Grex Cinema Conference

Item 55: Movie Item

Entered by janc on Wed Mar 26 15:36:09 2003:

45 new of 269 responses total.


#225 of 269 by pvn on Mon Jun 2 05:29:45 2003:

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.


#226 of 269 by gull on Mon Jun 2 13:10:36 2003:

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.


#227 of 269 by other on Mon Jun 2 14:16:25 2003:

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.


#228 of 269 by oval on Mon Jun 2 14:35:21 2003:

...and there's some juicy ones.



#229 of 269 by jep on Mon Jun 2 20:06:16 2003:

I didn't dislike "Finding Nemo", but I didn't fall in love with it, 
either.


#230 of 269 by janc on Fri Jun 6 13:01:39 2003:

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.


#231 of 269 by gull on Fri Jun 6 13:47:16 2003:

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.


#232 of 269 by jep on Fri Jun 6 15:00:34 2003:

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.  


#233 of 269 by gull on Fri Jun 6 15:34:14 2003:

I'm thinking of the scene with the black dragon fish as the main scary
one, pesonally.


#234 of 269 by flem on Fri Jun 6 19:24:56 2003:

Vegetarian sharks?  hahahahaha.  I really hope that the irony was intentional.


#235 of 269 by krj on Fri Jun 6 21:29:07 2003:

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...)


#236 of 269 by albaugh on Sat Jun 7 01:22:59 2003:

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.  :-)


#237 of 269 by jaklumen on Sat Jun 7 05:15:25 2003:

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.


#238 of 269 by gelinas on Sun Jun 8 03:52:58 2003:

The version of "Spirited Away" that I just watched was dubbed.  The dubbing
worked, as near as I could tell.  Good movie.


#239 of 269 by mynxcat on Tue Jun 10 00:45:01 2003:

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


#240 of 269 by tod on Tue Jun 10 04:22:00 2003:

This response has been erased.



#241 of 269 by jazz on Tue Jun 10 12:53:34 2003:

        He was just LION to himself.

        Remember, the sweet isn't as sweet without the sweet and sour sauce?


#242 of 269 by gregb on Tue Jun 10 17:21:36 2003:

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.


#243 of 269 by lynne on Tue Jun 10 21:53:00 2003:

re 242:  Those with a brain will have a field day ripping it apart, I should
think.


#244 of 269 by aruba on Wed Jun 11 01:18:40 2003:

It was fun though.  (But the very first thing the hero says in the movie is
wrong.)


#245 of 269 by scott on Sun Jun 15 13:32:04 2003:

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...


#246 of 269 by aruba on Sun Jun 15 19:12:04 2003:

Saw Finding Nemo the other night.  It rocked.


#247 of 269 by senna on Mon Jun 16 03:01:22 2003:

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.


#248 of 269 by jaklumen on Mon Jun 16 08:02:55 2003:

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.


#249 of 269 by oval on Mon Jun 16 11:30:17 2003:

i thought the last 20 minutes of the film could've sucked a little less.



#250 of 269 by jazz on Mon Jun 16 13:08:33 2003:

        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.


#251 of 269 by oval on Mon Jun 16 13:31:38 2003:

play air guitar and exclame "EXCELLENT!"



#252 of 269 by jazz on Mon Jun 16 14:02:56 2003:

        Bogus!


#253 of 269 by edina on Mon Jun 16 14:18:30 2003:

Sometimes, I just think that Sean Penn should have trademarked, "Dude."


#254 of 269 by gull on Mon Jun 16 16:04:08 2003:

Looking confused is pretty much Keanu Reeves's only talent as an actor.


#255 of 269 by tod on Mon Jun 16 17:19:24 2003:

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#256 of 269 by edina on Mon Jun 16 17:38:37 2003:

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.


#257 of 269 by tod on Mon Jun 16 17:46:41 2003:

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#258 of 269 by rcurl on Mon Jun 16 18:02:26 2003:

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. 




#259 of 269 by jaklumen on Mon Jun 16 20:40:46 2003:

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.


#260 of 269 by mary on Mon Jun 16 21:33:13 2003:

Re: ...about Schmidt  I thought the scene where he sees his
files, in the alley, in the rain, was nicely done.  


#261 of 269 by dcat on Tue Jun 17 00:45:05 2003:

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.


#262 of 269 by gregb on Wed Jun 18 21:40:30 2003:

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.


#263 of 269 by jep on Sat Jun 21 21:47:36 2003:

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!


#264 of 269 by tod on Sat Jun 21 21:58:29 2003:

This response has been erased.



#265 of 269 by jor on Sat Jun 21 22:21:43 2003:

        do go on


#266 of 269 by tod on Sat Jun 21 22:27:03 2003:

This response has been erased.



#267 of 269 by bru on Sun Jun 22 14:52:52 2003:

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.


#268 of 269 by gregb on Sun Jun 22 16:35:40 2003:

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.


#269 of 269 by niceone on Mon Jun 23 15:03:24 2003:

hi
dir


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