Resurrecting the Movies thread...

[MaineWriter]

I saw Lars and the Real Girl today and I absolutely LOVED it!  I wasn't prepared for how heart-breaking it turned out to be though, it's not exactly the light comedy that its marketing leads us to believe.  Gosling's character's anxiety and loneliness is palpable and I was brought to tears (literally) in many scenes.  One of the most moving and ultimately life-affirming film I've seen in a long while! 
Run, don't walk, to see it!

Move over Heath, Ryan's in town, lol!  Just kidding, I have room for both of them.  ;-)

My daughter and I went to see this today and I have very mixed feelings. On an acting level, I could see what a superb job Ryan Gosling and everyone else (esp. Patricia Clarkson) did. On the other hand, I struggled with the total implausibility of much of it...from the fact of Lars' mother dying in childbirth to no one seeking any sort of help for him to him falling in love with a sex toy and the entire town becoming a bunch of enablers....in one way, this story would have worked better in the 30s but then, in the 30s, they didn't have the Internet and anatomically correct sex toys...

I have very mixed feelings about this movie. I am glad I saw it but I don't want to see it again.

L

[oilgun]

My daughter and I went to see this today and I have very mixed feelings. On an acting level, I could see what a superb job Ryan Gosling and everyone else (esp. Patricia Clarkson) did. On the other hand, I struggled with the total implausibility of much of it...from the fact of Lars' mother dying in childbirth to no one seeking any sort of help for him to him falling in love with a sex toy and the entire town becoming a bunch of enablers....in one way, this story would have worked better in the 30s but then, in the 30s, they didn't have the Internet and anatomically correct sex toys...

I have very mixed feelings about this movie. I am glad I saw it but I don't want to see it again.

L

Aww?  I'm so disappointed you didn't like it and I feel somewhat responsible because I built it up so much!  I didn't have a problem at all suspending my disbelief.  (Obviously, since I gave it a nine, LOL!)  The movie just swept me off my feet like very few movies have.  Oh well, you probably loved Gone Baby Gone 

[ednbarby]

I feel so far behind all you guys, but it's nice to see my little ol' thread thriving. 

Michael Clayton - loved it, especially Tilda Swinton and Tom Wilkinson.  And George Clooney's nearly last line was invigorating - as Hollywoodish as it was, it made me feel good all over.

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead - I'm still rather pissed off at just how often poor Marisa Tomei had to walk around with her perky boobies on display - it did nothing to further the story and was almost laughable after a while.  That said, Ethan Hawke was amazing.  Phillip Seymour Hoffman didn't do much for me.  But his upcoming role with Laura Linney in the one about placing their father into a nursing home looks promising - I much prefer him when he plays those schlubby characters than when he plays someone strait-laced and professional.

No Country for Old Men - I wish I could say I loved it.  I certainly liked it, and was very happy to see a lot of loose ends left completely to the viewers' imagination.  I'm sure it won't fare well in Peoria for that reason, though.  My problem with it wasn't that it didn't tie everything up into nice, neat little packages, but that it lacked a soul.  I think Tommy Lee Jones was supposed to be that, and he was good - I guess I'd have just liked to have seen him have a bit more to work with.  His last scene was wonderful, though.

Dan in Real Life - I didn't like most of Juliette Binoche's dialogue.  But I liked Steve Carell's.  Since I gotta figure the same person/people wrote both, I can only guess that her acting was lacking, somehow.  Dane Cook pretty much sucks, too - I found the actor who played the other brother to be much more convincing.  And I agree with you, Katherine - it turns out Steve Carell really is quite a good actor.  I discovered that in Little Miss Sunshine, really - this just sealed the deal.

Don't know why I'm not interested in seeing American Gangster - I always enjoy Denzel Washington.  I think I'm just tired of gangster flicks.

[Meryl]

Hi Barb, it's great to see you back! 

I haven't seen much this fall other than Eastern Promises and Lust, Cauton, both of which I loved, but I went to see Elizabeth: The Golden Age last week because I didn't want to miss it on the big screen.  I knew it would be worth it just for the costumes, and I was not disappointed.

Really, it was worth the price of popcorn just to sit there and take in the utter gorgeousness of Cate Blanchett's endless parade of gowns, wigs and jewelry and the impressive settings:  castles, churches, moors, ocean vistas, all dressed and lit to perfection, fabrics draped everywhere, props that looked straight out of a museum, and eye candy for days.  It's operatic in its scope (and unfortunately in its credibility) and who cares if the history is accurate?  See Cate standing on a cliff, cape flowing out behind her while she watches the Armada burn, the sun setting over the stormy Channel; see Clive Owen clench his manly jaw and jump off a flaming ship; or see Cate reining in a prancing, pure white stallion, her red hair streaming over her shoulders, silver armor gleaming, as she delivers her address to the troops at Tilbury; or watch her, in high dudgeon, cuss the hell out of her lady-in-waiting for marrying manly Clive in secret.  That's entertainment, folks!  I heartily recommend it. 

[MaineWriter]

Aww?  I'm so disappointed you didn't like it and I feel somewhat responsible because I built it up so much!  I didn't have a problem at all suspending my disbelief.  (Obviously, since I gave it a nine, LOL!)  The movie just swept me off my feet like very few movies have.  Oh well, you probably loved Gone Baby Gone 

I am not even going to see Gone Baby Gone! It doesn't sound like my kind of movie, at all!

As for Lars, I wanted to be swept off my feet...I really did. And if I focused just on the acting, I could, because the acting was that good, from everyone involved. But something about the story...reality just kept nibbling at the edge of my mind and I couldn't push it away.

I also thought it was incredibly sad which probably wasn't helped by my post-Thanksgiving low mood.

Oh well. I am glad I saw it. And I watched "The Commitments" last night to try and cheer myself up and it mostly worked.

L

[Meryl]

I posted an interesting article in the Movie Resources forum about William Pohlad, one of the producers of Brokeback.  Y'all might want to check it out: http://bettermost.net/forum/index.php/topic,15173.msg292656/topicseen.html#msg292656

[MaineWriter]

How did I miss this? I just read that "The Namesake," by Mira Nair, is coming out on DVD today (Nov 27). I loved "Monsoon Wedding," and read countless movie reviews and articles, but I totally missed hearing anything about this movie. I gather it was shown at the Toronto Film Festival in 2006 and also London. Was it ever in movie theaters? Did any of my fellow movie-lovers here at Bettermost see it?

Looks like a DVD rental is in store for me, but man, I would have loved to see this on the big screen! Any reviews from anyone....comments are appreciated.

Leslie

[oilgun]

How did I miss this? I just read that "The Namesake," by Mira Nair, is coming out on DVD today (Nov 27). I loved "Monsoon Wedding," and read countless movie reviews and articles, but I totally missed hearing anything about this movie. I gather it was shown at the Toronto Film Festival in 2006 and also London. Was it ever in movie theaters? Did any of my fellow movie-lovers here at Bettermost see it?

Looks like a DVD rental is in store for me, but man, I would have loved to see this on the big screen! Any reviews from anyone....comments are appreciated.

Leslie

It played in theatres here in Toronto but I skipped it for some reason, probably because of mediocre local reviews.  However, Rotten Tomatoes gives it an 86%  fresh rating.

[MaineWriter]

It played in theatres here in Toronto but I skipped it for some reason, probably because of mediocre local reviews.  However, Rotten Tomatoes gives it an 86%  fresh rating.

Yes, and people are raving about it on IMDb, too! I am surprised that this one totally slipped by me...I try to keep abreast of this stuff.

I guess I'll just have to blame it on being in the throes of Brokeback Fever at the time. LOL!

L

[ednbarby]

I saw "The Namesake" when it came out here.  It was wonderful.

The one I'm looking forward to seeing this weekend is "The Savages" (or is it just "Savages?") with Laura Linney and Phillip Seymour Hoffman.  The subject matter looks like it'll hit especially close to home for me, having just come through the shitstorm that was my father-in-law living with us for two months while he recovered from a broken hip.  Let me put it this way:  If I ever see him or hear his voice again, it'll be too soon.