Cinema

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Comment by Bebop on August 21, 2009 at 9:24am

We watched a film last night by one of my favorite French directors, Patrice Leconte, called The Perfume of Yvonne. He made this in 1994. It is mostly a flashback that takes place in 1958 in Geneva. It has all Leconte's whimsical humor and emotion interactions. The cinematography is gorgeous, shifting from the dark and gloomy present to the light and colorful flashbacked past. The music is perfect. The three main characters are excellent, especially Jean-Pierre Marielle as an aging gay "Queen of Sheba". I don't know if everyone would like this, but any fan of Leconte will love it! He really weaves a spell.

Comment by DebinSC on July 20, 2009 at 8:21pm

..and we watched Gran Torino over the weekend. Alot to think about there. I like that in a movie. My favorite "themes", too. Forgiveness, redemption, grace. Thanks for the recommendation, Rok, and Bebop.

Comment by Bebop on July 15, 2009 at 8:43pm

Rok, we watched Gran Torino last night. I agree with you. Clint Eastwood (and the rest of the cast) were excellent.

Comment by DebinSC on July 13, 2009 at 4:36pm

Oops! Rok, I just went back a few pages and see you gave Quantum of Solace 5 stars (with prejudice). I have to stick with my assessment of it though, great action, missing story. :>

Comment by DebinSC on July 13, 2009 at 4:33pm

I have gotten so far behind here, guys! Haven't had much time for watching movies, or reviewing, or reading everyone's comments. Hope to start catchin up, though.

Just wanted to add, I did get to watch "Doubt" and agree more or less with what y'all had said. That said, the ending was completely fitting, I thgught, if just a bit frustrating.

Rok, glad you emjoyed Children of Men - not a terribly profound film, but I enjoyed the amazing direction and the performances - along with a few real surprises.

Only other I've had time to see was the 2nd Daniel Craig Bond film. "Quantum of Solace". Started out promisingly, but developed into a muddle of chases and fights. Not nearly as taut as Casino Royale. Daniel Craig was still wayyyy up therre on the intensity meter, but either they had no idea w3hat they were going for, or ruined it with editing. Just IMO. :)

Hope now to catchup and read some more of your reviews. Sorry to be so neglectful!

Comment by roknrolhrt on June 19, 2009 at 7:39am

We're been watching movie and movie, but I haven't had a chance to write any reviews or thoughts. So, I'll try to catch up this morning:

Gran Torino(2008) stars Clint Eastwood as a grumpy, prejudiced veteran of the Korean War. His character seems to embody more than a few men of a certain generation who many of us have known. This is a remarkably well-told tale of the cultural clashes brought about by the change taking place all around us. I highly recommend it. Eastwood is superb. Four-and-a-half stars.

Revolutionary Road (2009) Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet portray a young couple living in a Connecticut suburb during the mid-1950s struggle to come to terms with their personal problems while trying to raise their two children. I found it fairly predictable, fairly boring, and quite disappointing. Winlet's typically fine performance could not save this movie for me. Two-and-a-half stars.

The Verdict (1982) is directed by Sidney Lumet and stars Paul Newman as a broken down, drunken attorney who takes on a large Catholic hospital in a medical malpractice lawsuit. Newman is wonderful in this role; pithy, gritty, flawed yet wonderful in some ways. Newman's character is pitted against a slick, well-heeled law firm and relies on his own wits and the able assistance of his former law professor played by Jack Warden. The mystery is not solved until very near the end of the movie and it was not, at least for me, obvious prior to that moment. Four-out-of-five-stars.

Comment by Bebop on June 6, 2009 at 12:24pm

Keet, we rented Last Chance Harvey and really liked it. There was something so poignant about these two sad, lonely people connecting.

Comment by Keith on June 6, 2009 at 11:46am

As new members of Netflix, we will probably have more input here. The first Netflix rental, Last Chance Harvey is greatly enhanced by the acting prowess of Oscar winners Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson. If you are like DeeDee and I and were fortunate to find love at a later stage in life, this is a wonderfully told tale. It has just enough conflict and unique circumstance to make the viewer get caught up in the unfolding story. Clearly both are not having, nor have had a very good time experiencing life until their chance encounter, also gets a second chance.

Also take the time to view the extras on the making of the movie, as it turns out, while this was the product of great effort by the writer and director Joel Hopkins who freely admits working with these two acting legends was very humbling, and richly rewarding. I like Dustin Hoffman. I like Emma Thompson, and I liked (as did DeeDee) Last Chance Harvey.

Comment by roknrolhrt on May 27, 2009 at 12:27pm

Angels & Demons (2009)

This sequel to The DaVinci Code stars Tom Hanks, Ewan McGregor, and Vittoria Vetra. Directed by Ron Howard, Angels & Demons is set in Rome, which we lovers of Italy find very attractive. Ms. Vetra steals the show in my opinion and the other two stars are hampered by fairly predictable characters and eventualities. The special effects are great, but the storyline is, at best, mediocre. There are some interesting characters within the Swiss Guard, the Vatican Police and the College of Cardinals, but, otherwise, not so great. It's a sort of fun movie, but not much else. I'd give Angels & Demons two-and-three-quarter stars out of a possible five.

Comment by roknrolhrt on May 27, 2009 at 12:13pm

Past Due Recommendations: Well, I've been a bit derelict in providing timely movies reviews of late--preoccupied don't you know. To begin with, we watched two marvelous movies recommended in this group; I've Loved You So Long and The Winter Guest. Of the two, I favor The Winter Guest for it's cinematography, the use of winter as a featured character, and the relationships flawed yet real. However, I concur with the previous recommendations and heartily applaud both films.

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