What is The Last Movie You Watched?

British actors usually fare badly when they try to emulate an American accent. They usual offer a United States of accents with bits of California, New York and the deep south all scrambled together.

However few crimes against English as she is spoke compare to that committed by Dick Van Dyke in "Mary Poppins". So it is hardly surprising that at an industry screening of the new film about Walt Disney's fight to win the rights to make Poppins the one moment that the entire audience were in accord - and laughed together - was when a clip of Dick as the chimney sweep was fetuared in the film. "Saving Mr Banks" is a Disney film about how Uncle Walt fought with thew writer of Mary Poppins, the prim english woman P L Travers for the rights to make the film. Hanks play Disney and Emma Thompson is crisp and rather funny as Travers. It's all a bit sugar coated though for this is a Disney film. Who else could make it. But the director says it was conceived and scripted before being thrown over the wall to the Disney executives to decide if they'd let it live or kill it. They gave it the thumbs up and they were very hands-off in the making of the movie. The one stricture. Disney could not be seen to smoke on-screen (Disney films now never feature smoking) even though in reality he was a chain smoker.

The meaning of the title becomes clear as you watch the film. To explain would spoil a key element.

Saving Mr. Banks Official Trailer #1 (2013) - Tom Hanks Movie - YouTube

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Originally Posted by Prospero

British actors usually fare badly when they try to emulate an American accent. They usual offer a United States of accents with bits of California, New York and the deep south all scrambled together.

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I think Gary Oldman does good American accents, as does Tom Wilkinson. Russell Crowe, too (I know he isn't British).

Gattaca (Andrew Niccol, 1997).
Tepid film of swapped identities set in the future; the parallels between brother-brother an brother-surrogate don't work, but the film is quite well written and nicely filmed.

World War Z (Marc Foster, 2013)
A rabid virus is turning humans into zombies, the world is on the verge of extinction and only one man can save us...and no, he isn't a no-nonsense soldier or a scientist but someone who used to work for and is now re-recruited by the UN, maybe the first time this world organisation achieves hero status? On the other hand, it is a disaster movie...

A Late Quartet (Yaron Zilberman, 2012)
I don't know how many bars there are in Beethoven's String Quartet op 131, but they are outnumbered by the cliches in this underwhelming stage play which struggles to match the oh-so-profound depths of Beethoven with the less-than-profound insights into the dynamics of a string quartet about to implode. The climax of the film is both unprofessional, and embarrassing, even if Christopher Walken as usual is endlessly watchable. Bizarrely, Angelo Badalementi was asked to write the background music, as if Beethoven wasn't good enough, and has his soupy drivel (even if derived from Op 131) interspersed with the quartet to alarming effect. One interesting rarity is Marietta's Lied from Korngold's Die Tote Stadt scored for soprano and piano quartet (dead wife is the clue). A great pity the author decided to focus on the tedious conflict between the First and Second violins, when a few viola jokes might have given this deadly serious drama some levity before sentencing itself to death, vide:

What's the difference between a viola and an onion? No one cries when you cut up a viola.

Why do violists stand for long periods outside people's houses? They can't find the key and they don't know when to come in.

What's the difference between a washing machine and a violist? Vibrato.

A Late Quartet - YouTube

I am not entirely sure if the HBO mini-series "Burning Bush" directed by the Polish film maker Agnieszka Holland quite counts as a movie. It is a contender for an award in the European Film Awards so i guess so.

Anyway it is nearly four hours long and for me echoes the excellence of "The Lives Of Others' in its portrait of life in Communist eastern Europe. This is set in the immediate aftermath of the self-immolation in 1969 of the student jan Palach in protest at the Russian occupation of Czechoslovakia after the crushing of the Prague Spring.. Brilliantly acted and directed it is a powerful and uneasy film to watch. In Czech with sub-titles.

Right now I've no idea where and when it will get a public screening but catch it when it does. Brilliant.

HBO "Burning Bush" Full-Length International Trailer - YouTube

I had to force my wife to watch blade runner last night...at 32, she still have never seen it. so, while having to explain relevance and interject opinion throughout the movie to keep her interested, i was able to find new joy in that most excellent film

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Originally Posted by RallyCola

I had to force my wife to watch blade runner last night...at 32, she still have never seen it. so, while having to explain relevance and interject opinion throughout the movie to keep her interested, i was able to find new joy in that most excellent film

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i've also never seen that film- despite being a big fan of science fiction. i always get to the point where rutger hauer is shouting with some dude then i fall asleep/loss interest/turn it off (take your pick).

i also hate prometheus and gladiator. i kinda have this "i hate" feeling for almost everything ridley scott does

Is there a definitive version on Blade Runner? I looked for it in the two shops we have in my town (an HMV and a brilliant independent) but neither have it. I saw it once when it was released and didn't like it but understand the studio messed around with it. I wanted to revisit it. Also thinking of revisiting Apocalypse Now but there seem to be three versions of this film, which I detested every time I saw the first version, it being incoherent.

Just saw Paths of Glory with Kirk Douglas. It is probably my favorite Kubrick movie (now that I've seen them all), though I'm sure not too many rate it as highly. Whereas Dr. Strangelove posed some interesting questions about the balance of terror during the cold war, it drove home its point by being intentionally absurd. Paths of Glory on the other hand only contains the tracest amounts of humor, and is really a more serious portrayal of the hypocrisy of generals and the unrealistic expectations placed on soldiers that have been sent on a virtual suicide mission. It is obviously an anti-war movie but is so effective because of its subtlety and greater restraint. Highly recommended.

I also saw Apocalypse Now and though it had some stirring moments and was at times visually spectacular, the message wasn't coherent. Coppola wanted to make a modernized version of Heart of Darkness, but the scenes with Brando didn't provide much clarity on what Coppola wanted to say except in the most general way. Was Kurtz to be commended for his honesty? Was his killing ordered only because nobody wanted to admit that his brutal ways were an honest expression of the war we were waging?

Movie day today...

Waited patiently for the release of both World War Z and The Purge (Purchased both last week and only today found me time to watch them)...
I have mixed views on both

Enjoyed them both however there were so many OTT parts in WWZ that they spoiled the over-all movie as a whole.

Enjoyed The Purge more of the 2 x Found myself wondering if I would hunt down and purge someone if it were in fact a reality! :-)

PS has anyone watched Liberachi? (poorly spelt)