Amph What was the last movie you saw?

no I watched the shorter version(still 3 hours) but discovered there is a 5 hour version today and guarantee I will watch it soon.

 

ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh you MUST watch the long one. it is the ONLY version imo. the shorter one cuts out all the weird supernatural stuff that makes it so magical.

 

The shorter version was still magical. But my stance is more Bergman. So yeah, I'll happily sit through a longer version.

 

New film Seven Phsycopaths is so so funny in places, little slow i other places. Really good film overall. 7/10

 

but i'm talking another level magical, frank. the whole thing unfurls with such stately majesty.

 

I can't wait! But I'm gonna have to find it first.

 

Brace for disappointment. McDonagh slips into sophomoric self-indulgence and makes the mistake of thinking that a film can revolve around Colin Farrell.

Even in In Bruges, he's not top-dog, it's more shared with Gleeson, and he's playing against type. Farrell is at his best when supporting a bigger presence, like in Minority Report or Crazy Heart.

 

Watched The Pianist. Man what an incredibly difficult but powerful film to watch. Yeah Adrian Brody deserved the Oscar that year. There are scenes where he isn't talking at all, and he still has an incredible presence. Maybe not the best movie to watch during the Holidays, but I'm still glad I saw it. Polanski's best film is still Chinatown though.

 

Rosemary's Baby tops my Polanski chart.

Any Bitter Moon fans out there? Surprised that hasn't got a better reputation.

 

Morning double feature:

The Jazz Singer and Singin' In the Rain

I'm not usually a fan of musicals but these two do go on the short list of the ones I like.

 

James Bond Skyfall was the last for me. I thought it good, but it was very from other bond movies.

 

Was that the Al Jolson Jazz Singer?

 

yup. 1927.

 

yeah bitter moon is pretty good. i remember the milk boobs part.

 

Phantom of the Opera at Royal Albert Hall. I have the 25th Anniversary performance DVD.

 

Finally saw Skyfall. I thought it was pretty good, way better than Quantum, but not as good as Casino Royale when it comes to Craig's Bond career IMO.

 

So, I've been posting my reviews of the short stories in Agatha Christie's Partners in Crime in the What Are You Reading thread. Now I've finished the book and I'm watching the television series from 1983 based on those stories. I'll just post some reviews here.



Agatha Christie’s Partners in Crime: The Affair of the Pink Pearl

This was the first episode of a ten episode series that aired here in the States on PBS’ Mystery! program. It featured James Warwick as Tommy and Francesca Annis as Tuppence. They’re both kind of perfectly cast, though it took me a bit longer to warm up to Annis as Tuppence. Warwick and Annis are charming, witty, sophisticated and they have fabulous chemistry. This adapts the first three stories from Christie’s book: A Fairy in the Flat, A Pot of Tea and The Affair of the Pink Pearl. It’s faithful down to the dialogue being, in some instances, lifted straight out of the text. The roaring 20s design is fantastic and the chemistry helps sell the series. The Blunt Detective Agency is just a front for crime here, not the espionage den that it was in Christie’s original set of stories and the three stories from the book that dealt with the spy game aren’t adapted for this series; all the others are, beginning with this one, which is a lot of fun. I will, of course, be skipping the usual DID I SOLVE IT section in these adaptation reviews, since I’ve read the stories. If the adaptations ever change the solution, I’ll note it; otherwise, I can hardly help, now can I, knowing the solution from the beginning?

Tony Wharmby, David Butler

Agatha Christie’s Partners in Crime: Finessing the King

Excellent adaptation on this one. They structure it a bit differently, with the clue about the newspaper headers coming far later in this episode than it does in the story, but everything else is almost exactly as it is in the story. I especially note Peter Blythe as Bingo Hale; as the wrongfully accused (or is he?) he’s wonderfully abrupt, angry and frustrated (and frustrating) in his one scene with our lead characters.

Christopher Hodson, Agatha Christie

Agatha Christie’s Partners in Crime: The House of Lurking Death

To me, it feels odd to have this story so early in the series run. It comes very late in the original short story sequence and the fact that several people die, essentially because the Beresfords screw up, is very shocking when it happens in the story. It seems to me that it needs to come later in the run. Isn’t it going to feel strange when the Beresfords are back to treating the whole thing like a silly romp next episode? Well, perhaps not. But a very creditable adaptation. “I am the flail of the Lord” is just as silly on screen as it is on the page, but the show does what it can.

Christopher Hodson, Jonathan Hales

Agatha Christie’s Partners in Crime: The Sunningdale Mystery

This was one of my favorite stories in the book, so I went into it with high hopes. They jettison the central gimmick of the story, which is that Tommy and Tuppence solve the mystery in one sitting, without leaving a restaurant in which they’re discussing the case. In this version, they go to Sunningdale, lounge about a hotel and walk around on the golf course where the murder took place. But the solving is still all second hand; all the information comes via Tommy’s narration. The show pulls off the mystery’s solution very well, without tipping their hand too early. They play perfectly fair, just like Christie does. There’s a wonderful, very dramatic moment when Tommy muses on how quiet the murder must have been; he remembers seeing men die in the War with just a moan or “a funny little cough.” Warwick really slays the moment; it’s a rare moment of seriousness and you can see the darkness lurking on the edges of the sunny little pair’s world, the darkness of what the two of them saw and experienced during World War I. Very good episode, easily right up there with The Affair of the Pink Pearl.

Tony Wharmby, Jonathan Hales, Agatha Christie

More of my stuff, go to Absolute Knave

 

North by Northwest. It was pretty good, except for some bad acting moments (the taxi driver at the beginning got me) and jarring 1959 special effects. The best part was that it was absolutely dripping with innuendo.

 

Just watched Batman: Year One

 

Flight. I suppose it was technically well-acted. But ye gods, what dark subject matter. I do not see why anyone would want to know of it.

 

You didn't like a film just because it was dark?

 

i wanted to know of it. and for the most part, it was handled very well. meaning honestly and without a whole lot of heavy-handed moralizing or sentimentality. and wasn't that whole crash sequence great? i almost yelped out loud in the theater!

 

This Means War

Reese Witherspoon's character is forced by her friend to sign up for a dating site. She ends up vying for the hearts of two CIA agents who are working on an intense mission. It was funny and not entirely predictable, and it made me just stop and watch. Few movies do that to me these days.