Author Topic: Movies & Books Into Movies (Read 591919 times)

MaryPage · « **Reply #760 on:** July 31, 2010, 03:04:55 PM »

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

Daughter Debi and I went to see RAMONA & BEEZUS at the moving picture show and laughed and laughed. Don't know When we've had such a great time at a movie. The books did not come out in time for me to read them to my children, but I and my children read them to my grandchildren and are now reading them to the great grands. This movie takes in things from a number of the books. You will Love it!

Oh, and the child who plays 9 years & 3 months old Ramona, how old she is in the movie, though I think of her mainly as younger than that, well, this little actress is AMAZING! You just will not believe her facial expressions.

Go. Enjoy!

Babi · « **Reply #761 on:** August 01, 2010, 08:21:26 AM »

"I am David" sounds very good, as does "Ramona and Beezus". Thanks for the posts, PEDLN and MARYPAGE.

Gumtree · « **Reply #762 on:** August 01, 2010, 12:17:30 PM »

My son read I Am David when he was just a youngster. Now in his late forties, he still maintains it to be his favourite book.

MaryPage · « **Reply #763 on:** August 06, 2010, 11:27:43 PM »

Watched the new episode of PILLARS OF THE EARTH on television tonight, and have begun to be disappointed in the extent to which they have changed the book as I remember it. It could be that my memory is faulty (could be? ha!), but I begin to talk back to the TV and say: "That isn't the way it was in the book!"

Oh well. It is still a good yarn and very well acted.

marcie · « **Reply #764 on:** August 07, 2010, 12:34:33 AM »

MaryPage, I'm enjoying the TV version. I haven't read the book so can't make the comparisons.

maryz · « **Reply #765 on:** August 07, 2010, 12:51:43 PM »

We're just home from Iceland and England. Drove around rural England, staying in B&Bs, etc. Loved it, of course. My husband's favorite, and in my top 2-3, was Old Sarum - absolutely fantastic! We don't get STARZ, but will need to reread Pillars, and get the films when they come out on NetFlix.

marcie · « **Reply #766 on:** August 07, 2010, 01:42:17 PM »

Wow, Maryz, that sounds like a wonderful trip! You can watch the episodes of PILLARS OF THE EARTH online at http://www.starz.com/pillars

CallieOK · « **Reply #767 on:** August 07, 2010, 01:57:59 PM »

Marcie, a Thousand Thank Yous for the link to the Starz website. I have bookmarked it and will be watching Episode One tonight - instead of playing endless games of on-line Solitaire.
How delightful!

marcie · « **Reply #768 on:** August 07, 2010, 02:09:43 PM »

I can't play Solitaire online or I'll get addicted! Glad you found something else to do, callie :-)

PatH · « **Reply #769 on:** August 07, 2010, 03:28:57 PM »

Maryz, I've always wanted to see Iceland. Was it good?

maryz · « **Reply #770 on:** August 07, 2010, 04:26:24 PM »

Pat, it was terrific. We were on an alumni tour with Gohagan on a French ship (200+ passengers) - all very well run. The scenery is lovely, with lots to learn about the people, history, and geology/volcanoes, etc.

Babi · « **Reply #771 on:** August 08, 2010, 08:12:05 AM »

It's not just solitaire, you know. There's Minesweeper and Scrabble, too.

Frybabe · « **Reply #772 on:** August 08, 2010, 09:07:26 AM »

Mahjong and Bookworm

Tomereader1 · « **Reply #773 on:** August 08, 2010, 12:02:22 PM »

FreeCell and Spider Solitaire!

pedln · « **Reply #774 on:** August 08, 2010, 12:08:29 PM »

MaryZ, what a great travel combination -- England and Iceland. It sounds like a wonderful trip.

Have you read any books by Icelandic author Arnaldur Indridason? Apparently his Jar City is in film (on demand from Amazon) but not yet in DVD format. I don't know if it's in English or in Icelandic with subtitles.

CallieOK · « **Reply #775 on:** August 08, 2010, 02:38:44 PM »

Babi, Frybabe and TomeReader, Yes there certainly are other games on the computer. I thought it prudent to just mention one rather than confessing my "goal" of playing all 1million+ games of Free Cell in sequence (I will have to live well past the century mark to do so).

Maryz, your tour of Iceland sounds fascinating. What did you see/learn about the most recent volcanic eruption?
I have also seen the original Old Sarum, as well as other ancient sites in the British Isles. I will never forget my first glimpse of The Tower of London - a view of Traitor's Gate from the river (on a supper cruise) - or placing my hand on The Rock of Cashel tower in Ireland and looking out over the countryside. What a thrilling chill to realize I was seeing the same view that real people saw all those many centuries ago.

maryz · « **Reply #776 on:** August 08, 2010, 02:43:36 PM »

Callie, there was very little damage in Iceland itself from the recent volcano. They are a lot more worried about the much larger volcano nearby, Katla, and feel it will erupt in the not-too-distant future. They have incredibly sophisticated technology and sensors to make predictions - in the near time, but not very far into the future. The Icelanders are beginning to use their geothermal features to produce heating and electicity and have some very advanced equipment. We did get to see the island of Surtsey (formed in the 1960s from an undersea eruption) and the volcano on Haimey which erupted in 1973. Our trip expert was a geologist/vulcanologist who was very interesting and knowledgeable.

CallieOK · « **Reply #777 on:** August 08, 2010, 03:20:10 PM »

Maryz, How interesting to have had a geologist/vulcanologist for a guide. Thank you for sharing with me/us.

JoanK · « **Reply #778 on:** August 08, 2010, 05:57:57 PM »

MaryZ: that sounds like a fascinating trip.

I'm not sure that I haven't already played a million games of Freecell. I'm scared to look. I'm absolutely addicted to that game.

MaryPage · « **Reply #779 on:** August 08, 2010, 06:59:40 PM »

Has anyone tried the solitaire game called American Toad? No skill required to speak of, though memory helps, but quite addictive and good fun. I play it a LOT on my Nintendo DS Lite (made for old folk like most of us) while watching the news. I find I can do both without missing a thing.

pedln · « **Reply #780 on:** August 09, 2010, 09:47:45 AM »

I play FreeCell for medical reasons. My knee locks up when I sit at the computer, engrossed in what I'm doing. Then when it's time to get up, whoops, that doesn't feel so good. So then I play FreeCell while stretching the leg. Works every time.

PatH · « **Reply #781 on:** August 09, 2010, 09:49:33 AM »

Pedln, I thought I was the only one whose knees went funny when sitting at the computer.

JoanK · « **Reply #782 on:** August 09, 2010, 03:42:24 PM »

Pedlin: do you take a small drink for medicinal reasons, too?

PatH · « **Reply #783 on:** August 11, 2010, 10:19:02 PM »

We have just lost Patricia Neal. In addition to being a good actress, she did a heroic job of recovering from a massive stroke and resuming her career. I've got to admit that (sci-fi fan that I am) I think of her mostly for her role in "The Day the Earth Stood Still". I think she thought of it as slumming, but she did a good job, and it's classic sci-fi. Maybe I'll re-watch it (I own it) in memoriam.

roshanarose · « **Reply #784 on:** August 11, 2010, 11:27:52 PM »

A loss to the acting world indeed. I first saw Patricia Neal in "Hud". I was quite young at the time but I loved that movie. I may be wrong but wasn't she married to Roald Dahl?

PatH · « **Reply #785 on:** August 11, 2010, 11:56:20 PM »

Yes, roshanarose, she was married to Dahl. He helped her recover from the stroke, but in other ways was not a good husband, and they eventually divorced. I've never bothered to try figuring out the rights and wrongs of that one.

Babi · « **Reply #786 on:** August 12, 2010, 08:41:05 AM »

Quote

I've never bothered to try figuring out the rights and wrongs of that one.

A hopeless and thankless task in any marriage, PAT.

MaryPage · « **Reply #787 on:** August 13, 2010, 09:29:34 AM »

Reading a blog written by Ken Follett, author of THE PILLARS OF THE EARTH, on the STARZ website this morning, I was tickled to note this:
"Brother Cuthbert is Kingsbridge Priory's cellarer. He holds an important position in the monastic hierarchy. He's in charge of the community's food and drink, storing, organising and obtaining it, whether from outside - in which case he's responsible for getting best value from every farthing - or produced by the monks themselves. Kingsbridge isn't very successful in this respect, and sub-prior Remigius has no interest in improving the situation. Cuthbert, trying to perform his duties, would have been all too aware of that. He is encouraged by Philip who has already turned one run-down monastery into a going concern and hopefully will do so again.
By the way, Brother Cuthbert is played wonderfully by John Pielmeier. John is not only a terrific actor; he wrote the television adaptation, all eight hours of it, from my novel!"
.

Babi · « **Reply #788 on:** August 13, 2010, 05:56:32 PM »

WOW! I am impressed. I've never heard of John Pielmeier before, but
believe me I sat up and took notice now. We don't get STARZ, but I'm
looking hopefully for it's appearance in Netflix.

marcie · « **Reply #789 on:** August 15, 2010, 12:39:14 PM »

Thanks for pointing out the info about John Pielmeier. His supporting role in PILLARS has stood out to me. His website is interesting: http://johnpielmeier.com/common/11082/default.cfm?clientID=11082

MaryPage · « **Reply #790 on:** August 17, 2010, 01:13:34 PM »

Rooney Mara (was in Nightmare on Elm St.) will be Lisbeth Salander and Daniel Craig (James Bond) will be Michael Blomkvist in the movie of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo that Hollywood is about to film.

I do not know anything about her, but just looked her up in Google Image, and she does look the part. Now, if she can ACT the part, this will be the role of a Lifetime for her!

He will probably be great in the part.

pedln · « **Reply #791 on:** August 18, 2010, 09:38:16 AM »

Rooney Mara and Daniel Craig are not household words for me, so I really can't comment on those choices. But what I don't understand is why Hollywood feels it necessary to duplicate what the Swedes have already done. They want it less bloody, less sexual? Ha ha. If I were to play the female lead I'd sure be thinking what a tough act to follow.

MaryPage · « **Reply #792 on:** August 18, 2010, 01:36:49 PM »

I agree with you; in my head forever Lisbeth Salander looks exactly like the Swedish actress who played her.

On the other hand, the Hollywood version will be seen by many many millions more people, so this Rooney Mara will wind up most folks vision of Lisbeth. That is why I hope she is up to filling the jeans & boots. I cannot TELL you how many people I have spoken with who adored the books, yet refuse to see the films already out! The lament most often is: "I don't know the language and I hate subtitles!"

I don't know a word of Swedish, really; though I did find out from the movie that we have a lot of words in common, or nearly so. The thing is, if you have read the books, you know PRECISELY what is going on in every scene, AND the subtitles are quite wonderful.

Bottom line, I was just too curious NOT to see the movies. For the same reason, I will pay my money and see the Hollywood versions, and, again I am just frightfully curious to see what they do with them.

JoanK · « **Reply #793 on:** August 18, 2010, 03:00:10 PM »

I admit I hesitate to see the movie, because I understand it's very graphic, and I'm squeamish. But I think I'df rather see that than the Hollywood version.

maryz · « **Reply #794 on:** August 18, 2010, 11:29:19 PM »

There was some conversation about Michener a week or so ago on one of the discussions. Did anybody else watch the PBS Live at Lincoln Center broadcast of the current Broadway revival of South Pacific?

It's an incredible production, and what a treat to see it uncut and without interruption (except for intermission). Be sure to catch it if you can.

Mippy · « **Reply #795 on:** August 19, 2010, 07:02:10 AM »

Yes, Mary, I plan to watch South Pacific, and did remember to record it last night!
It might indeed be better than the older movie version!

MaryPage · « **Reply #796 on:** August 19, 2010, 11:03:35 AM »

JoanK, the movies of The Girl Who are very graphic, but if you have read the books before you see the movies, you know how they end and you know that the good gal (and guy) triumph over the evil ones, which is one reason why, in this age of nasty usually winning, these books are so popular. I think of them in terms of the old Grimm fairy tales. Princess (modern style, mind, with tattoos and piercings), prince, evil out to do them in, but evil is outwitted and the prince and the princess retire to the turreted castle flying pennants on the hilltop (read $25,000,000.00 apartment in Stockholm.)

pedln · « **Reply #797 on:** August 21, 2010, 10:13:05 AM »

Wowee -- today I'm going to the real movies. The Girl Who Played with Fire is in town. I don't know why they never had "Tatoo" but they didn't. The teenagers don't like that kind of film, I guess. Maybe they don't want to read subtitles. (It's hard to read and text at the same time

) Eat, Pray, Love is on at the same time, so I'll offer that up to my friends as an alternative for them. I haven't told them "Fire" would be bloody and sexy. We'll see.

Last night I watched a really terrific Netflix film -- French. I've Loved You So Long (2008) with Kristin Scott Thomas. She's bilingual. Really fantastic. It's about two sisters, the elder (Scott Thomas) has just been released from prison, after serving 15 years for murder, and the other has brought her to her home and family. The format, with so many small scenes that just dissolve into each other is fascinating. The whole thing is so well done. No violence, no sex, just a true exploration of relationships. For Netflix -- 5 stars.

I had't a clue what Scott Thomas had played in before, but two that I'd seen with her were The Horse Whisperer and Tell No One -- a French mystery, based on the book by Harlan Cobden.

CallieOK · « **Reply #798 on:** August 21, 2010, 11:18:22 AM »

I saw "Eat Pray Love" this past week. Nice entertainment for a summer afternoon. I didn't realize it's based on Elizabeth Gilbreath's memoir; apparently, she really did these things.

Reviewers have praised the photography and the acting - but really panned the movie. They probably don't read "fluff stuff" like Kristen Hannah, Debbie Macomber, etc.

Frybabe · « **Reply #799 on:** August 21, 2010, 11:41:02 AM »

ohhhhhhh, Pedln. Tell No One was a book I could not put down. I hope they play it here (with subtitles, of course).

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Author Topic: Movies & Books Into Movies (Read 591919 times)