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mellymel

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The Dorm. A foreign Vietnamese film. I REALLY enjoyed it. Some people may find it slow, but the overall story kept me glued.
 

jazzman99

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Loved, loved, LOVED "The Muppets." I actually went back to see it again the afternoon after my first viewing just because it was such a delight. It was clearly made by people who have a deep, deep love for The Muppet Show, and any fan of the show and the first three movies should love this. Lots of laugh-out-loud moments, and the new songs are lively, well-written and catchy as heck. It's a sheer delight, and I hope it leads to more Muppets projects in the same vein in the near future.

A couple of notes--not quite spoilers:

About the only prominant cast member from The Muppet Show I could think of who didn't have at least a cameo appearance was Kermit's nephew Robin. Given the almost obsessive attempt to include as many Muppets as possible, the omission seems odd, and I'd love to know if Jason Segal has addressed the issue anywhere. Is it possible they thought that Robin's naive/newbie vibe was too close to what they wanted to do with Walter?

If you listen to the full-length version of Tex Richman's rap song "Let's Talk About Me" off the soundtrack album, you'll find several additional verses, not included in the movie, that fill in Richman's background and why he hates the Muppets. It also makes a few of the lines of dialogue in the film make more sense. I can only assume the full song was cut for the sake of length; I hope that the sequence was shot, and that it gets included as a bonus on the eventual DVD.

Speaking of DVD--when, when, when, oh when are we getting the final two seasons, or any of Muppets Tonight?
 

jazzman99

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The Muppet Movie. I was hoping for more snark. Several funny bits & good cameos. Whoever's doing Fozzie's voice is NOT consistent. I learned 5 minutes in that I dislike Jason Siegel. This cast a bit of a damper on the movie. :)

I don't think the Muppets really do snark.
 

Linds

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Finally saw Super 8, which I thought was interesting and fun to watch, but it never quite made it to "amazing" for me.
 

Calla Lily

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I don't think the Muppets really do snark.

We own the complete Muppet Show--all the seasons, including the failed 1980s reboot. They do indulge in some mild snark. I'm not talking Don Rickles insult "humor" (blech)--but they're not all sweetness and light and Sesame-Street-ish.

I know I'm a minority opinion here re the new movie. I thought it missed the mark it used to hit every time: humor on two levels. Like the rocky & Bullwinkle Show and old Warner Brothers cartoons, the Muppet Show could be enjoyed by kids on one level, and enjoyed by adults on a different level.

I saw the movie prepared to laugh my butt off and sniffle a little and come out with a huge grin on my face. I got a few chuckles and a few sniffles.

Ranty movie spoilers:

1. For me, the "travel by map" thing didn't work either time. The movie tried to place the Muppets in the human world--which worked for the most part. But then it tipped over into "failed suspension of disbelief" with the car coming out of the ocean on the Cannes beach and Siegel and Adams "traveling by map" to be the show's Deus ex machina.

2. No foreshadowing for Walter's big moment. When did we see that he could whistle classical music? I asked my kids, who saw the movie with me, and they said it came out of the blue for them as well. Using jumper cables to start the theater electricity worked, because Adams teaches a car repair class. But the whistling?

3. And this is the big one: The Telethon stops at $999,999. Everyone is sad. the Bad Guy evicts the Muppets. But all anyone in the theater had to do is reach into their pocket and pull out a one-dollar bill! The day is saved! The Bad Guy loses! Hooray! Instead, they ignored this huge elephant in the room and tried to sustain false tension so Kermit could make that sappy speech about how they may have lost but they're really winners because they pulled together as a family. AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH.
 

jazzman99

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I think we have different definitions of "snark." The fact that the Muppets work on multiple levels has indeed always been part of their appeal (hey, I've got all the DVDs too :) ), but I don't think there's ever been anything actively nasty or mean in the most Muppety projects, if you know what I mean. It took courage for Segal & Co. to make a movie without those elements in this cynical, sarcastic age, and I appluad them for going for genuine emotion. We can agree to disagree, of course.

The first two spoilery things you mention didn't bother me. The first is just part of the self-consciousness of the whole thing (like Amy Adams saying "This is going to be a short movie"), which again has always been part of the Muppet universe (remember the Electric Mayhem finding Kermit & Co. in the desert in the first movie by reading the script?). In terms of the third point, remember that it wasn't just a matter of money, but also time. The second hand on the clock hit midnight just a couple of seconds after the tote board stopped, so at that point the issue was already settled.
 

hester

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Saw The Descendants this weekend. Great film, though slightly diluted by the theater audience (the woman next to me who chomped her gum steadily throughout, the woman behind us who started saying "don't sign!" to George Clooney at a crucial point towards the end).

Which is why I sometimes prefer watching movies at home :).
 

jazzman99

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Saw The Descendants this weekend. Great film, though slightly diluted by the theater audience (the woman next to me who chomped her gum steadily throughout, the woman behind us who started saying "don't sign!" to George Clooney at a crucial point towards the end).

Which is why I sometimes prefer watching movies at home :).

I hear ya. Audiences have been getting steadily worse for years. If they're not talking they've got little glowing screens flashing all the time. I used to tell people to be quiet, but my wife put the kibosh on that a few years ago after I ended up nearly getting assaulted. As she points out, there's no telling who might have a gun these days.
 

AgathaChristieFan

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Starz was free last weekend, so I finally got to see "The Other Guys" with Mark Walhberg and Michael Keaton. I loved it, but I'm a huge fan of the so-stupid-it-has-to-be-funny type of movies (a.k.a. all the "Scary Movies", anything that's a spoof, etc.)
 

David Poellot

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I watched Blade Runner last night, but I just couldn't get into it. This was actually the first time I've ever watched it. I chuckled when I saw that they showed it was Los Angeles 2019. When my son walked in the room, I told him that we would have flying cars in eight years, according to this movie. :D
 

blacbird

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Sorcerer, the 1977 noir adventure film produced and directed by William Friedkin, starring Roy Scheider. An expensive disaster at the box office when released, but in my opinion, very underrated. I bought a VHS from a video store that was selling all their tapes at $1 apiece. Also got the wonderful Man Who Would Be King, with Michael Caine, Sean Connery and Christopher Plummer, and the film version of Ursula LeGuin's excellent novel The Lathe of Heaven, which film I know nothing about and will watch tomorrow evening. Hard to beat for $3.

caw
 

Diana Hignutt

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Sorcerer, the 1977 noir adventure film produced and directed by William Friedkin, starring Roy Scheider. An expensive disaster at the box office when released, but in my opinion, very underrated. I bought a VHS from a video store that was selling all their tapes at $1 apiece. Also got the wonderful Man Who Would Be King, with Michael Caine, Sean Connery and Christopher Plummer, and the film version of Ursula LeGuin's excellent novel The Lathe of Heaven, which film I know nothing about and will watch tomorrow evening. Hard to beat for $3.

caw

Is that the Lathe of Heaven with the senator from the first two Xmen movies? Can't remember his name. That's awesome. Enjoy.
 

Diana Hignutt

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Watched 30 Days of Night again to prepare for the sequel...

...great concept.
 

jennontheisland

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The Muppets Take Manhattan.

I took The Boy to see the new muppet movie last week (for the first time in a long time, people applauded after a movie; it was awesome) and we've been singing "mahnamanah" ever since. I've got the others in queue for the upcoming weekends.
 
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Jolly-Boo

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Drive - with Ryan Gosling (not actually with him)

Awesome movie.
 

Alwaysinspired

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I don't watch much tv and it had been forever since I actually sat down and watched a movie, but last week I saw Bridesmaids and couldn't stop laughing.
 

mellymel

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Watched 30 Days of Night again to prepare for the sequel...

...great concept.

There's going to be a sequel!?! YAYAYAYAY Love that movie so hard.

Friday night I watched Twilight (Hey, I love the romance, okay? And I had crackers, grapes and wine to go with all the cheese). Saturday night we watched Pocahontas with our girls (their first time). Love the music! And then hubs and I watched From Paris, With Love which was FANTASTIC (though hubs and I were scratching our heads trying to make the connection of the whole cocaine part of the story to the rest so if you could explain it, I'd really appreciate it). And then we saw The Hole. It was okay. Was recommended to me, but it was only meh. They gave away too much too soon in my opinion so I felt like I was just going through the motions of watching it rather than having my brain spinning to try and figure out what really happened (who really did it) which I prefer in my thriller/horror movies (Scream and Usual Suspects does it PERFECTLY).

ETA: OH! And I also finally saw Casablanca! Love it very very much. Next, I think I need me some James Dean movies. Recs?
 
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Diana Hignutt

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There's going to be a sequel!?! YAYAYAYAY Love that movie so hard.

............

ETA: OH! And I also finally saw Casablanca! Love it very very much. Next, I think I need me some James Dean movies. Recs?

1) Yes--it's out to own already, I can buy it on FIOS, but not rent it yet... I think they got someone else to play Melissa George's part...

2) If you haven't seen Rebel Without a Cause...it is a must for Dean.
 

mellymel

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1) Yes--it's out to own already, I can buy it on FIOS, but not rent it yet... I think they got someone else to play Melissa George's part...

2) If you haven't seen Rebel Without a Cause...it is a must for Dean.

Thanks, D!

:Thumbs:
 

Diana Hignutt

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Cowboys and Aliens -- I liked it more than I thought I would. Fun. Are Daniel Craig's ears getting bigger, or is it just me? Ford delivered a more nuanced performance than I expected for him. And I can't stop loving everything Sam Rockwell does.
 

FictionQuest

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I tried to watch the animated movie called 9 the other night. It was terrible so I gave up.