I saw the new version of Romeo & Juliet. It is a modernized version of the classic tale. I must confess that I usually prefer the stage version for Shakespeare. But, nonetheless, I kept an open mind and thought this was well done. Very violent, more so than I think Shakespeare had in mind. There also were some parts that did not adapt well to being modernized. In particular, Juliet's father and mother did not seem to be very good parents. So, I thought the words at the end "All are punished!" hardly made any sense. I also felt the symbolism of the water was over done. I did like the image of the false stage on the beach where Mercutio is killed. I also thought the death scene was very effective. I would recommend this movie for people who know this play and don't mind seeing it done differently. My sister in law who is a theater professor really HATED this movie.

Last year it was Jane Austen, this year Shakespeare, what classic writer is in the on deck circle for next year?

Wait a sec...Romeo and Juliet DIE? Oh, thanks for ruining it for everyone!

Next time, how about a 'spoiler alert'?

I just saw Still Breathing Saturday: STILL BREATHING TO CLOSE SXSW FILM FESTIVAL AUSTIN, TEXAS, FEBRUARY 1997 -- The SXSW (South By Southwest) Film Festival announced today that it has chosen STILL BREATHING for the closing night of its third annual event. The picture will screen on March 15th at the Paramount Theatre in Austin. Brendan Fraser (Disney's upcoming GEORGE OF THE JUNGLE) and Joanna Going (Fox's INVENTING THE ABBOTS) head the cast of the magical romance, which will have its world premiere at the SXSW Fest. Also starring in the ZapPictures production are Ann Magnuson, Toby Huss, Angus MacFadyen, Lou Rawls, Paolo Seganti, Michael McKean, and Academy Award� winner Celeste Holm. The film is by first-time writer-director James F. Robinson and is produced by Marshall Persinger. "We are delighted to have STILL BREATHING close our festival," notes director Nancy Schafer. "Since the film was made principally in Texas, it makes a wonderful closing piece." "We love the idea of having our world premiere in Texas at SXSW, and are honored to occupy the same spot that LONE STAR held last year," said Robinson. "The festival provides a rich forum for independant filmmakers and showcases the terrific city of Austin." STILL BREATHING is a lyrical, modern romance about a hopelessly romantic Texas street performer (Fraser) who has a vision of his true love and sets out to find her... only she turns out to be a tough LA con artist (Going) who believes he's her next "mark." STILL BREATHING was recently acquired by Lakeshore International for foreign distribution. Domestic rights are available at this time.

I see you covered *spoiler alerts* months ago in this topic! (see Still Breathing)! Sorry! That IS pretty funny, tho, joshd--like your style.

There's a schedule of upcoming showings of Still Breathing on their website at http://www.stillbreathing.com .

Well, unless I'm going to be in Seattle (wouldn't THAT be nice) or Nantucket (insert your favorite limerick here), I'm fresh outta luck!

On the other hand, what a totally cool web site! Thanks terry. I almost forgive your anti-Jerry Lewis antics!

Whew, I ducked out of that one.

But now I'm getting confused, running between the Still Breathing topic, which isn't anymore, and What I Just Saw, which is! So the last movie I saw was Liar Liar and now you're all laughing at me and you think I really DO like Jerry Lewis. I thought Liar was pretty funny anyway so there! Hope to see Grosse Pointe Blank and...well now my mind's a blank...I'll tell you Monday if I actually made it to any movin pitcher shows. Actually I guess the last movie I saw was Road to Bali on AMC. Those road mov es are such a tonic! Any recommendations among the current releases? I just heard they're re-releasing Das Boot with an extra HOUR of footage. I might go see that!

You mean Still Breathing isn't still breathing. Yikes!

it seems to have metastisized and metamorphisized...we have this effect on topics, terry....

I wish I had more time to promote the Spring, I know how I could get lots of folks here, I just don't have the time with my work and commute schedule.

I know I'm telling everyone in my little circle about my fabulous new home-away-from-home! I'm just enjoying the heck out of it!! I noticed there is an Austen retired toipics...do you do that for some of these when they switch like this? Just a thought--retire it and change its name or something? (Let me barge in late and run the show!)

We can "retire" topics and even bring them "out of retirement" with this here yapp topic.

friday evening is saw AIR FORCE ONE, with many flights of fancy, even for a movie about one of the high-tech planes for the president. it was entertaining fare, for almost anyone. very well played, the villain seems to have had more lines than the lead good guy, the pres. all in all, it was eminently worth watching, strictly for the action, for the suspense and for the fine acting by all players. it is worth a trip to the movies.

On friday opening day i went to see SPAWN. The computer graphics were great and it was an all around good movie. The charicters were well played. The actor that played spawn played him very well. This movie is pretty much like a modern batman movie exept 4 times better. So if you like action movies you will like this one because it is non stop action. Personally i give this movie 2 thumbs up and i think it is definatley worth seeing more than once.

You don'thave any more thumbs to give right? I've read quite a few other good reviews of Spawn. It seems like there's a plethora of sci fi movies out now.

Better late than never? I recommend Contact, and I won't give anything away, guys. But it is a fine sci fi movie, NOT an action-adventure sci-fi melange like so many movies. It makes you think and that's wonderful. Anybody seen "Mrs. Brown?" I missed it at my local cinema and I'm so upset!

Another Dollar Movie Night: Spawn. Eh. It was okay for a buck seventy-five. The best part was I won a free game in the ritual post movie pinball game!

What's the best sci fi movie you've seen this year?

Contact was good, I struggle to think of any other sci-fi s I've seen. You?

I'd have to agree with Contact, I've only gone out to 2-3 movies in the last few months. And I haven't seen any other sci fi movies.

The Devil's Advocate!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A must see. Al Pacino is amazing, excellent storyline and fabulous acting all around that made me forget I wasn't watching real life unfold. The THX and great theatre probably helped. Another first run movie! Two in a couple of months -- a definite first.

Siskel and Ebert gave it a mixed review, but generally they liked it. They said Keanu Reeves was excellent.

For the first time, I also thought Keanu Reeves was excellent.

They said that everyone else in the movie had to struggle to come up to his level. Are you going to see/or have you seen "Seven Years in Tibet" yet? *That's* the movie I want to see and talk about. I caught some of Richard Gere's comments and he's out making an impassioned plea for the oppression being suffered by the dissidents at Tianman Square. We talked about this some in another topic, it might have been in the 'spirit' conference.

nope. not yet.

Another $ theatre day. Sunday, when we finally dug out from under our not-so-warm blanet o' powdery white stuff, we headed to Bear Valley to see Conspiracy Theory. I liked it. I have never seen Mel Gibson in the light he put himself in in this movie. Suspense, comedy and of course, conspiracy! AND I won another free game of pinball!

Check out the Ann Bronte movie on PBS tonight, if you can, it will give us something to talk about!

no tv.

Another $ theatre night -- Saturday on the wrong side o' town. We saw "Event Horizon". A freaky cross between Alien and Hellraiser.

Oh and I of course whipped up at pinball and matched for a free game!

Whup 'em up, baybeeee!

GATTACA! A must see. Visually pleasing, emotionally uplifting and gut wrenching plus a really groovy sci-fi/humanitarian plot. Lookit me, going to the first run movies!

Wow. A firstrunner.

Look at her.

No pinball machines at the first run theatres though. *sigh*

Depends on which first-runners one frequents (we have 'em in ours)... Friday night, took my daughter and a friend to see "I know What You Did Last Summer"- appealed to all of my baser adolescent instincts (I loved it). And it was better than "Scream"- which I also loved (what can I say, I'm emotionally stunted)...Last night, my daughter and I watched "Anne of Green Gables" (the 1985, Megan Follows version) for the 117th time (fav. scenes- Anne's initial buggy ride with Matthew Cuthbert, through "the avenue", and past the "Lake of Shining Waters"; and the scene with she and Marilla, after Anne had dyed her hair green). Tonight we'll watch "Anne of Avonlea" (for the 117th time, as well). Have to admit, the final scene- where Anne and Gilbert FINALLY get together- always sort of gets to me...

Thank you for showing us your tender side... I feel trusted, special, warm and fuzzy. Okay, maybe not fuzzy.

*sigh* Guess I'm easily manipulated (treasure some special Flintstone's moments, too)...

women (young and old) usually have some talent in that area.

Quite true. And by the time my daughter begins dating (probably another twelve or fifteen years from now), she will have mastered the art...

Just saw... Boogie Nights. Bizarre. Tarantino-esque. I enjoyed it. AND last night I went to a re-release of the Little Mermaid. WER, you HAVE to take your daughter. It is such an excellent film. The music is fantastic and the characters hysterical.

Hey gud? Where'd your nickname come from?

Starship Troopers! Woo WOO! Great flick albeit EXTREMELY graphic. I loved the big huge, plasma hurling beetle bugs! And some truly freaky bug stampede shots. I am proud to say that I watched the entire movie without putting my hands in front of my face (as a shield). I did however, yell out once or twice. Action, cheesy feel-good and GREAT effects! A movie to please both the chick flick lover and hardened adventure critic! While at the theatre we discussed the WORST movie of 1997 (because there were no pinball machines) and came up with SCREAM, ANACONDA and VOLCANO. Any comments from the peanut gallery??

You didn't cover your eyes for the shower scenes?

nope.

Just as I thought.

Taking my kids to see "Starship Troopers" tonight, probably (assuming, of course, it is showing in a pinball-accessible theater)... Sigh. Have received most undeserved flak from friends due to the fact that I LIKED "Scream" (esp. value Drew Barrymore's potential as brunette)...It was supposed to be stupid-it was intended as camp, and certainly succeeded on that level, I thought... Worst movie of "97 (if it was released this year- I think it was) would for me be "Little Rascals"...Having kids compels me to watch these films, and usually they're watchable, but it was as if the makers of this film didn't even try...

Oh good! You are plugged into yet another genre than I! Did you happen to see GOOD BURGER. Sounds like bad movie potential...

Uhh...what? (haven't seen "Good Burger", definitely seems bad, though)

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've just seen the most amazing film of my life, and I had to log on to share it with you! "Planet of the Apes" - wowwweeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!! Perfectly written, beautifully presented, and with the sort of story that makes you want to scream - it's probably the most profound film I have ever seen. If you haven't seen it, then rent it immediately. If you have - tell me what *you* thought of it.

I never saw the movie, but it was certainly a very interesting, thought-provoking novella.

Yeah, I imagine it was a good book. The movie is unbelievable - the scenery is out of this world. I think the whole story has a lot to teach us!

Yeah, it's one of those thinly veiled allegories of life, like Animal Farm and Adventures of Huck Finn.

Do you think that allegories contained within films make them more interesting/intriguing than more standard films?

Definitely more interesting--but not necessarily more entertaining! Sometimes I don't want to work that hard for a movie; I just want a good laugh or a whodunit. I save my cerebral energy for books.

Yeah...I'm generally the same. I often like to watch non-demanding movies (say, Action Films!!) and then spend my time hassling through books. However, I often find that I can't actually read the "classics" of literature - I'm struggling through Catch 22 at the moment, and I'm finding it a terrible drag. I may rent the film and see what that's like - at least then I'll have some basis for reading the book again. One film that did NOT make the translation from book to movie, though, was 2001. Neither did 2010 IMHO, but it was better than 2001!!

I saw about 1/2 hour of 2001 on TV and was too bewildered to watch anymore. It's hard to get interested when you have no clue what you're watching means. About Catch 22--it was such a scream!! I was working a college internship where they had nothing for me to do, so I would read every day. The day I brought that book I was constantly howling with laughter; at one point I had tears rolling down my cheeks. My boss thought I was a total flake.

Hehehe...some parts of it have been funny, although I'm not that far in. I'm finding it very hard to get to grips with, though. It seems to be thrashing around without a basis for a story at the moment, and without any reason for what's going on...I need a book to have a point, and a direction. About 2001 - get the book, it really is wonderful. 2010 is a great book too :)

that's kind of the point with Catch 22- and there is no reason for what's going on, which is kind of the point, too (hmmm...could've been a little clearer there)... I enjoyed it a lot, too... really disappointed with Heller's later stuff, though... re: "2001"- I thought it was great...thought the opening sequence was astonishing... to this day don't know what it all is supposed to mean (not sure Kubrick knows, either), but it was an extremely well-made, challenging piece of work... don't think you can rea ly approach it as a (per se) film, though... sometimes, you've just gotta do what wm. hurt said, just "let art wash over you"...(of course, he was kidding when he said it)...

Ack! It seems like Catch 22 is going to be very hard for me to read :) No matter - it took me about three months to read "Far from the Madding Crowd", when normally a book of that size would take me a day or so at the most :)

Now that's one I could never get more that a few pages into. I did force myself to finish "Tess of the d'Urbervilles" though I'm not sure I'm a better person for it.

Hahahah!! *smile* That's often the feeling I get from classic books - I've read it, and I can tell people that I've read it, but did it really mean anything to me?

don't know that Hardy really enjoyed writing novels (because if he did, that sense did not translate)... actually seemed more polemics than literature (though the tragedy of "Tess..." is an enduring one, and there's much to recommend "Jude the Obscure", as well)... his poetry is quite fine, though, very accessible, and filled with genuine feeling... and yeah, very often "classic books" require a great deal of effort... sometimes (Joyce's Ulysses, for ex.) it is energy well-spent... others (anything by Fenimore Cooper, to use a safe example) it is energy depleting...

Wow! Blast from the past with the Planet of the Apes. I enjoyed it many a year ago... Just saw G.I. Jane (dollar theatre heydey with free games by the pinball master!!!) Fairly good movie. Entertaining and a bit involving. No Starship Troopers though!!

Can't say I fancy Demi Moore as a SEAL, myself :)

I just saw the 'Full Monty' ... recommended!

Very much so - a very good film, although a few too many naked blokes for my liking *grin*

Another cheap movie night... but we got there between showings and ended up playing pinball for 2 hours missing the next set of movies!

haha...nice one :)) Oh well, I guess it was still a good night out. I'm having trouble going to the movies these days, as the cinemas around here are either rubbish (awful screen and sound system), or ridiculously expensive (i.e. 5UKP and up) :/

went to see Flubber and Mr. Bean. Both had their (very) funny moments, but Bean just did his usual routines only in movie format. What can I say about Flubber? Loved it. Actually was howling with laughter there for a while. Think we have discovered the new "in" toy (slime will have to be a bit thicker). Want to watch the Titanic, but am worried a bit about being stuck in the theatre for 3 hours.

I didn't bother going to see Bean - the first couple of TV shows were great, but after that it was very boring. Tell us about Flubber, Wolf?

my fav. bean scene is the swimming pool with the high dive! Flubber: well, Robin Williams is great. Can't remember what the original story line was (The Absent Minded Professor), but it was just a plain fun movie. Showtime was just packed. The little flubber dudes were what helped the movie and the fact that Robin is such a good actor. A lot of work had to go into the interaction with the flubber and the actors. Not really a movie for little kids, but third graders and up would get a kick out of it.

watching "the maltese falcon"... now THAT'S a great movie...

I'm hopefully going to be seeing Tomorrow Never Dies, the new bond movie sometime soon!

Cheap, Fast and Out of Control!

Well??

It was great. To talk about what's in it would kind of be a spoiler. I loved the way you can make your own connections in this movie and the parallelisms. Definitely worth seeing.

(ya'll don't jump on me) but, who's in it?

At this time of year, I watch Christmas Vacation and A Christmas Story. Anybody else take part in traditional movie-watching?

Speaking of Christmas, check out our http://www.childrenstory.com Christmas story section and let me know what you think of Katrina's reading of the "night before christmas"? ok? Who's in Cheap, Fast and Out of Control? Just some extraordinary folks, not actors. It's a movie about ideas. The four principles are totally absorbed in their passons to the extent that nothing else matters. Animals are plants, wild is tame, etc. there are so many parallels and contradictions. It gets to the very heart of what it means for something to be what it is.

More pinball!! Racking up the free games in Phoenix this weekend!!! No movies... but the two are inextricably related in my mind!

quite so...

hey you!

Wolf, it's not officially Xmas if I haven't seen the Grinch like 10 times.

and heat meizer, cold meizer (or however the heck you spell it)

headin' to the cheap flicks tonight. All alone and can't bear the shopping extravaganzas!

Didja have fun? How was da pinball?

Ah HA! Haven't gone yet. Wanted to check in once more to say, "hi!" and give you a hard time.

I suppose I'm to say something like, "But I'm supposed to do that to you!", right?

Of course I was 'spectin' you to get the extra added meaning! No movie though. Wrapped presents and sent cards. Found out I'll be living solo for one MORE night so I wanted to get the mundane stuff outta the way and maybe get out and about tonight.

If anybody ventures out tonight to see the Titanic, let me know if it's worth it or should I wait for video......thanks in advance, ya'll

i think everyone dies at the end, or something (downer)

Thank you for spoiling it for me (sheesh)-just wanted to hear about the movie, afterall, it took 3 years to make.........

sorry

(for some reason, i think you rather enjoy spoiling it for everybody *grin*)