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Dorian Gray
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Join Date: May 2005
Location: Paris, France
 
2008-10-21, 16:48

Quote:
Originally Posted by Windswept View Post
I do like to find out the locations whenever possible. Sometimes it's incredibly surprising to find out just where films are made.
I like to hang around to see what film stock and lenses were used. There's a little something for everyone in the ending credits!

Has anyone here seen Vicky Cristina Barcelona? I saw it at the weekend and it was worth the ticket just to see Aguirresarobe's take on the sights of Barcelona. I just wish he had shown a glimpse of the inside of the airport—designed by Ricard Bofill—which very much impressed me when I was there. Barcelona is such a beautiful place.

The film itself is a fantastical romp through Woody Allen's usual stuff, but done very well indeed. Penélope Cruz is sensational, and Javier Bardem is always such a riveting on-screen presence. I just love watching this big rugby player move around with such grace and control.

However, the film is strong enough to raise lingering doubts about your own life decisions. Why am I not an affluent painter living a bohemian life in Spain? It was humorous to see couples glued to each other in the cinema at the end, as if reinforcing their commitment to each other against the doubt planted in their minds by the film.

… engrossed in such factional acts as dreaming different dreams.
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Windswept
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2008-10-21, 16:59

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dorian Gray View Post

However, the film is strong enough to raise lingering doubts about your own life decisions. Why am I not an affluent painter living a bohemian life in Spain? It was humorous to see couples glued to each other in the cinema at the end, as if reinforcing their commitment to each other against the doubt planted in their minds by the film.


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SKMDC
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2008-10-21, 22:26

Quote:
Ohh, I had no idea a Sherlock Holmes movie was being made! I'm such a massive Holmes fan. But, it's hard to replace Jeremy Brett with anyone. He was just so ideal in the part.
My wife loved the Jeremy Brett Series as well, even the season after he hadn't done it for a few years and decided to play Holmes as a Flaming Gay Corpse! My god he must have wore a pound of makeup. Maybe he was ill or something, but he was over the top that season, but it was my favorite season.
What's great about that series is Edward Hardwicke's portrayal of Watson. As much as I love the bumbling Nigel Bruce playing comedic foil to Basil Rathbone (sorry, my favorite Holmes, but more because of the books he read on record that I heard in Jr. High, because of those records I started reading fiction) If you think about Dr. Watson, he was a Doctor, a Decorated War Hero, a writer, and Holmes best friend, all four which one would think would necessitate Watson being portrayed with dignity. Hardwicke did that in spades. Robert Duvall did the same in The 7% Solution, but had problems losing his Texas accent.

"What's a Canadian farm boy to do?"
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Souflay123
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2008-10-22, 17:31

just finally bought the hulk on bluray
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Souflay123
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2008-10-22, 17:36

Quote:
Originally Posted by pscates2.0 View Post
Wait...there's another "Saw" movie? Jeez. I thought...that guy (Tobin Bell's character) was...well...

Why?



I'm waiting for "Hostel 7" myself.



Oh wait...no I'm not!
Yeah, there is a rumor that this may be the last. The guy is dead... but he was dead on the last one and the move was based off of flashbacks and other stuff, the last one was my fave.

On another note, for all those in LA area there is a saw hunted attraction in Brea, CA (off the 57 freeway) it scared me half to death. I ran out crying and freaking out! It was one of the best ones that I have ever been through.

I would highly recommend it.
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turtle
Lord of the Rant.
Formerly turtle2472
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Upstate South Carolina
 
2008-10-22, 18:17

The Planet Earth series on BluRay has been keeping my family educated and entertained for a few days now.
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PKIDelirium
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2008-10-22, 18:34

Actually VH1 has a new show in which the winner will get a part in Saw 6...
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Kickaha
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2008-10-22, 18:38

... whether that is an arm, leg, head, or spleen, has yet to be determined.
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Windswept
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2008-12-12, 16:02

Well, I finally saw The Duchess last night, when I noticed that it was showing at a $3 movie theater.

Wow, life sucked for women back then, even for duchesses. I'm SO glad I live at a time when women can be free, live on their own and do what they want.

Some spectacular scenery. I should have stayed to find out where the mansion scenes were filmed, because the place was incredible. The marble staircases, the luscious woods used as paneling, and the designs and fabrics of the duchess' clothing were all just breathtaking.

Valkyrie

Tom Cruise was on Jay Leno last night and showed a clip of Valkyrie. I'm looking forward to seeing that. I got tense just watching the two-minute clip, so the movie should be pretty exciting - especially since it's a true story.
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Taskiss
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2008-12-12, 16:11

Quote:
Originally Posted by Windswept View Post
I should have stayed to find out where the mansion scenes were filmed
http://www.holkham.co.uk/html/theduchess.html
Quote:
Holkham Hall was one of the country houses selected as a location for this film. Along with Kedleston Hall in Derbyshire, the hall was used to recreate the interiors of Devonshire House, the London residence of the Duke of Devonshire - a building which no longer exists.
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psmith2.0
Mr. Vieira
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
 
2008-12-12, 16:12

Yeah, I kinda want to see that ("Valkyrie"). Unfortunately, it's been getting neutral-to-negative reviews for the most part, so far.



Poor Cruise just can't seem to catch a break and find his footing, ever since he decided to jump all over Oprah's furniture and get all pissy-acting with Matt Lauer.

I was sure this was going to be a big thing for him. But I'll still see it because I like stuff like this...tense thrillers with secret plots and people getting killed and stuff blowing up.

What I'm looking most forward to is Clint Eastwood's "Gran Torino" and Gus Van Sant's "Milk", neither of which are playing locally yet but should by early-mid January when they go into "wide release" (I think they got a limited release now, in select cities before year's end, simply to qualify for the awards). Is that what's going on?



But they both look like good, interesting movies. Probably polar opposites in tone, content and so forth...

"I'm gay and I'd appreciate your vote!"

"Get the hell off my lawn!"



I always like when Sean Penn looks like someone other than himself in his movie roles...the weasel lawyer he played in "Carlito's Way" was great. This looks like a similar type of thing, plus the story of Harvey Milk is interesting.

There are a couple of others I'll see. Maybe that new Jim Carrey one, although it looks a lot like "Liar Liar" or "Bruce Almighty" in some ways (regular guy put into freaky, unusual situation with lots of opportunities to ham it up and, well, be Jim Carrey). That could go either way, history has shown...
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Windswept
On Pacific time
 
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2008-12-13, 14:59

Quote:
Originally Posted by Taskiss View Post
Thanks for the info, Taskiss.

Some stunning photos, and an interesting video featuring the current Lord, apparently.
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Windswept
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2009-01-12, 22:48

Omg, did anyone watch Tess of the D'Urbervilles on Masterpiece Theater the past two Sundays? I didn't want to start a thread for it, so I thought I'd cheat and put it here.

This story was an example of unmitigated disaster and gloom for the woman in question, and is a perfect example of why today's filmmakers try for upbeat endings in the interest of box office receipts.

I read the book back in high school and had completely forgotten the plot. Wow. So depressing.
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Luca
ಠ_ರೃ
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Minnesota
 
2009-03-31, 14:28

Bump!

I got a Netflix account recently so I think I'll be putting up mini-reviews in this thread from time to time when I see a movie that is memorable. At the moment my queue is full of war movies so I hope you like them!

Last two movies I saw were Three Kings and Man On Fire (at a friend's house).

Three Kings
Liked: Some black humor here and there. Despite dealing with some pretty heavy subject matter, it doesn't take itself too seriously without turning it into a big joke either. It is still very "awwwww!"-worthy. George Clooney is great as always.
Disliked: Not much. I guess the biggest thing would be how incredibly predictable it was... less than an hour into the movie I had pretty much figured out how it would all go down.
Spoiler (click to toggle):
As soon as George Clooney started sympathizing with the Iraqi civilians, I pretty much knew that he and his posse would lose all the money but manage to save the refugees.

The other is simply a pet peeve... I don't particularly like text epilogues that tell you the aftermath of each character, at least not when we're dealing with fictional characters. I'd far prefer them to actually show a short scene explaining it.
Bottom line: Very good movie. See it unless you are extremely squeamish at the sight of blood. This gets a 8 out of 10. The predictability keeps it just short of being a truly great movie.

Man On Fire
Liked: Like Three Kings, it benefits from having an acting superstar in it. Denzel Washington is probably my 2nd biggest man-crush behind Clooney. ♥ Anyway, ahem, back to the review... there's a lot of really satisfying (and violent) revenge, if you like that. I do . They also do a good job of hitting home with certain themes, giving us just enough backstory to know why various characters do what they do.
Disliked: This movie also did an epilogue!
Spoiler (click to toggle):
I understand they want to show that it was a mostly-happy ending, but again they could have shown it instead of just adding some cop-out text at the end! Oh well.

The other thing is it gets kind of slow at times. However, that can be good. They really wanted to build up the relationship between Denzel and Dakota. It had Christopher Walken in it but they barely used him at all and he sort of disappeared near the end. There's a lot of graphic violence so if you're averse to that, maybe you should avoid it.
Bottom line: Pretty good movie. 6/10 I guess, which is still above average.
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Robo
Formerly Roboman, still
awesome
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Portland, OR
 
2009-03-31, 14:54

Quote:
Originally Posted by Luca View Post
The other is simply a pet peeve... I don't particularly like text epilogues that tell you the aftermath of each character, at least not when we're dealing with fictional characters. I'd far prefer them to actually show a short scene explaining it.
Really? I would much rather simply be told what happens, even if it breaks the fourth wall (it's the end of the book/movie anyway, right?), than to have the writer try to contain all of the information in some hackneyed "scene." Such scenes will always feel like the stilted "info dumps" they are. Characters should never try to work into casual conversation how many years it has been since the events of the film, or who they ended up marrying, or how many kids they had and what they named them, etc.

In fact, I would argue that an epilogue that is not directly dictated to the reader/viewer, and instead takes place as a "scene," is not really an epilogue at all - it's just another scene of the ending, regardless of whether or not it takes place years later. "But Robo," the screenwriter protests. "I can't consider this a scene of the ending, because it has nothing to do with the resolution of the central conflict!"

Then cut it.

It's OK not to tell us everything, and not explicitly telling us something doesn't mean it isn't so. Not telling us Dumbledore was gay didn't make him straight. (I mention this only because Harry Potter had, critically speaking, one of the worst epilogues in recent memory. If you think the examples I gave in the first example were made up, well...the epilogue was, according to Rowling, one of the first things she wrote in the series, so I can understand it being a bit stilted. Still, I think it was probably sentimentality that kept Rowling from seeing the epilogue for what it was, and cutting it.) A book/film should be just long enough to wrap up the central conflict, and not a word longer. (That's not me speaking - that's Strunk, White, King...)

If it's not part of the story, don't make it so. If you really must tell the reader/viewer what happened, than tell the reader/viewer what happened. Don't try to work it into a clever little vignette. You will fail.

/rant

and i guess i've known it all along / the truth is, you have to be soft to be strong
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Luca
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Join Date: May 2004
Location: Minnesota
 
2009-03-31, 15:32

I see what you mean. I still don't like text epilogues for the characters, though, unless the movie was based on what happened to real people. Work it into the ending.
  quote
Unch
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Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: United Chavdom of Little Britain
 
2009-03-31, 15:37

Whenever I think of Text epilogues, I always think of the one from Unbreakable. That thing completely ruined the film for me. It went against the whole tone of the film. I'm angry just thinking about it. The film should have cut to black immediately after the final line was delivered.

"It's like a new pair of underwear. At first it's constrictive, but after a while it becomes a part of you."
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psmith2.0
Mr. Vieira
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
 
2009-04-01, 12:23

I initially - and accidentally - posted this at the end of the "Star Trek" thread, somehow getting it confused with this "movie" thread...

I have a general question about movies in general, and how they're shown on TV.

I was watching parts of "Casino" on AMC(?) a while back. And, naturally, it's been "edited for television" due to violence and language (lots of both).



Regarding the language, I was wondering:

- Are these types of movies re-dubbed after the fact, using soundalikes and impersonator standing in for De Niro, Pesci, Sharon Stone, James Woods, Frank Vincent, etc. and trying to sound like them?

or

- Do the real actors - at the time they're looping or doing ADR work - also do a set of line readings substituting mellower words for the real ones to be used in the theatrical release?

The same thing applies for "The Sopranos" being shown on A&E. The dubs/edits are smooth, and sound like Gandolfini and all the others. Do they do their dialogue work with an eye on future TV airings, and record a separate set of cleaned-up dialogue at the same time?

"You freakin' tell that backstabbing son-of-a-gun he'd better have my flippin' money by tomorrow, or I'll cut off his ears and shove them up his freakin' nose!





Or does it just depend on the movie, director, studio, budget, etc.?

Some movies are much better than others about this stuff. You can barely tell they've been altered/dubbed (the sound levels are the same, the inflections, the actor's actual voice and tone, etc.). But then some movies are absolutely awful at this, and it sounds like a nicer word has been ham-handedly spliced into the dialogue with no care or finesse.
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Xaqtly
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Join Date: May 2004
 
2009-04-01, 12:46

Speaking of movies, I'm going to see Fast and Furious this weekend. Hurray for low expectations!

Also, I can't wait to see Crank: High Voltage. If you never saw the first Crank, you missed out.
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psmith2.0
Mr. Vieira
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
 
2009-04-01, 12:50

I saw "Crank" at the theater and actually dug it quite a bit. I'll probably see this second on at a matinee on a rainy Saturday afternoon when there's nothing else to do.

But I still haven't seen "Watchmen" yet...

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Luca
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2009-04-01, 13:36

I have no desire to see Watchmen. When I first saw the preview it looked like yet another typical superhero movie and I'm a bit burnt out on those (not to mention I didn't even know Watchmen existed before I saw a trailer). I haven't been hearing a whole lot of good stuff about the movie either. Then again that may just be from the fanboys who knew they were going to hate the movie before they even saw it. So maybe I would like it. Still, it just never really caught my attention.

I wanted to see Taken but I never got the chance. It's probably still in theaters but honestly I'd rather watch it on DVD than go to the movie alone. I'll just add it to my Netflix waiting list.

Next on my list is Behind Enemy Lines. Like I said, a lot more war movies coming up...
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ronmexico
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2009-04-01, 15:17

Quote:
Originally Posted by pscates2.0 View Post
- Do the real actors - at the time they're looping or doing ADR work - also do a set of line readings substituting mellower words for the real ones to be used in the theatrical release?


"You freakin' tell that backstabbing son-of-a-gun he'd better have my flippin' money by tomorrow, or I'll cut off his ears and shove them up his freakin' nose!
Here is my favorite made for tv edit of all time...Mr Falcon?

I also like this one from Casino. "get this through - get this through ya head you jew money-lover you" -- the edit is potentially more offensive than if they just left it at regular motherf'er
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psmith2.0
Mr. Vieira
 
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2009-04-01, 19:16

Quote:
Originally Posted by Luca View Post
I wanted to see Taken but I never got the chance. It's probably still in theaters but honestly I'd rather watch it on DVD than go to the movie alone.
Ha...that's the only way I like to go! I don't like going to movies with people because if they're someone I like, I can't talk to them anyway. And if that person happens to be an ill-mannered chatterbox or "screen-talkbacker" then I'm not in an awkward position of asking them to STFU or outright leaving them where they are.



Quote:
Originally Posted by Luca View Post
Next on my list is Behind Enemy Lines. Like I said, a lot more war movies coming up...
Oooh...

You sure about that? It's not that good. And I'm sorry, but I can't buy the perpetually goofballish Owen Wilson - working that whole marble-mouthed stoner/surfer schtick he does in every single movie he's in - as a Navy fighter pilot. Hell, Val Kilmer or that guy from "J.A.G." were more convincing in the role that this goon.



He walked (no, skateboarded! ) his way through the role, and was about the most unconvincing thing I've ever seen. Nothing about him said "military officer" or "steel-nerved fighter jockey".

It's a fairly by-the-numbers movie. Gene Hackman is the only good thing, but he's playing a role similar to the one he played in "Crimson Tide" (and a few other movies, when he's been in a leadership/powerful position).

If it's war movies you're into, I can give you about 25 suggestions that aren't this one. Unless it's already in your queue, in which case...good luck and nevermind.

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Luca
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2009-04-01, 21:55

Quote:
Originally Posted by pscates2.0 View Post
If it's war movies you're into, I can give you about 25 suggestions that aren't this one. Unless it's already in your queue, in which case...good luck and nevermind.

Not only is it in my queue, it's already in the mail and it'll get here tomorrow. So I'll definitely watch at least the first 20-30 minutes. If Owen Wilson is really that bad, it'll get on my nerves and I'll shut the thing off. I have plenty of DVDs and HD-DVDs sitting around that I haven't seen yet that I want to see, and plenty of movies in my instant queue too.

Anyway, here are the war movies I have seen just so you know what you're working with:

Loved
Band of Brothers (a miniseries, not a movie, but whatever)
Full Metal Jacket
Saving Private Ryan
Three Kings

Somewhat liked
Flags of our Fathers
Hamburger Hill
Patton
Platoon

Hated
Big Red One
The Thin Red Line
We Were Soldiers
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psmith2.0
Mr. Vieira
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
 
2009-04-01, 22:51

I like "Patton" a lot. It actually makes me laugh quite a bit, which is odd.
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709
¡Damned!
 
Join Date: May 2004
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2009-04-02, 09:56

Saw this yesterday in a post about Dreamworks' Monsters vs. Aliens and it gave me a chuckle:



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psmith2.0
Mr. Vieira
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
 
2009-04-02, 10:16

Ha...it's true!
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alcimedes
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2009-04-02, 11:05

Huh, funny. They're getting better though, I'd actually assumed Kung Fu panda was a Pixar film.
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spotcatbug
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2009-04-02, 11:52

Kung Fu Panda was pretty good. I would even go so far as to say I would buy that DVD if it were $9.99 or less and directly in front of me while I was shopping.

Ugh.
  quote
Luca
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2009-04-03, 14:34

Quote:
Originally Posted by pscates2.0 View Post
You sure about that? It's not that good. And I'm sorry, but I can't buy the perpetually goofballish Owen Wilson - working that whole marble-mouthed stoner/surfer schtick he does in every single movie he's in - as a Navy fighter pilot. Hell, Val Kilmer or that guy from "J.A.G." were more convincing in the role that this goon.



He walked (no, skateboarded! ) his way through the role, and was about the most unconvincing thing I've ever seen. Nothing about him said "military officer" or "steel-nerved fighter jockey".

It's a fairly by-the-numbers movie. Gene Hackman is the only good thing, but he's playing a role similar to the one he played in "Crimson Tide" (and a few other movies, when he's been in a leadership/powerful position).
Saw it last night. It was okay. I'm going to stop giving number ratings because I suck at it.

I don't know about your criticisms, though. They explained in the movie how he started out nicely but then started goofing off too much, so in that way Owen Wilson was suited to the role. He was never supposed to be a "steel-nerved fighter jockey," and the fact that he was in the military for seven years and was still a Lieutenant says he probably wasn't that great of an officer either.

It is definitely "by the numbers." They could have also changed the title to "Owen Wilson runs" because that's about all he does the whole time is run around. But whatever. I don't think it was a great movie but I enjoyed it and I wasn't too bothered by the fact that it had Owen Wilson in it. I think it helped that it wasn't an excellent movie to begin with - had it been a masterpiece except for the him, I may have been unhappy, but it all sort of coasted along and wasn't really bad or really good.

On a whim I added "Crank" to the top of my queue today. That ought to be fun.
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