Author Topic: Movies & Books Into Movies (Read 591933 times)

Babi · « **Reply #680 on:** May 23, 2010, 08:39:53 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?

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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

[/

Oh, how disappointing! Surely the Queen Mary could do better than
canned fruit cocktail, even in tourist class. Was this, perhaps, during the
period when the British economy was so tight and rationing was still in
place? British cuisine has never been the best, even in good times.

pedln · « **Reply #681 on:** May 25, 2010, 11:21:56 AM »

Okay, folks, clue me in. Have I missed a big event? I'd never even heard of LOST until last year because one of the grands had a DVD of it. But now Time mag. had a big article (which I missed because I gave it to a friend so she could read about Stieg Larsson). And the media had a big DO -- pre, and post the last episode. So what have I missed?

Mippy · « **Reply #682 on:** May 25, 2010, 11:36:30 AM »

"Lost" is so science fiction-y that I can't stand it. I watched some of the first season and did not continue. But apparently 10s of thousand of people loved it. Unless you really, really like science fiction, I wouldn't bother to rent it.

Speaking of being lost, I loved that Tom Hanks movie, the one where the FEDEX plane crashed, and he had the basketball "Wilson" as his "boy-Friday" ... that was Cast Away !

Frybabe · « **Reply #683 on:** May 25, 2010, 03:10:59 PM »

The Cider House Rules was on TV this morning. I had seen a little of it before and would have liked to see the whole thing but didn't have the time this morning. In truth, I don't like to watch TV in the morning except for news and weather. Anyhow, it just now came to my attention that it was written by John Irving.

Babi · « **Reply #684 on:** May 26, 2010, 08:26:47 AM »

My daughter loved "Lost" and watched it faithfully. I found it so complex and confusing that
I stopped watching it sometime in, I think, the second season, when the plot started going all
over the place. But it has been immensely popular, so, like MASH, the final episode was a big
event.

pedln · « **Reply #685 on:** May 26, 2010, 11:31:56 AM »

Mippy and Babi, thanks for the LOST info. I'm not really into sci-fi, so will let that one pass for a while. No doubt at some point it will be available from Netflix, perhaps some of it already is.

Mippy, I liked Castaway. I like just about anything that Tom Hanks is in. Was BIG his first big film?

Mippy · « **Reply #686 on:** May 26, 2010, 04:32:39 PM »

I don't know the order of film without using IMDB ... Big was also wonderful!
Probably watched it three times, which is unusual for me.

As of last week, I now have Comcast On Demand, so there are a lot of movies to pick through. But RedSox ball games take the TV above all else these days!

pedln · « **Reply #687 on:** May 30, 2010, 09:01:44 AM »

Lately none of my Netflix films have rated a 4 or a 5. I was beginning to get a complex, thinking maybe I just didn't know what a good film was anymore. Then last night I just happened to hit the beginning of The Best Years of Our Lives. No more complex. What a terrific film, and it doesn't matter that I watch it every couple of years or so.

Besides being a terrific film, it has a special meaning for me because when I was growing up in southern Wisconsin my family rented the "Bickel" house, boyhood home of Frederic (Bickel) March. My school sent him a congratulatory telegram because he had gone there too -- and had made his acting debut with "I'm gonna thit on a chair and wait for Thanta Clauth."

Babi · « **Reply #688 on:** May 30, 2010, 10:54:41 AM »

Thanks, PEDLN, for that big grin I enjoyed with your post about Fredric March's 'debut'. We
finally got, and watched, "The Blind Side". It was great. I had expected to enjoy Sandra Bullock, but I very much liked Tim McGraw as SeanTuohy as well.
Leigh Ann Tuohy and Michael Oher were guest participants in a recent 'Extreme Makeover' house raising, and Leigh Ann is just as energetic and 'take-charge' as she is portrayed.

roshanarose · « **Reply #689 on:** June 02, 2010, 11:02:09 PM »

Darn Drat and Blast.

I just wrote a spiel about "Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence" book by Laurens van der Post, and it floated off to Cyberspace. One of my favourite movies with David Bowie, Tom Conti, Jack Thompson and Riyuchi Sakamoto.

Another favourite "Atonement" by Ian McEwan. With Keira Knightley.

"The English Patient" by Michael Ondaatje with Ralph (Rafe) Fiennes, Juliette Binoche and Kristin Scott Thomas.

I just realised that all of the above have a "war" connection. Being Australian and a baby boomer I never truly suffered the consequences of war. I do not wish to offend anyone with my choices.

Recently - Avatar - a bit too long (not sure if it was a book either).

"Clash of the Titans" featuring Perseus (an Australian

) Impeccable authorship - Greek myth.

Babi · « **Reply #690 on:** June 03, 2010, 08:18:16 AM »

I haven't heard of "Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence" before, ROSE. What
was that about? Besides, apparently, some connection with war. I must
confess David Bowie is not a favorite of mine, perhaps because the first movie I saw featuring him I didn't like at all.

Mippy · « **Reply #691 on:** June 03, 2010, 08:36:42 AM »

The English Patient is also a favorite of mine. I liked the film better than the book, amazingly.

I hardly ever watch movies over and over, but found an exception last night.
Searched through OnDemand of Comcast, and watched African Queen.
What a classic! What fun!
Also love to see how they did special effects without computers in those days!

roshanarose · « **Reply #692 on:** June 03, 2010, 07:19:20 PM »

Babi - Hi - Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence is set in a Japanese POW camp in Java. The date is c.1942. David Bowie is quite excellent in it. I saw him performing live - truly a once in a lifetime experience. In the movie David is an officer called Jack. He is a natural leader and runs foul of the commander of the camp, played very well also by Ryuichi Sakamoto, who according to my Japanese students is just as famous in Japan as David Bowie is in the West. The movie is not for the faint-hearted, but well worth seeing imho. Ryuichi Sakamoto is also a musician, I forgot to add. I haven't read the book, but intend to do so soon. Take care, from your Antipodean friend.

pedln · « **Reply #693 on:** June 03, 2010, 09:19:49 PM »

Apparently Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence is not yet out on DVD. Netflix has some by the same director -- N. Oshima -- and show a list of some of his others that they expect to have soon, but Merry Christmas, M. . . was not included.

Last night I watched an Australian film, Walkabout. I'd heard much about it because some of our high school students read the book in English class, then saw the film. The plot of a brother and sister lost in the Outback is not straightforward. Parts a bit strange, almost mystical, but fantastic photography of the scenery and the natural life.

Mippy, some of those older films are so excellent. I'd love to see African Queen again. Casablanca is another one that can be watched over and over. In a series of comments about it, I remember one person saying he watched Casablanca once a month.

Babi · « **Reply #694 on:** June 04, 2010, 09:10:03 AM »

Thanks, ROSE. There were quite a few movies made about war prisoners
after WWII. Especially the Japanese camps, which were particularly awful.

I think there is quite a bit of mysticism involved in 'walkabout', PEDLN.
It is an aborigine form of pilgrimage, where they follow paths, unmarked to
our eyes, which were laid down originally by their clan totem animals.

roshanarose · « **Reply #695 on:** June 06, 2010, 08:37:10 PM »

Pedln and Babi
If you enjoy movies about Aboriginal culture, I can recommend "The Tracker" and "Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith".. I don't think "The Tracker" was a book, but "Chant..." certainly is, because I have met the man who wrote it. His name is Thomas Keneally. When "Chant.." was first released it had a preview in Brisbane (c.1974), where I live, and then promptly banned. I am glad I got to see it. It is very confronting but an excellent depiction of aboriginal / European relations at that time.

pedln · « **Reply #696 on:** June 06, 2010, 11:17:20 PM »

Tahnks, Roshanarose, for those titles. I'm not familiar with either, but didn't Thomas Keneally alwo write Schindler's List?

Tomereader1 · « **Reply #697 on:** June 07, 2010, 12:06:32 PM »

Movies & books into movies: Last night I watched "My Sister's Keeper", originally a book by Jodi Picoult. Wonderfully done! A real heart breaker. Excellent acting from all, better than I expected from Cameron Diaz (as the mother). If you've not read it, or seen the movie, DO! As well as I can remember the book (read a long time ago), the movie follows really well, so I don't think you need to read first, then watch. Watching it made me want to go back and re-read.

roshanarose · « **Reply #698 on:** June 07, 2010, 10:02:36 PM »

Pedln - A quick search will reveal information about Thomas Keneally. He is quite a prolific writer. I met him in the 70s in a country town called Armidale, New South Wales. He is a small round man with a lovely smile and great humility. He wrote "Schindler's Ark" which Spielberg filmed as "Schindler's List". No idea why they changed the title. Evidently Spielberg didn't take his Director's fee for that movie. An interesting sideline - Keneally trained to be a priest before becoming a schoolteacher.

Gumtree · « **Reply #699 on:** June 08, 2010, 02:09:19 AM »

Roshanarose:

Quote

Keneally "a small round man with a lovely smile and great humility"

He sure is just that. I think of him as being a good tempered and good natured man. And his writing captures the essence of his subject. He was a guest on Q&A recently and was obviously flogging the latest volume of his new history of Australia. Don't know what the title is.

Babi · « **Reply #700 on:** June 08, 2010, 08:27:05 AM »

Oh, goody! There are seven Keneally books in my library. ROSE & GUMTREE, could you give me the titles of a couple of your favorites.
I have no idea, from the titles, what the books might be about.

Mippy · « **Reply #701 on:** June 08, 2010, 10:11:16 AM »

Thomas Keneally is a very uneven author. I'd suggest reading all about each book before you buy one, or if it's a library book, no harm done if it's not one of his good ones. Sorry I cannot recall which one was so disappointing to me.

Tomereader1 · « **Reply #702 on:** June 08, 2010, 05:20:39 PM »

did someone here, (or in one of the other book groups)earlier today, say they got a Kindle version of "A Proper Pursuit" by Lynn Austin, and got it "FREE". My kindle shows a price of $9.99. How'd you get it free?

roshanarose · « **Reply #703 on:** June 09, 2010, 05:21:46 AM »

Thanks Mippy - alas, when a writer is so prolific there is always a risk of mediocrity at any given time (or book). If any person here can name a writer who has written 20 or so books that all reach the apex of excellence, I will be glad if you can tell me who he/she is. Our appreciation of books is necessarily subjective, and this makes things even more complicated.

Although I mentioned Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith and Schindler's Ark, I have not read either of them, but have seen them both as movies, and excellent they are. So how about you read them and then I will try as well. I am just about to read "Wolf Hall" by Hilary Mantel, which judging by its size will keep me out of mischief for a while.

Babi · « **Reply #704 on:** June 09, 2010, 08:07:51 AM »

Well, I'll see if my library has "Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith" and start from there.

pedln · « **Reply #705 on:** June 09, 2010, 08:43:45 AM »

You all have really broadened my movie education, and I'm recognizing more names than I used to. And last night I saw more than a few of them in the 1994 film Widow's Peak. Fun and relaxing for a summer night. Starring Mia Farrow, Natasha Richardson, Joan Plowright, and Jim Broadbent.

How did that get on my queue? I'll bet it was recommended here.

pedln · « **Reply #706 on:** June 09, 2010, 11:02:35 AM »

Doesn’t this sound like fun – Mid-August Lunch – apparently not in theatres anymore, but soon to be out on DVD. Netflix has it in “save.”

As the Italian holiday of Pranzo di Ferragosto approaches, cash-strapped Gianni (Gianni Di Gregorio) gets help from his landlord, his friend and his doctor, who offer financial relief in exchange for Gianni looking after their elderly relatives over the holiday. Four mismatched Italian mamas at the same table make for an awkward, hilarious and touching mid-August lunch in this film festival favorite from Di Gregorio, who also writes and directs.

I heard about this from the Food news I get from the Seattle Times. Here’s the link and the recipe –

Pasta Al Forno

MaryPage · « **Reply #707 on:** June 09, 2010, 02:59:44 PM »

Went to see The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (Swedish with excellent subtitles) last month, and loved it. In order to get as much as possible of the whole book in, they had to alter some things and leave out some things; but I thought they did a wonderful job and I loved the movie almost as much as the book. Have pre-ordered the DVD, which I am told will be shipped on July 6.

Have read Hollywood wants to make the movies of these books, as well, and that George Clooney wants to play the male lead.

Frybabe · « **Reply #708 on:** June 09, 2010, 06:23:04 PM »

Hi MaryPage. I see you found your way over here. There are a few of us that toggle back and forth between the two sites. So, welcome here too!

marcie · « **Reply #709 on:** June 10, 2010, 02:05:07 AM »

Hi, MaryPage and everyone. I seem to have lost track of this discussion so am posting to bring it up when I check new replies. I've just watched Possession (DVD borrowed from my public library) as we're discussing the book by A.S. Byatt right now: http://seniorlearn.org/forum/index.php?board=81.0

Quite a few characters were left out or smooshed together or changed in other ways but I think that the film got much of the tone right and I loved Jeremy Northam and Jennifer Ehle in the roles of the Victorian poets. Gwyneth Paltrow and Aaron Eckhart were very good in the roles of the contemporary literary scholars.

PatH · « **Reply #710 on:** June 11, 2010, 05:39:37 PM »

We've all seen Frankenstein movies, some of them pretty bad, but have you ever read the book? It's quite different. We're going to discuss it in July. The prediscussion is here:

http://seniorlearn.org/forum/index.php?topic=1482.0

JimNT · « **Reply #711 on:** June 13, 2010, 07:54:31 AM »

MaryPage: I was happy to read your review of the movie The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I'm a loyal Stieg Larsson, or more particularly Lisbeth Salander, fan and am about to complete The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, presumably his last. Last week while toting the conspicuously silver colored Hornet's book at Barnes & Noble a lady approached me and told me a story about the Larsson family offering Stieg's surviving, live-in, collaborator, a million dollars if she'd relinguished his PC. She said "No dice" leading all to believe that there is a fourth manuscript stored. This might be an urban legend but the lady was very convincing. We'll see.

Frybabe · « **Reply #712 on:** June 13, 2010, 02:14:10 PM »

Jim,

The newspapers have been reporting the fourth novel as 3/4 finished. The fight over the computer and manuscript is a bit involved. The first article is rather extensive, but it gives a lot of background on Larsson and his live-in's involvement with the novels as well as why she does not want to give it up to his family. Very interesting reading. The second is a short article about some early unpublished writings that were found.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/23/magazine/23Larsson-t.html?pagewanted=1

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/06/08/unpublished-manuscripts-by-stieg-larsson-are-found/

JimNT · « **Reply #713 on:** June 14, 2010, 10:36:18 AM »

Thank you, Frybabe. I'm reading the cited articles now. Very interesting. I'm an avid newspaper reader but have missed these events entiirely.

MaryPage · « **Reply #714 on:** June 17, 2010, 10:25:50 AM »

If you go to the NEW YORK TIMES and search Larsson, you will find simply heaps of articles and pictures. He was with the Love of His Life for 30 years, but, like many Swedes, they had never married. No children. He was not yet 50 years old! No will. He had no money to speak of. So he dropped dead quite suddenly and the law allowed his father and brother to reap the rewards from these 3 as yet unpublished though accepted for publication books! And they've made out like gangbusters! And he rarely had anything to do with them!

All Sweden is sympathetic to her.

I loved the bit about the book store clerk who said: "We're calling all of the books 'The Girl Who's Paying Our Wages These Months!'"

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo was great! He titled it Men Who Hate Women. The Girl Who Played With Fire was fantastic! I have just completed reading The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest for the SECOND time in a week! Super incredible book, and I am in mourning that there will be no more; at least, not from him.

pedln · « **Reply #715 on:** June 30, 2010, 12:05:49 PM »

Quote

"We're calling all of the books 'The Girl Who's Paying Our Wages These Months!'"

I love that. Reminds me of what some call Whole Foods -- whole paycheck.

I just read an amazing article about film critic Roger Ebert. All I can say is WOW! This article in yesterday’s Seattle Times – what an amazing man. As Ann Thomas says in her introduction of his forthcoming book --

Quote

"Cooking, for him, I think in the last few years has become a very selfless act," Thomas said. "This really tells you about Roger. He doesn't stop living, doing things or being interested in things or having a good time because in a way something changes. But Roger does not get discouraged. He has such a zest for life."

Not eating, but still cooking

What is everyone watching these days? I just found HULU for the first time and enjoyed watching the pilot of GREEK on my computer. Believe it or not, captions are beginning to creep into some the these computer videos.

Babi · « **Reply #716 on:** July 01, 2010, 08:03:37 AM »

Well, that's good news, PEDLN. Maybe soon I can stop reminding my
e-mail correspondents that it's pointless to send me videos.

I seem to be having a problem will very slow response on SL this morning. I don't know if the problem is at this end or their end.

marcie · « **Reply #717 on:** July 01, 2010, 11:34:40 AM »

I hope things are faster for you now, Babi. I'm moving along fine.

PatH · « **Reply #718 on:** July 01, 2010, 12:43:26 PM »

I've had that problem today too, Babi. It seems OK at the moment.

serenesheila · « **Reply #719 on:** July 01, 2010, 12:58:58 PM »

I have had trouble getting from one discussion, to the next, today. Very, very slow.

Sheila

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Author Topic: Movies & Books Into Movies (Read 591933 times)