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The_American_Dr eam
Member since 5/27/2007, last signed in last week.
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Slumdog Millionaire
Slumdog Millionaire
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The_American_Dream
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The_American_Dream Blog
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"This really was an incredible film. It is rare that film can truly balance everything that you want in a movie; there seems always to be a short coming, but "Slumdog Millionaire" does not have one. The plot of "Slumdog Millionaire" is really very simple, at least at its most basic. It is that story, even when you have seen it again and again, that when it is done right, really makes you believe that there is hope in the world against all adversity. So this kid lives in the slums of India, and he has battled all manor of terrible events, just to get back to the true love of his life. "Atonement" tried this last year (well, not the slums of India part, but that does not really matter) and "Atonement" was awful. "Atonement" and "Slumdog Millionaire" have a lot in common besides their stories, even despite the face that one was excellent and the other was atrocious. They are both stunningly beautiful, have this age old plot, are Oscar nominees, and do not really make you laugh that muc ... "
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The Pineapple Express
Re:Weekly Theme for September 2 ...
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The_American_Dream
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Weekly Theme
"I have to lay it down though that the ultimate drug in movies is marijuana as shown in "Harold and Kumar go to White Castle"; no matter how off the reservation Hunter Thompson gets, he never rode a cheetah. And neither did Lee in "Naked Lunch", another great in the drugged-up film making line, although more philosophical and less comedic; (I'm reading the book now). But, "Harold and Kumar go to White Castle" is a great work of cinema in my opinion because of its clever yet totally in the gutter mentality along with the epic journey of it all; key to the more comedic side of drugs. Similar to "Pineapple Express" this year which I loved as a classic in the stoner movie vein. "The Big Lebowski" gets to that too but the plot of that movie is not really driven by the drugs. It is important to note that the point of those few movies is the comedy and not in the end the drugs. "
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Re:The Weekly Theme Suggestion Box
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The_American_Dream
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Weekly Theme
"There are plenty of perhaps genres in their own right to be discussed here; costume drama vs. recent period pieces, or stoner comedy. Perhaps more obscure things that categorize themselves; Kubrick Movies. Thinking along those lines might yield interesting discussion. I can't come up with immediately good ones here, some other ones up there look better but this is a good cause to perpetuate. "
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Hamlet
Re:Weekly Theme for September 2 ...
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The_American_Dream
in
Weekly Theme
"[quote user="leeroy711"] [quote user="The_American_Dream"] This is a really weird one. Not something you think about very often, good topic. I find that this has a very long lineage in drama in general; just look at Shakespeare. Kenneth Bragnaugh's "Hamlet" has more than the other version I have seen, but "Titus", "Richard III", and "A Mid Summers Night Dream" are the fourth wall breakers that come to my mind. Clearly this goes past Shakespeare stuff but that is what came to mind. Good topic. [/quote] Yes, I was hoping someone would mention Titus because the way Taymor directed that one was very odd. It was like a movie of a play within a movie. Keep in mind, this was Julie Taymor's first film but she was allready an award winning and very accomplished theatrical director. [/quote] Yeah, thanks for highlighting the complexity of that one. There is allot more to her presentation of it than meets the eye; the speaking characters break it to us, the audience, as is somewhat common pla ... "
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Hamlet
Re:Weekly Theme for September 2 ...
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The_American_Dream
in
Weekly Theme
"This is a really weird one. Not something you think about very often, good topic. I find that this has a very long lineage in drama in general; just look at Shakespeare. Kenneth Bragnaugh's "Hamlet" has more than the other version I have seen, but "Titus", "Richard III", and "A Mid Summers Night Dream" are the fourth wall breakers that come to my mind. Clearly this goes past Shakespeare stuff but that is what came to mind. Good topic. "
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Chariots of Fire
Re:Weekly Theme for September 1 ...
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The_American_Dream
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Weekly Theme
"As a high-school runner, I have to lay down "Chariots of Fire" as a sports movie although not so classically sporty as the usual team over coming insurmountable odds within and without that Disney periodically cranks out with a 'Based on a True Story' tagline (I at least "Remember the Titans" without very fond memories). However, despite being a runner I haven't seen the classic Prefontaine movies out there like "Prefontaine" or "Without Limits". But those are the sports movies I know. "
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Re:Summer Palace
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The_American_Dream
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Spout Mavens
"A link to my review here: http://www.spout.com/blogs/the _american_dream/archive/2008/8 /31/34594.aspx "
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Forrest Gump
Important and Tumultuous Period ...
By
The_American_Dream
in
The_American_Dream Blog
0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
[What do you think?]
"There is not a great deal to be said for this movie. And it is not because of the sex which is what I was afraid of. But I hoped that this one would, in its epic standing, that it would pull a large amount of material across time and people to make it interesting. Unfortunatly "Summer Palace" is really more than a let down to the point of almost being a waste. "Summer Palace" swings back and forth from what it gets made out to be. That being and political and sex charged drama spanning most of the dramatic periods in China's history. Well strictly speaking, it does that. This story of people does weave itself (or rather its characters) across distance and events rather completely. However, maybe only half way in or slightly more I was really wondering why I was supposed to care. Frankly, this is something that can be done very well and in a manner where I really do care. "A Beautiful Mind" is an example of a movie about people that really does span events and changes very well. "A ... "
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Summer Palace
Important and Tumultuous Period ...
By
The_American_Dream
in
The_American_Dream Blog
0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
[What do you think?]
"There is not a great deal to be said for this movie. And it is not because of the sex which is what I was afraid of. But I hoped that this one would, in its epic standing, that it would pull a large amount of material across time and people to make it interesting. Unfortunatly "Summer Palace" is really more than a let down to the point of almost being a waste. "Summer Palace" swings back and forth from what it gets made out to be. That being and political and sex charged drama spanning most of the dramatic periods in China's history. Well strictly speaking, it does that. This story of people does weave itself (or rather its characters) across distance and events rather completely. However, maybe only half way in or slightly more I was really wondering why I was supposed to care. Frankly, this is something that can be done very well and in a manner where I really do care. "A Beautiful Mind" is an example of a movie about people that really does span events and changes very well. "A ... "
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Alien
Re:Weekly Theme for August 25: ...
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The_American_Dream
in
Weekly Theme
"Before I try to get in on this one, I am going to apologize for my mostly monster free up bringing. At least in the classic sense. Sure, I know the classic Harryhausen monsters; "Jason and the Argonauts" naturally, and "Journey to the Center of the Earth" even features James Mason and company running from an iguana. "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" is a classic. But these cannot measure up to a movie of "The Giant Gila Monster" caliber. However, science-fiction is something that has always been in my life, and science-fiction offers some of movies greatest monsters. Although it falls into mainstream, the alien in "Alien" is easily one of the greatest monsters of all time. But this is not really my sci-fi passion, that is reserved for Star Trek. I have been a Treker since birth. Every lizard-thing that captain Kirk took on could be on par with the most giant of gila monsters. But wait, there's more; "Star Trek: First Contact", specifically, the Borg. The Borg scared me silly when I ... "
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Beerfest
Re:Weekly Theme for August 11: ...
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The_American_Dream
in
Weekly Theme
"[quote user="leeroy711"] Another movie that makes the cut The Hebrew Hammer. hee hee. It was pretty funny. [/quote] "Beerfest"; an underground cult is a major part of that movie, so I guess that qualifies it. Funny stuff... stupid movie. "
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National Treasure
Re:Weekly Theme for August 11: ...
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The_American_Dream
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Weekly Theme
"[quote user="SkyPilot"] Which is a far cry from how interested I was in the Masons when I was about 18, when I saw From Hell. [/quote] "From Hell" is a great and creepy movie. When I first saw it I was like 'No way any of that can be true beyond the happening of the murders themselves." As it turns out allot of the facts of the movie are not far from some events that really happened (even the letter with the kidney). However, going off from the masons, I am going to have to add "National Treasure" to the list there which also really has a remarkable blend of the true and the absurd (despite the fact that it is not a particularly remarkable movie). "From Hell" also reminds me of another movie neatly in this category; "The Ninth Gate". Johnny Depp again, and also the classic people in robes look to the secret society there. "
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Children of Men
Re:Weekly Theme for August 11: ...
By
The_American_Dream
in
Weekly Theme
"Oh man! This is a good one. And for me the movie that leaps to mind is "Eyes Wide Shut", which is really one of my all time favorites. "Eyes Wide Shut" is so off the scale weird in so many ways that you would think that is was impossible,and yet, watching the movie you feel that it isn't. And really, there is so much more than that in "Eyes Wide Shut", a real masterpiece by Kubrick. Another Kubrick movie that I think fits in here would be "A Clockwork Orange" not exactly a secret society in the classic sense (calling to mind "The Good Shepherd" or "13 Tzameti") but the group of droogs have some secret society like manors. And last, a movie I saw recently; "Children of Men". There is a movie that has so many groups of both good-guys and bad-guys operating as secret societies that by the end, the ambiguity of the films ending leans on that point. I love this topic. "
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