I just saw Wall Street, rather slow moving and predictable, IMO.

skip it til rental time. :blink:

Secretariat
The Town
and maybe Chain Letter
are on my list

I just ordered The Experiment with Adrien Brody and Forest Whitaker.


It's a remake of Das Experiment which was based on the Stanford Prison Experiment.

One of the best movies I've seen recently is State of Play with Ben Affleck and Russel Crowe

Shades of All the President's Men. If you like suspense, crime dramas or the political genre I highly recommend it!

I saw

The Karate Kid {Jaden Smith / Jackie Chan}, Some parts gave a "nod" to the original, but it was very well-done..some parts kinda stretched credibility, but then, thats the beauty of Films...Although, the main difference between the 2 movies is "Dre" isn't learning karate but rather Wushu/Gungfu

My Name is Khan
, A Muslim Indian with Asperger Syndrome deals with Life, Love and 9/11 in his own way....

Sybil {Sally Field}..Very in-depth about a woman coping with child abuse by "splintering" into many personalities...

I also indulged in 2 other films since I feel the need to pamper Myself, besides chicken soup....

Belle Epoque {penelope Cruz}, a Wandering Agnostic guy meets with a devil-may-care old guy, and falls for each of his daughters, each one proving to be a handful in their own way....
{one of the daughters was raised as a Son}

Tortilla Soup {Hector Elizondo, Elizabeth Peña, Raquel Welch}.. a Mexican-American version of the Chinese "Eat Drink Man Woman"..a Gentleman wants the best for his 3 "modern" daughters, and they want him to be happy as well in his hectic restaurateur world...A few funny misunderstandings occur, but in the end things work out....

[While I loved 7 years in Tibet, I prefer "Kundun"]

Tonight I watched Sophie Scholl. Very good Bavarian/German film on Sophie and her brother Hans' last days before their execution. I highly recommend it.

btw...
I forgot to add this little part...
My favorite moment in "Karate Kid" was when Jackie Chan kills the fly....not quite like Pat Morita..And yes, Jaden's character was right ..."Ok ..that's just...Gross"
I had a flashback to "The Golden Child" when Eddie Murphy gripes about the lil ole chinese guy pickin his nose

The Social Network.


I liked it. Jesse Eisenberg was excellent in this movie.

I agree..
My guess is the Mother is fresh Divorced *or Widow*, has a Job opportunity in her Field, in China {which is credible, considering how nowadays, despite China's politics, business savvy people tend to migrate there, including americans}, based on the fact she's a single parent & she tells Dre "We have nothing over there, this is Home".
In the original, it was kind of the same...
But, yeah, back story is preferable for me...
I dont like "assuming", thats not my job..My contribution is paying to enjoy the Film..

Currently Watching "Down in The Delta" {Alfre Woodard, Wesley Snipes}
Elderly Matriarch takes her grandkids and alcoholic/drug addicted Daughter back to the Family home in the Delta, as a last resort to save her daughter, and teach the grandkids Value of Family while learning about their Ancestral history...

Women Film Editors
 

I found this to be interesting. I have never worked in nor studied Film. If I knew what I know now, I may have chosen a career in Film behind the camera. USC was the Film School to attend when I was growing up.
__________________________________________________ _______________



Tarantino's Gal

An appreciation of film editor Sally Menke

By Sasha Watson

Posted Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2010, at 10:24 AM ET


In a scene from Inglourious Basterds that vibrates with tension, Col. Hans Landa, the Nazi played by Oscar winner Christoph Waltz, toys with Mélanie Laurent's Shosanna Dreyfus. He's forcing her to eat apple strudel with him in a Paris restaurant, suggesting but never saying outright that he knows who she is: the Jewish girl who escaped his massacre of her family at a dairy farm. It's a key moment in the film, and it signals the beginning of the girl's plot to kill Hitler.

The scene works because of the tight focus on seemingly mundane details—the way a cigarette is offered, an eyebrow raised, a dollop of cream served. Film editor Sally Menke, who died earlier this month, discusses her work on the film in Invisible Art/Visible Artists, a documentary made annually by Allan Holzman to celebrate Oscar-nominated editors: "Does he know that it's Shosanna?" asks Menke. "Does he offer her the drink of milk, does he control the cream knowing that she was the last person at the dairy farm? It's an unanswered question and we wanted to leave it unanswered, and so hence the close-ups and hence the controlling of the cigarettes." The scene ends just after Landa has kissed Shosanna's hand and walked away, leaving her gasping at the table. "She goes into just a huge well of tears at the end of the scene," says Menke, "and we cut it short because we only wanted her to just release the breath because she had to remain a fountain of strength because she was going to plan the death of Hitler."

Watching her speak, it's clear that Menke was easily as invested as Tarantino in the Oscar-nominated film and that her contribution was essential to the film's success. For many of us, used to thinking of a film as the creation of an auteur-director, it comes as a surprise to learn just how much creative control editors have. They're often the only ones to see every minute of footage shot for a film. Out of that mass of footage, they pick shots, lines of dialogue, and character-revealing expressions, telling the story visually by sequencing the events of the film. As Holzman says, "The director shoots and then the editor makes a movie out of it." Tarantino has repeatedly said as much, calling the woman who edited every one of his films his "No. 1 collaborator." After all, when Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction first came out, a huge part of their appeal was the thrilling way they jumped between characters and times. And yet, until her death, Menke's name was little-known outside of industry circles.

The long-term partnership between a director and an editor can resemble a traditional marriage, with the director the public face of the couple and the editor acting as the classic woman-behind-the-man, honing the vision and crafting the persona that he presents to the world. And in fact, more women tend to work as editors than in other Hollywood fields. And many of the qualities associated with a good editor could be construed as traditionally female—at least for females of a certain age. Like some marriages, the relationships seem anachronistic, or maybe just harmonious, depending who you ask.

"That's my gal," someone who worked with Tarantino recalls him saying about Menke. In a 2004 documentary, The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing, Tarantino says that he was specifically looking for a female editor, one who would "nurture" him through his movies. Menke embraced the role, and its lack of wider recognition, too. In The Guardian last year, she wrote, "Editors are the quiet heroes of movies, and I like it that way."

Some editors do seem frustrated by the extent to which their work goes unrecognized by viewers, but they usually accept it as an occupational hazard. "It's hard to tell what's well-edited," says Lillian Benson, a documentary editor who serves on the board of American Cinema Editors, or ACE, "because the job is not to call attention to yourself." Holzman, meanwhile, wryly says that "editors are meant to be heard but not seen." The public face of a film, after all, is the director's, and directors are often given—and take—credit for work that's done in the editing room. Tarantino's frequent and enthusiastic tributes to Menke's editing have always been the exception to the rule.

Hollywood is still largely dominated by men, as was endlessly pointed out when Kathryn Bigelow was the first woman to win the Oscar for best director last spring, but according to the Celluloid Ceiling, an annual study that crunches the numbers of female vs. male representation in the 250 top-grossing films of the year, 17 percent of editors in 2009 were women. That's in contrast to 7 percent of directors and just 2 percent of cinematographers, numbers that don't go up or down very much over time.

When editors, female or male, talk about what they do, they inevitably say that they need to be good listeners, to be sensitive to other people's needs, to bring out the best in others, and to find workable compromises. In her recent article "The End of Men," Double X editor Hanna Rosin points to "social intelligence, open communication, the ability to sit still and focus" as qualities traditionally associated with women. And maybe this answers the puzzle of why there are so many more female editors in Hollywood than there are directors, cinematographers, or screenwriters.

The under-sung history of editing is filled with women's names, unlike that of directing and cinematography. "Women were thought to be good editors because they had small hands, and it was also thought that editing was a little bit like sewing," says Martha Lauzen, who runs the Center for the Study of Women in Film and Television at San Diego State University, where the Celluloid Ceiling study is done. "It was considered something women could do because you were stitching pieces together," adds Anita Brandt Burgoyne, who edited Legally Blonde and Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, among many other films. "It was a little like housework."

The idea of editing as a menial task changed over the years, but women remained in its top ranks. Dede Allen, who died last year at the age of 86, revolutionized editing in 1967 with Bonnie and Clyde. She and director Arthur Penn introduced the fast cuts that freed editing from the literal expression of time and space, and that have come to dominate movies, commercials, and music videos. Thelma Schoonmaker, meanwhile, has edited most of Martin Scorsese's films*; and George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, and Peter Bogdanovich all worked with the late Verna Fields, their "mother cutter," who in 1975 received both an Oscar and an ACE Eddie award for her work on Jaws. McCormick says that the membership of ACE, an honorary society, tends to be about one-third female.

According to Debra Neil-Fisher, who won the Eddie Award for best edited comedy or musical feature film for The Hangover last year, there's no mystery as to why lots of women are editors: "I'd say that the role of the editor is good for females because we have the ability to give creatively without too much ego attached." Dede Allen said pretty much the same thing in an interview back in the early '90s: "Women of my generation are more used to serving someone else creatively, and not feeling maligned by it as much. It must be very hard for certain men in terms of an ego or a macho thing, when they are constantly having to redo something they feel very strongly about."

It's dicey to criticize a relationship that both parties agree works for them—however unbalanced it may look from the outside—but, really, shouldn't editors be getting a lot more credit here? Maybe they choose their careers, in part, because they'd rather labor alone in a cutting room than act as the public face of a film, and maybe the role of silent hero simply suits many of them, but Tarantino has been right to point out and celebrate Menke's work over the years. After all, without her sharp eye in the editing room, Tarantino's movies, and even his career, would have looked very different than they do today.

Correction, Oct. 14, 2010: This article mistakenly claimed that Thelma Schoonmaker has edited all of Martin Scorsese's films. In fact, she has not edited all of his films. (Return to the corrected sentence.)


Sasha Watson has written about books, art, and travel for the Los Angeles Times, ARTnews, and the Daily Beast. She is the author of the young adult novel Vidalia in Paris.

Article URL: http://www.slate.com/id/2270808/

I'm watching Salt tonight..I'll let you know what I think.
Saw half of Invictus last night. Really boring so I wont return.

We had a date night Saturday and went to see The Social Network. I don't know exactly how accurate it was, but overall it was a pretty good movie. And of course, with it being date night, it could have been a bad movie seen with the best of company! ;)

Glynn

Been catching directors who are Masters of Horror. Some of those flicks I can't watch. The first time I saw Chainsaw Massacre in high school, I left the theatre after about 20 minutes and sat in the lobby. Scared the hell out of me. What I think is interesting is the scope of Wes Craven who's right up there with Tobe Hooper with a long list of hor-n-gore classics. Talented guy. A Master of Horror but had the talent to completely flip genres to direct something like Music of The Heart with Meryl Streep. Warm movie about a violin teacher who teaches inner city kids.

Its been a week of old horror movies. Peter Cushing, Vincent Price...
Last night, i watched the 1958 version of The Fly

Oh yeah! I'd do this one again. And you and OrganicButch. :|

Watched a very interesting film called Winter's Bones. Painful yet gripping slice of life movie, well worth the watch. It was a low budget film that used a lot of local actors and won 2010 Sundance Grand Jury award.

Definitely one of those you feel the need to watch again.

[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bE_X2pDRXyY"]YouTube - WINTER'S BONE - Official US Theatrical Trailer in HD[/nomedia]

How could I have forgot to add....?
 

My perfection picked up Sex in the City 2 this weekend, as I was remiss in catching its release date ( I'll have you know I was at the video store waiting in the parking lot when the first one came out, just for her!! )...

She watched it, but will watch it again with me so I can see it too. I won't watch it until she comes home. She loves those girls and i love watching her love them :cheer: Plus, Kim Catrell is smokin!

Anyone else "Sex" fans? heh...

Unstoppable
Denzel's latest out Nov. 12

Inspired by actual events, "Unstoppable" is an adrenaline rush fueled by director Tony Scott's signature mark of propulsive action rooted in the reality of ordinary people placed in extraordinary circumstances.

A veteran train engineer (Denzel Washington) and a young conductor (Chris Pine) race the clock to stop an unmanned runaway train – effectively a missile the size of a skyscraper -- and prevent disaster in a heavily populated area.



I think Denzel is stuck on trains these days. Second train movie after the remake of The Taking of Pelham 123. Pretty good movie by the way aside from filthy language. Travolta is a No.1 maniac prick.

Nov. Releases from yours truly
 

Friday, November 5
Due Date Robert Downey, Jr. / Zach Galifianakis
Megamind Will Ferrell / Tina Fey
For Colored Girls Janet Jackson / Loretta Devine
Fair Game (2010) Naomi Watts / Sean Penn
Red Hill Ryan Kwanten / Steve Bisley
127 Hours James Franco / Amber Tamblyn

Wednesday, November 10
Morning Glory (2010) Harrison Ford / Rachel McAdams

Friday, November 12
Unstoppable (2010) Denzel Washington / Chris Pine (see post above)
Skyline (2010) Eric Balfour / David Zayas

Friday, November 19
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I Daniel Radcliffe / Rupert Grint
The Next Three Days Russell Crowe / Elizabeth Banks

Wednesday, November 24
Tangled (2010) Mandy Moore / Zachary Levi
Burlesque (2010) Christina Aguilera / Cher
Love and Other Drugs Anne Hathaway / Jake Gyllenhaal
Faster (2010) Dwayne Johnson / Billy Bob Thornton

Friday, November 26
Red Dawn (2010) Chris Hemsworth / Josh Peck
The King's Speech Colin Firth / Geoffrey Rush

Daniel Day-Lewis Will Be Steven Spielberg's Abraham Lincoln

Tim Grierson, Yahoo Movies

For what seems like forever, director Steven Spielberg has talked about wanting to do a biopic on Abraham Lincoln from a script by "Angels in America" playwright Tony Kushner. But for the past decade, Spielberg has instead focused on other projects while Liam Neeson remained committed to playing our 16th president. When Neeson announced this summer that he was finally leaving the project, that seemed to be the end of it ever happening, but now the film is very much back on track: Daniel Day-Lewis is going to play Lincoln.

While Neeson would have a made a great Lincoln, we think Day-Lewis is just about a perfect choice: He has just the right amount of humanity, gravitas and charisma to play the most admired and worshipped (and therefore scrutinized) of all presidents. It's a major role in a major film by a major filmmaker, which means that audience expectations will be set ridiculously high, so you want someone who's got the chops to pull it off. He proved himself in Oscar-winning roles in "My Left Foot" and "There Will Be Blood," picking up additional Oscar nominations for his work in films including "In the Name of the Father" and "Gangs of New York." And after the debacle of "Nine," Day-Lewis needs to return to the type of full-bodied character portrayals he's known for, like "There Will Be Blood." This Lincoln project should do just that for the notoriously reclusive actor who has been known to go into seclusion for years following a film (he took off four full years after "My Left Foot").

The film, based on Doris Kearns Goodwin's "Team of Rivals" biography about Lincoln's battles with his White House Cabinet during the Civil War between 1861-1865, profiles the clashes brought about by the nation's turmoil. The Wrap reports that Spielberg will be shooting the film in the fall of next year. In other words, Spielberg will start the Lincoln project just before his next two movies will be coming out: the World War I drama "War Horse" and "The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn."

There had been some thought his next assignment after those two would be the apocalyptic sci-fi film "Robopocalypse", but it appears Spielberg will now be focusing on 19th century history before he turns his attention to the dystopian future. And now he's got arguably the best actor on the planet by his side to make this long-awaited film finally happen.

I took my oldest niece and nephew and my four year old niece to see the new Karate Kid movie over the summer and truly enjoyed it.

The one movie that I would like to see is the new Harry Potter movie. I am also looking forward to the new season of Law & Order SVU coming out on NetFlix.

I don't see many main-stream movies any more, like independent/foreign films. And love old movies. But, I have found this thread to be a really good place to find out about ones I should take a look at. Always interested in "sleepers." I do want to see "Fair Game" when it gets to my local theater. Look forward to what you all have to say about it.

I will probably skip the US made "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo." Just can't wrap my head around a US re-make of this being very good. Who knows.

Thanks!

I finally got my hands on the movie Soldier's Girl, have to say that I'm really glad I did. I think it's probably the best transgender movie I've seen, particularly one based on a true story. While it dealt with the discrimination Calpernia and Barry faced leading up to Barry's death, the film's creators themselves didn't negatively portray either character (while also showing the problems and insecurities of the aggressors as well). On top of that I couldn't see any attempt to strip Calpernia's identity as an MtF away from her/put her womanhood into question in the end, which is definitely a great change. That's one of the things that really irked me about the way Boys Don't Cry was written.

If you haven't seen it, I definitely recommend it.

December 2010 Releases

Friday, December 3

Night Catches Us Anthony Mackie / Kerry Washington
Black Swan (2010) Natalie Portman / Mila Kunis
I Love You Phillip Morris Jim Carrey / Ewan McGregor
The Warrior's Way (2010) Jang Dong-gun / Geoffrey Rush

Friday, December 10

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader Ben Barnes / Georgie Henley
The Fighter (2010) Mark Wahlberg / Christian Bale
The Tourist (2010) Angelina Jolie / Johnny Depp
The Tempest (2010) Helen Mirren / Djimon Hounsou

Friday, December 17

TRON: Legacy Garrett Hedlund / Jeff Bridges
Yogi Bear (2010) Anna Faris / Dan Aykroyd
How Do You Know Reese Witherspoon / Owen Wilson

Wednesday, December 22

Little Fockers Robert De Niro / Ben Stiller
Somewhere (2010) Stephen Dorff / Elle Fanning
Gulliver's Travels (2010) Jack Black / Emily Blunt
Country Strong Gwyneth Paltrow / Tim McGraw

Saturday, December 25

The Illusionist (2010)

Wednesday, December 29

Another Year David Bradley / Jim Broadbent

Friday, December 31

Blue Valentine Ryan Gosling / Michelle Williams

Friday, March 25

Miral (2010) Willem Dafoe / Freida Pinto

December 2010 Releases

Friday, December 3

Night Catches Us Anthony Mackie / Kerry Washington
Black Swan (2010) Natalie Portman / Mila Kunis
I Love You Phillip Morris Jim Carrey / Ewan McGregor
The Warrior's Way (2010) Jang Dong-gun / Geoffrey Rush

Friday, December 10

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader Ben Barnes / Georgie Henley
The Fighter (2010) Mark Wahlberg / Christian Bale
The Tourist (2010) Angelina Jolie / Johnny Depp
The Tempest (2010) Helen Mirren / Djimon Hounsou

Friday, December 17

TRON: Legacy Garrett Hedlund / Jeff Bridges
Yogi Bear (2010) Anna Faris / Dan Aykroyd
How Do You Know Reese Witherspoon / Owen Wilson

Wednesday, December 22

Little Fockers Robert De Niro / Ben Stiller
Somewhere (2010) Stephen Dorff / Elle Fanning
Gulliver's Travels (2010) Jack Black / Emily Blunt
Country Strong Gwyneth Paltrow / Tim McGraw

Saturday, December 25

The Illusionist (2010)

Wednesday, December 29

Another Year David Bradley / Jim Broadbent

Friday, December 31

Blue Valentine Ryan Gosling / Michelle Williams