Last Movie You Watched

[Garden Girl]

My favorite Saturday afternoon is dozing in my big chair in  early afternoon... then about 4:00 or 5:00 taking my shower and getting into jammies... then watching BYU Sports... but there are no sports on this afternoon... so I rented two movies..

I just finished watching "Saving Mr. Banks" with Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson... a wonderful film based on the true back story of the writing of Mary Poppins... Thompson plays authoress P.L. Travers (a pseudonymn), and in flashbacks tells how her book is intertwined with her childhood memories, some very painful... and about a Nanny, who came to them during a very difficult time in Travers' childhood,  complete with carpet dufflebag and umbrella, and widebrimed black hat... Hanks plays Walt Disney... and how he and Travers locked horns on occasion while trying to bring Mary Poppins to the screen, finally coming to an understanding and friendship.  A touching, delightful, family movie...

EDIT TO ADD:  I say this is a "family" movie... but children should be 12 or older... it deals with some issues like alcoholism of Travers' father... some dark memories for her... even though it's about making the Disney movie, it's a serious story of her journey and dealing with her memories.

 

The other movie I've rented is "Twelve Years a Slave."  I'm looking forward to this one also...

 

My little market that is about a mile down the hghway from me has a kiosk that automatically rents out movies... a vending machine thingy.  For $1.20 per movie I have access to the latest movies such as the two I rented this afternoon.   

 

GG

Edited April 13, 2014 by Garden Girl

[Calm]

Mary Poppins in the books is very different than in the movie, I love the book character but the movie is fun too and it is the first movie I really remember that I liked as a kid so I try to think of it as a story about another nanny who just happens to be called "Mary Poppins" as well.  My older sister had us dress up as Mary and Bert to perform the songs.  It was the one time I got to be the girl because she had a jacket that looked like Bert's jacket in the animated scene with the penguins.  All other dressups and musicals I remember (and I believe there were a lot because she loved performing and I was a good little sister) I played the guy/prince/minor character.

 

I haven't seen Saving Mr. Banks but my husband told me the storyline and it makes me like the movie much more.

 

***First movie I know I remember is It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World which came out the year before MP.  I remember seeing it as at a drive in hanging out of the back of the station wagon.

Edited April 13, 2014 by calmoriah

[Garden Girl]

I just watched "12 Years a Slave"... powerful story of Solomon Northup, who in 1841 was a successful free black man living in New York, who was kidnapped and sold into slavery in the South... He left behind his wife and two children.  His first plantation owner was more kindly but still he was cautioned not to let anyone know he was educated and could read and write... Ultimately he ended up with a cruel man who mistreated all of his slaves.  This was an unvarnished look at the realty of slavery, and he was just one man. 

I won't spoil it by telling more in case some want to see it... all I will say is it is a powerful story of a man thrown into the worst of circumstances who still held hope...

 

GG

[thesometimesaint]

GG:

 

I know it has a happy ending but am torn as to whether I will see it or not. The previews are pretty graphic. I tend to go to movie I can turn my brain off on and just enjoy the show. 

[Tacenda]

I just watched "12 Years a Slave"... powerful story of Solomon Northup, who in 1841 was a successful free black man living in New York, who was kidnapped and sold into slavery in the South... He left behind his wife and two children. His first plantation owner was more kindly but still he was cautioned not to let anyone know he was educated and could read and write... Ultimately he ended up with a cruel man who mistreated all of his slaves. This was an unvarnished look at the realty of slavery, and he was just one man.

I won't spoil it by telling more in case some want to see it... all I will say is it is a powerful story of a man thrown into the worst of circumstances who still held hope...

GG

I watched, and some parts were hard to watch, but hopefully by seeing the movie, it will never let slavery happen again.

I'm going to read the book now.

TSS, just like Schindler's List was difficult to watch, it was needed, IMO. But maybe just read the book..

Honestly, maybe I'm desensitized, but I only saw a couple parts that were difficult. To me, the movie is a can't miss.

[Garden Girl]

GG:

 

I know it has a happy ending but am torn as to whether I will see it or not. The previews are pretty graphic. I tend to go to movie I can turn my brain off on and just enjoy the show. 

 

Tacenda's correct... there are only a couple areas which are really graphic, i.e., beatings... it is the overall fact that one group of people could do this to another group... slavery was our holocaust...

Thankfully, enough of our people recognized it for what it was and put an end to it...  things are still not perfect but I believe each generation is an improvement... when I was in high school on the west coast, parts of the south were still under Jim Crow.  Better stop here so as not to become political... just suffice it that it was incredibly wrong, even evil, and we never want to go backwards.

 

GG

[thesometimesaint]

I watched, and some parts were hard to watch, but hopefully by seeing the movie, it will never let slavery happen again.

I'm going to read the book now.

TSS, just like Schindler's List was difficult to watch, it was needed, IMO. But maybe just read the book..

Honestly, maybe I'm desensitized, but I only saw a couple parts that were difficult. To me, the movie is a can't miss.

 

As I said I'm torn. I do like well made movies even if the subject is pretty bad. Not that I find that slavery, it is just a fact, is such, but I just don't find my emotions of seeing the mistreatment of people all that appealing.

[thesometimesaint]

Tacenda's correct... there are only a couple areas which are really graphic, i.e., beatings... it is the overall fact that one group of people could do this to another group... slavery was our holocaust...

Thankfully, enough of our people recognized it for what it was and put an end to it...  things are still not perfect but I believe each generation is an improvement... when I was in high school on the west coast, parts of the south were still under Jim Crow.  Better stop here so as not to become political... just suffice it that it was incredibly wrong, even evil, and we never want to go backwards.

 

GG

 

I lived in the South under Jim Crow, and remember seeing chain gangs all too well. Something I never want to see again. The Antebellium mansions are beautiful until you realize the horrible price our black brothers and sisters paid for them.

[altersteve]

As I said I'm torn. I do like well made movies even if the subject is pretty bad. Not that I find that slavery, it is just a fact, is such, but I just don't find my emotions of seeing the mistreatment of people all that appealing.

 

It's the kind of movie that's supposed to make you feel horrible. To know that we did this is what makes this a difficult -- and yet essential -- film to watch. It's a wonderful, wonderful movie.

[Storm Rider]

It's the kind of movie that's supposed to make you feel horrible. To know that we did this is what makes this a difficult -- and yet essential -- film to watch. It's a wonderful, wonderful movie.

 

One of my knee-jerk reactions to this type of statement is that it was not "we"; the USA has no ownership of slavery. Slavery existed before the US and it has continued to exist after the Civil War. Some people have practiced slavery throughout history; some people choose well and some choose poorly.  In our nation's history there have always been those who were against slavery; not just evil slave owners, they were against the concept of slavery. Consequently, slavery continues to flourish in Africa with the same types of things happening to slaves.

 

I live in the Middle East and we still have slavery here. It is found in the underbelly of the culture. Some instances are outright ownership of another human while others are more indentured servitude.  There are still other situations where fellow humans work for a pittance as maids, drivers, and childcare providers. Is this a Muslim issue or a human issue?  It is an issue for all groups or philosophies that do not speak out against it.

 

People do bad things to both themselves and to others. 

 

That is my soapbox for today.

[thesometimesaint]

While outlawed in the US the US still has slavery in 2014. That is just a fact. I wish it weren't so, but it is.

[altersteve]

One of my knee-jerk reactions to this type of statement is that it was not "we"; the USA has no ownership of slavery. Slavery existed before the US and it has continued to exist after the Civil War. Some people have practiced slavery throughout history; some people choose well and some choose poorly.  In our nation's history there have always been those who were against slavery; not just evil slave owners, they were against the concept of slavery. Consequently, slavery continues to flourish in Africa with the same types of things happening to slaves.

 

I live in the Middle East and we still have slavery here. It is found in the underbelly of the culture. Some instances are outright ownership of another human while others are more indentured servitude.  There are still other situations where fellow humans work for a pittance as maids, drivers, and childcare providers. Is this a Muslim issue or a human issue?  It is an issue for all groups or philosophies that do not speak out against it.

 

People do bad things to both themselves and to others. 

 

That is my soapbox for today.

 

I meant "we" as in humanity, not the United States.

[seed]

 

I live in the Middle East and we still have slavery here. It is found in the underbelly of the culture. Some instances are outright ownership of another human while others are more indentured servitude.  There are still other situations where fellow humans work for a pittance as maids, drivers, and childcare providers. Is this a Muslim issue or a human issue?  It is an issue for all groups or philosophies that do not speak out against it.

 

People do bad things to both themselves and to others. 

 

 

The movie machine gun preacher the Sam Childers story is a movie based on a true story.  Where a man takes action to make a difference where some of the worst possible treatment of others is occuring.   Is he a hero or breaking commandments and wrong for fhe actions ?

[Ron Beron]

While outlawed in the US the US still has slavery in 2014. That is just a fact. I wish it weren't so, but it is.

It is not systemic and is prosecuted when found...unless you are talking about April 15.  That would be different.

[Garden Girl]

It is not systemic and is prosecuted when found...unless you are talking about April 15.  That would be different.

 

Let's try and keep this from being political... we don't want this thread shut down... this movie was very well done and is well worth seeing...

 

GG

[Tacenda]

Let's try and keep this from being political... we don't want this thread shut down... this movie was very well done and is well worth seeing...

GG

ditto

[Stargazer]

I did not even know about "Gravity", until I watched the oscars. So I watched it twice today. What a none stop nail biter. It was great!

 

I wanted to see it in theaters, especially wanted to see it in 3D IMAX.  Sigh.  But I didn't.  Have to wait for it to show up as a disc.

[Stargazer]

I finally watched, "Bonnie and Clyde" for the first time the other day.  While the actors seemed a bit sophisticated for the real people it was still a fairly good movie, even though they were being made to be sympathetic.

I also watched Enders Game and thought what all the noise was about.  Even the FX was lame.

 

Really?  It was the only movie I've seen in the theaters for almost the whole past year, and I was very impressed with the FX.  The actor playing Ender was quite good, I thought, and Harrison Ford made a decent interpretation of his character as well.  There was no way there could be a decent recreation of the book.  It would have taken six or seven hours of screentime.

 

The one part I didn't feel came anywhere at all close to the book, and the movie actually suffers from it, was the whole Peter Wiggins thing.  That character was written terribly, and the actor playing Peter didn't come off at all true to the spirit and character of the book's Peter.  For one thing, there needed to be more screentime for the character.  The brief time he was shown was completely inadequate to act as a foil to Ender.

 

Oh, and Ben Kingsley was simply amazing.

[thesometimesaint]

It is not systemic and is prosecuted when found...unless you are talking about April 15.  That would be different.

 

I never said it is now.  If you enjoyed that movie, I won't object. I tend not to enjoy movies that show how brutal it actually was/is. My imagination is quite vivid as it is.

[Garden Girl]

I just finished watching Turner Classic Movies... The Buddy Holly Story...

Now most of you are way too young to remember him... but his music was my music, and during the film I confess I was dancing in front of the TV... his music was such that you couldn't sit still... Rock and Roll!!  It was as if 55 years rolled away and there I was just like I was at 18... listening to Buddy Holly and dancing. 

His life was cut short in 1959 at age 22 at the height of his career when after a big holiday stage show Buddy, The Big Bopper, and Richie Valens were all killed when the small, private plane they had chartered went down in bad winter weather as they were headed home..

The Big Bopper was J. Richardson... Chantilly Lace, and a pretty face, pony tail hanging down, a wiggling walk, and a giggling talk... Oh baby, you know what I like!!!

Richie Valens was also young and fairly new to the music scene, and was most famous for his hits La Bamba, and Donna...

You know what's fun about being 73... being able to look back and play my memories in my mind's eye, while listening to the music of my youth...

 

GG

Edited April 16, 2014 by Garden Girl

[thesometimesaint]

I just finished watching Turner Classic Movies... The Buddy Holly Story...

Now most of you are way too young to remember him... but his music was my music, and during the film I confess I was dancing in front of the TV... his music was such that you couldn't sit still... Rock and Roll!!  It was as if 55 years rolled away and there I was just like I was at 18... listening to Buddy Holly and dancing. 

His life was cut short in 1959 at age 22 at the height of his career when after a big holiday stage show Buddy, The Big Bopper, and Richie Valens were all killed when the small, private plane they had chartered went down in bad winter weather as they were headed home..

The Big Bopper was J. Richardson... Chantilly Lace, and a pretty face, pony tail hanging down, a wiggling walk, and a giggling talk... Oh baby, you know what I like!!!

Richie Valens was also young and fairly new to the music scene, and was most famous for his hits La Bamba, and Donna...

You know what's fun about being 73... being able to look back and play my memories in my mind's eye, while listening to the music of my youth...

 

GG

 

I was a little too young for them. but do remember the early Elvis, The Weavers,The Kingston Trio, the Chad Mitchell Trio, The New Christy Minstrels, The Brothers Four, The Four Freshmen, The Four Preps, and The Highwaymen., of the late  50's to very early 60's and then came the Beatles

[Ron Beron]

Let's try and keep this from being political... we don't want this thread shut down... this movie was very well done and is well worth seeing...

 

GG

Sorry GG.  It was a clarification not particularly political...except for the tax thing.  I made a small error on my return and had to pay $7K!  I fortunately found the error. 

Speaking of movies on slavery I was always particularly fond of Amistad.

[Ron Beron]

I never said it is now.  If you enjoyed that movie, I won't object. I tend not to enjoy movies that show how brutal it actually was/is. My imagination is quite vivid as it is.

I agree.  I remember watching Roots when it first came out and thought this was slavery light.  We simply have no idea how atrocious it really was and is in parts of the world.

[Ron Beron]

Really?  It was the only movie I've seen in the theaters for almost the whole past year, and I was very impressed with the FX.  The actor playing Ender was quite good, I thought, and Harrison Ford made a decent interpretation of his character as well.  There was no way there could be a decent recreation of the book.  It would have taken six or seven hours of screentime.

 

The one part I didn't feel came anywhere at all close to the book, and the movie actually suffers from it, was the whole Peter Wiggins thing.  That character was written terribly, and the actor playing Peter didn't come off at all true to the spirit and character of the book's Peter.  For one thing, there needed to be more screentime for the character.  The brief time he was shown was completely inadequate to act as a foil to Ender.

 

Oh, and Ben Kingsley was simply amazing.

The CGI in most films are a bit much so they have to be pretty good.  I suppose Ender bothered me because it is a plausible idea which I really would not like to see.

[Garden Girl]

I was a little too young for them. but do remember the early Elvis, The Weavers,The Kingston Trio, the Chad Mitchell Trio, The New Christy Minstrels, The Brothers Four, The Four Freshmen, The Four Preps, and The Highwaymen., of the late  50's to very early 60's and then came the Beatles

 

Groups that were my favs... Kingston Trio... New Christy Minstrels (loved them!)...  Four Freshmen... really good music to sing along, to dance to... to romance to... and then the Beatles came and music took a turn, and the rest is history...

 

 

Sorry GG.  It was a clarification not particularly political...except for the tax thing.  I made a small error on my return and had to pay $7K!  I fortunately found the error. 

Speaking of movies on slavery I was always particularly fond of Amistad.

 

I pulled several movies to watch last night... Amistad was one of them... but then I noticed The Buddy Holly Story was going to be on...  I'll watch Amistad tonight... what a story...

 

GG