Instead of preparing for the SAT II math exam and my upcoming history final, I ended up watching a lot of movies: Alfie (the original), Get Carter (the original), Carnival of Souls (elements of the Sixth Sense here), and Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. Sadly enough, I ended up enjoying the last one more than I would like to admit to even if there was a lot of potty humor.
But my favorite that I've seen within the last week has to be Phantom of the Opera, which completely surprised me since it got really melodramatic for my taste. It's lovely eye-candy at the very least-the sets and costumes are gorgeous, and the orchestra is magnificent for the instrumental backing. I've never actually seen the musical, but I've played a medley of the main songs when I used to be in band (ah, the good old days when schools funded instrumental music programs!), and I know the storyline. I've heard that the movie tends to fill out the plot and give some background information on Christine and the Phantom which explains their motives more clearly, but I don't know this for sure. Emmy Rossum has a lovely voice, but the only problem I had with her is that she hasn't completely grown into her vocal range yet-she can comfortably sing the second soprano range but has a little trouble with some of the higher notes. Still, I was quite impressed.
Flattery will get you nowhere, but don't stop trying.
One of the DVDs I was lucky to get this year was The Battle Of Britain, produced by Harry Saltzman, directed by Guy Hamilton and starring Laurence Olivier, Susannah Yorke, Robert Shaw, Curt Jurgens, Ian McShane, Michael Caine and Christopher Plummer. A superb account of that fateful day in September 1940 when what was left of the RAF shredded the Luftwaffe in the skies above England and stopped Hitler's planned invasion of Britain. THE moment when the war in Europe was won, ensuring somewhere in Europe to launch the invasion of France 4 years later.
Captivating accuracy and a particular star performance from Lawrence Olivier as the dour head of Air Command, Sir Hugh Dowding.
Hugo DraxLeeds, United Kingdom.Posts: 210MI6 Agent
They showed Murder on the Orient Express on ITV1 yesterday. It more than made up for the absence of a Bond film.
This is the best screen adaptation of an Agatha Christie novel IMO. It has a stellar cast: Albert Finney, Sean Connery, John Gielgud, Lauren Bacall, Ingrid Bergman. And the solution to the murder is brilliant.
I just got done watching the entire Star Wars Trilogy and sneakers
(I've been watching to much James Bond lately)
not that that's a bad thing
superadoRegent's Park West (CaliforniaPosts: 2,656MI6 Agent
Elf and the Bourne Supremacy, in that order.
"...the purposeful slant of his striding figure looked dangerous, as if he was making quickly for something bad that was happening further down the street." -SMERSH on 007 dossier photo, Ch. 6 FRWL.....
Quoting Hugo Drax:
They showed Murder on the Orient Express on ITV1 yesterday. It more than made up for the absence of a Bond film.
This is the best screen adaptation of an Agatha Christie novel IMO. It has a stellar cast: Albert Finney, Sean Connery, John Gielgud, Lauren Bacall, Ingrid Bergman. And the solution to the murder is brilliant.
A classic.
Despite being an avid Christie fan, I have yet to actually see the very beginning of this film.
And you can't forget Vanessa Redgrave .
Flattery will get you nowhere, but don't stop trying.
I watched The Manchurian Candidate and the director's cut of King Arthur last night.
I watched the latter while it was in theatres and I didn't hate it, but it wasn't my favorite movie either. The added "R" rating made the movie better than what I remembered it to be.
The Manchurian Candidate was also a good movie -- slow pacing at first, but the plot was intriguing. I thought Liev Shreiber was a great fit to the role as well.
Also watched Coyote Ugly tonight since there wasn't anything else on. Not an entirely bad movie for what it is.
Casino, the Martin Scorcese film with Robert DeNiro, Joe Pesci and Sharon Stone.
For the first hour it's like a poor man's GoodFellas as DeNiro's ever-present voiceover takes us through the scams that go on, it's like he never stops talking and a bit tedious too. Stone seems wasted and you can't see why DeNiro's character, who runs a Las Vegas casino well until his mate from back home, Pesci, turns up and starts ruining things for him, falls for her.
There's the cliche where some dumb huckster unknowingly insults the main guy, who then asks him to repeat his insult or repent. Dumb huckster refuses and is then beaten to pulp by Pesci.
Still, great cinematography that would be great in a Bond film, and then the film takes off, with Stone getting a chance to show her acting chops and some great tension between DeNiro and Pesci who see each other as the reason the whole thing is coming crashing down.
Unfortunately, dare I say that DeNiro is just not as charimsatic a confidante as Ray Liotta in GoodFellas? And, Scorcese doesn't build up the joy of the ascent as well as the falling off.
Sharon Stone in Casino. God, somebody shoot me and put me out of my misery.
The argument with her and DeNiro. And the constant screaming and the consistent ramming of his parked vehicle. AAAAAAARRHGHH!!!!!
I guess that's a testament to her acting skills if she wanted me to despise her character. Because she definitely achieved success in that department. WOO-BOY.
Last movie I saw, Disney's The Black Hole. Still as great as I remembered it, and Barry's space opera a fine piece, although his other classic from that same period is indefinely superior. Good old fashioned flick for the whole family. One of the last big budget movies made the old way, as Disney's next project, Tron, ushered in the era of computer imaging.
This film looked quite promising when released. The idea of a guy who can read the minds of women is a very good one; something most men wish they could do!
It started off well, despite Mel Gibson (who is complete crap in everything he has ever done), and Helen Hunt who does get on my nerves in many of her films. She was very good in this however. It went far too rom-com and soppy for my tastes, and by the end I couldn't help thinking what a waste of my life that film was.
Quoting Napoleon Plural:
Casino, the Martin Scorcese film with Robert DeNiro, Joe Pesci and Sharon Stone...
A fair step down from Goodfellas, I would say. Spot on review, Napoleon.
I saw Sideways last week. Loved it. Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor can really write. Excellent performances by the four major players. Special for me because I recognized most of the locales in California.
Ended up watching part of Dances with Wolves (after all, it's at least 4 hours long and I wanted to finish watching the Alias season 4 premier )). I got the soundtrack first before seeing the film, and I was able to figure out a few things in advance because the music really cues you in. In general I dislike Kevin Costner, but he was quite good in this one.
Flattery will get you nowhere, but don't stop trying.
It was ok for the most part -- I think to completely understand it, you'd have to watch Pitch Black; And that's something I haven't done in full yet, so the story involved a lot of seemingly random things. I also dislike Vin Diesel immensely. How he keeps getting movie deals is beyond me -- the guy can't act to save his life.
All in all, I really liked the action/fight scenes and a lot of the eye candy was really well done.
I saw National Treasure last night and really liked it. It was a very historically interesting movie with some good action bits thrown in. Nic Cage isn't my favorite actor, but he did a decent job in his role.
I have been watching the Back to the Future movies again. I love them, but my current overload has me running around, shouting obscure quotes from the movies ) . I had nothing to do today.
Rented The Terminal tonight -- had no intention on watching it, but I figured what else is there to do on a Saturday night?
It started out sub-par and slow. Once I began to lose interest, the story started to flow a little more, and I became a fan by the end of the movie. It was a very original story with great directing to boot (with Steven Spielberg, was anyone expecting any differently?). I could possibly see this as getting another rent, but I'd rather not.
Sigh. Back to school tomorrow. No more random movie watching all day long.
Mr MartiniThat nice house in the sky.Posts: 2,709MI6 Agent
I was stuck at home with out my car on Friday so I thought I'd throw in Mrs. Doubtfire in the 'ol DVD player. Even though I've seen this hundreds of times I still laughed throuh out the whole movie.
Some people would complain even if you hang them with a new rope
Instead of watching action movies all the time, my Mom and I watched The Polar Express, and The remake of The Phantom Of The Opera. But that movie put me to sleep because there was mostly singing than acting!
I watched The Godfather and The Godfather: Part II this past weekend. They were indeed very good films. I still just don't see why they are held in such high esteem. The are ranked #1 and #4 on IMDB on the top 250 movies of all time. They are certainly the best movies ever made about the Mafia and have very good acting. I would go as far to say that Al Pacino did a better job acting as Michael Corleone than Marlon Brando did as Vito. Part I is the better film, but not by much. Part II was just too damn long (3 hours and 20 minutes) and did not have Sonny, my favorite character. I just tend to prefer films like James Bond, Jurassic Park, Star Wars, and Indiana Jones more.
Normally I tend to prefer action over thought when talking about movies, too. Don't get me wrong, I get a lot of joy out of analyzing movies with great storylines and all, but usually my brain needs a break, and that's where action movies come in.
Anyway, I watched Napolean Dynamite tonight -- it was so random and hilarious. A lot of people hated it the first time they saw it, and while I didn't 'love' it, I really enjoyed it. Pretty witty, I thought.
Comments
Together with "Hawaii 5-0", this must count as the best police/detective serial ever made.
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jfm
"just one more thing, sir" -- columbo
But my favorite that I've seen within the last week has to be Phantom of the Opera, which completely surprised me since it got really melodramatic for my taste. It's lovely eye-candy at the very least-the sets and costumes are gorgeous, and the orchestra is magnificent for the instrumental backing. I've never actually seen the musical, but I've played a medley of the main songs when I used to be in band (ah, the good old days when schools funded instrumental music programs!), and I know the storyline. I've heard that the movie tends to fill out the plot and give some background information on Christine and the Phantom which explains their motives more clearly, but I don't know this for sure. Emmy Rossum has a lovely voice, but the only problem I had with her is that she hasn't completely grown into her vocal range yet-she can comfortably sing the second soprano range but has a little trouble with some of the higher notes. Still, I was quite impressed.
Captivating accuracy and a particular star performance from Lawrence Olivier as the dour head of Air Command, Sir Hugh Dowding.
This is the best screen adaptation of an Agatha Christie novel IMO. It has a stellar cast: Albert Finney, Sean Connery, John Gielgud, Lauren Bacall, Ingrid Bergman. And the solution to the murder is brilliant.
A classic.
Finney's is also the best portrayal of Poirot ever made. Peter Ustinov's version is simply too comical. It's like comparing Sean Bond with Roger Bond.
Aubergine in AVTAK comes pretty close to Poirot, however, which I guess was intentional.
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jfm
"i'm the man for the job" -- lawrence of arabia
(I've been watching to much James Bond lately)
not that that's a bad thing
Why can't they create characters like Mr Roley (Edmund Gwenn) anymore? He would have been perfect in a Bond movie.
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jfm
"well, i could stay a *bit* longer" -- sir galahad
Despite being an avid Christie fan, I have yet to actually see the very beginning of this film.
And you can't forget Vanessa Redgrave
I watched the latter while it was in theatres and I didn't hate it, but it wasn't my favorite movie either. The added "R" rating made the movie better than what I remembered it to be.
The Manchurian Candidate was also a good movie -- slow pacing at first, but the plot was intriguing. I thought Liev Shreiber was a great fit to the role as well.
Also watched Coyote Ugly tonight since there wasn't anything else on. Not an entirely bad movie for what it is.
For the first hour it's like a poor man's GoodFellas as DeNiro's ever-present voiceover takes us through the scams that go on, it's like he never stops talking and a bit tedious too. Stone seems wasted and you can't see why DeNiro's character, who runs a Las Vegas casino well until his mate from back home, Pesci, turns up and starts ruining things for him, falls for her.
There's the cliche where some dumb huckster unknowingly insults the main guy, who then asks him to repeat his insult or repent. Dumb huckster refuses and is then beaten to pulp by Pesci.
Still, great cinematography that would be great in a Bond film, and then the film takes off, with Stone getting a chance to show her acting chops and some great tension between DeNiro and Pesci who see each other as the reason the whole thing is coming crashing down.
Unfortunately, dare I say that DeNiro is just not as charimsatic a confidante as Ray Liotta in GoodFellas? And, Scorcese doesn't build up the joy of the ascent as well as the falling off.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
The argument with her and DeNiro. And the constant screaming and the consistent ramming of his parked vehicle. AAAAAAARRHGHH!!!!!
I guess that's a testament to her acting skills if she wanted me to despise her character. Because she definitely achieved success in that department. WOO-BOY.
Last movie I saw, Disney's The Black Hole. Still as great as I remembered it, and Barry's space opera a fine piece, although his other classic from that same period is indefinely superior. Good old fashioned flick for the whole family. One of the last big budget movies made the old way, as Disney's next project, Tron, ushered in the era of computer imaging.
- Veronica Guerin
- L'Auberge Espagnole
I highly recommend the latter.
This film looked quite promising when released. The idea of a guy who can read the minds of women is a very good one; something most men wish they could do!
It started off well, despite Mel Gibson (who is complete crap in everything he has ever done), and Helen Hunt who does get on my nerves in many of her films. She was very good in this however. It went far too rom-com and soppy for my tastes, and by the end I couldn't help thinking what a waste of my life that film was.
3.9/10
I saw Sideways last week. Loved it. Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor can really write. Excellent performances by the four major players. Special for me because I recognized most of the locales in California.
It was ok for the most part -- I think to completely understand it, you'd have to watch Pitch Black; And that's something I haven't done in full yet, so the story involved a lot of seemingly random things. I also dislike Vin Diesel immensely. How he keeps getting movie deals is beyond me -- the guy can't act to save his life.
All in all, I really liked the action/fight scenes and a lot of the eye candy was really well done.
It started out sub-par and slow. Once I began to lose interest, the story started to flow a little more, and I became a fan by the end of the movie. It was a very original story with great directing to boot (with Steven Spielberg, was anyone expecting any differently?). I could possibly see this as getting another rent, but I'd rather not.
Sigh. Back to school tomorrow. No more random movie watching all day long.
Anyway, I watched Napolean Dynamite tonight -- it was so random and hilarious. A lot of people hated it the first time they saw it, and while I didn't 'love' it, I really enjoyed it. Pretty witty, I thought.