Movie Recommendations

[+ Tom Isern]

I enjoyed "Slum Dog" and "Milk" as well, but my favorite movie of late has to be "Let the Right One In." I'm more than a little tired of the requisite and formulaic heterosexual love story, and "Slum Dog," while a lot of interesting things happen along the way, was a little too much of that for me. I found "Let the Right One In" refreshingly different.

 

http://www.lettherightoneinmovie.com/

 

The bf and I also recently enjoyed revisiting Mike Leigh's 1996 "Secrets and Lies."

[Guest alanm]

RE: Slumdog Millionaire

 

I highly recommend "The Reader" also.

 

Kate Winslet's other new film, "Revolutionary Road" is tough going, even with DiCaprio to watch for two hours in his Don Draper "Mad Men" clothes. You know there are problems when the audience is afraid to laugh at funny situations in a SERIOUS FILM. Some cuts in "Revolutionary Road" are obvious," so if Sam Mendes' director's cut is included on the DVD I might like the film more.

 

My choice for Best Actress is still Kristin Scott Thomas in "I've Loved You For So Long."

 

The bad news is "Valkyrie" is still doing very good business at the box office.

[Guest alanm]

RE: Slumdog Millionaire

 

I highly recommend "The Reader" also.

 

Kate Winslet's other new film, "Revolutionary Road" is tough going, even with DiCaprio to watch for two hours in his Don Draper "Mad Men" clothes. You know there are problems when the audience is afraid to laugh at funny situations in a SERIOUS FILM. Some cuts in "Revolutionary Road" are obvious," so if Sam Mendes' director's cut is included on the DVD I might like the film more.

 

My choice for Best Actress is still Kristin Scott Thomas in "I've Loved You For So Long."

 

The bad news is "Valkyrie" is still doing very good business at the box office.

[uwsman2]

RE: Slumdog Millionaire

 

Surprisingly, the New Yorker gave Cruise a good notice for Valkyrie, and said that he "carries the film." I wonder which universe the reviewer came from?

[uwsman2]

RE: Slumdog Millionaire

 

Surprisingly, the New Yorker gave Cruise a good notice for Valkyrie, and said that he "carries the film." I wonder which universe the reviewer came from?

[EXPAT]

I saw "Last Chance Harvey" and "Revolutionary Road" this past week. "Last Chance Harvey" wasn't really that good. It's always nice to see Dustin Hoffman on the screen and I liked that it was filmed in London, but I was bored with the movie and the characters. I doubt that it will do very well.

 

"Revolutionary Road" was excellent. But beware, it is an emotional rollercoaster and has a very sad ending. So be prepared. I'm sure that both actors were exhausted after every day of filming. If you like the TV show "Mad Men", you will like this movie. It's worth the price of admission.

[+ Lucky]

The Reader

 

Who has seen this film? I am not sure who the film is marketed for, given the focus on the boy in the ad copy. Although he was 18 when his sex scenes were filmed,isn't this movie a little much in today's climate?

[fedssocr1]

RE: The Reader

 

Apparently the book on which the film is based was an Oprah pick, so perhaps the film is aimed towards her audience. The marketing is aimed towards people like me who like cute twinks. :-) And although the character is supposed to be 15 when they first meet, the actor (who I read was really only 15 when cast) was 18 at the time of filming. He has to play a range of ages from 15-24 or so which I think he does quite well.

 

The thing I don't quite get is the top billing for Ralph Fiennes. His part is really not very big.

[uwsman2]

RE: The Reader

 

Fiennes does the narration as well as playing the limited number of scenes he is in. I think the billing is all about marketing, however. If you have a recognizable star whose fans will show up if you promote his participation, then you promote his participation. The kid really carried the film.

.

Yes, in the current sex panic climate concerning intergenerational sex, this ranks up there with "Queer As Folk" initial episode, where the grown man screws the teenage boy. In the U.K. version, the boy was even young than in the U.S. version. So here a very much grown woman has sex with a teenage boy, still in high school. But you could see it as being in that great tradition of films about an older woman initiating a young man into sex. The Graduate comes to mind, but then Dustin Hoffman's character was newly-graduated from college when he had sex with Mrs. Robinson. It was intergenerational but more like a 20-something guy and a middle-aged woman.

 

I think the young man played his part spectacularly well - in fact, much more naturalistically and fluidly than Fiennes played his older persona, which struck me as a bit stiff by comparison.

[+ Lucky]

RE: The Reader

 

I think I will go see it then. Today we saw Gran Torino, which we both liked.

[+ Lucky]

RE: The Reader

 

Yes, it was hard to see Fiennes as the grown-up persona of the exuberant young man. I found it profoundly depressing that such innocence, beauty, and exuberance, should die as the young man aged.

 

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/12/10/arts/10read.1.600.jpg

[Guest alanm]

RE: The Reader

 

For me the movie belongs to Kate Winslet (from beginning to end) and

David Kross, not Ralph Finnes. I can not remember feeling sympathy,

at least for a few moments, for a National Socialist concentration camp guard.

 

It was a strange and unique moment, and I will not forget it. Much praise to Winslet, Stephen Daldry and David Hare for bringing an extremely unlikeable character to life.

 

While I am praising Daltry, I want to say how much I enjoyed Billy Elliot on Broadway on Sunday. What a year for Mr. Daltry!

[uwsman2]

RE: The Reader

 

I'm seeing Billy Elliot tomorrow night! Have heard only good things about it. But that's off topic. This thread is for flicks....

[+ Lucky]

RE: The Reader

 

Well, you could be seeing the DVD of the old Billy Elliott movie before you go to the Broadway show...