20 Days to Live: the December Doomsday Movie Thread

[Mr. Pointy]

Most recently:

The Dam Busters (an influential flick, and I had never seen it, though I can see why it doesn't circulate much these days—one character has a dog named after, um, a racial epithet)

i too saw that recently on Turner Classic, was rather enjoyable. i'd seen a documentary recently about it and the
movie was pretty darn close to actual events. i also was wondering why no one had remade it - and apparently
Peter Jackson has had it on his list of projects for several years, with a script by Stephen Fry and recently
declassified gov. docs are also brought to bear, according to reports. best i can figure though, no actual shooting
has started yet -- maybe in 2013. (the filmmakers have said the dog, who is sort of important to the story, has
been named "Digger" for the remake ... )

21 Jump Street - deep boredom led me to watch it on cable, though i was not remotely eager to see it ... and
damn if i didn't laugh out loud often, much to my chagrin. the movie had at least one dick joke too many. but all in all
it was funny for much of it. best part was Johnny Depp's cameo scene, and i bet he wrote it too.

Carnage - great ensemble acting by Chris Waltz, Kate Winslet, Jodie Foster and John Reilly. loads of dark satire of
polite behavior amongst the white folk.

Ides of March - based on the play "Farragut North", the movie does make an enormous improvement on the play, especially the second act. Paul Giamatti and Phillip S. Hoffman as warring campaign directors were quite good. side note: the play is being performed by the Oak Ridge Playhouse in Feb 2013.

[Lee G]

i too saw that recently on Turner Classic, was rather enjoyable. i'd seen a documentary recently about it and the
movie was pretty darn close to actual events. i also was wondering why no one had remade it - and apparently
Peter Jackson has had it on his list of projects for several years, with a script by Stephen Fry and recently
declassified gov. docs are also brought to bear, according to reports. best i can figure though, no actual shooting
has started yet -- maybe in 2013. (the filmmakers have said the dog, who is sort of important to the story, has
been named "Digger" for the remake ... ).

I DVR-ed that very broadcast. And funny, I actually thought (as I sometimes do), "How would this work if you tried to remake it?" I can sort of see it as a kind of prestige-y holiday picture if they juiced it up a little (just a little). The rudimentary effects in the OG version don't discount some awesome photograpy; if you raised the game on the former, you could have a really great bombing-raid sequence. Of course, if Jackson directs it, it'll probably end up being three hours long.

Ides of March - based on the play "Farragut North", the movie does make an enormous improvement on the play, especially the second act. Paul Giamatti and Phillip S. Hoffman as warring campaign directors were quite good. side note: the play is being performed by the Oak Ridge Playhouse in Feb 2013.

Ha. Farragut North is the Metro stop before mine (Dupont Circle) on the way to the office. I've avoided this so far for some reason. Reckon I'll get to it before too long, though.

[Hildegard]

Finally saw Tucker and Dale versus Evil, thank God.

And this.

[jfm]

Anna Karenina



I was mostly interested because I think Joe Wright's a talented guy (entirely on the basis of Hanna, I haven't seen any of his other literary adaptations). And it is a very imaginatively made movie, shot almost entirely on theatrical sets that keep changing around the actors. Everything looks great, and the performances are decent-to-very good. But boiled down to its plot points, the story didn't do a lot for me. I cared less about the characters as the movie went on. There are probably ways to write and play Anna so that she doesn't end up seeming irritating, but this one wasn't it. (Even though I like Keira Knightley and she's basically fine in the role.) So -- good looking, well made, kind of a bore. Make another action movie, Joe.

[F-Stop]

No movies, but I have watched Seasons 1-3 of Eastbound and Down. Hilarious.

[binR Bishop]

There are probably ways to write and play Anna so that she doesn't end up seeming irritating, but this one wasn't it.

I dunno. I found her pretty irritating when I read the book.

[JMG]

We saw it a couple days ago.
Loved it.

Finally saw Tucker and Dale versus Evil, thank God.

And this.

[mte]

recently:

a kenneth lonergan double feature (well, separated by a few days) with you can count on me and the short version of margaret. lots of small wonder here, though i'd give yccm the edge on wonder for its small scale and intimacy. margaret gets its own points for ambition, but i still want to see the longer director's cut. kl reminds me a little of john sayles.

holy motors: not sure what i think of this shaggy dog allegory. it's wild, imaginative, unexpected, thoughtful, and beautiful.

the day he arrives: hong sang-soo's new black-and-white fugue about loneliness, etc.—a series of repeating, sometimes overlapping scenes set in the same restaurant and bar and featuring the same characters.

purple noon: unfortunately not the new criterion edition. the best adaptation of the talented mr. ripley, even with the ending, which is the exact opposite of the novel.

[binR Bishop]

A quiet New Year's Eve watching The Apartment with my sweetie. One could do much, much worse.

[Rocky Hillian]

We've started a new transition by ringing in the new year with Trollhunter. Man, I love that movie.