Although the Transformers movies don't have a consistent ethical core [except a healthy distrust for government of all stripes] any movie with a hero that stands firm and says "Freedom is the right of all sentient beings" has my vote!

Good fortune to you. Your emails seem much younger than that - obviously, they are the correct measure of your age.

Jan

Unfortunately, not any more. I will be 80 in a couple of months and have lost complete the sense of balance. Only through visual coordination I can walk and move. I still will try soon to ride one more time.

Thanks for asking.

Maritimus

I agree on Straczynski's writing; second only to Whedon for quality. Please see the thread I just started on a remake of B5. This conversation inspired me (and I am taking all of the credit! MWahahahaha!)

Jan, chortling maniacally

I did see "Jupiter Ascending" and thought it was good. The Marvel movie "Thor" (2011) was written, in part, by J. Michael Straczynski, the author and creator of Babylon 5. He does a great job at character-driven screenplays where good ultimately triumphs over evil...

I will overturn my prior advice and look them up. Maybe watch one tonight - I feel like revisiting that universe.

Did you see Jupiter Ascending? It was a good movie in its own right and it showed what a remake of B5 could be!!

Jan

Of the 5 movies, the 2 best were "Thirdspace" and "A Call to Arms." "Thirdspace" is essentially about opening a strange new hypergate that has some really evil aliens on the other side. "A Call to Arms" basically is the launching point for the follow-on TV series "Crusade." Both movies have a lot of action, the bad aliens are clearly bad, and the good guys are heroes...

He was walking when he ran into HL. He had to give everything to his banker.

I think you're right that Chaucer was nude and confused when first introduced in the story, but I don't remember all of the details. My main memory of the movie was the frequent line "change your stars" -- talking about an individual improving his/her lot in life...

I have avoided them because I like the show so much - and the movies were pretty much panned. You think they were worth seeing?

Jan

Wasn't it Chaucer who lost all his clothes and was walking around naked? I saw this in the theater when HL was a new teen heart throb. In the scene where he is tied up and beaten by the villain the girls behind me gasped in paid with each lash of the whip.

B5 is my all-time favorite. So many story threads and arcs throughout the 5 seasons. And the made for TV movies were pretty good too...

"A Knight's Tale," from 2001, starring Heath Ledger. It's about a peasant squire who poses as a nobleman in order to be allowed to participate in jousting contests (which he wins). It's a story about the triumph of a determined individual who "changes his stars." It also has a fair amount of good comedy throughout...

I love Rob Roy

LOL

yes, e, I think we have posted it in here before. It's free on Youtube

oh! good. another movie to watch!

Oh I love October Sky. I will check out the other one. One well-done picture in the romanticist tradition, is Rage-Glenn Ford. and there is an amazing score

I normally hate Bollywood. I shudder to even call it art. The acting is inevitably poor and I hate the way adults are made to act like kids.

This film (translation: Colour me Saffron), Rang De Basanti, was made with just US$4.0 million in 2006. Yes, sorry, nine years old.

It’s a bit too long (129 minutes) and the first half drags; that half is very poor with many hackneyed scenes. But stick with it. (The Blu Ray DVD, it has English subtitles).

There is a twist in the plot. A twist that is unpredictable and amazing, yet perfectly logical in hindsight—that elusive Holy Grail for writers. The second half left my jaw on the floor.

This is one of the most Romanticist movies ever made. Multi-protagonist stories are hard enough to write, but this has four journeys that integrate into one story.

I had stopped watching the DVD. My wife kept going. I went past the TV, saw the turn, I realized what the screenwriter (Renzil D’Silva) had done; the penny dropped. I could visualize the rest of the story after that, yet I could not leave it.

It would be a hell of a case study for a screenwriting class. It’s mind-boggling how a single incident can turn an entire narrative on its head. My jaw is still on the floor. Time to pick it up and start writing.

Broken Trail. If you haven't seen it, grab the popcorn and enjoy. Men doing the right thing because it is the right thing to do.

Both terrific films

Here are two uplifting movies didn't have big box office receipts, but portray determined individuals striving to achieve in the face of adversity:
The World's Fastest Indian (true story of Burt Munro played by Anthony Hopkins) and
October Sky (true story about Homer Hickam)

Either the metaphor or the literal truth means you had an interesting childhood. (As in "May you live in interesting times...")

Jan

We both no doubt responded to the absolute beauty of the film as well as its story (and great music).

Do you still ride?

Jan