The Movie Thread

[RGMike]

best review I've seen (so far) of Snakes on a Plane:

http://movingpictureblog.blogspot.com/2006/08/snakes-on-blog.html

"This plane's going down faster than a Thai whore" ROTFL!

So Mike,  didja see it yet?

Saw it today (following Ali's advice from this morning) and found it thoroughly enjoyable.  In some ways very comparable to Speed, with the peril confined for most of the movie to a small space, much deeper than usual development of the minor characters, homage paid to several time-honored action/horror cliches, and 4 or 5 emotional gutchecks sprinkled throughout.

Well... I can't honestly say I had a good time. Oh it has it's moments, and Sam Jackson is solid as always, but really, it was cheesy but not in a good way. From the opening credits that looked like they were left over from an ep of Magnum PI to the animation-enhanced serpents, it really (as many have said) looked like a Sci-Fi Channel quickie. On the other hand, when have you ever seen actors named "Flex" and "Sunny" get billing in the same movie?

Speaking of Speed, have you seen the promos for Crank? It's basically Speed-meets-D.O.A.  Now if you wanna see something really great, I recommend The Illusionist. Magic in turn-of-the-century Vienna with Edward Norton, Paul Giamatti, and (in the Scarlett Johansson-was-apparently-unavailable role) Jessica Beil.

[Gazoo]

Invincible, the story of Vince Papale playing for the Eagles in the late '70s, was an utter treat.  Wahlberg allows the story to be able Papale instead of about Wahlberg -- no small feat in the modern school of acting -- and the tale itself is the sort of heroic journey of which Joseph Campbell would be proud, in which the hero leaves home so that he can return with something promising for those who cannot out.  (And they got the mid-decade Philly details just right, my friend Eddie assures me.)

[RGMike]

Invincible, the story of Vince Papale playing for the Eagles in the late '70s, was an utter treat.  Wahlberg allows the story to be able Papale instead of about Wahlberg -- no small feat in the modern school of acting -- and the tale itself is the sort of heroic journey of which Joseph Campbell would be proud, in which the hero leaves home so that he can return with something promising for those who cannot out.  (And they got the mid-decade Philly details just right, my friend Eddie assures me.)

It's def on my must-see list. I think Wahlberg is quite underrated as an actor, and so is Kinnear for that matter.

[RGMike]

I was quite pissed to discover that (unbeknownst to me) the Castro showed How I Won The War with John Lennon yesterday; I've never seen it, and it hasn't been on TV in years.

and Gaz -- this Thursday they're showing It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World.

[Gazoo]

I was quite pissed to discover that (unbeknownst to me) the Castro showed How I Won The War with John Lennon yesterday; I've never seen it, and it hasn't been on TV in years.

and Gaz -- this Thursday they're showing It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World.

Ooooh, I would LOVE to see that in the Castro.  It's in my all-time Top 10, and for my monhy there's no better place to see a film.  Too bad work obligations won't let me fly out for an extended Labor Day vaca!

[RGMike]

Invincible, the story of Vince Papale playing for the Eagles in the late '70s, was an utter treat.  Wahlberg allows the story to be able Papale instead of about Wahlberg -- no small feat in the modern school of acting -- and the tale itself is the sort of heroic journey of which Joseph Campbell would be proud, in which the hero leaves home so that he can return with something promising for those who cannot out.  (And they got the mid-decade Philly details just right, my friend Eddie assures me.)

It's def on my must-see list. I think Wahlberg is quite underrated as an actor, and so is Kinnear for that matter.

Saw it this afternoon and it was quite enjoyable within the formula Disney-inspirational-sports-movie framework. Wahlberg is indeed very good. Bonus: an especially well-chosen '70s rock sndtk. Wonder how Papale's ex-wife feels about being portrayed as a total bitch.

[mshray]

If any of y'all like scary movies, go see The Descent!  Nearly perfect (for what it is), with some good character development, a couple of brutal plot twists that you'll never see coming, and a novel ending that neatly avoided my predictions.  Best horror flick I have seen in years, probably because it's a UK production.

[princessofcairo]

well, i've seen a fair amount of films since my arrival in spain. i don't know if they've all been released in the u.s., but here's the list with my opinions:

honey baby - a cute film from finnish kaurismaki about an american singer "touring" through eastern europe. henry thomas is horrible as a rock star, but helmut berger makes up for it. love ensues.

three times - dude. just don't see it. just don't. it starts off fine, but you'll end up crying. or snoring the theatre (first-hand).

the mother - excellent roger mitchell film!! written by kureishi, so his interpretation of british reaction may not be accurate, but it sure is funny!

crossing the bridge: the sound of istanbul - intelligent documentary exposing variety of music styles in istanbul: everything from rap to traditional kurdish music. the performances are great, and i never before noticed how much istanbul looks like san francisco.

caterina va in citta[/url - very cute, very smart italian coming-of-age flick.

[url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0468094/]the road to guantanamo - winterbottom at it again. daresay more effective than michael moore? go see it and get all twisty-turny in the stomach. go ahead!

grizzly man - herzog is one detailed individual. this film is only strange because of its subject. hard to believe, but it's so very true...

that's all i remember now. oh transamerica, too, but you already know all you need to know about that. it was funny, but i had a hard time suspending my disby. the parents were great, though! and, of course, so was felicity. from the first scene.

i haven't worked up to seeing a film in spanish yet. i can read the subtitles with little trouble, but the spoken lanugage is still too rapid for me to understand.

[RGMike]

three times - dude. just don't see it. just don't. it starts off fine, but you'll end up crying. or snoring the theatre (first-hand).

That's gotten RAVE reviews here, but I haven't seen it.

the mother - excellent roger mitchell film!! written by kureishi, so his interpretation of british reaction may not be accurate, but it sure is funny!

Terrific. Michell is a fave director of mine and of course Daniel Craig rules. The actress (I'm blanking on her name) got robbed at Oscar time.

grizzly man - herzog is one detailed individual. this film is only strange because of its subject. hard to believe, but it's so very true...

QUITE timely now, what with the Steve Irwin thing.

[urth]

well, i've seen a fair amount of films since my arrival in spain. i don't know if they've all been released in the u.s., but here's the list with my opinions:

honey baby - a cute film from finnish kaurismaki about an american singer "touring" through eastern europe. henry thomas is horrible as a rock star, but helmut berger makes up for it. love ensues.

three times - dude. just don't see it. just don't. it starts off fine, but you'll end up crying. or snoring the theatre (first-hand).

the mother - excellent roger mitchell film!! written by kureishi, so his interpretation of british reaction may not be accurate, but it sure is funny!

crossing the bridge: the sound of istanbul - intelligent documentary exposing variety of music styles in istanbul: everything from rap to traditional kurdish music. the performances are great, and i never before noticed how much istanbul looks like san francisco.

caterina va in citta[/url - very cute, very smart italian coming-of-age flick.

[url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0468094/]the road to guantanamo - winterbottom at it again. daresay more effective than michael moore? go see it and get all twisty-turny in the stomach. go ahead!

grizzly man - herzog is one detailed individual. this film is only strange because of its subject. hard to believe, but it's so very true...

that's all i remember now. oh transamerica, too, but you already know all you need to know about that. it was funny, but i had a hard time suspending my disby. the parents were great, though! and, of course, so was felicity. from the first scene.

i haven't worked up to seeing a film in spanish yet. i can read the subtitles with little trouble, but the spoken lanugage is still too rapid for me to understand.

Those all sound pretty good (well except for Three Times maybe). Except for Grizzly Man I don't think any of them has had a US theatrical release, save maybe for some film festivals. But most appear to be on DVD here, so I'll have to see if Le Video has any of 'em.  The Mother particularly sounds worth watching.

So how goes the illegal immigrant status?

(Slight TANC: while I'm writing this, KCDX is playing Genesis' (they're everywhere today, aren't they?) Home By the Sea, which is on the same album as... wait for it... Illegal Alien.)

[princessofcairo]

anne reid plays "the mother." i love how you don't even learn her character's name until a third of the way into the film.

DO NOT believe the rave reviews for three times. trust me. i'm no film critic, but i have studied and worked in the art. that makes me more qualified than a film critic.

i didn't even think of the irwin similarity. my housemate described his death as a "freak accident," and i said, "well, how else was he supposed to go?"

illegal immigrant (they're everywhere these days, aren't they?) status - planning to begin the marriage process as soon as a friend arrives from sf later this month with my birth certificate. if all goes well, i'll have e.u. citizenship within eight months. and i'll be somebody's missus. god bless spain and the legalisation of gay marriage.

[mshray]

anne reid plays "the mother." i love how you don't even learn her character's name until a third of the way into the film.

DO NOT believe the rave reviews for three times. trust me. i'm no film critic, but i have studied and worked in the art. that makes me more qualified than a film critic.

i didn't even think of the irwin similarity. my housemate described his death as a "freak accident," and i said, "well, how else was he supposed to go?"

illegal immigrant (they're everywhere these days, aren't they?) status - planning to begin the marriage process as soon as a friend arrives from sf later this month with my birth certificate. if all goes well, i'll have e.u. citizenship within eight months. and i'll be somebody's missus. god bless spain and the legalisation of gay marriage.

So who's going to be your missus?

[princessofcairo]

anne reid plays "the mother." i love how you don't even learn her character's name until a third of the way into the film.

DO NOT believe the rave reviews for three times. trust me. i'm no film critic, but i have studied and worked in the art. that makes me more qualified than a film critic.

i didn't even think of the irwin similarity. my housemate described his death as a "freak accident," and i said, "well, how else was he supposed to go?"

illegal immigrant (they're everywhere these days, aren't they?) status - planning to begin the marriage process as soon as a friend arrives from sf later this month with my birth certificate. if all goes well, i'll have e.u. citizenship within eight months. and i'll be somebody's missus. god bless spain and the legalisation of gay marriage.

So who's going to be your missus?

my girlfriend. though we're only marrying for papers. still, i think i'd like a minor ceremony. or at least a dress.

[RGMike]

Saw Hollywoodland tonite, the Who-killed-"Superman"? tinseltown noir.  Liked it overall, tho' I thought the Ben Affleck-as-George Reeves stuff was actually better than the Adrian Brody-playing-detective stuff.  Affleck was quite good IMHO.

Killing time before the flick, I stopped at the indie record shop across the street from the Empire in West Portal, and they had a crate of old vinyl for sale -- picked up the first Cold Blood LP for 49 cents! I'd forgotten it was on San Francisco records (distrib by Atlantic). Also for half-a-buck, I bought 2 Streisand LPs in nearly-new condition: Lazy Afternoon, the one produced by Rupert Holmes (Babs covers his "Widescreen" and "Letters That Cross in the Mail"), and Barbra Joan Streisand, the follow-up to Stoney End -- she actually covers John Lennon's "Mother" (!).

[mshray]

Saw The Illusionist over the weekend.  Anything with both Edward Norton & Paul Giamatti has to be worth a matinee ticket right?

Well just barely.  A decent period piece, Norton & Giamatti certainly do their jobs well, and Rufus Sewell is very good as the nasty Crown Prince Leopold, but Jessica Biel is such a horrible actress that at times it appears that Norton is wincing in pain as she mangles her accent.  Thankfully she doesn't have that much screen time.  

But the biggest problem is that it quickly becomes obvious this is going to be a caper movie & the only members of the audience who wouldn't see it coming would be people mysteriously transported here from the film's 19th century Viennese setting.  

And one nitpick: during one of his magic tricks with a sword, Norton's character refers to King Arthur drawing Excalibur from the stone, but the Sword in the Stone was Clermont.  Excalibur was the sword that the Lady of the Lake, her arm clad in the purest shimmering samite, held aloft from the bosom of the water.  Didn't they ever see Monty Python & the Holy Grail?!?