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Grex > Cinema > #60: *<*<*<*<*< AT THE MOVIES >*>*>*>*>* |  |
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| 25 new of 306 responses total. |
klg
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response 63 of 306:
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Jan 10 19:11 UTC 2004 |
At that stinker????
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mcnally
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response 64 of 306:
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Jan 10 20:36 UTC 2004 |
Yes, actually.
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richard
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response 65 of 306:
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Jan 11 05:03 UTC 2004 |
MONSTER-- This is the story of notorious Florida serial killer Aileen
Wuornos, a prostitute who was charged with the murders of seven
different men in Florida and who was executed in 2002. The movie tries
to understand Wuornos's character, to provide a background for what
happened, what she did and why. She is shown as a beaten, hardened
woman who walks into a gay bar by accident one day and, for the first
time in her life, meets someone-- a troubled teenaged girl-- who
actually seems to need her and who actually wants to be with her. The
two women hit the road, and Wuornos desperately tries to get a regular
job to take care of her new friend. But nobody will hire an ex-
prostitute, a woman who long ago lost any semblance of social graces.
Her desperation at wanting to provide for this girl and thus keep this
girl in her life, lead to the tragic circumstances where she goes back
to prostitution and ends up killing her johns.
What makes this movie is the incredible performance of Charlize Theron
as Wuornos. Theron, a drop dead gorgeous model in real life, gained
thirty pounds, stained her teeth, and was made up to have hardened,
blistered skin and scraggly hair. If you didn't know it was Theron,
you wouldn't immediately recognize her. She totally disappears inside
the character and convincingly plays a woman beset with bitterness,
loneliness and longing. She plays the kind of hard woman you'd cross
the street to avoid if you saw her in public. Its an amazing
performance, one that critics have compared to DeNiro's transformation
in Raging Bull. I'd be shocked if she doesn't win the Best Actress
Oscar for this.
Playing Wuornos's young girlfriend is Christina Ricci, who plays a
teenager who wants to run away because her conservative family doesn't
accept her lesbianism. There's a classic scene in this movie where
Theron and Ricci are at a roller skating rink, and they suddenly come
to a moment where they both give in to their intense longings and each
senses the other might be what they need.
"Monster", directed by first time filmmaker Patsy Jenkins, is a
wonderful movie, but might offend people who don't want to see a movie
about a serial killer told from the killer's point of view and narrated
by the killer.
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tod
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response 66 of 306:
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Jan 11 14:40 UTC 2004 |
This response has been erased.
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slynne
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response 67 of 306:
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Jan 11 16:38 UTC 2004 |
I just rented "One True Thing" starring Renee Zellweger, Meryl Streep
and William Hurt. I had never even heard of this movie before. It was
quite the chick flick drama but a very good one. It focused on the
relationships a young woman has with her parents and how her
relationships with them change. She comes home for a weekend and finds
out that her Mother has cancer. Her father asks her to quit her job and
come home to take care of her mother which she does. I was really
impressed with the depth this film had with this woman's parental
relationships. And of course, everyone's performances were wonderful.
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glenda
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response 68 of 306:
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Jan 11 17:45 UTC 2004 |
Damon and I watched "Druid" and "The Seventh Stream" yesterday. "Druid" was
uneven and played loosely with history. It is about Julius Caeser in Gaul
around 30BC. We were both relieved when it finally finished.
"The Seventh Stream" was as good as "Druid" was bad. We both enjoyed it a
lot. It takes place on the western coast of Ireland in the early 1900s. It
explores the sylkie myth of that region. It explores the lengths one will
go to for love. Not a GREAT movie, but a very enjoyable one.
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scott
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response 69 of 306:
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Jan 11 20:01 UTC 2004 |
Saw the extended DVD of "The Two Towers" last nycht. Pretty good; definitely
fitted together better than the theatrical release. Still pissed about some
of the character changes from the books.
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other
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response 70 of 306:
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Jan 12 06:45 UTC 2004 |
Based on the description of "Seventh Stream" you'll probably also
like "Legend of Roan Inish."
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glenda
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response 71 of 306:
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Jan 12 12:50 UTC 2004 |
We did.
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edina
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response 72 of 306:
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Jan 12 17:08 UTC 2004 |
I saw "Calendar Girls" on Friday. We were trying for "Something's Got to
Give" but it was sold out. We had a great time, as it was a charmingly funny
film. I'll see anything with Helen Mirren. She's groovy as hell.
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remmers
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response 73 of 306:
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Jan 12 18:14 UTC 2004 |
Watched "Anything Else", Woody Allen's latest, on DVD the other night,
and was sorry that I'd missed it during it's (brief) theatrical run.
One of his better recent efforts.
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tod
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response 74 of 306:
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Jan 12 19:11 UTC 2004 |
This response has been erased.
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mary
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response 75 of 306:
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Jan 13 01:18 UTC 2004 |
I agree. She's, how do you say it?
Perky.
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tod
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response 76 of 306:
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Jan 13 20:31 UTC 2004 |
This response has been erased.
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md
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response 77 of 306:
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Jan 14 01:00 UTC 2004 |
What exactly are we talking about here?
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richard
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response 78 of 306:
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Jan 19 00:58 UTC 2004 |
I finally saw LOTR: Return of the King over the weekend. I had basically
decided to holdoff seeing it until the theaters weren't so crowded. It
was quite an experience. Having read and loved the LOTR books years ago,
I always thought there was too much detail in the books to make any big
screen version particularly workable. I thought that any LOTR movies
would inevitably come off like a lot of movies that are made into books,
which is to say weak "adaptations" that only cover portions of the
material.
I can honestly say now though that Peter Jackson has pulled off a movie
version of the Lord of the Rings that is better than what I, as a fan of
the books, would have thought possible. He has done credit and honour to
the memory and works of J.R.R. Tolkien and I hope he is justly rewarded on
Oscar night. These three movies are going to be treasures to enjoy again
and again, just like the books, for years to come.
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remmers
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response 79 of 306:
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Jan 19 17:38 UTC 2004 |
Saw the 2002 film "Secretary" on DVD last night. Although it's somewhat
inconsistent in tone and drags on a bit too long, it's a fascinating film
that pulls off the neat trick of making S&M seem almost appealing.
Maggie Gyllenhaal gives a wonderful performance as the title character,
and James Spader is quite good too as her creepy boss. Gives new meaning
to "different strokes for different folks."
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rcurl
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response 80 of 306:
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Jan 19 20:39 UTC 2004 |
"Catch Me if You Can" (2003, DVD): the true story of Frank Abagnale Jr
(DiCaprio), who impersonated an airline pilot, a doctor and a lawyer, and
passed some $4,000,000 in bad checks to support himself, before he was 21
years old. He was traced and caught by FBI agent Hanratty (Tom Hanks).
After a few stints in jail he was released by the FBI to assist them in
bank fraud investigations. This was generally fascinating and provides
essential instruction to would-be copycats. The film did not glass over
faux pas he made in his impersonations, which led to his "career" changes.
Abagnale himself assisted in the filming and is also interviewed in the
"making of" bonus features.
(While I am sure I missed some faux pas that only an expert would notice,
and though most of the faux pas were played up a bit so that the audience
would appreciate them too, one caught my attention that only a pilot would
notice and yet it played no role per se in the story: when Hanratty was
taking Abagnale by plane back to America from France, Abagnale looked out
the plane window and said mostly to himself "there's Lagardia field - and
runway 44".)
"Autumn Spring" (2002, DVD) in Czech with English subtitles: a comedy
about an elderly couple in which the man, a retired actor, enjoyed
harmless pranks on other people, and his wife, who was most concerned with
saving money for their funerals. The story has a serious moral, of course:
as stated on the case, "that instead of old age being a time take on
worries, perhaps it is time to shed them and live each day to the fullest"
(of course, leaving your kids to pick up the pieces).
A lot of comedy is in the nuances of intonation, which is lost in
subtitles (just like it is lost here on Grex in text). The movie was fun,
but it might have been better even with being dubbed in English, if that
were done expertly.
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tod
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response 81 of 306:
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Jan 19 22:54 UTC 2004 |
This response has been erased.
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remmers
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response 82 of 306:
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Jan 20 12:10 UTC 2004 |
I found "Catch Me If You Can" to be a lot of fun. Nice period feel
(1960s), and Hanks is excellent as the FBI agent. It's a Stephen
Spielberg film, however, which means as usual that there's a
heavy-handed, strongly underscored Dose of Message here and there.
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edina
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response 83 of 306:
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Jan 20 16:15 UTC 2004 |
Saw "REturn of the King" for the second time with a friend. It was better
the second time as I knew when I could run out for the bathroom!
I caught "Something's Got to Give" last night. I was expecting something
different, but I ended up really being touched by Diane Keaton's part, and
for once, I thought Jack Nicholson did something more than just be Jack
Nicholson. I thoroughly enjoyed it . . .and could Keanu Reeves have more
flawless skin?
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krj
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response 84 of 306:
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Jan 20 23:12 UTC 2004 |
***** Wow wow wow wow wow!!! *****
The New York Times runs two articles announcing the
DVD of Jean Renoir's film RULES OF THE GAME, from 1939, in a significantly
improved transfer. This is one of my favorite films, and
most critics regard it as one of the most important films ever.
In the era before home video, and before I lived in Ann Arbor, I used to
drive to Ann Arbor once a year to see it. I've been waiting for a
DVD release for some time.
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/18/movies/18RAFF.html
"The Film of Films: Renoir's Masterpiece on DVD"
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/18/movies/18KAPL.html
"Hunting 'The Rules of the Game'" on the search for a decent master of the
film, whose original negative was
destroyed in the war
$28 at amazon.com
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remmers
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response 85 of 306:
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Jan 21 11:49 UTC 2004 |
This is good news. "Rules of the Game" had an art house revival when
I was in college. It became one of my favorite films too, and I saw
it several times. Think I shall acquire this DVD.
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edina
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response 86 of 306:
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Jan 21 15:42 UTC 2004 |
I caught "Big Fish" last night. At first I was kinda like, "huh?" - then I
really got into it. I thought Ewan MacGregor was awesome, as was Albert
Finney . . .such a different Tim Burton film. I recommend it.
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remmers
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response 87 of 306:
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Jan 22 17:56 UTC 2004 |
The whole cast was excellent. I'll put in special good words also
for Helena Bonham Carter and Steve Buscemi. I liked "Big Fish" a
lot. Reminded me of Homer's Odyssesy - a personal history richly
embroidered with legend and myth. And within every myth there is
a kernel of truth...
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