Recently viewed films

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Who Shot Sam?
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Re: Recently viewed films

Post by Who Shot Sam? »

Otis Westinghouse wrote:Yes, and pray that she completely fails to deliver it!
All we got was a bit of hyperventilating.

God the musical medley was terrible - one line from every movie musical ever made. What's the point?

And what in the world was going on with the best picture montage at the end? Pray tell what does 12 Angry Men have to do with Slumdog Millionaire or Butch Cassidy with Benjamin Button? Bringing all the stars out to do their personal spiel on each nominee was also unnecessary, though De Niro and Kingsley both did a good job of it.
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Otis Westinghouse
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Re: Recently viewed films

Post by Otis Westinghouse »

What a shame! I guess she was never going to let it happen twice. Nice to see Sean Penn getting it. Danny Boyle's Tigger was good.
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Re: Recently viewed films

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Who Shot Sam? wrote:Bringing all the stars out to do their personal spiel on each nominee was also unnecessary, though De Niro and Kingsley both did a good job of it.

That may have been my favorite aspect of the entire show, actually. There's something very inspiring about hearing a legendary actor tip their hat at a relative newcomer. But that's also why I found what the older actors had to say a lot more interesting than someone like Adrien Brody or Marion Colliard (talented as they are, they're not really in any position to inspire or mentor people yet)

And I suppose these actors probably didn't even come up with what they were supposed to say, so maybe the artifice would've been distracting if I let my guard down. Still, I liked it.

How awesome was it when Kate Winslet instructed her dad to whistle, at which point he actually did you and you could hear it loud as a bell.
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Re: Recently viewed films

Post by pophead2k »

I really disliked the personalized speeches to each of the actors. It sent what is already a ridiculously (but enjoyable) overblown night of self-congratulatory behavior into the stratosphere. I don't think most movie stars need any more ego stroking. Secondly, it made it feel like there were 20 extra acceptance speeches, something I could do without.
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Re: Recently viewed films

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But how many of the acting nominees could you really classify as "stars"? Certainly Brad, Angelina, Meryl, Sean, etc. But what about Richard Jenkins, Frank Langella, Viola Davis, Taraji P. Henson, Melissa Leo, etc.... all extremely talented actors (not stars) who probably didn't stand a chance in the first place, but deserved their moment. It was long, sure, but the Oscars are always long.
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Re: Recently viewed films

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How awesome was it when Kate Winslet instructed her dad to whistle, at which point he actually did you and you could hear it loud as a bell.
that was the best part of the whole damn show. well, that and Philippe Petit.
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Re: Recently viewed films

Post by Who Shot Sam? »

BlueChair wrote:But how many of the acting nominees could you really classify as "stars"? Certainly Brad, Angelina, Meryl, Sean, etc. But what about Richard Jenkins, Frank Langella, Viola Davis, Taraji P. Henson, Melissa Leo, etc.... all extremely talented actors (not stars) who probably didn't stand a chance in the first place, but deserved their moment. It was long, sure, but the Oscars are always long.
Perhaps, but those are the little speeches I was least taken with. Adrien Brody's bit on Richard Jenkins was especially poor, which surprised me - basically "You've been in a lot of films."

It's nice to see them try to do something different with the Oscars, but here are some more reasonable suggestions:

-Can the short film categories, or at least present them at a separate ceremony. Regrettably, few, if any, people have seen these films. Or if you are going to include them, add some sort of showcase evening on ABC when people can view them. You might also consider doing this for minor categories like sound editing and visual effects. Yes, I know these people are important and worthy of their recognition. But does anyone outside of the industry and their immediate families care?

-Cut the musical medley number. After finding out that Baz Luhrmann was responsible for that monstrosity on Sunday I never want to see any of his films.

-No song performances. Its inevitably bad. Peter Gabriel has it right - if you can't do justice to the songs then why bother? Besides, it's not the Grammys. You're supposed to be celebrating film.

-Shorter awards intros (get rid of the 5 previous winners nonsense), but with an actual clip from the each performance/film - something lasting longer than 10 seconds. I got no sense on Sunday of what made any of these performances/films special, because they never showed me. Of course, I had seen a few of them already, but for others I was totally in the dark. What made Sean Penn so great in Milk? I have no idea. During the entirety of the Oscar ceremony, were we shown a film clip any longer than 10 seconds? If so, I can't remember it. I don't think the people who put the show together have any real appreciation for cinema.
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Re: Recently viewed films

Post by bambooneedle »

My favourite part was seeing all the front row "stars" laughing at Huge Jackoff's lame jokes and trying to act self-effacing when attention was put on them. Confirmed what I always knew - Meryl Streep can't act for shit.
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I dunno about can't act, but Meryl Streep can't dress. She always wears the ugliest old lady gowns.
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Re: Recently viewed films

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mood swung wrote:I dunno about can't act, but Meryl Streep can't dress. She always wears the ugliest old lady gowns.
I'm no Mr. Blackwell (thank God), but I thought Alicia Keys looked best. I liked Winslet's dress but my wife didn't. She did have old Republican lady hair though. My daughter thought Miley Cyrus looked great (she's right). Mickey Rourke is one of the few dudes in the world who should be allowed to wear Jean-Paul Gauthier. He can carry it off.
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Re: Recently viewed films

Post by bambooneedle »

mood swung wrote:I dunno about can't act, but Meryl Streep can't dress. She always wears the ugliest old lady gowns.
She's such a Gertrude.
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Good description. I liked Kate Winslet's whole look, a little retro, a little glam, not one bit overdone and, thank you jesus, COLOR. The real disappointment was Reese Witherspoon. Shades of Scarlet O'Hara's curtains!

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Or maybe that's Scarlet O'Hara's shower curtain.
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Re: Recently viewed films

Post by Who Shot Sam? »

Then there is Sophia Loren. Awful...

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Re: Recently viewed films

Post by johnfoyle »

Monsters vs. Aliens

Hugely entertaining , lots of duck-your-head 3D effects. It, however, just wasn't scary in anyway. I did wet my pants a bit but that was 'cos I opened my bottled fizzy drink too quickly and splashed myself. Not a very good idea, admittedly, at a afternoon showing in a cinema full of pre-teens. I had a little nap half way through so probably missed some crucial plot elements. Kiefer S. gleefully undermines his Jack Bauer image.

The Boat That Rocked

Dreadful dialogue, storyline that beggered belief in it's obviousness and four scenes involving women sitting on the toilet. Trite, lazy cinema or , maybe, a subtle tribute to Carry On/ Confessions of... films. Few shots last more than a 10 seconds , giving the staggering two hour length a truly dizzying effect. One scene stood out, involving three blokes sharing a single cup of coffee and a plate of biscuits, soundtracked by Leonard Cohen's Marianne. As for the anachronistic use of songs - don't get me started!
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Re: Recently viewed films

Post by Who Shot Sam? »

I'll probably be taking my boy to see Monsters vs. Aliens on Friday. We have the day off and the kids are on Spring Break. My daughter wants to see the Hannah Montana movie and I'm not going to be caught dead seeing that.
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Man On Wire. I've been dying to see it since the Oscars. Fascinating.
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Re: Recently viewed films

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I just saw Sunshine Cleaning in the theater, and enjoyed it. It's a film about two sisters stuck in dead-end jobs who start their own crime scene cleanup business. It's marketed as a comedy, but it's not, really—all the jokes got put in the trailer. Flawed, but worth seeing.

By the way, I started a blog to make people aware of the films directed by women that are opening up every weekend. I figure we could use more movies like Sunshine Cleaning and fewer like The Ghosts of Girlfriends Past. Check it out and let me know what you think!

http://xxcinemablog.blogspot.com
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do dvd rentals count? I watched Frozen River because Melissa Leo was in it - pretty darn good.
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Re: Recently viewed films

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miss buenos aires wrote:I just saw Sunshine Cleaning in the theater, and enjoyed it. It's a film about two sisters stuck in dead-end jobs who start their own crime scene cleanup business. It's marketed as a comedy, but it's not, really—all the jokes got put in the trailer. Flawed, but worth seeing.

By the way, I started a blog to make people aware of the films directed by women that are opening up every weekend. I figure we could use more movies like Sunshine Cleaning and fewer like The Ghosts of Girlfriends Past. Check it out and let me know what you think!

http://xxcinemablog.blogspot.com

Yeah, flawed, but still one of my best trips to the cinema in a long time. I enjoyed the film, especially the irony that runs throughout. Some brillaint performances, and great writing.

Want a brilliantly written stageplay by a female? "God of Carnage". Just saw in NYC. Four actors, James Gandolfini, Jeff Daniels, Hope Davis, and Marcia Gay Harden. Best time ever on Broadway, at Bernard Jacobs theatre, the perfect venue. See website and if in NYC pay wahtever it costs to see it, you will be happy you did. And if you have kids, plan a trip with this as the centerpiece..would I lead you wrong? Wait. Never mind. See it. Brilliant. Did I say Brilliant?
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Re: Recently viewed films

Post by miss buenos aires »

I've heard God of Carnage is excellent—I've never seen Art, which was also written by Yasmine Reza, but I read it for a class and enjoyed it. I have a friend who can sometimes get discounted theater tickets, so I'm hoping her connection comes through for God of Carnage and the West Side Story revival.

Mood, I really liked Frozen River too—the ending was a little pat, but I thought it really captured the desperation of poverty. I will put it on my "To Write Up" list—thanks!
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Re: Recently viewed films

Post by mood swung »

Did anybody else hate Revolutionary Road? Never read the book and I'm pretty sure I don't want to now. Will there be a 60's/70's sequel following the lives of those kids nobody wants to be? Oh wait, that was Forrest Gump.


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Re: Recently viewed films

Post by Emotional Toothpaste »

Man on Wire was excellent. Rented it a couple nights ago and very interesting how they plotted and planned, and then the balls it took to actually do it. He was jumping on the rain-soaked wire, and also laid down on it. Crazy. And how do you string a cable that weights 450 lbs from a height of 1350 ft across 2 towers that are 150 feet and also stabilize it. Had some really funny parts too, but very, very good.
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Re: Recently viewed films

Post by Otis Westinghouse »

mood swung wrote:Did anybody else hate Revolutionary Road? Never read the book and I'm pretty sure I don't want to now.
Excellent film and the book, which I've yet to read, seems even better by all accounts. Ask BWAP.

I made a rare recent trip to the cinema to see Ken Loach's Looking For Eric.
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Godlike football genius Eric Cantona becomes more than a poster on the wall for middle-aged man in hour of need. They share a spliff, some wine, Eric dispenses pensées and says of the vexed man's ex-wife 'I like zis woman, she 'as BOLS, she 'as beeg BOLS'. It's bonkers, very funny and quite superb. Eric reveals, presumably truthfully, that his greatest moment was not a goal, not a kung fu kick to a racist thug, but an outside foot pass to Dennis Irwin, who then scored from it. There's plenty of glorious Cantona in action footage, and also some trumpet playing. Nice one Loach, and a great opportunity to drool over one of the world's greatest ever players.
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Re: Recently viewed films

Post by Jack of All Parades »

Did not enjoy the movie Revolutionary Road as much when we saw it in the movie house- thought some of the acting was fine-would highly recommend the book-one of my personal favorites and I think the best treatment of the damage men and women can do to one another since Anna Karinina. Would vote highly for Man on a Wire- was in the city when this went on and still marvel at his sheer audacity-side note had not realized that his friend David who assisted him- until the end of the film -was David Forman who had a brief recording career in the early 70s-even bought his self titled album-long gone-seem to recall he had a good song about a returning vet from Vietnam.
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Re: Recently viewed films

Post by ice nine »

Away We Go is a nice, witty, quiet movie. The main couple is a well adjusted couple dealing with starting a family and the peripheral characters are either crazy-over-the-top or dealing with problems of their own. I didn't see Revolutionery Road, but from what I've read on imdb.com the couple in that Mendes movie is moving in the opposite directiion as in this Mendes movie. Terrific movie.
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