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Post by cato on Nov 3, 2020 19:07:16 GMT
I saw the Martin Scorsese film Silence the other day. I didn't expect to enjoy it but I did. I tend not to enjoy "arty" films, and I expected this to be arty from its reviews-- to have a minimum of story and a lot of long, lingering, wordless scenes. It wasn't really like that, it had a strong plot and lots of dialogue. It also had beautiful cinematography. As you probably know, it's about two Jesuit missionaries in Japan, during a period of persecution, looking for another Jesuit who is rumoured to have apostatized. Since it was made by a self-confesed lapsed Catholic, and since the dubious Fr. James Martin SJ was an advisor, I expected it to be liberal propaganda. I didn't think it was, though. It's left to the viewer to decide what to make of the existential and religious questions the film raises. I doubt I will ever watch it again, but it was nice to see a film that takes religion seriously. The film is pretty faithful to the novel by Shusaku Endo . I like Endos novels and would recommend Silence and his other works. He was an unusual Japanese writer being catholic himself and spending some time in France. He s not particularly conservative but like Graham Greene he has a respect and reverence for religious themes in a secularising world.
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Post by Séamus on Nov 29, 2020 12:22:30 GMT
vale- Dave Prowse. Being awarded one's most famous role because you simply had the body mass to fence under the weight of a costume of unimaginable proportion is not usually a desirable thing for actors,but it didn't seem to trouble him too much;I thought there was a bit of irony when I learnt today that he and his wife had stayed married for over fifty years- perhaps the most remembered image in any Star Wars film was that of Prowse with arm outstretched in explanation of Luke's paternity. An overlooked aspect/ Star Wars as a series on broken families. The recent death of Helen Reddy brought an expected profusion of praise for her feminist ideology. For those of us who were children when Pete's Dragon was newly created,she could alternatively be remembered for making a family film in an era with a drop of innocence left,where one could overcome,among other things, the loss of mother without this involving social experimentation. Similarly,the death of Mary Tyler Moore in recent years caused her to be treated as a working woman's icon, while reports about the death of Penny Marshall not long after seemed to wallpaper over a pivotal fact in her career:that the treatment of Cindy williams' pregnancy by Marshall and others caused a deathknell to "Laverne and Shirley". Imagine even trying to discuss the full issue of women, careers and a woman's right to her motherhood in a news report? Despite a (dual nationality) Irish director recently producing a film on the famous cave rescue in Thailand of the young Wild Boar football team members, Marshall and Williams' once-co-star Ron Howard is already planning to make another in Gold Coast. Whether or not Thai cities give a feel that there's 'a god in every golden temple' or one 'can feel the devil coming up to me',the eleven boys who eventually spent time in a Buddhist temple as a thanksgiving, certainly gave the western world something to think about,to say nothing of the twelfth who told the world he wasn't doing so because he was Christian. Even if strictly speaking Buddhism is more philosophical than religious,any inclusion of this fact in film should serve as a small reminder of one's own cultural, spiritual and historical roots.
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Post by Stephen on Dec 8, 2020 19:57:10 GMT
Hello all Movie lovers! My family and I have recently had a French man living with us. We have been watched a good few movies. What in your opinion would be some good options.
Some we have watched so far in no particular order: Forest Gump Micheal Collins Mission in possible Fallout. About time Fatima movie Hacksaw ridge Sherlock Holmes The last samurai Bourne Identity Who shot liberty Valence Grand Torino Jack Reacher Catch me if you can Inception Indiana Jones Hunger Games True Grit
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Post by Maolsheachlann on Dec 9, 2020 9:23:10 GMT
Hello all Movie lovers! My family and I have recently had a French man living with us. We have been watched a good few movies. What in your opinion would be some good options. Some we have watched so far in no particular order: Forest Gump Micheal Collins Mission in possible Fallout. About time Fatima movie Hacksaw ridge Sherlock Holmes The last samurai Bourne Identity Who shot liberty Valence Grand Torino Jack Reacher Catch me if you can Inception Indiana Jones Hunger Games True Grit Inception is one of my very favourite movies. Here are some more of my own favourites: The Wicker Man *, Groundhog Day (my all-time favourite), Young Sherlock Holmes, Hot Fuzz* , The American President, The Way Way Back, The Aviator, Shaft*, Cromwell, Shadowlands, Dead of Night. The one with asterisks after them may not be suitable for kids.
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Post by Stephen on Dec 9, 2020 10:46:28 GMT
Hello all Movie lovers! My family and I have recently had a French man living with us. We have been watched a good few movies. What in your opinion would be some good options. Some we have watched so far in no particular order: Forest Gump Micheal Collins Mission in possible Fallout. About time Fatima movie Hacksaw ridge Sherlock Holmes The last samurai Bourne Identity Who shot liberty Valence Grand Torino Jack Reacher Catch me if you can Inception Indiana Jones Hunger Games True Grit Inception is one of my very favourite movies. Here are some more of my own favourites: The Wicker Man *, Groundhog Day (my all-time favourite), Young Sherlock Holmes, Hot Fuzz* , The American President, The Way Way Back, The Aviator, Shaft*, Cromwell, Shadowlands, Dead of Night. The one with asterisks after them may not be suitable for kids. Inception is very enjoyable and fun to discuss. I have never seen the The American President, Shadowlands or Dead of Night. I will be adding them to my watch list. Groundhog Day is an iconic film and overall a great movie (pity about the degeneracy near the end). I really like Edge of tomorrow / Live Die Repeat which definitely got inspiration from Ground hog day.
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Post by Maolsheachlann on Dec 9, 2020 11:08:36 GMT
Groundhog Day is an iconic film and overall a great movie (pity about the degeneracy near the end). Amen to that. It's sad that even such a gentle and sentimental film had to include premarital sex in such a matter-of-fact way. It's not so bad when Phil is a jerk, but wouldn't it have been wonderful if part of his moral journey was choosing NOT to sleep with Rita before they got married?
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Post by cato on Dec 10, 2020 15:15:07 GMT
Das Boot the story of the World War II German U boat crew in a claustrophobic isolated steel machine cut off from humanity under the waves was one of my favourite lock down movies.
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Post by Tomas on Dec 10, 2020 17:30:08 GMT
Hello all Movie lovers! My family and I have recently had a French man living with us. We have been watched a good few movies. What in your opinion would be some good options. Some we have watched so far in no particular order: Forest Gump Micheal Collins Mission in possible Fallout. About time Fatima movie Hacksaw ridge Sherlock Holmes The last samurai Bourne Identity Who shot liberty Valence Grand Torino Jack Reacher Catch me if you can Inception Indiana Jones Hunger Games True Grit Michael Collins is probably my favourite among the ten or so all-Irish films I´ve caught. The man who shot Liberty Valance is great, but I didn´t like True Grit near as much as its unreserved status would suggest axiomatic. Number one Wayne for me would be Rio Bravo. If you would like a different one, Tall in the Saddle is also fine among the "lesser" and, perhaps more as a thrilling family adventure, classic The Searchers? Or first rank entertaining Stagecoach! Last weeks here has made these undusted from the dvd shelves: Godfather 1-3, The Great Gatsby (not the Leo DiCaprio one but an earlier take with Mira Sorvino, the most beautiful living actress on the planet, from early 2000s), Finally, Sunday (Truffault murder mystery with good humour), Charade (Audrey Hepburn - Cary Grant, dated but partly fun comedy labeled thriller), This is England (gruesome feeling afterwards), and 3 hrs long Gulliver´s Travels (Ted Danson as the protagonist). Another film wonder, couldn´t be recommended enough every now and then: Santa Fé Trail, well cast starring Errol Flynn and Ronald Reagan b/w from 1940.
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Post by assisi on Dec 10, 2020 21:05:22 GMT
For something light and breezy Bob Hope's 'Cat and the Canary' and 'The Ghost Breakers' are 2 comedy ghost movies. Here's a clip from 'The Ghost Breakers':
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Post by Maolsheachlann on Dec 17, 2020 11:43:54 GMT
Michael Collins is probably my favourite among the ten or so all-Irish films I´ve caught. That's about as many Irish movies as have been made. It was a national event when Michael Collins was released. It was the only Irish blockbuster in history. It was given a G certificate despite the violence because it was considered to be a film every Irish person had to watch. For my father's birthday, my sister bought tickets to it for my father, my mother, my brother, and me. As we got into the taxi and asked to be taken to the cinema, the driver said: "All off to see Michael Collins, folks?"
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Post by Tomas on Dec 17, 2020 20:22:24 GMT
Michael Collins is probably my favourite among the ten or so all-Irish films I´ve caught. That's about as many Irish movies as have been made. It was a national event when Michael Collins was released. It was the only Irish blockbuster in history. It was given a G certificate despite the violence because it was considered to be a film every Irish person had to watch. For my father's birthday, my sister bought tickets to it for my father, my mother, my brother, and me. As we got into the taxi and asked to be taken to the cinema, the driver said: "All off to see Michael Collins, folks?" Wow, what a spectacle, fond memory! A detail wondered about here was whether the nearest side-kick (more like a life guard) was an actual person in history or not. My Irish mentor told me the scene from the football ground was a bit altered, not that way the tanks were going about. Maybe more things were added. There are many scenes that sticks to mind, even now more than ten years later after. Think I have seen it thrice but can´t remember to count.
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Post by cato on Dec 18, 2020 16:12:33 GMT
That's about as many Irish movies as have been made. It was a national event when Michael Collins was released. It was the only Irish blockbuster in history. It was given a G certificate despite the violence because it was considered to be a film every Irish person had to watch. For my father's birthday, my sister bought tickets to it for my father, my mother, my brother, and me. As we got into the taxi and asked to be taken to the cinema, the driver said: "All off to see Michael Collins, folks?" Wow, what a spectacle, fond memory! A detail wondered about here was whether the nearest side-kick (more like a life guard) was an actual person in history or not. My Irish mentor told me the scene from the football ground was a bit altered, not that way the tanks were going about. Maybe more things were added. There are many scenes that sticks to mind, even now more than ten years later after. Think I have seen it thrice but can´t remember Harry Boland was the sidekick of Michael Collins you mentioned above Tomas. He died on the Republican side in the civil war but not exactly as portrayed in the movie. The director Neil Jordan who studied Irish history as an undergraduate in UCD admitted to taking various liberties with the reality in the movie. The scene you mentioned with the armoured car didn't happen in Croke park , a similar incident did occur in Amritsar India when Irish born General Dwyer ordered a massacre of the locals , depicted in the movie Gandhi. Alan Rickman played a wonderfully cunning sly De Valera. The film was actually accurate when it depicted De Valera being quite near Beal na Blath where Collins was assassinated by Republicans but Dev was innocent of any involvement in the murder. Kitty Kiernan , Collins love interest is buried near him in Glasnevin in Dublin. Less romantically she married another general in the Free state army who shares her resting place. Ryan's Daughter is the other big Hollywood Irish Revolutionary era movie and is worth a watch although the famous Kerry storm scenes were actually filmed in South Africa. John Mills is a great parish priest character. It too has its flaws but it's not bad overall.
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Post by Tomas on Dec 18, 2020 19:25:04 GMT
Wow, what a spectacle, fond memory! A detail wondered about here was whether the nearest side-kick (more like a life guard) was an actual person in history or not. My Irish mentor told me the scene from the football ground was a bit altered, not that way the tanks were going about. Maybe more things were added. There are many scenes that sticks to mind, even now more than ten years later after. Think I have seen it thrice but can´t remember Harry Boland was the sidekick of Michael Collins you mentioned above Tomas. He died on the Republican side in the civil war but not exactly as portrayed in the movie. The director Neil Jordan who studied Irish history as an undergraduate in UCD admitted to taking various liberties with the reality in the movie. The scene you mentioned with the armoured car didn't happen in Croke park , a similar incident did occur in Amritsar India when Irish born General Dwyer ordered a massacre of the locals , depicted in the movie Gandhi. Alan Rickman played a wonderfully cunning sly De Valera. The film was actually accurate when it depicted De Valera being quite near Beal na Blath where Collins was assassinated by Republicans but Dev was innocent of any involvement in the murder. Kitty Kiernan , Collins love interest is buried near him in Glasnevin in Dublin. Less romantically she married another general in the Free state army who shares her resting place. Ryan's Daughter is the other big Hollywood Irish Revolutionary era movie and is worth a watch although the famous Kerry storm scenes were actually filmed in South Africa. John Mills is a great parish priest character. It too has its flaws but it's not bad overall. Thanks about Harry Boland and the rest. There were so many scenes that made an impact. Ryan´s Daughter were among the ten or so I did watch but was bit of a disappointment to me, even though Robert Mitchum is such a good actor. John Mills had a major role in old b/w The Gentle Gunman which I liked more. Especially the beginning and end scenes, with the two fellows quarelling over their patriotism, was a high point!
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Post by rogerbuck on Dec 22, 2020 14:00:11 GMT
Groundhog Day is an iconic film and overall a great movie (pity about the degeneracy near the end). Amen to that. It's sad that even such a gentle and sentimental film had to include premarital sex in such a matter-of-fact way. It's not so bad when Phil is a jerk, but wouldn't it have been wonderful if part of his moral journey was choosing NOT to sleep with Rita before they got married? It's been a LONG time since I saw this wonderful film, but I have a vague memory that may interest. As I recall, Phil is not in his pyjamas when he awakes and it was debated on the set whether he should be or not. Some female in the crew advocated the non-pyjamas route as it would suggest they hadn't had sex but merely fallen asleep together. And the director went with this. I hesitate to say this though as my recollection of both the film's ending and this anecdote are vague. I wonder how it matches up with the ending that others of you will know far better than me!
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Post by rogerbuck on Dec 22, 2020 14:05:49 GMT
I shall add that I watch few movies as, feeling many - often inexplicable! - pressures, I can't find ways to justify the time spent. (Except French movies, which I justify because I need to improve my language skills).
However, I did watch a very disturbing, sobering English film lately - Anne of a Thousand Days ostensibly about Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII, played by Richard Burton.
But the film has much more: St Thomas More going to his execution ("I die the king's servant, but God's first") the sheer horror and nastiness of Cromwell and a deeply disturbing, depressing picture of the English Reformation.
Still, I would really recommend it. It illumines a lot in a relatively short space of time.
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