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

[Janine]

Tiny Dancer, I saw the film, "Jane Austen Book Club" a few weeks back; after I did review it. Antiquarian and I disagreed somewhat on this film; mostly, I think due to the fact that she read the book and had a higher expectation of the film; whereas I did not read the book. I figured the film was going to be light and just entertaining, and it appeared to be low budget and simplistic, so that is all I really expected; just a funny film with a bunch of crazy characters - 'ensemble' I guess, but not really major stars and a major plot.

Hey, Antiquarian, I think you and I could be like the old Siskel and Ebert - didn't sometimes or most times disagree? My son and I used to watch them on TV all the time, when he was growing up; my son was quite the movie buff, still does love films.

Tiny Dancer, I guess I am not quite as tough a critic as Antiquarian; actually I am a bit soft that way; I have a wide range of films I will watch and some are not as great as others, but I still feel things about them I can enjoy. I usually just pick out what appeals to me and getting them free at my library I don't have to be too choosy and often just try something that looks interesting.

I liked this film well enough, probably to see it again sometime, since my library owns it. Yeah, it is predictable, and loose ends are all tied up neatly at the end. However, I still did enjoy the characters and especially I enjoyed Hugh Dancy, he is incredible cute. Kathy Baker is getting frumpy - she's getting old. I like her anyway. A lot of actresses are getting old and some frumpy, I guess. I may be frumpy at times myself. I'm not real familar with Emily Blunt (don't watch TV), but I thought she was funny, because she was so obnoxious. I thought the woman and husband breakup, could have used more work, that was a weak part to me; it is probably better in the book. Did you read the book, TD? I should probably read the book, right? The film was enjoyable, but it also was not deep or profound, it was just entertaining, I suppose.

[Janine]

"A Handful of Dust"

Very well acted, lovely cinematography, but it's slow moving and very tragic. It's a character study, not a plot driven film, but I like that.

9/10

Glad you watched this and reviewed it, Antiquarian. I really want to see it and I was thinking of buying it. Would you say it is worth buying? I like films that are character studies if they are well acted and handled artistically. I am anxious to hear more about this film from you. Who starred in the film?


Last night I saw a film:

Home Front

This movie is set during WWII down in the Bayou, which provided an interesting setting; I liked it was a period film. I liked that it dealt with subject matter I am not familar with - the sinking of tankers and warships off our own coastline in the US during that time of the war. I was aware from things my mother has told me about 'blackouts' down on our Jersey shorelines, but I was never aware of just how many ships went down, sunk by Nazi warships. At the end of the film, I believe the count came up on the screen as over 600. I was very surprised at that and the fact that this took place in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans right, off the coastline - most explosions visible from the coastal towns. In this film during one scene, locals actually capture German Nazi soldiers and bring them into the fields to work under guard. I didn't know any of this before seeing this film. Basically the film is deals with the subject matter of "WWII witch hunts for traitors in America's coastal fishing towns." I quoted that part from the back of the DVD.

The movie itself, I would say probably was quite low budget and it is a slowpaced film about a family, a widow raising two teenagers and trying to make ends meet. She has a shrimping boat. The plot revolves around a mysterious new visitor to town who claims to be a doctor; before long the locals are bringing him the wounded survivors of the tanker ships.
Tatum O'Neal plays the widow and Julian Sands plays the doctor; both were nuanced quiet performances. The story is somewhat predictable, but it was interesting to me to see these two actors, since I have not seen them in anything for ages; both did a good job; they had fine chemistry together.

The movie is a little too disjointed with a few mysteries not that mysterious or shocking, when all is finally revealed; those could have been kept secret till the end with more shock value, but then again I felt that part was not that developed. I also would criticise the guy playing the local authority - sheriff/coastquard ensign - I really felt someone a little more dynamic would have been better for the role; I did not always find him that believable. Tim Curry was excellent as the likable and always drunk local priest. I really liked his performance so much; he did a great job of showing different sides to his character, much sadness and depth, as well as being a truly amusing/funny person.

I probably would not see the film again, although I might for certain performances. I might also view it just to see the the fabulous location(Louisiana) and beautiful scenery shots in the Gulf of Mexico and on the Bayou.

An interesting look back into another aspect of WWII and a look back at that time period in the deep South. I love those trees with hanging moss!

[OswaldTheOsprey]

I have just watched The Bad And The Beautiful, a 1952 film starring Kirk Douglas and Lana Turner. A Hollywood expose of...Hollywood itself! Fine film recommended especially for film buffs.

OswaldTheOsprey

[Sir Bartholomew]

The Good the Bad and the Ugly. Lol Do I have to rate this?

[Janine]

Janine, I'm sure if you'd like it or not. Are you familiar with the story? The catalyst for the plot is the accidental death of a small child, so that may put you off it. It's not overdone, but it does overshadow the rest of the film.

It stars James Wilby, Kristin Scott Thomas, Rupert Graves, and Anjelica Huston and Alec Guinness in supporting roles. Very well acted and lovely cinematography, but ultimately quite tragic, though it is satire.

Antiquarian, Well, that is a great cast; they are all fine actors. I think I would like seeing the film, but not sure I do want to own it. I could deal with the child's death; I just couldn't deal with the Chekhov film about a newborn baby in a craddle being smothered. No that just was too much. In fact, I watched a film, just the other night, "Gone Baby Gone"; it dealt with child snatchers. I think I reviewed it in here. I was reluctant to see it at first, but then I started to watch it, thinking I could turn it off if need be, and really could not stop. It was a good film. I also like a film about twins and one accidently drowns in the beginning of the film, when a best friend is babysitting them, which creates all the impact and guilt in the film. I can't recall the name of the film, but Soquorney(sp?) Weaver stars in it. It was an excellent film and drama.

[djy78usa]

I've been on a Will Ferrell bender today. I watched Stranger Than Fiction and Semi Pro.

Stranger than Fiction was great and, seeing as the whole story revolves around a book, I think other lit-net members would enjoy it. The movie tells the story of an IRS agent (Ferrell) whose monotonous life is interrupted when he wakes up one morning to find that he has his own narrator. He discovers that he is a character in the narrator's (Emma Thompson) newest book. The story is original (which seems rare these days), the film is well-shot, and it is nice to see Will Ferrell playing an average (other than the whole "omniscient narrator" thing) guy. It is also worth seeing just for Dustin Hoffman who, as always, seems to steal the show. 8/10

I also enjoyed Semi-Pro, which is a return to classic Will Ferrel form. He plays Jackie Moon, the owner, coach, promoter, and star player of a struggling basketball franchise. Although I really enjoyed seeing him play a regular guy in Stranger than Fiction, it is always great to see Will Ferrell do what he does best, play an over-the-top, ridiculous character. One of my favorite parts of the movie was Jackie's constant insults to a foreign player on his team (despite the team motto: Everyone Love Everyone) 7/10

[LadyWentworth]

Their filming now. It will be released next year.

Thanks for letting me know. I will have to look out for it.

[cipherdecoy]

If re-watching counts then it'd be a 11/10 for V for Vendetta

[Idril]

They do not dwell on the child's death much in "A Handful of Dust." Oh, it does overshadow the film, you should be aware of that, but there are no shots of the child dead. He falls from a pony. You can see it coming as soon as he gets on.

The acting is wonderful, but it is slow moving and very tragic.

Oh, Handful of Dust is a fabulous movie! I haven't seen it for years now but I remember being very struck by it when I did see it. I'm a big fan of Evelyn Waugh so that helps but as you said, the acting is wonderful and the movie is very well put together.

[vheissu]

Stardust
Apparently its based on a book. I think. Don't know how accurate it was, but it was an enjoyable film. 8/10

[Themis]

"Cassandra's Dream"
It was one of the best films I've watched these past years; the music fitted perfectly to the scences, the acting was great; I just loved it! There was maybe one scene at the end that I thought a bit unnecessary but other than that it was absolutely wonderful!
The film's about two brothers who've got to complete an order and how this affects them.
10/10

[Idril]

Stardust
Apparently its based on a book. I think. Don't know how accurate it was, but it was an enjoyable film. 8/10

It's a great book...and the movie wasn't bad as far as accuracy goes...not that that makes any difference but still, I thought I would mention it.

I watched the Norwegian film The Bothersome Man. A weird little film but quite provocative about the emptiness of getting everything you need. It also had crazy amounts of blood for this type of movie, purposely over-the-top so it's okay to laugh kind of blood. There were some truly hilarious scenes in this movie and most of them involved blood and gore. The ending was a little unsatisfying but the journey was well worth the time.

I also watched Mansfield Place, a very predictable but enjoyable movie.

[dreamsbegone]

"bloodsport" by van dam
i'd give it a solid 6/10

[OswaldTheOsprey]

Vera Cruz, a 1954 western with Gary Cooper and Burt Lancaster, and Will Penny, a 1968 western with Charlton Heston and Joan Hackett. Both excellent films-10/10 each.

OswaldTheOsprey

[Shalot]

Sex and the City: The Movie

Today I could have done laundry or changed the sheets or vacuumed the rug, or lined my garden with the stones I pulled out of a Smoky Mountain creek on Saturday. Instead, I went to see the new Sex and The City Movie.

I was a fan of the series. I started watching it while I was still in college, and I loved the way Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda, and of course, Samantha, lived their lives. They were modern, independent, sophisticated, successful professional women who achieved it all without being dependent upon a man, and at the time, as a young 20-something, I liked that idea.

I liked that these characters were four, adult women who maintained adult friendships. Actually, I still like the idea of adult women who are true friends to each other. Most of all, I liked how kick-as.s these women were. Sure, they wanted to find/have a good relationship with a man, but their main goal in life was not to have the storybook wedding (well, except for Charlotte, but she was always the geeked out girl on the series). Instead, they had established their own identities and were functioning in the world with their own careers and paying their own bills (and that does include Charlotte). Any man they dated had to be good enough, and they weren’t settling because they didn’t have to.

Today, I went into that theater, and the series characters had been replaced by squealing, teenaged-acting forty-something-year old women dressed in hideous clothing, and ridiculous, overpriced shoes and I wondered why I ever thought these characters were so great. I swear, those ladies must have squealed 10 times throughout this 2 hour and 15 minute movie. It was like a John Hughes movie gone horribly awry – there was too much cheese and too many sappy music moments.

As I watched the movie, I couldn’t help but wonder (sorry, I couldn’t resist) what I ever thought was so great about Carrie Bradshaw, who has a closet full of shoes that she can’t afford and a maxed out credit card – is that someone to look up to? Then again, she was sort of a successful columnist who had been published, so I guess I can overlook the irresponsibility of the shoes. Still, the end of the story is that 3 of the 4 women end up married. The series wasn't about single, fabulous independent women - it was about women who took a long time to get married. The series/movie doesn’t totally sugarcoat marriage, as we do get to see Charlotte and Miranda deal with real marital conflicts (Charlotte in the series and Miranda in the movie) but in the end, the main character, Carrie Bradshaw finally gets her Prince Charming, and that’s the end. And she lived happily ever after. Great.

It's still light out. I could put those stones down in the garden. The stones are rounded, which means they've been underwater a really long time.