Need New Movie + Video Suggestions

[Glenn E.]

NP was "wooden" in that role. Whether or not that is how she was asked to perform, who knows? Given her other portrayals on film, I would have to believe that was the case. Regardless, I was not impressed with that work, even though I enjoyed the films overall.

I agree - it was a rather stilted performance. But because of her other work, I've also always had the impression that that's the way the role was written. Amidala was a child when suddenly thrust into a position of power and influence, and the way that NP portrayed the role seemed to me to be a child attempting to exert control that she wasn't sure she had, but knew she had to pretend to believe in. It was almost as if every time she said something she was waiting to be corrected, but because she was Queen those corrections never came. So she was almost paralyzed by fear of getting it wrong. As the trilogy progressed (and Amidala matured into her role as Queen) the role seemed to loosen up.

At any rate, NP is clearly capable of better, so if that portrayal wasn't what Lucas wanted he could have asked her to do something different. He apparently didn't, so I lay the blame at his feet.

[Peter W. Meek]

Peter,

Be fair, although I saw that movie too (with my daughter) it was made for 5-10 year olds. ...

I answered this once, but I seem to have failed to post it correctly. Again...

I like kids' movies; I probably have one or two hundred on the system here. I didn't care for Mr Magorium's Magic Emporium as a kids' movie.

I've ordered a few more NP movies, because I certainly liked her in Leon.

As for her performance in SW movies, I have always thought it was a depiction of the formality and rigidity that seems to characterize the courts of great empires, especially in fiction. If so, she did fairly well.

[Steve E.]

Genre; Documentary
Title: Murder Ball
Comment: I liked this because it opened my eyes to competitive wheelchair rugby which I hadn't seen before or since.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murderball_%28film%29

[Roy Hersh]

Keira Knightley in Atonement made for an interesting viewing. The story is deeply nuanced and tragic. But the attention to detail and use of turn-back-the-calendar time framing, make this a captivating and multifaceted flick. It's not what I'd call enjoyable, but rewarding.

[Steve E.]

Genre: Sci-fi
Title: District 9
Comment: I liked it because I can't stop thinking about it. That being said - I had about the first half of it wondering if I wanted to continue. I'm not particularly a sci-fi fan (or any other genre you would slip this into), but it was somewhat thought provoking. I'm sure you could find several different movies where the theme was similar, but how they pulled it off was unique.

[Roy Hersh]

Anybody familiar with this Sci-fi flick: Solaris by Tarkovsky

[Roy Hersh]

(2007) Crashing

I like the premise, but will it relieve writer's block?

Worth seeing for sure.

[Roy Hersh]

What happened to you guys, nobody watching any decent flicks anymore?

If you want macro-realism and an intense view at that, of a an American special forces team in Iraq ... check out a fine indie: The Hurt Locker.

[Peter W. Meek]

Just previewed Restless Natives (1985) (twice, and will see it again on Mon 1/25). I wanted to do something for Burns Night, so I have been watching movies with Scottish provenance.

This comedy is set in modern Scotland (I know; what does that have to do with Robert Burns?), and features a couple of urban youngsters who get into holding up tourist busses, while wearing a clown mask and a Wolfman mask. I thought it had some pacing problems, but the second viewing smoothed it out as I began to see what was going on during the parts that I thought were slow on first viewing. Fantastic Highland scenery. Available in both Region 1 and Region 2 versions.

Besides our usual bubbly and Port (Nimrod), we'll "take a cup o' kindness" (The Macallen 12 yr) in honor of auld Rabbie Burns, who would have been 251 on Monday. (Sorry; no haggis this year.) We'll also hear Scottish chanteuse Elli Reader sing a couple of Robert Burns songs.
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Also watched Mrs. Brown, about the relationship between Queen Victoria (Judi Dench) and John Brown, the Scottish gamekeeper. I rather liked it; Eva thought it dragged at times. Judi Dench, good as always, and I especially liked the part of Disraeli (Antony Sher).

In the queue (but too late for Burns Night) Local Hero, and Gregory's Girl.
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Unwatched, but just ordered: Sometimes a Great Notion, the great movie based on the Ken Kesey novel. This gets mixed reviews, but I suspect that is the result of a modern PC distaste for strong, uncompromising people. I sure liked it when it came out, and a couple of times since on TV. Recently released by http://www.moviesfromtheedge.com, who assert that all movies they release are in the public domain. The original owners of SAGN have failed to release it on DVD, so I have no sympathy for them. The scene where Paul Newman walks into the Union Reps office with a 6' chainsaw and cuts the desk in half will stick with me forever. I have no idea what quality the transfer will be on this movie. I hope it isn't off an old rental VHS. MFTE describes it as "bare bones", so no subtitles or extras are likely.

[Eric Menchen]

What happened to you guys, nobody watching any decent flicks anymore?

Recently watched Transformers. While I can't speak for others, I can say I have seen a decent flick lately. Now I know not to put the sequel into my Netflix queue.

[Rob C.]

Fantastic one from the weekend:-

Genre: Period drama (German Third Reich)/ Action and Adventure
Title: The North Face
Comment: Retelling of 1936 attempt by a group of climbers to complete the first successful ascent of the Eiger's North Face for the glory of Hitler and Germany. The climb goes wrong (obviously) and it's a struggle for survival.

Watch if you enjoyed "Touching the Void". Spectacular mountain scenes and camera work. Build-up is a bit slow but all forgiven once they are on the mountain.

[Peter W. Meek]

What happened to you guys, nobody watching any decent flicks anymore?

Recently watched Transformers. While I can't speak for others, I can say I have seen a decent flick lately. Now I know not to put the sequel into my Netflix queue.

Eva's take on the Transformers sequel was, "If you jiggle the camera enough, you don't need very good special effects."

[Roy Hersh]

THE EDGE OF NEVER
Skiing extreme peaks in the French Alps, with an amazing story about a 15 yo boy (extraordinary skier from Vancouver, BC) going to Chamonix to ski the glacier couloir that years earlier had killed his father. He was taught to do glaciers by one of the most legendary skiers alive known for Alp 1st descents going back to the 1970s. He is still an incredible skier who recently lost his own son to skiing a particular peak in an avalanche and then climbed up to retrieve his body. Belief and courage .... an unbelievably good documentary!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iyLRR2vAO8&NR=1

[Peter W. Meek]

Sometimes A Great Notion
This movie has held up well. Still as good as ever. IMHO this is Paul Newman's best role of all time. Great performances by Henry Fonda, Lee Remick and Michael Sarrazin as well. Based on the Ken Kesy book of the same name. Kesey is reputed to have liked this movie version of one of his novels better than One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (also pretty good, but not as good as the book). They did leave out quite a bit from the book, but it's only movie length, so that was inevitable.

The transfer has some problems with correctly setting the aspect ratio, but this IS an anamorphic wide-screen transfer (not Pan n Scan or clipped). A bit grainy compared to a good DVD transfer from a master print.

Highly recommended.

[Dylan Howard]

NP was "wooden" in that role.

Who wouldn't have been wooden with that terrible dialogue? Of yeah, Liam Neeson (the only actor in any of the recent Starwars films with the chops to not be wooden). my opinion anyway.

[Dylan Howard]

What happened to you guys, nobody watching any decent flicks anymore?

Recently watched Transformers. While I can't speak for others, I can say I have seen a decent flick lately. Now I know not to put the sequel into my Netflix queue.

Eva's take on the Transformers sequel was, "If you jiggle the camera enough, you don't need very good special effects."

Make that: If you jiggle megan fox enough, you don't need anything else at all.

[Dylan Howard]

Genre: comedy, sort of.
Title: The Royal Tenenbaums
Comment: Just an amazingly brilliant and literary dark comedy. If you havent' seen it, do yourself a favor.

[Peter W. Meek]

Where the Wild Things Are(2009)
Just watched this at home. Very powerful and even frightening. I am going to have to watch it several more times to really understand it.

I strongly recommend it after my first viewing. I also very strongly recommend that both parents watch it (perhaps several times) before letting their children watch it. It needs some careful thinking about. People (and monsters) get hurt, physically and emotionally. I'm not saying it isn't for kids, but it certainly isn't for all kids or all ages.

It is NOT the book. It is fairly closely based on the book(1963). Maurice Sendak was one of the many co-producers, and presumably had something to say about the film, but it isn't the book that you read to your kids at bedtime, and it isn't the book that was read to you by your parents at bedtime. I'm a bit too old to have had it read to me, but I certainly read it often enough to my daughter (it came out several years before she was born).

The book is a romp; the film is a rumpus. The ending isn't quite "Now you are back in the real world and everything is all right." I'm not quite sure what the ending is -- that's one of the reasons I have to see it at least one more time.

[Eric Menchen]

Watched Bottle Shock this week. I wouldn't put it on a recommendation list for non-wine oriented people. Even if you are an oenophile, hunh, maybe. It was worthwhile when I was tired after a long day of work and didn't want anything particularly heavy in my entertainment.

[Peter W. Meek]

Bottle Shock
I liked it. It was a feel-good movie. Whether it was completely accurate is really irrelevant, unless you tend to get your history exclusively from Hollywood.