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movies-digest        Friday, September 15 2000        Volume 02 : Number 290



[MV] DVD Shopping Tip
[MV] The pallbearer - 1996 - 0/5
[MV] Re: Pick-of-the-week : A simple plan - 1998
[MV] Live and let die - 1973 - 2/5
RE: [MV] Live and let die - 1973 - 2/5
[MV] RE: Live and let die - 1973 -
[MV] Changes in the movie going public ...
Re: [MV] Changes in the movie going public ...
[MV] RE: Live and let die - 1973 -
Re: [MV] RE: Live and let die - 1973 -
Re: [MV] Changes in the movie going public ...
Re: [MV] Changes in the movie going public ...
Re: [MV] Changes in the movie going public ...
Re: [MV] Changes in the movie going public ...
Re: [MV] Changes in the movie going public ...
Re: [MV] Changes in the movie going public ...
Re: [MV] Changes in the movie going public ...
[MV] RE: Live and let die - 1973 -
[MV] You only live twice - 1967 - 3.5/5

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Tue, 12 Sep 2000 08:34:00 -0600
From: ("Paul D  Richardson") <[e-mail]>
Subject: [MV] DVD Shopping Tip

Just a quick note for those of you with DVD players.  CompUSA has decided to
get out of the DVD business with the exception of new releases and "hot
sellers."  As such, they have lowered the prices on all of their other DVDs to
14.88 (or 9.88 if the price was already below 14.88).  This closeout is
completely unadvertised and the old retail prices are still on the shelves (at
least in my area).  However, the discs will scan correctly when you get to the
cash register.  Last night I picked up several discs that are normally in the
$30-35 range.

If you are eager to fill out your collection a bit, I suggest you check out
CompUSA (if one is in your area) before the best stuff is gone.

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[ movies" (without the quotes) to [e-mail]          ]

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 13 Sep 2000 00:47:49 EDT
From: "Marc Desbiens" <[e-mail]>
Subject: [MV] The pallbearer - 1996 - 0/5

0/5 ... that's right !

This movie was indeed GODAWFUL, thank God I didn't spend one red cent on
this turkey, only 97 valuable minutes ! (I taped it when they presented it
on "The big picture" show, thanks to ABC !)  I was only intrigued due to
Gwyneth Paltrow and Toni Collette's presence !

The lead actor, David Schwimmer (sp. ??) is the worst ... just the sight of
him in this movie made me cringe,
I was wishing someone would actually beat him up ...
Now this would have been "ace" ...

All the other actors are usually good but they are all WASTED here in this
totally unfunny comedy about a guy who is asked to be the pallbearer for a
"friend" who commited suicide ... of course he has no clue who the dead guy
is so this leads to all sorts of uninteresting and unamusing situations ...
supposidely he accepts to be the pallbearer because the woman who called was
crying .. oh yeah ... (uncomfortable SILENCE !)

Is this a comedy ??  I didn't laugh once, not even smile ... I was in a daze
... wondering what the hell was going on, how can have they produced
**that** ...

How can actors like Toni Collette (Muriel's wedding) Gwyneth Paltrow (The
talented Mr. Ripley) Michael Rappaport (Copland, Higher Learning) Barbara
Hershey (Mississippi burning) appear in a movie like
this ... reading the script with Schwimmer's name (Breast men anyone ??) on
it should have been enough ...

Schwimmer is boring and plays a loser who acts like a 12 year old boy, silly
and childish material all the way through, dialogues that seem to have been
written by an annoying kid, the works ... and nothing of what he does or say
is interesting or worth sitting through, going bowling with friends,
discussing "issues", flirting with this girl or that one (Hershey and
Paltrow BOTH falling for this guy, talk about suspension of disbelief !!)
... not one chance in a BILLION it would happen, they would bust out
laughing at the very idea, if this wasn't a silly  "comedy" that is !

This film is like being hit over the head with a phone book, in fact I think
I would rather this be done to me instead of watching this one once again
...

I can't believe I watched the whole thing actually .. although I have to
admit that after 40 minutes I was seriously considering stopping it and do
something more meaningful like cutting my toe nails ... but being a trooper
I decided to "hang in there" for the long awaited "last scene" ...

0/5, because I can't think of one single positive thing to say about this
movie ... honestly !  (By-the-way I never watched the TV show "Friends"
either ... so I can't talk about Schwimmer's role on that show either !)

Marc     ;o)

- ---------------------------------------------------------
"Pop quiz, Hotshot !  There's a bomb on a bus ...
Once the bus goes 50 miles an hour, the bomb is armed ...
If it drops below 50, it blows up ...
What do you do ??  WHAT DO YOU DO ??"

Dennis Hopper as "Howard Payne"
"Speed" - 1994
- --------------------------------------------------------










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------------------------------

Date: Thu, 14 Sep 2000 01:31:31 EDT
From: "Marc Desbiens" <[e-mail]>
Subject: [MV] Re: Pick-of-the-week : A simple plan - 1998

Hi !

Time for a very good "Pick-of-the-week" film ... one of the best films of
1998 ... 5/5 is my score in fact !

A Simple Plan is a film that had immense critical acclaim yet was in limited
release.  I was eagerly looking forward to this film's release seeing as I
really like Bill Paxton, but why wasn't this film in wide release?   That
was a disappointment.  Because this film is simply amazing.  No worries
though as you can rent it in just any video stores now !

In a way ( I can't believe I'm saying this ) this film reminds me a bit of
Star Wars.  Only in the sense that I think there is enough intrigue and well
developed characters that you could have made a trilogy and prequels out of
this.  Jacob could have a whole movie made about him.  The characters are
that rich.  (No fur balls in "A simple plan" though contrarely to "return of
the Jedi" !)

The film starts off with two brothers named Hank and Jacob ( Paxton and
Thorton ) and a friend named Lou
( Brent Briscoe ) chasing their dog into the forest.
As they get deep into the woods, they stumble onto a downed plane.

It is here they find the money, inside the crashed plane is the buried
"treasure" ... about 4 million dollars.
At first they are talking about how rich they are and what
they are going to do with the money.  But it is then that Hank says that
maybe they should wait a while to see if anyone comes looking for the money
before they start to spend it.  After all, the plane is snow covered so
maybe it has been here for a while so by the end of the winter if no one
comes for it, they will keep it.

The other two are adamantly against that logic.  " This is the American
dream, " one of them says.  " You work for
the American dream, you don't steal it." Hank replies.  Then of course all
hell is about to break loose.

Suddenly people that lead their lives without much money are consumed with
greed and desperation.  Hank's wife Sarah, in a great performance by Bridget
Fonda, says that she is tired of having to eat dessert at home when they
go out for dinner.  She wants to provide for their soon to be child.

Lou owes money to everybody and wants his share of the money now.  Jacob
wants to fix up his dads farm.  The insatiable need for money is driving
everyone apart.  It is from here that the plot thickens and it is like the
layers of an onion.  Every time you peel one layer back, there is another
layer to deal with, until there is nothing left.  And then what happens?

This film works because it has a terrific story but it also works because of
the people involved with it.  I will first mention Raimi, the man
responsible for directing this tangled web.  He masterfully strokes every
shot perfectly.  He gets the feel for a small, cold winter town and he
actually makes you shiver inspite of yourself.

The second person I want to mention is the cinematographer.  This is Alar
Kivilo's first
real foray into film.  He has worked mostly in TV and
for this to be as well photographed as it is, is a true credit to his
ability.

Filming in the snow adds many challenges to this aspect of film and he
conquers it beautifully.  There is one scene where there are a few men
heading into the woods to find the plane and all we see is their footprints.
This scene reminded me of a similar one in Fargo, another tale that is set
in a harsh winter environment (5/5 as well, by the way !  My #6 favorite of
all times !
A simple plan is around #20)

As for the actors involved, as I said, I am a huge Paxton fan, just as
anyone is if you like his portrayal of Chet and Hudson.  And he is very good
in this film.  He has to play the level headed one of everyone involved and
he comes across as the torn voice of reason here.  But as much as I thought
he was excellent in this flick, I have to say that Billy Bob Thorton blew me
away.

You can feel his pain.  You can sense his split loyalty--friendship and
brotherhood.  Everything that we are supposed to see in him, we do. He
really should have won a best supporting actor this year but he had the deck
stacked against him seeing that he already has a statue and James Coburn,
the veteran that he is, has none.  Go figure.  Too many politics in the
academy, but anyway....

This film examines so many human issues and it asks us to make our own
decisions along the way.  And the sad reality is maybe we wouldn't make some
of the same decisions, but maybe we would have made worse ones as well.

It is a tough movie to examine, and that is what ultimately makes it
brilliant.

**** Just on a side note here, I just find it amazing how the six degrees of
separation works here.  Bill Paxton and Billy Bob Thorton have known each
other for years and they worked together on a similar character study in
One False Move. They also briefly had screen time
together in Tombstone.  ( If you can't figure out who Thornton is in that
film, try thinking of Johnny
Tyler.  He was about 100 pounds heavier than what he is now. )  Raimi and
Paxton met on the set of Indian Summer. Raimi had a small role as Stick. So
it is kind of nice to see loyalty does perhaps still exist in Hollywood.
And I am really glad they met and then hooked up for this project.  This is
a true definition of a great film.

Marc     ;o)

- ---------------------------------------------------------
"Pop quiz, Hotshot !  There's a bomb on a bus ...
Once the bus goes 50 miles an hour, the bomb is armed ...
If it drops below 50, it blows up ...
What do you do ??  WHAT DO YOU DO ??"

Dennis Hopper as "Howard Payne"
"Speed" - 1994
- --------------------------------------------------------











_________________________________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com.

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------------------------------

Date: Fri, 15 Sep 2000 02:30:33 EDT
From: "Marc Desbiens" <[e-mail]>
Subject: [MV] Live and let die - 1973 - 2/5

**minor spoilers**

Alright ... I have now seen all but 3 of the Bond films ... "Diamonds are
forever", "Never say never again" and "You only live twice" are missing ...
I should see "You only live twice" tomorrow probably as I picked it up at
the same time I picked up "Live and let die".

This is one of the weakest James Bond film in my opinion.  The story was
just not interesting, the villain wasn't very scary, the acting was awful in
part, plenty of silly moments, "Q" is not even in it either ... the works
...

The story is a mess .. After 40-50 minutes, I didn't even
care anymore how it would develop, it was just all over the place without
any sense of direction whatsoever.

Roger Moore's first film as Bond is also his worst (I rate this one and
"Moonraker" both at 2/5 but if I absolutely **had** to watch one of those
two again I would pick "Moonraker").

The story is of course similar to other Bond films (Not that this is such a
TRAGEDY, as long as it is made in an entertaining way like in "Thunderball"
or "The spy who loved me" for example ...

Moore has to discover why three agents were killed in 3 different locations
around the world ... and why ...
This leads him to New York, then to a small Carribean island and to
Louisiana where most of the movie takes place.

Yaphet Kotto plays the villain and he is a VOODOO gangster/pimp who is
planning to give away tons of heroin to US citizens in order to get millions
of people addicted so he can later make billions of dollars
selling them his own stuff (This demented plan would NEVER work !  And
anyway they talk about it for 3 minutes and then it is never discussed again
so I guess it wasn't so crucial after all ...)

Would a big time gangster like him rely on tarot card predictions to make
his moves ?? Apparently, yes !! (Sarcastic tone !)  So he has this pretty
young lady ("Solitaire" is played by the lovely Jane Seymour) to predict the
future for him ... (She should have predicted this film would be a mess in
fact and walked off the
set !) ;o)

There is this big "issue" in the film how she is a virginal girl, that's
right .. a "Pucelle" even if she's around ... mmmmmm ... 25 years old at
least ?? ...

Apparently if she loses her virginity there is no way she can predict the
future anymore ... sounds pretty far fetched ... and it is !!  (Especially
because she doesn't resist Mr. Bond's lurid advances too long as you can
imagine !)

... and there is a pretty nasty scene later on when the villain asks Bond
while pointing towards her ...

"Did you touch **that**" ..

Yeah, that's right he says ... **that** ... Geeeesh !  I am not too fond of
those sexist and archaic remarks but this was made in 1973, right ?? ...
just checking !!  ;o)

So as you can see watching this film wasn't a very pleasant experience ...
it doesn't even "feel" like a Bond film actually, a lot of the lil' things
are missing ... barely any funny one liners from 007, no "Q" with some funny
dialogues asking 007 to "behave" for example ... only a brief appearance by
"M" and "Moneypenny" ... etc.

A few stunts but they are few and far between, only a good boat chase scene
near the end but it seems to go on forever so it loses a bit of its edge
after a while ... It was fun watching the boats being "airborne" though,
crossing roads ... etc.  But it wasn't very satisfying as an action film
overall.

Some funny moments though  involving the infamous "Sheriff J.W. Pepper"
played by Clifton James who has some funny lines and I like it how he is
always saying "Boooooy" here and there ... Example he says to Bond once
after he has destroyed a dozen cars or boats and created a huge commotion :
"What are you - some sort of Doom's day machine - Booooooy ??"  Amusing !

Some uninteresting supporting characters as well, like the villain's bad guy
played by a big black man with a "metal scissor/hand" ... just like JAWS
later on in the series, this guy is clueless and could NEVER actually kill
007, not even on his best day !!

Gloria Hendry is also pretty bad as a Black lady who is a "double agent" ...
I didn't believe in her character for 2 seconds, she was pretty bad, looked
like amateur night !

Also plenty of snakes (were they sponsored by RUBBERMAID though, that is THE
question !!) ... crocs ... and
sharks ...

Overall this Bond film was rather disappointing and looks very dated as well
.. 2/5 (low) ... I was hesitating between 1.5 or 2 but I feel like being
"generous" .. today !

Marc     ;o)

- ---------------------------------------------------------
"Pop quiz, Hotshot !  There's a bomb on a bus ...
Once the bus goes 50 miles an hour, the bomb is armed ...
If it drops below 50, it blows up ...
What do you do ??  WHAT DO YOU DO ??"

Dennis Hopper as "Howard Payne"
"Speed" - 1994
- --------------------------------------------------------











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------------------------------

Date: 15 Sep 00 09:44:10 +0100
From: "Source - Richard" <[e-mail]>
Subject: RE: [MV] Live and let die - 1973 - 2/5

Interesting, most people think this is one of the best Bonds, including
me.

Marc Desbiens wrote:
>
>**minor spoilers**
>
>Alright ... I have now seen all but 3 of the Bond films ... "Diamonds
are
>forever", "Never say never again" and "You only live twice" are missing
...
>I should see "You only live twice" tomorrow probably as I picked it up
at
>the same time I picked up "Live and let die".
>
>This is one of the weakest James Bond film in my opinion.  The story was

>just not interesting, the villain wasn't very scary, the acting was
awful in
>part, plenty of silly moments, "Q" is not even in it either ... the
works
>...
>
>The story is a mess .. After 40-50 minutes, I didn't even
>care anymore how it would develop, it was just all over the place
without
>any sense of direction whatsoever.
>
>Roger Moore's first film as Bond is also his worst (I rate this one and
>"Moonraker" both at 2/5 but if I absolutely **had** to watch one of
those
>two again I would pick "Moonraker").
>
>The story is of course similar to other Bond films (Not that this is
such a
>TRAGEDY, as long as it is made in an entertaining way like in
"Thunderball"
>or "The spy who loved me" for example ...
>
>Moore has to discover why three agents were killed in 3 different
locations
>around the world ... and why ...
>This leads him to New York, then to a small Carribean island and to
>Louisiana where most of the movie takes place.
>
>Yaphet Kotto plays the villain and he is a VOODOO gangster/pimp who is
>planning to give away tons of heroin to US citizens in order to get
millions
>of people addicted so he can later make billions of dollars
>selling them his own stuff (This demented plan would NEVER work !  And
>anyway they talk about it for 3 minutes and then it is never discussed
again
>so I guess it wasn't so crucial after all ...)
>
>Would a big time gangster like him rely on tarot card predictions to
make
>his moves ?? Apparently, yes !! (Sarcastic tone !)  So he has this
pretty
>young lady ("Solitaire" is played by the lovely Jane Seymour) to predict
the
>future for him ... (She should have predicted this film would be a mess
in
>fact and walked off the
>set !) ;o)
>
>There is this big "issue" in the film how she is a virginal girl, that's

>right .. a "Pucelle" even if she's around ... mmmmmm ... 25 years old at

>least ?? ...
>
>Apparently if she loses her virginity there is no way she can predict
the
>future anymore ... sounds pretty far fetched ... and it is !!
(Especially
>because she doesn't resist Mr. Bond's lurid advances too long as you can

>imagine !)
>
>... and there is a pretty nasty scene later on when the villain asks
Bond
>while pointing towards her ...
>
>"Did you touch **that**" ..
>
>Yeah, that's right he says ... **that** ... Geeeesh !  I am not too fond
of
>those sexist and archaic remarks but this was made in 1973, right ?? ...

>just checking !!  ;o)
>
>So as you can see watching this film wasn't a very pleasant experience
...
>it doesn't even "feel" like a Bond film actually, a lot of the lil'
things
>are missing ... barely any funny one liners from 007, no "Q" with some
funny
>dialogues asking 007 to "behave" for example ... only a brief appearance
by
>"M" and "Moneypenny" ... etc.
>
>A few stunts but they are few and far between, only a good boat chase
scene
>near the end but it seems to go on forever so it loses a bit of its edge

>after a while ... It was fun watching the boats being "airborne" though,

>crossing roads ... etc.  But it wasn't very satisfying as an action film

>overall.
>
>Some funny moments though  involving the infamous "Sheriff J.W. Pepper"
>played by Clifton James who has some funny lines and I like it how he is

>always saying "Boooooy" here and there ... Example he says to Bond once
>after he has destroyed a dozen cars or boats and created a huge
commotion :
>"What are you - some sort of Doom's day machine - Booooooy ??"  Amusing
!
>
>Some uninteresting supporting characters as well, like the villain's bad
guy
>played by a big black man with a "metal scissor/hand" ... just like JAWS

>later on in the series, this guy is clueless and could NEVER actually
kill
>007, not even on his best day !!
>
>Gloria Hendry is also pretty bad as a Black lady who is a "double agent"
...
>I didn't believe in her character for 2 seconds, she was pretty bad,
looked
>like amateur night !
>
>Also plenty of snakes (were they sponsored by RUBBERMAID though, that is
THE
>question !!) ... crocs ... and
>sharks ...
>
>Overall this Bond film was rather disappointing and looks very dated as
well
>.. 2/5 (low) ... I was hesitating between 1.5 or 2 but I feel like being

>"generous" .. today !
>
>Marc     ;o)
>
>---------------------------------------------------------
>"Pop quiz, Hotshot !  There's a bomb on a bus ...
>Once the bus goes 50 miles an hour, the bomb is armed ...
>If it drops below 50, it blows up ...
>What do you do ??  WHAT DO YOU DO ??"
>
>Dennis Hopper as "Howard Payne"
>"Speed" - 1994
>--------------------------------------------------------
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>_________________________________________________________________________

>Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at
http://www.hotmail.com.
>
>Share information about yourself, create your own public profile at
>http://profiles.msn.com.
>
>
>[ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ]
>[ movies" (without the quotes) to [e-mail]          ]
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------------------------------

Date: Fri, 15 Sep 2000 08:53:00 -0600
From: ("Paul D  Richardson") <[e-mail]>
Subject: [MV] RE: Live and let die - 1973 -

> **minor spoilers**

> Alright ... I have now seen all but 3 of the Bond films ... "Diamonds are
> forever", "Never say never again" and "You only live twice" are missing ...
> I should see "You only live twice" tomorrow probably as I picked it up at
> the same time I picked up "Live and let die".

Technically, you haven't seen ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE either since you
only watched the first 45 minutes.  I suggest that you watch that film again
(this time in its entirety) after YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE and before DIAMONDS ARE
FOREVER.  The three films actually form a sort-of loose "trilogy."

> This is one of the weakest James Bond film in my opinion.

I agree.  It has some strong moments and good ideas, but overall it doesn't
work too well.

> Would a big time gangster like him rely on tarot card predictions to make
> his moves ?? Apparently, yes !! (Sarcastic tone !)

Well, Ronald Reagan used a psychic to help make his decisions while in office,
so why not?

> Apparently if she loses her virginity there is no way she can predict the
> future anymore ... sounds pretty far fetched ... and it is !!

I find it interesting that in this Bond film, the supernatural actually exists
and works.  It was an interesting choice, and I thought it worked for the film.

> ... and there is a pretty nasty scene later on when the villain asks Bond
> while pointing towards her ...
> "Did you touch **that**" ..
> Yeah, that's right he says ... **that** ... Geeeesh !  I am not too fond of
> those sexist and archaic remarks but this was made in 1973, right ?? ...

You know, that was supposed to be seen as sexist.  It was the villain saying
it, not the hero and was clearly designed to get a rise out of the audience.

> it doesn't even "feel" like a Bond film actually, a lot of the lil' things
> are missing ... barely any funny one liners from 007, no "Q" with some funny
> dialogues asking 007 to "behave" for example

But wait!  You claimed that you didn't like the sillier aspects of Bond, but
now that you see a film with some of those aspects missing you complain?

> Some funny moments though  involving the infamous "Sheriff J.W. Pepper"
> played by Clifton James who has some funny lines and I like it how he is
> always saying "Boooooy" here and there

Oh good lord!  You have griped again and again about how you don't like the
silly parts of the Bond movies, yet you enjoyed Sherrif Pepper?  His
appearence in this film is the third silliest moment in Bond history.  (#2 is
when he reappears in THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN, and #1 is the last line in
THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH).

> Some uninteresting supporting characters as well, like the villain's bad guy
> played by a big black man with a "metal scissor/hand"

I liked Tee-Hee and thought he was an interesting henchman.  I liked The Count
even more.

> Also plenty of snakes (were they sponsored by RUBBERMAID though, that is THE
> question !!) ... crocs ... and sharks ...

By the way, the stunt of Bond walking across the backs of the crocodiles was
real.  There are some great outtakes on the DVD from that scene in which the
stuntman (who also owned the croc farm) was nearly bitten trying to get
across.  Scary stuff!

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------------------------------

Date: Fri, 15 Sep 2000 13:09:28 EDT
From: "Marc Desbiens" <[e-mail]>
Subject: [MV] Changes in the movie going public ...

**** Adding lil' comments to your message, Allen !

The trouble is, Marc, the movie going public has changed greatly since I
was a kid and fell in love with the movies (we're talking here, 1944 - 1974
as great movie years).  The key factor has been, in order, television and
the VCR (now DVD ).

In the days before the VCR, people chose very carefully before they went
into a theater to see a film.  They judged by star, director, critics and
word of mouth.

****** I still do that but it's true that a lot of people just go see the
"Flavor-of-the-month" film too ... you know .. like "ice cream" !  YUM ! ;o)

Now, they wander through video stores and just look for 'something', and
very often, the picture or wording on the cover does it for them.

***** Yes, most people do that, not knowing too much about a movie before
actually renting the film ... I was at the video store the other day and
this man was obviously looking for "something" .. so he asks me .. "What's
good ??" .. he seemed to be rather lost ... then I suggest to him what I
know is a terrific film ... he picks up the box and looks at it ... then he
puts it back and says he doesn't like the cover box ... geeeeeeesh ... I
think he chose some kind of action film instead ... nothing wrong with those
but you see what I am trying to say ... I was assuring him this film was
great and yet he wasn't interested because of the cover box ... :o)

Some
nights and weekends, they just want 'something' - anything.

Over here, we've had more than three major  female 'stars'  pass out either
on the sets of films, or at home because of extreme dieting.  I was
watching a news show the other day and they explained the reason why.  The
studio heads, through their psychological on staff guru's, have decided
that the largest audience for films are 16 to 18 year olds.  So they have -
without actually saying it, let these
26 to 30 something actresses (like Lara Flynn Boyle and Sara Jessica
Parker) know that in order to gain work, they have to have bodies that are
as thin as a 16 to 18 year old girl.

***** 16 to 18 ?? That is pushing it a bit, no ?? those 2 actresses look
like they are **at least** 25-27 years old ... no ??  In which roles did
they make you think they wer 16 to 18 ??

In the main, this is the film market over here, dictated by the whims of 16
to 18 year olds because - that's where the money is!

***** Agreeing there though ... look at the movies that make a lot of money
...

The average teenager
here in American has more disposable income that i had at the age of 26 to
27.  By their sheer numbers, they can dictate the market, and do.  Simple
as that.  The overall output and the 'general' quality of films in America
is a reflection of their buying power.  As a real comparison, look at the
output and quality of films that come fromAustralia, where this age group
is not dominant financially.

***** Oh, good analysis !  Yes, Australian films ... French films ... even
Canadian films ... are aimed at an older audience most of the times ...
which is something I like ...

Sure, good films are still made, but not in the memorable volume of the
30's, 40's 50's and early to late 60's.

Another real factor is that a 'shitty' film that would have lost money and
floundered to obscurity in the 50's and even as late as the early 70's, can
now make up for a lackluster theater performance in the video
store.

***** Yes, true .. when you can see a film for 2$ instead of 7$, it makes a
difference ... taking more "chances" especially if you often watch films
with friends ... sharing the cost .. half and half .. or three ways ...

People of all ages may not opt to shell out $ 7.  a pop to see a
film that advance word of mouth states is a turkey, but scores of them
(just wanting 'something', so they won't have to go home and talk to each
other) will shell out $ 3.15 to $ 2.79 a night.  Do the math, Marc.

***** Yeah, I agree with you !


If 21
million people decide not to shell out  $ 7.00 to see a film that costs 10
million to make. But over a year in hundreds of thousands of video stores,
a mere 7 million (and that's a conservative estimate) are willing to hand
over $2.89 to rent it, how much money is made.  See my point?

***** Yes, a perfect example is Austin Powers .. the first one made like 60
M$ at the Box office which is not bad of course .. but then a lot of people
rented it at the video stores and it became sort of a cult-classic ... later
on when they released the 2nd one it was a huge hit at the Box office from
the get go ...

Finally, what no one seemed to figure in the beginning of the VCR age, is
how fast demand for films would rise as compared to how many were out there
available.  We very rapidly ran out of the 'classics'
  that took months to make and had to rapidly 'pump' out new films just to
keep up with the demand to feed 'hungry' VCR's.   And we developed a whole
new breed of  ' stars' who are, for the most part, more manufactured
celebrity than actual acting talent.  And we have hack film writers who
think that 15 pounds of dynamite makes for a good film script.  Sad it has
come to this!

I am, however, happy that  was born in and lived through the times of the '
great ones' .  I got to see movie making at it's best all through the
Golden Age as it is sometimes referred to.

***** Are you talking about the '90s here ??  Just joking !!  hehe !!  Nah,
I am agreeing with you on some points but there are still a lot of good
films made today ... I heard on the radio the other day something
interesting .. they were saying on how when you remember the "Good ol' days"
you tend to remember mostly the good things ... forgetting about the bad
things ... it's normal to
think like that too !  what's the word .. mmmmm ... embellishing ??  (SP. ?)

In those days, I would have jumped at the chance to be a film
critic.  "What?"  "Paid to go to the movies?  Hell yes!"
Allen

***** It would be neat these days too for me ... most of the times of course
because there are some movies that are not worth it obviously ... a waste of
PRECIOUS celluloid !    Marc    ;o)


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Date: Fri, 15 Sep 2000 11:20:00 -0700
From: "David F. Nolan" <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: [MV] Changes in the movie going public ...

In the 1940s, Americans bought something like 5 billion movie tickets per
year.  Today, it's about 1 billion, and likely to shrink further as the
options of watching a movie on cable, or renting a video (tape or DVD) gain
popularity.  And why not?  Why should my wife and I go stand in line, and
pay $15 for two tickets, so we can sit in a theater where people talk
throughout the movie... when we can rent a DVD for $4?  Sure, if it's a
"spectacular" movie e.g. Gladiator or Perfect Storm) then maybe the
"big-screen experience" makes it worthwhile.  But for most movies, no.

Teenagers and early-20s go to movies to be with their friends, and or dates.
It's a herding thing.  They aren't looking for great acting, or a
well-constructed storyline.  Just lights and music. (OK, I'm exaggerating a
bit.)  And they go partly to GET AWAY from their parents.  So the studios
mostly make movies that appeal to youth, even if they alienate older
viewers.

Ironically, the rise of availability on video has made it economically
feasible to produce movies for the "aftermarket" -- smaller subsets of the
market that wouldn't generate enough revenue in theaters to justify the cost
of production, but will rent or buy enough copies on video to generate a
profit.... IF they can make enough people aware of the movie to begin with!
And the Web makes it possible for more selective movie fans to find those
hidden gems, via newsgroups like this one.  All changes aren't for the
worse!


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Date: Fri, 15 Sep 2000 13:39:13 -0500
From: Diane Christy <[e-mail]>
Subject: [MV] RE: Live and let die - 1973 -

On 9/15/00, 8:53 AM -0600, Paul D  Richardson said so nicely:
>I agree.  It has some strong moments and good ideas, but overall it doesn't
>work too well.

It's not a very good film but I LOVED it because when it was being
made they filmed some of it down here where I live (in the Slidell
area--about a half an hour away from New Orleans--I live just outside
of New Orleans).  My best friend in the whole world had a country
place in Slidell where we used to go water skiing.  The producers of
the movie approached my friend's grandmother (the owner of the
country place) and asked if they could shoot the scene where the boat
comes out of the water into the pool at their place.  They thought
about it but inevitably said "no" because they didn't want the land
torn up by the boat.  The scene was shot at a neighbor's house, but
you can see the boathouse of my friend's country place in the film.
I saw it when I was 13 and it was really cool to see Marilyn's (my
friend) country place in a movie!!!  That's one of the reasons why I
liked it so much.  For a kid that's a big deal!!
- --
~~~~~
Diane Christy (Samantha and Joshua's Mom)
Jefferson, LA
http://www.geocities.com/diane507/
mailto:[e-mail]
ICQ #12904700  <dkbc10> on Instant AOL Messenger
~~~~~

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Date: Fri, 15 Sep 2000 16:39:42 EDT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: [MV] RE: Live and let die - 1973 -

In a message dated 09/15/2000 7:55:36 AM Pacific Daylight Time,
[e-mail] writes:

<<  and #1 is the last line in
 THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH). >>

Heheheh.  I'll never forget the audience's reaction to that one. :)

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Date: Fri, 15 Sep 2000 16:57:22 EDT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: [MV] Changes in the movie going public ...

In a message dated 09/15/2000 11:20:08 AM Pacific Daylight Time,
[e-mail] writes:

<< Teenagers and early-20s go to movies to be with their friends, and or
dates.
 It's a herding thing.  They aren't looking for great acting, or a
 well-constructed storyline.  Just lights and music. (OK, I'm exaggerating a
 bit.)  And they go partly to GET AWAY from their parents.  So the studios
 mostly make movies that appeal to youth, even if they alienate older
 viewers. >>

This may be going back to that Brains vs. Brawn thing, but I say, if that's
their choice, let 'em make that decision.  Go to the movies that you like and
leave the rest of them be.  There'll always be an audience for the movies I
consider to be stupid, so the best thing, IMO, is to ingore them.
- -Eric-

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Date: Sat, 16 Sep 2000 15:24:06 -0700
From: Chris Parry <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: [MV] Changes in the movie going public ...

[e-mail] wrote:
>
> This may be going back to that Brains vs. Brawn thing, but I say, if that's
> their choice, let 'em make that decision.  Go to the movies that you like and
> leave the rest of them be.

Spoken like a true sheep. What you're really saying is "if people
with low IQ's wish to flock in huge numbers to whatever is new and
glittery without ever questioning its worth or whether we're missing
out on something truly great on the screen next door, thus confining
the truly great smaller films to the trash heap, then let us."

On a similar note, the second Pokemon movie was just released in
Australia and made only 10% of the opening weekend box office that
the first one did. Hip frickin' hooray!

On the upside, the recent trend of taking great Asian action stars
and putting them in crap American films that somehow pull a big box
office, has created an audience for a film that is perhaps the
greatest flick to come out of Hong Kong in eons, Crouching Tiger,
Hidden Dragon. I just saw a preview of this flick and it's
phenomonal, the kind of action that had Matrix audiences drooling,
storyline that never drags and romance that had the girlies weeping
on their way out. It's directed by Ang Lee, who Americans will know
from The Ice Storm and Ride With The Devil, and stars Chow Yun Fat
and Michelle Yeoh, who Americans know from all manner of recent
Hollywood fare that stunk but they went anyway.

So why is this an upside of the previous argument? Well, if not for
the fact Americans know who Chow Yun Fat is, and if not for the fact
they'll pay to go see Asian action stars such as Jackie Chan or Jet
Li open a packet of noodles, just because they know them now, then
American distributors wouldn't have put CTHD on more than 20
screens. This would have been a disaster for all filmgoers because
this movie just totally kicks tail and deserves to be seen by all.
Just as the goof crowd flocked to see George Clooney in the awesome
Three Kings and John Travolta in the awesome Thin Red Line, not
realising they'd be subjected to movies with a message (and a
storyline!) so too will the crowds flock to CTHD and they'll come
out raving.

Mark it down. Go see this movie. Anyone who isn't impressed with
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon is in the sixth day of rigormortis.

The revolution is coming! And we know who'll be first against the
wall when it does, eh Eric?

OZ

http://www.efilmcritic.com
http://www.mymovies.com.au
http://www.tribe.com
http://www.if.com.au
http://ifmagazine.ifctv.com
http://www.sain.com.au

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Date: Sat, 16 Sep 2000 00:20:58 EDT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: [MV] Changes in the movie going public ...

In a message dated 09/15/2000 9:18:02 PM Pacific Daylight Time,
[e-mail] writes:

<< Spoken like a true sheep. What you're really saying is "if people
 with low IQ's wish to flock in huge numbers to whatever is new and
 glittery without ever questioning its worth or whether we're missing
 out on something truly great on the screen next door, thus confining
 the truly great smaller films to the trash heap, then let us." >>

Sheep?  Did I say that's what I do?  Heck no.  I don't feel that's the way to
go about seeing movies.  I just don't have a problem with those that do.  Why
don't you try reading my posts once in a while, Chris?
- -Eric-

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Date: Sat, 16 Sep 2000 15:34:55 -0700
From: Chris Parry <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: [MV] Changes in the movie going public ...

[e-mail] wrote:
>
> Sheep?  Did I say that's what I do?  Heck no.  I don't feel that's the way to
> go about seeing movies.  I just don't have a problem with those that do.  Why
> don't you try reading my posts once in a while, Chris?

One word.

Pokemon.

The defence rests, Your Honour.

OZ

http://www.efilmcritic.com
http://www.mymovies.com.au
http://www.tribe.com
http://www.if.com.au
http://ifmagazine.ifctv.com
http://www.sain.com.au

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Date: Sat, 16 Sep 2000 00:39:36 EDT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: [MV] Changes in the movie going public ...

In a message dated 09/15/2000 9:32:31 PM Pacific Daylight Time,
[e-mail] writes:

<< One word.

 Pokemon.

 The defence rests, Your Honour.

 OZ >>

Yeah, yeah, don't blast me on movies you've never seen.
- -Eric-

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Date: Fri, 15 Sep 2000 23:43:22 -0500
From: Diane Christy <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: [MV] Changes in the movie going public ...

On 9/16/00, 3:34 PM -0700, Chris Parry said so nicely:
>  > Sheep?  Did I say that's what I do?  Heck no.  I don't feel
>that's the way to
>>  go about seeing movies.  I just don't have a problem with those
>>that do.  Why
>>  don't you try reading my posts once in a while, Chris?
>
>One word.
>
>Pokemon.
>
>The defence rests, Your Honour.

You guys are really something.  I'm giggling over here!!  :-)
- --
~~~~~
Diane Christy (Samantha and Joshua's Mom)
Jefferson, LA
http://www.geocities.com/diane507/
mailto:[e-mail]
ICQ #12904700  <dkbc10> on Instant AOL Messenger
~~~~~

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------------------------------

Date: Sat, 16 Sep 2000 00:48:50 EDT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: [MV] Changes in the movie going public ...

In a message dated 09/15/2000 9:44:37 PM Pacific Daylight Time,=20
[e-mail] writes:

<< You guys are really something.  I'm giggling over here!!  :-) >>

I live to entertain. :-)  I think Chris is pretty funny since he hates=20
Pok=E9mon so much, yet he's the one that brings it up all the time.  Heheheh=
eh.
- -Eric-

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Date: Sat, 16 Sep 2000 01:05:22 EDT
From: "Marc Desbiens" <[e-mail]>
Subject: [MV] RE: Live and let die - 1973 -

 >
 >Technically, you haven't seen ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE either
since you
 >only watched the first 45 minutes.  I suggest that you watch that
film again
 >(this time in its entirety) after YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE and before
DIAMONDS ARE
 >FOREVER.  The three films actually form a sort-of loose "trilogy."

***** Maybe I will .. hehe !!  But I consider I have "seen it" myself
... I doubt I would like it very much anyway as for me to stop
watching a film it has to be rather awful (This means I would have
expected the film to end up at 1.5/5 or even less if I had kept on
watching)  I was just REALLY bored by that one ... sorry !

 >Well, Ronald Reagan used a psychic to help make his decisions while
in office,
 >so why not?

****** Is that true ??  Geeeeeesh !!  What's the deal with those US Prez'sss
??

 >

 >
 >You know, that was supposed to be seen as sexist.  It was the
villain saying
 >it, not the hero and was clearly designed to get a rise out of the
audience.

***** Yeah, it bothered me so I guess they achieved their goal there
!  ;o)

 >
 >But wait!  You claimed that you didn't like the sillier aspects of
Bond, but
 >now that you see a film with some of those aspects missing you
complain?

***** I was talking about some one liners by Bond there ... some of
them are funny as long as they are not too numerous !  Some of the
gadgets are amusing too ... there is a fine line between "silly" and
"funny" sometimes ...

 >Oh good lord!  You have griped again and again about how you don't
like the
 >silly parts of the Bond movies, yet you enjoyed Sherrif Pepper?  His
 >appearence in this film is the third silliest moment in Bond
history.  (#2 is
 >when he reappears in THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN, and #1 is the last
line in
 >THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH).

***** The sheriff was funny in this film although he was overused
probably ... there is a long stretch in the movie ... about 10
minutes of screen time where the sheriff is in hot pursuit of Bond,
that was too long ... the sheriff is good but in smaller doses ... I
guess I can take some silly moments but they shouldn't last too long
... hehe !  Among silly moments I think the sheriff is not as silly
as Bond in a gorilla suit myself ...  Marc   ;o)














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Date: Sat, 16 Sep 2000 01:40:00 EDT
From: "Marc Desbiens" <[e-mail]>
Subject: [MV] You only live twice - 1967 - 3.5/5

**minor spoilers**

Hi !

Alright, I had a very good time watching this James Bond film.  I was
surprised later on to read that a lot of critics were considering this to be
a very average film in the series.  I thought it was good enough consider
placing it among my favorite Bond films (Around 6th or 7th place probably).

This was called the "Japanese James Bond film" because the movie is set in
Japan almost entirely.  Beautiful locations as you can imagine !

The movie started off great with an opening sequence that
make us think that 007 is actually killed in the line of duty.  But of
course he isn't or else there would have been no movie !  ;o)  Clever chops
!  This is only a set up in order to have Bond's face in all the newspapers
around the world saying he is now deceased so he can do a little
investigation ... working "undercover" for the B.S.S. (British Secret
Service !)  ;o)

He has to discover who "stole" a US Spaceship that was orbiting Earth and
then brought it back somewhere in Japan.  Of course the americans suspect
the Russians but are they really responsible ??  Not a big surprise to
reveal here that it is not the Russians who are behind this but the EVIL
Ernst Blofeld, Mr. Bond's worst nightmare !

Blofeld was hired by some japanese investors who want to create a war
between the US and Russia so they can make lots of money of course, taking
over everything worldwide !  So Blofeld works behind the scene to anger both
the US and Russia ...

Bond is aided in his investigation by some really cute asian ladies ...
primarely Ms. Akiko Wabayashaki who is a japanese agent working for "Tiger
Tanaka" well played by Tetsuro Tamba (How about that !)  "Tiger" is sort of
a japanese James Bond actually !

Later on Ms. Mie Hama joins the action when Bond "needs" a girl to pose as
his wife (and she is not a wimpy girl either, kicks some !) ... he has to do
this because he going undercover on a small island where the missing US
spaceship **may** have been hidden all this time ... but where ??  They have
searched the entire island to try and locate the missing spacecraft with no
result.

The story is rather intriguing, some parts involving Blofeld are a bit
"silly" but overall it is a rather "serious" Bond film so I was pleased (I'm
sure you have something to say about that, Paul D. ??)  What did I say
**this time** ... Oh no !! ... hehe !  ;o)

The acting was pretty good .. plus it had some nice hand-to-hand combat
sequences involving 007 and a japanese bad guy near the beginning ... this
fight scene was one of the best in the series in my opinion.  It looked
believable and was certainly an impressive way to begin Mr. Bond's
investigation in Japan.  Also some good fight scenes later on involving
"Ninjas" who are helping Bond defeat Blofeld and company ...

There is also a neat aerial combat involving 007 and 4 helicopters ... Bond
is the pilot of "Little Nellie" which is the nickname of a small helicopter
"Q" has brought over there for this occasion (It was cool to see him in
shorts too ... That "Q" !)

Exciting sequence that is very well made, so I didn't have to be "forgiving"
for once due to the fact the film was made in 1967.  These action scenes do
not look "phony" at all ... Machine guns, Rockets, Explosives ... I'd like
to have one of those "little Nellie" helicopters actually ! Great stunts !
More, please !

Donald Pleasance is effective as the nasty "Blofeld" and he certainly makes
a good villain (of course he is the inspiration for the Dr. EVIL character
in the Austin "Danger" Powers films ...) as some lines are straight from
this movie ("This organization will not tolerate failure ...")  Blofeld's
cat is not hairless though ! ;o)

The sets were GREAT too, with Blofeld's headquarters costing more than a
million dollars to build (in 1969 !)
In fact this film cost nearly 10 M$ to make which made it the most expensive
Bond film at that time ...

I also like the title song that is not as "flashy" or memoranle as some of
the others but that is actually pretty good in my opinion. Catchy, yet
subtle ...
I liked it !  (There are some sounds in that song that reminded me of a more
modern song : "Bittersweet symphony" ... not sure who sings that one though
!

So overall I enjoyed this film and Connery is beginning to grow on me as
Bond actually ... He is certainly intriguing in this role ...

Next up for me .. "Diamonds are forever" - 1971.

Marc     ;o)

- ---------------------------------------------------------
"Pop quiz, Hotshot !  There's a bomb on a bus ...
Once the bus goes 50 miles an hour, the bomb is armed ...
If it drops below 50, it blows up ...
What do you do ??  WHAT DO YOU DO ??"

Dennis Hopper as "Howard Payne"
"Speed" - 1994
- --------------------------------------------------------











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