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| Ghulam |
 Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 1:28 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 4742
Location: Upstate NY
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Syd, I hate to admit it, but I did watch it on DVD with English subtitles on.
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| lissa |
| Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 7:01 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 2148
Location: my computer
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Assuming the difficulty is with the accent? Ricky Gervais, on Letterman, did a Top Ten List of Stupid Things Americans Say to Brits - and at least two of those were, "what are you saying? I can't understand you!" (one of them was "Can you say that again, but in American this time?")
Just have to get used to it - I'm going to watch Happy-Go-Lucky today (if I'm able) and will report back. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 7:39 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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Ghulam wrote: Syd, I hate to admit it, but I did watch it on DVD with English subtitles on.
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No need to apologize IMO. In the "good old days" when English movies meant Alec Guinness, John Mills, and Joan Greenwood, no one needed subtitles. But when that darned North Country accent started creeping in and even affecting London speech, it all went to hell. Now I have to wait for DVD to see most British movies or else it's a waste of time and money.
Why can't the English teach their children how to speak?
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| carrobin |
| Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 7:55 am |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
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Location: NYC
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| When I was working for the film class, the Wednesday class had Mike Leigh as a guest and he was supposed to come to our Thursday class too, but reportedly he was so incensed by the complaints that the film's dialogue had been hard to understand that he refused to return. (I think the film was "Life Is Sweet"--I enjoyed it and understood most of the dialogue, so I was very sorry to have missed him.) |
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 8:46 am |
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I plan to see Watchmen, but didn't read your review because of spoilers. I read some of the Comments. Like you I absolutely hated Se7en. When I left the theatre I was really angry that I sat through that crap. Swore to never give Fincher another penny of my money. And I haven't. I did like Sin City though. |
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| Syd |
| Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 10:27 am |
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Site Admin
Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 12929
Location: Norman, Oklahoma
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carrobin wrote: When I was working for the film class, the Wednesday class had Mike Leigh as a guest and he was supposed to come to our Thursday class too, but reportedly he was so incensed by the complaints that the film's dialogue had been hard to understand that he refused to return. (I think the film was "Life Is Sweet"--I enjoyed it and understood most of the dialogue, so I was very sorry to have missed him.)
It depends on the Leigh film. I had no trouble with Secrets and Lies, and with only one of the major characters in Naked, but I did with Happy-Go-Lucky and All or Nothing. My DVD recorder has better sound than my old DVD player, which should help.
I've lost a bit of hearing over the years, which doesn't help, and any background noise gives me problems.. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 11:44 am |
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Location: New York City
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Syd wrote: carrobin wrote: When I was working for the film class, the Wednesday class had Mike Leigh as a guest and he was supposed to come to our Thursday class too, but reportedly he was so incensed by the complaints that the film's dialogue had been hard to understand that he refused to return. (I think the film was "Life Is Sweet"--I enjoyed it and understood most of the dialogue, so I was very sorry to have missed him.)
It depends on the Leigh film. I had no trouble with Secrets and Lies, and with only one of the major characters in Naked, but I did with Happy-Go-Lucky and All or Nothing. My DVD recorder has better sound than my old DVD player, which should help.
I've lost a bit of hearing over the years, which doesn't help, and any background noise gives me problems..
I almost could have written this post myself. Secrets and Lies and Naked, no problem. Others? Big problem. |
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| mo_flixx |
| Posted: Tue Mar 17, 2009 8:35 am |
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Joined: 30 May 2004
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Ghulam wrote: Laurent Cantet's The Class won the Palm D'Or at Cannes and was nominated for an Oscar. It takes place in a school in Paris, and describes some poignant, difficult and frustrating interactions between a committed teacher and his tough multiethnic and multiracial students from a variety of backgrounds. Superbly directed and superbly acted by a real teacher and real students, watching it was a moving and unforgettable experience.
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This is an excellent film. It _seems_ like a documentary but isn't. In addition to what Ghulam writes, the film includes insights into the students' parents, many of whom are recent immigrants. |
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| Nancy |
| Posted: Tue Mar 17, 2009 9:46 pm |
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Location: Norman, OK
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| I saw Valkyrie today (it was 50 cent Tuesday at the dollar house) and was somewhat underwhelmed. It's amazing that a film whose cast includes Kenneth Branagh, Tom Wilkinson, Bill Nighy, and Terence Stamp could be this mediocre. The movie is "based on true events" about a conspiracy to assassinate Adolf Hitler. It manages to make what must have been a fascinating historical incident seem boring. There are attempts to build suspense, but most of them fail miserably. One doesn't really care about the characters or their cause. A disappointment. There was some nice scenery, though. |
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Wed Mar 18, 2009 8:40 am |
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Nancy, I suppose you weren't surprised by your underwhelmedness unless you have avoided reading any reviews of this turkey. Sadly, that's 50 cents down the drain.  |
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| Nancy |
| Posted: Wed Mar 18, 2009 2:12 pm |
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marantzo wrote: Nancy, I suppose you weren't surprised by your underwhelmedness unless you have avoided reading any reviews of this turkey. Sadly, that's 50 cents down the drain.
No, wasn't surprised. I knew it had been getting bad reviews. Just wanted to see if it was really that bad. It was. |
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| Nancy |
| Posted: Wed Mar 18, 2009 2:28 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: Norman, OK
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| On the other hand, Inkheart, which sank like a rock when it was released a few weeks ago, is not that bad. It's not great, but it's fairly good. SPOILERS: It stars Brendan Fraser as Mo Folchart, a traveling bookbinder and the single parent of a daughter with an inexplicable British accent. (I assume the accent goes with the child actress, not the character.) Mo is a silvertongue, someone who pulls characters and objects out of a book when he reads aloud. Unfortunately, when one comes out, someone from our world must take their place in the book. Mo lost his wife Resa this way, and has spent years trying to find another copy of the book to read her out again. Meanwhile, the juggler Dustfinger (Paul Bettany), who was swapped with Resa, is also trying to find the book to make Mo read him back into it. And there's a villain, Capricorn (Andy Serkis), who is bent on dominating our world with his gang of fictional characters. Jim Broadbent plays the book's author. Helen Mirren plays Resa's bookish aunt, who gets to ride a unicorn. Fraser keeps his shirt on, Bettany takes his off. Make of that what you will. There are also flying monkeys. Not entirely successful, but worth the 50 cents I paid to see it. I might even have gone as high as a dollar. |
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Wed Mar 18, 2009 2:52 pm |
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| Nancy you aren't the first one that said that. It did get very tepid reviews, but recently I read a couple of people who said it wasn't too bad, and had got unfairly bad reviews. |
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| Nancy |
| Posted: Wed Mar 18, 2009 3:18 pm |
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marantzo wrote: Nancy you aren't the first one that said that. It did get very tepid reviews, but recently I read a couple of people who said it wasn't too bad, and had got unfairly bad reviews.
I would definitely agree with that. It's certainly worth the price of a cheap matinee. |
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"All in all, it's just another feather in the fan."
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| lissa |
| Posted: Wed Mar 18, 2009 4:58 pm |
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I read Inkheart and was enchanted by it. The author is German, and the translated text read poetically; I was quite impressed by the lyricism of the writing.
The third book of the trilogy was released a few months ago; I'll read that first, then perhaps rent the movies as they are released. I'm still lukewarm on books-to-movies. |
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