At the flicks

you cried buckets Gail? I must've been feeling non-hormonal that day....

Mary - I'm wanting to see No country..., but The kite runner might get a look in first.

For those of you who are in Paris or London, please check and let me know what theater shows will be in the area during the first two or three weeks of April. I'm looking forward to seeing as many shows as possible while in the area, but hopefully, some recommendations will be helpful in our selections.

Not sure if "enjoyed" is the right word to describe watching No Country...Mary. I agree, a very violent film but nevertheless an extremely powerful movie. Not for the feint of heart and I should probably not have taken mother...she shouted out loud once! I felt quite disillusioned by the end of the movie - is there no hope?

maybe it is time you watched the kite runner, Billy

btw - i didn't mean I felt disillusioned about mother, although I do have to give her a stern talking to about film-going etiquette every now and then..ie.. DO NOT TALK TO ME...DO NOT DIG YOUR NAILS INTO ME...AND DO NOT SCREAM OUT LOUD...
Kite Runner next w/end Mary...although i would like to see 3.10 to Yuma as well.

Saw Darjeeling Express...thought it a bit pretentious, though loved the Indian scenery and characters

Went to see Juno - loved every second of it, wonderful cast, and just a real feel good film, refreshing and honest... 9/10 some fabulous one liners to boot.

Saw The Kite Runner and I wonder at ourselves, of what we can do to one another in the name of religion, war etc and how we can justify it one way or another. The histories of our past are written and documented, we learn nothing and it continues...my mother wept, there was so much that was part of her life in this film.
I haven't read the book, but shall try when i've got thru a few others on my bedside table. Try and see it if you can, it isn't an uplifting film, but we have to have hope, don't we?

I did like the book Billy, but there isn't a lot of hope in it....

Saw The Diving Bell and the Butterfly today, a movie I had been looking forward as I had loved the book. It was an extremely moving film and one that was difficult for me to watch due to the fact that my dad had suffered a stroke and the outcome was not too dissimilar to that of Bauby's, not "locked-in syndrome", but the trachie, the one eye looking out onto the world, the inability to communicate on any level...Max Von Sydow played the role of the father beautifully in incredibly emotional scenes. This is not melodrama, but a movie/story that focuses on the human condition at its frailest and one man's fight to make the 'best' out of a nightmarish situation. To me it epitomises the reason why we should strive to live the best lives we possibly can, leaving the fewest regrets in our wake.

I intend on seeing this when it opens in Ottawa on February 29th. You might want to watch for it if it is distributed internationally.
'Up the Yangtze' documents vanishing way of life
The epic documentary by Chinese-Canadian filmmaker Yung Chang captures some of the final moments before the Three Gorges Dam chokes off the river and the rising waters displace two million people.
Some have compared the project - the largest of its kind in the world - to filling the Grand Canyon with water.
A link: http://www.uptheyangtze.com/

whoo hoo, Javier Bardem just won an oscar for NCFOM. I like his work, especially The Dancer Upstairs, and The Sea.

Saw The Band's Visit..a charming light comedy in English, Hebrew and Arabic about a hapless group of musicians and their arrival in the wrong town. I enjoyed it.

Watched Waitress last night on On Demand. Keri Russell was a revelation and should have been nominated for an academy award (I realize Kate Blanchett is thrilling to watch as Elizabeth, but she didn't deserve the nod for latest, IMHO). Then went to IMDB to read external reviews and made the connection with Adrienne Shelly. Talk about being brought down by the random loss of great talent. The world will sparkle a bit less for her loss.

Just googled AS, I agree 'what a waste'. Will watch out for Waitress

Saw Margot at the Wedding and am yet again underwhelmed by N. kidman's performance...I don't think I have seen a film with her in it that I thought "hey, she's good"...Moulin rouge - ho hum, The Others - yawn, The Hours - her nose was dreadful...
Oh yeah - I'm not even sure if this film deserves 1 star, but I'm feeling indulgent today as i've just had my hair coloured. I shall look out for Waitress too but I'm hoping to see Sleuth soon.

Hey Billy, loved the original Sleuth, have heard that this one is different...let's know if it's 'ticket-worthy'

Billy,
Have you seen To Die For? That was the movie, I believe, which made American critics sit up and reconsider Nicole Kidman as a talent. I personally put her in the class of great actors who make it look so simple, they don't appear to be acting.

Saw Eastern Promises last night. Without spoiling the ending, I will simply say Viggo Mortensen broke my heart once again. Great movie.

Hey Terry,

No I haven't seen To Die For and a fair few others of hers, mainly because she is one of the few actors that I just don't 'buy' - she just leaves me feeling cold...not sure what it is about her! However, Viggo...God what a man...he's a pretty good actor too!

AAhhh Viggo......

Billy, I have to agree with you. Apart from "Dead Calm" I've never seen a movie with Nicole Kidman that I liked.
Pretty much the same with Russell Crowe (except in Master and Commander) I've not even been interested enough to watch them on tv.

I'm sorry, Victoria, but it has to be said you must be suffering from some sort of Ozzie inferiority complex. Russell Crowe (a la Viggo Mortensen) is the man! I watched Gladiator with my husband to humor him, and came away a true believer. Of course, Joaquin Phoenix was the breakout performer in that movie, but Russell Crowe rocks!

Did I kill this thread? I hope not because I love to talk about movies. Like what's with all the attention for "no country for old men" or whatever the heck it was called. I intend to forget it and it's title completely as quickly as possible. Not so "A History of Violence," which we watched around the same time because we hadn't when it came out. Call me a Viggo Mortensen groupie, but that one I liked a lot.

Hey Terry, I watch this thread avidly, but haven't been to the flicks lately. I too loved A History of Violence. I don't usually watch anything violent, but that one was worth it.

Hmmm, I haven't been here in a VERY long time. I'll add my 2 cents worth, though I watch a much different type of movie than I usually see posted here. I rate movies in 3 catergories- "Worth it" means see it in the theater, "Renter" (watch it, but don't go broke), and "Don't Bother".

Saw Semi-pro last weekend (Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson and Andre Benjamin). It was a Renter. Quite a few zingers, but not worth the money to see it in a theater.

And about 3 weeks ago (geez, maybe it was a month ago) I saw Fool's Gold with Matthew McConaughey, Kate Hudson, Donald Sutherland. Worth it. Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson are 2 of my favorite's, though, so I might be a tad biased.

Saw the trailer for Love Guru with Mike Myers, due out in June. Will see that in the theater!

Oh Terry Terry Terry...no popcorn for you sweetpea, No Country For Old Men was one of the most discomforting films I'd seen in a long time - in my opinion. It's not a film to 'enjoy' as such, but I felt the underlying premise that each of us lives by our own principles, whether they be right or wrong, was what was so intriguing and in part explains why people do certain things which make no sense to us, but are quite justifiable in their own eyes...ok, they could also have a screw loose!

I think we have a Viggo/Joaquin Phoenix fan club happening here...

hey Angie, I refer to movies as 'ticket-worthy'...worth the price of admission. Alas, not too many are...thus it's good to get recommends from others. I hate wasting good money on rubbish, though sometimes the occasion makes it worth while.

ooo ooo almost forgot...our walking group has now extended our repertoire to a movie club, this month's film is Sleuth, so when we get together for our trek and pub lunch we can also discuss the movie with as much expertise as Leonard Maltin.

Kenneth Branagh - Director, Harold Pinter - screenplay, Michael Caine...say no more? But I shall...really enjoyed this from the get go, from the strange camera angles to the even stranger dialogue and course of events. I'm not a Jude Law fan, but i got over him as he was quite impressive - has he done any live theatre? If he hasn't I reckon he'd be good...If you want action - don't see this, it's basically a 2-man 'play' with a glimpse of Pinter himself. 8/10 which was further enhanced with a 8 dessert tasting plate which followed in the cafe next door to Cinema Paradiso, which btw is an oxymoron...it was a dump of a theatre.

oohh Billy, I usually indulge in the superbe white chocolate bread and butter pudding in the New Orleans cafe across the road when I go to the Paradiso, but will try your 8 dessert tasting plate....

All right, Billy, if you'll promise to give me back my popcorn, I'll take a second look at No Country with an open mind.
Did my comments disqualify me from being an officer in the VM/JP fan club? And if not, may we add Jude Law?

We don't subscribe to HBO and other premium cable channels, but have become addicted to some of their series via the wonderful world of Netflix DVDs. Highly recommend Big Love about a a Mormon polygomous family trying to live in the mainstream. It is a hoot and a half (very high complement from the Southern U.S.).

To Viggo Mortensen fans: If you've not seen Hidalgo, it is a must see. VM has horses, and the horse cast to play the title role wasn't trained to respond when Viggo talked to him. They simply clicked so well, the owner/trainer said he had no choice but to sell him to Viggo after filming wrapped.

neigh....

On one condition Terry...you have to suc k the popcorn, crunching is a no no. Your comments put you in charge of the fan club, any bias is encouraged if it makes them look and sound good, not that they need the help...however, you're pushing it when suggesting JL should be added, he's a bit of a sleaze bag even if he is a pretty boy...looks can be deceiving.

I saw In the Valley of Elah last night and am still reeling. The title refers, of course, to the place of the David/Goliath confrontation, and even Rolling Stone missed the point when it said Tommy Lee Jones’ character is David. On the contrary, there are no victors with little rocks in this film. Rather, the point is the question asked by a little boy of his police detective mother as she tells him a bedtime story in hopes of making sense of the homicide she has just solved: “Why would they send such a young boy to fight a giant?” “I don’t know,” she responds, and that is the question that rattles through our heads as we contemplate what our (U.S.) soldiers have done and dealt with (or, more accurately, not dealt with) in this worst of all wars in this nation’s history.
The movie’s main flaw, to me, is it’s self-absorption with the Iraq war’s impact on our nation, but perhaps that is acceptable since this is a war we started. While we should be focusing every bit as much on what we have wrought on the Iraqi people and what used to be their nation, perhaps it is all we can manage at this point to examine what we have wrought upon ourselves.
5 out of 5 stars, and Tommy Lee Jones was robbed.

Billy, I'll get back to you re the fan club terms and conditions. Am in too dark a place at the moment to do justice (see review, above).

While we're on the subject of U.S. movies about the Iraq war, the New York Times review of Stop-loss came out today. They think it is more "theatrical" than Elah, but well worth seeing (they also think Elah's poor box office showing has more to do with American tastes for the war up close and personal than that movie's quality).
About Stop-loss, they said, "Instead of high-minded indignation or sorrow, it runs on earthier fuel: sweat, blood, beer, testosterone, loud music and an ideologically indeterminate, freewheeling sense of rage." Wow. We'll wait for DVD, but sounds like it's worth the price of admission.
The review is at http://movies.nytimes.com/2008/03/28/movies/28stop.html?8mu&emc=mua1. Registration is required, but it is free.