h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Movies of the Moment: The Italian Job and The Bourne Identity

Lady Neugen for bringing these two up! Both The Italian Job and The Bourne Identity are smart, stylish thrillers.

The Italian Job is a heist movie. Two factions are vying to get their hands on a safe full of gold. The whole opening of the film is set against the beautiful backdrop of Venice. Donald Sutherland plays a thief with heart. The stars of the film though are the Mini Cooper cars - tiny little vehicles that zip all around, even down into the subway. The film keeps a swift pace, and has plenty of humor too. Good film, I recommend it - go see it now, because it won't be in the theaters much longer.

The Bourne Identity is a spy thriller starring two of my favorites, Matt Damon, and German actress Franka Potente. The catch is that the central character, Bourne, can't remember who he is. All he knows is that people are trying to kill him! The movie is a constant cat and mouse game, as the mystery of Bourne's identity slowly unravels. There's a great chase scene through the streets of Paris. And great chemistry between the leads. A must see on DVD.

JEllen

...............X-men 2 is also fast paced & doesn`t take itself as seriously as,say,Matrix Reloaded.I,too,tend to shy away fr. sequels;but this 1 is quite +.(I think I the idea of being able to run thru walls,or teleport about)

Important note! I was talking about the NEW Italian Job, not the original British version - which I unfortunately have not seen!

JEllen

Dirty JOTD:

Monica Lewinsky went into a swish Soho bar, which was having a 60s Rock Reunion; present were surviving members of the Stones, the Who, The Floyd, The Band, The Velvets, Jefferson, all those guys.

'Wow!' thinks Jagger; 'Lads, we've hit paydirt - looks like were in for some serious Lovelace action man! Monica's arrived!'

Monica, knowing a lucrative opportunity when she feels one, took the initiative and knelt down. As the party continued, the champers and coke were as mist in the night air, and decadence rang in the repetitive sounds of flies being raised and lowered in between long, grunting murmurs of ecstacy.

But all the frolic was halted when the party was stunned to silence by screeching tyres outside, and a wall collapsing in on the revellers. Once the dust settled, under a pile of bricks there sat a pristine racing green Mini Cooper. A furious looking Michael Caine emerged, stepped up to Monica and said

'OY! Lewinsky!...'

Oy, Krispy! That was... bad! Made me spew coffee everywhere...

JEllen, the original "Italian Job" is awesome (I need to hurry up and buy it, I think)... I still haven't been to see the new version yet. Maybe one day soon.

I haven't seen the Bourne Identity either, but if it's that good, I ought to.

Am off to a slow start this week, having only watched "Cradle Will Rock"- which is brilliant, by the way- and "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (1999, Kevin Kline, Christian Bale, Michelle Pfeiffer...). Anybody have any other recommendations for stuff I haven't seen yet?

I need to add the original Italian Job to my Netflix list, because I love Michael Caine.

Movie of the Moment: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

I thought this was fun! Kind of like X-Men meets Raiders of the Lost Ark. (Not as good as Raiders, but nothing ever is!) Half the pleasure was just meeting the characters (led by Sean Connery), and seeing what their talents were. They are all drawn from literary legends. It's marvelous what they can do with special effects these days - the invisible man was especially clever. He smears on makeup on his face and darts around, half seen, half unseen. I also loved the female character in this "gentlemen's" league. I don't want to give too much away, let's just say that she holds her own against the guys!! I liked the set design - reminded me of Batman - very dark. Be warned, my movie companions thought the film was too violent. But I found it to be all comic book style violence - it didn't offend me. Bad points? Well, I thought the staging of some of the fighting was awkward. (Will be interested to hear what Hamish thinks of it) But hey, it's a fun summer flick.

JEllen

Yo ho, yo ho, I saw Pirates of the Carribean! A jolly good swashbuckling yarn, it is. Orlando Bloom is handsome and heroic, but pirate Johnny Dep steals the show! Geoffery Rush makes a good pirate too. Arrrr, Matey. Loved all the swordplay. There's a feisty heroine too: "You think you know what pain is, try wearing a corset."

JEllen

I'm going tomorrow evening to see Pirates with my friend LiamChgo. Over the weekend, I heard from several people up at the Ren Faire that it was darn good fun! I'm really looking forward to it, will let you all know what I think when I get back.

Wearing a corset isn't all that bad, especially if one has somewhat ample bosums and a bad back.

I'm thinking I'll hold off on Extraordinary Gentleman till the DVd rental's out. Is it really worth the $10.50 ticket price?

wish I could get to see s of the caribbean!

the boy is looking rather tasty these days

Well, I'm back from seeing "Pirates", and it was better than I'd expected. The special effects were quite good, and it was really enjoyable all around. (And Johnny Depp and Orly were looking fine indeed!)

Ow, $10.50?! Movies are only $7.50 here. "Extraordinary Gentlemen" was fun, but not a must see movie. I'd wait and catch it second run, or as you say, wait for the DVD.

Leo was sooooo cheated out of the Oscar for Titanic.

OOOooo I wondered about Prirates I Johnny Depp!
*used to call him Jonny depth*

Statistically,'finding nemo`s ' in 1st place now
I liked Minority Report.

Statistically,'finding nemo`s ' in 1st place now
I liked Minority Report.

Now I remember,anyone else seen 'cookies fortune'?? Directed by Robert Altman.It`s 1 of a handfull of movies I`ve seen more than once,& enjoyed every time!!

I saw Cookie's Fortune only the other day on television. I liked it in a low key, quiet movie sort of way. Lots of actors having a good time.

I'm looking forward to Pirates of the Carribean which opens here in a week or two. Think I'll go and see Sinbad as well and make it a double!

I saw Goodbye Lenin last night. A funny German film about the reunification of the two Germanies in the early nineties. The plot hinges on the East German mother who has a heart attack and is in a coma for eight months during which time the Wall falls and it is deemed that it would be a life threatening shock for her if she found out what happened...

Goodbye Lenin sounds truly funny. I wonder if I can find a copy to rent?

Movie of the Moment: Seabiscuit

I saw Seabiscuit, the movie about the famous racehorse, and loved it. It has a really wonderful cast: Tobey Maguire is perfect as the jockey (ah, those blue eyes!), Chris Cooper is a standout as the trainer, Jeff Bridges is good as the horse owner, and William H Macey plays a very amusing radio announcer. There should be some nods toward some or all of them come Oscar time. A lot of the movie has an almost documentary feel to it, in part because it is based on a true story, and partly because the filmmakers are careful to set the story of the gutsy racehorse within the context of the times - the Great Depression. The cinematography is wonderful throughout the film, but is especially compelling during the races, where you can really feel the excitement! This true story is so extraordinary and so moving, you are bound to cry, so take extra kleenex!

JEllen

Where has Lady Neugen been?

Last movie I went to was Legally Blonde II. It was often not funny and very bad for the most part.