2003 5:05 pm
- Location: Somewhere in the distance
- Contact:
Anyone seen "Galaxy Quest"? Dumb title but a really funny film. The wife has some weird fixation with Alan Rickman, so it popped up on the Tivo. We watched it with our friend Ben this evening and there were more than a few laugh-out-loud moments, despite the presence of Tim Allen, who I normally despise.
Mother, Moose-Hunter, Maverick
Isn't that film like 6 or 7 years old?Who Shot Sam? wrote:Anyone seen "Galaxy Quest"? Dumb title but a really funny film. The wife has some weird fixation with Alan Rickman, so it popped up on the Tivo. We watched it with our friend Ben this evening and there were more than a few laugh-out-loud moments, despite the presence of Tim Allen, who I normally despise.
This morning you've got time for a hot, home-cooked breakfast! Delicious and piping hot in only 3 microwave minutes.
- Who Shot Sam?
- Posts: 7097
- Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2003 5:05 pm
- Location: Somewhere in the distance
- Contact:
- miss buenos aires
- Posts: 2055
- Joined: Wed Jun 04, 2003 7:15 am
- Location: jcnj
- Contact:
- Otis Westinghouse
- Posts: 8856
- Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2003 3:32 pm
- Location: The theatre of dreams
I thought Sam Rockwell deserved an Oscar nomination for that film. My goodness was he ever hysterical! Agreed on Tim Allen but I must qualify that by saying that I liked Big Trouble a lot even though that probably has more to do with Zooey Deschanel than Mr. Tool Time.Who Shot Sam? wrote:Anyone seen "Galaxy Quest"? Dumb title but a really funny film. The wife has some weird fixation with Alan Rickman, so it popped up on the Tivo. We watched it with our friend Ben this evening and there were more than a few laugh-out-loud moments, despite the presence of Tim Allen, who I normally despise.
No way!! Galaxy Quest is an excellent piss-take on the Star Trek phenomenon. It is well acted (Alan Rickman, Sigourney Weaver, Tim Allen etc), well scripted, and has more than passable SFX (done by the Alien people). 6 or 7 year olds will no doubt enjoy it (but it does tend to get a little violent at times), but it really is a film for all of those people who have grown up with Star Trek and the like (although not necessarily hard core fans of that show - can't see what all of the fuss is about myself), and I whole heartedly recommend it... you WILL be pleasantly surprised.BlueChair wrote:Isn't that film like 6 or 7 years old?Who Shot Sam? wrote:Anyone seen "Galaxy Quest"? Dumb title but a really funny film. The wife has some weird fixation with Alan Rickman, so it popped up on the Tivo. We watched it with our friend Ben this evening and there were more than a few laugh-out-loud moments, despite the presence of Tim Allen, who I normally despise.
I eventually ended up taking my 6 year old along to see Sky High and again, was very pleasantly surprised by what was a very clever little film. It was actually interesting logging in here and finding this discussion of Galaxy Quest, as Sky High reminded me of that film in so many ways. This was one of those films that both my son and myself could leave feeling like we had had a good time.
Before Sky High started, they showed a preview of The Corpse Bride... have to say that I cannot wait until that opens; it looked fantastic!
- Who Shot Sam?
- Posts: 7097
- Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2003 5:05 pm
- Location: Somewhere in the distance
- Contact:
I think Blue just meant to say that the film came out 6 or 7 years ago, but I do agree with you about it being an awful lot of fun. I was no great fan of Star Trek growing up, but it was so omnipresent that I couldn't help but take it in through osmosis.Tim(e) wrote:No way!! Galaxy Quest is an excellent piss-take on the Star Trek phenomenon. It is well acted (Alan Rickman, Sigourney Weaver, Tim Allen etc), well scripted, and has more than passable SFX (done by the Alien people). 6 or 7 year olds will no doubt enjoy it (but it does tend to get a little violent at times), but it really is a film for all of those people who have grown up with Star Trek and the like (although not necessarily hard core fans of that show - can't see what all of the fuss is about myself), and I whole heartedly recommend it... you WILL be pleasantly surprised.BlueChair wrote:Isn't that film like 6 or 7 years old?
I eventually ended up taking my 6 year old along to see Sky High and again, was very pleasantly surprised by what was a very clever little film. It was actually interesting logging in here and finding this discussion of Galaxy Quest, as Sky High reminded me of that film in so many ways. This was one of those films that both my son and myself could leave feeling like we had had a good time.
Before Sky High started, they showed a preview of The Corpse Bride... have to say that I cannot wait until that opens; it looked fantastic!
I may take my daughter to see "Corpse Bride" next weekend. She has an appreciation of the macabre and loved "The Nightmare Before Christmas". This looks quite similar.
Mother, Moose-Hunter, Maverick