What is the last movie you saw? and rate it.

[Janine]

Oh my god! just been to imdb looking up Philip Pulman Northern lights because someone told me they'd finally started filming. But apparently the release date is this summer in U.K! And Nicole Kidman is Lyras mother in the movie! was looking at the pictures and yes i'm looking forward to it! just thought i'd mention it.

Niamh, I never heard of this new film, but I will have to check it out. Sounds interesting. I like the title.

N, Did you see the listing on Amazon for the opera? I did not look on imbh yet, just Amazon since I wish to buy it someday - waiting till I see a good price and good seller. It is very enthralling. Butterfly is so delicate and beautiful, like a butterfly, china doll. The male star is very appealing, too and he is young...so many opera singers are not. He is blondish/light brown hair, also. Well, of course not as cute as our Joseph Fiennes (wow, if he could sing we'd have something!).
You can listen to Ying Huang's CD's on Amazon. She has an amazing voice. The CD of the film is a bit expensive. She has another CD that I sampled, but I would love to have the "Madame Butterfly" one. I will probably buy the DVD; it is cheaper than the CD.
Lately, I have been getting more and more interested in these operas. It takes time, but it is part of the arts and very rewarding. It is as Adolescent pointed out about 2001: A Space Odyssey directed by Stanley Kubrick....very much the same concept. Sit back, relax and let it happen. It takes you into another world, sweeps you away to another time and place. If you can read Adolescent's entry right before mine - it is so well written. He is a very expressive writer.

Adol, Niamh, and everyone else, too, Have a Happy Easter!

[Niamh]

Niamh, I never heard of this new film, but I will have to check it out. Sounds interesting. I like the title.

N, Did you see the listing on Amazon for the opera? I did not look on imbh yet, just Amazon since I wish to buy it someday - waiting till I see a good price and good seller. It is very enthralling. Butterfly is so delicate and beautiful, like a butterfly, china doll. The male star is very appealing, too and he is young...so many opera singers are not. He is blondish/light brown hair, also. Well, of course not as cute as our Joseph Fiennes (wow, if he could sing we'd have something!).
You can listen to Ying Huang's CD's on Amazon. She has an amazing voice. The CD of the film is a bit expensive. She has another CD that I sampled, but I would love to have the "Madame Butterfly" one. I will probably buy the DVD; it is cheaper than the CD.
Lately, I have been getting more and more interested in these operas. It takes time, but it is part of the arts and very rewarding. It is as Adolescent pointed out about 2001: A Space Odyssey directed by Stanley Kubrick....very much the same concept. Sit back, relax and let it happen. It takes you into another world, sweeps you away to another time and place. If you can read Adolescent's entry right before mine - it is so well written. He is a very expressive writer.

Adol, Niamh, and everyone else, too, Have a Happy Easter!

Happy easter to you too Janine! I've never listened to madame Butterfly but i did go to see miss Sigon when it was over here and as far as i'm aware it is a modern adaptation of the opera by Puccini. It was fantastic! My Mother and Myself Bawled our eyes out at the end! very sad.

Philip Pulmans Book Northern Lights(which film is based on) goes by a different name in the states. Its called the golden Compass. Book one of His Dark Materials Trilogy. fantastic story!

[Janine]

Happy easter to you too Janine! I've never listened to madame Butterfly but i did go to see miss Sigon when it was over here and as far as i'm aware it is a modern adaptation of the opera by Puccini. It was fantastic! My Mother and Myself Bawled our eyes out at the end! very sad.

Philip Pulmans Book Northern Lights(which film is based on) goes by a different name in the states. Its called the golden Compass. Book one of His Dark Materials Trilogy. fantastic story!

I have the soundtrack to "Miss Saigon". I love the soundtrack. I have never seen the show, but I heard, years ago, it was fantastic, from someone who saw it when it first came out. I would love to see it especially after listening to the CD many times now.
If you get a chance to see "Madame Butterfly" do; again you will cry your eyes out. I always cry at films that are sad. The music will come to you - many of the arias are popular and used in other films. I think they used some in "A Room With a View"; I know they used a lot of Puccini. I have that soundtrack and love it.

Good to know that book goes by the "Golden Compass" here in the states. I will check it out. What is it about anyway?

Hope your Easter was nice. We all meet at my sister's house for a big family dinner/get together. I got to see my son and his wife, so I was happy.

[Bakiryu]

Janine, you mean the prequel to The Subtle Knife? *confused, too many books!*

[Janine]

Janine, you mean the prequel to The Subtle Knife? *confused, too many books!*

Bakiryu, not sure of what you mean. To what part of my posts are you making reference to - "The Subtle Knife" ?

[Niamh]

Janine, you mean the prequel to The Subtle Knife? *confused, too many books!*

His Dark Materials trilogy Starts off with Northern Lights/the golden compass followed by The Sutle knife and finishes with The Amber SpyGlass.

I have the soundtrack to "Miss Saigon". I love the soundtrack. I have never seen the show, but I heard, years ago, it was fantastic, from someone who saw it when it first came out. I would love to see it especially after listening to the CD many times now.
If you get a chance to see "Madame Butterfly" do; again you will cry your eyes out. I always cry at films that are sad. The music will come to you - many of the arias are popular and used in other films. I think they used some in "A Room With a View"; I know they used a lot of Puccini. I have that soundtrack and love it.

Good to know that book goes by the "Golden Compass" here in the states. I will check it out. What is it about anyway?

Hope your Easter was nice. We all meet at my sister's house for a big family dinner/get together. I got to see my son and his wife, so I was happy.

The books are about a Girl called Lyra Who sets out on a journey to rescue her friend, but there are other things happening her world, and people that are trying to prevent her. The Books are kind of based on a ficticious second war of the Angels but the human race are involved. They are very good.

[Craig049]

The last movie I saw was Grindhouse.
It was a two movie in one deal. The first movie, "Planet Terror" was your typical "There's zombies everywhere so let's shoot them and try to get away to a desolate area because they can't get us there" kind of movie. However, if you're completely into gore and blood and gross stuff, this is one for you to see. It had a typical ending, but i definitely suggest seeing.
Between movie's there would be previews of fake movies, but the format of all of this made it look like these movie were actually made in the 1970's. It was very interesting and entertaining.
The second movie, "Death Proof" was really not as good, but had some very awesome car scenes. Starring Kurt Russell, this movie got reallllly slow and boooring at times with all the talk about things that we have no idea about. But, once you start losing attention and think about leaving (Because there's two movies, it's three hours long!), the girls that star in the movie are in a suspenceful situation in a car. This movie was also very gory, but the car stunts are absolutely amazing. I definitely suggest seeing both
I give it a four out of five.

[Niamh]

Saw the Kate Beckinsdale version of Emma today. Liked the verson but it reminded my why i dont really like the story very much.

[manolia]

2001: A Space Odyssey directed by Stanley Kubrick---starring Gary Lockwood--10/10. I would consider it easily the greatest film I've ever seen in my life in exception to.. perhaps.. The Godfather.

Review: For all those bewildered by the length and pace of this film ("like, why does he show spaceships docking for, like, 15 minutes?"), here's a word you might want to think about:

Beauty.

Beauty is an under-rated concept. Sure, you'll often see nice photography and so on in films. But when did you last see a film that contains beauty purely for the sake of it? There is a weird belief among cinemagoers that anything which is not plot or character related must be removed. This is depressing hogwash. There is nothing wrong with creating a beautiful sequence that has nothing to do with the film's plot. A director can show 15 minutes of spaceships for no reason than that they are beautiful, and it is neither illegal nor evil to do so.

'2001' requires you to watch in a different way than you normally watch films. It requires you to relax. It requires you to experience strange and beautiful images without feeling guilty that there is no complex plot or detailed characterization. Don't get me wrong, plots and characters are good, but they're not the be-all and end-all of everything. There are different KINDS of film, and to enjoy '2001' you must tune your brain to a different wavelength and succumb to the pleasure of beauty, PURE beauty, unfettered by the banal conventions of everyday films.

"All art is quite useless" - Oscar Wilde.

Well said Ado!
One of my all time favourites 12/10
If you liked this then you should definately see Solaris by Andrei Tarkowski (if you haven't seen this already). A wonderful film, with wonderful actors, music, cinematography, picture, landscapes, script and substance. I thank God that my brother owns it in dvd so i get to watch it again. I may sound overenthusiastic but it doesn't happen often (to see a film that i like so much). 10/10 for Solaris. But mind you it is a slow paced film (but i think that's fine with you) and a long one (2h 40 min approximately). You will definately be bewitched by the beauty of Tarkowski's images.

This week i also watched "King David and Bathesda" with Gregory Peck 7/10. I like Gregory sooo much. Afterwards i watched the Richard Geere version. Hmmm..i prefer not to rate this one..and last i watched "The sound of music" one of my favourite musicals which i have seen plenty of times 9/10.
And also the "300". It was entertaining, well crafted and artistically nice (and if you are a woman you get to appreciate the casting they did for this movie). It wasn't that inaccurate -historically speaking- but after all it's a comic adaptation and not a history lesson. On the whole i enjoyed it.

[manolia]

Borat was deinitely 10/10 for me, hilarious and pointed out so many things that are wrong with people today.

Yes it pointed out so many things that are wrong with people today, but i didn't like the fact that he manipulated real people in doing so. He could have made a parody using actors (like Monty Pythons or Rowan Atkinson etc). Making fun on innocent, ignorant people is not fun or decent for me. Of course you are entitled to your own opinion. Besides i know many people that loved the film, you are not the only one.

[Janine]

Well said Ado!
One of my all time favourites 12/10
If you liked this then you should definately see Solaris by Andrei Tarkowski (if you haven't seen this already). A wonderful film, with wonderful actors, music, cinematography, picture, landscapes, script and substance. I thank God that my brother owns it in dvd so i get to watch it again. I may sound overenthusiastic but it doesn't happen often (to see a film that i like so much). 10/10 for Solaris. But mind you it is a slow paced film (but i think that's fine with you) and a long one (2h 40 min approximately). You will definately be bewitched by the beauty of Tarkowski's images.

This week i also watched "King David and Bathesda" with Gregory Peck 7/10. I like Gregory sooo much. Afterwards i watched the Richard Geere version. Hmmm..i prefer not to rate this one..and last i watched "The sound of music" one of my favourite musicals which i have seen plenty of times 9/10.
And also the "300". It was entertaining, well crafted and artistically nice (and if you are a woman you get to appreciate the casting they did for this movie). It wasn't that inaccurate -historically speaking- but after all it's a comic adaptation and not a history lesson. On the whole i enjoyed it.

Manolia and Adolescent, I fully agree - wonderfully written, Adol, and expressed! You should post this review on Amazon. I loved "2001: A Space Odyssey directed by Stanley Kubrick"; I saw it yrs ago in the theater - on a really large screen. I can't tell you how amazing that was! Yes, patience is necessary but you easily can get emersed in the beauty of it - the music alone can pull you in. How great it everything combined? Wonderful!
M, I have never seen that film version of "King David....." - only the Gere one, years ago. Don't recall much about that one now. I love Gregory Peck, so it sounds great. Does he have a great voice or what?
I adore "The Sound of Music" - I have seen it so many times now and it only gets better and better. I have the score on CD and adore that too!
I have not seen "300" - yet so no comment can be made.
I know I would hate "Borat" so I have no desire to see it. Sounds way too offensive to me. I agree - why attach and make fun of real people. If you want to do parady and satire hire a group of actors like Monty Python (one of my favorite groups) and play the roles out to illustrate your point. I find just looking at the guy offensive, now that I know more about the film.
Generally it sounds like good viewing for you this weekend.

[Janine]

Saw the Kate Beckinsdale version of Emma today. Liked the verson but it reminded my why i dont really like the story very much.

Thanks, Niamh, for your explanation of the books. They sound real interesting.
Glad you watched the Kate Beckinsale version. What did you dislike about Emma - the story? It is far from my favorite Austen book either. Just curious and wanted to compare notes and feelings on it.

Niamh, How is your cold/virus? I have been feeling badly again (slight relapse) but I am ok today, so far. The weather here has been crazy...cold . My sister told me she read it was a few degrees colder on Easter than on Christmas. Everyone commented on it yesterday...not too springlike or Eastery in the states. How about there? Was it warmer?

[Niamh]

Thanks, Niamh, for your explanation of the books. They sound real interesting.
Glad you watched the Kate Beckinsale version. What did you dislike about Emma - the story? It is far from my favorite Austen book either. Just curious and wanted to compare notes and feelings on it.

Niamh, How is your cold/virus? I have been feeling badly again (slight relapse) but I am ok today, so far. The weather here has been crazy...cold . My sister told me she read it was a few degrees colder on Easter than on Christmas. Everyone commented on it yesterday...not too springlike or Eastery in the states. How about there? Was it warmer?

My god the weather is unbelievable over her for this time of year! Its about 17c here which is quite warn in the Irish climate. People walking around in shorts!

As for Emma, Maybe we can set up a discussion thread and discuss it with other people a well? i'll go do it now if there isn't one already!

Sorry to hear you are still unwell. maybe the freak weather is contrabuting to it.

[manolia]

Manolia and Adolescent, I fully agree - wonderfully written, Adol, and expressed! You should post this review on Amazon. I loved "2001: A Space Odyssey directed by Stanley Kubrick"; I saw it yrs ago in the theater - on a really large screen. I can't tell you how amazing that was! Yes, patience is necessary but you easily can get emersed in the beauty of it - the music alone can pull you in. How great it everything combined? Wonderful!
M, I have never seen that film version of "King David....." - only the Gere one, years ago. Don't recall much about that one now. I love Gregory Peck, so it sounds great. Does he have a great voice or what?
I adore "The Sound of Music" - I have seen it so many times now and it only gets better and better. I have the score on CD and adore that too!
I have not seen "300" - yet so no comment can be made.
I know I would hate "Borat" so I have no desire to see it. Sounds way too offensive to me. I agree - why attach and make fun of real people. If you want to do parady and satire hire a group of actors like Monty Python (one of my favorite groups) and play the roles out to illustrate your point. I find just looking at the guy offensive, now that I know more about the film.
Generally it sounds like good viewing for you this weekend.

By the way, what i loved so much about 2001 space Odyssey was the first 15 minutes. And especially the music.

Yes Janine, i agree with Gregory Peck having a great voice (and appearance. Very handsome man!). I've seen him in a lot of movies. I particularly liked "Spellbound". I am a huge Hitchcock admirer. In fact he is my all time favourite director.

[Janine]

My god the weather is unbelievable over her for this time of year! Its about 17c here which is quite warn in the Irish climate. People walking around in shorts!

As for Emma, Maybe we can set up a discussion thread and discuss it with other people a well? i'll go do it now if there isn't one already!

Sorry to hear you are still unwell. maybe the freak weather is contrabuting to it.

Niamh, No way - really - shorts. Oh great for you! I would love it. I have mine in the basement in storage - itching to get them out and all my summer clothes. We are still wearing fleece and wool. May warm up some this week, I am hoping.

Great idea, Niamh, to start the thread on Emma. Interesting that should be. I will definitely contribute although it has been sometime since I actually read the book, but I have it here on my bookshelf so I will be prepared to refer to certain things.

I think this freak weather is contributing to my virus hanging on. Several people have told me they had it since November. On lady said 3 weeks now. I am over 3 weeks now. Hope the warm weather helps me. Flowers are coming out and hyacinths make me sneeze so it might be partly allergies now. I am not taking any more meds so that is one improvement. Just feel so energyless. Is that a word?