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The actress that plays Sophie Scholl (Julia Jentsch) also features in a German movie called the Edukators (Die Fetten Jahre sind vorbei) together with a guy (Daniel Brühl) who in turn is the main character in Good Bye Lenin!

Both procuctions are FROM a different (mainly hilarious) ORDER but certainly worthwhile.

 

Oh dear...

...someone else has found the story...

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0437549/

I don't think I want to know.

 

Remarkable that it took so long as the story is suitable for filming. Apart FROM two productions in German, both released in 1982, and the current (narrowed down) version, no films were made out of it.

 

Excellent recommendation, one I was going to contribute. Julia Jentsch is good as Jule in a pretty amusing satire focusing on the anti-globalisation movement. I thought some of the camera work left a bit to be desired, but I thought it was well worth seeing. Jentsch has an appeal I found increased with screen time.

A film I would heartily recommend is Memories of Murder. Slap stick in places, gripping at times and IMO a fascinating and well filmed depiction of South Korea. The story is based on true and, at the time, contraversial events in 80's S Korea. The film was also contraversial when it was released due to its portrayal of brutal police interrogation techniques. Dont expect an arty film just a well made part murder mystery, part comedy and part suspense thriller. Catch it if you can.

 

Went to see the new Wallace and Gromit film last night. Very funny stuff! Good characters, especially the vicar, and as usual all the bit parts are funny aswell. I'm always impressed by the imagination of Nick Park and co. Some of the scenes are so well done. Always worth a second look aswell because theres always something going on in the background that you miss the first time.
That theme tune is pretty catchy aswell. Still whistling it today!

 

So far this week I've seen (on dvd)
Batman Begins - really enjoyed this and seemed closer to the Batman comics than the others, imo
Constantine - enjoyed it even with that plank of wood in it.

For the weekend I have:
Brotherhood
Casshern
Motorcycle Diaries

And I may head off to HMV tonight to see what's in the buy one get one free sale.

 

Yep - it was me who started the thread - I thought it was great, many friends have swiped it off me and guess what ? Seemed to divide opinion

 

Watched "War of the Worlds" last night.
Much better than I thought it would be. Good special effects, well acted and well shot.
The end is a bit rushed, though, and at points the film fails to clearly SHOW what is really going on, I thought. A different approach and one worth seeing, imho.

Watched "Batman Begins" the other day and it is indeed very very good. One of the best Batman films in my view, very dark and comic book like. A treat.

Going to revisit the star Wars collection and watch the last (first) three as I saw Episode III recently. And I am eagerly waiting for the series IV of Alias...

Cheers,
Jack.

 

Interesting, Jack, I thought it was pretty dire. To me, its only saving grace was that it was a good way to while away a flight to the USA. It proved that Dakota Fanning has quite a good squeal and that Tom Cruise looks quite good even when dirty. The one good thing was the special effects, especially the tripods - George Pal would have liked to use them for the famous 1950s version (after all, that's what's in H.G. Wells's book), but special effects simply weren't up to it, hence the hovering machines with the death rays.

The definitive version remains to be made, and it will be set in Victorian England, where Wells set his.

 

I thought it was good for what it was - an americanised action movie version. I saw it at the flicks where i imagine it would be more enjoyable due to the FX, of which i thought the sound effects were very good. If you can enjoy it for what it is then its a reasonably entertaining way to spend a couple of hours, but even bearing this in mind the ending is very weak (for various reasons, those who have seen it will know).

 

well i agree the ending was poor, the film didnt resolve things well and in general it is obviously no masterpiece...

i was expecting it to be an americanized "save the world" adventure kind of sci-fi film and perhaps because it wasn't so much about saving the world but more about a family that was pictured as a very ordinary family, it suprised me a bit.

i haven't read the book, perhaps if i had i wouldn't find it so intersting (the film that is).

jack

 

The boy should have 'stayed dead'. Would have added extra weight to the ending but Spielberg can't keep away FROM the cheesy scmaltz no matter how hard he tries. That's why I dont make too much of a beeline for his movies these days.

Try here for an interesting take on War of the Worlds, been following it for weeks, its nearly complete.

http://www.darkhorse.com/zones/wotw/wotw_popup.php?p=37.5

 

Millions

How did that creep under the radar. One of the best British movies of recent years. Quirky, charming, and very well produced, directed and acted. If you don't know it. the plot is about a young boy who has a bag of money dropped on his den whilst conversing with a joint smoking saint. The story follows the boy, his brother and father as they try to grapple with various problems arising FROM the arrival of the heavenly stash.

As usual with good quality British films everthing is understated, deanpan humour, slightly trippy visuals. Rent it, I promise you won't be disapponited.

 

Saw Bloomin' Orlando in this:

A rather implausible tale based on real characters - all those mentioned in the film, Balian, Sibylla, Reynald de Châtillon - really existed, and many of the incidents shown (Saladin beheading Reynald, Sibylla crowning her husband) really did happen. But Balian was never a blacksmith, never mind one that picked up formidable fighting skills after one lesson in the forest! Here's a comment FROM an unusual source:

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2005/119/53.0.html

(Actually, the movie review page of the US magazine "Christianity today" is remarkably thoughtful and often not at all what you'd expect).

The whole thing seemed like an excuse for a good battle or two. There also seems to be a modern tendency to spurt blood. In the good old days, very little of the red stuff was seen, but now, every time our heroes smack a nasty, gore flies in great gouts and smears itself all over the heroes' wardrobes. Bloomin' Orlando does, to my eyes, a not terribly convincing job as Balian, being really just too devout and brooding for his own good (and ours), seeking, the film would have you believe, to atone for his late wife's sins, while committing a few of his own along the way (but just a few).

Is there supposed to be a message for the modern Middle East/Iraq/Moslem-Jewish-Christian relations/clash of cultures here? Hard to see what it could be, unless it's be nice to Muslims, because they can be nice too. If anything, the Muslims, especially the (genuinely) chivalrous Saladin, come out of it better and nobler than the ever-squabbling booty- and power-hungry Christians (which is, of course, why the Christians finally lost the Holy Land). George Bush once described his little foray INTO the Middle East as a "crusade"; this was the biggest goof one could make, and one can see why here.

It would be nice if folk took this message away FROM the film, but this is, after all, an entertainment, and as Sam Goldwyn famously said, "If you gotta message, use Western Union." As an entertainment, to me, it has splendidly-staged battle scenes, but really nothing much else.

P.S. Curious musical afterthought. When the villainous Reynald has his throat cut by Saladin and Saladin's men drag him out of the tent to finish off the job of shortening him, the music played is the old Passion chorale O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden (O Sacred Head, sore wounded). Was this an intentional joke? The original (Latin) words are believed to be FROM St. Bernard of Clairvaux, at about that time, but the melody is anachronistic, being the famous Hassler tune, as used by Bach in the St. Matthew Passion.

 

Saw Once Upon A Time In Mexico yesterday. Follow up to Desperado I think? Anyway...bloody awful. Turned it off about 3/4 of the way through. Theres only so many totally unbelievable over the top violent scenes you can fit INTO one film. This film tries to be stylish but comes out looking like it was made by an overzealous schoolboy. Sh1t.

 

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. I very much enjoyed it. Similar to Royal Tenenbaums, but some classic moments IMO. You might miss the point if you're unfamiliar with Jacques Cousteau.

 

I have to agree. The plot and the characterisations are very twentieth first century with no grounding in 13thC politics, theology or morals. But hey, who cares, Riddley Scott is a great director and the cinematography is a real treat. Visually stunning with great action sequences and a good piece of modern morallising thrown in.

 

Watched Bladerunner (Directors Cut) yesterday after thinking about the Fave Quotes thread. Its funny though...I hadn't remembered some of the script seeming so wooden. But it gives the film its own feel somehow. Its hard to describe but watching it again the script doesn't really flow but it gives the film character.

Ridley Scott is such a talent though....its hard to believe Bladerunner is FROM 1982 and the equally impressive Alien is FROM 1979. Its a great example of how models rather than CGI should be the basis of a good special effects laden film. Both films still look great.

 

Caught "Turtles Can Fly" on Wednesday.

Poetic, amusing, nicley structured and very genuine though I found it deeply upsetting.

Definitely worth trying to see it.

 

Saw Prizi's Honor followed by Mr & Mrs Smith. Interesting as MMS is a remake of PH. Neither are great movies but both work well at what they focus on. The basic idea common to both is that two assassins are married to each other while not knowing what each other do for a living and both receive orders to kill the other. That's about where the two films touch each other. Prizzi's Honor concentrates heavily on the moral dilemas that Jack Nicholson has between what he wants, his love for the wife and the needs of the "Family". Mr & Mrs Smith deals with explosions, action sequences, fighting and umm, explosions. Very little moral confusion, no exploration of the human psyche. Strangely the second film is great to watch but leaves no lasting impression but the former struggles to keep the pace going but does leave you thinking (a little) about how the plot works.

Oh the joy of Hollywood remakes.