Charulata ***
My first Satyajit Ray movie. This movie, set in 19th century India, explores the emotions of a married woman and her feelings towards her husband's brother. Being in a traditional society, she cannot express her feelings openly, and there in lies the complexity of the emotions. The director uses the ambient sound very well and in most cases the noise made by hawkers in the street or someone singing in the house becomes the background for the conversations. He also uses the ambient lighting and this makes it realistic, but tough to watch. The subtitles are pretty bad in the dvd, as they miss out on a lot of dialogue. Recommended.

To answer my own question, Richard Widmark premiered in 1947 inKiss of Death as Tommy Udo - a pretty cool name.

Pirates of the Caribbean - At the world's end *
Good special effects. Nowadays we see so many of these special effects movies that technological achievements are not sufficient to impress the audience. Though I have seen the first two parts, I did not understand anything plot related. I think that is not important though. Even just as popcorn entertainment, it is too long to sustain the interest. I am sure it is not over, there will be more sequels until all the actors turn 70 and won't be able to act any further

Le Cercle Rouge ***
This crime thriller is very similar to Le Samourai, another film by the same director. Though the story is nothing new, the film's strength lies in the way suspense is built and maintained till the end. There are many sequences with no dialogue at all, but are excellent visually.

Don't know why but I'm watching Snakes On A Plane. I know the movie bombed but I just wanna hear Samuel L. Jackson say:


..." I'm sick and tired of these motherfuckin' snakes on this motherfuckin' plane."

Can't we all apply that phrase at some point in our jobs or life? For instance, at work, I see all the discipline problem kids. There are days I want to say, "I'm sick and tired of these mothefuckin' kids at this motherfuckin' school." Gee, think I'd have the job for long?

TIS

As a truck driver, "I'm sick of these motherfuckin' drivers on this motherfuckin' highway!"

I have to say I really enjoyed Snakes on a Plane! You've probably watched it by now, but if not, please go into it with the 'fun' frame of mind. The plot is ridiculous but the action and the characters really aren't that bad. If you go into that movie realizing that you aren't watching an Oscar quality movie you might enjoy it. It reminds me of movies like Tremors and Anaconda, where the idea is sort of stupid, but if you look past it, it's a fun movie!

Hey Bibble,

It's on right now on HBO and the snakes are just beginning to make their appearance. They do give me the creeps.

I got next to no sleep last night so I'm doubt I'll be doing much else but kicking back tonight.

Yea my next line was gonna be how sick I am of this MFing traffic on the MFing freeway. I'm not a truck driver, but drive a fair distance to/from work. I can relate.

TIS

"Born Yesterday" (1950) starring Judy Holliday, Broderick Crawford and William Holden. Its on TCM now and I'm reminded again of how good this movie is. Crawford plays the gruff rich guy who hires William Holden to tutor Holliday, the quintessential dumb chorus line blonde. Its an hilarious movie and MUCH MUCH better than the remake with John Goodman and Melanie Griffith.

"Sopranos" fans will recognize this as the movie referred to by the screen writer that Chris kills.

If you're ever in the mood for a classic, this is to be considered.

Let me know how you liked it

Snakes on a plane is ludicrous and not even 'fun'. Snakes look fake and after a while I didn't care, how many hundreds of them were there. There were so many of them right from the beginning that it loses its scare value.

Why are people liking SNAKES ON A PLANE anyway?

Just because it was cool? Just because it makes you hip? Just because you don't know any better?

I don't mean YOU like you svsg. You're cool with me. You have smarts, you're not a fucking idiot like......you know.....in fact, you're a BAD MOTHER FUCKER svsg. Yeah!

But yeah, you can't depend on geeks. You just can't.

Letters from Iwo Jima *
This is a sympathetic look at the Japanese soldiers who fought the Americans on a Japanese island when they were clearly outnumbered. The dialogues are in japanese and is also narrated from the perspective of japanese themselves, with minimal screen presence of American soldiers. I did not like it much because it looks like it was designed to appeal to the sentiment rather than intellect. Every now and then we are shown the 'human' sides of the soldiers and constant references to the family and stuff makes it 'soap'-ish.

Haha, I should now have a wallet that says "bad motherfucker"

First thing tomorrow!

How about "Boys Town"? One of the things I look for in the older B&W movies is how the characters, dialogue, etc. reflect the times. I think we are all pretty familiar with how fashions have changed since the 30s & 40s, but Mickey Rooney's antics do reflect what was cool back then at least for a teenager. There also seems to be a certain naivete that is refreshing when you compare it with the muck and mire in which young peole are immersed these days.

Since when is Snakes on a Plane cool or hip? It flopped. That doesn't mean one is a geek for liking it. Or a "fucking idiot" for liking it. Maybe those of us who enjoyed it aren't so shallow to dismiss a movie based on the the initial idea that "it looks stupid, therefore it is."

If you don't like it RRA that's fine. I would never expect others to like all of the same movies I do. But to call someone a fucking idiot for liking a movie that you don't is just plain ignorant. You're the fucking idiot.

I haven't seen it, but I get the idea. It is a frightening concept though - the threat from which you cannot escape. I won't see it because I can pretty well figure out its 90 minutes.

Yep, and this movie has yet another connection to Chris/Sopranos.

Crawford's lawyer advises him to marry Holliday b/c "a wife can't be dragged into court to testify against her husband." And of course, Adrianna has the same bright idea when she urges Chris into proposal, after her "apprehension" by the feds. I'm not sure what the law says, but Adrianna's legal counsel tells her that it IS in fact possible for a wife to be called to testify against her husband.

Either way, I think it's safe to say that Mr. Chase is a big fan of this movie.

AT CLOSE RANGE
(First Viewing)

Based upon the true story of Bruce Johnston Sr., his son, and his brothers; together, they constituted one of suburban Philadelphia's most notorious crime families during the 1970's. Their criminal activities ranged from burglary, theft, and ultimately, murder.

Sean Penn, at the young age of 26, put on a very good performance that would later set him up for later roles such as MYSTIC RIVER. The opening credits were absolutely fantastic because the camera is solely on Penn, not worrying about the road or where he's going. He's just a kid, out for a drive, unsure of everything. Christopher Walken was the show stealer with a role he very rarely plays, a vicious sonofab*tch, cold blooded killer. Yes he has somewhat played that before in KING OF NEW YORK but I've never see him to this extent. Ultimately, Mary Stuart Masterson's character is the most tragic. A small town girl who falls in love with Sean Penn's character and gets caught up in the family business. She risks her entire existence to be with him and what transpires is heartbreaking.

I saw the last 30 minutes of The Departed last night. I hope the first 90 minutes or so were better. DeCaprio did a great job of acting, but Damon - wooden. Those successive murders at the end - that was juvenile. It was like a game of Tag.

I liked the murder sequence. Probably the most lasting memory of the film for me.

Matt Dillon was in THE DEPARTED?

Damn, Matt Damon got fucked!

I watched THE QUEEN tonight... and was wondering why it wasn't titled THE QUEEN, DURING THAT WEEK (Diana died).... wtf?

I do, tho, wonder what our resident Brits thought about it....

did you like it?

I thought Helen Mirren's performance was great - but - not knowing the actual history, I don't know anything.... so therefor I'm asking....

Damn, I missed the Snakes on a Plane discussion.

I motherfucking love that movie.

Want to see my snake? Let me whip it out...

Oh baby, oh baby.

*high-five* "Geeks" Unite!

Actually what is the definition of a geek? RRA basically said people who like Snakes on a Plane are geeks, and it was said in a negative way. What does it mean to be a geek? And why is it a bad thing?