82 new of 269 responses total.
Saw Matrix II tonight. I haven't decided what I think yet about the philosphy. (I was suprised that the bits between the fights were mostly people speaking philosophically - there was more of that than there was plot developement.) It did spawn a really interesting philosophical discussion about choice, fate, destiny, and then the nature of the soul, among the three of us who went. (Afterward, we went to Grizzly Peak in search of one of those "magic desserts". ;))
Saw "A Mighty Wind", Christopher Guest's latest mockumentary. Pretty funny spoof of the folk music scene, although not quite as funny as "Best in Show". Maybe more accurate than funny.
It's going to be pretty hard to top "Best in Show". But I too enjoyed "Mighty Wind". Although he totally missed the activist component. That could have been clever too.
"Bruce Almighty" was a whole lot of fun. Morgan Freeman made a great God.
I rented "Jaws" and "Patriot Games" on DVD. I didn't get very far through "Patriot Games". I just wasn't in the mood for it. Jaws, though, I hadn't seen except on TV, and that when I was a teenager. It wasn't keep-me-up terrifying. It was gory in spots, and silly in spots, but I enjoyed watching it. Some day there'll be a remake of it with modern graphics. It could be an amazing Imax movie.
Saw Spy Kids II, was cute- not quite as cute as the first one, but close. Antonio Banderas actually does a really good job in these two movies, he has a nice sense of comic timing. These are definitely kids movies, but they're really cute.
I love those movies!! I think they are great. Well cast, well acted, fun effects. And I'll see anything wiht Alan Cumming.
Tee hee, he is fun isn't he? I had no idea he would be in the second one, but the way they brought him in made perfect sense. I did love all the gadgets, I gotta admit. :)
Re. 181, 182: My opinion is that I'm there to see a flick, not to be distracted by people flapping their lips. If you need to speak to whomever your with, then wisper. On a related note: I love the commercial for M&Ms where this guy is constantly making comments in a theater and people are complaining and throwing popcorn at his head. Finally, someone throws the big, yellow M&M and knocks him out of his seat. I cheered!
My big gripe is when people take their babies to the movies. They can never keep them quiet and it's annoying.
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People who try to hold a cell phone conversation in a theatre.
People who are too stupid to understand the movie so they keep asking their companions to explain what is going on. Actually, any prolonged conversation during movies bugs me. I can handle a stray comment here and there.
Comments in public theaters just annoy me. Commenting on a movie in my living room while watching it with a friend can be fun, though, if it's with someone with a sharp sense of humor.
When I go to the movies, I try to get a seat with no one in front or behind me. Fairly easy to do during matinaes, impossible in prime-time.
Try catching the movies late in their run.
Yes. I often like to do that. The disadvantage of doing that with a popular movie though is that people will talk about it and will give away the surprise endings!
resp:197 I'm sorry. The last time, it wasn't so much the noise, it was that she wanted to crawl all over the theater. I genuinely hope we didn't ruin it for anyone; we really didn't have a baby sitter. The theater was fairly empty, thankfully, and the people she decided to greet in the top row did smile.
You all are so anti-social. One of the fun things about attending movies in the south side of chicago is the screeners - those who talk to the movie. If you don't like it, buy the damn DVD and watch it at home by yourself.
Yuck.
#203: That's my std. MO. I'll catch most movies when they hit the dollar theater, but that's just to save seven bucks. I still have to work my seating strategy. Apparently, there's a lot of folks who don't care to spend big bucks to see a flick--not to mention the cost of snacks and such. #206: The South Side, eh? Well, that explains a lot. B-)
Talking *TO* the movie is different from talking to the person sitting next to you. There are some movies that are improved by audience participation but most are not. Luckily for me, the group norm in the community where I live suits me. I hardly ever see anyone bring their kids to the theater, no one kicks my seat, usually there isnt a lot of talking, etc.
Re 206 Number one, I'm not anti-social. Number two, I don't live on the Sough Side of Chicago - nor do I want to - but thanks for asking. Number 3 - please excuse me if the $8-10 I'm shelling out just to see the movie makes me want to actually watch it.
Beady has this thing where everything relates back to the south side
and whatshername. Somehow. Even if it's taking place in Kuala Lumpur with
a guy named "Chuck".
A certain amount of audience noise is fine with me. I remember seeing "Beverly Hills Cop" while sitting next to a black women who kept repeating "he gonna *fuck* him up!" at appropriate points through the whole movie. I didn't know her, but she was obviously loving the movie, and I thought that it actually added substantially to my appreciation of the movie. I actually like getting some sense of how other people are responding to the film. Whoops, and screams and applause and non-cynical commentary (not so much the "I'm going to prove how much smarter than the film makers I am" kind) are all fine with me.
During the screening I saw of Resident Evil, we were treated to a
series of cynical comments from a thirtysomething man two rows up. At first
I was annoyed, but I couldn't help laughing at his timing with "Dumb white
bitch gonna get her ass KILT!". I think everyone else was in the same boat,
or, if they weren't, nobody spoke up.
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resp:208 oddly enough, we don't have a dollar/$2 dollar theater here anymore.
Well, a friend and I finally saw Reloaded tonight. I'd like to think my analysis hasn't been tainted by the msgs. here, but I'd have to agree with those that said the pacing was off. The fight scenes were too long and in most cases, meaningless, except to show off martial arts moves and special effects. I also agree with the comment that the dialog spent too much time in philisophical riddles. In hindsight, I don't think it's worth the $8.50 ticket. However, I do plan on adding it to my DVD collection when it comes out. What I did like was seeing Zion and how it works. And I thought the freeway scene was the best of the flashy stuff. I actually jumped when that semi rushed into the screen. When the movie was over, most of the audiance left; I guess they didn't know about the trailer for Revolutions. From what I saw, It looks to be more of the same. If my friends go, I'll pay full price, otherwise, I'll wait for the DVD. Summary: Lots of flash, bu not much plot.
re#214: same social dynamic I expect. Is the same for church and sporting events. I personally enjoy the experience of others enjoying the experience with me. However, you won't see "screeners" at _Gosford Park_ for example.
Watched Adaptations last night on VHS. How did they double Cage in the scenes he was talking with "himself"?
Watchded Lilo and Stitch this morning. Loved it. What can I say, I'm a sucker for the "Ugly duckling" type animations. The music--both the instrumental and the Elvis adaptations were quite good.
Maybe it's just me, but I don't understand the critical accolade for
either "Being John Malkovitch" or "Adaptions". They're both billed as
hillarious, but I've yet to see anyone get more than a dry chuckle or two out
of either, and both seem to excel in revelling in ugliness and workmanlike
cinematography. Both also attempt to tackle reasonably novel or deep ideas,
but fail to really follow up on any of the consequences or implications of
those ideas.
I largely agree with you, about Adaptations. I haven't seen "Being...". Adaptations might (?) be a screenplay about itself, so the deeper ideas get lost in the conceit.
I loved both of them. There were parts in both where I laughed so hard tears were coming from my eyes...usually during the more absurd parts. But I think what really did it for the critics was that they were so original and different from other films. I think if one is a critic and sees thousands of films, it is more meaningful that the film is different. I think this is one reason why Memento got such critical acclaim and also why David Lynch movies are so popular with critics. And while different does not necessarily mean good (e.g. moulon rouge), it certainly counts for something.
Adaptations did lead to lots of discussion afterward - what it meant, the actors, the tricks, what it meant....etc. I like movies like that. For example, I was pleased to figure out how the pieces fitted together, like assembling a mental jigsaw. I would have liked to have unwittingly learned more about orchids, though, not that her book was strictly *about* orchids.
My son and I, my parents, and my nieces saw "Finding Nemo" last night. It was glitzy, colorful, and funny in many places; repetitious and slow in others. There were no great songs; in fact there were no feature-type songs at all. I was disappointed about that. My favorite Disney movies, in order, are probably The Aristocats, The Lion King, Toy Story, The Little Mermaid, and Monsters, Inc. I've liked all of the Disney/Pixar movies and have been looking forward to this one for months. They've concentrated on excellent stories up until now. I thought they put more effort into glitz and less into keeping the story interesting this time. Maybe I'll like it better the next time I see it.
Watched _Dinner Rush_ on DVD tonight. Just about the entire movie takes place in a tony italian restaurant. Sort of an Altman style thingy. It is hard to mention any detail without spoilers so I'll just recommend it highly.
I saw _Finding Nemo_ on Friday and I disagree with jep. I thought it was hilarious, and really enjoyed it. The glitz didn't have any real effect on me, because it wasn't very far in that I stopped thinking about the fact that it was computer animated. (They're getting pretty good at this. Every movie they've made has had successively fewer distracting "that looked really fake" moments.) Pixar hasn't made a film so far that I haven't liked. Of course, I've always disliked long musical numbers in movies, so that's probably part of where we disagree. Most of my favorite Disney films are short on songs. In fact, of the movies jep listed as favorites, the only ones I've felt the urge to see again recently are _Toy Story_ and _Monsters, Inc._. _The Lion King_ just seems so overblown and full of itself to me, now.
Saw Adaptation (well, most of it) and Y Tu Mama Tambien last night. I do not get what all the fuss about Adaptation was for, and I was annoyed because I think the video store censored their copy of Y Tu Mama Tambien. They definitiely bowdlerized the subtitles a bit, and probably cut a bunch of the juicier footage.
...and there's some juicy ones.
I didn't dislike "Finding Nemo", but I didn't fall in love with it, either.
Valerie has been talking about taking the kids to see "Finding Nemo". They've never been to a real live movie theater before. Most disney type movies are a bit too scary for them, and the Pixar ones to date have been no exception (eg, the scaring kids scenes in Monsters Inc, the neighbor kid's mangled toys in Toy Story, etc). I was wondering who Nemo rated on that scale.
There are a few scenes involving things with large teeth that might frighten very young children, or give them nightmares. There aren't long periods of scary suspense, as I recall, though.
The sharks in "Finding Nemo" are members of a vegetarian support group. "Fish are friends, not food". They're mildly scary; there's also a scene about jellyfish which is mildly scary. It's not as scary as "Monsters, Inc." The scene to which you referred in "Toy Story" would probably not be scary at all to Arlo, and couldn't possibly be to Kendra, could it? "Finding Nemo" is no more scary than "Toy Story". Didn't you take them to "The Piglet Movie"? That was as non- threatening as any movie could be, I'd think.
I'm thinking of the scene with the black dragon fish as the main scary one, pesonally.
Vegetarian sharks? hahahahaha. I really hope that the irony was intentional.
Saturday is this year's silent movie with live orchestra accompaniment at the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor. The movie is "Pandora's Box," 1929. Louise Brooks is a German flapper whose sexuality destroys all the men who fall for her: and then she meets Jack the Ripper. (Don't know if we'll get to go, our schedule is kind of crowded...)
The main comment I have about Finding Nemo is that I'm totally amazed at the computer graphics. Constantly moving underwater ocean currents... Etc. See it just for that, even if you're a gr'up. :-)
Interestingly enough, "Finding Nemo" was compared to "Spirited Away" in some critique somewhere (MSNBC, perhaps). Unfair and unflattering, but I mentioned it so I could reference this particular film. I saw "Spirited Away" at a gaming convention-- most of it, anyway, and I thought it was one of the most fabulous animes I have seen. It's subtitled, and not dubbed, which I think is a good thing.
The version of "Spirited Away" that I just watched was dubbed. The dubbing worked, as near as I could tell. Good movie.
Watched Vanilla Sky. What I want to know is why did he splice his life from that particular point, why not from earlier when he met Sophia, and everything was great and he hadn't had his accident yet
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He was just LION to himself.
Remember, the sweet isn't as sweet without the sweet and sour sauce?
Hey, Tim! Puns! Come and get'em! B-) Caught The Core at the dolar theater Saturday. Kind of a cross 'tween Armagedden<sp> and Journey to the Center of the Earth. Basically, another doomed Earth movie. The Earth's core has stopped spinning and a group is sent waaaaaaaay down under to "jump-start" it. Those into Earth science will have a field day ripping this one apart. Nothong outstanding about this file, IMO. Didn't recognize any of the actors, effects, while good, were std. for today's films, characters were two-dimensional...All-in-all, a pretty predictable flick. Certainly not worth $8.50, but good for a buck.
re 242: Those with a brain will have a field day ripping it apart, I should think.
It was fun though. (But the very first thing the hero says in the movie is wrong.)
Saw "The Matrix: Reloaded" yesterday. Great visuals, but the rest was pretty weak. Everything, every element, could have been cut about 50% and it would have tightened things up a lot. Well, except for Agent Smith. What a cool character...
Saw Finding Nemo the other night. It rocked.
Smith is quickly becoming one of my favorite villains. It's only a slight pity that Hugo Weaving's complete submersion in the character will result in every viewing I have of any LOTR movie to echo of "You are a disease" quotes.
resp:245 I saw it last Friday and I completely disagree with just about everything negatory anyone else has said, but then I'm a epic sci-fi/fantasy nut and I therefore don't put the expectations on it that others might. Tighter editing? Nope, sorry, I don't see it. Call me intensely visual; I was soaking up every minute of it? It was just eye candy? Hmmm, yes, I enjoy philosophical debate, but I see the Matrix as an epic work and so I expect a typical formula. Of course I was ready for some more butt-kicking. And actually, the discussion seemed deep enough to me-- it's all in how you look at it. It just reminds me of I time I watched "Farewell My Concubine" with a philosophy major and she said she didn't get it when it was over. It made perfect sense to me.
i thought the last 20 minutes of the film could've sucked a little less.
The Matrix's formula for pseudo-deep conversations.
Introduce a topic.
Have some character bring the topic up to Neo.
Neo looks confused (he does this well).
Neo asks a question about what he's going to do, or should do.
Character invalidates Neo's question, by saying he's already done it
or should have figured it out before all this.
Rinse. Lather. Repeat.
play air guitar and exclame "EXCELLENT!"
Bogus!
Sometimes, I just think that Sean Penn should have trademarked, "Dude."
Looking confused is pretty much Keanu Reeves's only talent as an actor.
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I have a good idea he's smarter than people think. And lord knows, he's a fine looking man. I wouldn't kick him out of bed for eating crackers. Heck, I'd feed him crackers.
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Rented "Something about Schmidt". We thought it was a unique Nicholson performance that could have been comedy but fortunately was not. I also think a lot of viewers will fail to see themselves in some satire. Of coure, being "retired", I found it raised some questions I have confronted, since the "retired" to become partly invisible for some parts of our culture, especially in business.
resp:250 true, just ignored it. It's been done twice-- if they go for a hat trick, then I'll proclaim it a formula.
Re: ...about Schmidt I thought the scene where he sees his files, in the alley, in the rain, was nicely done.
saw 'nemo' w/ eskarina sunday. movie's good, but i don't think it's something i'd show to a small child. there are a good number of fish-in-peril scenes that were noticeably disturbing to the 5- or 6-year-old sitting behind us. on the other hand, there were some great moments --- the surfer-dude turtles were great, and the 'Psycho' violins at the dentist's niece's entrance were hilarious.
Saw "Agent: Cody Banks" at the dollar show last weekend. While I wouldn't add it to my collection, it was alright. Think of it as Kim Possible, only with a guy and live action. I see Hilery Duff's keeping busy, what with her Lizzy movie and all.
I saw "Finding Nemo" again last night, with my 7 year old, at the cheap movie theater in Clinton. ($2.50.) Many times, if I see a movie or read a book a 2nd time, I'll have a much different impression of it, but I had the same impression of "Finding Nemo". I'm a lot less impressed by it than others here. It's pretty, it's nice, but it's not special. Around here, we watch Disney movies occasionally, and had just watched "Toy Story 2" the night before. I have Dory's memory, and so can't remember who it was, but *one* of the fish has the same eyes as Buzz Lightyear. Also, I said earlier it's not scary. It's scary at the beginning; there are several scenes that a young kid could find frightening. Sorry!
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do go on
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watch the anime READ OR DIE About a woman who loves books and works for a secret organization within the library community that retrieves lost books, among other things. Very interesting super power she has...She manipulates paper, making it into whatever she needs from planes to swords.
Saw Phone Booth at the Allen Pk. Theater. At first, when I saw the trailer, I was skeptical. After all, how much can you make of a movie that, for the most part, takes place at one location? But then again, 12 Angry Men took place in a single room, and it's become a classic. Also, it was only a buck so what the hey. Anyway, I liked it. It's all about this guy named Stuart (Colin Farrell) who uses the same phone booth everyday, but this time, someone calls him. The caller seems to know everything about him; Where he goes, who he sees, what he does...and he doesn't like his observations. Stuart's been a bad boy and the caller (Keefer Sutherland) wants Stu to confess his sins...or else! That worst part is that he can't tell anyone, else he or someone else, will be killed. It's that "else" that makes the film interesting. You never know what the caller's going to do. One thing's for sure, he's not all talk. This is a short form for it's kind; only 81 minutes. But since the plot's tightly focused on one thing, I guess you can't draw it out too much.
hi dir
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