Saturday, July 14, 2007

Movies to See...

Every once in a while, I come out with a list of movies that I'd like to see that have either just come out or will soon hit theaters. Here's my current list:

I am a Neil Gaiman fan. Cynthia and I once thought that he was coming to Asheville for a reading at Malaprops. However, we didn't read the fine-print on the poster which indicated that it was only a book club meeting. Needless to say, we were disappointed. I am super excited about this fairy-tale adventure adapted into a movie. And who doesn't love Michelle Pfeiffer as a villain? CLICK HERE for the trailer.

Philip Pullman is another of my favorite fantasy authors. His Dark Materials Trilogy is truly amazing. When I read the books, I simply couldn't put them down. Touted as children's books, they deal with complex ideas about religion and philosophy. The first book, The Golden Compass has been adapted for the big screen and I'm really looking forward to it. CLICK HERE for the trailer.

It's starting to look like I only want to read books that have been made from young adult books, but this is another great series of books by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi. They truly are wonderful and fantastical. And the movie has that kid from Finding Neverland. And who doesn't love Mary-Louise Parker? CLICK HERE for the trailer.


Another of my favorite authors, though of a different variety, is Jane Austen. When first read, I hadn't a clue what they were all about. But as I became wizened to the ways of social strata and dare-I-say-it, romance, they became intricate social satires that never tire. This movie looks to be interesting. I don't know exactly how factual it'll be, but regardless... I am bewitched, body and soul, by Jane's world. CLICK HERE for the trailer.

So, they skipped the first book in the Dark Is Rising Sequence by Susan Cooper, but we'll forgive them that. Yet another fantasy book turned movie, I am really looking forward to it, even if it does seem to have a bit of a cheesy MTV feel to it. CLICK HERE to watch the trailer.




Who doesn't love a good inspirational tear-jerker once in a while? I hadn't heard anything about this film until recently. And from the barely-there advertisements, it leaves much to the imagination. But it's about that kid from Finding Neverland looking for this parents using music to find them in the Big City. And who knew that Robin Williams looked so much like Bono from U2? CLICK HERE for the trailer.

I hate saying that I "love" Goya's work. It has a horror to it that rips at the very foundations of consciousness, and to sentimentalize something like that seems somehow wrong. I am moved by his work. I am fascinated by it. And seeing a film about his life and inner-demons and muses seems wonderfully interesting. CLICK HERE for the trailer.


Walking down the streets of New York City, I saw tons of posters for this movie. But was oblivious to it otherwise. Parker Posey is an iconic New Yorker and an amazing actress. And as much as I hate to say it, I'm hooked on phonics to movies about neurotic females in search of magic in their love-life. I like those and movies with good villains. And movies with magic. CLICK HERE for the trailer.

5 comments:

Cindy said...

Damn! another list...I'm still working through the last list you put up ;-)...

Just kidding..I do love your movie lists, always good ones...I really am still working through the last one, though, trying to find enough focused time right now to watch The Hours.

The Dark is Rising Series was great to read, are you talking about Over Sea, Over Stone? I think that was written after the first, even though it precedes it, and probably not as action oriented as the others to make it to moviedom. Stardust was great, The Golden Compass, too. I think I got #2 and 3 for George but didn't read them. The others all look good, they're on my list now.

Cindy said...

p.s. I watched some of the trailers, they look great. Dark is Rising, though, didn't seem to have the 'flavor' that I remembered from the book at all...maybe it was just the way I read it, although you know what happens when a book becomes a movie...it looks like a great movie, though, without the comparison to the book. August Rush looks very intriguing, so does Broken English. I'll have to check the rest of the trailers.

Anonymous said...

Wow, I am so out of the loop. I am not a movie person, and definitely not a TV person, but now and then a film will capture me. What caught my eye here is Becoming Jane. One of my very favourite writers forever and ever. I will try and see that one, I think.

The Hours was one of my favourite novels a few years back. I was hesitant to watch the film, but was told it would not disappoint me. It truly didn't. I was spellbound by it, all o fit, but mostly the scenes wiht Virgina staring at the dead bird, and of course the opening scene. I sat still in my seat for a long while after it was done. Maybe that is why I don't watch many films, the effects are long lasting with me.

I have one for you... The Widow of St. Pierre.

Watch it. It haunts me still and could only be a film. It relies so much on the expressive eyes of Juliette Binoche.

Jean Katherine Baldridge said...

Parker Posey rules!

Andrew Thornton said...

Hey Kateri,

Thanks for the movie suggestion! I will definitely try and check it out. I adore Juliette Binoche.

I'm not much of a television person these days. I suppose to be one, one must own one. I think I get much more done without one and I can't watch things like the news anymore. Too much muck to process.

I love the Hours! I was one of the test audiences who screened the movie perhaps a year or so before it came out to the public. I liked it a lot then, but it's definitely a much tighter movie with Philip Glass's score.

Oh, if you like the Hours, I heard that Evening (written by Michael Cunningham) was also supposed to be really good.