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| Kate |
 Posted: Sat Apr 04, 2009 9:22 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 1397
Location: Pacific Northwest
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Befade wrote: Quote: Kristen Stewart was so painfully bad in Twilight
How can you say that? I loved her.
Why do people always have to have differing opinions? 
Betsy - we will have to agree to disagree, I really disliked Twilight, thought it was quite amateurish and poorly done.
No hard feelings I hope. We will always have our united dislike for Pretty Woman - yech. |
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| Marc |
| Posted: Sat Apr 04, 2009 11:15 pm |
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Joined: 19 May 2004
Posts: 8424
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ADVENTURELAND is tanking at the box office. I encourage everyone to see it.
This film deserves an audience. It grossed a measly $2.7 million on Friday while trash like THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS did $30 million.
Trust me, ADVENTURELAND is the kind of film that you will savor and recommend to friends. It's a shame that it's not doing well. One critic described it as a John Hughes film directed by Truffaut. Spot on. |
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| Earl |
| Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2009 12:08 am |
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Joined: 09 Jun 2004
Posts: 2621
Location: Houston
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Marc wrote: ADVENTURELAND is tanking at the box office. I encourage everyone to see it.
This film deserves an audience. It grossed a measly $2.7 million on Friday while trash like THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS did $30 million.
Trust me, ADVENTURELAND is the kind of film that you will savor and recommend to friends. It's a shame that it's not doing well. One critic described it as a John Hughes film directed by Truffaut. Spot on.
Well, Joe and I added to the box office take this evening. At his suggestion, I met him for a showing of it tonight and I'm very glad he suggested that. It's a wonderful movie. I'm still grinning while thinking about it. I believe Joe liked it, too. Maybe a little less than I did, but I'm not sure of that.
Although I live in Houston now, I'm a native Pennsylvanian and in 1987 would have been only a few years older than the movie's main character. Much of what I saw in Adventureland, which takes place near Pittsburgh, connected with me on a personal level. Replace "amusement park" with "fast food" as the setting, and the movie almost could have been a story of my late teens. Except the main character got to second base way more than I did. |
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"I have a suspicion that you are all mad," said Dr. Renard, smiling sociably; "but God forbid that madness should in any way interrupt friendship." |
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| Earl |
| Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2009 12:14 am |
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Joined: 09 Jun 2004
Posts: 2621
Location: Houston
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billyweeds wrote: I will definitely be seeing Adventureland--not only for the sweet story and the reportedly charming lead actors but also for the presence of Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig, two of the most prodigiously funny actors of the millennium. They apparently play a crazy married couple and the prospect is mouth-watering.
Kate et al--The rave review in The Village Voice talks specifically about how director Greg Mottola has brought out depths in Stewart's acting that were never visible or apparently possible from her work in Twilight. Mottola directed Superbad and The Daytrippers, two superb comedies of totally different styles. He's a major talent.
First, Bill Hader is already a mortal lock to get a Blanche nomination from me in the Supporting Actor category. He steals every scene he's in.
Second, totally agree with your summation of the V.V. review. I haven't seen Twilight and have no desire to see it. But Kristen Stewart is excellent in Adventureland. |
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"I have a suspicion that you are all mad," said Dr. Renard, smiling sociably; "but God forbid that madness should in any way interrupt friendship." |
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| Rod |
| Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2009 8:45 am |
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Joined: 21 Dec 2004
Posts: 2944
Location: Lithgow, Australia
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| Finally saw Milk. With a crowd composed of at least 50% Blue Mountains hippie-lesbian couples who gave a hoot of delight at the line, "I've been saying what we need around here is some tough dykes!" I loved the film, by far my favorite of last year's Oscar bait, apart from that cheesy foreshadowing with the opera villain who looks like Josh Brolin: a real clanger from the otherwise astute Van Sant. But the film captures that '70s late-era-hippie atmosphere perfectly - though of course my family wasn't of quite this social subset, so much of the energy and the DIY idealism was rawly familiar from my knee-high days. |
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A long time ago, but somehow in the future...It is a period of civil war and renegade paragraphs floating through space. |
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| daffy |
| Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2009 9:30 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 1939
Location: Wall Street
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| Syd |
| Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2009 10:24 am |
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Site Admin
Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 12921
Location: Norman, Oklahoma
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Not as impressive as Werner Herzog eating his shoe. |
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I had a love and my love was true but I lost my love to the yabba dabba doo, --The Flintstone Lament |
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| Befade |
| Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2009 12:09 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: AZ
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Quote: No hard feelings I hope. We will always have our united dislike for Pretty Woman - yech.
Of course, no hard feelings Kate.......And you can never express dislike for Pretty Woman enough times! |
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Lost in my own private I dunno. |
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| Befade |
| Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2009 12:14 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: AZ
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Quote: I'm a native Pennsylvanian and in 1987 would have been only a few years older than the movie's main character. Much of what I saw in Adventureland, which takes place near Pittsburgh, connected with me on a personal level.
I didn't know that Earl. Where? I grew up in Pgh (Ben Avon Hgts.). and still go back to visit my brother (Monroeville) and father. My brother is not a movie buff but for Christmas I always give him a dvd of a movie made in Pgh. (Smart People, Wonderboys) Now I can plan for next Christmas. And I'm sold on seeing Adventureland. |
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Lost in my own private I dunno. |
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2009 6:07 pm |
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I liked Pretty Woman a lot, but I'm not one who gives a shit if it is accused of giving girls a bad message about whores finding a pot of gold. If kids are so stupid as to even think that`s what the message of the movie is, then they are beyond worrying about.
The movie is a fairy tale and doesn`t pretend to be anything else. An enjoyable fairy tale. |
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| Marc |
| Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2009 6:11 pm |
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Joined: 19 May 2004
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| By the way, ADVENTURELAND has a terrific 80s rock and roll soundtrack. Lou Reed, Husker Du, Nick Lowe....There's a scene in which Reed's song "Satellite Of Love" is used to lovely effect. As is The Replacements "Bastards Of Young." |
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| Joe Vitus |
| Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2009 7:05 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: Houston
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I found the emphasis on Reed to be a mistake. Not because I don't like him, but because among young people in the late 80's, 70's nostalgia had not kicked in. Most young people were in the midst of a 60's nostalgia thing and listened to that music, with a special emphasis on Jim Morrison. The only seventies recordings with a big impact were those of Bruce Springsteen.
I enjoyed the movie, it has a push-pull atmosphere between romanticism and sarcasm, which is absolutely right for the emotions the characters feel. At times the park is shot like a ghetto, at other times it resembles the famous cover art for The Great Gatsby.
It seems to be intentionally reacting against improbable teen shows like Dawson's Creek where the teens have a perception and ability to verbalize their emotions well beyond their years, spewing forth gallons of adult verbiage. The characters in Adventureland can barely get out a halting sentence about their inner feelings and the events in their lives, and what they say barely covers what they're experiencing. It comes across very real, and gives the movie a wallop of emotion.
It also makes a really savvy point through Ryan Reynolds' character. He's older, so he has the advantage over every boy in the park. They come to him for advice, but he's also competition. When you're in high school and the first few years of college, this is often the case, but I don't remember anyone ever emphasizing it before. And it's a a testement to the movie's subtle approach that it simply presents, it doesn't bludgeoningly encunciate this dynamic.
My biggest gripe with the movie is hinted at with my comment about "high school and the first years of college." This is the mental level/world experience the characters mirror. But they are supposedly older than that. The lead has just graduated from college and in going on to grad school. Yet his major preoccupation is that he's still a vigin. And it's clear from one scene that he's never learned how to lead into a kiss with a girl. These are not the problems of college graduates on average, and don't fit these characters in particular. The movie would work better if the characters were between 17 and 21.
Nevertheless, it's a wonderful movie. Earl said if you replace amusement park with fast food and you have his own experience. For me it's replace amusement park with a record store. There was much I could relate to in this movie. |
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| warpedgirl17 |
| Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2009 9:02 pm |
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Joined: 06 Jan 2009
Posts: 51
Location: Salt Lake City,Utah
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Marc wrote: ADVENTURELAND is tanking at the box office. I encourage everyone to see it.
This film deserves an audience. It grossed a measly $2.7 million on Friday while trash like THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS did $30 million.
Trust me, ADVENTURELAND is the kind of film that you will savor and recommend to friends. It's a shame that it's not doing well. One critic described it as a John Hughes film directed by Truffaut. Spot on.
I really want to see Adventure Land. Kirsten Stewart is a great actress and it seems like a fun story. I'm surprised it's not doing as well as I thought too. |
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I read somewhere... how important it is in life not necessarily to be strong... but to feel strong.- Christopher McCandless(Into The Wild) |
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| Joe Vitus |
| Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2009 9:04 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: Houston
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| Same here. Although the screening room filled up some during the previews, it was mostly empty when the house lights went down. |
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| carrobin |
| Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2009 9:17 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 7795
Location: NYC
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OK, "Adventureland" is next on my agenda. I haven't had time for a movie in a while (seems like I have even less time now that I'm freelancing), but the coming week could be easier.
A query for those with long movie memories. Today TCM showed "The President's Analyst," which I admit is not a Current Film, but if it had been released in the past eight years, its view of ruthless and paranoid government spy agencies, not to mention assassins of various nationalities running amok in the USA, wouldn't have seemed so amusingly satirical. Anyway, my question is---
When I first saw the film, when it came out originally, there was a scene in which James Coburn, on the run in Greenwich Village, ducked into a crowded little movie theater. He made his way to a center seat for the best hiding place, and started to watch the screen. The audience around him was gazing in horror and fear, but as he watched--and we saw only the audience, so we didn't know what was on their screen--he smiled, then he giggled, and then he laughed out loud. The other audience members started looking at him angrily, and he got up and left.
Now, I have not seen that scene again in any TV showing of the film. And I figured, if it wasn't in the TCM version, I must have gotten it mixed up with some other movie. But I'm 99.5 percent certain it was "The President's Analyst." So does anyone else remember that scene?
P.S. A great little moment was when Coburn asks William Daniels why, if he's such a peace-loving liberal, he has two guns and his wife takes karate. "When those crazy conservatives give up their guns, then us liberals will lay ours down too." replies Daniels. And that was in the 60s... |
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