Films we love or hate!

Saw The Perfect Getaway over the weekend... not necessarily "tiki" but the Hawaiian backdrop is fantastic... I watched it three times just for the scenery... the story ain't too bad either...

TCM was doing a Tony Curtis film fest & at 0415 hrs Monday 10/11/10 they aired Don't Make Waves from the mid-60s all about Malibu and Muscle Beach back in the day... I recorded it of course... "Introducing Sharon Tate"!!

...and for those so inclined TCM is airing 4 solid hours of Hammer horror films every Friday in October starting at 8PM... meanwhile AMC is doing a complete zombie fest...

Shaka!

Love and hate...

I finally saw Where the Wild Things Are last night. I was surprised because the reviews I'd read had been mediocre and I really liked the film a lot. It was great looking and well shot (I've always liked Spike Jonze work whether commercials, video, or film), well written (surprised me as Dave Eggers more or less 80% bugs me), great acting, and I loved the music.

However...

It felt wrong that the movie was called Where the Wild Things Are when all they took from the book was the main character's name, the look of the characters, and some incidental elements.

It would be difficult to make a movie that was like the book Where the Wild Things Are, and a movie that was like the film Where the Wild Things Are but had a different look to the creatures would still probably seem based on element from the book. But this movie could have had a a different title. I wish it had been called The World All Around, or In and Out of Weeks or even Max and the Wild Things. Then I wouldn't feel that the book got seriously abused during the wild rumpus.

i got that dvd for my wife to watch but she couldn't watch it... never really said why...

[ Edited by: Lokepa 2010-10-11 07:32 ]

If she loves the book I'd guess she doesn't want the film version to intrude on the world of the book that she has in her mind. My immediate reaction when I heard a movie of Where the Wild Things Are was being made was "Why?"

Making movies based on children's books like Wild Things or The Cat In The Hat generally seems particularly stupid and crass. Anyone can read these sorts of books if they want. Almost everyone who has read them has their own "movie" of the book in their head.

Most movie versions of kids books seem to be made because there's already a built in audience for the movie, not because of any art or love of the source. I don't think that's exactly the situation with the movie of Where the Wild Things Are though I'm sure the millions of fans of the book had something to do with the movie getting made.

Last week I saw a British film made in 1945 I'd never heard of I Know Where I'm Going.

It's basically a love story that mostly occurs on the Isle of Mull in Scotland. The film is more than a bit schmaltzy in places (and has an odd narrated beginning which feels tacked on), but it's fairly well shot and acted.

A lot of the film was shot on Mull and the film feels really Scottish without being quaint and cliche. It'd be a great rainy afternoon movie, particularly with some whisky and/or tea at hand.

The DVD had a lot of bonus features worth watching including a collection of photos made by one of the directors, Michael Powell, during the production and a short film about I Know Where I'm Going made by a film maker who is a fan of the movie.

I thought many of the same things,The movie had a great look,I thought Spike Jonze
pulled off the Monsters very well,but all the characters were so dysfunctional
and it changed the tone of the story from the book drastically
so my only problem with the movie was the story.

[ Edited by: Atomic Tiki Punk 2010-10-11 12:00 ]

Sneakin' In The Movies

On 2010-10-11 11:51, woofmutt wrote:
Last week I saw a British film made in 1945 I'd never heard of I Know Where I'm Going.

It's basically a love story that mostly occurs on the Isle of Mull in Scotland. The film is more than a bit schmaltzy in places (and has an odd narrated beginning which feels tacked on), but it's fairly well shot and acted.

A lot of the film was shot on Mull and the film feels really Scottish without being quaint and cliche. It'd be a great rainy afternoon movie, particularly with some whisky and/or tea at hand.

The DVD had a lot of bonus features worth watching including a collection of photos made by one of the directors, Michael Powell, during the production and a short film about I Know Where I'm Going made by a film maker who is a fan of the movie.

I only watch Scottish Love Stories filmed in the "Isle of Skye" those "Isle of Mull" movies were really second tier.

looking forward to the Girl Who Played With Fire... #1 in my netflix que!

"The Hangover"

Loved it. Bought the DVD. Plot is so stupid and convoluted, LOL is inevitable, repatedly. A masterpiece of cpmic screenwriting.

when I saw the Hangover in the theater, I left with my ribs hurting and
physically exhausted from laughing so much.

then when I saw it on tv with my dad,
it didn't seem as funny.

I don't know why.
maybe it was because of all the other people in the theater laughing too.

Jeff(btd)

I love that line:

I married a whore! LOL!

okay saw the Girl Who Played With Fire... maybe its because i read the book but not as good as i thought it was gonna be.. Noomi Rapace is just too much as "the girl"

...let's see how they handle "Hornet's Nest"