The Television and Movie Recommendation/Discussion Thread!

[darkmagicwillow]

I did notice the Frodo/Sam connection, but not the Legolas/Aragorn one, perhaps because I'm seeing them through the eyes of the books.



What has been on my mind in the movies, is the question of race. It is ironic that Elrond, whose great-grandfather was a man and whose brother Elros was the founder of the line of Kings that Aragorn is a descendent of, constantly speaks of the failure of the race of men. However, in the movie though not in the books, the elves came to the aid of Rohan at the Battle of Helm's Deep. I'm not quite sure the writers are trying to say here though.

--

"Omnia mutantur, nihil interit." -- "Everything changes, but nothing is truly lost."

[Dave V]

LOTR - Sam/Frodo? Yeah, I see it.



Tolkein was a Great War veteran. Actually, there's a certain amount of English writing about homoerotic bonds between soldiers during WW I. Paul Fussell's The Great War and Modern Memory outlines some of thisthis.



darkmagicwillow asked:

Quote:

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However, in the movie though not in the books, the elves came to the aid of Rohan at the Battle of Helm's Deep. I'm not quite sure the writers are trying to say here though.

---

I see this as a point the director/writer is making. The movie is about making moral choices. Whether to accept or reject the Ring's advances, whether to get involved and defend what is right, etc. Here, Elrond makes the choice to not just run away, but to honour the ancient bonds between Elves and Humans and actively throw in on the side of the good guys.

[Jennpurr]

First, let me appologize if this has already been mentioned, but has anyone seen the commercial for this movie? It stars, Emma Caulfield. I was staring at my screen going, "Oh my God... it's Emma." Hee...



It looks really good. It's a thriller. I can't remember when it starts though, but I will definitely be going to see this.



Jen

"Bored now..."

[maudmac]

Darkness Falls opens Jan. 24.

Don't lick my EYE!---Margaret Cho

[Jennpurr]

Oooh... thank you, Maudmac.



I will have to remember that.



Also, for those of you who liked, "Roswell," it's coming back. In re-runs, that is. It will be on Sci Fi weekdays at 6PM ET/PT, starting Jan. 13. Does anyone know what CT that will be? 8pm, right?



I'm so happy about this.



Jen

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Bored now..."
"Straight," Joel huffed, rolling his eyes. "That's like, two drinks and a light switch away from being totally gay." -"Final Exam," by Ruth

[SJ]

For UK Kittens Sky One are showing Fastlane on Friday at 9.30 pm.

BBC2 are showing the first ep of Taken on Sat at 9pm followed by the second ep on BBC Choice on Sat at 10.30 pm.

[unionjill30]

I have to recommend Michael Moore's latest documentary Bowling For Columbine. After a month of searching for someone who would sit through it with me, I finally dragged my sister the forty five minutes to Bloomington, Indiana to see the film. I always thought Moore's documentary Roger & Me was fabulous, but this is even better. It's sad, funny, and even causes anger as it touches on the important topics of guns and violence in America. I think everyone should see it.





Sarah

So I'm turing off the TV and I smashed my radio cause I realize my heroes are the people I already know. And I'm burning up the papers and tearing up all the magazines cause they make me feel so lonely when there's no one there who represents me. ~H2O (Role Model)

[La]

Quote:

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ps Anybody here recommend Frida?

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yes. I liked Frida a lot. I think Salma Hayek did a really good job. And it's really cool the way they bring her paintings into the film.

~La



"Come out that I may send you to hell!"

~Joan as played by Leelee Sobieski to Lord Glasdale in the Joan of Arc miniseries

[Cicca]

I agree that Legolas is an excellent reason to see The Two Towers. Orlando Bloom has done such an excellent job with the role. Amazing that he got it right out of film school.

I don't think I agree that the relationship between Legolas and Gimli is forced, since I think it's fun. It's not particularly subtle, but neither was Priscilla Queen of the Desert. There was a really nice bit where Legolas immediately risked his life for Gimli... Or the other way around? Whatever it was, it was nice. Especially given how they loathed each other at the start. A nice thing to see in this day and age.

As for Sam and Frodo, there was a scene in one of the books that seemed straight, er... directly out of a love story. Sam and Frodo falling asleep beneath the stars and holding hands. Sounds familar doesn't it? It was a very sweet scene.



Now, for another recommendation. I saw a hairdressing competition on tv which reminded me of Blow Dry.

Alan Rickman, Natasha Richardson, Rachel Griffiths, Rachael Leigh Cook, and Josh Hartnett. How's that for a fun cast? I don't want to say too much about it, but there's a scene close to the beginning that is just so nice and normal and sadly unexpected in a mainstream movie.

And you'll also never look at Rachel Griffiths the same way again!

invite someone dangerous to tea * look forward to dreams * imagine yourself magic

[Penrose Orleans]

Unionjill: We spen all of our summers in Bloomington... it makes me happy to see it mentioned Anyway, loved Bowling for Columbine (no surprise, since I think Michael Moore is just hilarious) and would recommend it to anyone (well, almost everyone... I'm sure there's someone out there who wouldn't like it...)! -Nora

"Fear prophets...and those prepared to die for the truth, for as a rule they make many others die with them, often before them, at times instead of them." -Umberto Eco

[Firefoot]

Hi all,



I also recommend Two Towers-- former Xena watchers will recognize Karl Urban (Ceasar), doing a nice job as Eomer (sadly not on screen very much, hrmph, but great when he was). The rest of the cast is also mostly terrific, especially Orlando Bloom as Legolas.



For rentals, I would (quickly) recommend:



Princess Mononoke

Beautiful Girls (nice performance by Natalie Portman, circa age 13)

Picnic at Hanging Rock (one of my faves-- scary, beautiful, haunting, nice work by young actresses)



That's all for now-- almost time to go home.



Firefoot

[WiccansIllusion]

The Hours with Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep and Julianne Moore is an amazing movie. It intwines the life of three women, one being Virgina Wolf. For those interested, it does have some lesbian/gay moments. ( Meryl Streep plays a woman living in New York with her partner of 10 years and their daughter ). The movie is based on the Michael Cunningham film and is extremlly intense. A must see.

Tara nodded in agreement "She has magic fingers." TheWisdom of War, Chris Golden



You dont really think this is like, Psycho Buffy Cheer Squad central, do you?-Xita ala Julia "Lessons Parody"

[Shinnen]

I'm not sure if here's the right place to post this question. I downloaded some clips of Promised Land from Buffyverse and have problem playing the files. I have all possible video plug-ins to watch almost any kind of clip and unfortunately... i don't know german. Can anyone help me out here and tell me how to play the clips? Thanks

CheerZ

Shinnen





Who cares how tall your lover is ... height doesn't matter in bed...



For every love there is a heart somewhere to receive it.

[xita]

Do you have divx? divx.com

If I had to live my life again, I'd make the same mistakes, only sooner.

Tallulah Bankhead

[justastraightdog]

Hi Shinnen, if you run Windows and the video doesn't play or you can't here any sound, here's a little program that tells you which codec(s) you need: www.headbands.com/gspot/



The blurb:



o Determines which video codec an AVI file uses

o Determines what audio encoding method the file uses

o Determines what codecs you have installed, and whether you have the one needed

o Up-to-date database of over 200 codecs, including the latest DivX 5 and XVID systems



Also...

o Shows reported audio bitrate and calculates video bitrate

o Reports if the file is truncated, and how many bytes are missing. Great for downloaders.

o Identifies MPG, MPEG, MOV, WMA, WMV, or ASF if an unknown non-AVI file is examined.

o Shows RIFF INFO (title, etc) if present, including hidden ASCII in the "JUNK" field

o Easy to use ("File > Load" and you're done)

o Free for personal use

_______________________________
Though here at journey's end I lie in darkness buried deep, beyond all towers strong and high, beyond all mountains steep,
above all shadows rides the Sun and Stars for ever dwell: I will not say the Day is done, nor bid the Stars farewell.

[DRUSILLA LOVER]

since this is a show recommendation section, i figured id put my two cents in. I just watched the show Clueless. really, it was pretty good....i know i know, its a young show, but i like it. Cher is better in the show than the movie, IMO

[SJ]

Clueless is pretty good,Marc Blucas and Danny Strong have appeared in that.

[Shinnen]

thanks everyone... i had to re-install my mivx and other appz

getting the broadband screwed my computer.

CheerZ

Shinnen





Who cares how tall your lover is ... height doesn't matter in bed...



For every love there is a heart somewhere to receive it.

[justastraightdog]

Dear Kittens,



I know that you have a heart for minorities. Tonight you can help a very small but also very unhappy minority: struggling UPN employees. They are working hard, but they fear constantly for their jobs. Especially Tuesdays are usually very depressing for them. They think nobody loves them anymore.



Here is what you can do: Try to find your local UPN station and...



...watch Funky Flubs at 8pm and stay tuned for the new sitcom Abby at 9pm.



Show them that there is a future! Give them some hope! Make it the one non-depressing Tuesday of the whole season for UPN! Let them know that people still care for them!



Thank you in advance.



(I'll be back in a week to start the "Save Fox - watch American Idol 2" campaign)

_______________________________
Though here at journey's end I lie in darkness buried deep, beyond all towers strong and high, beyond all mountains steep,
above all shadows rides the Sun and Stars for ever dwell: I will not say the Day is done, nor bid the Stars farewell.

[Boomstick79]

Afternoon kitties,



Just thought I'd add my own thoughts here as I was too tired to remember to do it last night, but I had the pleasure of watching Chicago (the film) last night and it is absolutely bloody marvellous

I couldn't fault it (apart from the rogue boom shot during one of the courtroom scenes - damn these trained eyes of mine!) and even wanted to clap at the end of some of the songs. If you can get your head round Richard Gere's singing voice sounding nothing like his speaking voice go, see, enjoy this film! Could rank in my top 20 of all time - it's that good

Renee Zellweger is particularly impressive as Roxie and the supporting cast are terrific in particular John C Reilly as Amos (he's also pretty impressive in Gangs of New York which I caught last week )

OK I'm done gushing. I haven't paid for a film in almost five years thanks to my job, but even I would dig in my pockets and fork out cash to go watch this - trust me - you will like

OK off to destroy prints again now - take care kittens!



~Lou

[samiamiguess]

I was wondering whether to see it, so ok, you've sold it to me Lou.



And since you work at the movies, good selling job



Sonya

[SlayerSydney]

I saw Chicago over the weekend as well. I agree it was GREAT!!! The audience did clap after some of the songs and everyone clapped at the end of it. It's been a while since I've been the the movies where the whole audience was so into it they applauded at the end.

So, I strongly recommend it as well. I might try to get my GF to go with me again. She loves musicals and would definitely like this. Very witty and sexy. Made me want to see it on Broadway.



Also--that was really Richard Gere singing? I was wondering cuz' it was nothin' like his voice. Interesting.

---

"You have to believe we are magic. Nothin' can stand in our way."---Olivia Newton-John.



The quest for certainty blocks the quest for meaning.---Erich Fromm

[Boomstick79]

SlayerSydney,

Yep as far as I can tell it is definitely Richard Gere singing. I know he did some musical theatre work when he was younger in the West End, I believe he was in Grease at some point many years back, so he can definitely sing. But it is reallly weird, because it sounds nothing like his speaking voice!

Anyhoo, I think I am going to have to take my mum to see it on my day off tomorrow because I'm itching to see it again - gotta be on my best behaviour tho - I almost died during the Cell Block tango scene! Hehehe, I'm so glad there were only a few close friends watching it with me last night



~Lou

[Pipsqueak]

Does anyone here watch Fastlane?



If so, you may want to double-check me on this, since I'm recapping the episode from memory and may have forgotten some stuff.



Last Friday, I actually watched an ep of Fastlane -- the first time I'd ever seen that show. I only watched because I thought it was going to be the episode where Tiffani Thiesen has to pretend to be a lesbian in order to infiltrate a gang or something. Anyway, that's the plot for this coming Friday's ep, but I didn't know that, so I watched anyway. As it turns out, there were lesbians on the show. Two of them. They weren't dead or evil, unless you count hanging out with a dope smuggler as "evil". But they were totally superflous to the plot, and had no speaking lines at all.



The opening scene showed the lesbians on a small boat with two guys, one of whom was the dope smuggler. They were wearing skimpy bikinis, and spent the scene either giving each other googly eyes or striking suggestive poses behind the guys' backs in a very "I'm only making out with her because I can't have you" vibe. Once the boat docked and everyone got off, one of the girls gave the guys a sexy smirk as if to say "watch this" (think Willow-and-Tara-in-the-back-of-the-ice-cream-truck), and then kissed the other girl. The kiss lasted for like a split second before the camera cut away. One of the guys said "True love, huh? That's cool", or something like that. So anyway, the smuggler gets busted (the other guy was actually an undercover cop), and the other cops show up, and they're trying to make a deal with the smuggler to get him to turn in his source, or whatever, I was getting bored at this point. The lesbians are sitting beside the smuggler the whole time and nobody even acknowledges them or speaks to them. It seems like they're the "groupies" of the smuggler or something. They get to look upset that he's caught, and that's it.



They don't show up again until the last scene, when the smuggler has run off to Mexico and thinks he's free. He's catching some rays in a really pretty garden on the beach, surrounded by luxury, and guess who is hanging on his arms. The lezzies, of course. They're laying beside him, one on each side (because of course they wouldn't want to be by each other, the male dope pusher is more desirable. Uh huh). Leering at him like he's the Second Coming. It ends predictably: the cops find him and drag him back to the U.S. The lesbians get to wear a "scared" expression and put their hands in the air when the cops run in with guns. That's all. No one knows what happened to them and apparently no one cares.



Moral of the story: It's okay to be a lesbian as long as (a) your only goal is to serve as eye candy for men who get off on seeing two women together, and (b) you don't ever assert yourself or otherwise act like a normal human being.



Anyway, it was rather depressing, and I was just wondering if anyone else had seen that ep and wanted to comment on it. Since I'm unfamiliar with the show, I can't say whether this is business as usual; but based solely on what I saw, the rest of you will want to stay far, far away from this show.



There was also a lesbian on last night's Smallville. Anyone happen to catch it? She started out evil and ended up dead, so score 2 points for the cliche. I'd recap that show as well but I'm too tired to do it now.



Dammit, I should be working ..... need to stop posting now!!

Albatross!

[xita]

Oh pipsqueak you should check out the cliche thread for a full report on the smallville's smallmindedness.

If I had to live my life again, I'd make the same mistakes, only sooner.

Tallulah Bankhead

[famer]

Definitely recommend Standing in the Shadows of Motown.



It's a documentary about the Motown studio musicians. Great artists in their own right, they were paid little and received no credit for their work. Despite creating the Motown sound and being responsible for more hits than the Beatles, Elvis and the Rolling Stones put together, many of them died without their work ever being acknowledged. Of course, the music in it is great.

Edited by: famer at: 1/15/03 8:10:40 pm

[Cicca]

I agree that Chicago is a lot of fun.

Watch the credits and you'll see BIG letters saying that RZ, CZJ, and RG all did their own singing AND dancing. Pretty impressive.



Cell Block Tango. Try watching it with your mom beside you!

invite someone dangerous to tea * look forward to dreams * imagine yourself magic

[helpful information perha]

looks like smallville/WB needs an earful from us



www.afterellen.com/TV/smallville.html



[Superman VS. the Lesbian Psycho Killer on Smallville



by Sarah Warn, January 2003



Just when you thought it was safe to watch TV again after Tara was killed on Buffy, Det. Greggs was almost killed on The Wire, and Jessie and Original Cindy disappeared along with their shows last year...Smallville resurrects the dead/evil

lesbian cliche with a vengeance. ]

[Boomstick79]

Cicca,

OK I watched Cell Block Tango with my mother and suffice to say she is very wary of watching future films featuring scantily clad gyrating females with me!

I guess I should save watching those films with my gf



~Lou

[Cicca]

Oh really? Did she have to wipe the drool away for you?



I think I mostly sat there in numb shock and wished I were watching with anyone other than my mom!

invite someone dangerous to tea * look forward to dreams * imagine yourself magic