FilmNight: Movies you watched recently

[JustHereForFood]

On 5/21/2024 at 5:23 PM, GHScorpiosRule said:

And once done, I went scrolling and just what popped up on my screen? Richard Chamberlain's The Count of Monte Cristo!

It has its flaws, but it's my favorite adaptation of that book (apart from one amazing stage musical, that is).

The last scene with the Count and Mercedes saying goodbye is just so heartbreaking. 

"You will never find him. He died a long time ago at the Château d'If. And much of me is buried with him. But I celebrate the Count of Monte Cristo's return to the world of men. And I wish for him, from the depths of my heart, that he will find the peace for which he yearns."

"But never, never will he find that perfect love which two young people lost so many, many years ago. Bon voyage, Countess Mondego."

[Bastet]

Terms of Endearment and its sequel, The Evening Star.  The original is a film I don't quite like enough to get on DVD, so I only watch it when I come across it on TV, which means while I have seen it numerous time that's generally only in parts.  When it came up as a recommendation on Paramount+, I figured I'd watch it in its entirety for the first time in a very long time.  Such fantastic performances, and I love the realism (including that for all its reputation as a tear-jerker, there's a refreshing lack of sentimentality).  I only remembered one scene from the sequel, so decided to re-watch that after.  A vastly inferior follow-up to be sure, but one thing I do like is the continued realism in that the kids are all messes.  Emma married Flap largely to get out of Aurora's house, so of course if she raises her three grandkids the same overbearing way on top of the fact they're traumatized by their mother's death and their father never bothering to actually parent them, they're not going to be one big happy, well-adjusted family 15 years later.

I either didn't notice or did and long since forgot that Star was written and directed by Robert Harling, the writer of Steel Magnolias.

Going back to Terms, "Give my daughter the shot!" will never cease to rock.  Shirley MacLaine kills it in that film. 

[Shannon L.]

@Bastet I was thinking of starting a topic on Terms of Endearment because I saw the last half of it a couple of weeks ago and I was struck by how many sad, but amazing, moments there were towards the end of that movie.  "Give my daughter the shot" rocked, but the way Shirley McClaine broke down after Emma died was a masterclass in acting.  The way she accepted comfort from her son in law, who she didn't particularly care for, and the fact that he offered it was touching.  When she was going through the ordeal,  her neighbor, who'd dumped her because he was afraid of the commitment, shows up for a few days to support her.  When Emma is saying goodbye to her kids ::sob::.   Her neighbor taking her granddaughter's hand and talking about dance lessons, then telling her grandson that it was ok to leave the after funeral gathering to go see his house and pool.  Such understanding from a man who was afraid of commitments.  The whole movie was great, but that final act was brilliant.

[Spartan Girl]

I watched The Evening Star years ago—had no idea that there was a sequel. It seemed so unnecessary. Except for the part when Garrett/Jack comes back to help spread Rose’s ashes. That part I liked, but everything else was meh.

[Bastet]

5 hours ago, Shannon L. said:

the way Shirley McClaine broke down after Emma died was a masterclass in acting.

Yes -- "I'm so stupid.  Somehow, I thought when she finally went, it would be a relief."  And then she and Flap, who rightly have no relationship, find a moment of comfort in each other as the two people who loved Emma most, even though neither of them did it as well as she deserved.

5 hours ago, Shannon L. said:

When Emma is saying goodbye to her kids ::sob::.

One of the few things I love about the sequel is how angry at the world Tommy still is, and I love that she took her final moment with him to say when the day comes he feels bad about how he treated her in the end, don't; she knows he loves her.

4 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

Except for the part when Garrett/Jack comes back to help spread Rose’s ashes.

I love how happy Aurora is to see him when he pops in for a surprise visit (and I love that he does; he doesn't even know about Rosie, he's just in town for an Apollo reunion, and he want to check in on her) -- there are no hard feelings about the path their relationship took, she's just thrilled to see him again.  I love her continuing to tease him about his pathetic pursuit of young women, looking at the picture of his daughter and talking as if that's the wife.  And I like when he says him having to get ready to send a daughter out into the world is what he deserves.

[Bastet]

In a completely different genre, I watched the 2001 Oscar-nominated documentary Attica, about the nation's largest prison rebellion and the massacre by law enforcement that ended it (for which no one was ever punished beyond some forced resignations).  It's so well done it's a haunting and infuriating watch; you have to be in the right mental space for it, but it's well worth your time if you are, especially if you've never previously learned much about it (certainly if you've only ever heard it called a riot, or only know it as Al Pacino's chant from Dog Day Afternoon).  I posted some details about it in the Documentaries thread.

One beautiful moment I neglected to mention there:  A survivor recounts hearing an older inmate next to him marvel, on their first night occupying the yard, "I haven't seen the stars in 22 years."  The fundamental purpose of the uprising, and thus of the film, is that being convicted felons didn't mean these men were no longer human beings, deserving to be treated as such (they were deprived of basic healthcare and hygiene, subjected to arbitrary punishments and vicious beatings, and just all-around treated and spoken to like they were subhuman [this is very much informed by the guards being white, from the farm town in which the prison sat, and most of the prisoners being Black or Puerto Rican, from NY's poor inner cities]).  Little things like that capture it so well.

[Shannon L.]

I saw Back to Black yesterday.  I knew nothing about Amy Winehouse and only knew two of her songs, although, someone would have had to tell me that she was the artist singing them. I only went because a friend I hadn't seen in a while invited me and had gift cards.

Wow. It was not good, even beyond the portrayal of Amy herself (the actress was good, though, and did a great job covering her songs).  There was nothing engaging or even interesting about it. There was very little sympathy shown for her. They showed very little of the outside forces in her life that may have made you feel a little bit for her (at best, they touched on her deep love for her grandmother-those were some nice moments). She was mostly portrayed as pushy, conceited from the beginning, and as a violent drunk.  I've scanned 2 or 3 articles and according to them, the movie was fairly accurate.  My son, however, claims that she was treated horribly by the press (they did show some of that) and taken advantage of by the industry by forcing her to perform knowing that she had a drug and alcohol problem (you didn't see much of her manager or other industry people). 

I just don't know what to think. It was just a bit boring and I left not caring much for her at all.

Edited May 31 by Shannon L.

[Spartan Girl]

Since I watched Willard, I wound up watching Ben, who is best known for the Michael Jackson song. I can’t tell if they were trying to turn it into a kids movie or keep it a horror movie.

But JFC that kid was a MORON!!! Did he not get that Ben and his army were killing people?! Were we supposed to be moved by that “ friendship”? It didn’t work on me. In fact, every time Danny kissed or cuddled Ben, I wanted to vomit. Rats may make good pets, but that one was disgusting.

When Ben survives and goes back to Danny, I was more disturbed than anything else. Theres no way that rat won’t turn on him, or at least his mother and sister the second they cross him!

And I’m just going to say it: I hate that corny, manipulative song!

Edited June 3 by Spartan Girl

[GHScorpiosRule]

This weekend, I rewatched ALL of the Harry Potter movies. I can't believe I'd forgotten the many great actors who got to appear! Like, Kenneth Branagh! He was absolutely HILARIOUS!  Jason Issacs, Gary Oldman, Emma Thompson...

Confession: I've never read the books and still love the movies and wasn't confused. BUT, I do know, from reading the movie thread here and the book thread, so much stuff was cut out.  Prisoner of Azkaban was the first and only movie I saw in the theater with my friend, and when I had admitted I hadn't read the books, well, you can imagine her reaction!

Unlike most, I thought Chris Columbus did a good job with the first two movies (I loved his Home Alone and even John Williams' score in these movies, I could hear familiar sounds that reminded me of Home Alone), and Daniel was good. It was such a joy to see him "grow up" before my eyes, and he was the most adorable little boy.

I didn't like the last few movies, because the look of them lacked so much of the bright colors the first three or four had.

And NO WAY am I giving Petunia any slack, because boo-hoo, she wasn't magical. 

And of course, to make Snape look more likeable, Rowling (and this is something that a lot of show runners, and authors do for reasons that escape me) just had to reveal that James was a bully. What would have been wrong with just Snape just being jealous of James and James just being a nice guy?

But water under the bridge and all that.

But I am still not and will never get over the deaths of Sirius, Fred, Dobby and

from the book thread, Hedwig!

I worked at Crown Books when the first book came out and it was a sensation! The excitement, love, and crazy ass fandom were, well, mind boggling. But it got kids to start reading again. When I moved onto Barnes & Noble, oh the Harry Potter celebrations we had with each new release!

Anyhoo. I do like the movies; no, I love them. Even if I find Hermione an annoying brat. But they were all such babies!

So the next step is to get the books...and then the entire movie collection on bluray for the interviews, deleted scenes, and extras!

[Browncoat]

1 hour ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

I didn't like the last few movies, because the look of them lacked so much of the bright colors the first three or four had.

That was a deliberate choice, darkening the appearance as the tone of the movies/books got darker and more serious.  

I love the books and movies both, and, for the most part, I'm okay with the things that were cut from the books.  There are a few things I wish they'd kept, but not many.  Prisoner of Azkaban is my favorite, if only for the scene where Aunt Marge blows up.  The actor who plays Dudley is brilliant in that scene -- it is much more difficult not to react than it is to react when your aunt is blowing up.

[GHScorpiosRule]

1 hour ago, Browncoat said:

That was a deliberate choice, darkening the appearance as the tone of the movies/books got darker and more serious

I suspected as much but I still wish there had been more color!😄

 

1 hour ago, Browncoat said:

Prisoner of Azkaban is my favorite, if only for the scene where Aunt Marge blows up.

That will never NOT be funny!🤣🤣🤣🤣 or later when the Centaurs drag Umbridge away. Staunton’s portrayal here is why I could never see or accept her as Queen Elizabeth in The Crown.

[Spartan Girl]

4 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Confession: I've never read the books and still love the movies and wasn't confused.

 

4 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

So the next step is to get the books

Please do! I love the movies but the books have so much depth and description. It’s complicated now because Rowling sucks as a person. Still, I don’t regret reading and living the series.

I didn’t really hate that James was a bully; the intent was to show that nobody is perfect and that people can grow up and change. And unlike the movie, the book doesn’t use it to try to make Severus more likable. The DH book is better at calling out Snape on his crap…I’d elaborate, but it’s a spoiler. Just take my word for it.

[GHScorpiosRule]

1 hour ago, Spartan Girl said:

 

Please do! I love the movies but the books have so much depth and description. It’s complicated now because Rowling sucks as a person. Still, I don’t regret reading and living the series.

I didn’t really hate that James was a bully; the intent was to show that nobody is perfect and that people can grow up and change. And unlike the movie, the book doesn’t use it to try to make Severus more likable. The DH book is better at calling out Snape on his crap…I’d elaborate, but it’s a spoiler. Just take my word for it.

Oh I plan to!

As for James, he could still be imperfect without making him a bully. Just woobify Snape. Smallville pulled that same shit against Oliver (he being a bully to Lex, LEX!) to woobify Lex.

But I will get the whole set on Kindle in the next day or so.

[Raja]

From 2015 Clive Owen in Last Knights. A multiracial kingdom but based upon on the story of the 47 Ronin/loyal samurai. With none of the supernatural elements of the Keanu Reeves' 2013 movie on the subject.  A samurai movie with different types of armor and swords and only a couple of instances of superhuman, low level Captain America like  ability amongst the knights. On Amazon Prime.

[Spartan Girl]

7 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

As for James, he could still be imperfect without making him a bully. Just woobify Snape. Smallville pulled that same shit against Oliver (he being a bully to Lex, LEX!) to woobify Lex.

PM me after you reads the books! Always happy to discuss them!

[GHScorpiosRule]

3 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

PM me after you reads the books! Always happy to discuss them!

I've read the book thread, so have been spoiled! But it will be interesting to see which side I land on after reading.

But I will DIE on the HILL that Daniel was just a good of an actor as Tom. In fact, I think Daniel was better. Any kid can act like a brat. The different expressions and nuances that Daniel conveyed with his eyes and tone had me riveted. And in that HBO special, everyone said that Harry was the most difficult to cast and it was seeing him in...David Copperfield? (I can't remember, I'll have to look it up) that decided them.

And of COURSE the adult actors they got would be better-they've been in the industry years longer! I still giggle and snort at Branagh's character and how he ended up with permanent amnesia. Who'da thunk he could be funny? Not me. But I'm STILL not watching his Poirot! Because it's NOT Poirot!

Jason Issacs is just absolutely delicious as Lucius Malfoy. And I have no words for Alan Rickman-loved him since he appeared as Hans Gruber and whispered that he heard about all those other terrorists from Time magazine as he made his "demands" in Die Hard.

[Spartan Girl]

20 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

But I will DIE on the HILL that Daniel was just a good of an actor as Tom. In fact, I think Daniel was better. Any kid can act like a brat. The different expressions and nuances that Daniel conveyed with his eyes and tone had me riveted. And in that HBO special, everyone said that Harry was the most difficult to cast and it was seeing him in...David Copperfield? (I can't remember, I'll have to look it up) that decided them.

I always thought Dan was great and he absolutely BROUGHT IT in Deathly Hallows. The look on his face when he realized that 

Spoiler

he was going to have to die?! HAUNTING. 😭😭😭😭😭

I love him even more now that he’s doing more quirky shows that show off how funny he can be. 

Hell, thought everyone was great in the movies, even though I’ll always think some parts went better in the books. And I’ll always wish Richard Harris made it to the end, though Michael Gambon grew on me.

[GHScorpiosRule]

5 minutes ago, Spartan Girl said:

And I’ll always wish Richard Harris made it to the end, though Michael Gambon grew on me.

Absolutely. I don't agree with others who state that Harris' Dumbledore was too soft/nice to have played the revelations behind his actions in the later books.

Hello! This was Richard Harris!

[proserpina65]

20 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Unlike most, I thought Chris Columbus did a good job with the first two movies

They were alright for what they were but there was far too much of the "Gee whiz, look what we can do" about them, as I describe it.  I greatly prefer the movies from Azkaban on where things got darker.

[GHScorpiosRule]

40 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

They were alright for what they were but there was far too much of the "Gee whiz, look what we can do" about them, as I describe it.  I greatly prefer the movies from Azkaban on where things got darker.

Well, that was the point, wasn't it? For Harry especially, who didn't even know he was a wizard? I can understand the darker tone as the films progressed, because Harry, Hermione, and Ron were also growing up; I just wish we could have had more color. But water under the bridge and all that.

And YOWZA! Got a great deal on the entire movie collection in bluray!

I just wish Amazon would separate the reviews; it says "frequently returned" but all the negative reviews were of the 4K versions which don't have numerous languages or any of the special features.

[proserpina65]

20 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Well, that was the point, wasn't it? For Harry especially, who didn't even know he was a wizard? I can understand the darker tone as the films progressed, because Harry, Hermione, and Ron were also growing up; I just wish we could have had more color. But water under the bridge and all that.

I guess but I found it kinda boring.  Possibly I was already too old to be impressed by flying brooms.

[GHScorpiosRule]

29 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

I guess but I found it kinda boring.  Possibly I was already too old to be impressed by flying brooms.

I get it. But I liked them as I was seeing it through Harry's eyes, if you will. Plus, I've always loved Chris Columbus. He really is very good with children. I saw that in the behind the scenes of Home Alone, and also in that special on HBO Max or whatever the hell it's calling itself now.

[andromeda331]

I've only seen the movies and not read the books. I liked the first three movies but after that it felt like something was off. I don't know if it was the movies, the writing, the characters were older or me. I couldn't get past the fourth movie.

[Browncoat]

5 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

I get it. But I liked them as I was seeing it through Harry's eyes, if you will. Plus, I've always loved Chris Columbus. He really is very good with children. I saw that in the behind the scenes of Home Alone, and also in that special on HBO Max or whatever the hell it's calling itself now.

I feel the same way -- we're learning about the wizarding world at the same time and pace that Harry is.  I almost feel sad for the people who grew up in that world.  They go off to Hogwarts and already have all this knowledge and expectations.  I mean, sure, the first glimpse of the castle as you come across the lake is always going to be impressive, but everything else is already old hat.  

[proserpina65]

On 6/7/2024 at 4:28 PM, Browncoat said:

I feel the same way -- we're learning about the wizarding world at the same time and pace that Harry is.  I almost feel sad for the people who grew up in that world.  They go off to Hogwarts and already have all this knowledge and expectations.  I mean, sure, the first glimpse of the castle as you come across the lake is always going to be impressive, but everything else is already old hat.  

Maybe because I came with years of reading/watching fantasy, I didn't really feel like it offered all that much new, to be honest.  I only watched the 2nd movie (the first one I saw) because of Kenneth Branagh and Jason Isaacs.  I ended up reading the books and seeing the rest of the movies, but the 1st one still mostly annoys me and it's the one I skip if I come across a marathon of them on tv.  I like the story much better as it becomes darker and more adult.

[Spartan Girl]

I saw IF yesterday and I’m glad it’s finding its legs at the box office because it was really good! A lot more emotional than the trailers let us believe. I did see the twist coming a mile away but that’s not a bad thing.  I think John Krasinski was trying to help us recover from Bing Bong ripping our hearts out.

[proserpina65]

I watched Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves this weekend.  It was no great work of art and it was mostly pretty dumb, but I enjoyed it.  It was fun, the performances were decent, and there were some very funny parts.  And the flashback of Szass Tam turning a city full of Thayans into undead intent on killing everyone was actually scary.  So I'd recommend it as dumb fun on a free Saturday night.

[jah1986]

I finally saw Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One. I'm of two minds about this movie. I did enjoy it for the most part, but I hated the character Grace and I really hated what they did to Ilsa. I feel like we got a bit more Luther in this movie than we have in some of the more recent movies, so that was nice. Never been a Tom Cruise fan, but have to give him props for the stunt work.

[Browncoat]

3 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

I saw IF yesterday and I’m glad it’s finding its legs at the box office because it was really good! A lot more emotional than the trailers let us believe. I did see the twist coming a mile away but that’s not a bad thing.  I think John Krasinski was trying to help us recover from Bing Bong ripping our hearts out.

Same -- right down to the thoughts about Bing Bong.

4 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

Maybe because I came with years of reading/watching fantasy

As did I, along with "hidden world" stories, but, as I said, I appreciated that we learned about that world along with Harry.  Seeing it through his eyes for the first time is still enjoyable to me.  Some TV channel had a Harry Potter weekend this past weekend, and I watched a lot of it.  I definitely stopped what I was doing to watch Aunt Marge blow up, the Tale of the Three Brothers, and The Prince's Tale (Snape's memories).  Oh, and when Fred and George decide their talents lay outside the realm of academia.

[SoMuchTV]

A while back, I watched the movie “Next Goal Wins”. I enjoyed it, but I’m mostly posting here now because there seems to be an issue with the search function, and I want to see if it will pick up this post. 

Edited June 11 by SoMuchTV
Arrgh- got the title wrong

[proserpina65]

22 hours ago, Browncoat said:

but, as I said, I appreciated that we learned about that world along with Harry.  Seeing it through his eyes for the first time is still enjoyable to me.

Whereas I found it far too childish the first time and tedious upon rewatch.  I prefer my fantasy a bit darker and more complex than the first two films.  But obviously our opinions are diametrically opposed so I'll leave it there.

[Ohiopirate02]

On 6/5/2024 at 4:28 PM, GHScorpiosRule said:

And NO WAY am I giving Petunia any slack, because boo-hoo, she wasn't magical. 

And of course, to make Snape look more likeable, Rowling (and this is something that a lot of show runners, and authors do for reasons that escape me) just had to reveal that James was a bully. What would have been wrong with just Snape just being jealous of James and James just being a nice guy?

 

I will defend Petunia here a bit.  She loses her sister twice and is stuck raising Harry because Dumbledore said so.  I'm sorry, the world that JKR created is cruel to Muggles.  There is an inherent belief that all magical people are better than them and it does tear up the families of Muggle-Borns.  Just look at what Hermione does to her parents in order to keep them safe.  Petunia lost Lily when she went to Hogwarts, and then lost her again when Voldemort killed her.  Then Hagrid and Dumbledore show up at her door with Harry and tell her she must take him in and raise him.  She and Vernon never chose to take in Harry, that choice was taken away from her.  I do feel bad for Petunia being thrust into a situation with deadly consequences just because she is Harry's only living blood relative.  I also feel that she was a shit person for how she reacted to this situation though.  

 

There is no defending Snape.  I base this on how he treated Neville Longbottom.  Picking on the weakest kid in the class does not a hero make even if said hero is a double agent.  And Snape still being in love with Lily sixteen years after she died is creepy, not romantic.  

[Bookworm 1979]

3 hours ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

There is no defending Snape.  I base this on how he treated Neville Longbottom.  Picking on the weakest kid in the class does not a hero make even if said hero is a double agent.  And Snape still being in love with Lily sixteen years after she died is creepy, not romantic.  

Thank you!!!  On so many message boards for Harry Potter people like to forget that Snape terrified Neville to the point that his boggart was Snape.  My theory is that people actually like Alan Rickman, and that's why they get angry when you argue that Snape was a bully to the students who weren't in Slytherin. 

[Ohiopirate02]

3 minutes ago, Bookworm 1979 said:

Thank you!!!  On so many message boards for Harry Potter people like to forget that Snape terrified Neville to the point that his boggart was Snape.  My theory is that people actually like Alan Rickman, and that's why they get angry when you argue that Snape was a bully to the students who weren't in Slytherin. 

What baffles me about that is Alan was known for playing the villain, not the hero.  He's Hans Gruber, the Sheriff of Nottingham, that adulterous husband in Love Actually, etc. and not the hero of the piece.  I realize JKR had a lot to do with casting Snape as a hero once dead, but the man was not and there are enough textual examples to prove it.  

[JustHereForFood]

6 hours ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

I will defend Petunia here a bit.  She loses her sister twice and is stuck raising Harry because Dumbledore said so.  I'm sorry, the world that JKR created is cruel to Muggles. 

Oh, definitely. They basically kidnap Muggle-born kids from their families at the age 11 and do what they can to alienate them with the boarding school that has no electricity and probably no mobile connection, only a scary, pooping bird that brings you letters written with quills.

Also, I can't believe I'm defending Petunia, but let's remember that she was only in her early 20's when Harry was dropped on her and she was already way over her head with one kid (that she raised terribly, but that's another issue).

 

3 hours ago, Bookworm 1979 said:

Thank you!!!  On so many message boards for Harry Potter people like to forget that Snape terrified Neville to the point that his boggart was Snape.  My theory is that people actually like Alan Rickman, and that's why they get angry when you argue that Snape was a bully to the students who weren't in Slytherin. 

I think it's the usual love for the bad boys. Similar excuses were used for Draco, while characters like Ron were ignored or vilified by these fans.

[Browncoat]

I can't defend Petunia.  If she were so torn up about losing her sister, she would have welcomed her sister's child.  She would have defended Lily when Marge went on her rampage just before Harry blew her up.  Perhaps she was jealous that Lily was a witch, but calling her a freak and being mean to her weren't the acts of a loving sister.  Petunia didn't lose a sister so much as she pushed her sister away.  

Snape was a bully, no doubt, but he was Dumbledore's man until the end.  Even as he was with Voldemort, he was still working for Dumbledore and towards Voldy's downfall.  I think he did something to help Harry (or save his life) in every book -- even if it was indirectly with the potions textbook.  And in saving Harry, he helped defeat Voldemort.  Did he have to be an asshole?  Eh, probably not, and he was still less bad than Umbridge.

[Ohiopirate02]

1 hour ago, JustHereForFood said:

Oh, definitely. They basically kidnap Muggle-born kids from their families at the age 11 and do what they can to alienate them with the boarding school that has no electricity and probably no mobile connection, only a scary, pooping bird that brings you letters written with quills.

Also, I can't believe I'm defending Petunia, but let's remember that she was only in her early 20's when Harry was dropped on her and she was already way over her head with one kid (that she raised terribly, but that's another issue).

The other thing that gets me is how little Dumbledore, et. al told Petunia when Harry is left in her care.  No one tells her that James was loaded and had a bank vault full of wizard currency that could be converted to pounds to pay for Harry's needs.  I realize Vernon made enough to adequately care for both boys, but the supposed good guys should have at least made sure.  Nope, they just show up in the middle of the night to tell Petunia her sister is dead and she must take care of her child before ghosting.  I do have to wonder if Dumbledore had a plan in place if Vernon said no to raising Harry or made Petunia choose between their family and Harry.

[Spartan Girl]

10 hours ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

The other thing that gets me is how little Dumbledore, et. al told Petunia when Harry is left in her care.  No one tells her that James was loaded and had a bank vault full of wizard currency that could be converted to pounds to pay for Harry's needs.  I realize Vernon made enough to adequately care for both boys, but the supposed good guys should have at least made sure.  Nope, they just show up in the middle of the night to tell Petunia her sister is dead and she must take care of her child before ghosting.  

Haha, yeah Dumbledore knew Harry would never see a Knut of HIS OWN MONEY if he told those assholes about it. I think in hindsight that was the better call. 

Snape was no hero but he wasn’t a 100 percent villain either. I can pity him for some things while not excusing the shitty things he did. 

Edited June 13 by Spartan Girl

[GHScorpiosRule]

11 hours ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

The other thing that gets me is how little Dumbledore, et. al told Petunia when Harry is left in her care.  No one tells her that James was loaded and had a bank vault full of wizard currency that could be converted to pounds to pay for Harry's needs.

Like they would have used those funds for Harry. They would have used it for themselves and their own child. Or what @Spartan Girl says below:

1 hour ago, Spartan Girl said:

Haha, yeah Dumbledore knew Harry would never see a Knut of HIS OWN MONEY if he told those assholes about it. I think in hindsight that was the better call. 

 

[Browncoat]

Oh yeah, Uncle Vernon totally would have spent all the money on ickle Duddikins.

But the kid who played Dudley was really good.

[proserpina65]

21 hours ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

There is no defending Snape.  I base this on how he treated Neville Longbottom.  Picking on the weakest kid in the class does not a hero make even if said hero is a double agent.  And Snape still being in love with Lily sixteen years after she died is creepy, not romantic. 

Snape was a fascinating and layered character, and as such I loved him.  That does not mean I think he was a good person.  To be one, he would've had to rise above his childhood and he didn't.  His very begrudgingly doing right by Harry at the end doesn't change any of his previous behavior and choices.

18 hours ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

What baffles me about that is Alan was known for playing the villain, not the hero. 

Alan Rickman did play some more sympathetic and admirable characters in his career (see Truly, Madly, Deeply for an example) but those were mostly in smaller projects.  He was a brilliant actor and is greatly missed.

[Browncoat]

34 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

(see Truly, Madly, Deeply for an example)

I love that movie.  Alan was excellent in it.  Also, Galaxy Quest.

[Spartan Girl]

Don’t forgot Colonel Brandon in Sense and Sensibility! The best Austen male ever—yeah, I said it!

Anyway, if we want to keep talking HP, maybe we ought to move it to the HP movies and/or book threads 😉

Edited June 13 by Spartan Girl

[Ohiopirate02]

13 minutes ago, Spartan Girl said:

Don’t forgot Colonel Brandon in Sense and Sensibility! The best Austen male ever—yeah, I said it!

I'm more partial to Captain Wentworth from Persuasion, but I judge based on the overall couple and Anne Elliott>Marianne Dashwood.  

[Bastet]

2 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

Anyway, if we want to keep talking HP, maybe we ought to move it to the HP movies and/or book threads 😉

Bless you.

[andromeda331]

10 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

Don’t forgot Colonel Brandon in Sense and Sensibility! The best Austen male ever—yeah, I said it!

Anyway, if we want to keep talking HP, maybe we ought to move it to the HP movies and/or book threads 😉

He was great as Colonel Brandon.

[BlueSkies]

The Best of Times 1986 with Kurt Russell and Robin Williams.  Pretty solid overall even if a bit in the 80s/formulatic/unrealistic side.

 

The whole movie was about doing stuff in your life over so it resonated with me.  

[GHScorpiosRule]

There isn't a thread for mini-series/tv show you watched recently, and this might as well have been a 10 hour movie, so I'm putting it here, since I don't know if a tv thread would have much traffic. We tend to discuss shows here as well, so I think it's okay?

Finally a mini-series from when I was a kid is available on Paramount+ and I watched it this week: Original Shogun with Richard Chamberlain.

I remember watching snippets of it when it first aired in 1980, but I swear, I don't remember that 90% of the dialogue was in Japanese WITHOUT subtitles! As we were seeing it from BlackThorne's side. It made me wonder how the viewing audience back then reacted to that. But it was a mega hit, so I guess I just answered my question?

And what a great cast. Who knew Father Alvito wasn't a nemesis, after all. Or was he, and just very clever?

God, the 80s were ripe with the epic mini-series' with high production values. Shogun, The Thorn Birds, North & South, to name a few.

I have no desire to see the updated one. Because it doesn't have...Richard Chamberlain. Lord, the man had such beautiful eyes, and what an actor. Now I'll be waiting until The Thorn Birds is streaming.

The only thing that annoyed me, if you will, is how Blackthorne/Anjin and Mariko suddenly started speaking in, what I would describe as Shakespearean (thee, thou, art) once they became lovers. Just made me roll my eyes, when before, they spoke using words like you, are, is, etc.

And I appreciated, that when stabbing themselves as part of seppuku, or getting beheaded, the audience was spared the blood and gore. And I understand the updated series on Hulu/FX is quite the gore-fest. No thank you.

And of course I downloaded the book, which is in two parts in Kindle version.

Edited June 26 by GHScorpiosRule

[EtheltoTillie]

On 5/31/2024 at 3:39 PM, Shannon L. said:

I saw Back to Black yesterday.  I knew nothing about Amy Winehouse and only knew two of her songs, although, someone would have had to tell me that she was the artist singing them. I only went because a friend I hadn't seen in a while invited me and had gift cards.

Wow. It was not good, even beyond the portrayal of Amy herself (the actress was good, though, and did a great job covering her songs).  There was nothing engaging or even interesting about it. There was very little sympathy shown for her. They showed very little of the outside forces in her life that may have made you feel a little bit for her (at best, they touched on her deep love for her grandmother-those were some nice moments). She was mostly portrayed as pushy, conceited from the beginning, and as a violent drunk.  I've scanned 2 or 3 articles and according to them, the movie was fairly accurate.  My son, however, claims that she was treated horribly by the press (they did show some of that) and taken advantage of by the industry by forcing her to perform knowing that she had a drug and alcohol problem (you didn't see much of her manager or other industry people). 

I just don't know what to think. It was just a bit boring and I left not caring much for her at all.

Try watching the documentary about her.  It’s very good. I think she was a brilliant talent and it’s a tragedy. I thought this biopic movie seemed exploitative and I wouldn’t watch it. Also I dislike most biopics. They always seem to be so staged and episodic. 

Edited July 1 by EtheltoTillie

[BlueSkies]

Crossroads (2002) with Britney Spears.  I remember it being a huge deal when it came out Brit might have been at the peak of her popularity then.  The movie itself never interested me.  Just wasn't a fan of hers.

 

But I checked it out and thought it wasn't half bad.  I was able to finish the movie.  Nostalgia for the early 2000's had a lot to do with it I think.

 

6 of 10 stars for me