Movies

[greggl]

Don Johnson just did a new Nash Bridges movie. Came out last month

[greggl]

So you recommend it then? I've been trying to convince Rokkerr to go see it with me!

I thought the new Spiderman movie was great. I recommend it whole heartedly. Really glad I managed to avoid spoilers for it. Made it much more enjoyable.

[WalterB]

I just watched Nash Bridges last night, Greggl. I have the whole series on DVD and thoroughly enjoy it. I liked the movie, but missed some of the characters from the series. Notably Jeff Perry as Harvey. Cassidy (Jody Lynn O'Keefe,) Nash's daughter, would have been nice to see, too.

[lance_s]

I saw Dune with my son just before Christmas. I enjoyed it, but really would not recommend to anyone who is not already familiar with the story. Without knowing the background, the movie is either incomprehensible or pointless. But Dune has always been known as a very difficult book to turn into a movie.

[StevieP]

Dune is one of my favourite books which I first read way back when I was at school and know how hard it would be for anyone to adapt for the screen. Having said that I still enjoyed the original David Lynch version with Sting in his metal underpants... and I am looking forward to watching this new version, once I get around to it. My "to watch" pile is getting bigger and bigger!

[stickyvicky]

It's incredible the amount of options that are out there now, so many great things to watch..... The only one good thing that came out of covid....

[StevieP]

I have to admit - as much as I enjoy, on occasion, going to the cinema to see a really "big" movie... I have watched far more newer ones this last year thanks to being able to rent and stream them at home, whilst they are still in the cinema. Considering I have to drive 40 minutes to get to my closest decent cinema, it actually works out cheaper if I CAN rent them at home and I have the added bonus of being able to pause it if I need to use the toilet! Haha!

[lance_s]

Dune is one of my favourite books which I first read way back when I was at school and know how hard it would be for anyone to adapt for the screen. Having said that I still enjoyed the original David Lynch version with Sting in his metal underpants... and I am looking forward to watching this new version, once I get around to it. My "to watch" pile is getting bigger and bigger!

I read the first three books in the Dune series, but never the last three.

Have you read the White Plague, also by Frank Herbert? That would be a good story to turn into a movie.

[ErikB]

Dune is one of my favourite books which I first read way back when I was at school and know how hard it would be for anyone to adapt for the screen. Having said that I still enjoyed the original David Lynch version with Sting in his metal underpants... and I am looking forward to watching this new version, once I get around to it. My "to watch" pile is getting bigger and bigger!

I read the first three books in the Dune series, but never the last three.

Have you read the White Plague, also by Frank Herbert? That would be a good story to turn into a movie.

I read a few books in the Dune series, but I don't remember which ones. I did not read The White Plague.

A set of books I always thought would be great to turn into one or more movies is The Giant's series by James P. Hogan. There are five books, but I only read the first three. The first three books were written over a span of 4 years. They were combined into a large book called The Minervan Experiment, which I read. The next book was written 10 years later, and reviews made it look like the author had gone off the deep end, so I didn't buy it. The fifth book was written in 2005, which is 14 years after the fourth book and 24 years after the third. The reviews were not kind, so I didn't get that one either.

The illustration on the cover of The Minervan Experiment indicates that the aliens in the books are tall and blue. This makes me think the movie makers could adapt some of the techniques used for Avatar.

minervan_experiment_cover.jpg (64.88 KiB) Viewed 102 times

[WalterB]

I don't generally follow series. Not sure why. My basic feeling is that I'm pretty narrow-minded about a lot of entertainment things, mostly movies and music. I like a lot of music, for example, but I will only buy a narrow slice including Oldies and Classic Rock. Disco was big in the '70's when I was in Spain. I went to a few Discos with friends I met over there. So there are a few disco songs I like.

I know that movie "remakes" are not for me. I like a movie because of 1) the story line, and, 2) the actors selected. All of that comes together to make a movie I enjoy. But remaking it 20 years later with all new actors is not the same movie and I don't even watch. I have tried to temper myself by noting that maybe the producers liked the story (it would have been popular 20 years ago,) so decided to introduce the story to a new generation. My impression is that it is not generally overly successful. One of several I think of is The Magnificent Seven. The story is adapted from an old 1954 Japanese movie named Seven Samurai. And, yes, I've seen it. It was on TV once.

But, The Magnificent Seven - such a magnificent cast. Yul Brenner, Steve McQueen, James Coburn, Charles Bronson. Man! I know that the 2016 remake has actors that a whole new generation of folks likes. So that's fine for them, but the actors aren't my favorites, so I'm not interested. I have watched remakes before, but I could never get into them.

[lance_s]

I don't generally follow series. Not sure why. My basic feeling is that I'm pretty narrow-minded about a lot of entertainment things, mostly movies and music. I like a lot of music, for example, but I will only buy a narrow slice including Oldies and Classic Rock. Disco was big in the '70's when I was in Spain. I went to a few Discos with friends I met over there. So there are a few disco songs I like.

I know that movie "remakes" are not for me. I like a movie because of 1) the story line, and, 2) the actors selected. All of that comes together to make a movie I enjoy. But remaking it 20 years later with all new actors is not the same movie and I don't even watch. I have tried to temper myself by noting that maybe the producers liked the story (it would have been popular 20 years ago,) so decided to introduce the story to a new generation. My impression is that it is not generally overly successful. One of several I think of is The Magnificent Seven. The story is adapted from an old 1954 Japanese movie named Seven Samurai. And, yes, I've seen it. It was on TV once.

But, The Magnificent Seven - such a magnificent cast. Yul Brenner, Steve McQueen, James Coburn, Charles Bronson. Man! I know that the 2016 remake has actors that a whole new generation of folks likes. So that's fine for them, but the actors aren't my favorites, so I'm not interested. I have watched remakes before, but I could never get into them.

If the only reason for a remake is refresh the original with new actors, I don't think I'd bother. If a movie is remade to provide an alternate perspective, that can be interesting. For instance, I'd be very interested in a remake of Gone With the Wind presented through the eyes of southern blacks.

[lance_s]

Dune is one of my favourite books which I first read way back when I was at school and know how hard it would be for anyone to adapt for the screen. Having said that I still enjoyed the original David Lynch version with Sting in his metal underpants... and I am looking forward to watching this new version, once I get around to it. My "to watch" pile is getting bigger and bigger!

I read the first three books in the Dune series, but never the last three.

Have you read the White Plague, also by Frank Herbert? That would be a good story to turn into a movie.

I read a few books in the Dune series, but I don't remember which ones. I did not read The White Plague.

A set of books I always thought would be great to turn into one or more movies is The Giant's series by James P. Hogan. There are five books, but I only read the first three. The first three books were written over a span of 4 years. They were combined into a large book called The Minervan Experiment, which I read. The next book was written 10 years later, and reviews made it look like the author had gone off the deep end, so I didn't buy it. The fifth book was written in 2005, which is 14 years after the fourth book and 24 years after the third. The reviews were not kind, so I didn't get that one either.

The illustration on the cover of The Minervan Experiment indicates that the aliens in the books are tall and blue. This makes me think the movie makers could adapt some of the techniques used for Avatar.

minervan_experiment_cover.jpg

Has anyone read any of the Lensman books by EE Doc Smith. There's another series that would be hard to make into a movie, (though I think it has been attempted).

[WalterB]

Lance, a good example of a different perspective would be Tora, Tora, Tora. There is another movie advertised as "from the Japanese perspective." I want to say I've even seen it, but just can't remember for sure. Clint Eastwood also did a couple of movies about Iwo Jima. One from the American side and one from the Japanese side.

I seem to remember another about The Little Big Horn. Again, told from the perspective of the Indians. Numerous Indian survivors have told the story from their own perspective. You're right, that does make story interesting.

[stickyvicky]

The biggest benefit of streaming at home is that I make the best damn popcorn in the world! With real butter, lots of it, and proper fine popcorn salt! Plus paying $20 for a popcorn and a large drink to share for 2 people is just ridiculous!

[WalterB]

Yeah, but you miss out on all the screaming kids and noise and interruptions in the theater. Would you like me to come over and scream and yell and cause disruptions during your streaming movie, so you don't feel so lonely? You can pay me with your popcorn.

[greggl]

One of my favorite book series that I thought would make a great tv series (movies wouldnt be long enough to get it right) is the Belgarian series by David Eddings. The first time I read it all the dialogue of the character of Belgarath sounded in my head like Sean Connery. He would have been perfect. The author refused to sell the rights to make it into a movie or show. He said if people wanted to know the story they could read the book. Even after his death his estate wont sell the license.

I agree with Walt on remakes/reboots for the most part. Rarely is the remake as good as the original. I have seen both the original and remake of the Magnificent Seven and the original just puts the remake to shame.

[WalterB]

I remember a series of books I read probably 10 years ago, that I think would make probably a good TV series, with the right actors. Right now there's a series named "Yellowstone" starring Kevin Costner, who I like. I seems to be pretty popular, altho I've never watched it - not sure why.

But the book series I read started out following a family in the early 1800's. They started out in the East and started west. They rafted to, I think, St. Louis, geared up with a wagon, then a wagon train, and all headed west. I remember that soon after they crossed the river which basically started the way west, their grandmother died. So they buried her beside the trail and kept going. As they moved west, the family grew and went thru many adventures. The story included one of the family members at the Alamo before the famous battle. It covered early Denver, San Francisco and other early American cities. People died, there were troubles they had to overcome. The main family eventually made it west, to Oregon. They established a town and went thru more adventures. I enjoyed the way that the author wrote the series around the various family members (over a couple of generations) being a part of numerous famous events that we all have probably heard of - the great San Francisco fire, The Alamo, several early American events. This is, to me, what made it entertaining.

One thing is that it made me realize how, for example, people are buried all over America with no way to find or recognize them. Remember the wagon trains moving west. What were they to do? When someone died, they buried them wherever they were, maybe put up a wooden marker, and kept going. After a while, the wooden marker would deteriorate, fall over, and the winds and rain would erase all traces of the grave.

I think the series was 26 books. I had borrowed them from my sister, and I read the entire series. Was even a bit sad when the series ended. I can't remember the name or the author, and my sister got rid of the books long ago.

But one thing I got out of the series was how people, our ancestors, our pioneers are buried across America. There are many places where you can follow The Oregon Trail, The Santa Fe Trail. On the Santa Fe, for example, there is Fort Union, NM, which is just off of I-25. It was a stopping point for wagon trains. There are mostly just foundations there now, but it is a National Park, so there is a museum and a Ranger Station. You can actually walk in the ruts that were made by the wagons. Being in a remote place (not near any cities or towns,) it is easy to stand there and actually "see" the wagons moving down the trail. In the fort, you can "see" the Cavalry men going about their daily tasks.

Well, I guess I like American history, particularly The Old West. I wish I had been so interested when I was in school, where it could have got me some good grades, lol.

[Redd44]

I really enjoyed Daniel Craig's last James Bond movie, "No Time To Die." Excellent story. Great acting and action. The song by Billie Eilish was top notch. The footage of Bond driving that big classic Aston Martin along the Mediterranean coast was pure porn!

[Davest]

It has been out a few months now, but I just got around to watching Everything Everywhere All At Once and it is awesome! Confusing at first, it combines sci-fi, martial arts, and family drama, in a wild, wacky, touching, hilarious story that is, to me, worth watching over and over.

[StevieP]

I really enjoyed the new Sylvester Stallone movie "Samaritan" on Amazon Prime video.