WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

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moira finnie
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by moira finnie »

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Party Girl (1995) stars Parker Posey as a 24-year-old whose life revolves around the club scene in NYC in the ravin' nineties. Circumstances revealed in such repartee as "What's up, buttercup?" "The rent and I'm not paying!" soon lead her to reluctantly take on a position as a library clerk. While initially approaching her work in a zombie-like haze, the usually hungover young woman falls deeply in love during the film with two things:
1.) The Dewey Decimal System*
2.) A sweet Falafel salesmen from Lebanon

The movie is hilarious, has become a cult classic among librarians, and Posey's performance is a delight, esp. in those moments when she seems to be unconsciously channeling the spritely Katharine Hepburn of the '30s, before that actress decided to become a living legend. if you are not offended by satirical and candidly humorous references to sex, drugs and rock and roll you will enjoy this film enormously. FYI: the director, Daisy von Scherler Mayer, who has worked largely in television since this movie, is the granddaughter of screenwriter Edwin Justus Mayer, who was responsible for the scripts for such 30s & '40s gems as Merrily We Go To Hell, So Red the Rose, Peter Ibbetson, Desire, and To Be or Not To Be, (he was also an uncredited contributor to the GWTW script). I guess there is something to this genetics thing. :wink:


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*Despite the fact that Melvil Dewey, the creator of the system, conceived of it as appropriate work for "dumb women"--but at least he created a field of work for women at a time when there was almost no profession welcoming to them.
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JackFavell
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by JackFavell »

Thanks Moira -

A movie about a girl falling in love with the library is for me! :D

I found it at Netflix, but for disc subscribers only, not streaming. Half of the film is on youtube, not that that does anyone any good....
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by moira finnie »

JF:
If you get IndiePlex on your cable system, Party Girl (1995) is being shown on Friday, March 7th at 2:35am (ET) and 3:30pm (ET). I hope you will enjoy it too.
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by RedRiver »

PARTY GIRL does sound good. I don't remember hearing about it when it came out.
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by JackFavell »

I don't get Indieplex. Wish I did!
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

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OMG! They still make good movies! At least, in England. I saw something called ABOUT TIME. Mature romantic comedy, a genre that sadly, has come to mean STUPID. This clever, heartfelt story is anything but. It's the work of Richard Curtis, the director behind LOVE, ACTUALLY, and as a writer, a number of clever projects. I'll overlook PIRATE RADIO for the moment!

An awkward young Brit falls for an American girl played by Rachel McAdams (or Meg Ryan. I'm convinced they're the same person!). The methods they employ to start and nurture their relationship are cute and clever. The humor is not silly, but elegant and warm. This is unabashed romance. If you don't like that, go home!

There is a fantasy angle. Time travel! The young man has the ability to go back in time and fix things that didn't go so well on the first attempt. It was halfway through the movie that I realized...this is GROUNDHOG DAY! But where Harold Ramis went sardonic and cynical, this time trip is gentle and loving. People care deeply for each other, and would do just about anything to help one in need.

To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure why they need the time travel element. The touching and amusing story would hold up on its own. But I can't fault a choice that did nothing to diminish my appreciation of this fine movie. With or without a time machine, this is a sincere, sensitive comedy by a filmmaker who clearly has great things to offer.

P.S.
It's really Rachel McAdams! Not Meg Ryan. And she's excellent.
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by feaito »

Red River I have to concur with your opinion of "About Time" (2013); I rented it one month ago quite by chance and I loved the film.

My wife and I found it one brilliant piece of film, script, premise and acting; I really love films that are anti-formulae and unpredictable and this reflects what this movie is, PERFECTLY. On the surface the film is about a guy who's able to travel back to the moment he chooses in his past, but underneath it is much more complex and "unpredictable" than that.

Irish actor Dohmnall Gleason is great as the leading character of this film (looking a lot like a grandson of the great character actor Sterling Holloway). Rachel McAdams has grown, in all the meanings of the word, since her role in the very famous tearjerker "The Notebook"; Bill Nighy is absolutely perfect as Gleason's dad and Lindsay Duncan (better known for her role as Servilia of the Junii in the miniseries "Rome") gives a nuanced performance as Nighy's wife. A very rewarding film about life. 9/10
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by CharlieT »

Yesterday I used my new Blu-ray player to watch Larry Vecchio get his stubborn ass out of Egypt. The quality was very good, but this version was done in 16:9. My older DVD was letterboxed widescreen and looks more like seeing it at the movies.
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by Vecchiolarry »

Hi Sir Charles!!

Great post - I loved it...

My stubborn ass proved to be more of a star attraction then me - the donkey went on to be in a couple more Westerns; and I never was in another film again....
Cecil B. concentrated on Anne, Charlton and Yul - - the nerve....

Cheers,
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by RedRiver »

Bill Nighy is absolutely perfect as Gleason's dad

Bill Nighy is perfect in just about everything! One of the more unique, unpredictable actors working today.

I guess I'm catching up on my movies. I watched NEBRASKA last night. I liked it. It's not a masterpiece. It drags a little. For those who have seen it, I kept thinking, "Get out of that town! Those people are ***holes!" But I was never flat out bored. And more often than not, I found it moving. Cynic that I am, I find the depiction of blood sucking, self serving vultures quite realistic. As expected, the black and white cinematography was lovely. When a modern filmmaker makes that choice, it had better look good!

Bruce Dern is wonderful as a slightly confused old man who believes he has won a million dollars. Stack Keach is fine as, well, an ***hole! Some of the actors fail to meet that level of exellence. There's an awkwardness to their characters, due to a less than convincing interpretation. Overall, this is a fine, if not fantastic, drama. I've never seen an Alexander Payne film I simply loved. SIDEWAYS is good, but not sensational. ABOUT SCHMIDT gets lost in its own weirdness. This new film is as good as either of those.
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by Lomm »

Both Party Girl and About Time sound pretty interesting to me; added both to my Netflix queue just now. Thanks for posting!
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by Rita Hayworth »

Sex and the Single Girl - 1964 Film

Starring Tony Curtis and Natalie Wood was so funny and I couldn't keep myself laughing so hard in my life at the end of the movie when they going all over the place getting to the airport and Larry (F-Troop) Storch the Motorcycle Cop was hilarious. I always amazed how well Henry Fonda can do comedies and with him pairing with Lauren Bacall was sensational. Anyway, this is one of those movies that can make you smile and I just loved the fast pace of this wild and crazy comedy. It was a blast watching it. :)

Natalie Wood and Tony Curtis
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by Lzcutter »

Mr. Cutter and I saw Nebraska last Friday night.

As Red said, it was a good movie. Bruce Dern and June Squibb are terrific as are Stacy Keach an Will Forte. Dern and Squibb reminded me of my parents and all the bickering they did. After the film, the people seated behind us said it reminded me them of their parents, too!

The character actors that make up the rest of Dern's family, including Rance Howard, and the townspeople all have those lived in faces that lend an authenticity of the film and the the locale.

It's easy to see why Dern and Squibb garnered nominations.

Night before last we watched Monsters University from Pixar. It's the prequel to Monsters, Inc from a few years back. John Goodman as Sully and Billy Crystal as Mike are back as their younger selves in college ably assisted by Helen Mirren and a host of actors.

We decided that our dog, Bo, was Sully especially after Sully snorted a few times and towards the end talked about though he can be scary, he was really scared of people. That's our dog to a tee, a german shepard with a bark that will give you pause but is really all a facade.

Nice little Pixar movie with some terrific animation.
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

Post by RedRiver »

I like THE BACHELOR PARTY, with its Paddy Chayefsky script, a lot. It's SO 1950s!
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