Stately Plump Posted May 22, 2012 Posted May 22, 2012 I just remembered watching the Complete Works of Shakespeare (abridged) performed by the Reduced Shakespeare Company. If you're well-versed in Shakespeare and in need of a good laugh, check it out. I searched Netflix's website, and it is in their library. This is wildly funny.
harvardlonghorn Posted May 23, 2012 Posted May 23, 2012 Dexter (the tv series) is much better than the books. However, the tv series prompted me to start reading that series (which I greatly enjoy), but the tv series and the book series are drastically different after the first season/first novel. The Great Gatsby is one of my favorite books of all times and I'm not sure why Hollywood keeps attempting to produce movies based on the novel. The first one with Robert Redford was awful, the tv movie version was even worse. I just watched the trailer for the new version with Leonardo DiCaprio and for some reason the trailer has a Kanye West song as its soundtrack. Ughh.
Augusta Posted May 24, 2012 Posted May 24, 2012 The Great Gatsby is one of my favorite books of all times and I'm not sure why Hollywood keeps attempting to produce movies based on the novel. The first one with Robert Redford was awful, the tv movie version was even worse. I just watched the trailer for the new version with Leonardo DiCaprio and for some reason the trailer has a Kanye West song as its soundtrack. Ughh. Um, aren't trailers supposed to highlight the most appealing aspects of a film to get people all excited about seeing it? I just watched the trailer, and I'm not at all motivated to see this movie. I don't even like The Great Gatsby that much (although I've certainly come to appreciate it more and more upon re-readings), but I'm still a bit appalled at how many times I laughed at certain clips in the trailer. For example, the scenes in which Daisy and Gatsby have their little "nice to see you again" moment and then when Gatsby's throwing clothes over the railing had me cringing, chuckling, and raising my eyebrows in confusion all at once. It's disappointing considering how much I usually enjoy watching Leo DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan. Based on the trailer, I'm concerned that movie-goers unfamiliar with the text will walk away thinking that Fitzgerald just wanted to write some tragic love story set during the 1920s, the most awesomely flashy time period ever. Gatsby deserves better.
TripWillis Posted May 24, 2012 Posted May 24, 2012 Um, aren't trailers supposed to highlight the most appealing aspects of a film to get people all excited about seeing it? I just watched the trailer, and I'm not at all motivated to see this movie. I don't even like The Great Gatsby that much (although I've certainly come to appreciate it more and more upon re-readings), but I'm still a bit appalled at how many times I laughed at certain clips in the trailer. For example, the scenes in which Daisy and Gatsby have their little "nice to see you again" moment and then when Gatsby's throwing clothes over the railing had me cringing, chuckling, and raising my eyebrows in confusion all at once. It's disappointing considering how much I usually enjoy watching Leo DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan. Based on the trailer, I'm concerned that movie-goers unfamiliar with the text will walk away thinking that Fitzgerald just wanted to write some tragic love story set during the 1920s, the most awesomely flashy time period ever. Gatsby deserves better. I think Baz Luhrman was the wrong choice for this story, because The G.G. isn't really about lavish 1920s jazz age blah blah blah (which is pretty empty and shallow to start with) -- it's more of a character driven story. But it doesn't look like Luhrman reeled in any of his more garish impulses (a la Moulin Rouge -- the movie everyone in the world but me fawns over). So I guess it's just going to be tacky CGI, gaudy color schemes (I can't wait to see the green light pffftt), and stilted acting. And Tobey McGuire as Nick Carraway? WTF? He's like a perpetual nice guy and Nick Carraway is a dick.
transcendental Posted May 24, 2012 Posted May 24, 2012 I think Baz Luhrman was the wrong choice for this story, because The G.G. isn't really about lavish 1920s jazz age blah blah blah (which is pretty empty and shallow to start with) -- it's more of a character driven story. But it doesn't look like Luhrman reeled in any of his more garish impulses (a la Moulin Rouge -- the movie everyone in the world but me fawns over). So I guess it's just going to be tacky CGI, gaudy color schemes (I can't wait to see the green light pffftt), and stilted acting. And Tobey McGuire as Nick Carraway? WTF? He's like a perpetual nice guy and Nick Carraway is a dick. BUT... It's in 3-D! TripWillis 1
TripWillis Posted May 24, 2012 Posted May 24, 2012 BUT... It's in 3-D! Don't even get me started on 3-D. Two Espressos 1
Augusta Posted May 24, 2012 Posted May 24, 2012 I think Baz Luhrman was the wrong choice for this story, because The G.G. isn't really about lavish 1920s jazz age blah blah blah (which is pretty empty and shallow to start with) -- it's more of a character driven story. But it doesn't look like Luhrman reeled in any of his more garish impulses (a la Moulin Rouge -- the movie everyone in the world but me fawns over). So I guess it's just going to be tacky CGI, gaudy color schemes (I can't wait to see the green light pffftt), and stilted acting. And Tobey McGuire as Nick Carraway? WTF? He's like a perpetual nice guy and Nick Carraway is a dick. Thanks for the reminder that Luhrman also directed Moulin Rouge--this explains a lot about the trailer.
Imogene Posted May 24, 2012 Author Posted May 24, 2012 I think Toby McGuire may be the only right casting! He's so . . . vacant, vessel-like, which seems perfect for a character that is basically just your point of view. But, I'm def. not a DiCaprio fan (please, someone, make him stop with the Oscar quest), and I think Trip and Augusta are probably right on that this film is a vehicle for an American "period" film - in 3D! - rather than a treatment of, you know, a text. antecedent 1
nhswrestle Posted May 25, 2012 Posted May 25, 2012 Some of my favorites: Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange Stanley Kubrick's The Shining David Fincher's Fight Club Mary Harron's American Psycho Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet Baz Luhrmann's Romeo and Juliet Imogene and R Deckard 2
Timshel Posted May 25, 2012 Posted May 25, 2012 Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. Oh, and I love the movie version of East of Eden. James Dean. *swoon*
eriksmegs Posted June 1, 2012 Posted June 1, 2012 I don't know that these are on Netflix, but I love Kenneth Branagh's Much Ado About Nothing (some odd casting choices, but on the whole, I think it's fabulous), and I absolutely adore the 2009 BBC Emma with Romola Garai.
Augusta Posted June 1, 2012 Posted June 1, 2012 I don't know that these are on Netflix, but I love Kenneth Branagh's Much Ado About Nothing (some odd casting choices, but on the whole, I think it's fabulous), and I absolutely adore the 2009 BBC Emma with Romola Garai. I also loved Much Ado; I hope to catch it on TV again sometime soon. I'm curious as to what you found odd about the casting. Emma is my favorite of Austen's novels, though I've only seen the Gwyneth Paltrow version. I've read many positive reviews about the 2009 version but am still reluctant to fork out the money to see it. I just don't want to be disappointed.
eriksmegs Posted June 3, 2012 Posted June 3, 2012 Maybe "odd" wasn't the right word so much as "amusing." I just get a kick out of seeing Denzel Washington and Keanu Reeves in a Shakespeare production But I adore Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson. I was a little unsure about spending the money for Emma too, but I had a friend highly recommend it, so I decided to give it a try. I LOVE it--honestly, I like it better than the Gwyneth Paltrow version, and just as much as the Colin Firth Pride and Prejudice (in fact, I might even like it a little more--gasp! I know. crazy.) And while my friends and my mom don't agree that it's as good as P&P, they still love it as well. So, for what it's worth, I'd say give it a try. It's only $20 or so on Amazon right now, or some libraries might have it.
Augusta Posted June 3, 2012 Posted June 3, 2012 I was a little unsure about spending the money for Emma too, but I had a friend highly recommend it, so I decided to give it a try. I LOVE it--honestly, I like it better than the Gwyneth Paltrow version, and just as much as the Colin Firth Pride and Prejudice (in fact, I might even like it a little more--gasp! I know. crazy.) And while my friends and my mom don't agree that it's as good as P&P, they still love it as well. So, for what it's worth, I'd say give it a try. It's only $20 or so on Amazon right now, or some libraries might have it. That's some pretty high praise. Thanks for the recommendation and for the tip about checking my local library.
edgirl Posted June 3, 2012 Posted June 3, 2012 Much Ado is available streaming on Netflix. I think Keanu's the only one in that cast who's consistently off-key -- while Denzel is admittedly a bit surprising, he at least seems to have a sense of the rhythms of what he's supposed to be saying. And of course you can't go wrong with the usual players in the Branagh stable. I was very depressed when he and Thompson divorced.
nokingofengland Posted July 2, 2012 Posted July 2, 2012 I don't know that these are on Netflix, but I love Kenneth Branagh's Much Ado About Nothing It's streaming, as is Branagh's Henry V, which I just watched for the first time. I thought it was phenomenal--for the most part. Also, on the weekends as a child I used to watch Of Mice and Men--the one with Malcovich--and just cry and cry. (I was a bit melodramatic, I guess...)
nokingofengland Posted July 2, 2012 Posted July 2, 2012 Oh wow. I just realized how late I am on this thread. I guess the conversation is over. Sorry--newbie!
Imogene Posted July 2, 2012 Author Posted July 2, 2012 Not too late! You can always bump these kinds of threads back into circulation
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