Testy Area 51 (2 Viewers)

[Ruz-El]

You might get a kick out of it Steve. It has some decent set pieces and a flying pirate ship. It all just added up to meh for me. I'm fussy though.

Did you see Hugo? Has anyone? I nearly went then didn't. I might still go if it's in the theaters. All the noms add up to a big yahn for me. Where's X-Men: First Class? I'm being serious, that was a great movie. same as Rise Of The Apes. I mean, is that Extremely Loud, Incredibly Stupid movie going to be any better? I really doubt it. I think the Oscars are going to be a real chore to get through this year Steve!

 

[Steve Christou]

I'm going to need Turkish black coffee to stay awake thru this years Oscar borefest, I do hope Billy Crystal livens things up a bit but he is getting on a bit isn't he? They should get Chuck Norris, Jet Li and Van Damme to co-host just for a laugh.

I haven't seen Hugo but it's the only one I fancy of the bunch, The Descendants? The Artist? meh

 

[Ruz-El]

I want to like The Descendants. I've liked his other films, well, not Sideways so much but About Schmidt and Election were really good. and Citizen Ruth. I'll throw my hat in to the Tree Of Life though it can't possibly win. The Artist well sweep everything since people are so shocked that a silent film can actually be good.

 

[Ruz-El]

Originally Posted by Steve Christou /t/81187/testy-area-51/28080#post_3890618

Spielberg got snubbed at the Oscar noms, yes they decided Terence Malick did a more impressive job 'directing' The Tree of Life than Senor Spielbergo did directing War Horse. So I'm rooting for Scorsese and Hugo this year.

Speaking of Speilberg, I'm surprised Tin Tin didn't get a nom seeing as it's been nominated for other awards and won the Golden Globes. That said, I'm okay with him being snubbed. Tin Tin looks merde and the War Horse looks to be horse shit. Tree Of Life was pretentious, but fantastically so and left me thinking about it for days after. A sign he's more deserving.

 

[Steve Christou]

Here on the UK news they are making a big fuss over Gary Oldman getting his first Oscar Nomination, practically headline news. About time this great actor got some recognition from the American Academy.

Michelle Williams and Meryl Streep are also being talked about, Marilyn Monroe vs Margaret Thatcher.

 

[Ruz-El]

Marilyn will get it. Hollywood looks after it's own.

 

[Elizabeth S]

Eeek, not a very exciting Oscar race. I'm afraid the overrated "The Descendants" is going to win. I liked it, but not a rave. I'd like to see "The Artist", but not exactly running to it either. I'd rather see "Albert Nobbs", which opens this week. I haven't seen any of the Foreign Language films!! I do think "La Separation" looks really good, though. Too bad Almodovar didn't make the cut.

 

[Steve Christou]

TinTin not getting nominated in the animation category was an eyeopener, the first animated film directed by Spielberg and it hasn't been a big hit in the US either, neither was War Horse. I don't think his next film Lincoln will be breaking records either. Robopocalypse? hmmm might be a comeback in 2013.

 

[Ruz-El]

Was TinTin a hit over seas? It's a tough sell here. It's based on a French comic so automatically no one likes it. Then it's in that weird, soulless animated motion capture style that creeps everyone out. I like the TinTin comics, I've read the works, but that film is a tough sell. Same with Asterix and Blueberry, all hit Euro -comics that no one cares about in North America. The War horse is a movie called War Horse about a horse in a war... yeah, not the best year for your favourite director Steve. That said, I'd be curious about the Lincoln picture. He fights vampires right? It's based on that book? that book was pretty great!

Liz, supposedly that Almodovar film is really good and had a chance of wide appeal, so it never stood a chance for foreign film.

 

[Steve Christou]

Russ, TinTin has done much better outside the US, according to box office mojo - $72m in the US and $286m 'foreign'. War Horse has done $72m in the US and $28m foreign. Jurassic Park grossed $914m worldwide nearly 20 years ago, when he had the midas touch. And than James 'Piranha II the Spawning' Cameron took over as box office king.

 

[Ruz-El]

Ahh Cobra, how crap but so good you are!

Weird thing is Cameron made way better films then Avatar in the past, and it looks like he's making more Avatar in the future. Yaaaahhhhhhmnnnnnn! the real terrible thing about Cameron is his push for new technology means we're going to get a Hobbit film that stands completely apart in look and feel from the 12 hour Lord Of The Rings it's a prequel too. Not just shot in 3D, but at a higher frame rate. I'm all for Peter Jackson wanting to suck Cameron's tech dick, but how about do a "The Frighteners" type thing to try it out on instead of the prequel to one of the greatest films ever made?

I'm finding the movie hobby more annoying then fun these days :S

 

[Mike Frezon]

I've taken in a couple more films as I continue my recuperation from this #%$@& pneumonia/bronchitis mess.

Watched Midnight in Paris last night. I was surprised that I was so easily taken in by the fantasy part of the story. What took me out of that part of the story was when Owen Wilson's character would interfere with the past/future. Wasn't that against the "Prime Directive" on Star Trek?!? When he started suggesting plot ideas to Luis Bunuel... And, when he picked up Adriana's book at the sidewalk sale and had the lovely Carla Bruni translate the text, he certainly under-reacted when he heard his and his fiancee's name mentioned as part of her diary...

Anyway. I haven't seen many Woody Allen films in recent years...but if this is indicative of his recent work, it sure seems like much of his 70s output. Another "love song to a city" much like Manhattan. Beautifully shot with the cast simply serving to showcase Paris. My wife couldn't stop from commenting that Wilson's character might just as well have been Woody Allen--acting and sounding just like him. The weakest part of the film was the relationship between Wilson's character and his fiancee and family. The fantasy subplots were much more interesting.

I certainly wouldn't rate it as much a contender for the Oscars. Maybe for cinematography.


Also watched the Criterion release of Blow Out. I saw this film in the theater the summer of it's release (1981). I had just graduated from college.

I was thrilled with how well it held up. It had so many elements which spoke to my interests: the sfx work in films, political intrigue, pretty young ladies, etc.

Thoroughly enjoyed seeing it again and totally recommend the Criterion treatment for this release. It sounded and looked great!

 

[Ruz-El]

Originally Posted by Mike Frezon /t/81187/testy-area-51/28110#post_3891425
Also watched the Criterion release of Blow Out. I saw this film in the theater the summer of it's release (1981). I had just graduated from college.

I was thrilled with how well it held up. It had so many elements which spoke to my interests: the sfx work in films, political intrigue, pretty young ladies, etc.

Thoroughly enjoyed seeing it again and totally recommend the Criterion treatment for this release. It sounded and looked great!

I loved this one too Mike. I've not sat down to the bonus movie yet, but the other extras were pretty great. It was a blind buy for me, and made me eager to watch more DePalma.

A guy on twitter just described The artist as "Singing In the Rain minus the singing." Still not getting too excited for this one.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Originally Posted by Russell G /t/81187/testy-area-51/28110#post_3891436

I loved this one too Mike. I've not sat down to the bonus movie yet, but the other extras were pretty great. It was a blind buy for me, and made me eager to watch more DePalma.

Oooh. Thanks, Russell. I skipped over that extra completely...not realizing it was an entirely separate '67 DePalma film (Murder à la Mod).

Good to know!

 

[TonyD]

Mike, I love Blow Out. Much like I love Rocky because I grew up  in The areas those movies were filmed.
Blow Out's sound scenes in the beginning were filmed at Fairmount Park near Chestnut Hill and I drove past there and walked there a good part of my life.
It's a beautiful area.
Btw Fairmont Park up until a few years ago was (and maybe still is) the largest public park fully contained inside a city's border and is 10% of all the land in Philly.. 
For comparison it is a little bigger than 10 times the size of Central Park NY.
The window Travolta crashes into was completely fabricated for the movie it was never there. That building is the old John Wanamaker store. A store much like Gimbels was and Macy's is now.
My parents took us every year to see Santa  there every year when we were kids.
I know there are more scenes that never made it into the movie. A local fm DJ has a two second scene that at the time he said was much longer. So there is or was some film on the cutting room floor.
The same for Rocky. I lived there in that neighborhood and saw all of that everyday of my life.
These movies are a time capsule of my younger years and it's almost like watching a home movie to me.
There was nothing like being 12 years old, going to the movies to see Rocky then driving through there on the way home.

 

[Mike Frezon]

I know a little bit about Wanamakers. An epic place.

Was completely unaware about Fairmount Park however. That's HUGE! Was it designed by an engineer? Someone like Frederick Law Olmstead? Albany has a city park by Olmstead (Washington Park) which is a real jewel.

Blow Out has such a 1981 vibe going for it, too. And I had forgotten completely that John McMartin & Dennis Franz & John Lithgow were in it.

 

[Ruz-El]

John Lithgow not only has the coolest watch ever in Blow Out, but it's one of the few rolls where he exclusively uses his scary voice.

 

[TonyD]

That size info I posted is true but a bt misleading. I grabbed that info from the Park's web site.
The Fairmount park proper itself is half the size of the entire park, which is comprised of all the satellite parks that make up the entirety of Fairmountpark.
Main park is 4100 acres and about five times the size of Central.
Also......
The park grew out of the Lemon Hill estate of Henry Pratt, whose land was originally owned by Robert Morris, signer of the Declaration of Independence. It was dedicated to the public by City Council's ordinance on September 15, 1855. A series of state and local legislative acts over the next three years increased the holdings of the city, incorporating mansions, waterworks, gardens, and even territory previously set aside for the Zoological Society of Philadelphia. In 1858, the city called for a comprehensive plan and the new Fairmount Park Commission held a design competition to determine the best way to “protect and improve the purity of the Schuylkill water supply” while also creating a naturally landscaped public park.
As the site of the 1876 Centennial Exposition and the first zoo in the United States, the Philadelphia Zoo, Fairmount Park was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on February 7, 1972.

 

[RickER]

John Lithgow not only has the coolest watch ever in Blow Out, but it's one of the few rolls where he exclusively uses his scary voice.

I have been watching the 4th season of Dexter, with John Lithgow. He does creepy oh so well!

 

[Mike Frezon]

The first thing I ever remember seeing Lithgow in was The World According to Garp.

Quite memorable.