What was the last film you watched?

[Eccentrica Gallumbits]

The Butler. Drop everything, go now, take all the tissues.

[citoyen]

Clear History.

A vehicle for Larry David, playing himself - at least, the version of himself from Curb Your Enthusiasm. So if you like Curb... well, it's just a feature length episode of that, really. Very funny.

[L CC]

Silver Linings Playbook.
Every character in this film has issues, and at first I wasn't sure I liked them, or whether the film was ridiculing serious mental illness.
It won me over.

[rogerzilla]

The Butler. Drop everything, go now, take all the tissues.

Why?  is it a porno? 

[pcolbeck]

Byzantium

Vampire movie set in Ireland.  Beautifully shot and well acted, but didn't really include anything new or of particular note.  In fact it was riddled with vampiric tropes.  Average.

Shouldn't it have been set in Istanbul ?

[Pickled Onion]

Silver Linings Playbook.
Every character in this film has issues, and at first I wasn't sure I liked them, or whether the film was ridiculing serious mental illness.
It won me over.

We saw that, from a recommendation in this thread. It was quite hard to watch at some points, for exactly the reasons you say, but ended up being a a very moving film.

[Valiant]

The girl who played with fire.

Very good film though very tv movie-esque

[Gattopardo]

The original subtitled ones or the modern british one?

[citoyen]

The Butler. Drop everything, go now, take all the tissues.

From what I know of that film, it sounds like a very similar idea to The Remains Of The Day - would that be a fair assessment?

Both the film and the book of TRotD had me blubbing like a baby at the end.

[Jaded]

Really? Which fans? I live in a household that listened to the books on audio as a family over several weeks, a chapter at a time. We did not find the 3rd book weak. There are a lot of events to cover, and unlike the bloomin Hobbit, the producers have resisted the temptation to add whole new characters and needless new plotlines.

I read an explanation for that yesterday which was that Tolkein had lots of other ideas and bits he'd written for TH and Jackson squeezed them all together into three films.

I'm boycotting TH until all three films are out on discounted BluRay.

[mrcharly-YHT]

THG - 2nd installment

Went with #1 son. I've read the books, he hasn't.  I didn't have high expectations, since many people have commented on it being a bit flat.

To the contrary, I think it is better than the first film. The lead star has opened up a lot and actually acts. The closing scene is very very good. I expect her to be slagged off for this, accused of hamming it up.

(click to show/hide)

It is a closup of just her face, displaying disbelief, grief then dissolving into fury. I thought she did this very well.

[citoyen]

I read an explanation for that yesterday which was that Tolkein had lots of other ideas and bits he'd written for TH

Yeah. And there was a reason he left them out. 

[spindrift]

Elysium. Meh. That and Oblivion are kind of similar. Both mediocre, Jodie Foster gave good evil.

[Eccentrica Gallumbits]

The Butler. Drop everything, go now, take all the tissues.

From what I know of that film, it sounds like a very similar idea to The Remains Of The Day - would that be a fair assessment?

Both the film and the book of TRotD had me blubbing like a baby at the end.

African-American man born on a cotton plantation, taken indoors to work as a "house Negro" (although that wasn't the term used in the film), goes on to work in posh hotels, then gets a job as a butler in the White House, stays there through 8 successive presidents, while all around there are civil rights struggles, the Vietnam war, the prospect of sanctions against South Africa etc. I was leaking from the eyes from quite early on and full-on sobbing by the end, but there are moment of real humour in it too. Even if you don't want to see it for the story, see it for Forest Whitaker's performance. If he doesn't get best actor at the next Oscars, there's no justice.

[rogerzilla]

It was quite fashionable to have a black butler/valet/batman in mid-20th century America.

[Valiant]

The original subtitled ones or the modern british one?

The one I got from you with the subs.

[citoyen]

African-American man born on a cotton plantation, taken indoors to work as a "house Negro" (although that wasn't the term used in the film), goes on to work in posh hotels, then gets a job as a butler in the White House, stays there through 8 successive presidents, while all around there are civil rights struggles, the Vietnam war, the prospect of sanctions against South Africa etc.

Ah. Sounds like the race angle is more significant than I realised, so probably not that much like Remains Of The Day at all.

If he doesn't get best actor at the next Oscars, there's no justice.

I can't think of any film I've seen him in that isn't improved by his presence. It's about time he got another Oscar to go with his well-deserved one for Last King Of Scotland.

[fuzzy]

African-American man born on a cotton plantation, taken indoors to work as a "house Negro" (although that wasn't the term used in the film), goes on to work in posh hotels, then gets a job as a butler in the White House, stays there through 8 successive presidents, while all around there are civil rights struggles, the Vietnam war, the prospect of sanctions against South Africa etc.

Ah. Sounds like the race angle is more significant than I realised, so probably not that much like Remains Of The Day at all.

If he doesn't get best actor at the next Oscars, there's no justice.

I can't think of any film I've seen him in that isn't improved by his presence. It's about time he got another Oscar to go with his well-deserved one for Last King Of Scotland.

Not just film.

His portrayal of Captain Jon Kavanaugh in The Shield was exceptional.

[Eccentrica Gallumbits]

He was fantastic in ER as well.

[citoyen]

His portrayal of Captain Jon Kavanaugh in The Shield was exceptional.

Yes! He was superb in that. The on-screen dynamic between him and Michael Chiklis was what really made that show.

[spindrift]

Holiday is bloody awful, Jack Black is so annoying, there is no way he'd end up with Winslett, pffft.

[Peter]

He was fantastic in ER as well.

And very good in Bird the Charlie Parker biopic by Clint Eastwood

[fuzzy]

Time Machine- the Guy Pearce, Samantha Mumba and Jeremey Irons as Uber Morlock version.

Not seen it for ages and enjoyed it again.

The time machine in this version is a fantastical prop.

[hillbilly]

Iron Man Three

Yeah baby.  Whoop whoop. Etc.

Another high tempo, action packed, enjoyable film from Marvel Studios.  Put your intellect to one side for 2 hours and it hits the spot.  I reckon it is best tackled after a couple of lagers.

It leaves me hopeful for the Disney takeover of Lucasfilm. (Please please please....)

[Ruth]

The Country Girl.

Grace Kelly, Bing Crosby, William Holden.

Bing Crosby plays an alcoholic with Oscar-worthy subtlety and depth.  The disease is portrayed with great understanding, as is co-dependency by Grace Kelly as his tortured wife.  Bill Holden is the third corner of this dysfunctional triad, set in an era of different sexual mores and gender power relationships.  The past really is another country, and it's necessary to remember that watching a film like this.

Oh, and you get to hear Bing's liquid gold singing voice, which is always a real treat.

You'd not see such an accurate and un-Hollywooded portrayal of an issue like that these days.  Silver Linings Playbook, for instance, which kind of shows what life is like with a serious mental illness, but it's still a bit 'nicey nicey'.  Take it from me, living with a psychotic person can break you, and nobody really comes close in 'Playbook'.  Whereas Country Girl is all about being broken.

What a great movie.  How did they manage to get Grace to look so dowdy?  When to me, she has always been the epitome of '50s poise, glamour and beauty. Maybe it's just that she can really act.