I told myself that I was going to allow some time for fun over my Christmas break. To that end, I want to see the following movies:
Revolutionary Road (trailer here)
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (trailer here)
Cadillac Records (trailer here)
Doubt (trailer here)
The Day the Earth Stood Still (trailer here)
So what do you plan to see over the holidays? There are a bunch of movies (like Despereaux – I loved the book) that I will wait to see on DVD. And speekina…
The Thriller and I decided to cancel our annual Christmas trip to Detroit (Greektown Casino) and instead used the money to buy this monstrosity, which is going to swallow my tiny little living room. Oh well… choose your battles, right?
Fink out.
I’m with you on “Doubt” – Love Meryl Streep and the trailers sure are compelling. What about “7 Pounds” with Will Smith? That one’s on my own personal list for December movies. You might check that one out too.
My, my! That is a monstrosity! Are you going to have it baptized? My own tiny little living room is swallowed by a 6 1/2-foot Baldwin, but as you say, one has to pick one’s battles. Congrats, and enjoy!
PK
“Revolutionary Road” is among my top 3 favorite novels. Richard Yates always hated the fact that his debut novel was the best he ever wrote. I always considered this novel as one of my ‘secrets’, meaning few readers I knew had even heard of it. Having seen the extended trailer, all I can say is that Winselt is perfect as April Wheeler, while Leo is a freakin disaster. He has no business playing Frank. I like Leo as an actor but he simply looks too young, period. The actor playing Frank should have been more along the lines of Jon Hamm’s troubled character in “Mad Men” (although perhaps not quite as masculine and handsome as Hamm) since the book is set – and was written – in that very era.
In short, since my secret’s out, I would urge everyone to read the book and ditch the flick- there is no hope of the movie even coming close to the novel.
I hate being the cynic . . . oh hell, who am I kidding, I love being the cynic, but . . . all those films will do poorly with the possible exception of The Day The Earth Stood Still. That film will draw in a lot of young Sci Fi fans, i.e. mostly young men.
I saw the trailer for Doubt and it looked to me that Streep was phoning in her performance – long distance. She WAS Sophie in Sophie’s Choice, but since then she has just been playing caricatures of herself. Plus, and I don’t know the play so I could be wrong, but it looks like it’s just another Catholic bashing movie to me with all the typical stereotypes – mean, controlling Nun and predatory Priest. I can skip that and watch Boy’s Town or Going My Way instead.
And DiCaprio? I can’t figure out why he gets adult parts, he is still like a kid in high school.
I do like Brad Pitt, and this film might be interesting, but it’s a long shot at being successful.
There, now you can return to your regularly scheduled channel.
PK – I checked out 7 Pounds – I think I’d like it! And thanks for the congratulatory greetings, I think…sheesh…what if I hate it?!?! Dear God it’s enormous.
Ross – I read a lot of forums where people agreed with your take on Leo. But you know, I never thought Johnny Depp could sing Sondheim, either…
I wanted to get the book, but with all my other garbage to read, I’ll never get it read before the movie opens. And I am going to be there when it opens. Maybe you should give Leo a try…or wait until I’ve seen it and I’ll report back to you on how believable the whole thing was. I really think chemistry will play a big part in what could be a suspension of disbelief for viewers who think he’s too baby-faced to pull off Frank. I read a great article here about it, if you’d be interested.
TRO, you old curmudgeon, you.
If only I had Leo’s problem…33 years old and looking like you’re in high school!
I usually don’t care (actually, I never do) about how well a movie will do at the box office. I’m nowhere near that savvy where films are concerned. I will watch one, and decide then and there if I like it, regardless of what critics and the GP have said. I know I will bawl my head off at Revolutionary Road and Benjamin Button, and that’s what I live for. As an opera singer friend of mine used to say: “I want to feel all the feelings and experience all the experiences.” My empathy wiring is on bigtime overload.
And speaking of bawling my head off….I cried for DAYS after Sophie’s Choice. DAYS
I hear you RF. Although I’d never read any Lestat books, I recall plenty of fans losing their minds when Tom Cruise was cast as the vampire, yet I believe he won over most – or at least a lot – of them. I thought he was dynamite, but I never read the books.
And I read the link– still ain’t buyin it. I understand that these are different mediums and we all know the heartache of seeing a beloved book time-warped into a big-budget movie. Right now I just hope Sam Mendes can turn Leo into a decent Frank.
All that said: The comparison in that article between Frank and April’s fights and George and Martha’s in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? was so shamelessly way off it dashed the credibility of the entire piece.
HA
Was that the blogger saying that, or was Kate drawing those comparisons? I can’t remember, and I’m too lazy to go find it.
I completely understand your take on the thing. Maybe I’ll be really disappointed, and Leo will look like he’s playing dress-up in his grandpa’s old clothes!
And I did read every single Anne Rice “Vampire Chronicles” book – and I’m one of the few who loved Tom Cruise (and Brad Pitt) as Lestat and Louis. Again, maybe I’m just too easy to please where movies are concerned – or completely gullible!
I’m not ready to give this up.
“Frank Wheeler …. was neat and solid … with closely cut black hair and the kind of unemphatic good looks that an advertising photographer might use to portray the discerning consumer of well-made but inexpensive merchandise (Why Pay More?)”
And in his eyes, April’s “false smile … was as homely as his own sore feet.”
I’ll tell you who I think is gonna steal this movie: Either Kathy Bates (Mrs Givings) or, more likely Michael Shannon, who plays her son John. That’s my prediction, you heard it here first.
Rock on, Ross. Leo’s look is definitely not Yates’s idea of Frank, that’s for sure. I will give you a full report as soon as I get back from the theater. And funny story about your “Groundhog Day” Christmas routine. I like the movie, but I’d never be able to stomach a marathon of it like some folks do. Yikes!
I am really looking forward to The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. It looks like a brilliant film.
And I might give The Day the Earth Stood Still a look-see. I’ve seen the original, so I’m interested in how well the remake is done.