Published December 27, 2008 | 
I love movies, and I’ve had a lot of pleasure recently from them. On Christmas Day the Califamily and I watched Trading Places, which I got for Christmas. It’s still funny, and of course the setting in Philadelphia is nostalgic for me.
Then we watched Across the Universe, a Beatles-based musical about the 1960s. The slight script hit all the expected tropes and a couple of unexpected ones. (The dancing beds in the VA hospital were unexpected, all right. Song: “Happiness Is A Warm Gun.”) It featured some pretty actors who could sing.
In fact, the singing is the point of the movie, as far as I am concerned. Jim Sturgess has a plaintive voice appropriate for some of the solos he sang, and I suspect he has a wider acting range than his part allowed him. Evan Rachel Wood’s singing and acting were pleasant but unmemorable. T.V. Carpio’s “I Want To Hold Your Hand” turned a fun pop song into an anthem of unspoken longing.
But Dana Fuchs and Martin Luther (billed as Martin Luther McCoy) stole the show. She has a set of pipes like Janis Joplin’s and a hell of a stage presence. He can do gentle, jazzy, or hard rocking. Their solos were great, and their duets were worth the price of admission.
Best song: the soaring gospel version of “Let It Be” by Carol Woods and Timmy Mitchum, which moved me to tears.
Be aware that the film included songs that weren’t on the CD soundtrack — notably the songs written by George Harrison. So if you want to hear Martin Luther singing “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” you’ll need to search YouTube. Or. of course, you could rent the movie.
movie meme, swiped from serenejournal
01. Name a movie that you have seen more than 10 times:
The African Queen. And there still isn’t a decent US DVD of it!
02. Name a movie that you’ve seen multiple times in a theatre:
Fantasia. So much better on the big screen.
03. Name an actor that would make you more inclined to see a movie:
David Strathairn, Dustin Hoffman, Judy Davis, Emma Thompson.
04. Name an actor that would make you less likely to see a movie:
Ben Stiller, Meg Ryan.
05. Name a movie that you can quote from:
Just one? Repo Man, Animal House, The Godfather movies, The Philadelphia Story. . . .
06. Name a movie musical that you know all the lyrics to all the songs:
The Wizard of Oz. Maybe Stop Making Sense, which isn’t a musical in the usual sense. Oh, and Across the Universe, because the songs are all Beatles covers.
07. Name a movie that you have been known to sing along with:
I honestly can’t think of one. I sing in the kitchen, I sing with my sisters, I sing in the car. Not at the movies.
08. Name a movie that you would recommend everyone see:
Currently in theaters: Milk. Superlative acting and script, great message.
Not currently in theaters: The Sting. A great caper flick, even if it doesn’t pass the Bechdel test.
09. Name a movie that you own:
LA Confidential.
10. Name an actor that launched his/her entertainment career in another medium but who has surprised you with his/her acting chops:
Cher (singer), John Houseman (producer and director), Eddie Izzard and Steve Martin (stand-up comedians).
11. Have you ever seen a movie in a drive-in?
As a small child.
12. Ever made out in a movie?
I have, but generally I like to focus on the film. OTOH, gramina and I saw the first twenty minutes of Bound about five times before we made it through.
13. Name a movie that you keep meaning to see but just haven’t gotten around to it:
Grand Illusion.
14. Ever walked out of a movie?
Yes. Enemy of the State, for example, because the fast cutting gives me a headache. I also walked out on The Sixth Sense after 20 minutes, because I had figured out the gimmick and I was badly triggered by the kid’s situation — and Bruce Willis’s.
15. Name a movie that made you cry in the theater:
Oh, dozens have done that. From Old Yeller to Milk. I cried all the way through all three of the LotR movies.
16. Popcorn?
Yes, especially if it has actual butter on it, as opposed to used motor oil.
17. How often do you go to the movies?
Not nearly as often as I’d like. (Answer retained.)
18. What’s the last movie you saw in the theater?
Milk.
19. What is your favorite/preferred genre of movie?
Genre is less important than quality. But most action/adventure leaves me cold, and war movies have to be at least as good as Apocalypse Now for me to see even once.
20. What was the first movie you remember seeing in the theater?
Probably one of the Disney cartoons — Snow White, I think, or Cinderella, or even The Sword in the Stone.
21. What movie do you wish you had never seen?
My life would have been improved had I never seen Total Recall.
22. What is the weirdest movie you enjoyed?
Gizmo. It’s a sort of documentary about various inventions, mostly bad, using a lot of archival newsreel footage. Hilarious yet inspiring.
23. What is the scariest movie you’ve ever seen?
Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? Although I didn’t know it at the time, the film echoed one of my primary traumas, and I was completely freaked out by it.
24. What is the funniest movie you’ve ever seen?
I came close to choking to death in the theater during Life of Brian, I was laughing so hard. I also literally fell off the seat. So that’s probably it.
Your result for What language would you be?…
Anglo-Saxon
You might not be rich and priviliged but you are streetwise and you know how to take care of yourself. Your low wealth and prestige means that if you were a language you would be Anglo-Saxon.
After the invasion of England by the French-speaking Normans, the Anglo-Saxon language was relegated to the poor and uneducated, while the rich and educated spoke French. Because of these gritty conotations, Anglo-Saxon words became thought of as uncultured. This is why it would be rude today to order a meal using the Anglo-Saxon-derived word “cow” and far more proper to instead use the French-derived word “beef”. The same goes for pork, veal, and poultry. Some other unclassy words English has inherited from Anglo-Saxon include most of the English swear words.
Take What language would you be? at HelloQuizzy
What good movies have you seen lately?
what a fun language quiz! i’m japanese, apparently because i respect my elders. *s*
one of the first movies i remember seeing was The Shaggy Dog. that dates me!
The first movie I have any memory of was Disney’s Sleeping Beauty. I was all of three at the time, and apparently I slept through most of it. Until, that is, Maleficent turned into a dragon. I opened my eyes to this fire-breathing monster headed straight for me, and proceeded to let out a scream that taught people in the auditorium how to levitate.