Author Topic: Movies & Books Into Movies (Read 591990 times)

pedln · « **Reply #2480 on:** April 05, 2012, 11:55:49 AM »

So many movies – how do you choose what to watch?
Reviews? Recommendations? Actors? Availability?
Do you choose a movie the same way you choose a book?

And where do you like to watch most of your movies?
Do you stream movies from Netflix and other places?
Where’s the strangest place you’ve ever watched a film?

_______________________________

Internet Movie Data Base
Recent Movies Based on Books
Movies Based on the Book

Join us in an ongoing discussion of your favorite movies right now.
Pull up a chair, take off your shoes, pour yourself a cup of coffee or hot chocolate, and join in!

Your Discussion Leader: pedln

salan · « **Reply #2481 on:** April 05, 2012, 06:51:11 PM »

Marcie, I found White Castle on BBC and DVR'd it for future viewing. Was it the second episode? How many episodes are there?
Sally

marcie · « **Reply #2482 on:** April 06, 2012, 02:13:52 AM »

This season of Whitechapel, season 3, has THREE 2-part episodes. They just finished the first episode (part 1 and 2). Next will will start the second of the three episodes for the season.

Frybabe · « **Reply #2483 on:** April 06, 2012, 08:54:02 AM »

I watched the first White Chapel and then forgot it existed. Either I wasn't interested or something else was opposite that I wanted to see. I can't believe they are starting season three already.

pedln · « **Reply #2484 on:** April 06, 2012, 05:10:57 PM »

I'd forgotten about too, Frybabe, after the first disc. But that's all that's available from Netflix right now. Is the second season out on DVD?

I was browsing the links in the heading above this week, and one of them is from BookReporter with quite a bit about films from books, and also TV shows. They mentioned "The Firm," shown on NBC on Saturday nights. Remember Grisham's The Firm, published several years ago? The TV series picks up with the same characters 10 years after the book ended. Has anyone seen it? I hope to give it a try tomorrow night.

Tomereader1 · « **Reply #2485 on:** April 06, 2012, 05:42:42 PM »

Pedlin, "The Firm" is not all that great.

Babi · « **Reply #2486 on:** April 07, 2012, 08:33:41 AM »

No luck so far, MARCIE. I pulled up the BBC channel for, I think, our local station but
was not able to locate this show. Obviously, even if I find it I will have already missed
at least two episodes. I'm going to check Netflix under "Whitechapel" and see what I find.

MaryPage · « **Reply #2487 on:** April 07, 2012, 05:35:16 PM »

Thank you, Marcie. Thanks to you, I watched the first 2 episodes of this season's Whitechapel on On Demand on BBC America.

I, too, had forgotten about the series from last season. Gosh but it is a nuisance being my age! I had a fairly remarkable memory when I was young.

I like the actors, especially the young man who plays the detective; but all the actors are really good. I do not understand the series reaching so hard to be spooky. The crimes are bad enough without them trying to add all of that unworldlyness to them. I particularly did not get that scrabble, scrabble, scrabble business that made it seem as though either a human were given the ability to reduce itself to something small that could climb walls and get into houses through cracks OR there was some kind of small mechanical device being operated by a human to get in and let the operator in or something else otherworldly. Did that bother you at all? Did you even notice it? In the end, it did not even seem to apply to what was going on!

And yes, the minute he hit his date's apartment, the mess just really drove him nuts. Would have me too and all. I do not suffer from OCD, but am really quite obsessive about neatness and cleanliness. Quite!

marcie · « **Reply #2488 on:** April 07, 2012, 10:33:33 PM »

Babi, in my area BBC is on Comcast channel 162. I don't know if that has any relation to your area. It's ok if you missed the first two episodes for this season (season 3) since the case will not be related to the next 2 episodes. They will have a new case.

MaryPage, yes, I thought that scrabbling speeded up "lizard-type" movement of that man that they kept showing between scenes was very weird. And you're right, that it turned out not to be relevant. (He wasn't some kind of X-Files mutant).

Yes, the apartment of his date was extremely messy and she was smoking non-stop too, in the kitchen. He got out of there as fast as he could!

pedln · « **Reply #2489 on:** April 09, 2012, 11:27:26 AM »

It'll be a while before that episode makes it to Netflix, but the bit about the messy apartment is certainly realistic. Several years ago I belonged to a Parents Without Partners group. One member was a young woman with two little boys, a very nice person, but her house was the biggest mess you'd ever want to see. Always. I remember some man in the group telling me that he had dated her, but just had to stop because the house was so bad.

Another 5-star film -- my cup is running over. Dear Frankie. Did someone recommend it here? Set in Scotland, a 9-yr-old deaf boy is writing letters to the father he does not remember -- "Dear Da" and Da is replying. Someone is lying, but truth will have to come out because the child has made a bet that will cost him dearly if he loses. A delightful film.

MaryPage · « **Reply #2490 on:** April 09, 2012, 05:37:56 PM »

Went to see Mirror, Mirror today, and adored it. A great take on Snow White. Julia Roberts absolutely delicious as the wicked queen. The young Lily Collins who plays Snow reminds me of the young Audrey Hepburn. This movie is a ball of fun, and there are simply heaps of terribly funny references to other famous films, other famous people, and other film roles played by this cast.

Does anyone besides me think Mare Winningham, who plays the cook in Mirror, Mirror, looks related to Lea Thompson, who plays Kathryn in Switched At Birth? I think they could play at being related, even if they are not.

roshanarose · « **Reply #2491 on:** April 09, 2012, 10:17:26 PM »

MaryPage - Like you I like that young detective. He seems so ingenuous. I like the part where he went to his "Gentlemen's Club" and was upbraided by another gentlement for looking so unkempt (he was actually looking like the policeman he is).

I have seen that ingenuous and unkempt detective in a series in which he was so sharp and decisive you would hardly recognise him. It is an ABC series called "Spooks" and the young detective plays a top MI5 operative. He is quite excellent in the role. "Spooks" by the nature of its theme has quite a few of the actors come to an untimely end, and the young man in questiion was one of them

. I read somewhere that "Spooks" is shown under a different name in the US.

I looked up "Whitechapel" and found out that the young detective's real name is Rupert Penry-Jones. When I was at school las century anyone with a hyphenated name was considered to be a bit "posh". Another thing about Rupert is that he looks a lot like my ex-husband (whom I still love). Sigh!

marcie · « **Reply #2492 on:** April 09, 2012, 10:30:14 PM »

Pedln, Thank you for the recommendation of "Dear Frankie." I've just put it on hold at my library.

MaryPage, now that I think about it, Mare Winningham and Lea Thompson do look very much alike.

Frybabe · « **Reply #2493 on:** April 10, 2012, 07:48:39 AM »

Ooooooo! Penry-Jones. That's right, I forgot he was in WhiteChapel. I saw him in 39 Steps. He made a favorable impression.

Babi · « **Reply #2494 on:** April 11, 2012, 08:17:52 AM »

Whenever someone I really like dies in a role, ROSE, I like to console myself
with the thought that he/she asked to be 'cut' so they could accept another
role. Or the current contract was terminating and they wanted to move on.

roshanarose · « **Reply #2495 on:** April 11, 2012, 09:35:37 PM »

Good advice Babi. It is often the case though that the "new" actor is not as good (or as cute?) as his predecessor. Doctor Who could be the exception to this though. The good thing about "Spooks" is that the boss has been a constant and he is an excellent actor.

maryz · « **Reply #2496 on:** April 11, 2012, 10:01:38 PM »

Was it here that I heard about My Dog, Tulip? We got it from Netflix and watched it this evening. What a charming, quirky, fabulous movie! Many thanks to whoever mentioned it!

Babi · « **Reply #2497 on:** April 12, 2012, 08:43:26 AM »

Never heard of that one, MARYZ. Val and I generally love good animal
stories. I'll look it up.

jeriron · « **Reply #2498 on:** April 12, 2012, 09:58:48 AM »

Re A Man and his Dog films I really suggest this film. It is one of my favorite films. Netflix has it.

Umberto D.

Bankrupt and lonely, an old man (Carlo Battisti) considers committing suicide. Since he has only a devoted dog and a maid (Lina Genneri) as his companions, things look bleak -- until one day when the old man's luck changes, giving him new hope. Director Vittorio De Sica's touching portrait of one man's effort to retain his pride in the face of adversity is a treasure of Italian post-war cinema.

pedln · « **Reply #2499 on:** April 14, 2012, 10:25:02 PM »

MaryZ and jeriron, I've never heard of either of those, but they both sound good.

I don't know when I'm ever going to get to see The Help. Two friends and I were going to watch it and then elected to see Game Change on HBO instead. We were set to watch it last night and then go out to dinner. But I also brought along from Netflix The Descendants and My Week with Marilyn, and suggested we watch the Netflix double header and just order in pizza. Which we did and we all really liked The Descendants, thought George Clooney especially did a great job. Maybe it was the timing or double headers aren't such a hot idea once you're a "senior," but none of us liked My Week with Marilyn. I know I dozed a little bit, the others found things to do in the kitchen. We just found it boring.

roshanarose · « **Reply #2500 on:** April 15, 2012, 11:46:51 PM »

pedln - I have avoided seeing My Week with Marilyn as I have it in my head that Monroe would be a very difficult person to portray. I am sure Michelle Williams does a good job, but she seems somehow too small to play Marilyn. It hasn't anything to do with her stature though, but more her lack of presence.

I also haven't wanted to see The Descendants as I am completely over George Clooney who I don't fancy much as an actor. Oooohhh. I can hear the complaints, just my opinion.

MaryPage · « **Reply #2501 on:** April 16, 2012, 08:38:09 AM »

No complaint from here, as I agree with you!

JeanneP · « **Reply #2502 on:** April 16, 2012, 11:41:09 AM »

I think that the only thing I like about George are his Eyes. Beautiful. Many more men actors I like better. Just liked the movie for the Photography of the island.

MaryPage · « **Reply #2503 on:** April 24, 2012, 08:36:02 PM »

I went to see Salmon Fishing In The Yemen and adored it. A great romantic comedy. Saw a wonderfully long preview of The Great Exotic Marigold Hotel, too. It looks beyond wonderful. Can hardly wait! Also, there is a new Diane Keating romantic comedy coming. Darling Companion.

pedln · « **Reply #2504 on:** April 25, 2012, 11:43:10 AM »

Oh lucky you, MaryPage. I wonder how long it will be before those two -- Yemen and Marigold -- come out on DVD. They'll be at the top of my list for sure.

No movie and dinner get-togethers on tap for this week, but last week we saw The Iron Lady. Meryl Streep was just outstanding and I could surey understand how and why she got best actress. And in my post-movie research I was so pleased to see that the makeup artists for this show also won Oscars. They certainly deserved it.

The film was good, very flash-backy. And in the beginning I was a little confused about some things. I won't rave about it, but will recommend it. What I wished while watching was that I had looked about a little bit about Margaret Thatcher beforehand, like a chronology of her political life, and who her contemporaries, other than Reagan, were in the rest of the world.

In the future, I'll do that for any type of biographical film.

Babi · « **Reply #2505 on:** April 26, 2012, 08:30:49 AM »

That's a good thought, PEDLN. It would be helpful, wouldn't it, to know some of the background of a person before you go see what a screenwriter has done with their bio.

maryz · « **Reply #2506 on:** April 26, 2012, 10:31:29 AM »

I heard about My Dog, Tulip here (I think). We watched it last week, and absolutely loved it! Then we found out it was based on a 50-year-old book. Haven't read that, but our daughter has it out of the library. Has anybody here read the book?

marcie · « **Reply #2507 on:** April 26, 2012, 08:37:12 PM »

I just finished watching Midnight in Paris, on DVD from our library. I enjoyed it very much. There were times when I could picture Woody Allen speaking the lines he wrote for Owen Wilson. They are very different but I think that Owen was charming in the role and played it very well.

maryz · « **Reply #2508 on:** April 26, 2012, 08:57:44 PM »

Was it here that someone mentioned San Juan de Marco? Definitely one to look for - a funny, quirky movie. Thanks for the recommendation.

marcie · « **Reply #2509 on:** April 26, 2012, 09:25:11 PM »

I love Don Juan de Marco. I think everyone was very good in that film. I really like Johnny Depp.

marjifay · « **Reply #2510 on:** April 28, 2012, 03:26:53 PM »

I just read where the actor Tommy Lee Jones was honored at Harvard Univ. with a Harvard Arts Medal in a ceremony hosted by fellow actor John Lithgow. Both are two of my favorite male actors, and both graduated from Harvard.

I see that Tommy Lee Jones has just finished a new film LINCOLN directed by Steven Spielberg, and based on the book by Doris Kearns Goodwin which we read here not long ago. Jones stars as Thaddeus Stephens, Daniel Day Lewis is Lincoln, and Sally Field is Mary Todd Lincoln. That's a film a want to see as soon as it's in theaters!

Marj

JoanK · « **Reply #2511 on:** April 28, 2012, 08:03:22 PM »

Me, too.

pedln · « **Reply #2512 on:** April 28, 2012, 10:19:07 PM »

The TBS or TBV list is soon going to overtake the TBR list.

I think My Dog, Tulip was mentioned here, MaryZ. I'm not familiar with Don Juan deMarco, but it looks good.

Marjifay, thanks for the info about Spielberg's Lincoln. From what I read just now, it looks like it will be released late 2012, after the election. One comment said to watch it be in the Oscars 2013. Now, I haven't read Team of Rivals. Those of you who have, what would you recommend -- read it before seeing the film, or read it after? That one thick book.

And then there is The Conspirator which takes place after the assassination, with a focus on the trial of Mary Surrat. Directed by Robert Redford.

rosemarykaye · « **Reply #2513 on:** April 29, 2012, 03:27:43 AM »

All very exciting here as Colin Firth

and Nicole Kidman are currently filming in Edinburgh, and are next week coming out to North Berwick to film some more. It's for something called The Railway Man, about a Scot who is haunted by memories of being forced to work on the Thai/Burma railway during the war:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-17870048

May have to have a 'casual meander' through N Berwick one day next week!

Also in Edinburgh, a film is being made of Ian Rankin's book, 'Doors Open':

http://www.ianrankin.net/pages/content/index.asp?PageID=162

Rosemary

Babi · « **Reply #2514 on:** April 29, 2012, 08:16:03 AM »

Mary Todd Lincoln is not presented in a very good light in what history I've read
that touched on her. It would be interesting to see what Sally Field makes of her.
I tend to see Field more as a humorous character; hardly Mrs. Lincoln's type. Still,
Sally Field is an accmplished actress. I would expect a good performance from her
anytime.

Oh, how exciting, ROSEMARY. I hope you do go; you can ell us anything of interest
you see. I'm not one to follow the lives of celebrities (same old) but a chance to
see a pair of good actors at work would be enthralling.

Frybabe · « **Reply #2515 on:** April 29, 2012, 08:22:39 AM »

The infamous Death Railway. The Japanese treated their conscripts abysmally to say the least. I have seen an occasional reference in war documentaries and the movie Bridge on the River Kwai. I am looking forward to seeing the movie.

BTW, did any of you know that Bridge on the River Kwai was written by a Frenchman? Has anyone read it? Is the new movie based on a book? I didn't see any mention of a book in the article.

pedln · « **Reply #2516 on:** April 29, 2012, 12:43:25 PM »

Apparently there is a book by the same name by Eric Lomax, a British soldier who was one of those captured and working on the railroad. He had always had a passion for trains and made meticulous drawings of the railway while imprisoned. Suspected as a spy by the Japanese, he was tortured.

Rosemary, I think just about anything with Colin Firth has got to be good. I hope you get to do your "casual meander."

Quote

I tend to see Field more as a humorous character

That's interesting, Babi, I tend to see her as a "strong woman" type.

It's good to know we have some good films to look forward to, those mentioned here recently and the ones in Yemen and the Marigold HOtel. It's nice to have some interesting entertainment that's based on substance, not fluff.

marjifay · « **Reply #2517 on:** April 29, 2012, 01:05:11 PM »

Sally Field was good with comedy (Soapdish was great!) but she does strong women dramatic parts very well also (Not Without My Daughter, Norma Rae). I hate it when good actresses get pushed aside after 40. It will be interesting to see what she does with the Mary Todd Lincoln role.

I hope this year's films will be better than those for 2011.

Marj

marjifay · « **Reply #2518 on:** April 29, 2012, 01:14:47 PM »

Pedln, I doubt if it makes much difference if you read Team of Rivals before seeing the Lincoln movie. They are two mediums and likely to be different. And the book is so long, they'll undoubtedly use only a portion of it. (Just as the movie East of Eden used only part of Steinbeck's great novel, but the film was also great.)

I told my son about the film Lincoln. He said he'd wait for the reviews because he thinks Spielberg is only good at directing Science Fiction movies.

Marj

pedln · « **Reply #2519 on:** April 29, 2012, 01:58:44 PM »

Quote

I told my son about the film Lincoln. He said he'd wait for the reviews because he thinks Spielberg is only good at directing Science Fiction movies.

That's interesting, Marj, I think he'd run into a lot of argument there.

News:

Author Topic: Movies & Books Into Movies (Read 591990 times)