Movies, anyone?

[jan3213]

WAM

I went to a website, and it's spelled "Descent". Do I win anything???? Oh, I hope it's a BRAND NEW CAR!

Ever hopeful
Jan

[JimmyLegsJen]

I liked Descent...had some good creepy parts and where the girls are climbing thru the cave in real tight spots you really got the feel of how small it was. That was just as creepy to me as the actually evil things(no idea what they were) in the movie.


I like that show The Office as well...my boyfriend is from England so he had to get the english version which was REAL funny. Some things I couldn't understand when they were talkin cuz of the accents but very very funny show.

[mikeyvon]

Hey Jimmylegsjen,

Jen, where ya from in Cleveland? We lived on Minor Rd. in Highland Heights for 15 years before moving to PA in 1991. In fact, I'm going to Akron/Cleve tomorrow to visit for a few days.

Also, Hi to all

mike

[JimmyLegsJen]

Yeah I live in Berea right near the airport! Do you like living in PA better?

[sardsy75]

Just my two cents worth ...

Foreign Films:

1. Hero - Lead Actor/s: Jet Li, Tony Leung, Maggie Cheung; Director: Zhang Yimou
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hero_%28film%29

2. House of Flying Daggers - Lead Actor/s: Takeshi Kaneshire, Andy Lau, Zizi Zhang; Oscar Nominated: Best Cinematography 2004; Director: Zhang Yimou
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_flying_daggers

3. Like Water for Chocolate - Lead Actor/s: Marco Leonardi, Lumi Cavazos, Regina Torne, Mario Ivan Martinez; Director: Alfonso Aaru; Won ALL 11 Ariel Awards of the Mexican Academy of Motion Pictures!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Like_water_for_chocolate

4. Wolf Creek - Horror (Very Brutal!!!) - Lead Actor/s: John Jarratt, Cassandra Magrath, Kestie Morassi, Nathan Phillips; Director: Greg McLean
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolf_Creek_%28film%29

Japanese Anime:

1. Howl's Moving Castle - Lead Actor/s: Jean Simmons, Christian Bale, Lauren Bacall, Blythe Danner, Emily Mortimer, Billy Crystal; Director/Writer: Hayao Miyazki
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howls_moving_castle

2. Spirited Away - Oscar Winner 2003: Best Animated Feature Film. Lead Actor/s (English Voices): Daveigh Chase, Jason Marsden, Susan Egan, Michael Chiklis, Lauren Holly; Director: Hayao Miyazaki

There are 12 other movies in the Hayao Miyazaki Collection ... all are wonderful!

Other:

1. Chocolat - Lead Actor/s: Juliette Binoche, Judi Dench, Alfred Molina, Lena Olin, Johnny Depp; Director: Lasse Halstrom; Nominated for 5 Academy Awards
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chocolat_%28film%29

2. Amadeus - Lead Actor/s: F. Murray Abraham, Tom Hulce, Elizabeth Berridge; Director: Milos Forman; Winner of 8 Academy Awards
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amadeus_%28film%29

3. Mr Hollands Opus - Lead Actor/s: Richard Dreyfuss, Glenne Headly, Jay Thomas, Olympia Dukakis; Director: Stephen Herek; Oscar and Golden Globe Nominated.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr_hollands_opus

4. Saw - Thriller/Horror; Lead Actor/s: Leigh Whannell, Cary Elwes, Danny Glover, Ken Leung; Director: James Wan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saw_%282004_movie%29

5. Saw II - Lead Actor/s: Emmanuelle Vaugier, Donnie Wahlberg, Shawnee Smith, Tobin Bell; Director: Darren Lynn Bousman
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saw_II

TV Series (available on DVD):

1. Hornblower - The umbrella title of an acclaimed series of television drama programmes loosely based on C. S. Forester's novels about the character Horatio Hornblower, a British naval officer during the Napoleonic Wars. Lead Actor/s: Ioan Gruffudd, David Warner, Philip Glenister, Paul McGann.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hornblower_%28TV_series%29

[mikeyvon]

Hi Jen,

Got back last night from Ohio. And sure, we know Berea quite well, but most of our west side friends were from Westlake and Lakewood. We moved to PA just for a change after 15 years in Cleveland. I miss the big city stuff in Cleve the most...especially the Cleveland Orchestra and good pubs. We're in a small city now but NYC, Phily, Baltimore, and Washington are all only 2-3 hours away.

mike

[Hos]

Hey...TV. Anyone a fan of "The Office"?
I love that show. "The 40 Year Old Virgin". I'm blanking out on his name. As soon as I click "Submit" it will come to me.

Steve Carell as Michael Scott. That's about the only show I watch although I've enjoyed late night with Craig Ferguson lately.

But, back to the movies. I rarely rent/go to movies but I'll surely try many of the ones listed here. Man, I'm like Ann and can't remember movies. I did like Cindrella Man recently. A romantic boxing movie. (Oxymoron?) I also liked Napeolon Dinamite. It was a very "niche" movie since it took place in a 1980's high school and plenty of jokes were from that time period.

Here's a good web site that offers tons of movie reviews and averages not only all the snooty critics scores but also does a seperate average based on regular people's scores. Neat to see the comparison. For instance, the movie "Click" got an average of 31% from critics and 63% from "Users" aka real people.
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/movies/

[Walking After Midnight]

Steve Carell as Michael Scott.

I also liked Napeolon Dinamite. It was a very "niche" movie since it took place in a 1980's high school and plenty of jokes were from that time period.

Hos...Steve Carrell, that's the guy. Did you watch last night? "Prison Mike". Cracked me up.

Napoleon Dynamite - What a great movie. I honestly didn't realize it was an 80's movie. I thought maybe everyone in Idaho was backward about 20 years. You know, I own it. I've watched it so many times I don't have to watch it anymore to get a laugh. I just replay it in my head. I'll be at work and they'll go...WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU SMILING ABOUT?
But don't you kinda have a hard time admitting you like it? It's not that it's wrong to like it, or there are things in the movie that are embarrassing, but it kind of puts a stain on your "Movie Credibility". It's like..."OH. You like THAT movie? Well, nevermind then." And that person will NEVER ask you about a movie again.

It's like "The Gods Must Be Crazy". Great Great Great movie. But to people that didn't like it...like EVERYONE in my family...it was the dumbest movie ever made. I love that movie.

Another good one, I was just thinking about...Anchorman. Did we already mention that one? I guess you have to be a Will Ferrel fan. It made me laugh. But it's another one that's just Entertainment. No Film Class will ever mention it. No redeeming social value except it's just funny.

[Hos]

lol. I think you're right (after reading a review), it must be in present day but the set and clothes have an 80's feel. I need to rent that again. It's a movie that one loves or hates.

My wife hated it but laughed at me laughing so we were both happy. I'm guessing it's a movie for people who hated high school but just a guess.

I too liked the "crazy gods" movie. And since no one will appreciate my reviews anymore I have nothing left to lose... I LOVED "DUMB AND DUMBER!"

[sardsy75]

ahhhh ... Napolean Dynamite ... now there's a quirky movie!

I'm in the basket of people who thought it was a good laugh, although during the first 10 minutes i was thinking "what the???" before settling in to enjoy it thoroughly.

Ferris Beullers Day Off would have to be one of my altime favourites.

I have to admit to seeing "A Shark's Tale" whilst slightly intoxicated (well, maybe a little more than slightly) ... it made the movie a little more hilarious than it really was ... but hey, we had fun

[Walking After Midnight]

OK since Dec., who's seen good movies and what were they?

I forgot to tell you guys about the movie "Shine". It's about a boy prodigy piano player with an overprotective and overbearing Father. It's an excellent movie and the dude, Geoffrey Rush who plays the main character won a grammy for his portrayal of the guy and I'm pretty sure it's based on a true story. It sounds boring but it's really good. The guy reminds me of my brother-in-law so if anyone wants to know what my brother-in-law is like.......

I loved this movie I caught on IFC called "Grand Theft Parsons". Gram Parsons, if you don't know was kind of the guy who started doing Country Rock music. He was with a band called The Flying Burrito Brothers but put out a couple solo albums too. They called him the "Grievous Angel" for some reason. But anyway, he had a good friend and one day they were getting high or something and they promised each other that whoever died first, the other would make sure he was cremated in the Desert. So the movie starts with this friend of Gram's, who rides a Harley trike throughout the movie, getting the news that Gram died. (He died at the age of 26 from the drug overdose/heart attack thing that was really popular back in the early 70's) So he has to steal Gram's body...
Really good movie...some great music of Gram's in it too.

I saw another movie called..."A Love Song for Bobby Long" that was really great too. John Travolta is in it as is Scarlett Johannsen...I happen to really like both actors. It's kinda different, set in Louisiana about a woman who's died and her daughter that kinda never really knew her comes down for the funeral. The Louisiana factor is really cool...I like the feel of Movies set in the deep south for some reason. But it's good.

Also, Turner Classic Movies was playing Woody Allen and I watched "Bananas" which is another of my favorite Woody Allen movies about a kind of loser who ends up in South America in the middle of a presidential coup.

So then. Go watch all those movies and tell me what you think, and tell me some more good ones to watch. I'm gonna go try and find "Y Tu Mama" and "The Motorcycle Diaries".

[lizbestill]

It's like "The Gods Must Be Crazy". Great Great Great movie. But to people that didn't like it...like EVERYONE in my family...it was the dumbest movie ever made. I love that movie.

I LOVE that movie!!! Haven't seen it in a while, though. The last movie we saw was Ratatoullie. It was ok, rather long and the rats cooking in the kitchen at the end kind of gave me the willies!! My son loved it though!!

And as for Napoleon Dynamite, my daughter has made us watch it so many times! My mother-in-law couldn't figure out why at dinner time we would all tell each other "Tina ya fat lard, come get your dinner" she thought we were just being rude!!
Elizabeth

[ViewsAskew]

True to form, we still aren't going to the movie theater - just too spendy for me.

But, I like to look through Independent Film Channel and Sundance and see what's coming up. We also get HBO - part of the package deal through our condo association - so I read the schedule there, too. Recently we've seen some good ones....but I'll be darned if I can think of the names!

Aha! I kept the list of what I recorded recently.

Once was lovely. I loved that it didn't have a Hollywood ending. Their voices are so wonderful. We also watched the Contender. Interesting with all the political stuff that has been happening here in the US. The behind the scenes machinations, good heavens. I liked it, but the ending WAS Hollywood. Hollywood writers should write for the politicians, lol. Did Hos recommend this recently???

Two others were very good - one from Agentina and one from Spain. The Argentinian - called Live In Maid - was about a women who had lost a lot of her money - a wealthy woman - who'd had a live in maid for about 30 years. It was both about their relationship and how the woman was trying to survive and keep up her lifestyle without the money she needed. The Spanish one was about two senior citizens who lived next to each other in an apartment. Seemingly quite different from each other, they get into a relationship with each other. Very touching...can't remember the name, though

Others to recommend:

Heavy Load
Painted Veil
Tucker


I have about 30 recorded on TiVo, so I suppose I'll be sharing my results soon.

[mikeyvon]

Hi Ann,

Yeah we live in redneck Pennsylvania so the only movies we get are the Rambo/Disney/Hollywood junk. Sure miss the Art Theatre in Cleveland.

Anyhow, have you seen "Slumdog Millionaire" yet? I hear so much good stuff about it. I'm going to LA tomorrow so maybe I'll catch it there.

and happy new year too.

mike

[ViewsAskew]

Nope, haven't seen it...I'll keep a lookout for it.

Even though I'm in a big city, I TiVO most of what I see. I wish I paid more attention to what's at the art theaters, though, as sometimes the movies there are so excellent.

But, TiVO allows me to record things from the Independent Film Channel, Sundance, or HBO so I almost feel like I have an Art Theater in my living room, lol.

Hey, have a good trip to LA and back. It's sure got to beat the weather that we're having in the midwest and out east <as she shivers>