Resurrecting the Movies thread...

[serious crayons]

Because the reviews that I read were not very good, I've decided to wait for the DVD.  I'll check out what Ebert has to say, though, it might change my mind.

I thought I was mispronouncing the title, yes it's a new word for me, but I just checked and it turns out that I'm using the British pronunciation:  Sin-eck-dock.  The American is: sin-eck-dock-ee.

I've used the word before, but always pronounced it SIN-eck-dosh! [insert blushing smiley icon]

[Meryl]

I thought I was mispronouncing the title, yes it's a new word for me, but I just checked and it turns out that I'm using the British pronunciation:  Sin-eck-dock.  The American is: sin-eck-dock-ee.

I read somewhere that the director meant it as a kind of play on the name of Schenectady, New York.

[Aloysius J. Gleek]

Funny, or not funny, depending--

Two weeks ago, at a whim, I walked into Synecdoche  (the Landmark Sunshine on Houston in Manhattan) about 5 minutes after the movie had started--

As to not why, I won't go into a not nice explanation, but--

Within THREE MINUTES I was OUT of the theater and, as soon as I could, into a taxi.

This may be crackers, but--I think I may never be able to see a movie with (a certain person) again--

Fine by me--

[Aloysius J. Gleek]

Sorry, Utter Bosh OT, but--

http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-syn1.htm

[Q] “Can you tell me whether the words synecdoche and metonymy mean the same thing?”

[A] Both are figures of speech used in rhetoric. They’re not the same thing, though metonymy is often interpreted so widely that synecdoche can be regarded as a special case of it.

Let’s take synecdoche first (which is pronounced as /sɪˈnɛkdəkɪ/, by the way). You use this when you speak of a part of something but mean the whole thing. When Patrick O’Brian has Captain Jack Aubrey tell his first lieutenant to “let the hands go to dinner” he’s employing synecdoche, because he’s using a part (the hand) for the whole man. You can also reverse the whole and the part, so using a word for something when you only mean part of it. This often comes up in sport: a commentator might say that “The West Indies has lost to England” when he means that the West Indian team has lost to the English one. America is often used as synecdoche in this second sense, as the word refers to the whole continent but is frequently applied to a part of it, the USA.

Metonymy is similar, but uses something more generally or loosely associated with a concept to stand in for it. When Americans speak of the Oval Office, for example, they are really referring to the activity within it, the position or function of the President. It’s a linked term, and so a metonym. British writers refer similarly to the Crown, when they’re really discussing the powers, authority and responsibilities of the monarchy, which is symbolised by the crown. The difference between synecdoche and metonymy is that in metonymy the word you employ is linked to the concept you are really talking about, but isn’t actually a part of it. Another example is the turf for horse racing. But the distinction isn’t always obvious and often can’t be rigorously applied, and many people use metonymy to mean both.

In his story Here Lies Miss Groby,  James Thurber wrote about his English teacher’s attempts to explain metonymy by talking about “the container for the thing contained”. This sounds like synecdoche rather than metonymy, but Miss Groby’s examples show she really meant metonymy. For example, when Shakespeare had Antony say in Julius Caesar: “Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears” he was speaking figuratively of the thing the ears contained — that is, their function, their ability to listen, not some literal component. Thurber recalled that he lay awake that night trying to find an example of the reverse idea and came up with an image of an angry wife about to bash hubby over the head with a bottle of Grade A, saying “Get away from me or I’ll hit you with the milk”. That’s metonymy all right, but you can argue it’s also synecdoche, because milk is an essential component part of a bottle of milk, not just something associated with it.

Sorry!

As you were!

[Aloysius J. Gleek]

I thought I was mispronouncing the title, yes it's a new word for me, but I just checked and it turns out that I'm using the British pronunciation:  Sin-eck-dock.  The American is: sin-eck-dock-ee.

Ok, now I'm really crackers, but, re different pronunciations, for example,

the girl's given name,

IRENE,

is mostly pronounced

in America as aye-REEN,
in parts of the UK as aye-REEN-ee (three syllables),
and parts of the UK as AYE-reen,
and in France as EE-ren.

Sorry again! Just ignore! G'bye!

[Front-Ranger]

Sorry!

As you were!

As I was?? NO WAY!!
 

[Aloysius J. Gleek]

As I was?? NO WAY!!
 

Mad, I tell you, mad.

Soree!

[Front-Ranger]

I swore off going to movies with a certain friend earlier this year. It was the movie Shelter. I got to the theater early, bought the tickets, and then had to call and tell him I was ready for him to arrive. After giving very specific directions, I went outside and stood at the entrance to the parking lot, waving him in and pointing to a vacant spot. He ran into the theater because it was snowing lightly and he didn't want to get snow on his cowboy hat. We went into the theater and watched several good shorts, one with Judy Shepard, and then the movie. Afterwards, my friend split immediately. I am the kind of person who likes to savor a movie, go out for dinner or coffee afterwards and talk about it. But after this disastrous incident, we did see a movie a few months later and enjoyed it very much together. So, I say never say never.

[Lynne]

I swore off going to movies with a certain friend earlier this year. It was the movie Shelter. I got to the theater early, bought the tickets, and then had to call and tell him I was ready for him to arrive. After giving very specific directions, I went outside and stood at the entrance to the parking lot, waving him in and pointing to a vacant spot. He ran into the theater because it was snowing lightly and he didn't want to get snow on his cowboy hat. We went into the theater and watched several good shorts, one with Judy Shepard, and then the movie. Afterwards, my friend split immediately. I am the kind of person who likes to savor a movie, go out for dinner or coffee afterwards and talk about it. But after this disastrous incident, we did see a movie a few months later and enjoyed it very much together. So, I say never say never.

That's too bad, Lee.  The right company can certainly make a big difference, especially when seeing a movie in the theatre, when you don't have pause and rewind options.  Can you imagine seeing BBM with someone who won't wait until the last credit has rolled?!?!  No way!

I watched Leaving Metropolis on Netflix a few evenings ago and did a search here to see if anyone had mentioned it.  The only comment I found was by oilgun over in the ABCs at the Movies thread:

As for LEAVING METROPOLIS, the play was much better!  Although Vince Corazza is an absolute doll!...

I didn't realize there was a play.  I thought the movie was good enough, but I didn't love it.  I guess I'm too much of a romantic to be satisfied by an average movie if I don't get my happily-ever-after.  Truly great films, like Brokeback Mountain and Casablanca of course, get much more latitude.

[southendmd]

Hi there, cinemaphiles.  I just saw The Curious Case of Benjamin Button tonight.  **Not too spoilerish***

All I can say is WOW!  I haven't read any reviews, just the bare outline of the story.  It's an epic that holds your attention through the whole 2 3/4 hours--no mean feat.  I was on the verge of tears practically throughout the entire film.  Spanning eight decades, with not a cliche in sight.  Effective use of spare music, unintrusive voice-overs, interesting lighting add to the delight.  Not to mention special effects that are used for human purposes, not just to blow up stuff.  Hurray!

Brad Pitt is phenomenal.  You can't take your eyes off him.  I don't think I've ever appreciated him as an actor before this.  He makes great use of his eyes and his voice, in this case a quiet, slow, gentle New Orleans lilt.  He is gradually transformed from a little old man, eventually to Brad Pitt, to Brad Pitt of twenty years ago!

I always expect great things from Cate Blanchett and she doesn't disappoint.  From waif to Martha Graham-esque and beyond, she is a wonder. 

I didn't really have much of a sense of David Fincher, except for Zodiac, which I didn't much like.  I see he has directed TV commercials, and music videos (Madonna) primarily, along with Fight Club and Se7en, neither of which had I seen. 

Based on short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the film was apparently heavily adapted by Eric Roth.  Perhaps Brokeback Mountain started a trend of adapting good short stories into films. 

I expect this film will haunt me for some time. 

To celebrate, my film partner and I went to dinner at the venerable Boston establishment, Locke Ober, for dinner (lobster bisque and crispy sweetbreads, yum) and a Sazerac, featured in the film.

*****

Sazerac, considered the first truly American cocktail, pre-Civil War, born in New Orleans:

coat an old fashioned glass with Pernod and discard
muddle sugar cube and bitters, add ice and bourbon (or whiskey, or rye)
strain into Pernod-coated glass
garnish with lemon peel

Aromatic and gorgeous!

Cheers to Benjamin Button!