New Movies

[Dr. Shane]

How many actually think the movie remakes like Willie Wonka And The Chocolate Factory and The Dukes Of Hazzard are worth even buying on DVD?

[Bravus]

Cool idea for a poll, Shane.

I said Hollywood needs to make more original movies, but I'd broaden that to movie-makers more generally: a lot of the good original stuff is coming from indies and international filmmakers, including Canadians. But the remake trend is just out of control at the moment: how many genuinely original stories in movies have you seen this year? They're virtually all either remakes of older movies, remakes of TV shows or dramatizations of old novels or comics. Some of the latter are worthwhile, most are not, IMO.

I voted that the remakes were better, but I had 'Willie Wonka' in mind when I said that - I enjoyed that enormously. Lots of the others look silly or worse - one of the actors from the TV 'Dukes of Hazzard' has asked people to boycott it because of the profanity and sexual references that they tried to avoid in the original show.

There's not that much that inspires me coming out at the moment, I have to admit. But it's a fun topic to talk about!

[Amelia]

I havent seen the new Willie Wonka but I just knew they would make some outragious verbal gag with the squirrels and the walnuts. <img src="/ubbtreads/images/graemlins/oops.gif" alt="" /><img src="/ubbtreads/images/graemlins/seenoevil.gif" alt="" />

[cricket]

The remake of Willie Wonka is much closer to Roald Dahl's book. All three--the book, the original and the remake--are weird. The songs in this remake are actully written by Roald Dahl.

[Bravus]

For the record, my ABSOLUTE favourite rendition of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was the e-book where Roald Dahl read his own book, and even kind of chanted along on the songs! Awesome - find it if you're a fan.

[Clio]

I seem to be growing apart from anything and everything Hollywood and the music industry are putting out these days. I haven't seen a trailer for a new movie that I really wanted to see for at least a couple of years.

We've even quit going to blockbuster... which is saying something cuz my dh has always been a movie fan.

Weird again... I seem to be out of step with lots of stuff these days.

Clio

[Ron Lambert]

Dgrimm60, are you really liking those old shows because they were good, or are you just trying to recapture your youth? I don't mean that in a rude way. It's just that I must acknowledge that many of the shows from yesteryear I am thrilled to see, appeal to my sense of nostalgia and to a desire to return to the days of youth. There could be a snare there for the unwary.

As for new and original shows, I feel that after cinematic art reached its epitome in Peter Jackson's screen version of The Lord of the Rings, movie-making can only go downhill ever afterward.

My favorite movies of all time, the ones I think that in themselves were the greatest movies made, are the Jackson The Lord of the Rings (the whole trilogy), then Ben Hur, then the Charleton Heston The Ten Commandments. After those, there is a huge gap.

[Ron Lambert]

Yeah, I guess it's understandable for the frog to be nostalgic about the time when the water wasn't quite boiling yet.

[aldona]

My husband and I are VW Bug enthusiasts and we have just celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary by watching "Herbie Fully Loaded."

It was a lot of fun and reminded us of the original "Herbie" films that we used to watch when we were first dating.

No scenes of sex, violence, drug use, half-naked women or foul language - just good clean family fun.

aldona

[Amelia]

I love some of Disney's early movies.

[:"blue"]The Ugly Dachshund [/] and [:"blue"]That Darn Cat [/] , are two of my favs

[Gail]

I like Johnny Depp... <img src="/ubbtreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif" alt="" />

Many times I prefer the old classics. I mean, who can top Alastair Sim's Scrooge or Gregory Peck's Captain Ahab?

Echoing on what Bravus said, I far rather go for Indies and foreign

[Amelia]

More about the WW Squirrels

[]http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41331000/jpg/_41331933_factory_203.jpg[/]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4702653.stm

[Dr. Shane]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">Quote:</font><hr />

It was a lot of fun and reminded us of the original "Herbie" films that we used to watch when we were first dating.

No scenes of sex, violence, drug use, half-naked women or foul language - just good clean family fun.

<hr /></blockquote><font class="post">

Wait until the remakes <img src="/ubbtreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

[Paul Beach]

Dear individuals,

Some observations:

1. Too many Christians have bought into Hollywood's definition of what "good" is. Hollywood believes that if a film has a tight story line, good acting, good effects, etc., that it is a "good film" regardless of what message it is getting across. (An example of this is American Beauty.) We know as Christians that the devil has some of the best production values availalbe and can masquerade as an angel of light - so what is "good" in Hollywood's definition can sometimes be the worst for us.

2. In order to enjoy a movie the most, you have to temporarily suspend your morality and adapt the morality of the main character. Otherwise, you'll keep finding things that are wrong with the film and you'll be miserable. By temporarily suspending your morality, you dull your spiritual sensibility - by repeatedly doing this, you will gradually dull your moral compass until you don't really know where it's pointing anymore. This can happen to adults just as much as to children.

3. Hollywood films typically have at least one instance where they take God's name in vain. While there are various definitions of what that means, no Christian would agree that it is okay to use God's name as a swear word.

4. The more a person watches TV or movies, the less likely he or she is to be interested in reading the Bible. Have you ever known anybody who was more likely to be involved in spiritual things?

5. Movies bypass the conscience and play on the flesh. Sex, violence, etc. are the order of the day because those are things that many people with sinful natures want to do, and are only resttrained by society and their moral values. James Bond is a perfect example of a character whose immorality is justified because he has a greater goal of saving the world or whatever.

7. For a good story to exist, there have to be problems to be overcome. This is called dramatic tension. Many people who watch the most television turn into the biggest "drama queens" and "drama kings" at the office the next day. They expect everything to work out within 2 hours, and when it doesn't they think the world is out to get them.

8. Children who are "of weight" tend to watch more TV than other people. Kids used to play outside, but now they live their active lives vicariously through actors.

9. Morons spend more time than other people watching professional sports. If YOU watch professional sports alot, YOU are not a moron. So Mrs. Gray is not trying to offend YOU.

10. Most educational broadcasting is not as interesting as commecial broadcasting.

11. Animal movies, like Old Yeller, are horrific. Most of them are sad and depressing stories about wonderful, sweet, kind, cuddly animals that get sick and have to be shot or die slowly. What's the point?

12. Why cry over a story that somebody made up? If you cried after watching ET, you should see a shrink because you're getting way too involved. That's proof right there of how somebody can make a story up and then suck you in to experiencing it as if it was real from their point of view. Then when you actually saw a homeless person on the street, you looked the other way and didn't care. What's wrong with you?

13. Why is it that kids who supposedly have attention deficit disorder (ADD) can play an X-Box game for 5 hours straight? Maybe it's because they don't have ADD and the people who think they do are idiots.

13. Buying DVDs or video tapes is a waste of time. You'll only watch them once, or if you have kids, they'll watch them over and over until their brains turn to mush. If your kid can't stop watching Alice in Wonderland, or FruitTales, or whatever, then it's time to show them how to play outside - and for you to go out there with them and show them how it's done.

14. If your kid knows how to turn on the TV, sound system, DVD player, and work the cable box before he or she is 3, but doesn't know the alphabet, they'll probably end up being way behind in school, at which time you'll blame the teacher. Then they'll fail in college, and you'll blame the professor. Then they'll fail at work, and you'll blame the boss. Then they'll be living in your house, at which time you'll blame yourself. And the buck will have finally stopped where it belongs.

14. No, these things that Mrs. Gray is pointing out do not apply to YOU. YOU are too smart to fall for these traps, and movies are a good influence on YOU because YOU choose wisely. So please do not write to Mrs. Gray and say that she is way off base - YOU and YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS are the exceptions to these rules. These only apply to OTHER PEOPLE. YOU are exempt because your brain is wired differently than the rest the world's. And that's why your name is Rainman.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Gray

[Nan]

An excellent post Mrs Gray.

[aldona]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">Quote:</font><hr />

Shane said:

</font><blockquote><font class="small">Quote:</font><hr />

It was a lot of fun and reminded us of the original "Herbie" films that we used to watch when we were first dating.

No scenes of sex, violence, drug use, half-naked women or foul language - just good clean family fun.

<hr /></blockquote><font class="post">

Wait until the remakes <img src="/ubbtreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

<hr /></blockquote><font class="post">

Shane, that WAS the remake I was referring to!

"Herbie Fully Loaded" is the new remake of the old films e.g. "Herbie the Love Bug", and others, that were popular in the 1980's.

That's what surprised me - that a remake would be so good and not wreck the "feel" of the originals.

aldona

[Amelia]

[]http://comics.com/wash/genepool/archive/images/genepool2003052150803.gif[/]

[Amelia]

[]http://www.billmumy.com/marta/listv/j2orbit.gif[/]

[Dr. Shane]

I like science fiction (well all except evolution <img src="/ubbtreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> ). So I liked the basic plot of James Cammaron's Dark Angel and some were talking about a movie. However he ruined the series just like he ruined Titanic. In Titanic he had to make sex between two minor children appear to be some kind of love affiar. Makes one wonder how many 17 year "experimented" in love after the movie. Then in Dark Angel he had to make the heroine promiscues with a lesbien friend. <img src="/ubbtreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

[Bravus]

Promiscuous? I've watched the whole 2 series of Dark Angel and Max has sex exactly *once* in the two years, as an unusual aberation caused by her genetic engineering...

[Amelia]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">Quote:</font><hr />

SO what messages are you trying to get across here

<hr /></blockquote><font class="post">

Not me but the toon, but I agree.

1. some people wont see or read anything unless Oprah did.

2. some people are just nuts.

3. some people think Adam Sandler is a bad actor.

4. Bad reading material gets made into equally bad movies.

[Neil D]

Quote:

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1. some people wont see or read anything unless Oprah did.

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And not just Oprah....Some people won't see or read anything unless thier favorite person did it...So, does this classify as "idol worship"?

Quote:

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2. some people are just nuts.

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You are what you eat, as some people say. And some are definately full of fruits and nuts...

Quote:

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3. some people think Adam Sandler is a bad actor.

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Adam Sandler MAY be an actor with modest acclaim, but his movies are reasonably good. Something safe to see...at least the last 4 that I have seen....

Quote:

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4. Bad reading material gets made into equally bad movies.

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Not necessarily true...but the odds are definately in favor of making this statement true.

Having said that, I saw "Sky High", a Disney film that had some far out premesis...And also delt with some rather good thematic social problems....Overall, this is a film that keeps getting better ratings from me everytime I subject it to my scrutny... Granted, the acting was a bit over the top, but definately something to ponder over...I suggest a "go see it" rating for a fun night out of the house, and something that the family with young teens might want to see. As long as you don't expect "oscar" quality acting, but just a fun night out, you will be satisfied.

[Paul Beach]

Dear CoAspen Person,

Mrs. Gray did not write that with her fingers crossed, or with tongue-in-cheek, etc. What she wrote are incontrovertible truths that apply to all. She notices that you not try to controvert any of the truths, and therefore even if YOU do not think it applies to YOU, it still does. <img src="/ubbtreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> If there is something in there that you do not agree with, please let Mrs. Gray know and she will be happy to respond. Otherwise, they remain as they are - incontrovertible truisms about life. (You may say that everybody has their own truth, etc., but that doesn't make sense.)

Sincerely,

Mrs. Gray

[Neil D]

Incontroversial truth

[]http://cagle.slate.msn.com/news/ReynoldsMenSearch/images/remotecontrols1960s.jpg[/]

[Dr. Shane]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">Quote:</font><hr />

I've watched the whole 2 series of Dark Angel and Max has sex exactly *once* in the two years,

<hr /></blockquote><font class="post">

They were all undertones. As much as I didn't want to see them, I couldn't deny them either. No sex in any episodes I saw (unlike Titanic), just undertones. Some may not agree with me about what promiscuous is. I go with the Latin-American meaning that having sex with multiple partners is promiscuos unless one is married to them (i.e. more than one marriage). If someone has sex with their boy/girlfriend before marriage it generally not considered promiscuous if they later marry them. The dictionary simply says a lack of discrimination in sexual relations which means, for many, any premarital sex would be promiscuous.

When reviewing programming to be suitable to show my children or at a church social I must look at undertones as well as what is actually being portraited in a program. Saddly that series failed. Too bad because I liked the plot.