Movies you've recently watched

[Octavian]

I miss your old avatar Octavian.

Me too. Unfortunately I couldn't find the old one.

[Oexmelin]

XXIII (where Obelix becomes mass producer of menhirs, causing a major economic crisis in the Empire - good lesson about economics)

...and the young economist proposing the brilliant plan to ruin the Gauls is actually Chirac in caricature...

But, while I knew Astérix was known as a bande dessinée, I didn't know the movie was translated and shown. There are a few other movies (Astérix le Gaulois, Astérix chez les Bretons...) but they are not on par with the 12 tasks.

[FunkMonk]

Saw The Hurt Locker. I'm kinda surprised there has been little mention of it as of yet, given the military focus - I thought it was very, very good, though a bit implausible at times.

I saw it last week. I loved it, although I agree it is somewhat implausible, like the gungho EOD character. Still, I recognized a lot of things (ideas, feelings) in the movie that I've seen in other soldiers and in myself. I mentioned here a little while after I saw it that the scene that resonated with me the most was the grocery store scene (and not because of Evangeline Lily  )

[Korea]

He's Just Not That Into You

I liked it. 

[Malthus]

Saw The Hurt Locker. I'm kinda surprised there has been little mention of it as of yet, given the military focus - I thought it was very, very good, though a bit implausible at times.

I saw it last week. I loved it, although I agree it is somewhat implausible, like the gungho EOD character. Still, I recognized a lot of things (ideas, feelings) in the movie that I've seen in other soldiers and in myself. I mentioned here a little while after I saw it that the scene that resonated with me the most was the grocery store scene (and not because of Evangeline Lily  )

For some reason this movie seems to be passing under the radar - it is only playing on a couple of screens in this city, and not many have even heard of it. It's a shame, because I thought it was very good - though obviously I'm in no position to judge.

[Admiral Yi]

What's it about?

[Malthus]

What's it about?

It's about a team of bomb disposal experts working in Iraq; setting, present day.

The plot is slight, it is more a character study of the lead guy; without excessive spoilers, he's ... excessively self-willed and gung-ho. The question posed is why he does it, and is this a good thing or bad (he has a wife and a baby son)? Is he a hero, or a dangerous nut? Is there a difference?

The interesting part (from my POV at least) is that the movie makes no attempt to moralize about any of this; the setting is Iraq, and I assume that the setting is realistic, but it could have been set anywhere or any time.

[Admiral Yi]

Oh yeah, read a review about it.

Not the most fortuitous title.

[Malthus]

Oh yeah, read a review about it.

Not the most fortuitous title.

Heh, true; I still don't know exactly what the title is supposed to refer to; I assume it is either about the box of momentoes the lead character keeps under his bed, or the box of stuff the army sends home to your family if you die.

The critics like it - it's getting 98% on Rottentomatoes (for what that's worth).

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/hurt_locker/

[The Brain]

Keira Knightley Pride And Prejudice. I like it a lot. Some nice camerawork too I think.

[Darth Wagtaros]

News on the Red Dawn Remake:
http://movies.yahoo.com/news/movies.reuters.com/tom-cruise39s-son-quotred-dawnquot-remake-reuters

Tom Cruise's son in "Red Dawn" remake (Reuters)                                                                                                                                                               LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Tom Cruise's son is among the newest Wolverines to join the remake of "Red Dawn," the 1984 action movie about a group of teenagers who form an insurgency when their town is invaded -- this time by Chinese and Russian soldiers.

Connor Cruise, 14, will join fellow new recruits Josh Hutcherson, Isabel Lucas and Edwin Hodge in the MGM/UA project. Already cast are Chris Hemsworth, Josh Peck and Adrianne Palicki.

Cruise is playing Daryl, the mayor's son and best friend of tech geek Robert (Hutcherson, in the role originated by C. Thomas Howell).

Lucas is Erica, head cheerleader and the Peck character's girlfriend whom he desperately hopes to spring from an internment camp. Lea Thompson played the character in the original. Hodge will play Danny, the coolest kid in school and star wide receiver who helps establish the resistance.

The young cast heads off in a few weeks for military training in an undisclosed location. Shooting will then begin in Detroit for a September 24, 2010 release. Dan Bradley is directing

Cruise debuted in December as the young Will Smith character in "Seven Pounds." Hutcherson starred in "Journey to the Center of the Earth" and "Bridge to Terabithia." Lucas recently appeared in "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen." Hodge has a recurring role on Fox's "Mental" and recently appeared in the feature "All the Boys Love Mandy Lane."

(Editing by Dean Goodman at Reuters)       

[Ed Anger]

Dammit.

[Malthus]

Isn't the notion of "Red Dawn" a trifle ... dated? Even when it came out the first time, the Cold War was more or less over; now, it's like that exciting movie "When Redcoats Attack!", where a plucky group of high school students fend off the attempt to reform the British Empire over the ashes of Detroit ...

... though come to think of it, that would be a fun movie. A neo-British Empire, finally teaching those upstart colonials, who obviously can't be trusted to run Detroit, anyway.   

[Darth Wagtaros]

Queue Tim with some Alt-his maps.

[Ed Anger]

Queue Tim with some Alt-his maps.

Or a Tim-Josq co-production.