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Carpal Tunnel
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So many movies, so little time. There are a dozen I want to see, right now. What have y'all seen lately that you recommend (LotR aside, being hors concours and all). I'd like comments on anything recent, but am especially interested in these four: Far from Heaven The Hours About Schmidt Adaptation I do *not care to see Gangs of New York, but don't let that stop y'all from tossing it around. 
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Joined: Jan 2001
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Kandahar - wow. wow. wow.
Atanarjuat (The Fast Runner) - the first film made entirely in Inuktitut. It won all sorts of prizes at places where non-English films do well. The language isn't actually much of a barrier because so much is said with significant looks. It is a great story but also a great cultural experience.
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Joined: Feb 2002
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Ungh. I wouldn't recommend Atanarjuat at all. I loathed the thing. I do know others who enjoyed it (Bean is clearly one of them!) but I have to confess, I wondered if it won all those awards because the award-givers were trying to kiss some serious Inuit arse. It was long, awkward, confusing and pointless, as far as I could make out. I left well over an hour into the movie. I was trying to stick it out, but when the dumb chick who tried to (or perhaps did) screw someone else's man started wandering the landscape, wailing, I just couldn't bear it any longer and I struggled my way out over the laps of the people next to me and straight out the door. I saw it at a film festival and if only I'd left earlier, I could've made it to the other venue in time to catch Come Together, which I hear is really good....Damn!
From that same festival, I can highly recommend two other Canadian films: Treed Murray and Last Wedding. The former is an edge-of-your-seat drama, set entirely in a park in Toronto - where a businessman, confronted by a punk trying to mug him, fights back - and then is further confronted by the punk's back-up gang. The action takes place during one looong night, as Murray the businessman goes up a tree for safety - it's very interesting to watch how the power shifts from the group on the ground to Murray and back again. Really great piece of filmmaking. And apparently, the filmmaker ALWAYS gets asked if he's thought of making a play out of it. It's that good and focused.
Last Wedding follows the lives of three relationships, from the guys' perspectives without ever actually being through their eyes. It's wickedly clever and very poignant in places, has some great lines and great scenes, and I found it supremely engaging.
But those were from last year....I still recommend 'em, though.
I'm really glad AnnaS. started this thread - because I've been wanting to ask the US'ns here if they've seen Bowling For Columbine or not? It's HUGE up here in Canada - it's been playing in Kingston for ages, and we're not a big city centre (pop. about 60,000 in the city proper, 116,000 including the outlying areas). A lot of people up here are talking about it and yet I don't hear much buzz on it coming from across the border. It's a very good documentary on guns and the culture of fear in the US - something that hadn't occurred to me (the culture of fear part in particular - because there are some interesting stats on guns in the US and several other countries in the world). Michael Moore rocks my world. I laughed, I cried - I cried a lot and am almost crying again, remembering it. Plenty to think about, compellingly presented.
And if there's anyone left Out There who hasn't seen My Big Fat Greek Wedding - well, it's not deep or message-laden, but it is a charming story, nicely told, sweet without being saccharine. Everyone I know who's seen it (lots of people!) has really enjoyed it. It's not at all challenging or thought-provoking but it's very engaging fluff.
And for them as likes it, there's Bollywood/Hollywood (do I watch a lot of Cdn films or what?! am just realising that - wow, I never really noticed what a lot of them we produce, after all). It's also fun and sweet. There's a bit more to think about and it's not always the nicest stuff (lots to do with lying and being yourself, and trusting people you love even though they have given you reasons NOT to trust them, etc), but the music is very jolly and the leads are good. I suspect it might have been even more enjoyable if I'd been familiar with Bollywood films (more than just having heard about some of their conventions), but still, I found myself smiling most of the way through.
I have to submit one more (long though this already is!) and it's not recent - but if you enjoy foreign films at all, or if you love a good comedy, run to the nearest video store and rent the French film The Closet. It's about a man who's threatened with losing his job - until he pretends to be gay, and the company decides it can't sack him or it will be descrimination. It's very cleverly done - has to be seen - no, he doesn't suddenly start flouncing around and lisping - it's subtle. Of course this affects the other relationships in his life, not just with his co-workers but also with his estranged wife and his very estranged son. Many great lines, many great scenes, and not a wasted scene among them (unlike so many North American films). Gerard Depardieu is among the cast but he's not the principal role. This movie makes me hug myself with glee - it's perfect!
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Joined: Dec 2002
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"Edi". you MUST see it. doesn't mean you'll like it :)
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It's a very good documentary on guns and the culture of fear in the US - something that hadn't occurred to me (the culture of fear part in particular - because there are some interesting stats on guns in the US and several other countries in the world).
Just curious young lady, where were you when the US'ens saved you and yours from the huns?
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
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milum - Even more interesting is that I picked out the exact quote to question MG about, but my question was...
... Hey, ya big tease, what were the stats and what made them so interesting to you? PM me, as this has the potential for entering a political atmosphere not appropriate here... Mind you, I have no intention of taking time to see it... there are so many more on my backlog list...
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Joined: Jul 2002
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Musick, what intersted me even more was discovering that the US saved Canada from the Huns. Prior to reading milum's post, I had never known that Canada had needed saving from the Huns.
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Joined: Apr 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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we must allow milum his mythopoetic license--mustn't we?!
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Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 320
enthusiast
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If it's OK to get back to the movies, I just saw Chicago and thought it the best musical since Cabaret...a brilliant transfer from stage to screen.
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Adaptation is a must-see. It's a very clever movie, filled with the sort of understated almost-self-depricating humour that has a deeper meaning if you are looking for it, but is still funny unto itself. Very well cast and acted, especially Cage.
Bowling for Columbine, though in parts inaccurate, is nonetheless though-provoking and littered with typical Mike Moore humour, which is good if that's your thing. Will undoubtedly be more popular outside the States as it's also typical Mike Moore US-bashing.
Donnie Darko is probably the best film I have seen in the past ... well 6 months or so. A black thought provoking almost comedy with a surprisingly accurate portrayal of a teenage boy with schizophrenia. Nice twist at the end.
Frida is a slightly less than accurate portrayal of the life of .. well ... Frida. Not my cup of tea but reasonably well acted.
No ieda about the other three you were after. The Hours is suppsed to be good. About Schmidt looks like it will be carried by Jack.
As for more mainstream movies, The Ring was very good, though not quite up to the original. It was, not surprisingly, a little Hollywoodified. Catch Me If You Can is not a great story and a little long, but very well acted, especially Leo, and Christopher Walken. The Cat's Meow is also worth a watch, if only for an intersting take on the events and the times.
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