Movies

[Kathy Li]

You're welcome.

The best e-text site I've found is the Online Books Page. They're also listing links to two other Gaston Leroux pieces.

Personally, I think that if you like the whole French 19th-century gothic/grotesque thang, you might also wanna check out Victor Hugo's [Hunchback of] Notre Dame de Paris and The Man Who Laughs (L'homme qui rit).

[Kathy Li]

DB!

The trailer for The Fantastic Four is up on the Apple website.

[alla]

Alexander - a review.

May contain spoilers (heh who here doesn't know the story) for those who haven't seen it.

I just got back from seeing it and I would like to say that, while it wasn't the worst three hours I have ever spent in movies (Titanic gets that biscuit) it definitely wasn't the best either.

IMHO, Alexander was portrayed as much too much of a poof. I know that he was one, or thats what all the documetaries that I have seen have said, but really... I was expecting more of a story like Troy or Gladiator. I found that it was more of a documentary about his downfall when he decided to keep going east.

Colin Farrell, while he did a good job, didn't seem to convey the confidence as a leader that I expected him to. Part of that may have come from the way it was narrated, but I reckon that they could have made more of him. There was very little that let us (the audience) know why he was such a good leader; what he learnt as a boy, how he actually gained the confidence and respect of his men and so on.

Anyways. Out of 10 I would probably give this movie a 5 or so.

Alla

[Kathy Li]

Errr.. not gonna repeat my "how to do a spoiler" post (which I just posted in the "do you think Spot..." thread), but instead, will say it's at the bottom of the Board FAQ.

Never saw Alexander, but as I'm not terribly fond of Oliver Stone flicks, I can't say I'm surprised.

I also have to fall back on a Neil Gaiman quote, here, about historical films. When's the last time you watched an old historical movie, e.g., Ben Hur, and couldn't immediately pinpoint exactly when it was made? There's always a whiff of the here-and-now in any "historical" film.

[alla]

I know kathy.. I just read it. I'm sorry. But it kinda seems pointless to do an entire post like that. I won't do it in the future, 'k?

[Kathy Li]

No problem. I just thought that since I'd seen two different posts from two different folks about this in a short period of time, and the influx of newbies recently, it was worthwhile to mention the FAQ.

So, I was flipping channels the other day, and I came across this old B&W comedy on Turner Classic Movies: Maisie Was a Lady, and had a lot of fun watching it, because despite some of the old-fashionedness of it, the main stars were just a lot of fun to watch, especially Ann Sothern as the wisecracking showgirl who straightens out the rich-but-unhappy family. (Lew Ayres once again playing a gorgeous lovable drunken sot ala-Holiday, and Maureen O'Sullivan as his suicidal-after-her-no-good-fiancee-dumps-her sister).

Does anybody else like watching B&W movies?

[Kathy Li]

OMG. For anybody who loved The Nightmare Before Christmas, it looks like Burton and Selick are back. Take a gander at the trailer for The Corpse Bride.

[papercrane]

...I have issues with commitment.
Sorry for randomly appearing and disappearing; it is the way my life is going right now.
Anyway, I'm not sure if any of this has been discussed before because I was too lazy to read anything but this page, but--
Incredibles--Snappy plot, gorgeous CG.
King Arthur--Pretty nifty, if you like that sort of thing.
Phantom of the Opera--Christine was good, Raoul was annoying, Phantom didn't have the voice.
HHGG--eeee! Mark your calenders! May can't come soon enough!

re black-and-white: Of course! Arsenic and Old Lace, Abbot and Costello, To Kill a Mockingbird...what's not to love?

[alla]

Originally posted by papercrane:
Phantom of the Opera--Christine was good, Raoul was annoying, Phantom didn't have the voice.

Long time no see PPC . With that comment, I would agree with the first two, but I reckon that Gerard Butler did an awesome job as the Phantom. *shrugs* But everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

[Kathy Li]

So, I saw Elektra. It was... interesting. Much more Greg Rucka's run on the comic than Frank Miller's mind-blowing original. And Garner's just too damn charming and pouty to be a good Elektra. Plus, I missed the earrings. But overall, Terence Stamp as Stick more than made up for it.

I really kind of wish, now, though, that instead of just doing Elektra, they'd done Rucka & Amano's Elektra and Wolverine comic.

[alla]

For those Star Wars fans out there, check out this site may be of interest.

[Cress]

I LOVED Phantom of the Opera. Roaul didn't bug me, but that could be because very few characters bug me. I'd never seen any Phantom stuff before, and this made me read the book. Very good.
I saw The Aviator yesterday. One of THE most boring things I've seen, but that's because I HATE historical fiction, unless it's Renaissance or farther back. I only saw it because it was my Grandma's birthday and I had to.
Anyone here want to see Bride and Prejudice? I loved Bend It Like Beckham, and although this one looks slightly cheesy I want to see it anyway.

[Kathy Li]

Just saw B&P and loved it to absolute smithereens. It reminded me of nothing so much as Clueless in how well it understood the Austen original and made it contemporary in its own idiom. And it's beautiful. Plus it's a musical. It sort of does the same kind of making-accessible-to-a-Western audience for Bollywood that CTHD did for wu-shu movies.

And the more you know of Pride and Prejudice, the more fun it gets. Also loved that Alexis Bledel (Rory on Gilmore Girls) showed up in a small role.

Chadha just gets better and better with each film she makes. If you liked Bend It With Beckham, you might also want to try and find Bhaji on the Beach; and it looks like she's booked to direct the upcoming I Dream of Jeannie film.

[Lisa]

ThankyouallaThankyouallaThankyouallaThankyouallaTh ankyouallaThankyouallaThankyouallaThankyoualla!!!! !!!!!
AHhhh! Thank you so much for that site. I can't believe I didn't find it! So cool...(spoiler)<span class="ev_code_WHITE">It's so twisted that they're going to rescue Chancellor Palpatine, because he's really the leader of the other side too</span><span class="ev_code_WHITE">.</span>(end spoiler)
I can't wait!

[Kathy Li]

So, has everybody seen the H2G2 trailer on Amazon.com's front page? Y'know, the one with actual footage from the film?

S'fun.

But I still like The Corpse Bride trailer more.