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| Syd |
 Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2012 1:21 am |
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Site Admin
Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 12929
Location: Norman, Oklahoma
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Marc, you worry too much. Speaking of which, we're getting films that are tailored to an Oklahoma audience. I liked Cowgirls 'N' Angels, the one about the 12-year old who became a trick rider for the rodeo (the 21st century version of Toby Tyler). I'm kind of avoiding Thunderstruck, in which a high school talent switched talents with Kevin Durant, but who knows? This is what James Belushi is doing these days. (I'm more more interested in what James Cromwell, Bailee Madison and Alicia Witt are up to these days.)
My philosophy is that if I see a film, I'll review it at any length I please. If it's obscure, so what. Someone will pop up in a couple of years asking why nobody has mentioned the film, and I'll embarrass them by linking to my review of the film. It may take a while before somebody comes across "The Finances of the Grand Duke," but who knows? I'm surely not the only one who's an F. W. Murnau obsessive. And somebody here may come acrossCowgirls N Angels, think "hey, that sounds familiar somehow," pop it into the DVD player and have a good time. |
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Rocky Laocoon foretold of Troy's doom, only to find snaky water. They pulled him in and Rocky can't swim. Now Rocky wishes he were an otter! |
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| gromit |
| Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2012 9:25 am |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 9016
Location: Shanghai
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Joe Vitus wrote:
The only thing I couldn't stand is Bob Balaban too cute and twee and sentimental by far, dressed like a garden gnome, usually stuck at the bottom of the frame, and narrating in a monotone the events of the movie.
Bob Balaban??
Where was he when I was writing my epic poem on the Taliban? **
The one time where he worked well was when he was videoing his meteorological readings on the edge of the island and when he clicks off the lighting we see the canoes of the troop moving in the background. I liked that. And his videoing made his presence and narrating more natural.
grace wrote:
The hubby thought MK had a Coen brothers feel in some spots - I think the home for boys was one.
I had the same feeling at times.
I think it also had to do with the dry dead-pan rapid fire delivery of lines. Bruce Willis' character could be a Coen creation.
I also thought Tilda Seemed seemed like she came straight out of Brasil -- costume and mannerisms.
** They just caught a ruthless Zeta drug leader in Mexico who was nicknamed El Taliban. This made me laugh. I was sure he didn't refrain from alcohol or dancing or any of that austere religious stuff. Probably couldn't be further from the Taliban, except maybe in ruthlessness, which is probably why he had the nickname. But then I started thinking maybe his heroin was coming from Afghanistan ... |
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Killing your enemies, if it's done badly, increases their number. |
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| bartist |
| Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2012 12:27 pm |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Posts: 6961
Location: Black Hills
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I liked the Balaban gnome. Nice parallels to Brazil and the Coens. Will see again, I'm sure.
Thanks for "Looper" comments, Syd. Heard an interview on NPR about "Looper" - sounds like the film invites you not to tie your neurons into pretzels over the time travel paradoxes, and just enjoy the ride. I know I'll look for holes and wrack my brain, anyway. That's what happens in every timeline I live in, dangit. |
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He was wise beyond his years, but only by a few days. |
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| Syd |
| Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2012 10:09 pm |
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Site Admin
Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 12929
Location: Norman, Oklahoma
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| Hotel Transylvania is pretty much for preadolescents, but I think they'll be entertained. For me it was often amusing, with some laughs, with the message being that at some point you have to let the kids venture out into the real world and make their own mistakes. If you must see an animated film with monsters, you're much better off with ParaNorman. |
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Rocky Laocoon foretold of Troy's doom, only to find snaky water. They pulled him in and Rocky can't swim. Now Rocky wishes he were an otter! |
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| Syd |
| Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2012 10:38 pm |
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Site Admin
Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 12929
Location: Norman, Oklahoma
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Trouble with the Curve has Clint Eastwood as, Gus, an 80ish scout (he actually looks older) who is sent to evaluate the next Albert Pujols to see if the latter should be Atlanta's first round draft pick. The scout is losing his eyesight due to macular degeneration, which leads to numerous scenes of Gus banging into things, tripping, and being a traffic hazard. Amy Adams is his baseball-savvy daughter Mickey (after Mickey Mantle) who is alienated from him because of what she perceives as abandonment in her youth. She is about to make partner in her law firm, but takes a few days off due to concern for her father. Justin Timberlake plays the scout for the Red Sox, who have the overall first pick, while Atlanta is second. He's a former baseball pitcher who Eastwood signed for the Braves, but was later traded to the Red Sox, who blew his arm out through overwork. He's still friendly to Gus and says wow when he meets Mickey.
And what follows is lazy and predictable screenwriting, with the old codger and his beautiful daughter beating the oily sabermetrician (Matthew Lillard) because Moneyball can never replace old-fashioned scouting. The movie does show the problem with a purely sabermetric approach, since it can't pick up the prospect's fatal flaw (one guess what it is), but really, a good team will use both.
Eastwood's better than his role, but it's still just an okay performance. Amy Adams and Justin Timberlake fare better, even if their budding romance is more of the friendly kind than the passionate.
It's too bad Eastwood didn't direct this, because then he might have given this some bite it sorely needs. |
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Rocky Laocoon foretold of Troy's doom, only to find snaky water. They pulled him in and Rocky can't swim. Now Rocky wishes he were an otter! |
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| bartist |
| Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2012 9:05 am |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Posts: 6961
Location: Black Hills
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| I wonder if many people assumed that Eastwood was directing this. I did. Thanks for the words of warning. |
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He was wise beyond his years, but only by a few days. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2012 9:46 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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bartist wrote: I wonder if many people assumed that Eastwood was directing this. I did. Thanks for the words of warning.
The fact that Eastwood did not direct it actually makes it more appealing to me. But that doesn't mean I'll see it, just that I'm a real non-fan of Eastwood the director (or the actor either, but that's not the issue here). |
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| gromit |
| Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2012 9:56 am |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 9016
Location: Shanghai
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A bunch of stuff on Dvd that I'm just not interested enough in..
Cabin in the Woods and Avengers just aren't my kind of thing. While Yemeni Salmon Fishing and Exotic Marigold Hotels just seem like something to watch with your Mom. |
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Killing your enemies, if it's done badly, increases their number. |
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| carrobin |
| Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2012 9:58 am |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 7795
Location: NYC
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| "Cabin," "Avengers," and "Salmon" are all movies I still want to see, but I did see "Marigold Hotel"--with my mom and sister. But we all loved it. (My Indian friend Chitra loved it, but her husband didn't. He gets uneasy when India's less appealing sides are shown, and she tells me the film was pretty accurate.) |
Last edited by carrobin on Fri Oct 05, 2012 10:01 am; edited 1 time in total |
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| bartist |
| Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2012 10:00 am |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Posts: 6961
Location: Black Hills
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You're posting about the films that you won't be watching? Have you ever lived in Winnipeg, by any chance?
(EDIT: responding to Gromit's post, which doesn't seem to be below the text box, when you use the Edit function, so I can't cut/paste it right now....) |
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He was wise beyond his years, but only by a few days. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2012 10:21 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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bartist wrote: You're posting about the films that you won't be watching? Have you ever lived in Winnipeg, by any chance?
(EDIT: responding to Gromit's post, which doesn't seem to be below the text box, when you use the Edit function, so I can't cut/paste it right now....)
Use the QUOTE function. |
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| bartist |
| Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2012 10:31 am |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Posts: 6961
Location: Black Hills
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| You can't use the quote function on your own post without creating another posting. If you don't want to do that, then you just have to remember to cut the quote you want BEFORE clicking the EDIT button and being taken to the EDIT window. I was too lazy to do that, hence the confusing and convoluted explanatory note. Which then gave a lethal injection to my Winnipeg wisecrack. |
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He was wise beyond his years, but only by a few days. |
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| Befade |
| Posted: Mon Oct 08, 2012 2:29 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 3784
Location: AZ
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I saw The Master yesterday...........what an intense experience. Joaquin Phoenix is magnetic.......his face, his posture, his expressions........I can't take my eyes off him........he seems alot thinner. That's not to say I enjoyed the movie.
It was a disturbing experience. I have to read reviews to get a better grasp of what PT Anderson was striving for. But it was obvious......Freddie was not going to recover from whatever his problem was......beside alcoholism. He was going to remain a hopeless case.......that was the overriding depression of the film. The Master was some sort of circus performer who needed a compliant sidekick........unfortunately he couldn't control the attachment. I know Scientology is supposed to have inspired "The Cause" but did you notice Master mentioning the "secret"? That's the book that linked up with James Ray and his Sedona "sweat lodge" tragedy.
There was a coldness to the settings........it seemed to be taking place in a past that was not nostalgic or welcoming. |
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Lost in my own private I dunno. |
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Mon Oct 08, 2012 6:27 pm |
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"I have to read reviews to get a better grasp of what PT Anderson was striving for."
Betsy, I don't think you will have any answers from the critics. The reviews I read all said that it was very well acted. Some said that they liked it and that the movie wants you to think about what the movie means and the other critics disliked it and said that the movie wanted them to fill in the blanks, with Marc being one of them. Without seeing the film, I agree with the 'disliked' critiques.
That's how I read them, anyway. |
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| Ghulam |
| Posted: Mon Oct 08, 2012 8:18 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 4742
Location: Upstate NY
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Beasts of the Southern Wild is an uplifting and delightful movie. The little girl in a Louisiana bayou is full of life, an archetypal survivor. It won big at Sundance and Cannes, and fully deserved it.
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