What was the last movie you saw?

[littlemissattitude]

Just got home from seeing It's Complicated. IIRC, the reviews were mixed on this film. Maybe it's because I'm an old codger, but I thought it was great. Meryl Streep was fantastic. Alec Baldwin was, well, Alec Baldwin. Steve Martin was funnier than in both Pink Panther films combined. And John Krasinski showed why he is such an excellent young comedian.

Highly recommended for any movie buff over the age of forty-five.

I'd really like to see this, but I dislike Alec Baldwin just enough that it could keep me from going to see it.

 

[JDeathscript]

Hi- I'm new to the forum, I'm looking forward to digging in. I recently watched the 1977 animated version of 'The Hobbit', it's less scary than I remember as a kid. And it's pretty true to the novel to boot.

 

[clovis-man]

I'd really like to see this, but I dislike Alec Baldwin just enough that it could keep me from going to see it.

Don't let that stop you. I happen to like Alec Baldwin just fine, but he just sort of played himself in the movie. However, the rest of the story isn't all that dependent on his particular acting chops. And it is very entertaining.

 

[clovis-man]

Hi- I'm new to the forum, I'm looking forward to digging in. I recently watched the 1977 animated version of 'The Hobbit', it's less scary than I remember as a kid. And it's pretty true to the novel to boot.

Welcome aboard. Have you considered introducing yourself in detail in the "Introductions" segment? It's at the bottom of the "General" heading.

 

[JDeathscript]

I hadn't noticed that thread yet, thank you. I will.

 

[CyBeR]

Then treated myself to a viewing of The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad. Haven't seen this one for some time. Like many old movies, I first saw it when I was in high school. I thought it was amazing at the time. Holds up surprisingly well today.

This caught my eyes a few days ago and I actually searched for this film. Watched it yesterday and I can say I enjoyed it. Apart from some films I've watched as a child, this is the oldest piece of cinema I ever watched (apart from Disney) and it was really enjoyable...I really couldn't believe they could do stuff like that in terms of special effects way back in 1958. Quite impressive.

Apart from this, and in quite another hemisphere, I watched The incredible Hulk from 2008 as well yesterday. It was actually great, especially since I went into it with absolutely no expectations at all for the film. I was pleasantly surprised to see the character treated right and accepted that there can be a mature story there, plus some nice character development, without over-exposing Hulk himself. 2008 was a good year for super hero films.

Watched The wild blue yonder the day before yesterday and I can say I was really impressed by it. Werner Herzog may be a bit of a crack pot but the idea behind the film was really great and the message it lets across was impressive. Certainly not a film for anyone, especially taking into account the fact that it's ultra low budget in a way.

 

[clovis-man]

Re The Seventh Voyage Of Sinbad:

This caught my eyes a few days ago and I actually searched for this film. Watched it yesterday and I can say I enjoyed it. Apart from some films I've watched as a child, this is the oldest piece of cinema I ever watched (apart from Disney) and it was really enjoyable...I really couldn't believe they could do stuff like that in terms of special effects way back in 1958. Quite impressive.

Much is owed to stop-motion photography genius Ray Haryhausen. No CGI in those days. Everything was accomplished via incremental, miniscule movements of model figures. If you thought the skeleton was okay, you should see the gaggle of them he created in Jason And The Argonauts.

IMDb Video: Jason and the Argonauts 1963

 

[CyBeR]

I'm actually a big fan of stop motion animation films...The nightmare before Christmas, James and the giant peach, Corpse bride, Vincent, plus the stuff from Beetlejuice (yes, quite a bit of Tim Burton in there). I just couldn't expect that high quality in the '50s.
I'll watch Jason and the Argonauts when I'll find it. Seems interesting enough for a chance.

 

[Interference]

I think Tim Burton's finest stop-motion animation was Helena Bonham-Carter in Planet of the Apes.

Mreaaaowrr.

 

[clovis-man]

I think Tim Burton's finest stop-motion animation was Helena Bonham-Carter in Planet of the Apes.

Mreaaaowrr.

Ha, I wouldn't stoop to being so catty, but only observe that she made a better looking chimpanzee than a human.

 

[littlemissattitude]

Ha, I wouldn't stoop to being so catty, but only observe that she made a better looking chimpanzee than a human.

Thanks for that, clovis-man. I completely laughed out loud at that, because it's' so true. Anyway, it's been kind of a crappy week, and I appreciate the laugh.

/threadjack

I'd like to get the thread back on track, but I haven't seen any movies in the past couple of days. I did watch a couple of episodes of Maigret on DVD at my best friend's place earlier tonight. Hadn't seen that before; not bad.

 

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

I love Simenon's Maigret novels, but have never seen, or indeed heard of, the TV series. Must look it up.

 

[littlemissattitude]

I love Simenon's Maigret novels, but have never seen, or indeed heard of, the TV series. Must look it up.

I had never heard of it, either, novels or series.

It's a Granada TV production, if I remember correctly, and all the French characters have English accents, which we were laughing about while we watched. But the two episodes I saw tonight were pretty good; I certainly never saw what was coming in either of them. Then again, I'm sometimes pretty dense about things like that, so YMMV.

I will look for the books.

 

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

The books are brilliant; the French equivalent of noir. Georges Simenon was one of the best French writers of the previous century, in my opinion and there's a lot more to him than Maigret. You can download and read the Paris Review interview with him here: The Paris Review - The Art of Fiction No. 9

 

[littlemissattitude]

The books are brilliant; the French equivalent of noir. Georges Simenon was one of the best French writers of the previous century, in my opinion and there's a lot more to him than Maigret. You can download and read the Paris Review interview with him here: The Paris Review - The Art of Fiction No. 9

Then it wasn't just me. I was thinking as I was watching one of the episodes that it seemed quite satisfyingly noir-ish.

And, thanks for the link.

 

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

I don't really subscribe to Simenon's thoughts about paring down language, and I live for the day when I can include the word 'crepuscular' in a published piece, but he has a lot of interesting things to say about literature and writing and his own remarkable writing process.

 

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

Oh, and the last movie I saw was Spaceballs which was as silly and enjoyable as I recalled it being.

 

[littlemissattitude]

I don't really subscribe to Simenon's thoughts about paring down language, and I live for the day when I can include the word 'crepuscular' in a published piece, but he has a lot of interesting things to say about literature and writing and his own remarkable writing process.

I will definitely have to read that, then. I'm always interested in process, almost to the extent of being obsessed by the subject. In fact, whenever I get a chance in panels at cons, I try to ask whoever is available to share something about their process.

Oh, and Spaceballs...haven't seen that in years. Silly movie, as I recall (well, it is Mel Brooks, after all), but there's nothing wrong with a silly movie now and then.

 

[clovis-man]

Watched a DVD of D.O.A. (1950) with Edmund O'Brien. A film noir tale, the story line is almost as incomprehensible as Bogart's The Big Sleep. But who cares. The plot is that Edmund O'Brien finds he has been fatally poisoned and spends the last day of his life trying to find out who "murdered" him. I saw this when I was a lad and still remembered the thug character played by Neville Brand who kept hitting O'Brien in his understandably tender midsection and taunting: "Soft in the belly, eh"

 

[CyBeR]

Watched two films with my girlfriend yesterday...
First was Dorian Gray, from 2009, and it's honestly not worth talking about.
The second however was the incredible Where the wild things are, directed by Spike Jonze. I must say...the film blew me away. A trek through the last battle between a boy and the passage of time, a farewell to childhood in a fist fight with no rules...I loved it. Imagery, psychology, symbolism and development...I can't believe such a film can exist in a world where "film for children" mean for it to have CGI animated rodents that sing in ultra-high pitched voices.