CF Scorpio Wrote:1. Last Sunday I saw a new Israeli film at the local arthouse: "The Secrets" (Hasodot). I highly recommend it! It was very moving. It's in Hebrew and French with English subtitles. It takes place in Israel at a religious school for orthodox Jewish girls. Two of the girls befriend a French woman who is dying and who is trying to make her peace with God. There is a lot of controversy and drama revolving around this, and more than that I will not say or I will ruin it for you.
Sounds good, I'll certainly check it out. I'll have to wait for DVD, though, I rarely go to the cinema. And the independent cinema here in San Diego isn't all that impressive.
anastasia Wrote:CF Scorpio Wrote:1. Last Sunday I saw a new Israeli film at the local arthouse: "The Secrets" (Hasodot). I highly recommend it! It was very moving. It's in Hebrew and French with English subtitles. It takes place in Israel at a religious school for orthodox Jewish girls. Two of the girls befriend a French woman who is dying and who is trying to make her peace with God. There is a lot of controversy and drama revolving around this, and more than that I will not say or I will ruin it for you.
Sounds good, I'll certainly check it out. I'll have to wait for DVD, though, I rarely go to the cinema. And the independent cinema here in San Diego isn't all that impressive.
I think you'll like this one a lot. You and I seem to have similar taste in movies.
I caught a movie on TVO last night called "White Girl" and I rather enjoyed it. The movie centers on a white, low income mother of three who moves to a new neighborhood to escape her abusive husband. The neighbourhood they move into is entirely Muslim and they are the only white family around. The kids start attending an entirely Muslim school and initially the mother and eldest daughter are reluctant and scared of their new surroundings.
The mother starts drinking again and the husband comes around to issue a beat down, and then of course she takes the loser back. The eldest daughter Leah hates this guy as he is not her father, and becomes friends with her Muslim neighbour. She changes her name to Layla and starts immersing herself in the Muslim culture, wearing a hijab and attending the masjid with her friend. Both her mother and the husband are pretty racist and completely freak out over the transformation.
All in all, it was very engrossing and nicely done, the actress who portrayed Leah/Layla did an amazing job for someone so young.
In the last few days, I saw Grand Torino and Quantum of Solice as downloads from a friend.
They were somewhat worth watching once, but I am glad that I did not pay anything and would rather not watch them again.
catsnotkids Wrote:A real tear-jerker is A Perfect World - have you seen that one CFS and BB? Makes me cry every time!
I haven't seen it, but I added it to the top of Netflix. CNK, is it the one w/ Kevin Costner? That was the one I added.
We watched The Visitor the other night. I really liked it. A little slow, but very realistic, IMO.
Geeeeezzzzzzzzzzzzz, I thought it was sad, too!
Watched 3 1/2 movies at home this weekend:
"Wristcutters: A Love Story" - this is a really quirky indie film about what happens after you commit suicide: victims end up in another world that's just like this one, only grimmer and more depressing. The main character (Zio?) finds out that his ex-girlfriend also killed herself, so he sets off on a road trip with his crazy Russian buddy, Eugene, to try and find her. Along the way they pick up a newcomer, Mikal, who claims she is there by mistake and is trying to find the people in charge (PIC). They have some bizarre encounters and adventures. I highly recommend this one. If you liked the premise of the movie "Defending Your Life" but thought it was not "noir" enough, then this one is the movie for you.
"How to Lose Friends and Alienate People" - based on a true story about a dorky, starstruck British tabloid journalist who gets a job working at a Vanity Fair-type magazine in New York. At first he doesn't fit in due to his sloppy attire, tactless comments and clumsiness, but he gradually becomes "one of them". Hilarious! I don't think everything in the movie really happened (or it would have made the news) but it was still funny as hell!
Watched part of "Heaven & Earth", an Oliver Stone movie, also based on a true story about a young Vietnamese woman struggling to survive during the Vietnam war. It's a very grim, violent existence, but she's very tenacious. I wish I'd seen the beginning and the end. I hope to catch the whole thing sometime.
"Rachel Getting Married" - avoid this one like you'd avoid watching 8 hours of your casual acquaintances' home movies. Weirdly enough, my dad and his film-snob girlfriend actually loved this one and recommended it to us. It's directed by Jonathan Demme and is chock-full of talented actors and musicians, but the movie crawls at a snail's pace and is drowning in cringe-worthy dialogue. There is an hour-long scene full of nothing but the rehearsal dinner (toasts, musical performances, etc.). I was wishing aloud for someone to come along with a machine gun and massacre the entire wedding party.
I didn't even get to enjoy Robyn Hitchcock performing at the wedding because DH couldn't take it anymore and fast-forwarded.
Went and saw "The Reader" and "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" on Saturday. They were playing at the second run theater by me that is only $1 for all shows before 6pm. Gotta love that! I saw them both for less than I could have rented one.
Anyhow...I enjoyed them both. The reader was kind of dark and brooding and really thought provoking. I can see how Kate Winslet got an Oscar for it (although I'm a fan anyway and think she's deserved it every time she's been nominated).
I need to see "Benjamin Button" again though. There was some sort of sound problem in our theather for the first half an hour or so, so I missed some of the early dialogue that was kind of whispered. I still got the gist of what happened obviously, but I'd like to see it again nonetheless. I really enjoyed the film though.
Vanessa
We got the new Indian Jones movie. Amusing and nice nods to some folks who weren't in it, like Sean Connery and the guy who played Marcus. But got a little odd at the end. And I waived between liking the kid and really being annoyed with him.
Just assuming that this is the last of the series. Don't get me wrong. I liked the series for the most part and the adventure, but well, I hope that George Lucas is done now.
We also saw Something the Lord Made, which was based off the true story of the two men who did the first heart surgery. A white surgeon (Alan Rickman, with a slight Southern accent) and his black assistant (Mos Def). Started in the late 1930's or early 40's through the 70's. Some small glitches that DH noticed in the storyline, but he had just seen the documentary recently. Like they only ever had one fight the entire time they worked together. Wonderful supporting cast. And very good all around.
I'm a huge Indiana Jones fan but could not stand the latest. Too much CGI and the dialogue sucked.
I was off yesterday so I watched "Star 80". I haven't seen that movie in years.
I remember the first time I saw that movie I hated Eric Roberts for years afterward. He did such a great job playing the sleazy photographer / manager / husband.
To this day if I see him in anything, I think of his character "Paul Snider" from Star 80 - CREEPY!
NKBurlington Wrote:I was off yesterday so I watched "Star 80". I haven't seen that movie in years.
I remember the first time I saw that movie I hated Eric Roberts for years afterward. He did such a great job playing the sleazy photographer / manager / husband.
To this day if I see him in anything, I think of his character "Paul Snider" from Star 80 - CREEPY!
ITA. He was almost too good in that role.
Today I watched two really good movies:
Tell No One. A french movie that was really, really good but I'll have to watch it again as I was a bit confused with the plot twists. It was definitely good enough to watch again.
I also watched Slumdog Millionaire. OMG! What an amazing movie. I loved it and will probably end up buying it and watching it over and over again.
I watched Rock N Rolla. Guy Ritchie directs it. He has a sense of humor alright. I liked it and am hoping he was serious about a sequel. I had to put the subtitles on to help me with the British accents.
I love:
SATC
Christy Vicky Barcelona
Pirates At worlds end
And sposed to see The Savages soon, too exausted, but its here via netflix.
About Alzheimer's Disease.
Watched Raider of the Lost Ark last night on a whim. On Demand has the series posted so I thought what the hell.
That movie never loses it's charm and humor. One of my top five for sure. I can't even tell you how many times I've seen it. I guess I should buy the DVD. I only have it on VHS which we don't have a player for anymore.
I watched Picnic again on Friday. It was released in 1954. William Holden and Kim Novak star. It is an awesome old flick.
I had recorded "FTA" off Sundance and watched it on Sunday.
It's a documentary from 1972 about Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland's controversial tour of Southeast Asia entertaining the troops. They put on a satirical song-and-dance show with comedy sketches and performed it at military bases in the Philippines, Japan, etc. Other people in their troupe were Holly Near (I didn't know this about her; I only knew her as a Lesbian folksinger); Pamela Donegan, Len Chandler, and some other singers and actors I'd never heard of.
I'm really glad I watched it. Some of the performance sequences were a little long (I guess I'm used to modern ADHD editing) and the musical styles and song lyrics were definitely dated (folk music, hippie/jive/slang lyrics), but it was a nice slice of history.
I was most impressed with the interviews with various military people. Many of them were anti-war and hated what was going on in the military and in Vietnam. Thousands of people were coming to see these shows, so evidently there was not as much hatred of Jane Fonda as we've all been led to believe. There are several scenes of Fonda and the other performers talking with different people and getting their opinions on the war and getting the inside scoop on some of the messed-up stuff they were being forced to do by their commanding officers.
I read up online about it a little bit and found out that the movie was released around the same time that the whole "Hanoi Jane" thing started, so the movie was pulled from distribution after only 1 week.
Now I'm off to read about this whole Hanoi thing...I smell a conspiracy.
Our recent Netflix viewing included Frost/Nixon and Bottle Shock.
Frost/Nixon was rather boring and I didn't care for Frank Langella as Nixon, although professional critics disagree with me.
Bottle Shock was thoroughly enjoyable but, if you're a wine drinker, make sure you have a bottle on hand. As with watching movies that involve good food (Big Night, for example), this movie made us open a bottle of wine. Yes, we had popcorn and wine.
Sometimes being an adult rocks.
Saw the premiere of the new STAR TREK movie last night and it RULES!!!!!!
Horse Racer Wrote:I watched Picnic again on Friday. It was released in 1954. William Holden and Kim Novak star. It is an awesome old flick.
CLASSIC MOVIE GREAT CHOICE HORSE RACER!
I always loved Bill Holden in anything he did.
Have you ever seen "Sunset Boulevard"? Him & Gloria Swanson are great in that flick together.
MY Movie, I saw was a lot newer, lol
I finally got to see. "Quantum Of Solace" The latest of the "Bond" adventures.
OMG this movie was jam packed with action from beginning to end.
And of course if you love Bond, you will love this movie.
And yes I know, there is only one true Bond, as in "Sean Connery"
But it sucks to grow old
ITMT this new Bond guy is doing well for himself. I just hope his ego
can hold the title of James Bond!