How about a movie thread?
 

My wife and I are trying to take in a few more movies lately. Really enjoyed Lincoln. It's the type of movie that make you want to jump into the books on on to Google to delve deeper into the subject matter.

We saw Hitchcock last weekend, and found it very entertaining. The movie about him followed his practice of entering the screen as a narrator. It provided an interesting effect. And Scarlett Johansson as Janet Leigh - uh - charming. ;)

It was interesting that Both Lincoln and Hitchcock involved just a small, albeit important, slice of the life of both figures. And the wife of each played an extremely important role in the story being told.

This weekend, it's Hyde Park on the Hudson. Although the reviews have been mixed, I'm looking forward to seeing Bill Murray tackle FDR.

Regards,

D-Ray

I'm always slightly surprised when Murray does something serious. I expect him to jump up and yell, 'I LIKE IT!" :) Hope it's good.

Anyone seen 'Winters Bone'? I started watching it to humor the wife and ended up really liking it.

Pete

We liked Lincoln as well. Next, I want to see Django Unchained. My wife wants to see Les Miz.

Yes! Twice! An excellent movie.

Regards,
Dave

Hyde Park on the Hudson turned out to be a much of a chick-flick as anything else. Largely a love story, with the historical event in which FDR was involved being seen through the eyes of one of his mistresses. While Murray's performance as FDR was well done, I never was never able to suspend disbelief enough to forget that it was Bill Murray playing Roosevelt. That being said, it was entertaining, and the actors delivered fine performances.

Regards,

D-Ray

<<<yawn>>> Thanks for the warning, Don. Bill Murray is a really good actor but, like you, I can't watch him without thinking of SNL or Caddy Shack.

John

Though it got great acclaim, I thought Lost in Translation was somewhat of a yawn too.

Me too. Sophia Coppola really bores me.

Murray was good though.

John

Did you see him in that modernized version of Hamlet? It was somewhat strange.

Regards,

D-Ray

Yeah, I still want to see that one, but, I still just can't picture Murray as FDR. FDR was a party hound and had a great sense of humor, (Ever heard the story about Churchill and the Washington monument?), but figure Murray as a bit too "clownish".

Regards,
Dave

I would imagine! Gertrude would have been what, 80? ;)

John

Oh, wait! Murray played Polonius! I can see that. Polonius is often played as a boorish self-important fool. Murray definitely could do that.

As for the rest, Ethan Hawke is the right physical type for Hamlet but......

John

Do tell, I'm sure it references phalli.;)

Baltimore's Washington Monument.

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/i...ZGJYkkzOQHo1dE

john

You guessed it.

You know Churchill was a pilot, right?

I believe it was late 1943 and the Prime Minister decided to visit FDR at the Whitehouse. With Churchill in the pilots seat, the aircraft made it's approach towards the airport when the Washington Monument came into view. Churchill contacted ATC to announce their intent to land, then commented to his co-pilot, "Dear God, look at that thing. It looks like a giant penis." Unbeknownst to the Prime Minister, the ATC overheard the comment and passed the message to his supervisor, who relayed it to the Whitehouse.

In the Newsreel, you see Churchill approach the President and shake his hand. Roosevelt draws near and whispers in his ear, and both men crack up.

But, you can't hear what was said.

What did FDR say?

"I can only imagine the headline; British Prime Minister crashes into Americas pecker."

From A&Es Biography of Winston Churchill.

Regards,
Dave

I love Bill Murray but it is indeed hard to get past his real persona and to believe he is the character he is supposed to be playing. That said my one of my favorite movies he did was an adaptation of W. Somerset Maugham's The Razor's Edge. If you like movies about the lost generation of post World War I you need to read Maugham. I love his books.

That's a great story Dave!

Anyone have Netflix? 'Kimjongilia' is an excellent look at the last of the great murderer systems.

Pete

Planned to see "Not Fade Away" today, but it appears that it only stayed in town for a couple of weeks. Saw "Silver Linings Playbook" instead. Pretty light fare, but some fun. I would definitely pick "Lincoln" over it for Best Picture. I liked Robert Deniro's performance in a supporting role, but no way he beats Tommy Lee Jones as Thaddeus Stevens.

Regards,

D-Ray

Watching 'Bullitt' on Turner Classic Movies today. Just finished watching Hirchcock's Daliesque flick, 'Spellbound' with Ingred Bergman & Gregory Peck. Cool movies and uncut with no commercials.

Finally got my subwoofer project up and running. Once it's broken in and dialed in, I'll let you know how it came out.

Watched "Coriolanus" with Ralph Fiennes today. Kind of an odd flick taken from Shakespeare. Romans-speaking old English with English accents-in modern times.

Then I caught "FlyBoys" a movie about the Lafayette Esqaudrille. Good flick, with nice dogfight sequences.

The new sub really brings the bomb blasts to life...............

Regards,
Dave

I finally set up the TV in the bedroom with HT sound system last year. I found a Marantz SR780 5.1 receiver and hooked up four of those original Smaller Advents that I refoamed. The bass is phenomenal from those old school sealed reflex speaks. I'll have to try a sub on it one of these days.

Fixed it for you, Bob!

John

Here's a couple pics of the sub. The only thing "Velodyne" left of it is the box....Which I noticed had a stamp inside stating it was made by some furniture company in California. Very nice, heavy duty box, though.

Attachment 1567Attachment 1568

Regards,
Dave

I have been watching Japanese female Samurai flicks lately


they star Junko Miyazano and are really good....

If you guys like Tarantino this where he gets his stuff
If you like sword welding Japanese chicks in kimonos (and who does not? ) you need to get these and others....

Legends of the Poisonous Seductress: Vol. 1: Female Demon Ohyaku
Legends of the Poisonous Seductress: Vol. 2: Quick Draw Okatsu
Legends of the Poisonous Seductress: Vol. 3: Okatsu the Fugitive

Thanks! I was stoned.:cool:

Perv!;)

Try "Striptease Samurai Squad".

I love chanbara flicks!

John

:) oh those two films do not have any nudity at all...

I love the Pinky Violence movies and I really love Reiko Ike....

alas all my favorite Japanese female motorcycle gangsters and ninjas are very old now...like me

Have you seen any of the much later Takashi Miike movies John, such as Ichi The Killer?
Some of his movies are very good..

I finally got around to seeing Marley, last year's biopic about Bob Marley. Very well done.

http://cps-static.rovicorp.com/2/Ope...0/131035r1.jpg

Only "13 Assassins". I know of "Ichi the Killer" but haven't seen it. I tend to like the traditional chanbara stuff like Kurosawa, Gosha, Inagaki and Kobayashi. I've gotten into "Beat" Takeshi a little. I like him, both as a director and actor.

I'm not really much for grindhouse. Of the quirkier stuff, I only ever saw the three "Hanzo the Razor" flicks and didn't really like them all that much. I do like Katsu though (he played the lead in those). The "Zatoichi" films are a hoot and he made a movie with Mifune called "Incident At Blood Pass" that I like a lot. Mifune plays the Yojimbo character (again) and Katsu plays an outlaw. I really like that one.

John

Miike can be hit or miss, but I liked Ichi the Killer, Dead Or Alive ( the sequel sucks don't get that), and Audition. If I am not mistaken the Hanzo films are sort of like the Gor novels as far as the treatment of women are concerned.
One of my more favorite serious Japanese films from the immediate post-WWII era is a movie called Stray Dog. Mifune plays the lead character but I really enjoyed his co-star, a cop played by an actor named Takashi Shimura...he was in the The Seven Samurai also. If you have not seen Stray Dog it is excellent. Some of the movies made about World War II from the Japanese perspective are very interesting. They are not jingoistic but rather about the effect it had on the individual soldiers, sort of like the films made in the 70s about Vietnam here in the States. Ichikawa's Fire On The Plain is an outstanding movie about the Japanese in the Philippines after the end of the fighting.

I have "Stray Dog" in my Hulu queue along with a lot of other Japanese films, mostly chambara but not all. Shimura is an actor I know and like. He played the leader (the Yul Brenner character) in the Seven Samurai.

Another actor I like is Tatsuya Nakadai. He's a very powerful actor with a lot of range. "Harakiri" or "Kagemusha" may be his best work.

I'll have to look for "Fire On The Plain". That sounds very interesting.

And yes, the "Hanzo" movies are seriously misogynistic and perverse like the Gor novels.

John

I highly recommend that and another movie called "The Burmese Harp"

well time for bed see you tomorrow! No doubt the "Pot Stirrer" (Pete) will be back lol;)

:)

Saw the latest Batman movie. Dissapointed.

Pete

My wife and I both woke up in the middle of the night and wanted to watch a movie. I dug out a VHS tape that I had picked up at a flea market - War Room. It was really fascinating: a documentary about Clinton's 1992 campaign for the presidency. James Carville and George Stephanopolous were front and center. Clinton looked a lot more plump, and Hillary looked really young. And Chelsae - as my wife would say "Bless her heart . . .;)" She did turn out to be a lovely young woman, though. And Al Gore was not as wooden as I remember him.

Regards,

D-Ray

Rented Beasts of the Southern Wild tonight. The folks depicted were a helluva lot closer to nature than we are. It was truly an amazing performance by a six year old girl. Not the easiest movie in the world to follow, though. More of a visceral appeal than cerebral. My wife used my favorite word - authentic - to describe the performances overall, and it fit.

Regards,

D-Ray

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beasts_..._Southern_Wild

Sounds good!

Watching "Bottleshock". It's about how we beat those Frenchies at their own game - wine. Chateau Montelena and Stag's Leap beat the best French wines in a blind taste test in France. The Red, The White and the Cru was Time magazine's headline. Great bunch of actors in this one.

I would like to find a DVD of the 1945 film Laura so I could see the woman I fell in love with at fourteen. Unfortunately she was twenty-four.