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| Author |
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meg
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The Movie Item
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Oct 18 11:49 UTC 1996 |
Well, I know I *really* wanna see "Big Night" at the Michigan this week.
I like Stanley Tucci no end since he was on Murder One last year.
Hmm, what else did I see.
"Basquiat" was pretty good - a high point was David Bowie as Andy Warhol.
"Basquiat" is the story of a street painter who got to be the next big
thing in the New York art world, back in the 80's, before dying at age
27 of a drug overdose. I suspect that the movie made him a lot more
sympathetic a character than he really was.
"Ed's Next Move" was fun, but the best part of it was the soundtrack, which
I am still trying to get on cd. Anyone ever hear of a folk group called
Ed's Redeeming Qualities? That's who was in the movie (and on the sound-
track) and they were *great*. "Ed's Next Move" is about a guy from
Wisconsin who moves to New York, and instead of getting caught up in the
cynecism around him, redeems everyone else from it.
"Girlfriends" also had a pretty good score. It's about three high school
girls in New Jersey whose friend kills herself after being raped. They
find out some things about themselves, and set out to achieve justice.
"First Wives Club" was pretty lame. There were a few amusing moments, but
compared to the book (which was NOT a comedy in my view - it was almost
painful to read in spots) it was a caricature. I noticed that it was
written, produced and directed by men, and I can't help wondering if they
really understood the point of the book. (Mind you - I don't think the
book was any great shakes as far as literature goes, but it seemed to
convey an entirely different point of view than the movie)
I think that's most of what I've seen recently.
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| 102 responses total. |
rogue
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response 1 of 102:
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Oct 18 13:54 UTC 1996 |
"Wedding Banquet" was one of the best movies I have seen in a while. It's
partly in English and partly in Chinese with English subtitles. I also
realized that English subtitles do not do justice to the Chinese dialogue.
There were parts when my friends and I were laughing our guts out which
one would barely get a smirk from the English subtitles. As a Hong Kong
movie critic said, Chinese is a must more poetic language than English
and the subtitles will never do it justice. Anyways, the story is both
funny and dramatic and you I highly recommend it, especially if you
understand Mandarin.
"Eat Drink Man Woman" was also very good but not as good as the Wedding
Banquet. It was filmed in Taiwan and I actually recognized some of the
landmarks. Again, story is very interesting with some hilarious moments.
It's in Mandarin with English subtitles.
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other
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response 2 of 102:
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Oct 19 01:11 UTC 1996 |
first wives club was probably one of those stories which someone who did get
the point of the book tried to turn into a screenplay, which was then coopted
and rewritten as a comedy to broaden it's mass appeal once someone figured
out that comedy or no, it still struck a very mainstream chord.
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albaugh
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response 3 of 102:
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Oct 19 05:05 UTC 1996 |
"From Dusk Till Dawn" was so bad - mostly on purpose, I hope! :-) - that it
was actually amusing in a "Dark Star" kind of way...
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krj
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response 4 of 102:
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Oct 22 05:50 UTC 1996 |
To answer Meg's question about the soundtrack: Yes, I have heard of
the band Ed's Redeeming Qualities, and I can probably help you run down
their CD -- they might have two -- if you want
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meg
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response 5 of 102:
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Oct 22 11:42 UTC 1996 |
Well, the band has several CD's out, judging from my search on the net.
To begin with, I'm trying to get the soundtrack from the movie. Everyone
seems to have it 'on order' but nobody seems to actually have it.
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albaugh
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response 6 of 102:
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Oct 22 15:37 UTC 1996 |
I watched "The Joy Luck Club" on video yesterday. I'm glad that I did. I
was wondering if I'd be bored by a "human relations" kinda flick, but I found
the characters compelling and people I cared about. Perhaps it's my bias for
wanting to learn more about other cultures. Can folks who have read the book
recommend it as enthusiatically?
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iggy
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response 7 of 102:
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Oct 22 15:58 UTC 1996 |
hubby and i saw 'the long kiss goodnight'
i was blown away by geena davis's character .
you may not like all the violence, but the character was a very
strong female both physicaly and emotionaly. she didnt wait around
to be rescued, she was very capable of doing it herself.
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other
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response 8 of 102:
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Oct 23 03:25 UTC 1996 |
just saw "nell" on video. jodie foster and liam neeson. just the kind of
experience that really makes it easy to sympathize with john hinckley jr.
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rcurl
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response 9 of 102:
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Oct 23 06:23 UTC 1996 |
We watched Moll Flanders on NPB recently. "We" included our 14 year old
daughter. When I was 14, Moll Flanders was essentilly a "banned book", and
I read it secretly so my parents would not find out. The film is much more
graphic than I expected - with couples humping it here and there. Times
sure have changed. Our daughter does not seem worse for the
experience.....
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meg
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response 10 of 102:
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Oct 23 11:26 UTC 1996 |
Joy Luck Club was an *excellent* book but I thought it was a bad movie.
It seemed very manipulative to me - pulled out every stop to produce
audience tears. I walked out feeling vaguely resentful.
I thought "Nell" was one of the worst movies I'd seen in years.
I also caught that "Moll Flanders" production on PBS, and thought it was
pretty good. I never did read the book, and now I want to.
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popcorn
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response 11 of 102:
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Oct 23 16:39 UTC 1996 |
This response has been erased.
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nsiddall
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response 12 of 102:
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Oct 23 16:47 UTC 1996 |
Funny how that works, isn't it, Rane? If your junior high school teacher
*assigned* that book, and told you it was written by a famous author 200
years ago, you'd probably never have bothered to read it. I've heard
of boys in yeshivas secretly reading Darwin and Galileo with a similar
sense of naughtiness and excitement--great way to get an education!
I agree with Meg about those movies. Moll Flanders was probably *better*
than the book, though.
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rcurl
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response 13 of 102:
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Oct 23 21:30 UTC 1996 |
I should have added that the movie was extremely well done, except that the
ending got rather hurried through - probably running out of production funds
from NEA.
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omni
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response 14 of 102:
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Oct 23 21:52 UTC 1996 |
Moll Flanders was a good piece, but could have done without the graphic
scenes, but still a good story, and I'll probably buy the book.
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other
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response 15 of 102:
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Oct 24 00:22 UTC 1996 |
re 11: Neither. Just because I can sympathize doesn't mean I feel the same
need for expression. I think that would be *empathy*.
Anyway, Jodie Foster's performance, if you get past the surface silliness of
the character, was extremely skilled, and the cinematographer captured in a
setting of extreme beauty a moderately beautiful face in such a way as to
greatly augment the overall image.
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iggy
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response 16 of 102:
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Oct 24 12:38 UTC 1996 |
gee.. all that and her titties too...
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other
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response 17 of 102:
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Oct 24 16:22 UTC 1996 |
i didn't actually find the footage of her breasts particularly attractive.
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kerouac
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response 18 of 102:
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Oct 31 17:42 UTC 1996 |
Saw "Sleepers"...pretty good movie although it has some script problems.
Four kids commit a childish criminal act and get sent away to reform
school where evil guard Kevin Bacon and his cronies proceed to rape and
molest them. Years later the now grown kids (Brad Pitt, Jason Patric et
al) take revenge and murder Bacon. Robert Deniro plays the priest/father
figure to the boys who must decide whether to lie on the witness stand to
protect them from being convicted of the murder. Dustin Hoffman is the
alchoholic attorney who is defending them.
This is a pretty good movie based on a true story, but there were holes in
the script and some characters not developed enough. **1/2...B
minus...thumbs in the middle.
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denise
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response 19 of 102:
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Nov 3 14:59 UTC 1996 |
I saw Sleepers, too... And thought that, though it's intense at times,
its very well done. [Though it brought back some painful memories for me,
though...]
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sidekick
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response 20 of 102:
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Nov 3 15:09 UTC 1996 |
I saw "Thinner" last night... based on the Stephen King book. I
really hated it... almost to the point that I would have gotten up and walked
out if I hadn't been with somebody else. It didn't really have a very good
plot, and parts of the film were downright disgusting. Last time I go see
a Steven King flick.
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remmers
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response 21 of 102:
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Nov 3 17:50 UTC 1996 |
There have been some decent Stephen King flicks. Try "The Dead
Zone", or the TV miniseries "It".
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remmers
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response 22 of 102:
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Nov 3 17:51 UTC 1996 |
[Item 61 in winter Agora is now linked as item 126 in the Arts
conference.]
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drew
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response 23 of 102:
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Nov 3 20:29 UTC 1996 |
_It_ was basically Bozo the Clown with an attitude.
_The Langoliers_ was mildly interesting, but does not square with what is
known in theoretical physics.
I rather liked _The Stand_; reminded me of _Omega Man_ and other such World
War III films. I think the heroes of _The Stand_ had a (figurative) penis
for a God, however.
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omni
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response 24 of 102:
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Nov 3 20:34 UTC 1996 |
Carrie is also good, but primitive, as is Pet Semetary.
The only thing wrong with some Stephen King movies is that some are
really bloody, or they're hugely hilarious. Example: Pet Sematary which
has it's share of gore, but didja see who officiated at the funeral of the
laundress? There he was Fr King doing his best to comfort.
And then there was Creepshow, and the segment called "The lonesome death
of Jordy Verril. Everytime I see it, I cannot stop laughing because King is
such a bad actor.
Remmers is right, IT and The Dead Zone are his best works.
Don't get me started on The Shining. ;)
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