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Post by cheesecake on Dec 20, 2017 3:13:02 GMT
I've probably seen While You Were Sleeping about 100 times. I am not exaggerating. And it never gets old. It's so delightful.
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Post by cheesecake on Dec 20, 2017 3:14:39 GMT
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Post by Martin Stett on Dec 20, 2017 4:43:25 GMT
I wish I could say I liked this movie. It has all the right ingredients: Peter Ustinov, Basil Rathbone, Aldo Ray, snakes, sweet good natured criminals. On paper, only Bogart (who is a truly terrible comedic actor -- especially here, I'm sorry to say) doesn't fit. Yet somehow, the whole thing is so lifeless. It has no bite. It's so intent on being good-natured and inoffensive that it fails to engage. It's mildly infuriating that a movie with so much talent wound up being so inert. Done correctly, this could have been a Christmas Court Jester or Singin' in the Rain, just without musical numbers.
I believe this movie has a remake of some sort? Looks like it is directed by Neil Jordan and stars Sean Penn & Robert De Niro. Written by David Mamet. Huh. A 6.1 rating on IMDb doesn't bode well for it, though.
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Post by cheesecake on Dec 20, 2017 12:33:55 GMT
I wish I could say I liked this movie. It has all the right ingredients: Peter Ustinov, Basil Rathbone, Aldo Ray, snakes, sweet good natured criminals. On paper, only Bogart (who is a truly terrible comedic actor -- especially here, I'm sorry to say) doesn't fit. Yet somehow, the whole thing is so lifeless. It has no bite. It's so intent on being good-natured and inoffensive that it fails to engage. It's mildly infuriating that a movie with so much talent wound up being so inert. Done correctly, this could have been a Christmas Court Jester or Singin' in the Rain, just without musical numbers. I believe this movie has a remake of some sort? Looks like it is directed by Neil Jordan and stars Sean Penn & Robert De Niro. Written by David Mamet. Huh. A 6.1 rating on IMDb doesn't bode well for it, though. Oh my gosh I love The Court Jester so much. I guess this one just tickled my funny bone at the right time. I haven't seen it for years so I might not be as kind to it today. I had no idea that Mamet wrote the remake. I saw it aaaaages ago and remember it being a very loose retelling.
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Post by cheesecake on Dec 20, 2017 12:34:53 GMT
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Post by Martin Stett on Dec 20, 2017 12:50:33 GMT
I really like the stuff Disney was doing in their live action department during this period. I decided to look at Roger Ebert's review on a whim, since I know he'd probably have one. This is the first paragraph: "This is very unfortunate. What we have here is a movie with an intelligent screenplay, wonderful performances and skillful direction, but it is a tactical miscalculation from beginning to end. The name of the movie is "One Magic Christmas," it comes from the folks at Walt Disney Pictures, and although it eventually arrives at a sort of happy ending, first it spends almost 90 minutes telling a sad, sad story. Since the movie was presumably made for family audiences, why did it have to be about all of the most tragic things that can happen to a family?" I AM SO IN. I didn't read the rest of the review because Ebert says he'll spoil the whole thing, but I did read the final paragraph: "Anyway, all of these people work hard and carefully, and produce an intelligent and sensitive movie. For adults and older family members, it probably will work pretty well. But in the real world of commercial moviemaking, a Disney movie named "One Magic Christmas" is going to attract a lot of little kids, and I don't think too many sugarplums are going to be dancing in their dreams after they get home from this one." SO IN. MY GOSH, THIS LOOKS AMAZING. LOL, now I'm looking at the top Letterboxd reviews. Oh my goodness, I'm crying. I have to hunt this down, I swear.
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Post by cheesecake on Dec 21, 2017 0:12:03 GMT
I really like the stuff Disney was doing in their live action department during this period. I decided to look at Roger Ebert's review on a whim, since I know he'd probably have one. This is the first paragraph: "This is very unfortunate. What we have here is a movie with an intelligent screenplay, wonderful performances and skillful direction, but it is a tactical miscalculation from beginning to end. The name of the movie is "One Magic Christmas," it comes from the folks at Walt Disney Pictures, and although it eventually arrives at a sort of happy ending, first it spends almost 90 minutes telling a sad, sad story. Since the movie was presumably made for family audiences, why did it have to be about all of the most tragic things that can happen to a family?" I AM SO IN. I didn't read the rest of the review because Ebert says he'll spoil the whole thing, but I did read the final paragraph: "Anyway, all of these people work hard and carefully, and produce an intelligent and sensitive movie. For adults and older family members, it probably will work pretty well. But in the real world of commercial moviemaking, a Disney movie named "One Magic Christmas" is going to attract a lot of little kids, and I don't think too many sugarplums are going to be dancing in their dreams after they get home from this one." SO IN. MY GOSH, THIS LOOKS AMAZING. LOL, now I'm looking at the top Letterboxd reviews. Oh my goodness, I'm crying. I have to hunt this down, I swear. Along with Return to Oz, Disney impressed and surprised me back in the day. I rewatched this last week because it came to me in a fever dream and I was curious what I'd think of it as an adult. It's so fucked! Fun fact, it was filmed in a small-ass Ontario town where my grandma used to live.
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Post by cheesecake on Dec 21, 2017 18:03:05 GMT
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Post by cheesecake on Dec 23, 2017 3:00:33 GMT
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Post by Martin Stett on Dec 23, 2017 3:35:47 GMT
"Every man is an island." I don't think I've seen this movie since I was, oh, 14 or so. It has stuck with me all those years, though. It manages to work as a straightforward comedy and as a portrait of a man who has placed himself in a space of isolation because it's easier to simply exist than it is to actually live. I really enjoyed most everything about it.
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Post by cheesecake on Dec 23, 2017 4:50:59 GMT
"Every man is an island." I don't think I've seen this movie since I was, oh, 14 or so. It has stuck with me all those years, though. It manages to work as a straightforward comedy and as a portrait of a man who has placed himself in a space of isolation because it's easier to simply exist than it is to actually live. I really enjoyed most everything about it. It was the first DVD I ever bought. Loved it then and it holds up so well now that I'm an adult.
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Post by Martin Stett on Dec 23, 2017 5:21:48 GMT
"Every man is an island." I don't think I've seen this movie since I was, oh, 14 or so. It has stuck with me all those years, though. It manages to work as a straightforward comedy and as a portrait of a man who has placed himself in a space of isolation because it's easier to simply exist than it is to actually live. I really enjoyed most everything about it. It was the first DVD I ever bought. Loved it then and it holds up so well now that I'm an adult. Why did the Weitz brothers stop working with each other? I haven't seen their other collab (American Pie), but this is far better than any of the stuff they've done individually. Edit: And they wrote Antz together too! That film was a blast as well.
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Post by cheesecake on Dec 23, 2017 6:41:37 GMT
It was the first DVD I ever bought. Loved it then and it holds up so well now that I'm an adult. Why did the Weitz brothers stop working with each other? I haven't seen their other collab (American Pie), but this is far better than any of the stuff they've done individually. Edit: And they wrote Antz together too! That film was a blast as well. Both of them have such... interesting resumes. That's cool about Antz. I had no idea.
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Post by cheesecake on Dec 23, 2017 17:01:22 GMT
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Post by cheesecake on Dec 24, 2017 12:15:43 GMT
Merry Christmas!
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Post by Martin Stett on Dec 24, 2017 13:24:32 GMT
I haven't seen this since I was (*does math*) 17 or so. It kind of blew me away then in all of its radiant, tearjerking glory. I've actually tried to get my family to try watching it when we're together, but it never works out. This is the kind of film you get everybody together for and make an event out of. I don't really want to watch it by myself.
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Post by cheesecake on Dec 25, 2017 1:15:57 GMT
I haven't seen this since I was (*does math*) 17 or so. It kind of blew me away then in all of its radiant, tearjerking glory. I've actually tried to get my family to try watching it when we're together, but it never works out. This is the kind of film you get everybody together for and make an event out of. I don't really want to watch it by myself. I watched it by myself, but it would make a very fine group viewing. Thanks for all your responses these past twelve days! Happy holidays to you and your family.
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Post by Martin Stett on Dec 30, 2017 2:57:41 GMT
Well, I've now seen it. My review: Not to say I didn't like it. I did, a lot. But.... what the hell?
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Post by cheesecake on Dec 30, 2017 6:23:53 GMT
Well, I've now seen it. My review: Not to say I didn't like it. I did, a lot. But.... what the hell? Spot on review.
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