This Old Blog

I apologize for being away so long. This blog just wasn't functioning as the communication tool I hoped it would be, so I moved on to other blogging topics. See http://britishtelly.wordpress.com/ for my most recent effort. But now I'm hoping resurrection may be possible.

I would like to encourage anyone from the Brunswick (OH) Library Film Discussion Group (or any other film discussion group for that matter) to comment here on any film or film-related topic they would like to discuss in-between meetings. Seen the best movie of the summer or your life? Add it to the comments. Want to write a review or expand on a topic? Say so in the comments and I can add you to the contributor list, just like our friend, Mr. Abookire.

There may be life in this old blog yet. Hope to hear from you soon!

Robin Hoods?

If you're from a certain demogarphic there are icons that inform your world view - granted, some world views are smaller than others and don't include film - My world includes the somewhat mythic character of Robin Hood and his various manifestion in film: Errol Flynn's The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) classic being the measure for my cohort.

There are others. The 1950s TV series, a show I remember enjoying as a boy.

More recent incarnations:

Robin and Marian (1976) directed by Richard Lester with Sean Connery, Nicole Williamson and Audrey Hepburn.

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) directed by Kevin Reynolds with Kevin Costner, Morgan Freeman, Alan Rickman, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio and Christian Slater was also fun if a little too Land of the Ewoks in the forest.

But I think an overlooked film is Robin Hood, also a 1991 production, directed by John Irvin with a great cast including Peter Bergin, Uma Thurman, Jeroen Krabbe, Jurgen Prochnow and Edward Fox. It has the verasimilitude and spice of a Tony Richardson's Tom Jones and Richard Lester's The Three Musketeers and is plain good fun.

Overall recommended.

One Film to Rule Them All

Private desert island
Originally uploaded by Warren Parsons

A member of our group suggested we discuss the following question - "If you could recommend only one film to someone, what would it be?" That question made me think of the party game "Desert Island" wherein you are asked to compile a very select list of movies and books you would like to have with you if you were going to be stranded for an undetermined amount of time. According to the Flick Filosopher article I've linked below, these films should be movies you never get tired of watching, that on each additional viewing you find something new, and that you are always entertained even by the familiar elements.

These are slightly different tasks I suppose. Choosing what you would enjoy for your own entertainment while sitting under a palm tree for who knows how long requires a different perspective than making a recommendation to another person who may not have the same tastes. In this case your choice should probably be as universal as possible in its importance and appeal.

Regardless of the situation, what is your ultimate film - the one that never disappoints, always entertains, and still manages to surprise you in little ways? Share it here or, if you are local, join us at the next Brunswick (OH) Library Film Discussion Group meeting on Thursday, December 17 at 6:30 pm.

http://www.flickfilosopher.com/flickfilos/articles/desertisland.shtml

Actors You'd Watch in Anything

Entertainment Weekly Magazine had an piece on-line recently listing the 50 actors they'd watch in any film or other project. In browsing through the slideshow, I found myself nodding enthusiastically about many of the choices. A majority of the names on the list I agree are fine actors that can always be counted on to pull out an exceptional performance regardless of the overall quality of the project. A few people tend to annoy me so I usually avoid watching their movies (Will Ferrell, too silly, and Daniel Day-Lewis, too intense, for example) but I can recognize their talent- in fact I loved Will Ferrell in Stranger than Fiction which isn't his normal type of vehicle.

What follows is a list of my top 10 actors I'd watch in anything, drawn from the EW list with a few exceptions that I believe were notable oversights. My list is alphabetical. I'll follow each name with a film or two that makes me love to watch that actor. Feel free to comment on my choices or list your own. Also, check out the links to the original EW list.
*denotes my choice not on EW list.

1. Amy Adams -Sunshine Cleaning, Doubt, Catch Me If You Can

2. Steve Carell - Little Miss Sunshine, 40 Year Old Virgin, The Office, Bruce Almighty

3. Laura Linney - You Can Count On Me, The Savages, Love Actually

4. James McAvoy - Last King of Scotland, Starter for Ten, Becoming Jane, Macbeth (in Shakespeare Re-told) *

5. Bill Nighy - Love Actually, State Of Play, Blow Dry, Gideon's Daughter

6. Simon Pegg - Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, How to Lose Friends and Alienate People

7. Alan Rickman - Sense and Sensibility, Die Hard, Snowcake, Bottle Shock

8. Emma Thompson - Sense and Sensibility, Love Actually, The Remains of the Day, Dead Again

9. Julie Walters - Educating Rita, Driving Lessons, Billy Elliot, Harry Potter films *

10. Kate Winslet - Iris, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Sense and Sensibility

http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20315966,00.html

http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20316004,00.html

Page to Screen

I saw the list below on-line today and thought it very appropriate for a library-sponsored film discussion group to consider film adaptations of novels. Weigh in on the list or add your own examples. What is your favorite faithful adaptation? Have you been infuriated by a particularly heinous interpretation of one of your favorite books?

The 25 Best Book to Film Adaptations according to Telegraph.co.uk

1. GREAT EXPECTATIONS
Published: 1860-1861 Film adaptation: 1946
Director: DAVID LEAN

2. WUTHERING HEIGHTS by EMILY BRONTË
Published: 1847 Film adaptation: 1939
Director: WILLIAM WYLER

3. TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD by HARPER LEE
Published: 1960 Film adaptation: 1962
Director: ROBERT MULLIGAN

4. DOCTOR ZHIVAGO by BORIS PASTERNAK
Published: 1957 Film adaptation: 1965
Director: DAVID LEAN

5. THE LEOPARD by GIUSEPPE TOMASI DI LAMPEDUSA
Published: 1958 Film adaptation: 1963
Director: LUCHINO VISCONTI

6. THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS by THOMAS HARRIS
Published: 1988 Film adaptation: 1991
Director: JONATHAN DEMME

7. DANGEROUS LIAISONS (Les Liaisons Dangereuses) by PIERRE CHODERLOS DE LACLOS
Published: 1782 Film adaptation: 1988
Director: STEPHEN FREARS

8. THE BIG SLEEP by RAYMOND CHANDLER
Published: 1939 Film adaptation: 1946
Director: HOWARD HAWKS

9. THE 39 STEPS (The Thirty Nine Steps) by JOHN BUCHAN
Published: 1915 Film adaptation: 1935
Director: ALFRED HITCHCOCK

10. THE PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODIE by MURIEL SPARK
Published: 1961 Film adaptation: 1969
Director: RONALD NEAME

11. MOBY-DICK by HERMAN MELVILLE
Published: 1851 Film adaptation: 1956
Director: JOHN HUSTON

12. BRIGHTON ROCK by GRAHAM GREENE
Published: 1938 Film adaptation: 1947
Directors: John and Roy Boulting

13. DRACULA by BRAM STOKER
Published: 1897 Film adaptation: 1931
Director: TOD BROWNING

14. THE DAY OF THE JACKAL by FREDERICK FORSYTH
Published: 1971 Film adaptation: 1973
Director: FRED ZINNEMANN

15. ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT by ERICH MARIA REMARQUE
Published: 1929 Film adaptation: 1930
Director: LEWIS MILESTONE

16. EMPIRE OF THE SUN by J.G BALLARD
Published: 1984 Film adaptation: 1987
Director: STEVEN SPIELBERG

17. TRAINSPOTTING by IRVINE WELSH
Published: 1993 Film adaptation: 1996
Director: DANNY BOYLE

18. APOCALYPSE NOW (Heart of Darkness) by JOSEPH CONRAD
Published: 1902 Film adaptation: 1979
Director: FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA

19. NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN by CORMAC McCARTHY
Published: 2005 Film adaptation: 2007
Directors: JOEL AND ETHAN COEN

20. THE REMAINS OF THE DAY by KAZUO ISHIGURO
Published: 1989 Film adaptation: 1993
Director: JAMES IVORY

21. THE SHINING by STEPHEN KING
Published: 1977 Film adaptation: 1980
Director: STANLEY KUBRICK

22. THE HARRY POTTER SERIES by J.K ROWLING
Published: 1997-2007 Film adaptationS: 2001-2011
Directors: CHRIS COLUMBUS, ALFONSO CUAR”N, MIKE NEWELL, DAVID YATES

23. THE HEIRESS (Washington Square) by HENRY JAMES
Published: 1880 Film adaptation: 1949
Director: WILLIAM WYLER

24. SCHINDLER’S LIST (Schindler’s Ark) by THOMAS KENEALLY
Published: 1982 Film adaptation: 1993
Director: STEVEN SPIELBERG

25. THE LORD OF THE RINGS SERIES by J.R.R TOLKIEN
Published: 1954-1955 Film adaptation: 2001-2003
Director: PETER JACKSON

Art House or Your House?

My husband and I took our son to summer orientation at Ithaca College in New York state earlier this week. Since the parents had evenings free, we decided to see a movie I had been waiting for that was not going to arrive at our local cineplex, Away We Go. And while I could make this post about the film, which I did enjoy by the way, I wanted to tell you more about the actual experience of viewing a movie in an art-house theater located in a college town (two colleges to be accurate since Ithaca is also the home of Cornell).

First of all, we had to find the place. When asked for directions by my husband, the woman who answered the phone at at the theater was apparently hard of hearing, very anti-customer service or just wanted the location to remain a secret. We set off with only a Green Street address and a dream that we would enjoy indie cinema that evening. After passing up and down the street twice with no glimpse of a movie marquee, we decided to park in a municipal parking garage and take to the street in hopes of finding someone who would reveal the site of the secret lair known as Cinemapolis. Low and behold, as we were descending the stairs of the garage, tucked quietly underneath the parking structure, was a little storefront building with "Cinemapolis" written out in poster paints on the windows.

After the older gentleman who worked at the ticket window (which we missed because he wasn't manning it at the time) returned from comforting his dog who happened to be tied up with rope under the shelter of the parking garage, we told him which movie we wanted to see. He took our money and handed us what looked to be generic tickets from a roll with "Admit One" printed on them. I assume he had a tally system going somewhere to keep track of which of the five movies people where attending.

There was a small concession stand which we bypassed. When we entered the designated door for our movie, we felt that we were entering someone's basement home theater. To our right were about four rows of seats very close up to the screen and then up a few stairs to the left were probably another seven or eight rows. Fresh paint, nice seats, smallish screen, in other words, no frills.

Everyone, about 20 in all, chose to sit in the section farther back from the screen, so it was rather cozy. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy seeing a movie with an audience, as long as the people sitting closest by don't giggle at every remotely funny line or "awww..." at each sweet sentiment expressed by one of the characters on screen. Of course this could happen at any theater across the country, but it happened at Cinemapolis so it goes into this post. To top it off, the print of the film was not great with a line, and sometimes multiple ones, running through the picture throughout the whole movie. I'm sure that was not the fault of the teenage boy who was dashing from theater to theater to thread the projectors.

After telling this story, I realize I sound cynical, set in my ways and seem to possess no sense of adventure. But I tell the story because it was an adventure and different from our experiences watching films in the corporate cineplexes or on DVD at home. Each type of venue has its advantages and setbacks. I am glad Ithaca has this non-profit, independent film theater and I'm sure the community does too. It brings movies to the area don't meet the profit expecations of the mainstream cineplex. Quirky, controversial, experimental movies should probably been seen in places that employ quirky staff, viewed in quarters that aren't too luxurious and with people who may not agree with your ideas of the world.

If you have an unforgettable movie viewing experience you would like to share (tales from the Cedar Lee, perhaps?), leave a comment on this blog, or if you live in the Medina County, Ohio area, join us on Thursday, July 23, 2009 at 6:30 pm at the Brunswick Library (Hickory Room) for our monthly Film Discussion Group meeting.

Road Trip Movies

I recently watched The Lucky Ones on DVD starring, Tim Robbins, Rachel McAdams and Michael Pena about three soldiers home on leave from the war in Iraq. While I had a few minor problems with it, I realized what I enjoyed most about this film was the road trip aspect of the story. Three virtual strangers travelling across the country, slowly opening up to one another, becoming friends in close quarters in a very short period of time.

It got me thinking about the many road trip movies I like and I have to say my favorite is Little Miss Sunshine: that dysfunctional family, that broken down VW bus and the dreams of a 10 year old girl forcing everyone along for the ride and, in the end, bringing the family together

What is your favorite road trip movie? Let me know by commenting on this blog or bring your opinions to the next Brunswick (Ohio) Library Film Discussion Group meeting on Thursday, June 25 at 6:30 pm in the Sycamore Room.