Let's Talk Movies! #21...Oscar Bait, Christmas Movies, "Bad" Movies You Loved......)

[Artemis@BC]

Haven't seen it but it's uber high on my list. Nicolas Hoult is SO HOT.

I can't think of him as "hot" because I still think of him as that precocious child in About a Boy.

[PeterG]

Smaller movies coming out this week are below. I've added "No" to my To See list, and possibly "Saving Lincoln", depending on future reviews from some of you.

February 15 No (Chilean drama with Gael García Bernal. From imdb.com: “An ad executive comes up with a campaign to defeat Augusto Pinochet in Chile's 1988 referendum.”)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHugqIEzq1k

February 15 Saving Lincoln (Biographical drama with Bruce Davison and Penelope Ann Miller. From imdb.com: “The true story of Abraham Lincoln and his bodyguard, U.S. Marshal Ward Hill Lamon. This unique film features sets created from actual Civil War photographs.”)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0LqZVIFMYg

February 15 The Bitter Buddha (Comedy documentary about Eddie Pepitone with Zach Galifianakis, Patton Oswalt and Sarah Silverman)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaU5GiAm1ws

[Mozart]

anyone see Side Effects? Is it any good?

[Vash01]

anyone see Side Effects? Is it any good?

I plan to see it this weekend. It sounds interesting.

[Sofia Alexandra]

I finally got to see Wreck-It Ralph. I liked it. Not as much as Rise of the Guardians, but still, I'll buy the dvd. I would've liked a few more visits to other games, especially the darker, more action-y ones, as the Candyland was a bit overly saccharine for my liking (and I like My Little Ponies!), but hey, I'm not exactly the main target audience for a film like this. And whaddaya know, turns out there actually is an appropriate use for dubstep "music" somewhere in this world.

And you know what else I liked?

Spoiler

In the end, when it's revealed that Vanellope is actually the princess (why not queen?) of Sugar Rush. I rolled my eyes and thought "Great, another Disney Princess™" - but then she said she'd rather be a constitutional president AND a racing driver with super powers, and I was like "Hell yes!" Disney, you're making progress!

[PeterG]

I'm finally getting caught up on some old movies on my DVR:

Pride of the Yankees (Gary Cooper, Babe Ruth, Walter Brennan). I think I had seen this before, but thought, "what the heck, I'll watch it again". It was worth a second viewing. I thought Babe Ruth (as himself ) had a very natural screen presence. So often it seems that non-actors who play themselves come across fairly wooden. But he never made another movie. Maybe he wasn't interested in acting and only did this movie out of respect for Lou Gehrig? if so!

I Saw What You Did (1965, Joan Crawford). I think this is one of those movies my sisters watched on TV and talked about, so it's one I remember hearing about, yet never saw. Pretty silly, but an okay way to spend an afternoon when the weather is crap!

The Great Escape (1963, Steve McQueen, James Garner….). Hmm. Another one that had been on my list of movies to see for a long time. It's considered a classic, right? Gosh it is LONG!!! I should check out the editor at imdb.com and see if he ever worked again after this! Took a long time (1.5 hours, the half-way point) for something to happen. I liked the brotherhood aspect of the film and how men were willing to sacrifice themselves for others. But I'm not sure about that "classic" status....

Cleopatra (1934, Claudette Colbert). My first Claudette Colbert movie! Wow, she was something. Beautiful and alluring. I will have to catch more of her movies eventually. Any recommendations?

Anna Karenina (1935, Greta Garbo, Fredric March, Maureen O’Sullivan, Basil Rathbone and Freddie Bartholomew). Another first, I don't think I had seen a Garbo movie before. My gosh, she was stunning. She makes Angelina Jolie look plain! I thought this one was decent, but it's tough for me to get into movies that make heroes out of adulterers. Honestly, if you want out of a bad relationship, just leave!! How many centuries will it take for humans to figure this out? The ending was pretty over-the-top, but the acting was good and it was beautifully filmed.

Fido (Carrie-Anne Moss and Billy Connolly). Not bad. Just not great, either. This one probably would have made a better short film, maybe coupled with one or two other short films like Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez did a few years back.

[emason]

PeterG: Steve McQueen plus motorcycle equals classic. What more do you need?

Disclaimer: I love this movie; it's on my list of all-time faves.

[VIETgrlTerifa]

For all you movie buffs, Hulu is having a President's Day showcase of all the films in the Criterion Collection. If you have any free time this weekend, I'd definitely take advantage to see watch some of these titles. It's a great way to watch Truffaut, Oshima, Kobayashi, Cassavettes, Bergman, and other auteurs's films.

[Mozart]

I really liked Side Effects. It turned out to be different than I expected it to be.

[Grannyfan]

Cleopatra (1934, Claudette Colbert). My first Claudette Colbert movie! Wow, she was something. Beautiful and alluring. I will have to catch more of her movies eventually. Any recommendations?

Two must-see Claudette Colbert movies, both comedies:
It Happened One Night with Clark Gable
Palm Beach Story with Joel McCrea, Rudy Vallee and Mary Astor. I plug this movie every chance I get.

Another of her movies that I enjoy is Since You've Been Away, a kind of corny WWII weepie.

[PeterG]

I just finished watching a movie that I just loved, loved, loved! Dare starring Emmy Rossum, Zach Gilford, Rooney Mara, Alan Cumming, Sandra Bernhard and Ana Gasteyer. Wonderful, wonderful script, the type that keeps me from writing anything of my own! Everything about the movie was great, so original and unlike anything I can remember seeing. 100% recommended.

I can't think of him as "hot" because I still think of him as that precocious child in About a Boy.

That's what I was thinking. "Has he completed puberty yet??" Although I do remember seeing him in "A Single Man" and not realizing until later that this was the same person in "About A Boy".

Please, please, please try and find a DVD/video of the Broadway cast of "Sweeney Todd" and see what true brilliance is.

I have found local libraries that carry a BBC version and one with Angela Lansbury. Is there an additional version with Patti Lupone? I love her, so that one would be at the top of my list, but no local libraries seem to carry it...

As for "Shame," having dated a true sex addict, I found the story to be about as over-simplified and sanitized as could possibly be...

Well, the movie barely made any money, I can't imagine it would have made anything if they made it more gritter and depressing. Although maybe it would have been given an "X" rating and would rent well as porn??

[Wyliefan]

I'm glad to hear Emmy Rossum was in something good, because Beautiful Creatures sucked. She and Jeremy Irons were pretty much the only good things about it.

[smurfy]

I attended the Best Picture Showcase at AMC Theatre today - saw 4 of the best pic non, with the other 5 next week
Les Miz - I so agree w all the comments about the close ups. What could have been a classic movie is now just very good. Jackman was wonderful - to me pretty equal wi DDL. Never have been a Hathaway fan and still not. Amanda Seyfried was much better than I expected, enjoyed Eddie Redmayne and at times thought Russel Crowe was better than expected (and my expectations were pretty low)
Django- omg, was so entertained, Tarantino reallky has somes screws loose, but fun!
Argo- had already seen and was equally great on Second viewing
amour- unfortunately had to miss the first 45 Mins, but the acting was amazing

[jl22aries]

That's what I was thinking. "Has he completed puberty yet??" Although I do remember seeing him in "A Single Man" and not realizing until later that this was the same person in "About A Boy".

No matter, he was adorable in About a Boy. Cmon right?! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yAgCXKxAMY

But he's all growed up and FREAKING HOT, I tell ya.

[Artemis@BC]

Saw Quartet yesterday (took my mom for her birthday. I was the youngest one there. by far.) The plot was completely predictable ... but it doesn't matter in the slightest, seeing all those great actors plaing off each other is still an absolute delight. I was reminded once again of how much I love Tom Courtenay -- he has such an expressive face, he can say so much without saying a word. Maggie Smith is her usual amazing self, and Pauline Collins is great too. Billy Connolly ... well I have a hard time of thinking of him as old, I just saw him do a live standup show a few months ago and he hadn't aged a bit. His comedy might have been slightly ott, but it was a nice "we may be old but we're not dead" layer to the dynamic.

And can I say that when it's time I want to live somewhere like a home for retired musicians? Heaven.

[Wyliefan]

And can I say that when it's time I want to live somewhere like a home for retired musicians? Heaven.

So do I! Loved that movie.

[peibeck]

I saw "Side Effects" yesterday, and it was very much an an old Hitchcock thriller with modern day elements.

I wanted to like the movie more, but I somehow was not particularly empathetic to Jude Law's character. Whether that was an issue with the script, or maybe just thinking maybe he was miscast, I'm not sure.

I really like Rooney Mara, but after this and "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" hope she finds a different type of character to play.

[PeterG]

I found a movie I really liked at the library, just plucked it off the shelf. "How I Ended This Summer" (a Russian film). Here's the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45_2ZZlbirY The comments at the imdb.com message boards make me think that I saw a different movie than most posters there. I really liked this movie as both a psychological drama as well as a thriller. Plus the younger actor has the most beautiful face... I discovered that he grew up as a ballet dancer. He makes one fine actor as well!

PeterG: Steve McQueen plus motorcycle equals classic. What more do you need?

I get the cool factor, but thinking back to that scene...didn't he basically just drive his bike into that barber wire fence? If I'm remembering correctly he could have done something else, but just chose a bad move that ended the chase...

Two must-see Claudette Colbert movies, both comedies:
It Happened One Night with Clark Gable
Palm Beach Story with Joel McCrea, Rudy Vallee and Mary Astor. I plug this movie every chance I get.

Another of her movies that I enjoy is Since You've Been Away, a kind of corny WWII weepie.

Thanks! These are all available at different libraries around me. It seems strange that I haven't seen "It Happened One Night" yet!

[Rex]

I saw Silver Linings Playbook today. Surprised at how good Bradley Cooper was in this. The ending was a little too pat for me, but the entire cast rocked.

[olympic]

I saw "Side Effects" yesterday, and it was very much an an old Hitchcock thriller with modern day elements.

I wanted to like the movie more, but I somehow was not particularly empathetic to Jude Law's character. Whether that was an issue with the script, or maybe just thinking maybe he was miscast, I'm not sure.

I really like Rooney Mara, but after this and "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" hope she finds a different type of character to play.

I just saw 'Side Effect' on Saturday and felt the same way you did. Rooney Mara's acting was great, but I also thought something was missing from the movie. The ending was a little too neat and tidy for me.