Let's Talk Movies v.20! (Period Dramas, Skating Movies, Underrated Films...& More!)

[PeterG]

Some movies I've watched lately:

7/10 Frozen (2010, Shawn Ashmore, Kevin Zegers) – This one I really wanted to see, ever since it was in the theatres. Finally found it at the Vancouver Library. It’s got all the stupid pitfalls of a thriller movie, but it’s a fun popcorn-type of movie. I do wish people who make movies like this would have a read-through of the script with a bunch of friends and play, “where’s the clichés?” (and then iron out all those bugs). There aren’t AWFUL problems with the script, just some stupid stuff done by the characters. I guess those kinds of actions help build suspense though, so you just kind of have to go with it.

6/10 Strangers On A Train (1951, Farley Granger, Robert Walker) – I would have rated this one higher, but it had one of the most stupid movie endings of all time!

Spoiler

The prime suspect in a murder is allowed to walk simply because the guy he says did it is holding that prime suspect’s lighter in his hand? Oh, he must be the murderer – the lighter is in his hand just like Mr. Prime Suspect said he would! Off you go, Prime Suspect, sorry we thought you were the murderer…

Another part of the movie is the somewhat campy nature of the evil guy. Yes Old Hollywood, we get it,

Spoiler

fags are bad…

6/10 The Innocents (1961, Deborah Kerr) - Ben Mankiewicz hosted this on TCM and said that it flopped when it was released. It was probably too high-quality for the masses! I suppose I should give it a higher rating than 6/10 but this is about the fourth movie of late that I have seen with an ambigious ending. I’m sick and tired of the pretentious bullshit of writer/directors, who, on the DVD extras spout out, “what do YOU think happened/how do YOU think it ended?” Stop being a lazy ass and write the ending, dammit. I don’t want a freaking college English class discussion on the meaning of the movie, I just want you to tell me a story. An ENTIRE story, not one that’s missing it’s final chapter.

5/10 Lockout (2010, Guy Pearce, Maggie Grace) – If I was a 14 year old straight boy I would have given this a 10/10. I think they were successful in making the movie they wanted to, but there was a lot of stupid stuff in this movie! The CGI was uber-fake at times, but I think maybe they wanted it to look like a video game however. But Guy Pearce looks buff and purdy in a roughed out way. And Maggie Grace reprises her young damsel in distress act from the “Taken” movies. Poor kid, you shoulda behaved on the set of Lost and kept that job.

5/10 Miracle of Morgan’s Creek (1944, Betty Hutton and Eddie Bracken, written and directed by Preston Sturgess) – This is one that I read about recently in Entertainment Weekly, they made it sound wondrously cheeky in its’ subversiveness. Meh…not so much. Watched almost the whole thing at double-time. Hutton was a peach in this one, though.

5/10 The Wind (1928, silent film with Lillian Gish) – I’ve only seen about three silent films in my life, and since this one included Lillian Gish, I thought I’d give it a go. It’s pretty decent considering when it was made. I watched almost the whole thing in double-double-time, so it only took about half an hour to watch. Lars Hanson was quite handsome in this!

[Rex]

6/10 Strangers On A Train (1951, Farley Granger, Robert Walker) – I would have rated this one higher, but it had one of the most stupid movie endings of all time!

Spoiler

The prime suspect in a murder is allowed to walk simply because the guy he says did it is holding that prime suspect’s lighter in his hand? Oh, he must be the murderer – the lighter is in his hand just like Mr. Prime Suspect said he would! Off you go, Prime Suspect, sorry we thought you were the murderer…

Another part of the movie is the somewhat campy nature of the evil guy. Yes Old Hollywood, we get it,

Spoiler

fags are bad…

Hitchock's homophobia is on great display in Rebecca as well. It is implied that Mrs. Danvers had a serious girlcrush on Rebecca. And that creepy scene with the second Mrs. DeWinter in Rebecca's old bedroom - WTF? That's why she had to be punished.

[falling_dance]

Hitchock's homophobia is on great display in Rebecca as well. It is implied that Mrs. Danvers had a serious girlcrush on Rebecca. And that creepy scene with the second Mrs. DeWinter in Rebecca's old bedroom - WTF? That's why she had to be punished.

In fairness to Hitchcock, the Daphne du Maurier novel gave one plenty to work with, as far as that went. You could argue that "Danny" won in the end, anyway, even in the film (though the author of the article I linked to doesn't go that far).

[Vash01]

I am reading the book 'The best exotic Marigold hotel' and really enjoying it. I had planned on seeing this movie but it lasted in a local theater just one week. Did anyone see the movie? I am curious to know if it was good, funny, and well acted? How faithful was it to the book (the last question is for those who read the book).

[emason]

PeterG: The Innocents is an adaptation of Henry James' The Turn of the Screw IIRC, and if I also remember correctly from when I had to read that in high school, The Turn of the Screw is somewhat ambiguous as to what really happened.

[PeterG]

PeterG: The Innocents is an adaptation of Henry James' The Turn of the Screw IIRC, and if I also remember correctly from when I had to read that in high school, The Turn of the Screw is somewhat ambiguous as to what really happened.

Take Shelter was another one I watched recently which had an amibiguous ending. Meek's Cutoff? Who know what happened? Then last night I watched Vanishing on 7th Street with my Mom. Now, my Mom hates swearing, but when it ended, she almost said, "what the f*** was THAT about???" I'm starting to think that screenwriters don't know how to end their movie, and the solution is to "allow the viewer to make their own choice". BULLCRAP. I was too old for the "Choose Your Own Adventure" books, but whoever read those books outgrew them and moved on to material which had a beginning, a middle and an end. Stop being so lazy and finish your work before you produce it!!!

[jl22aries]

I cannot wait to see Argo, Looper, The Master. The reviews coming in from TIFF are fantastic.

[jl22aries]

And Pitch Perfect. Rebel Wilson is AWESOME.

[smurfy]

I am reading the book 'The best exotic Marigold hotel' and really enjoying it. I had planned on seeing this movie but it lasted in a local theater just one week. Did anyone see the movie? I am curious to know if it was good, funny, and well acted? How faithful was it to the book (the last question is for those who read the book).

I saw the movie and loved it - rate it Very Good. I had not read the book. All the actors were great, as expected. Judi Dench is just amazing. I really enjoyed Tom Wilkinson as well and Dev Patel.
My brother, who lived in New Delhi for a few years about a decade ago did not like the movie as much as me. He said it was too clean (too Hollywood)!

I just saw Lawless. It is a well made, well acted movie - well crafted movie. But they needed subtitles - it was really hard in certain parts to know what was said. Also I had not read the book, nor did my buddy. With that and the hard to understand dialogue, we both felt we missed some of the story. It was more grittier to me than the previews. I probably will try to see again once it is on cable to catch more of it.

[Wyliefan]

PeterG: The Innocents is an adaptation of Henry James' The Turn of the Screw IIRC, and if I also remember correctly from when I had to read that in high school, The Turn of the Screw is somewhat ambiguous as to what really happened.

You're right. I tend to think

Spoiler

the ghosts were real

, but James really does leave it up in the air.

[PeterG]

I got The Definitive Tracy & Hepburn box set for my birthday.

I've been watching a lot of older movies thanks to TCM. But I have had to embrace the fact that I'm a child of my own generation and really do prefer movies that are coming out this millenium. So I've stopped looking at my TV Guide to see what movies are playing on the movie channels. Instead I'm going to focus on new titles from the library. That said, I saw Adam's Rib this last year and thought it was wonderful. And I just put a hold on Woman of the Year. Oops...so much for only watching new movies! Well, I guess an exception here and there is okay. (And I do have about 20 to 30 TCM movies on my DVR...)

I just can't see Daniel Day Lewis as a vampire killer.

So they're doing a sequel? Had no idea the first one did so well!

Saw Bourne Legacy. I thought it was well done. I wonder if they'll bring the Cross/Bourne characters together in future installments.

For those who've seen it, I have a question:

Spoiler

Why were they so intent on eliminating the Operation Outcome operatives, but not Larx--3? The latter were far more deadly, and there seemed to be no attempt to shut them down. Also, was the implication that Landy was basically sidelined in her quest to expose things? That's quite a rewriting of the Bourne series.

I haven't seen it, so can't help out. But I find the message boards at imdb.com. Usually I find out what I need to know about a movie when I have questions after seeing it. Well, except for The Vanishing On 7th Street...maybe the answers for that one were there, but I gave up!! Anyway, here's a link to The Bourne Legacy's message board

[Nell411]

I've been watching a lot of older movies thanks to TCM. But I have had to embrace the fact that I'm a child of my own generation and really do prefer movies that are coming out this millenium. So I've stopped looking at my TV Guide to see what movies are playing on the movie channels. Instead I'm going to focus on new titles from the library. That said, I saw Adam's Rib this last year and thought it was wonderful. And I just put a hold on Woman of the Year. Oops...so much for only watching new movies! Well, I guess an exception here and there is okay. (And I do have about 20 to 30 TCM movies on my DVR...)

I watch a lot of new movies as well. But my parents raised me watching the movies they grew up with so I always get the most excited about the classics. Especially when I find a movie with one of my favourites that I haven't seen yet.

I'm watching The Lion in Winter(1968). It's one of my favourite movies. And I was wondering if anyone on here has seen the TV movie remake with Glenn Close and Patrick Stewart from 2003? I was curious about it but never got around to renting it before Blockbuster closed.

[Vash01]

I saw the movie and loved it - rate it Very Good. I had not read the book. All the actors were great, as expected. Judi Dench is just amazing. I really enjoyed Tom Wilkinson as well and Dev Patel.
My brother, who lived in New Delhi for a few years about a decade ago did not like the movie as much as me. He said it was too clean (too Hollywood)!

.

I suspect they made many changes to make it like a movie. The book moves slowly, but the humor is great, so it never gets boring. If only my DVD player was not having problems, I would have rented it long ago.

[Wyliefan]

I'm watching The Lion in Winter(1968). It's one of my favourite movies. And I was wondering if anyone on here has seen the TV movie remake with Glenn Close and Patrick Stewart from 2003? I was curious about it but never got around to renting it before Blockbuster closed.

I LOVE that movie. Haven't seen the remake, but I can't imagine that Glenn and Patrick could do it any better than Kate and Peter.

"What family doesn't have its little ups and downs?"

[Artemis@BC]

I suspect they made many changes to make it like a movie. The book moves slowly, but the humor is great, so it never gets boring. If only my DVD player was not having problems, I would have rented it long ago.

It (Best Exotic) is not actually out on DVD until later this month - Sept 18 to be precise.

I haven't read the book but have read others by the same author. I thought they were only meh, and hadn't planned on reading any more by her. But since I enjoyed the movie so much, I probably will read the book at some point.

BTW I found the movie predictable and formulaic ... but didn't care one bit because I was having so much fun with the characters. So many of my favourite actors on screen at once, I just let it carry me along.

[Artemis@BC]

It's Fringe Festival time here in Vancouver so I've been doing the live thing ... but still managed to get in one movie over the weekend: Ratcatcher. It had been on my to-see list for a while (came out in 1999!) but was bumped up the list when I saw We Need to Talk About Kevin a couple of months ago, by the same director (Lynne Ramsay).

Anyway, Ratcatcher is sort of social realism about living in the tenements of Glasgow, told from the dreamy point of view of a 12-year-old boy. It's more slice of life than plot driven, and very, very powerful.

The one thing that bugged me, though, was the subtitles. I can understand putting in subtitles when the dialogue is so heavily accented, the Glaswegian accent is hard to parse and I'm sure a lot of viewers would have a hard time understanding much of the dialogue. However they "translated" rather than "transcribed"! When a character says "Right, that's me done," the subtitles said "All right, that's the end of the line for me." When a character says "Where's me fags?" the subtitles say "Where are my cigarettes." They even translated "wee" to "little" throughout.

Maybe that happens all the time with French and German and Spanish etc. subtitles, and I'm just not fluent in those languages to be able to tell. But I still found it really annoying, and unnecessary.

[galaxygirl]

Sometimes there is more than one English translation on the disc. I watched The Secret World of Arietty not too long ago. It was originally a Japanese (animated) movie but the dialogue was redone in English for the American release. There were two English subtitle tracks. One was I'm guessing was a translation of the Japanese and the other was a literal transcription of the English dialogue.

For the subtitles on non-English movies, I'm sure they're paraphrases of a literal translation because literal translations usually aren't going to make sense or, at the very least, will sound 'foreign'.

[Artemis@BC]

Sometimes there is more than one English translation on the disc. I watched The Secret World of Arietty not too long ago. It was originally a Japanese (animated) movie but the dialogue was redone in English for the American release. There were two English subtitle tracks. One was I'm guessing was a translation of the Japanese and the other was a literal transcription of the English dialogue.

For the subtitles on non-English movies, I'm sure they're paraphrases of a literal translation because literal translations usually aren't going to make sense or, at the very least, will sound 'foreign'.

Well sure, when it is actually a translation, you expect it to be logical syntax. (Literal translation of Japanese into English would be pretty funny actually!)

But in the movie I was referencing, they are talking English, it's just full of local idioms. Like I say, I can understand the subtitles since many people don't have the ear for the accent. I've seen English subtitles in English films before, for heavy Geordie accents, Cockney, etc. But changing the actual dialogue is not only unnecessary in my view, but also insulting. Not to mention changing the flavour of the film. They might as well have dubbed the voices with posh English accents.

It was particularly annoying because there was no way to turn the subtitles off -- they were imbedded in the video, not optional.

[galaxygirl]

I was responding to the part where you said 'Maybe that happens all the time in French and German... '. I thought you were referring to English subtitles of those languages.

[agalisgv]

Subtitles are almost always paraphrases of the dialogue. One reason is usually the dialogue is more than can be comfortably read in the time allowable, so it's cut down and simplified to communicate what's necessary.