Movies

[Rubywolf]

The mandrake root does open up questions...

But what I think is the most curious of all is why the mother died when the mandrake burnt? Was it because her baby was connected to the mandrake or is it because her being upset at her daughter that caused a blood vessal to pop or something like that?

[Kathy Li]

You may be going to see Spiderman 3, or the third Pirates movie, but I'm waiting to see Ratatouille. What can I say? I'm a foodie. And I'm really happy that Disney's got a 9 minute chunk of the movie online.

[Elder Math]

I will start by saying I had my doubts.

PotC is everything you could hope it would be and more! It follows an old style of storytelling you just don't see too often these days and grips you at the edge of your seat as you try to figure out what twist will come next.

An incredible love story, a tale of high adventure, and the fantastic magic and mayhem any true pirate movie could possibly ask for! This movie to me has done something i've been trying to see done for a long time. The 3 movies in a row are like a Star Wars for my generation!

It's exciting to see a movie that inspires my inner storyteller to such great heights of fiery inspiration. I loved it. I could sing no higher praise for a movie.

[Dragon Writer]

I've already seen spiderman three....*wants to see pirtates of carribean but no one besides me in house wants to see it* *cries* ah well, maybe shrek...*grins* *wonders what to say about now...* what movie are you talking about? *has never heard of it before* *or if i have, i don't remember* ratoui or whatever is another no one wants to see...but everyone's laughing at the whole "he's getting on his noble steed! he's charging! he's charging! he's wielding his sword! and...he fell...and they're laughing. they're laughing at him." scene from happy n'ever after, so i may hav some hope yet! *Grins* wow.,..and i thought this post would be SHORT.

[Kathy Li]

I'm old-fashioned. For me Captain Blood still remains the best a pirate movie can be, followed by Against All Flags ('cause it's fun watching Maureen O'Hara whip Errol Flynn's butt at the fencing). The best a swashbuckler can ever get is Scaramouche (either the B&W silent 1923 version (which sticks to the book) or the 1952 color version (which doesn't), although the 1952 version has the absolute BEST fencing scene of any movie ever made--real fencing, not just staged swordfighting. Mark of Zorro (1940) comes close, but Scaramouche still beats it).

Ok, the other movie this summer that I'm really really really looking forward to (yes, even more than HPatOotP) is Stardust. It's looking exactly the way I hoped it would look--much like the original Charles Vess illustrations.

[Garrett Fitzgerald]

Originally posted by kli6:
The best a swashbuckler can ever get is Scaramouche (either the B&W silent 1923 version (which sticks to the book) or the 1952 color version (which doesn't), although the 1952 version has the absolute BEST fencing scene of any movie ever made--real fencing, not just staged swordfighting.

I'm rather partial to The Four Musketeers, for having the only swordfight I can remember where the participants had to take a break because they had worn each other out.

[marina salem]

I agree with Elder Math, that At World's End was wonderful. The first song, Hoist the Colours, was creepy-cool. It now has an official home on my computer and in my iPod .

Went to see Spiderman 3 on Monday. It was about as good as I'd expected. The scene with the editor and his meds, and the girl with the camera gave lots of laughs, if adding nothing to the plot.

The Golden Compass comes out in December (the movie, that is)! It looks wonderful, but (forgive me for being persnickety) aren't there only supposed to be twelve pictures on the edges of the alethiometer? And why is Nicole Kidman first in the credits? I thought Lyra was the main characer. Ah well. I found a trailer.

[Elder Math]

I could never get into the books for The Golden Compass, but it still looks good to me.

I was working at a book store at the time though, and it may be that I just had way too much to read. I will probably go see the movie. It looks really good.

[Birdhead]

I'm rather partial to The Four Musketeers, for having the only swordfight I can remember where the participants had to take a break because they had worn each other out.

The Princess Bride! Not quite a pirate movie but in my top three movies of all time. I'm pretty sure Inigo and the Masked Man take a break in their also-pretty-exciting swordfight on the top of the Cliffs of Despair.

[Kathy Li]

They take a break, but not because they're tired, they do the rest before the duel, and only pause for the I-am-not-left-handed bits. That's a really fun, well-written scene, but it's stage fighting, not fencing.

Hmm... El Cid has some painfully heavy/slow broadsword stuff in it, because that's the way you fight with broadswords. And there are all those bent-over-and-puffing scenes in Robin & Marian which I also love.

But I still stand by my judgment call on the '52 Scaramouche. Six and a half minutes of uninterrupted at-speed fencing. And that's just one of about six fencing scenes in the film: "The sword is like a little bird. Clutch it too tightly and you choke it. Too lightly--" (master disarms Andre-Louis) "--and it flies away..."

Marina: thanks for finding the trailer! That looks better than I was fearing (and it looks like the animators and CG folks are still desperately working to get the daemons into all the shots). Still, I do mourn the fact that the first screenplay by Tom Stoppard was tossed. DD made me green with envy by mentioning in a chat that she'd gotten to read it.

[Garrett Fitzgerald]

Originally posted by kli6:
And there are all those bent-over-and-puffing scenes in Robin & Marian which I also love.

Oh, right, it's been so long since I've seen R&M that I'd forgotten. Time to rewatch that and watch Scaramouche for the first time, I guess...

I first heard about Robin and Marian in the foreword to The Dark Knight Returns, where the author mentioned the last arrow shot to mark Robin's grave.

[Birdhead]

they do the rest before the duel... it's stage fighting, not fencing.

Oh, duh. And, yes, I know, I used to fence - I'll have to look up "Scaramouche" and have a look, that's pretty nifty!

[Dragon Writer]

spider man three rules! <span class="ev_code_WHITE">though peter is never allowed to dance in the streets again....EVER!</span> I'm serious about that last comment! *wants to see shrek three, and pirates of the caribean: at world's end but i'm probably going to have to wait till it's on tve, since no one wants to pay to see it other then me. *is sad*

[Rhi]

Believe me, you're not missing much by not seeing Shrek 3 yet. It was funny, I guess, but definitely not the best movie of the summer...Pirates of the Caribean sounds great, but I still can't see it until my dad can find the time to take me, and the schedule's lookin' pretty busy these days... *screams in frustration*

[Cress]

PIRATES WAS AMAZING!!!!!!!!! All I have to say is that multiple Jack Sparrows is godly. And that Will is trying far too hard to look like Jack at the end. The whole bandana bit? No...just no.

Emo Peter Parker makes me happy.