Everybody Loved Them; I Cringed

I really liked Casablanca. I had to try, though. See, I'd never seen it, until finally, one summer evening in Berlin - I was finally going to catch up with that classic with all the famous quotes. "Here's looking at you, kid ..." Well, not. Did I mention it was in Berlin? It was an open-air screening in a park, there were lots of people, and they could all "talk along" with ... the German dubbing. "Ick guck dir in deine Auge, Kleine". So weird to hear all those people nudge each other excitedly about the "legendary" little quotes that were nothing like the ones I knew and truthfully, kinda sounded silly - I mean, Humphrey Bogart talking German? That's not quite right! ;-)

I've never had any temptation to go see Star Wars ...

nimh- I assiduously avoided Star Wars too. I was coerced by my husband to see Alien. He is one of those people who revel in B.E.M. flicks. I slept through most of it, and could not tell you what it was about!

I guess, having read what Osso wrote, that it will be okay to admit a strange thing about my childhood -- my mother was a major reader, never without a book, and extremely opinionated about them. So we grew up loaded with books. They were not censored but CHOSEN. You could read anything you wanted outside -- at a friend's house, on a visit (that's why I even know who Nancy Drew was or what a comic book -- or sex manual --contained) but at home lines were drawn. NO TOLKIEN!! Poor stuff. Badly written. Un-nourishing. This book czarina had no political motivations: her standard consisted of something vague called "taste." Some day I need to stop at a Tolkien shelf and see whether I'd agree with her now!

"The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover" by Peter Greenaway. Vulgar, disgusting. I'm not timid or easily offended. But, if memory serves me, vomiting on a dinner table (the actor Tim Roth) was mild.
The real meat of the film was the baking a full corpse. It was rolled out of an oven completely nude and nicely browned, including a nicely baked penus. The bad guy was forced to eat some of the human flesh.

It was praised and even adulated by many critics.

I never know if Rohmer is simple or profound.

I liked Blazing Saddles, having seen it at a preview sponsored by Detroit's underground radio station, WABX. I usually awoke to the sounds of alternative rock as it was in the late 60s, early 70s (most of the jocks moved to Boston's WBCN) and was amazed one morning to hear Frankie Lane. As sleep dropped away, I realized the lyrics (theme from BS) were completely off the wall. Afterwards, the dj announced the preview. I had to see it! Both because of the former Detroit Lions star and the theme. The station sent wooden nickels to people attending the preview to serve as tickets.

I hated titanic but then I hate disaster movies. I knew the Leonard Di Caprio character was going to die and he was so tiresome that I just wanted it over with. I hate how in that genre, just as the couple are clear from danger, they either inexplicably return, or the monster arises from the dead or the villian is able to repossess his weapon. Boring! Drawn out! And that stupid attempt to 'update' the film by making the fiance an abuser. Trite!

There was a monster in "Titanic?" The villian sold weapons on credit?
That time is history was void of abusers?

The "update" abuse, Plain, is something that drives me nuts too, and it takes many forms. '50's westerns about crossing the country in wagons and every woman has a 1950's hairstyle, lipstick, and Playtex bra. I saw 15 minutes of Moll Flanders during lunch the other day and saw (this is the end of the 18th century) quick-open black umbrellas. Why do we always have to cast our own little transient fashions in historical films?

Yes, Billy, the Greenaway film did draw praise from critics and gets a 7.0 favorable rating on IMDb and yes, it is a bit over-the-top but the satirical subtext is there and it is effective. It's tough to get through any film where the several of the characters are unappealing, vulgar and disgusting if you will.

Tartarin,
I hate those sort of historical gaffs. In GWTW, Miz Scarlet has a 1938 hairdo while Mis Melanie has a Civil War hairdo and actually looks better. A proper hairdo isn't difficult to achieve.

I don't remember the quick open umbrellas in "Moll Flanders" (what a wonderful gaffe!) but it is a good filmation of the novel and received very good reviews. It doesn't do well with the general public getting a very low rating on IMDb but this was an indendent film and they seldom do well at the box office. "The Crying Game" was one of the surprises of the last two decades.

(Bear in mind that the general public are likely those who cringed at having to read the classics in high school!)

The Billy Zane character in "Titanic" was obsessive and possessive -- gee, I know people, especially of weath, that are exactly that and I'm sure they have existed throughout history. Some find that character a cliche but I can find cliches in the finest of films and novels but still enjoy them.

1938? I don't know, not being an authority on hair dos:

Mention of Crying Game reminds me of how much I love Forrest Whittaker. We might want to consider a thread about "I'll watch even the worst movie if [favorite actor] is in it." This doesn't apply to Crying Game, of course, but it does apply to a dreadful chill-less chiller with Jodie Foster called Panic Room -- and FW.

I put Steve Buscemi in that category, though I can't think of a dreadful film he's been in that I've seen. Well, I did see part of an idiotic space rescue film he was in. It also starred Bruce Willis, which immediately means it had to be a loser. Saw parts on TV; Steve couldn't save it...

Mention of Bruce Willis brings to mind a DVD I took home one weekend. It had a very uninteresting opening, and then something happened to Brucie that could well kill a person. Somebdy said to him, "Some people are dead who don't even know it." Duh. After that I took to wandering in and out of the room and finally had to shut it off.

I've seen the dubbed German version: I believe the line is translated as "schau mir in die Augen, Kleine." Literally, it means "look me in the eyes, little one." I had some perplexed Austrians ask me if Americans really said that: I replied that, to my knowledge, no one has ever said "look me in the eyes, little one."

I love LOTR and was part of the college generation that lived on the books. I don'tthink the movies are tooviolent because the books were great anti-war novels. I do feel along with LOTR star with Danish name I've forgotten that it is disgusting thatthe right has adopted LOTR as a pro-war movie trilogy.

Let's not forgetthat the Greek plays were almost all originally trilogies.

Wasnt Tolkien accused by some of harbouring (or playing on) some dubious political sympathies himself? Dunno whats in that ... I'm sure there's among you who know all about it.

Yes, Steve Buscemi is on my "to see" list...