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| bartist |
 Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2014 12:54 pm |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Posts: 6961
Location: Black Hills
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| As a longtime student of artificial intelligence, I felt that the 2001 film, Enigma, overlooked Turing (the real codebreaker at Bletchley Park). So am glad to see him get his due. Hope they touch on his AI work, like the Turing test. |
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He was wise beyond his years, but only by a few days. |
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| whiskeypriest |
| Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2014 3:32 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 6916
Location: "It's a Dry Heat."
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Syd wrote: It does sound like The Imitation Game will be one of the ten finalists and Cumberbatch is likely to get an asking nod. |
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I ask you, Velvel, as a rational man, which of us is possessed? |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2014 6:13 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: New York City
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whiskeypriest wrote: Syd wrote: It does sound like The Imitation Game will be one of the ten finalists and Cumberbatch is likely to get an asking nod. Asking? Jesus if you cannot tgpe dobt piar.
This rebuke seems a tad over-the-top. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2014 7:03 pm |
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Location: New York City
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Stephen Sondheim's musicals have seldom been turned into movies, and even more rare is the good one. In fact, there's never been one until now, and Into the Woods, about which you're going to be hearing quite a bit of positive talk, is not earth-shaking either.
First a history of Sondheim shows-into-musicals. The most successful one was obviously West Side Story, which won several Oscars including Best Picture of 1961, but which many (me included) consider overblown and slightly silly, certainly as compared with the great stage classic it was based on. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, a funny Broadway musical, became a frantic, unfunny Richard Lester debacle in which several great performers were wasted at best and demeaned at worst, and in which most of the songs were jettisoned. A Little Night Music was a disaster in which Elizabeth Taylor proved that singing was not one of her talents. About the misbegotten version of Gypsy the less said the better, except that mention must be made of the unwatchable performance by Rosalind Russell that ruined the whole endeavor. Sweeney Todd was mistakenly put into the hands of Tim Burton and Johnny Depp, who were...just wrong.
Which brings us to Into the Woods, which is a decent-enough piece of work but proves that the material is really better suited to the stage. It's not cinematic at all, no matter how hard Rob Marshall tries to "open it up." Most of the action takes place in a dark wooded area and the visuals quickly become monotonous. More importantly, the Sondheim lyrics are extremely intricate, wordy, sometimes overly precious, and rather too theatrical for the more intimate confines of a film. The original Broadway cast's performance is occasionally available on Netflix and is far more entertaining, with performances by Joanna Gleason and Bernadette Peters in the two leading female roles that far outshine the perfectly okay work of Emily Blunt and Meryl Streep, respectively, in the movie. The best performances in the film are by Anna Kendrick as Cinderella and Chris Pine as her prince.
All in all, this is worth seeing if you're in love with Sondheim and/or the show, and as I say it's certainly one of the best Sondheim renditions on film, but (how shall I put this?) it's still not all that. |
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| bartist |
| Posted: Wed Dec 03, 2014 9:35 am |
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whiskeypriest wrote: Syd wrote: It does sound like The Imitation Game will be one of the ten finalists and Cumberbatch is likely to get an asking nod. Asking? Jesus if you cannot tgpe dobt piar.
Comma again? |
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He was wise beyond his years, but only by a few days. |
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| Ghulam |
| Posted: Fri Dec 05, 2014 3:46 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 4742
Location: Upstate NY
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| "Force Majeure", the Swedish film which is more Edward Albee than Ingmar Bergman, is a brutal but witty examination of gender roles, tearing down many conventional assumptions about marital relationships, and tries to balance recriminations with forgiveness and understanding. Very worthwhile. |
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| Syd |
| Posted: Fri Dec 05, 2014 8:56 pm |
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billyweeds wrote: All in all, this is worth seeing if you're in love with Sondheim and/or the show, and as I say it's certainly one of the best Sondheim renditions on film, but (how shall I put this?) it's still not all that.
I'm in love with Sondheim AND the show, so I'm there. I've seen it twice on stage and own the soundtrack.
It also means to me that Meryl Streep isn't competing the original cast but with Vanessa Williams, which is pretty tough competition. (PS: I can't picture Peters as the Witch. What part did she play? The Baker's Wife?) |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2014 5:38 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: New York City
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Syd wrote: billyweeds wrote: All in all, this is worth seeing if you're in love with Sondheim and/or the show, and as I say it's certainly one of the best Sondheim renditions on film, but (how shall I put this?) it's still not all that.
I'm in love with Sondheim AND the show, so I'm there. I've seen it twice on stage and own the soundtrack.
It also means to me that Meryl Streep isn't competing the original cast but with Vanessa Williams, which is pretty tough competition. (PS: I can't picture Peters as the Witch. What part did she play? The Baker's Wife?)
Peters was the witch, and excellent. Joanna Gleason won the Best Actress in a Musical Tony for her great performance as The Baker's Wife. She was sensational.
P.S. I also saw Vanessa Williams as the witch. I felt she was meh at best, though of course drop-dead gorgeous as always. |
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| Syd |
| Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2014 11:06 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
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billyweeds wrote: Syd wrote: billyweeds wrote: All in all, this is worth seeing if you're in love with Sondheim and/or the show, and as I say it's certainly one of the best Sondheim renditions on film, but (how shall I put this?) it's still not all that.
I'm in love with Sondheim AND the show, so I'm there. I've seen it twice on stage and own the soundtrack.
It also means to me that Meryl Streep isn't competing the original cast but with Vanessa Williams, which is pretty tough competition. (PS: I can't picture Peters as the Witch. What part did she play? The Baker's Wife?)
Peters was the witch, and excellent. Joanna Gleason won the Best Actress in a Musical Tony for her great performance as The Baker's Wife. She was sensational.
P.S. I also saw Vanessa Williams as the witch. I felt she was meh at best, though of course drop-dead gorgeous as always.
I've never seen either of them act in the role. I was judging from the soundtrack of the musical. I've always liked Vanessa Williams, both as actress and singer. |
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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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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2014 10:11 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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| Streep is sort of hammy but effective in the role. Emily Blunt is good but no Joanna Gleason. Anna Kendrick and Chris Pine are wonderful as Cinderella and the prince, she underplaying to excellent results, he slightly overplaying at just the right level. But the overall movie is only good, not great or even excellent. You will, however, be hearing extraordinary things from many. I've never been a particular fan of the show, so make of that what you will. |
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| Befade |
| Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2014 3:16 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 3784
Location: AZ
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oh well........the contrarian is in the house..... I was really disappointed in Birdman. I guess I respond to hype more than type. Why I didn't like it was just particular to my tastes I think. I like to look at what I consider pleasant faces, pleasant settings. Michael Keaton's face doesn't give me anything. I prefer Colin Firth's ability to express emotions with no detectable movement or Joaquin Phoenix's distinct eyes and lips and the sound of his voice. Michael Keaton does alot with movement........and I don't like much movement, don't like action films. What else? The theater settings were places I wouldn't want to linger. Raymond Carver is a writer I have appreciated but I didn't see any of him in the play. What? I thought the play was stupid.
If the story of a creative actor, writer, director wanting to be appreciated and have a long lasting affect on people is a theme, I prefer Schenectady, NY by miles. Sorry, not running with the pack.
Saw Rosewater and liked it. Liked Gael Garcia Bernal's acting and the story was compelling and Jon Stewart's connection to it.
Today I'm going to give Foxcatcher and Whiplash a try. Can you tell I left AZ for CA? |
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| Syd |
| Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2014 5:22 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
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Location: Norman, Oklahoma
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| I'm just back from Rosewater and I liked it, too. There's very little physical torture in the movie but lots of psychological torture. (There are hints that there were a lot more beatings of the other prisoners.) There are also bits of absurdity throughout that Kafka would have appreciated, not least being the evidence that he is a "spy," apparently for the CIA, MI6 AND the Mossad. |
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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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| Befade |
| Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2014 10:29 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: AZ
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Syd.......AND the massage parlor visits. With all the current news I'm finding tales of injustice harder to stomach.
My all time favorite from this movie marathon is Foxcatcher. And the best actor award goes to Steve Carell sp? Forget the nose.......his eyes and teeth are killer. He was scary. Ruffalo and Tatum were enhancing to the story. |
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Lost in my own private I dunno. |
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| Syd |
| Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2014 11:14 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 12929
Location: Norman, Oklahoma
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| Especially the massage parlor visits. I didn't know that about Fort Lee. |
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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: Mon Dec 08, 2014 1:06 am |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 9016
Location: Shanghai
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| Fort Lee has had a big Asian population, especially Japanese, for quite some time. Even in the late 70's/early 80's, people used to jokingly refer to it as Fort Ree. |
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Killing your enemies, if it's done badly, increases their number. |
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