The Muppets definitely forced at least one song

Were some of the cameos cut? I noticed one celebrity in the credits but do not remember seeing him in the movie, it would have been hard to miss him too.

Moving on...

Pearl Jam Twenty
4/5

I love PJ, have seen them live twice and saw Eddie Vedder solo once. I'm somewhere between a casual fan/hardcore fan. Anyway, this documentary is written/directed by Cameron Crowe and it's fantastic. We see the beginning of Pearl Jam as Mother Love Bone. The band goes through some tough struggles, end up with Eddie Vedder as their lead vocalist and become Pearl Jam.

There's a lot of footage from the band members and road crew, including an un-aired performance for MTV which starts with Eddie shouting "**** MTV, **** ALL TV!!!" The show is a total gong show and it's quite funny.

There's something in this documentary for everyone, even non-fans. By the end it felt like I was taken on an intimate journey with the band and learned some new stories.

TheCroShow,



That was awesome.

one of my all time favourites

Just watched John Carpenter's The Thing for the first time ever, I think. If I'd seen it, I forgot all of it. Awesome stuff.

ahhh man how did i miss that?? i'm going to check it out next week with my lady, she hasn't seen it yet.

Has anyone seen Shame yet? I'm eager to see McQueen's follow up to Hunger No release in my city yet, hope we get it soon.

Dominic, what did you think of White Ribbon?

Just watched it again the other day and liked it even better.

Actually, I didn't see it - got tired and went to bed. Soon , tho.

Saw La pasión según Berenice (The Passion of Berenice) yesterday. The only previous experience with mexican cinema i've got is a couple of Bunuel melodramas and this movie was a bit similar to them. I think it portrayed pretty authentic life in the 70's Mexico, though it mainly focused on the well off people. The protagonist in this movie is a very good looking woman named Berenice, who is a window with a scar on her face. There are rumors that she might have killed her husband and burned their house down, but no one has any proof. All of her time is taken by taking care of her sick, elderly godmother, who is very rich. She doesn't seem to have much time for herself, or any men around her. Even though the story is very simple, her character is quite a puzzle. You get a good feel, how suffocating life becomes for her, but you can never figure out why she is the way she is. The story centers around her meeting a man, who is the son of her godmother's doctor. He begins to court her, but she very apprehensive about getting close to him. This movie is a really great critique of the society it depicts and is a solid example that movies do not need to be antagonizing, or excessively 'creative' to be subversive. All they need is some interesting characters and something interesting to say. A--

Z (1969) Color. French with English subtitles. Z is a political thriller directed by Costa Gavras, screenplay by Gavras and Jorge Semprún, based on the 1966 novel of the same name by Vassilis Vassilikos.

The film presents a thinly veiled fictionalized account of the events surrounding the assassination of democratic Greek politician Grigoris Lambrakis in 1963. This film won some awards. A Large cast includes: Jean-Louis Trintignant, Yves Montand, Irene Papas, Jacques Perrin, Charles Denner, François Périer, Pierre Dux, George, Géret, Bernard Fresson, Marcel Bozzuffi, Julien Guiomar, Magali Noël, and Renato Salvatori.

Based on real events this is a well-crafted movie done in a straight forward style. Eraser head Peacenik politicos get their heads clubbed by right wing fanatics, with the leading rabble rouser getting the worst of it. He dies which sets off the empty-headed peace lovers into a twit of even more self righteousness and martyrdom. Turns out the morons in power and their cohorts of even more imbecilic minions and thugs plotted to kill the babbling mouthpiece of peace, Mr. Lambrakis.

Crusading, I’m out to save the world, photo journalists become involved and the investigating judge uncovers the plot and cover ups, which involve the police, politicians, and the military at the highest levels. More fun ensues with additional gangster tactics and intimidation, falsehoods and high-powered shenanigans. Finally, indictments are punctuated into history by the judge, who refuses to be intimated, but all for not as the world turns about, and most of the indicted are simply given light prison sentences or administrative reprimands. The rightwing warmongering, repressive, and tyrannical moronic fanatical misfits of the police and military win day. I rejoiced. Peace is for idiots with no sense of duty or honor. The military Junta of Greece reign supreme and win, at least for awhile.

The French moviemakers added a beautiful twist at the end of the move which I quote here (from Wikipedia):

“As the closing credits roll, before listing the cast and crew, the filmmakers first list the things banned by the junta. They include: peace movements, strikes, labor unions, long hair on men, The Beatles, other modern and popular music ("la musique populaire"), Sophocles, Leo Tolstoy, Aeschylus, writing that Socrates was homosexual, Eugène Ionesco, Jean-Paul Sartre, Anton Chekhov, Harold Pinter, Edward Albee, Mark Twain, Samuel Beckett, the bar association, sociology, international encyclopedias, free press, and new math. Also banned is the letter Z, which was used as a symbolic reminder that Grigoris Lambrakis and by extension the spirit of resistance lives (zi = "he (Lambrakis) lives")."





I personally would have banned "everything from A to Z" and thus precluded having to make up the laborious list above.

The eternally silly and oh-so serious French, as usual, missed everything by a wide mark. The film is listed as a “political thriller” which is no doubt what the snail eaters thought they were making. It isn’t. This film is a comedy, and a great one at that; it out shines Laurel and Hardy, the Three Stooges, and Buster Keaton combined. I laughed all the way through. One of the best comedies of the sixties, I give it an A.

Next up; another French film, this one a real political thriller: M. Hulot’s Holiday.

-Zeno

I have Z on my hd. Been meaning to watch it. Someone recommended it to me. Or was it Q? Maybe it was M? ****!

-J/k Zeno-


Movies with one letter titles:
http://www.listal.com/list/abc-astroman23

Just saw Margin Call.

Great movie...one of the best of the year. Superb cast and beautifully shot...it's all dialog but it plays like a tense thriller.

Just watched Blair Moon Project. I mean Apollo 18.

I liked it. It kept me entertained. Just the whole premise of being stuck on the moon. I thought the middle of the ocean was bad.. but nah.. being stranded on the moon takes the cake. Definitely easy to be creepy when you got that going for you.

Just watched it after I saw your post.

Agree that the cast was great and was really good. I'm not too sure how I feel about the way it ended, though.

White Material by Claire Denis, starring the great Isabelle Huppert. Denis' film takes place in an unnamed African country, which has been taken over by rebels. Huppert plays a coffee plantation owner struggling to stay. Denis continues to be one of the best filmmakers working today.

Have you seen Inside Job? It's the far superior film about the topic.