Let's Talk Movies! #22 : Steve Jobs, Some Trekkies, An Ozzy...and IRON MAN!!!

[PeterG]

Just finished watching Morning Glory (Rachel McAdams, Harrison Ford, Diane Keaton and Patrick Wilson). I was pleasantly surprised! Just the right amount of comedy, bite and romance. Good script and wonderful performances. I'm ready for Rachel McAdams to make a comeback on the big screen.

This thread inspires me to get my BluRay player up and running. Things have been so hectic lately that it is very low on my priority list until April 2nd week.

Check back with us once you get things set up. I know very little about BluRay and for some reason I just see it solely as a cash-grab by the entertainment industry. Says the guy who watches his movie on TV that is more than one foot deep... (flat screen what??)

I agree about Olsen, she's definitely one to watch. I saw her in another movie recently, Liberal Arts. The movie was only mildly good (I'd probably give it about a 6.5 or 7), but Olsen's performance was definitely a highlight. Aside from the fact that she obviously has far more talent than her infamous sisters combined, I'm assuming she's also been able to learn some what-not-to-do showbiz lessons from them!

I actually thought Mary-Kate was great in Beastly. She definitely has talent as an actress, but doesn't seem to be interested in being in front of the camera much. As for Liberal Arts, that one didn't make it onto my To See list. I have to admit the main draw to it was that I'm finding Josh Radnor becoming more attractive with each project he does...

Saw a documentary on Netflix recently by film maker Warner Herzog titled "Happy People: A year in the Taiga". A cameraman followed the inhabitants of a rural Russian village who mostly hunt for a living and is almost cut off from the rest of their country. A very interesting and poignant documentary about what it really is like to "live of the land".

I always like to check out what other people review in this thread. So I found a trailer for this movie at youtube. The trailer looks kind of boring.... I am going to housesit for some people soon and they have netflix online subscription, so maybe I'll check this one out if I can find it there.

[DAngel]

If this has been discussed and I missed it I apologize but has anyone seen this Sean Penn film: http://youtu.be/kplFGDHuYy4 ? He looks ok as a goth.

[PeterG]

Some recent viewings:

Welcome (2009, France). From imdb.com: "Bilal is 17 years old, a Kurdish boy from Iraq. He sets off on an adventure-filled journey across Europe. He wants to get to England to see his love who lives there. Bilal finally reaches Calais, but how do you cover 32 kilometers of the English Channel when you can't swim?"

I give this one a 100% thumbs up. Thoroughly engaging and tells us a story unlike one I've ever seen before. Great performances with characters you wish you had in your life.

Gone (Amanda Seyfried). This is one of those movies that I've wanted to see ever since it came out, so my expectations have increased with the wait. Usually these means I'm let done, but that did not happen. I really like this. Unfortunately, this movie is taking quite the beating at the imdb.com message boards. But I liked the pacing, the script, the performers and there were enough plot twists that I didn't see coming which makes me confidently say, "two thumbs up"!!

End of Watch (Jake Gyllenhaal). Okay, I wasn't expecting to like this one. Looked like it could be a "celebration of violence" movie which I can't handle. It wasn't even on my To See list, but I found it on the shelf at the library and decided to give it a shot. It surprised me, another one I'm recommending. I liked the performances of everybody in it, including Michael Pena, Anna Kendrick. I think I'm starting to become an Anna Kendrick uber. And pay attention or it might not click that yes, that IS America Ferrera.

I believe it is and you should also check out The Imposter. A documentary about a con man who pretended to be a missing 13 year old boy 3 years after he disappeared, despite the fact he looked nothing like the missing child. The con man was even accepted by the missing child's family.

You saw this one, Buzz? It's definitely on my list.

[Buzz]

Yep! It is on Netflix somewhere. A truly bizarre and sad case.

[Nell411]

Just finished watching Morning Glory (Rachel McAdams, Harrison Ford, Diane Keaton and Patrick Wilson). I was pleasantly surprised! Just the right amount of comedy, bite and romance. Good script and wonderful performances. I'm ready for Rachel McAdams to make a comeback on the big screen.

I don't think Rachel McAdams ever really left the big screen. She's just been getting more supporting roles in big movies, such as Midnight in Paris or Sherlock Holmes, or doing smaller movies. She had a couple of box office duds, I think including Morning Glory, so I think that affected a lot of the parts she's been getting.

Some recent viewings:

[URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t40ANH4Pe14"]End of Watch (Jake Gyllenhaal). Okay, I wasn't expecting to like this one. Looked like it could be a "celebration of violence" movie which I can't handle. It wasn't even on my To See list, but I found it on the shelf at the library and decided to give it a shot. It surprised me, another one I'm recommending. I liked the performances of everybody in it, including Michael Pena, Anna Kendrick. I think I'm starting to become an Anna Kendrick uber. And pay attention or it might not click that yes, that IS America Ferrera.

I love Anna Kendrick and I do think End of Watch looks interesting even though I understand she isn't in it a lot. I just have so many movies I need to see and End of Watch isn't super high on my list of priorities at the moment.


Is anyone going to see Admission? I would like to see it but I think the next one on my list is The Incredible Burt Wonderstone. I managed to win free movies for a year to the theatre in town that is showing it, so I figured I would check it out. Admission is unfortunately showing at the Cineplex and they never do contests like that.

[PeterG]

Is Amadeus worth watching? I recently saw Topsy Turvy and it was a struggle to get through. I thought the staged selections of The Mikado were better than the movie itself. I ended up watching most of the movie at double-time with the subtitles on. I just felt it was one that I "should" see. Now I'm going through my To See list and Amadeus sounds like it might be the same for me. Just watched the youtube trailer and I'm feeling kind of about it. I know Amadeus won some Academy Awards, but will it be one I struggle through like Topsy Turvy?

Is anyone going to see Admission? I would like to see it but I think the next one on my list is The Incredible Burt Wonderstone.

I want to see both, but I'll probably wait to get them for free from the library.

[Nell411]

I want to see both, but I'll probably wait to get them for free from the library.

I remain continually jealous of your library system. Why can't mine be cool like yours is? And I would wait until Burt Wonderstone hit Netflix or something normally. I just scored with the year long pass so I figured I should use it for as many movies as I can.

[michiruwater]

Is Amadeus worth watching? I recently saw Topsy Turvy and it was a struggle to get through. I thought the staged selections of The Mikado were better than the movie itself. I ended up watching most of the movie at double-time with the subtitles on. I just felt it was one that I "should" see. Now I'm going through my To See list and Amadeus sounds like it might be the same for me. Just watched the youtube trailer and I'm feeling kind of about it. I know Amadeus won some Academy Awards, but will it be one I struggle through like Topsy Turvy?

Amadeus actually won eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Actor. I haven't seen Topsy Turvy, but Amadeus is, IMO, one of the greatest films ever made. Abraham and Hulce are amazing in it, and it's wonderful hilarious and dramatic in turns. For a fairly long movie I watch it pretty frequently. Mozart is possibly the greatest musician in history, and watching his crazy, fcuked-up life is endlessly fascinating, even with the dramatic license taken. And even though it's not true, the writing of Salieri and his jealously is amazing. Maybe you won't like it, but it's definitely a movie I would recommend to everyone to watch at least once.

[Artemis@BC]

Is Amadeus worth watching? I recently saw Topsy Turvy and it was a struggle to get through. I thought the staged selections of The Mikado were better than the movie itself. I ended up watching most of the movie at double-time with the subtitles on. I just felt it was one that I "should" see. Now I'm going through my To See list and Amadeus sounds like it might be the same for me. Just watched the youtube trailer and I'm feeling kind of about it. I know Amadeus won some Academy Awards, but will it be one I struggle through like Topsy Turvy?

I loved both movies, but I think Amadeus has more universal appeal than Topsy Turvy. Topsy Turvy is not a standard biopic, it's very, very Mike Leigh. Aside from being a Gilbert & Sullivan über, I also happen to love his style, how he shows the darker underside to the everyday (or, in this case, the less than everyday). But I readily acknowledge he's not for everyone.

Amadeus, oth, is pretty hard to find fault with. It's amazing on so many levels, from the writing to the acting to the visuals (tho the latter may be just a tad faded now). I can't imagine anyone struggling with it.

[Cheylana]

Is Amadeus worth watching?

Is the Pope Catholic?

In other words...YES!!!!!!! One of my very favorite-est movies EVAH!
The music...the costumes...the fine acting...the storyline...the quotable quotes:

"Funny little tune, but it yielded good things."
"That was God laughing at me through that obscene giggle"
"The Italians -- always the Italians!"
"I speak for all mediocrities in the world. I am their champion. I am their patron saint."
"Too many notes."
I could go on.

[Vash01]

Amadeus actually won eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Actor. I haven't seen Topsy Turvy, but Amadeus is, IMO, one of the greatest films ever made. Abraham and Hulce are amazing in it, and it's wonderful hilarious and dramatic in turns. For a fairly long movie I watch it pretty frequently. Mozart is possibly the greatest musician in history, and watching his crazy, fcuked-up life is endlessly fascinating, even with the dramatic license taken. And even though it's not true, the writing of Salieri and his jealously is amazing. Maybe you won't like it, but it's definitely a movie I would recommend to everyone to watch at least once.

I must admit that I had not expected Amadeus to clean out the major Oscars that year. I was rooting for 'A passage to India' because I had seen that movie, and I had not seen 'Amadeus'. After the Oscars I did see Amadeus and had to admit that it was a really good movie and probably deserved all those awards.

[michiruwater]

"And there are simply too many notes, that's all. Just cut a few and it will be perfect."
"Which few did you have in mind, Majesty?"

Salieri: You know you didn't even give them a good *bang* at the end of songs, to let them know when to clap?
Mozart, totally genuinely: I know, I know... maybe you should give me some lessons in that.
Salieri:

[michiruwater]

I must admit that I had not expected Amadeus to clean out the major Oscars that year. I was rooting for 'A passage to India' because I had seen that movie, and I had not seen 'Amadeus'. After the Oscars I did see Amadeus and had to admit that it was a really good movie and probably deserved all those awards.

I wasn't born yet So I have no opinion except that Amadeus is wonderful. I haven't seen A Passage to India, actually.

[Cheylana]

Salieri: You know you didn't even give them a good *bang* at the end of songs, to let them know when to clap?
Mozart, totally genuinely: I know, I know... maybe you should give me some lessons in that.
Salieri:

[Buzz]

M. Night Shyamalan has raised the possibility of a sequel to The Last Airbender. I liked this movie and hope he does make a part 2 soon.

[PeterG]

Okay...it's a YES then for Amadeus! It's one of those movies that I think I've seen already, but can't remember. And it seems like the kind of movie one SHOULD see. I had forgotten it won so many Oscars!! What's interesting is that when I checked my local library, I saw that they have two copies and twelve holds. One copy has a MISSING status and the other has a BILLED status. I'll have to let them know they need to order more copies.

I just finished watching Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. I LOVED IT!!! I seem to remember it not being appreciated, so I thought maybe it wouldn't be very good. According to the-numbers.com, it barely made back it's budget, and probably lost money with advertising costs. So I was surprised to enjoy it so much. Definitely a box of Kleenex kind of movie. I loved all the performances and think that Thomas Horn in the lead role was a defininte catch. He didn't seem to get any recognition from any awards show/critic's associations. Makes me more interested in seeing Beasts of the Southern Wild to see how Quvenzhané Wallis compares. But boy, is young Thomas taking a beating at the imdb message boards. Sometimes the people there are horrendous.

I remain continually jealous of your library system. Why can't mine be cool like yours is?

I do have a good library system. It is very large (20+ branches) and it covers HUNDREDS of miles in it's area. But I do live within one hour of TEN other library systems. Earlier this year, I looked through my list of items that I could only find at some of these other library system and basically made a day of driving around to them to pick up a whole bunch of various things I had wanted for a year or two. Luckily I don't have to do that very often as I often pick up stuff when I'm at a random event in one of those cities.

[michiruwater]

M. Night Shyamalan has raised the possibility of a sequel to The Last Airbender. I liked this movie and hope he does make a part 2 soon.

They'd let him make a sequel after the first one bombed and was universally considered to be the worst movie of that year?... That would shock me.

[Vash01]

I saw 'The call' today. It was a crime thriller- not my favorite genre, but three fourth of the way it was interesting.

SPOILERS ahead..........................

SPOILERS ahead..........................

It really got off track when the main character drove to rescue the kidnapped girl, and it went downhill from there. It got more gruesome, and the end line which was supposed to be funny did not sound all that funny to me. I would have preferred to see the police do their job much faster, so I would not have had to sit through this.

[Vash01]

Saw only the last 15 minutes of 'Dial M for Murder' on TV after I got home. Grace Kelly seems like a phenomenal actress, and so beautiful too. I hope to see the whole movie one of these days. When compared with today's movies, the lack of violence made the movie more interesting to me. I hope to see more Hitchcock movies, once I am back on Netflix. I have seen only 'Psycho' and 'Birds', 'Vertigo', and I don't remember anything from them, except for some scenes from Psycho (I think they have been shown on TV over and over).

[michiruwater]

Read Window is amazing, and Ms. Kelly's in that one as well. I'd check that one out, Vash.

Do you know how to use actual spoiler tags?...