Let's Talk Movies v.16! (Sci-Fi, Oscar Bait, Horror, Golden Oldies...It's All Good!)

[Satellitegirl]

I saw Straw Dogs a week ago. I liked it ok, but just about all the characters were annoying. I saw Columbiana yesterday afternoon, and I was the only one in this huge theater, because it has been out a while. I liked it pretty well, although the main character played by Zoe Saldana wasn't that likeable. The movie overall was entertaining though. Certain aspects were so over the top that it was hard to suspend disbelief, but I'd recommend it for a dvd viewing.

[Rex]

I think that Zoe Saldana is so beautiful...I'd watch her in anything.

[Artemis@BC]

I re-watched Topsy-Turvy over the weekend (I'm on a bit of a G&S bender right now). Aside from reiterating my previous conviction of what a fabulous movie it is ('tho perhaps a tad long), how amazing Timothy Spall and Shirley Henderson are, and what a unique film voice Mike Leigh has ... I was also to see Kevin McKidd! I guess when I last saw the movie it was before his appearance on Grey's Anatomy, so I'd never made the connection and completely forgotten he was in Topsy-Turvy. A very far cry indeed from his über-macho Owen Hunt. (Oh, and am I the only one thinking Grey's Anatomy would be about 1000 >>> if McKidd were allowed to use his Scottish accent?)

[PDilemma]

We saw Moneyball last night. I loved it. And my non-sports fan husband enjoyed it just as much.

[PeterG]

Movies I've watched over the last week or so (from most to least enjoyable):

The Hitcher (Sean Bean, Neal McDonough) - Okay, this was one of those Hollywood horror moves with a million plot holes, but it was FUN! Plus Sean Bean looks great, although I think I'd prefer him a little more cleaned up.

I Am Number Four (Alex Pettyfer, Dianna Agron from Glee and Timothy Olyphant) - Much better than I expected, few cliches and Pettyfer is a way better actor than I thought he would be. He has the potential to be one of the leading actors of his generation, which is really unfair as he is so stunningly beautiful. But I'll stick with Mr. Olyphant, thank you very much. What a cute couple these two would make!

Black Sheep - Australian horror comedy -Another silly movie, but silly FUN! What happens when you try to genetically change/control sheep? THEY FIGHT BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Biutiful (Javier Barden) - Incredibly well made movie, but lord was it depressing. You need to psychologically prepare yourself to make it through this one...

[Buzz]

Thanks but I will skip Biutiful. Real life is depressing enough. LOL And I concur on I Am Number Four.

[Cyn]

My Mom told me today about the time she met Bing Crosby and Myrna Loy. I was and asked, "which other famous people have you met that you never told me about??!!"

Bing Crosby is from Spokane, WA, and just north of there is Cranbrook, BC where Mom graduated from high school. Before their graduation, people were talking about how Bing Crosby was in the local watering hole and someone said, "we should invite him to our graduation"! So Mom actually went down to the pub and invited him. He said, "I just got back from a day of fishing, I don't think I'd be presentable at your event!" So he kindly declined.

She met Myrna Loy at the border crossing and said she looked "homely". I said, "I just watched 'The Thin Man' recently and don't remember anyone looking homely in that movie!" So she clarified by saying she looked like any regular woman you might meet. Guess she was comparing her to some of the "pin-up" types of that time...

Plus she told me a bit more about the time she met Anthony Quinn at a cafe in California. She said that he looked familiar to her, but couldn't place him. He asked where she was from, and she said "British Columbia". He said, "do you know Prince Rupert?" Mom said yes, and Quinn said he was from an Indian tribe from there (he's from Chihuahua, Mexico). Anyway, he kept pulling her leg the whole time and when he left, someone who worked there said, "you didn't know that was Anthony Quinn???"

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to PeterG again.

What a wonderful story! I can't even begin to imagine what it would have been like to meet any of the Legends of the Silver Screen from Hollywood's Golden Age. I've obviously not met any of them, but if the following celebrities fall into that category, my parents did, in a way. We are related to Roy Rogers on my mother's side of the family, and she and my Dad not only met Roy and Dale back in the mid-60s (while spending two weeks visiting other relatives in California), they spent a few hours hanging out and chatting with them at their home.

To my eternal shame I saw Abduction yesterday starring Taylor Lautner. To start with the name has nothing what so ever to do with the actual movie. Now I love a good cheesy movie but this batch of cheese was rancid. Young Mr Lautner cannot act at all plus the movie is just plain terrible. It has the feel of something filmed with a camcorder by a bunch of high school kids who never wrote a movie script before. This movie is terrible so I do not recommend anyone go to see it!

I absolutely do not understand the appeal of Taylor Lautner and why the tweens/teens go bugfcuk gonzo over him. IMO he's not what I would consider to be hunky heartthrob material (I think he has the male equivalent of a Butterface ), and from the little I've seen of him on film, he can't act his way out of a paper bag.

The previews for Abduction looked absolutely atrocious, and after reading the comments here about it, it's not one that we will paying any money to see, even once it hits Red Box.

Just saw 50/50 and really, really liked it. In fact I would go back and see it today. The youngest guy on 3rd Rock From The Sun was in it. That was a sitcom I had almost forgotten about and some probably never heard of. I liked him then and now. It was a warm and funny and slightly sad look into the world of cancer and imperfect people. I say slightly because I do cry in movies and not everyone does.

I don't go to movies in the theatre very often, but 50/50 has piqued my interest enough that it's one I'll consider shelling out the bucks to see on the big screen.

The combined miniseries (not "mini" at all actually, probably longer than many actual failed planned series) is ASTONISHINGLY faithful to Wouk's books, which are each long and complex. I have never seen anything else even come close.

I saw the network broadcasts, and the one thing that was even mildly softened during those telecasts in the early 1990's (on over-the-air network TV) was when Natalie was ready to service a German prison guard to save the life of her young son, who also witnessed her actions. Even then it was only bits of filthy, racist, sexist commentary by the guards that were obscured (not bleeped really), but if even if you hadn't read the book, her crawling across the floor on her knees towards the soldier really conveys the intent of the scene and how utterly desperate she was to do anything to protect her child. I was floored that they let that in, but it really was essential dramatically to show that bit of horror to illustrate the dehumanization of the camps (and the amorality of those who ran them).

I've read WOW and WAR several times as they're two of my favorite books, but I've never seen either miniseries. The books were so wonderful, not just as reading material, but also with how I pictured the characters in my mind, so although I've been tempted to watch them in the past few years, I'm fairly sure that the actors and screenplay will not come close to the "vision" I have of both books in my mind, and I don't want to be disappointed.

[DarrellH]

Saw Ides Of March last night. Very good movie!

[Vash01]

We saw Moneyball last night. I loved it. And my non-sports fan husband enjoyed it just as much.

I too loved it. I thought that people that are not interested in sports would not enjoy it much. I guess I was wrong.

I see Moneyball this year being what Social Network was last year, although they had totally different storylines. Should be nominated for best picture. Brad Pitt may get the best lead actor nomination for this, but my nod for him (not the picture) would be his 'Tree of life' role. He was quietly threatening and loving at the same time, in it. That's tough to portray.

[Nan]

The Hitcher (Sean Bean, Neal McDonough) - Okay, this was one of those Hollywood horror moves with a million plot holes, but it was FUN! Plus Sean Bean looks great, although I think I'd prefer him a little more cleaned up.

Did you ever see the original? How did it compare?

[Rex]

I've read WOW and WAR several times as they're two of my favorite books, but I've never seen either miniseries. The books were so wonderful, not just as reading material, but also with how I pictured the characters in my mind, so although I've been tempted to watch them in the past few years, I'm fairly sure that the actors and screenplay will not come close to the "vision" I have of both books in my mind, and I don't want to be disappointed.

I'll say that Robert Mitchum was too old for his role as Pug Henry. He always seemed like he was looking for the oxygen tank. And I was glad they replaced Ali McGraw (who also was age-inappropriate IMO - Natalie was to be a girl in her 20s, and let's face it, Ali was NOT) with Jane Seymour in WAR as Natalie. Jane was amazing in that part - they should have picked her for WOW too.

[Karina1974]

I'll say that Robert Mitchum was too old for his role as Pug Henry. He always seemed like he was looking for the oxygen tank. And I was glad they replaced Ali McGraw (who also was age-inappropriate IMO - Natalie was to be a girl in her 20s, and let's face it, Ali was NOT) with Jane Seymour in WAR as Natalie. Jane was amazing in that part - they should have picked her for WOW too.

Who would have have had play Pug? My father has read the books so many times he could practically give you a page-by-page synopsis, and he thought Mitchum was perfect for the role, as was Victoria Tennant as Pamela, and Jan-Michael Vincent as Byron in WOW. He said that if I do read the books I would see how perfect Tennant was in that role. He thought the actor who played "Talky" Tudsbury in WAR was closer to the book than the one who played him in WOW.

Loved Topol as Berel. In WOW, you can tell that he is channeling his portrayal of Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof, and even the music in those Poland scenes almost sounds as though it was lifted straight from the movie version (I watched that too, last Sunday).

Jane Seymour had an edge as Natalie in WAR because her mother had actually been in a camp, and she also had relatives on her father's side who had been in camps as well.

[nursebetty]

I finally saw "The Help" and really liked it. I'm an Emma Stone fan, but it was a great cast. It's just that I loved 50/50. Wish I could watch it again.

[PDilemma]

I too loved it. I thought that people that are not interested in sports would not enjoy it much. I guess I was wrong.

I think he finally understands why I (and most fans of small market teams) feel as I do about the Yankees. We just had a conversation about it at dinner tonight, about the huge disparities in salaries that he had no idea about prior to the movie.

I see Moneyball this year being what Social Network was last year, although they had totally different storylines. Should be nominated for best picture. Brad Pitt may get the best lead actor nomination for this, but my nod for him (not the picture) would be his 'Tree of life' role. He was quietly threatening and loving at the same time, in it. That's tough to portray.

I could see Brad getting a nom for it because of how well it is doing at the box office and the critical acclaim it is getting. But, other than it being very much a one character film, I didn't think the performance was that spectacular. I haven't seen Tree of Life.

[Rex]

Who would have have had play Pug? My father has read the books so many times he could practically give you a page-by-page synopsis, and he thought Mitchum was perfect for the role

Nipsey Russell.

[Allen]

This afternoon, I was thinking I wanted to watch Four Weddings and a Funeral. Sure enough, I was flipping through channels just now and it is on OWN This is the first time I've watched anything on OWN, but it appears they are running it without commercials which is good.

[PeterG]

Did you ever see the original? How did it compare?

I didn't, but I have seen clips from the original. So I can't compare the two, but there must have been a decent amount of money put into the remake, because it was a good looking film.

What a wonderful story! I can't even begin to imagine what it would have been like to meet any of the Legends of the Silver Screen from Hollywood's Golden Age.

Mom mentioned that people didn't obsess over celebrities like they do now. And it sounds like they were all quite humble, probably much more than most reality stars these days. (Talk about ass backwards!!!)

[Nomad]

I'm falling in love with Nancy Carroll all over again, courtesy of Red Dawn, Child of Manhattan, The Kiss before the Mirror, and Laughter. She was supposed to be Paramount's Great Big Star in the early 30's when Clara Bow started to hit the skids, but Carroll was a feisty gal who protested loudly and hotly against the crap they put her in, so she got dumped in favor of Claudette Colbert. Pity. She really could have been one of the major actresses of the Depression Era.

[Vash01]

I think he finally understands why I (and most fans of small market teams) feel as I do about the Yankees. We just had a conversation about it at dinner tonight, about the huge disparities in salaries that he had no idea about prior to the movie.


[/I].

The NHL and NFL have a hard salary cap. The NBA has a soft cap (as good as no cap at all) and the MLB has no salary cap. So we see the disparity, with big market teams and rich owners buying talent needed to win. I too was happy when the Yankees lost to the Tigers the other day. Detroit is not exactly small market though. Oakland is.

Spoilers ahead...........(not sure how to show 'black out' the text below)

I can't say I totally agree with his decision to turn down the Red Sox's offer. Yes, he wants to see his daughter more often, but with that much money he could have flown her to wherever he was, any time. Maybe he just liked the bay area better than the east coast.

[overedge]

The local PBS station showed The Music Man tonight. I loooove that movie - it's been one of my favourites since I was little. But I do wish it would be re-released with the original screen proportions. I have it on VHS and in some of the bigger scenes, the actors are going in and out of the sides of the frame. And in one scene (the split-screen where Shirley Jones is singing "Dream of Now" on her porch, and the school board are singing "Lida Rose" on another porch) the shot pans back and forth between them - but in the original, it was a steady split-screen shot with both parts visible throughout. This version on PBS was a little better, but there were still some parts where people were speaking and weren't visible.