Frankly I can't believe The Village didn't grab a few Razzie nominations.

We saw White Noise a couple weeks ago and when my partner and I went to bed, I had set the TV up so it would turn onto Channel 2 and get the snow and snow sound. He sat up in bed and screamed! It was hilarious.

I love that Jason! I did something similar toa friend in high school. We had seen a horror movie (The Amityville Horror I believe) and when we got back to his house I set his alarm clock for 3-something-am to correspond with the time that things happened in the movie. He called me the next day ranting at me while I just laughed my ass off!

Well, I recommend All About My Mother, my favorite Almodovar (and one of my favorite films). It stars the wonderful actress Cecilia Roth as Manuela, a mother who's lost her son and returns to Barcelona to search for the boy's father with whom she's become estranged--he's now an HIV-infected tranny prostitute who's impregnated and infected an earnest nun played by Penelope Cruz. Manuela is re-united with an old friend (Agrado, another tranny prostitute, and a fabulous character) and makes new friends, including a lesbian actress who's playing Blanche in a Spanish production of A Streetcar Named Desire. It's a fabulous film. Funny, touching. Love it.

Live Flesh, with Javier Bardem, is also good. Talk To Her, his previous film to Bad Education, is very artistic and interesting, too.

I recommend Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, Almodovar's 1988 Shiite terrorist/marital infidelity/crazy mother-in-law/spiked-gazpacho confection that was his international breakthrough, co-starring a baby-faced Antonio Banderas.

Famous Players, the Canadian movie theatre chain, and largest operator in the Toronto area, has announced that it is dropping ticket prices from $13.95 to $9.95 starting tomorrow. All I can say is... Yay!

I was surprised when Hotel Rwanda won the People's Choice Award at last year's Toronto Film Festival. It seemed like such a downer subject, and one expected that the movie would be bleak. But I just saw it and, although it's not a great film (it's a very good one), I found I was swept up in the plight of the characters, and had a good cry in about four different parts of the movie. It's very moving. An important film. And I'm so glad I made myself go and see it.

And it seems so timely that when the world recognizes the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, and world leaders say how we must not forget the tragedy of the Holocaust lest it be repeated--and yet here, in our modern times, was genocide, the slaughter of almost a million Tutsis by Hutus--in only 100 days. One by one they were killed--by machete, or machine gun. A huge and gross accomplishment that took place while the world stood idly by. How can we let things happen like this again and again and again?

I hope the Academy Award nominations it received will encourage more people to see it. It's really worth seeing and I highly recommend it.

[ January 28, 2005, 05:55 PM: Message edited by: canmark ]

Just watched Dogville, and I gotta ask: What is up with Lars von Triers? He abused, degraded and crucified Emily Watson in Breaking the Waves. He abused, degraded and crucified Bjork in Dancer in the Dark. And now he abuses and degrades Nicole Kidman. But maybe he's mellowing his view of women, since Kidman isn't totally strung up at the end this time.

Saw Sideways, which was awesome. I tried doing their little wine-smelling thing with a cup of Milwaukee's Best later that night and accidentally snorted some of it up my nose...oops

Just got back from seeing Hotel Rwanda. A fine performance by Don Cheadle as Paul, the Hutu hotel manager who, through bribery, saved hundreds of Rwandans (including many Tutsis) from certain death. I remember Cheadle best from the TV series 'Picket Fences' and from those rather manic NFL commercials last year.

To me, the movie seemed to under-state the immensity of the tragedy in Rwanda, although I don't think there was a deliberate attempt to white-wash the genocide. The story focused more on Paul and his family trying to survive than on the larger political issues around the civil war. And while there should have been more emphasis on the world's shameful indifference, there was one powerful scene where Nick Nolte's character (based on General Roméo Dallaire, but given the name Oliver in the movie) angrily slammed down his drink at the bar and told a startled Paul 'We hate you!' But of course 'we' meant the Western world and 'you' meant black Rwandans. It was his way of expressing his justifiable rage at the pathetic token response of the UN Security Council who viewed Rwanda, unlike Yugoslavia, as a backward African nation undeserving of any significant assistance to stop the bloodshed.

And speaking of Roméo Dallaire, on Monday evening (Jan 31), CBC's program 'The Passionate Eye' presents the documentary Shake Hands with the Devil. The book of the same title was discussed a few weeks ago on the 'Whatcha reading?' thread. I realize CBC may not be widely available in the US, but I hope some of you are able to catch it as a supplementary to Hotel Rwanda.

Well said, Canmark...I agree completely. The famous post-Holocaust words 'never again' were meant to be instructive but seem to ring hollow when it is so painfully obvious that the world hasn't learned much since 1945...Cambodia, Rwanda and now Darfur and the Congo. I was pleased to hear Elie Wiesel, a great humanitarian and himself a survivor of the Auschwitz death factory, remind us this week of the other genocides that have taken place since the Holocaust, and the urgent need for compassion for the victims and strong action against the perpetrators of these crimes.


On a much lighter note, for golfer21: I liked Sideways too. But somehow I bet your beer didn't possess a delicate bouquet of strawberries and a hint of cinnamon, enhanced by the scent of oak from the casks....

Saw "The Triplets of Belleville" by Sylvain Chomet. Now I know what to do with my extra dynamite when I run out of groceries... eek!

Saw "The Triplets of Belleville" by Sylvain Chomet. Now I know what to do with my extra dynamite when I run out of groceries... eek!

The Castro Theatre is showing the restored, uncut version of Michael Cimino's great bomb "Heaven's Gate" for a few days and I caught it on Monday.

I saw and adored this film at Cinema 1 in NYC back in 1980 when it was first released and bankrupted United Artists. The first two hours are much better than the final two, but I highly recommend seeing the whole picture.

Sure, the plot is a mess and incredibly confusing, the dialogue hackneyed, the acting wooden and Sam Waterston is the most femme-y evil character to appear in a movie in the 1980s, but ...

the cinematograhpy is beyond beautiful. And you can see where the (over) budget of $40 million went up there on the screen.

My favorite part of "Heaven's Gate" is set in the rolling skating rink run by hunky, beary Jeff Bridges. Not the action in this part contributes to the plot, but it is damn gorgeous.

If you're going to make the four-hour commitment to this movie, do yourself a huge favor and catch it on a big screen. Don't bother watching it on video because the sweep and grandness will be lost.

BTW, today is the last day you can catch "Heaven's Gate" at the Castro. Showtimes are 2:15 and 7:00 pm.

For those of you into horror, I rented "The Grudge" yesterday. Weird title, great film. I thought it was quite scary indeed. Rather bizarre but strange, scary and I liked it.

"Sideways" was my favorite movie of 2004 - and possibly one of my all-time favorites. I loved the way it mixed humor and seriousness, and the acting was beyond wonderful.

It's finally arriving this weekend in Dodge City - nearly four months after I saw it in Denver! Hooray!

If you haven't seen it yet, please go. I guarantee you'll like it.

Last night, I saw "A Very Long Engagement".
Though I relly enjoyed the lush panoramas of the French countryside and the bustling CGI scenes of post WWI Paris, as well as the fine sense of pacing that kept the story moving along, it seemed that Charles Jeunet was just repeating the "Amelie" plot with different scenery and a different historical setting.
I hate expressly romantic movies, so I found the ending of "AVLEngagement" particularly odious.
Anyone else see this movie??

"Bad Education" finally came to Austin last week and I saw it with a couple of friends on Saturday. I really liked all of the twists and turns in the film. One of my friends said he felt dirty after seeing it.

A couple of movies opening this spring with sports themes.

"Swimming Upstream" -- Aussie film about a teen who escapes from his awful home life and abusive father by becoming a swim champ (this one sounds like "Billy Elliott" in a swimming pool to me)

(these descriptions from the Wash. Post.)

Man of the House" -- comedy starring Tommy Lee Jones as a Texas Ranger who goes undercover as a live-in coach to protect a group of college cheerleaders after they witness a drug kingpin's murder.

"A League of Ordinary Gentlemen" -- documentary about professional bowling.

"Ice Princess" stars Michelle Trachtenberg as a high schooler torn between the expectations of her academics-obsessed mother (Joan Cusack) and the desire to become a championship figure skater. (OK -- that really makes me feel old -- Joan Cusack playing the mother of a teenager )

"Fever Pitch" stars Drew Barrymore as a young woman whose relationship with a rabid Boston Red Sox fan is threatened once baseball season starts. This adaptation of the Nick Hornby soccer novel (which was made into a movie starring Colin Firth in 1997) co-stars Jimmy Fallon and is directed by the Farrelly brothers.

"Rebound" stars Martin Lawrence as a Bobby Knight-like basketball coach who is relegated to the junior varsity team after a public tantrum. With Megan Mullally, directed by Steve Carr ("Daddy Day Care")

"Kicking and Screaming" stars Will Ferrell and Robert Duvall in a comedy about a super-competitive son and father who work out their issues while coaching their own sons on opposing soccer teams.

"Cinderella Man" tells the true story of Jim Braddock, who defeated heavyweight champ Max Baer in a legendary 15-round bout in 1935. From director Ron Howard, with Russell Crowe, Renee Zellweger and Craig Bierko.

...and a couple of remakes (why oh why??):

"The Longest Yard," features Adam Sandler, Chris Rock and original star Burt Reynolds as a bunch of prison inmates who form a football team to play against their guards.

"The Bad News Bears" stars Billy Bob Thornton as the gruff youth baseball coach who tries to turn his ragtag team into champs. Directed by Richard Linklater ("The School of Rock"), this comedy co-stars Greg Kinnear and Marcia Gay Harden.

"Herbie: Fully Loaded" stars Lindsay Lohan in a comic action adventure featuring the legendary VW bug that becomes part of the NASCAR world of car racing.

Would someone explain to me why Sideways was so great? I went to see it, because it was recommended by many. What I saw was a couple of whiny middle aged white men. I could witness the same conversations at the local bar. The wine snob just completely turned me off. Did I see a completely different movie than everyone else who has been raving about it?

There was a movie on Lifetime Movie Network the other day with the same title...it had absolutely nothing to do with swimming, though. Had a hottie lead actor, too--27-year-old Matt Czuchry.

I bought "Saved!" on DVD early this week and have totally fallen in love with it. I think it's a very charming movie that features very decent performances from its young cast...Mandy Moore and Macaully Culklin included.

Surprisingly deep for a "teen comedy" and even more surprisingly well acted.

Very, very charming movie.

I only rented it, but I agree.

Finally saw sideways. I liked it quite a bit--the cast is great, and it's very well written. Lots of small things about it were good. Of course, being a bit of a wine fancier helps. I'd still pick Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind as film of the year, though.

Well, I think you actually hit on one of the strengths of the film--relatively realistic characters and dialog. It does have weaknesses. I think I'd have shortened it a bit--the musical interlude with the Giamatti & the waitress wandering around in the sun was kind of clicheed, and (though I enjoyed the wine talk), it probably could have been trimmed a bit. My biggest concern about it (not that it makes it a bad film, but it bugged me in retrospect) is I think the screenwriter has a little more sympathy for these guys than they really deserve. I couldn't help thinking that these characters could have appeared in a Neil Labute movie, and the outcome would have been rather different.

On a side note: I caught an amusing little irony. The screenplay kind of disses Merlot and Cabernet Franc, which are the two grapes in the famous 1961 Cheval Blanc. Of course, California merlot doesn't have much in common with right bank Bordeaux, but I thought it was a cute little touch for the winos to pick up on. I'm sure it was deliberate, because the easy and obvious thing to do (since the guy's obsessed with Pinot Noir), would be to make his special bottle Domaine Romanee Conti or Chambertin or something.

I saw on the news that Pinot Noir has become very popular in restaurants and wine stores these days, likely because of Sideways.

I went to the Castro last night to catch the relatively recently restored print of Bertolucci's "Last Tango in Paris," and, you'll pardon the expression, it was like buttah.

It holds up remarkably well for a thirty-two year film about sexual relations and emotional turmoil.

When Brando orders Maria Schneider to "Get the butter," his sensuous menace got me excited.

I have to say most of the print was crisp, capturing the warm gold backgrounds and icy blue shades, but a number of scenes were faded and at least 7-8 scenes had that awful green rain prints get when they're not cared for.

Really glad I saw it again on the big screen.

Saw Sideways last night. It was transcendent. Made me want to drink a few bottles of wine and drive somewhere.

I wanted to to drink a case of Ketel and drive somewhere (like into a telephone pole) after seeing "Meet the Fockers". wink

saw Hitch today very good movie really enjoyed it

saw The Velocity of Gary this weekend and From the Edge of the City

I'm keeping Netflix in business lately

We rented RAY over the weekend. I should mention I've never really been a huge Jamie Foxx fan, but I have to say he was brilliant as Ray Charles. He seemed totally consumed by the very essence of Ray Charles. When his name is called on Oscar night, it will be well deserved.

I loved "Sideways" because the characters were absolutely real - not the steroid-pumped would-be supermen that populate way too many movies these days. I'm only a late 30-something (I'm not sure how old Jack and Miles were supposed to be), but I could certainly identify with Miles' feeling that his life was going nowhere quickly. And Jack's character proved to be a lot more than just a middle-aged horndog out for one last fling before settling down.

Yes, the characters were a little whiny - but so are a lot of the people I meet in real life. God knows,I certainly feel sorry for myself more than I should.

I loved the way the film mixed humor with quiet heartbreak without turning into a "Hallmark Hall of Fame" show. And the acting - especially by Virginia Madsen and Paul Giamatti - was wonderful.

I have to admit that I haven't seen any of this year's Oscar contenders other than "Sideways," so I'm probably just a little biased. But I'd still rank it among the best comedies I've seen in a long time.

[ February 14, 2005, 05:07 PM: Message edited by: Eric Swanson ]

I lost all interest in the male characters in "Sideways" at the moment SPOILER!! SPOILER!! ............

Giamatti's character stole money from his mother. I've got no problem with robbing banks, stealing from convenience stores, or pilfering great works of art (in movies) but robbing from one's parent is such an amoral & despicable act, I could no longer muster up the empathy necessary to care about his character's story, and was sorry for Madsen's character becoming involved with him.

~Adam

Well...that was rather early in the film. I wouldn't be so quick to judge. In The Royal Tenenbaums Royal stole from his son, but that was to establish the kind of person he was in relation to the kind of person he became - and yet it wasn't gratuitous at all, it was in keeping with what we knew about who he was.

I think it was important to not make him out to be some sort of a saint or a martyr or anything, which would be easy to do. He also cheated on his wife, for what it's worth, which is apparently why the marriage ended. I think there was a definite disconnect between him and his family and his mom in particular - she seemed much more infatuated with Jack than glad to see Miles. She seems to have had a bit of a drinking problem. I took from the film too that perhaps Miles dad had committed suicide? Maya mentions that that's how the book ends, and the book is supposed to be somewhat autobiographical.

I went to see MILLION DOLLAR BABY last night with a couple of friends. There is no way this will win the Best Picture. First of all, when the ballots were being turned in, the buzz was about THE AVIATOR and SIDEWAYS. It hasn't been until the last two weeks or so that the buzz for BABY has really picked up. As for BABY, how can a movie like this be enjoyed?

I disagree - I think MDB will win the best picture - It can be enjoyed as a triumph over life story - I was inspired by her determination, although I usually am a comedy movie person - I liked it.

I really hope it doesn't win.

Imagine taking all the Rocky movies, The Shawshank Redemption, Girlfight, and Whose Life is It, Anyway, tossing them into a blender. Now add a pinch of They Shoot Horses, Don't They? and a dash of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Blend until smooth. Then cast Clint Eastwood in the Burgess Meredith role and give him lines like "Girlie, tough ain't enough". Then bring in Morgan Freeman as the Kindly Narrator, sort of like Red, the character he played in Shawshank, and give him voiceovers straight outta the Bulwer-Lytton competition, like "She grew up knowing one thing: She was trash." Now bring in Hilary Swank to play that tough-but-sweet trailer trash gal who wants to box, even though she's already 31, because "This is the only thing in my life I feel good about", and you have a film that can bamboozle even the most grizzled critics.

It comes across with more class and dignity than the average, clichéd inspirational sports flick. But give me a break, I was not bamboozled.

Throwing in this for a little relief on the heavy discussion about Sideways, Million Dollar Baby, Hotel Rwanda, et al....

This weekend I saw "Wedding Date." I just have three things to say. Dermott Mulroney. Dermott Mulroney. And Dermott Mulroney's butt. This was an OK movie, but it was so mesmerizing to see Dermott's body. He really worked out for this part and his butt was amazing and he was really sexy as this suave gigolo.

I enjoyed Constantine. Although the critics gave it mixed reviews, I liked the way the storyline mixed theology into a comic book style production. Although, Rachel Weicz(sp?) and Keanu Reeves could have benefitted from some better dialog, as long as you remember the basis of where the movie is coming from, you should find it enjoyable.

No kidding. I just saw it on Netflix. What a waste of 90 minutes. Suspenseful...not.

I hear that alcohol helps. wink

The last two movies I've seen, oddly enough, are The Village and Million Dollar Baby.

The Village was five kinds of stank. What a waste.

Million Dollar Baby was absolutely wonderful. The acting, directing, and writing are all top-notch. I think it should win Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actress for Hillary Swank. It would be nice to see it triumph over an overblown piece of Hollywood megacrap like The Aviator.

Gaby, there ya go again, being my long-lost lesbian brother. wink

Whenever I'm getting ready to go cycling, my wife starts going "tweet...tweet." I tell her to get the egg beater massage ready for when I get back and cook me up a big vat of glop. wink

Maybe so. Let e clear this up, I'm not speaking badly about the movie. A lot of excellent movies are not easily enjoyed...because they are so sad and affecting. Example: how many of us can say we enjoyed Swank's other film "Boys Don't Cry"?

[ February 22, 2005, 12:56 PM: Message edited by: bobby78751 ]

Yes! I am so very cool!

Has anyone ever see Romper Stomper, and is it worth buying?

"Romper Stomper", as movies go, is pretty average, tho it does capture the raw masculinity that propelled Russell Crowe to international fame. So yeah, I'd recommend it.

The buzz for Sideways died a long while ago as evidenced by Paul Giamatti's snub. He was a lock when the movie came out. Anyway today is the deadline for ballots to be submitted so the Million Dollar Baby buzz was already in high gear.

As for enjoyment being a factor I give you Schindler's List, Ordinary People, Unforgiven, A Beautiful Mind, American Beauty, Platoon, The Deer Hunter-Best Picture winners all and none of which were any less a "downer" movie than MDB.

Actually really enjoyed "Sideways". I thought it was very funny, and I thought the writing was very good as well.