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| Author |
Message |
| 25 new of 241 responses total. |
richard
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response 194 of 241:
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Dec 1 23:20 UTC 1999 |
note-- felicia's journey was I believe directed by Atom Egoyan, who
directed the Sweet Hereafter
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scott
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response 195 of 241:
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Dec 1 23:50 UTC 1999 |
Rented "Office Space" over the holiday weekend. Very funny, good take on
current computer cubicle hell jobs. Much funnier than the commercials for
it promised.
Also went and saw "Sleepy Hollow", the new Tim Burton movie. Good, gory,
stylish, but don't expect an airtight plot.
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remmers
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response 196 of 241:
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Dec 2 01:53 UTC 1999 |
Re resp:194 - Yes, "Felicia's Journey" is an Atom Egoyan film, and
displays the same visual flair as "Sweet Hereafter". I agree with Mary
about Bob Hoskins' performance. Try to catch this one in a theater; the
creative use of the wide screen to tell a story would be largely lost on
TV.
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bmoran
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response 197 of 241:
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Dec 2 14:30 UTC 1999 |
Saw Toy Story 2 Sunday night. Very good, I think it's a bit better than
the first one. Pat (now 8) sorta liked it, and cracked up over a few
parts. If you're worried about going by yourself, borrow a few kids and
have a good time.
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drewmike
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response 198 of 241:
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Dec 3 03:34 UTC 1999 |
My quick take on "Toy Story 2": While the first film was a revolution, this
one really only manages to be an evolution. But that's okay. In the last five
years, Lasseter & Co. have gotten a lot better at what they do. Buster the
Dog, for example, would have been unimaginable not too long ago. It's also
heartening to see that the story wasn't neglected in the mad dash for the
toys. (They certainly could have gotten away with paying it much less
attention. Just ask DreamWorks SKG.) And longtime followers of Pixar's work
will appreciate the nods to the other films in their canon--from the pairing
of the feature with their first short, "Luxo, Jr.", to the flashes of other
Pixar films when the characters channel surf, right down to the inclusion of
Geri as a toy rehabilitator. (I guess he plays chess on the weekends.)
On the downside, "Toy Story 2" was originally intended to be
straight-to-video, but was lengthened to be a feature. *Very* occasionally,
it feels it. And am I the only contemporary filmgoer who lacks the Randy
Newman Appreciation Gene? (Hey, Rand. I may not know where the line between
"signature style" and "self parody" is, but you done passed that thing a long
while ago.)
I give it... I don't know. An A-minus.
(Yeah, I know that wasn't exactly "quick".)
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mcnally
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response 199 of 241:
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Dec 3 05:43 UTC 1999 |
You're definitely *not* the only one who's genetically unable to
appreciate Randy Newman.
Lasseter's feature-length films have been the best computer-generated
animated films so far but I had more admiration for his short films --
the level of amazement they create is possibly just too much to sustain
througout a feature-length piece.. In my opinion his great genius
is the ability to imbue inanimate objects with human attributes and
feeling in what seems like a totally natural way.
The Lasseter work which impresses me most to this day is "Luxo, Jr." --
I could go through it frame by frame and still never understand how he
manages to give emotins and expressions to a pair of swing arm lamps
which are without any face or other human features. (I'm similarly
fascinated by the amount of expression Nick Parks can give to claymation
figures without mouths, but Lasseter is the master..)
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gull
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response 200 of 241:
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Dec 3 15:25 UTC 1999 |
I've loved "Luxo, Jr." ever since I saw it running as a short on
Nickelodeon. (This was back before they started running commercials, as
hard as that may be for some to imagine...)
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flem
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response 201 of 241:
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Dec 3 17:24 UTC 1999 |
_End of Days_: B. Not a bad flick, all told, so long as your
expectations are low. Just remember: Arnold Schwartzenneger plays a
role in it. That should put it in the proper context: comedy without
meaning to be. :) I don't remember making that many snide comments at
a movie, or laughing so hard at them, in a long time. :)
One particularly interesting point is that the guy who plays the
devil, the spelling of whose name I can't remember, was in _Stigmata_ as
essentially the opposite character. Very similar plots, similar kinds
of imagery (at least on the surface), but in this one he's the good guy
protecting the innocent female victim. IMO, Stigmata was by far the
better movie. It would make an interesting movie night someday to get
both of them and watch them back-to-back for comparison.
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mcnally
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response 202 of 241:
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Dec 3 22:53 UTC 1999 |
(I think you're talking about Gabriel Byrne..)
"IMO, Stigmata was, by far, the better movie.." Now *there's* something
you don't hear every day.
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flem
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response 203 of 241:
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Dec 4 00:24 UTC 1999 |
Well, I suppose... I liked it, though, probably better than most people
would, but still. :)
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mary
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response 204 of 241:
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Dec 4 10:44 UTC 1999 |
I've had a sweet spot for Schwartzenneger ever since "Conan the
Barbarian". I love that movie. So I'll probably see "End of Days"
before it's off the big screens.
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scott
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response 205 of 241:
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Dec 4 12:52 UTC 1999 |
Dammit, when is "Sixth Sense" going to drop to Fox Theater?
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mcnally
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response 206 of 241:
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Dec 4 14:45 UTC 1999 |
good question.. I've been wondering much the same thing..
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richard
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response 207 of 241:
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Dec 4 23:02 UTC 1999 |
"LIBERTY HEIGHTS"-- This is the fourth, and supposedly final,
installment in director Barry Levinson's acclaimed "Baltimore" series,
depicting life in Baltimore in the 1950's. The others, all great films,
were TIN MEN, DINER, and AVALON. This one is just as good.
It tells the story of a jewish nightclub owner, played by Joe Montegna,
who has to reconcile his occupation with the normal, religiously
grounded life he wants to provide his wife (played by Bebe Neuwirth of
Cheers) and sons. They live in the jewish community of Liberty Heights.
The film explores the racial and class issues that people of that era
lived with and dealt with daily. It is told through the eyes of
Montegna's youngest son, who is starting to understand how different the
outside world is from his protected, all-jewish society of Liberty
Heights.
Levinson (who also directed "Rain Man") is one of the best directors
working today and this series of films represents a deeply heartfelt
tribute to his childhood in Baltimore. If you loved Avalon or Diner or
Tin Men, you will love this film. It is a proper and just conclusion to
the series.
LIBERTY HEIGHTS **** (FOUR STARS-- ONE OF BEST FILMS OF THE YEAR)
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drewmike
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response 208 of 241:
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Dec 4 23:03 UTC 1999 |
(Total drift: I'm pretty sure "Luxo Jr." came out in 1986, and Nickelodeon
started running ads two years before.)
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gull
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response 209 of 241:
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Dec 5 01:49 UTC 1999 |
Hmm. Maybe my memory's faulty, then, but I'm almost sure I originally saw
that short on Nickelodeon.
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drewmike
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response 210 of 241:
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Dec 5 03:28 UTC 1999 |
I'm not saying you didn't... but ads were on their way earlier.
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omni
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response 211 of 241:
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Dec 5 06:18 UTC 1999 |
re 307- Sounds like a great film which probably guarantees that Levinson
will again be ignored at the Oscars again. I've always loved his work. The
first one of his movies I saw was "Diner" back when it first came out and I
thought it was boring, but what does a 21 year old know from film? It wasn't
until I came across Tin Men and Avalon that I truly became a fan of his
movies. Now I don't miss anything he directs.
Movies seen recently (from cable)
"I Still Know What (your breasts) you did last summer"-
Class A stinker. I don't know why they bothered, except to give JLH more
exposure, and to try to make her into an actress.
"Hud" - 4 star movie from the 60's with Paul Newman as an amoral man in
conflict with his father (Melvyn Douglas). A performances all around. I really
didn't like seeing Newman in this role, but he did well just the same.
I'm looking forward to seeing "The Sea Wolf" with Edward G. Robinson. I saw
the version with Chris Reeve and Charles Bronson, and it was great. I just
know that Robinson is going to knock it out of the park. I'm also looking
forward to seeing Gone With The Wind in one uncut piece and not chopped to
little bits like it had been presented on Ch 7 a few years ago. That should
be a real treat.
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tpryan
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response 212 of 241:
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Dec 5 20:17 UTC 1999 |
Wasn't Gone With the Wind cut into two parts for release at the
theatures to have an intermission?
I need to watch my DVD of it when I find the 4 hour evening to
do it.
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omni
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response 213 of 241:
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Dec 6 09:01 UTC 1999 |
Yup. I never liked or supported cutting movies for intermissions.
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sno
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response 214 of 241:
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Dec 6 18:47 UTC 1999 |
Some people have to pee more often than others, especially after coffee.
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gull
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response 215 of 241:
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Dec 6 22:30 UTC 1999 |
Or a large Coke.
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md
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response 216 of 241:
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Dec 6 23:54 UTC 1999 |
Recent rentals starring Catherine Zeta-Jones:
ENTRAPMENT (B+) - I was pleasantly surprised.
The action sequences were excellent -- some
real nail-biter scenes. Zeta-Jones and Sean
Connery are not a matched set, however, which
dragged the movie down whenever one of them
wasn't being shot at or dangling over an abyss.
THE HAUNTING (C-) - Boring, silly, unscary. The
house was really, really cool, however.
|
md
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response 217 of 241:
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Dec 6 23:59 UTC 1999 |
London tabloids are reporting that Jennifer
Lopez has insured her body for $1,000,000,000
(one billion dollars). "$500,000,000 per
cheek," as the N.Y. Post observed. That is
one insurance policy I would love to see.
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bruin
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response 218 of 241:
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Dec 7 00:16 UTC 1999 |
BTW, I do believe that in England, the insured value of Jennifer Lopez's body
would be "one thousand million dollars," and a "billion" would be "one million
million."
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