Anybody seen a good film recently?

[Brant Gaede]

On TCM "The Fountainhead" was not cut, not unless they have a policy I am not aware of.

No one should ever watch any movie on AMC. The commercials are bad enough. The editing for TV is intolerable. If it's okay to watch AMC then the movie itself isn't fit to see or worth watching in any form. There is one exception: sometimes they show a movie with explanations about the making of the movie. That can be very interesting if it's not the first time you are seeing it.

--Brant

Edited September 26, 2006 by Brant Gaede

[Chris Grieb]

I agree completely about AMC. If you have any influence with your cable provider get them to carry TCM. There's nothing worth watching on AMC except when they do the commentary on the films

[Kat]

Just in case you missed it on the calendar, TCM is showing The Fountainhead as part of an architecture series next month. See the details and links over in the calendar area.

Kat

[Rich Engle]

Two more I consider worthy of mention.

Sweet and Lowdown , Woody Allen, director. Sean Penn is fantastic as the historically murky guitarist Emmett Ray, an American version of legendary guitarist Django Reinhardt. He is obsessed with Django. Done in docudrama style. Fantastic music, sets, costuming. A truly sweet film, had been wanting to re-view it for some time and finally got my hands on it.

Also, just saw "Lucky Slevin." (Josh Hartnett, Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, Sir Ben Kingsley...) A little more lighthearted but in the spirit of Pulp Fiction. Extremely complex plot structure. Don't go for it if you can't handle assassin style gore.

Edited September 27, 2006 by Rich Engle

[John Dailey]

Rich:

~ Lucky sLevin was worth seeing...only once. It was fascinating right up to the credits. But then a question occurred to me: I can't believe that Bruce Willis didn't ask the director all newbie-actors' favorite question: "What's my motivation?"

***REAL Spoiler ahead!!!*** -->Don't read if you wish to watch it!!

~ Consider: Bruce (Mr GoodKat) was called in special to do a hit that most other pros avoid. Kidnapping a 10-12yr old, taking him to a field and executing him. At the end we see that he didn't do it, and, implied the film, he thence secretly raised him. Now, if Bruce was expected (presumably with reputational reasons) to do the kid, I find it hard to believe that just because the kid turned and faced Bruce's pointed gun that Bruce, well, admired him enough to decide to not only renege, at the last minute, on his contract, but also to raise him? (Where and how the kid got secretly 'schooled' is an added, but side, question. Few hitmen are into home-schooling.) And T-H-E-N, what motivation to help the kid get revenge? Bruce had nothing 'personal' re The Boss and The Rabbi, yet took some heavy risks in setting things up with/around them, AND later taking out all guards in each bldg. (That he had the skills, I buy; but as's been in the news, even the most skilled know they run lethal risks in certain careers.) And T-H-E-N, after shooting Lucy Liu once, seeing his protege in the airport/train-station with her and knowing she's not dead (sLevin prepared her for his expected assassination of her), responded to sLevin "I understood" (flashbacking to when he lowered his gun on sLevin years before) as an 'explanation' of what he next does: he turns and presumably walks out of sLevin's life, apparently letting Lucy, a non-'colleague', stay alive, though he (otherwise only known to cops by his nick-name) knows that she knows who he is, what he does, and what he looks like. --- Huh? "What's my motivation?" bugged me all through the credits (yes, I do read them sometimes.)

~ Other than that, it was worth watching, especially seeing Lucy Liu be such a near scene-stealing motor-mouth. Also interesting that most reviewers didn't like the audience-tricking cinematography-style of the early scenes where the director purposely futzed with the camera-angle/scene-edit to keep the audience from seeing just exactly 'who' was doing 'what' to 'whom' amidst all the killings that went on. Still, if for no other reason, just for seeing it all come together at the end made it interesting anyways. However, were I sLevin, then Boss' and Rabbi's ending would have been quite a bit more d-r-a-w-n o-u-t. :ph34r:

LLAP

J:D

Edited September 28, 2006 by John Dailey

[Rich Engle]

John,

It's definitely not a perfect film. The motivation with Bruce W., well, it's a lynchpin, and the phrase for the day is "artistic license." Or maybe, the idea of the hitman that suddenly has some moral crisis, like in "The Matador," which to my eye is a much, much better film.

I wouldn't rewatch Slevin, but I did rewatch The Matador several times...

[John Dailey]

Rich:

~ Actually, my biggest complaint about Lucky sLevin was that all my criticisms (which boil down to only one) could have been covered with just a few extra scenes about Bruce's 'motivation.' One can do a Rorschach 'fill-in-the-blanks', but, that distracts from a 'worthwhile' story. A little bit added by the screenwriter (or Bruce? He's smart enough [and certainly influential enough] about that by now) could've done wonders for re-watching...even with the camera-sleight-of-hand in the beginning. Ah, well...sometimes I dislike a movie/book just because it came so close to being "Wow!", and fails in a stupidly careless way.

~ Re Matador: Brosnan, Kinnear, et al, were all clearly good, believable actors in a really interesting story-line. But man-n-n, do we have different cinema-tastes.

LLAP

J:D

Edited September 29, 2006 by John Dailey

[MBM]

I just saw "V is for Vendetta." This is a very interesting film, on a number of levels. Kind of close to the bone, actually. It took me a bit to get used to the mask worn by the lead character, but other than that, an amazing "negative Utopia" kind of film. A film about the true power of ideas. A very good film defending personal freedoms.

"V is for Vendetta".

That sounds like it should be the name of a Sue Grafton book.

[John Dailey]

MBM:

~ She finally got to 'V'? Hadn't kept up on her alphabet in B&N. However, no; this is definitely NOT a 'Sue Grafton' story!

LLAP

J:D

[Ross Barlow]

*Stormbreaker* (2006). I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, which I saw this afternoon.

Think of it as a “schoolboy James Bond.” This is great movie entertainment, and if you like most Bond movies you should appreciate this. It is written by Anthony Horowitz from his series of novels about schoolboy/spy Alex Rider. The plot, action and characterization are all very good.

The cast was fantastic. The new young actor that plays Alex Rider, Alex Pettyfer, age 15, is a refreshing surprise. This lad has potential. He plays a 14-year-old recruited into a dangerous situation. The only thing deficient in his classic secret agent persona here is his (understandable) lack of confidence with the girls.

Bill Nighy (*Love Actually* 2003; *Underworld* 2003 & 2006) -- what an odd man! -- is delightful in his role. I am becoming a big fan of his work. Mickey Rourke (*Nine ½ Weeks* 1989; boxer; *Sin City* 2005) is perfect as the sleazeball villain. Sarah Bolger, age 15, (*In America* 2002) is an actress I hope to see more of in the future. Stephen Fry (*Jeeves and Wooster* 1993; *V for Vendetta* 2005) is always a welcome presence in any show. Missi Pyle (*Galaxy Quest* 1999) can spank me anytime she wants. Andy Serkis (aka, Gollum/Smeagol in *Lord of the Rings*) plays another strange character here.

Apparently this movie has had only limited release in the USA, so it may be hard to find in the theaters. Look for it on DVD someday. It was released in the UK in July, the USA in October, and it is now in Bangkok theaters.

-Ross Barlow.

[Danneskjold]

The Prestige is hands downt he best movie I have seen that doesn't have a quote on my signature . It is about two competing magicians. They are both obsessed,in the most literal sense of the word, with their trade. The story line is truly amazing with plot twists that are VERY hard to see coming. I would suggest this movie to anyone who is willing to sit and really watch what's going on. If you don't watch you won't get it. As the movie says,

Are you watching closely?

[Ross Barlow]

My wife and I saw *The Prestige* in Bangkok Saturday. I liked it because of the great cast and interesting storyline. My wife did not like it because … well, my wife is Thai and sometimes it takes us a lot of time to hash out philosophical and aesthetic ideas in English. She did not seem to like some of the vengeance motives in certain characters.

I am always a big fan of Christian Bale (*Equilibrium* and *Batman Begins*). Hugh Jackman is very good. Michael Caine is always superb. Scarlett Johansson is more voluptuous than ever. There are cameos by David Bowie and Andy Serkis.

I think the screenwriting utilized the actors very well, and I would see this movie again.

-Ross Barlow.

[BAMF]

The Prestige is hands downt he best movie I have seen that doesn't have a quote on my signature . It is about two competing magicians. They are both obsessed,in the most literal sense of the word, with their trade. The story line is truly amazing with plot twists that are VERY hard to see coming. I would suggest this movie to anyone who is willing to sit and really watch what's going on. If you don't watch you won't get it. As the movie says,

Are you watching closely?

I am really looking forward to seeing this movie. My friend saw it and also thought it was one of the best movies of the year. (By the way, your sig reminds me of something I heard Bill Maher say. Who is Crash Davis?)

I just saw the movie School Ties in my english class and, although it was excellent, it really pissed me off. It seems that all good movies have that effect on me. Anyone else seen this?

I also saw Sarah Silverman's: Jesus Is Magic (which is a stand-up routine mixed with little musical pieces) and I laughed so hard I thought my skin was going to come off. This woman is not for anyone who is easily offended...I've never heard anyone actually crack a joke about MLK. Sheesh.

A new show that I have been watching is 30 Rock. I love Alec Baldwin...

[Chris Grieb]

Crash Davis is the Kevin Costner role in " Bull Durham" Bull Durham is in the top five of baseball movies.

[BAMF]

Oh, I see. Makes me wonder...

[Fran]

Not a film, but I'm really enjoying the Doctor Who spin-off, Torchwood, which is currently airing on TV. It has the omnisexual and enigmatic Captain Jack Harkness, who was my favourite character from series one of Doctor Who.

[Danneskjold]

Borat was decent. Filmed with Sacha Baron Cohen and a bunch of people who didn't know they were in it. It's ok, there are some parts that are just horrible as in disgusting in a morbidly-obese-naked-guy-wrestling-naked-other-guy-for-seven-minutes type of way. It did definitely have its funny parts though.

Edited November 24, 2006 by Danneskjold

[Chris Grieb]

I haven't seen Borat yet. The charges by some of the people who were filmed have turned me off of it. Some of the people are claiming that there was misrepresentation of the film to them. I hope the whole dispute does not come down to who has the better lawyer.

[Rich Engle]

Tomcats (2001?)

http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1804536434/info

Not for everyone, but boy did I laugh... It should still be on FX right now.

Edited November 25, 2006 by Rich Engle

[Victor Pross]

OPEN WATER

http://www.openwatermovie.com/

Whew, what a movie. Angie and I are interested in sharks--what a thing to have in common--and I can't believe I forgot about this movie--but it is recommended for her and YOU.

[tqk]

I haven't been to see the film because I didn't enjoy the book enough. The Code was a page turner until I found out what it was they were looking for, then it lost all meaning and therefore interest for me. To be honest, I thought it read more like a trash novel and thought the ending appallingly weak. They were looking for a bunch of bones - big deal!

The only thing I liked about it was that it rattled the cage of the Catholic Chruch so much :evil:

Thankyou for expressing exactly what I thought of it. From the time I started reading it, it reminded me of that old criticism of X-Files: "Yeah, it's cool, but basically it's crap."

[Danneskjold]

I haven't seen Borat yet. The charges by some of the people who were filmed have turned me off of it. Some of the people are claiming that there was misrepresentation of the film to them. I hope the whole dispute does not come down to who has the better lawyer.

Don't let those turn it off to you if that's the only reason you're not going. Almost every minor character in it was filmed not knowing that this guy isn't actually from Kazakhstan. Some people make complete idiots out of themselves and got pissed. Then there were some guys who were told to be rowdy and they said a whole bunch of stuff they wished they hadn't so they're suing. The lawsuits are bull.

[BAMF]

Borat was decent. Filmed with Sacha Baron Cohen and a bunch of people who didn't know they were in it. It's ok, there are some parts that are just horrible as in disgusting in a morbidly-obese-naked-guy-wrestling-naked-other-guy-for-seven-minutes type of way. It did definitely have its funny parts though.

It was more than decent! I think it's the funniest movie I've seen all year. Sacha Baron Cohen is a genious -- it's just science.

I haven't seen Borat yet. The charges by some of the people who were filmed have turned me off of it. Some of the people are claiming that there was misrepresentation of the film to them. I hope the whole dispute does not come down to who has the better lawyer.

Why does that turn you off of it? Those people are morons, and they will NOT win those cases. You should watch it and see them all make fools of themselves.

[Jonathan]

Highly recommended: Finding Forrester

William Forester (Sean Connery) is a reclusive author (something of a J. D. Salinger) who had published one very successful novel and then disappeared. Jamal Wallace (Rob Brown) is a bright teen whose test scores and basketball skills earn him a prestigious prep school scholarship. William and Jamal meet, and William becomes a secret friend and mentor to Jamal.

Jamal is accused by one of his professors, Robert Crawford (F. Murray Abraham), of plagiarism when it is discovered that in one of his essays he has borrowed the title and first paragraph of one of William's old essays. Jamal can save himself by breaking his promise to protect William's privacy. William would have to end his seclusion to help Jamal (who borrowed William's work with permission, but handed it in without).

J

Edited November 28, 2006 by Jonathan

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

Jonathan,

That is a marvelous film. I especially liked the confrontation between the talented author (Sean Connery) and the mediocre bureaucratic teacher who tries to bask in his light.

Also, the way the kid challenged the professor (if I remember correctly, it was on the difference between further and farther), and the professor's reaction, reminded me strongly of what I have witnessed on some Objectivist forums.

Michael