ysbreker

Movie/TV recommendations

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Since what I read discussed Miyazaki and I wasn't aware of the Sci-Fi adaptation, I doubt it. Apparently she was at first told Miyazaki Sr. would direct and then that Jr. would direct, but Sr. would oversee the project and have a big influence. Apparently Sr. wasn't really involved. Anyway, it's a long time ago and I haven't even read the books.

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Ah, here we go.

Seems she thought it again deviated too much from the source - although she understands that movies and books are different, she rightly gets pissed off when film-makers change the message of the novels and replace it with one of their own. As she told Goro Miyazaki "Yes. It is not my book. It is your movie. It is a good movie."

So she doesn't blast it as much as the scifi channel's attempt and seems to like it well enough as a stand-alone film. Although not as much as thoise made by Miyazaki Senior (you were right about that).

edit: LeGuin is a great voice for telling hollywood et al why it is that fans get so pissed off about movie adaptations of books and games. She talks about they way in which they take the names and sometimes appearance of characters and apply them to essentially a compeltely different character with "entirely different temperaments, histories, and destinies"

I hope at least someone in Hollywood listens.

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http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1809761737/video/3631941/standardformat/

Be kind rewind trailer :)

Jerry (Jack Black) is a junkyard worker who attempts to sabotage a power plant he suspects of causing his headaches. But he inadvertently causes his brain to become magnetized, leading to the unintentional destruction of all the movies in his friend's (Mos Def) store. In order to keep the store's one loyal customer, an elderly lady with a tenuous grasp on reality, the pair re-create a long line of films including The Lion King, Rush Hour, Ghostbusters, When We Were Kings, Back to the Future, Driving Miss Daisy, and Robocop , putting themselves and their townspeople into it. They become the biggest stars in their neighborhood.

directed by Michel Gondry

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Thanks for the tip, Spaff! That looks like an incredibly cool movie (Just like all his other movies)

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Ooo, I need to see that. Michel Gondy, Jack Black & Mos Def. It looks funny as hell.

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News of a new Gondry film makes me perky.

Also, the minesweeper trailer is awful, except for the "Why are you here soldier?" joke, which is brilliant :)

Nothing to raise you with. I fold.

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I saw Sunshine and Ocean's 13 yesterday.

Ocean's 13 is getting a bit old. I mean the whole idea of a team of pro thiefs robbing a casino is fun and all. But after 3 times you know the drill, really. Still it's got a great cast but I somehow didn't get the same vibe like you had with the first one. A bunch of actors having a lot of fun and also make a nice movie in the process.

Sunshine on the other hand was a really great sci-fi movie. I really liked the entire setting of the movie. Great acting, superb camera work. I really like the directing of Danny Boyle.

I can understand that some people have trouble with the last part of the movie but I still liked it all very much.

Fun fact: The science advisor of the movie also features in an awesome documentary about the why and how of the LHC they are building and fire up this year at CERN, Switzerland. This documentary is incredibly interesting and very much worth watching.

Do so! Educate yourself!

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Got a copy of Smokin' Aces mixed in with some deal HMV was running earlier this week and decided to watch it tonight after getting home from the bar as I was in the mood for something mindless and fun. I'm lucky I wasn't drunk while watching it, because it would have been ridiculously hard to follow otherwise. That was a hell of a lot better than I expected. Some shouts of joy were had, a few gasps, and I've decided that I really like Ryan Renolds. He actually put in an extremely solid performance, and combined with Half Nelson has now proven in my mind that he's a very talented actor. It was a lot of fun, and I'd recommend it for anyone who's out for a movie that just lets you enjoy the spectacle for a while. Not replacing Starship Troopers as my favorite movie for such situations, but it's up there.

Also, a friend has told me to track down a copy of Cinema Paradiso, as he claims that my love life is a combination of this and Eternal Sunshine. Has anyone seen it and can you tell me if this is good or not? Also, how's the movie? I noticed it in a 2 for $20 deal when I was getting that pack that had Smokin' Aces in it, so if it's worth the $10 that it would cost me, I'll probably just pick it up.

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Also, a friend has told me to track down a copy of Cinema Paradiso, as he claims that my love life is a combination of this and Eternal Sunshine. Has anyone seen it and can you tell me if this is good or not? Also, how's the movie?

The movie is fairly good but it's MASSIVELY over-rated. There was a poll (Guardian?) that had it listed as the best foreign-language film ever, which is ridiculous. It's been a while since I watched it but it was kind of sappy and sentimental.

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Sunshine... It's very well directed, very well shot, the sets are very well done, sound is used interestingly and the premise is excellent. However, the script is problematic throughout and gets into Matrix Reloaded-levels of stupidity near the end.

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The movie is fairly good but it's MASSIVELY over-rated. There was a poll (Guardian?) that had it listed as the best foreign-language film ever, which is ridiculous. It's been a while since I watched it but it was kind of sappy and sentimental.

Just finished watching it about 15 minutes ago. As such, my response:

Perhaps, and definitely not the best ever, but as a projectionist, I can see why my friend told me to see it. Honestly, the theater I'm running is about as close as you can get around here to the Paradiso. Tiny little independent art theater struggling to stay afloat surrounded by cineplexes. I can see way too much of myself in that movie, and when the Paradiso is demolished at the end, I teared up because I could very easily see coming back to Calgary after finishing my degree and watching the same thing happen to the Uptown. Hit really close to home for me in a lot of ways. While I can understand the sappy and sentimental angle you see it from, I could really relate and saw it as far more honest than overwrought. Maybe I just love my theater way too much, but there it is.

Also, massive credit to this film for being the first movie to make me cry since I was 4 years old watching Bambi's mother get shot.

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Just saw 'Death Proof' yesterday and, as mentioned earlier, HOLY FUCK! Most fun I had in a cinema ever. Not the best movie but so much joy and satisfaction and giggle. And millions of movie-references I didn’t get, but that wasn’t a problem.

Sadly, due to foreign stupidity we didn't get the whole 'Grindhouse' in one piece and now I have to wait for the second half six long weeks.

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Oh man, I just discovered the funniest Tv show! Flight of the conchords!

It's a musical comedy about three guys from new zealand. Who live in New York and play in a band. Well two of the guys play in the band and the thrid guy is their manager. It's hilarious stuff. Every episode they break out in song & dance at random moments. It's hilarious stuff.

Here's a sample:

And this one is from the HBO comedy special:

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Thanks Ysbreker - I'd seen the name around but knew nothing about the show at all. On you;re recommendation I've now wathced four episodes and a few of their TV appearances. The Mugging episode is my favourite so far :tup:

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OK, sparky, here's the deal:

Season 1 of Heroes started airing officially in the UK about a month or so back, and last night we got to see episode 6. But I'm terribly vexed...

Please, could someone tell me when my trousers are supposedly meant to burst into flame with amazement? Because as of right now, Heroes is so eye-rollingly predictable and simplistic, I've no impetus to continue watching at all.

Which makes me very pissed off, because there's fuck-all else to watch and I really wanted to like this series. :(

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When sylar gets on the scene big-time, it picks up a lot. We haven't even "saved the cheerleader" yet. Remember there are 23 episodes, so by show 6 it's still just warming up

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Thanks, Dan. I'll stick with it for the moment then.

On the plus side: the new series of Saxondale starts tonight on BBC2. Didn't get further than the first couple of episodes last time around, but I'll give it a second chance--just for Thrik.

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