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| Author |
Message |
| 25 new of 348 responses total. |
bru
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response 59 of 348:
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Jul 8 01:34 UTC 1999 |
The problem I have with Wild, Wild, West is that this is not James West.
Why did they have to use the name James West. Why couldn't he have been
Richard west, son of James West in the 1890 instead of the 1860's. I could
have bought that! And why did the villian have to be Mr. Loveless.
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mary
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response 60 of 348:
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Jul 8 13:25 UTC 1999 |
"The Red Violin" didn't quite live up to its reviews but it
had it's moments. There was one scene where a brilliant
violinist both infatuated with himself and his lover finds
himself stroking the neck of his violin, which is draped over
his naked body, covering his genitals. I'm sorry, but at that
moment I'd was wishing I had indeed done "Southpark". I don't
think we were supposed to be laughing aloud.
For anyone who did see "Violin", a question. In that last
scene, did he have possession of the fake or the real Red?
What do you think? John and I disagree.
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drewmike
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response 61 of 348:
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Jul 8 14:37 UTC 1999 |
My father was terribly offended by "The Red Violin". Mostly he felt
disappointed that he'd surrendered two hours and whatever of his life and
gotten that little payoff.
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tpryan
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response 62 of 348:
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Jul 8 22:18 UTC 1999 |
The Red Violin Diaries? Coming to Showtime!
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coyote
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response 63 of 348:
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Jul 9 01:33 UTC 1999 |
I thought that the story to Red Violin was interesting in concept, especially
how it jumped around between various time periods, but there were definitely
some sections that I liked more than others. I liked the section set in
Maoist China the most (probably because I read a book not too long ago about
the Cultural Revolution), despite some inaccuracies. Example: when the female
revolutionary defends the music teacher by saying he teaches traditional
Chinese music... Traditional music was included in the "Four Olds" (Old
Culture, I believe), and would have been denounced as well as Western music.
It was very interesting to note that the China section truly was filmed in
Shanghai. I wonder how the film-maker got the permission to do that, since
it didn't show Communist China in a particularly positive light.... The music
to the movie was quite good, in my opinion. Re 60: (Spoiler follows,
for those who intend to see the movie) At first, I thought he had taken the
real violin, as that would have prevented that one violinist from buying it
and would have continued the tradition of the violin's wild and wacky
adventures. However, he never would have been able to tell his daughter what
he had, and it seems that he'd feel a little guilty for stealing a
multi-million dollar instrument. So, I'm not sure whether he ended up with
the copy or the original, but I tend to think it was the original.
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mary
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response 64 of 348:
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Jul 9 02:12 UTC 1999 |
I felt he took the copy for his daughter. He was indeed seduced by the
idea of possessing the original but the more his thoughts turned to home,
thinking of his daughter, talking to his wife, the saner he got.
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eubeleus
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response 65 of 348:
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Jul 10 16:14 UTC 1999 |
Sounds like amusical version of "The Yellow Rolls Royce"...
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aaron
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response 66 of 348:
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Jul 11 09:04 UTC 1999 |
The Thief (Russia, 1997) (A-) - An interesting tale, in which a six-year-old
boy becomes increasingly devoted to his mother's poorly chosen boyfriend,
an abusive, amoral thief. It's Russian. Do I need to add, "With tragic
consequences"? Strangely, this film makes me wonder if modern Russia is
not more in tune with what inspires the criminal mind, and what might
cause a child to do bad things, than modern America.
The General's Daughter (B-) - There are aspects to this film which are
quite good, and others which are more problematic. An undercover military
cop (finishing up an assignment, designed to give us some standard "police
movie" action scenes in an otherwise non-standard police movie) is brought
into the investigation of the apparent rape and murder of a young woman,
and soon discovers that nothing is as it appears. Some interesting premises,
but some whoppingly huge plot holes. The film is active enough that you
don't have to think about the various plot defects and weaknesses, but not
so fast that you won't, if you are so inclined. It's also a film that had
to tack on a moralistic final sequence, which does not seem consistent with
the rest of the film (which seems to have a distinct lack of moral focus
beyond, "get the bad guy(s), whoever they are) -- it isn't particularly
clear if the film was trying to convey a message about women in the military,
or if its undertone of "they don't belong in combat roles" was unintended.
Other than the ending, which seemed contrived, the film was relatively
obvious, and was frequently cliched. It is not appropriate for people who
will be disturbed by sexual violence.
Arlington Road (C+) - This might have ranked a higher grade had I not seen
the previews. This film spends a considerable amount of time on character
development and a developing tension between the lead male characters, which
is spoiled by the teaser. The film then turns to its action sequences, which
are adequate, but its climax and ending reminded me of "The Game" --
completely implausible in the real world. In "The Game," a bottomless pit
of money was supposedly used, in conjunction with an extraordinarily thorough
psychological profile, to anticipate and manipulate the lead character's
every move. In "Arlington Road," we are just to assume that events and
actions that are inherently unpredictable where in fact precisely predicted
well in advance. Arlington Road's attempts to convey a strong political
message about domestic terrorism and governmental responsibility, but its
preachings are heavy-handed, and its contrived ending dilutes its impact.
Look for a fictionalized "Ruby Ridge", where the family is cuter, more
law-abiding, and blatantly wronged by the government. Look for a
(perhaps too thinly) fictionalized account of the Oklahoma City Boming,
where McVeigh is transformed into something of a grown-up boy scout. If
you believed "Conspiracy Theory," and you thought "The Game" was entirely
plausible, this film is for you.
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mary
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response 67 of 348:
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Jul 11 11:53 UTC 1999 |
Today is the last day for the Ann Arbor Theater. The new metro-plex
will be opening next Wednesday. John and I went to see "Arlington
Road" yesterday and I think we tend to agree with Aaron's review.
But see it anyhow, today, and say good-bye to a nice, accessible
and comfortable movie house. I'll miss it.
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johnnie
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response 68 of 348:
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Jul 13 14:00 UTC 1999 |
The Ann Arbor Theater is closing? Does this mean that the local market
for the film genre(s) it specializes in has dried up, or that the
ultra-plexes are now showing this sort of film and providing unbeatable
competition? When I last lived in Ann Arbor, the AAT was the only place
showing small/independent/foreign films on a daily basis. Or, by "new
metro-plex", do you mean that the AAT has divided itself into ten
theatres of seven seats each?
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md
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response 69 of 348:
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Jul 13 15:28 UTC 1999 |
I saw a feature just last night on the Independent
film Channel about the AA Film Festival, which is
managed as a labor of love by a local hairdresser.
I think they said the films were shown at the AAT.
Is that true? Are they out on the street now? That
would be a great loss.
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mcnally
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response 70 of 348:
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Jul 13 17:10 UTC 1999 |
The public screenings of the Ann Arbor Film Festival are at the
Michigan Theater, not the Ann Arbor Theater.
I have no idea where the many, many preliminary screenings (for the
festival committee to choose which films will be shown) occur..
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krj
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response 71 of 348:
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Jul 13 18:06 UTC 1999 |
The Ann Arbor Theater was doomed once it abandoned the serving of
real butter on its popcorn.
Johnnie, the foreign/indie film business now pretty much goes to
the Michigan Theater, and to the State Theatre. (I believe I saw a
note somewhere that the Michigan is now running the State Theatre's
two screens.) The owners of the Ann Arbor Theatre have built a
megaplex on the western fringes of Ann Arbor; if it has a more
pleasant ambience than the Showcase, we'll probably become
regular customers there, since that's the side of town we live on.
(We hate the Showcase. It's the only movie theatre in the area with
armed security guards, and the theatre does something to piss us off
every time we go -- usually herding us around like cattle.)
Press coverage reports that the owners of the new mega-plex
promise to keep bringing in some indie/art/foreign films.
Indie American films seem to be doing decently right now, but
the USA market for foreign films has declined drastically.
I assume this , like the repertory film circuit, is
a casualty of the VCR.
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jiffer
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response 72 of 348:
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Jul 13 20:27 UTC 1999 |
I think the name of the new Theater is 'Quality 16'. I was driving the
long way home the other day and saw it. Nifty keen to see movies right
out of work.
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scg
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response 73 of 348:
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Jul 13 21:07 UTC 1999 |
I remember seeing lots of neat stuff at the Ann Arbor Theater when I was
younger. I haven't been there for years, largely because when they've been
showing stuff I wanted to see lately, I usually didn't get around to going
to see it until after it had stopped showing. When I heard that it was
closing I kept meaning to go there one last time, but I never got around to
it, figuring that I could always go the next week. The theater's last day,
which was announced in the Ann Arbor News that morning, conflicted with the
last night of this year's TOP, and TOP won out.
I do enjoy going to the Michigan, in part because of the archetecture, in part
because of the stuff they show, and in large part because I can walk to it
from home. Having another theater I could walk to close seems sad to me, but
I suppose by not having gone to that theater in several years, I'm part of
the problem that kept it from staying open.
Apparrently the owner of the Ann Arbor Theater was trying to sell it to
somebody who would keep operating it as a movie theater after he decided to
build his megaplex, but wasn't able to find a buyer.
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richard
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response 74 of 348:
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Jul 13 22:29 UTC 1999 |
A2 needs a theater like Film Forum in New York. Film Forum is a small
non-profit three screen multiplex in Greenwich Village that is owned and
operated by its patrons, similar to grex. Yearly memberships are sold to
to pay the rent on the theater, and those who buy memberships get
get discounted theater tickets, plus get to help decide what films are
are shown. The ticket takers, popcorn and soda vendors are all volunteer
members. They show mostly independent films and revivals, and film
festivals. This month they were showing an Erich Von Stroheim film
festival featuring the classic german silent film, "Greed" I like the
place, its a refreshing change from the monolithic Cineplex Odeon 18's of
the world.
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jiffer
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response 75 of 348:
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Jul 13 22:58 UTC 1999 |
Actually, A2 sort of does. It is a not-for-profit theater biult inthe 1920's
and usually shows a veriety of non-mainstream films. But the Ann Arbor Theater
is just as special as the Michigan Theater (The Michigan Theater is the
not-for-profit)
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mcnally
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response 76 of 348:
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Jul 14 00:52 UTC 1999 |
Ann Arbor also used to have a thriving film club scene, with groups like
the Cinema Guild, the Ann Arbor Film Co-op, and several others showing
classic, foreign, indie, and art films in campu auditoriums. The last
vestiges of these groups linger (the Cinema Guild still shows stuff) but
it's not like it was when I first came to Ann Arbor: at that time there
were typically four or more non-mainstream films being shown on campus on
any Friday or Saturday evening during the academic year.
Ken's theory about the VCR killing local film diversity probably applies
much better to the campus film groups.
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tpryan
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response 77 of 348:
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Jul 14 01:18 UTC 1999 |
Any mainstream movie that made it to those campus film groups had first
available showings at about the time the video was being released. I guess
the industry already had a business model for secondary markets.
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bookworm
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response 78 of 348:
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Jul 14 04:20 UTC 1999 |
Jon and I saw "wild wild west". It was hilarious.
Sorry, I'm not much of a movie critic. So far I've loved nearly every
movie I ever went to see in the theatre.
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omni
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response 79 of 348:
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Jul 14 04:42 UTC 1999 |
Someone should buy the old Ann Arbor Theatre, because if not we're going
to have an urban sprawl like Detroit has, only ours will be toward the west.
I noticed while coming home from Chelsea the other day how much Jackson is
being built up. It sounds like most people are abandoning downtown Ann Arbor.
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scg
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response 80 of 348:
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Jul 14 06:34 UTC 1999 |
Ann Arbor's also sprawling pretty heavily to the South, along the Ann Arbor
Saline road corridor, as well as out State Street.
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drewmike
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response 81 of 348:
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Jul 14 07:50 UTC 1999 |
Before I started going to U of M, the campus film group scene was still going
along moderately well, but by my second year, it was downright anemic.
M-Flicks decided not to compete with the VCR at all, and started mostly
showing sneak previews. This meant, though, that the films started becoming
more major-studio, with more corporate logos being tacked onto the promo
materials.
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senna
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response 82 of 348:
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Jul 14 14:51 UTC 1999 |
Jackson Road is Scio Township's only commercial corridor, and Scio
Township plans to keep it that way. I don't believe Pittsfield has any
such restrictions, however.
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krj
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response 83 of 348:
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Jul 14 19:20 UTC 1999 |
resp:79 :: My recollection is that the site of the Ann Arbor Theater was
slated to become more downtown condominium housing. So the closing
of the theatre doesn't really reflect a flight from the city.
The New York Times had a piece (yesterday?) on how consumers are flocking
to the new stadium-seating megaplexes, and the older "shoebox"
multiplexes like Briarwood (and to some degree the Ann Arbor)
are now a drag on exhibitor profits.
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