Glens Falls (NY) Online Book Discussion Group discussion

Have you seen any good movies lately? (Part THREE - 2010)
(Continued from Part Two.)

We watched "Star Trek" last night. It was pretty good. I'm glad they made it an alternative universe because they certainly departed from the original. Having the original crew all have the same amount of time in was a bit much, as was handing over everything to a bunch of cadets. Oh well, it was fun.

Jackie, I kept hoping for a different ending in "Valkyrie" too. It was good, though.

I've seen the old "Day of the Triffids" & read the book. I'm not sure I want to see a remake.

Jim wrote: "We watched "Star Trek" last night. It was pretty good. I'm glad they made it an alternative universe because they certainly departed from the original. Having the original crew all have the same..."

Jim, thanks for jumping into this new part of the general movie thread.

The other day I streamed the following movie from Netflix:
The Golden Boys (2007) (set in Chatham, MA) (aka "Chatham" - USA (working title)
DESCRIPTIONS:
============================================
IMDb SUMMARY: "A romantic comedy, set on Cape Cod in 1905, about three 70-year-old retired sea captains who try to lure an attractive middle-aged woman into marriage."
---------------------------------
NETFLIX:
"Desperate for a housekeeper, three crotchety Cape Cod sea captains and housemates decide that one of them must sacrifice his own bachelor bliss and take a mail-order bride, a woman who will cook and clean for all of them. But when the candidate bride (Mariel Hemingway) arrives, her beauty prompts each man to reconsider the virtues of married life. Rip Torn, Bruce Dern and David Carradine co-star in this romantic comedy."
============================================
LINKS:
http://www.netflix.com/WiMovie/The_Go...
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0882969/

I found the movie very amusing, an excellent vehicle for those 3 aging actors:
Rip Torn - 78 years old
Bruce Dern - 73 years old
David Carradine - 72 years old

Jim wrote: "We watched "Star Trek" last night. It was pretty good. I'm glad they made it an alternative universe because they certainly departed from the original. Having the original crew all have the same..."

I'm a Star Trek fan, and I certainly enjoyed the new film, they've kept the heart in my opinion. :)

The film version of Day of the Triffids you saw, was it the 1980 [ish:] version from the BBC? If so it was in fact, excellent. That's one of my favorite books too.

On another forum, some Brits mentioned that the version showing on UK television was not true to the book.

The Triffids movie I saw was an old one. 60's vintage, I'd guess. Maybe 50's.

Tonight we watched "Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix". It was pretty good, although varied from the book a fair amount. Still, it was fun to watch.

I got to see a bit more of "The Boondock Saints", too. It's one of my favorite movies, but I only seem to get to watch 20 minutes or so before having the TV preempted by one of the girls for something more important. I did hold them off long enough to finish the big fight scene in the middle where Willem Defoe does one of his best performances.

Below is a link to the Netflix page with descriptions of both "Day of the Triffids" movies, (1963 and 1981):
http://www.netflix.com/Search?v1=The%...

Netflix includes them in some of the following genres:
Alien Sci-Fi / TV Miniseries / Sci-Fi Thrillers / Classic Sci-Fi & Fantasy

Netflix also says: "This movie is: Suspenseful, Scary, Dark

I want to watch it, but I'm scared. :)

Jim wrote: "... I got to see a bit more of "The Boondock Saints", too. It's one of my favorite movies, but I only seem to get to watch 20 minutes or so before having the TV preempted by one of the girls for something more important. ... "



The Boondock Saints (1999)
Netflix description:
http://www.netflix.com/Movie/The_Boon...

"Genre: Crime Dramas, Crime Action"
"This movie is: Suspenseful, Gritty, Exciting"

This afternoon, Barb and I watched one of the movies she gave me for Christmas, Total Recall (1990) starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. It's a science-fiction action-type film; I'd seen bits and pieces of it on TV, including the ending, and thought it had possibilities, so when I saw a good deal on a VHS copy this summer at our local flea market, I asked for it. (We often pick out our own presents. :-)) Unfortunately, I wasn't aware that the TV station had edited it considerably for bad language; the original has a great deal of the latter (including quite a few f-words), almost all of it gratuitous and pointless. For that reason, I wouldn't unreservedly call this a "good" movie.

That's a pity, though, because in other ways this is quite good --deeper than the average action film in that it presents a surprisingly serious picture of genuine moral regeneration. (The line, "A man is defined by his actions, not his memories," well encapsulates the message.) It's based on a short story by acclaimed SF author Philip K. Dick, "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale." I haven't read that one, and don't know how faithful the adaptation is (I understand some of Dick's works haven't fared well at the hands of Hollywood in that respect.) But his trademark was wholesale skepticism about whether our perceptions truly reflect reality, and that fits well with the plot here; Arnold's character has suffered from some really heavy-duty memory erasure, false memory creation and head games perpetrated by some truly vile villains. Barb found the gradual unraveling of all the skeins of false perception and deception too convoluted to follow; but for my part, I thought it gave the plot added depth. (Of course, I'm more familiar with Dick's general style, and had more idea of what was going on from what I'd seen on TV.) And of course Arnold delivers in the action department (as does his co-star, Rachel Ticotin), and there's a satisfying struggle of good vs. evil. I wouldn't go so far as to recommend the VHS (or DVD, if there is one) version --but if you get a chance to see it on TV, and you like this sort of thing, it's worth watching!

The Triffid version I saw was the new British one. I think it aired last week on the BBC. It was OK. I wasn't impressed. I didn't read the book and I don't think I want to.

I, too, enjoyed Star Trek. More so the characters.

Today, Anthony and I watched The Time Traveler's Wife and we both enjoyed it. Some differences than the book but that's to be expected.

I also watched yet another BBC program, Casanova, from 2005 starring David Tennant and Peter O'Toole. A 3 part miniseries. It was quite good, better than I thought it would be. Great story.
I'm in a David Tennant mania, with his departure from Doctor Who this week, I'm completely crazed. Watching all my favorite Doctor Who episodes and Tennant's final episodes.

Joy, The Golden Boys sounds great. I've never heard of it before but I'll be sure to look for it very soon.

Werner wrote: "This afternoon, Barb and I watched one of the movies she gave me for Christmas, Total Recall (1990) starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. It's a science-fiction action-type film... ... It's based on a short story by acclaimed SF author Philip K. Dick... ... ...his trademark was wholesale skepticism about whether our perceptions truly reflect reality, and that fits well with the plot here;"

Werner, thanks for your comments about "Total Recall". Below is a link to the Netflix page about it:
http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Total_Re...

The concept of "perception" has always interested me. Reality and our perception of it can be two different things. I searched for an apropos quote. Couldn't find exactly what I was hoping for but found the following:

"Anybody who's ever gone through a hard time - any outsider's perception, no matter how much information they're given, they have no idea what the person's life is like." -Amy Grant

As for memory chips being implanted, that's frightening. Hope it never comes to that.

I liked Total Recall, it was entertaining and a pretty good story too.

I just finished watching "The Soloist" with Robert Downey, Jr. and Jamie Foxx. It's the true story of Los Angeles Times reporter Steve Lopez (Downey) who writes a story about homeless street musician Nathaniel Ayers (Foxx).
Ayers dropped out of Julliard, a victim of schizophrenia. He was wandering the streets of the city, playing a two-stringed violin. Lopez befriends him, and the story begins.
Although the acting was quite good, the movie seemed to drag on at times. I stuck with it because I cared for the characters, and I'm glad I did.

I agree, Katherine, it was slow at times. I cared about Jamie Foxx's character, Downey seemed to be using him oftentimes. Though I believe he did come to genuinely care for him. Still a good movie.

Jackie, I'm still waiting for "The Time Traveler's Wife" (2009) to come to Netflix. It's on my queue. A few months ago I listened to the audio of the book: _The Time Traveler's Wife_. It had a fascinating premise, but the time-shifting was a bit confusing at times. Also, they could have left out the "arty" passages which didn't seem very relevant to the story. I'm hoping the movie will be better than my impression of the audio-book.

Today on the Biography Channel they aired a program about George Lucas and the making of Star Wars. It's so interesting to hear and see the work behind the scenes. The name of the program was: "Empire of Dreams: The Story of the 'Star Wars' Trilogy" (2004) (TV) The IMDb web page below gives details:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0416716/p...
Excerpt:
"With commentaries from the cast and crew and stories about how a little movie that was looked upon as an impending box office disaster and became a cultural phenomenon."

Katherine wrote: "I just finished watching "The Soloist" with Robert Downey, Jr. and Jamie Foxx. It's the true story of Los Angeles Times reporter Steve Lopez (Downey) who writes a story about homeless street musici..."

Thanks for the summary, Katherine. I read the book, _The Soloist A Lost Dream, an Unlikely Friendship, and the Redemptive Power of Music_ and also saw the movie. Both Downey and Foxx did a good job, but I think the book was more affecting. The descriptions of Skid Row in L.A. were horrifying. All those wasted lives. I hope the real "soloist", Nathaniel Ayers, is doing better these days.

I didn't care for all that elaboration on Clare's artwork. It really didn't have anything to do with the story. I thought ofit as 'filler', something to add more pages to the book. The movie doesn't have much about it, just that she's an artist and you see her making art, but it's not a big part of the story as it was in the book. I was glad about that.
Time travelling, time jumping is easy for me since I read and watch a lot of it. I don't have a hard time juggling different timelines. Anthony had questions because it wasn't making sense to him. It all comes together, though.

Don Juan DeMarco starring Johnny Depp is an old one, but somehow I missed it. I've heard it's good so I'll be watching that now.

Jackie wrote: "I didn't care for so much elaboration on clare's artwork. The movie doesn't have much about it, just that she's an artist and you see her making art, but it's not such a big part of the story as i..."

Yes, Jackie, the passages about the wife's artwork were boring in _The Time Traveler's Wife_. I'm glad the movie doesn't focus on it.

I don't blame Anthony for having questions. I felt the same way as I listened to the audio. You should have been there to explain. :) I blame it on the writing. Things could have been made clearer by pinpointing the exact time period and place of each passage. Perhaps in the book (as opposed to the audio) the story seemed clearer.

Jackie wrote: "Don Juan DeMarco starring Johnny Depp is an old one, but somehow I missed it. I've heard it's good so I'll be watching that now."

Jackie, that sounds like a good one!
"Don Juan De Marco" (1995)
http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Don_Juan...
"Marlon Brando stars as a psychiatrist assigned to diagnose a mysterious man (Johnny Depp) who's convinced that he's legendary lover and swashbuckler Don Juan De Marco."
"This movie is: Feel-good, Suspenseful, Romantic, Quirky"
Another one for my N-queue.

Jackie wrote: I also watched yet another BBC program, Casanova, from 2005 starring David Tennant and Peter O'Toole. A 3 part miniseries. It was quite good, better than I thought it would be. Great story.
I'm in a David Tennant mania, with his departure from Doctor Who this week, I'm completely crazed. Watching all my favorite Doctor Who episodes and Tennant's final episodes.

I have the Casanova on DVD, have watched the whole thing, and while part of it dragged a bit, I enjoyed it for the most part. I can't say I found Tennant to be a good choice for the role though. I didn't know him from anything else, and found him to be too young, and too sharp for the role. Maybe it's just that he doesn't seem a "Casanova" type to me at least. He is an excellent actor, and I'd like to see him as Dr. Who.

I saw Total Recall years ago, I think at the theatre in fact. I enjoyed it at the time, and found it to be fast paced and even thoughtful in places.
I do agree that sometimes those films carry the vulgar language too far, but it is what it is, and I've learned to filter I suppose.

Although...speaking of filtering language...
I've always liked Robin Williams, from Mork from Ork to Good Morning Vietnam!, so when I saw one of his DVD's, a DVD of one of his nightclub acts I thought, well, why not. He is a funny guy.

Man! There was no filtering that language! I finally had to stop watching and threw the DVD away.
So disappointing.

Pontalba, No, I never would have cast him as a young Casanova but somehow it worked. I liked the way it was written, the back and forth from young Casanova to old Casanova. It didn't drag for me, I was rather enthralled by it. But then again, I watched one hour last night and the rest today. Maybe having a break was good, it had me wanting more.
Tennant just finished his role as Doctor Who, the tenth and most popular Doctor of all time, and for good reason, he was phenomenal in the role. It's going to be hard to fill his shoes. I sure don't envy the new Doctor, Matt Smith. Poor kid.

Jackie wrote: "Pontalba, No, I never would have cast him as a young Casanova but somehow it worked. I liked the way it was written, the back and forth from young Casanova to old Casanova. It didn't drag for me,..."
The only part that really dragged was the ball that the mother of his child threw, toward the end.
Yes, I just loved Peter O'Toole...he was perfect as the older Casanova. But I like most anything he does. :)

Pontalba wrote: "Jackie wrote: I also watched yet another BBC program, Casanova, from 2005 starring David Tennant and Peter O'Toole. A 3 part miniseries. It was quite good, better than I thought it would be. Great ..."

I missed the 2005 TV mini-series of "Casanova" with David Tennant:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0427042/
Netflix doesn't have it.

Last October I watched a Netflix DVD of "Casanova" (2005) with Heath Ledger as Jacamo Casanova. Very entertaining.
http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Casanova...
Netflix provides a preview at the above page.

Jackie wrote: "... Tennant just finished his role as Doctor Who, the tenth and most popular Doctor of all time, and for good reason, he was phenomenal in the role. ..."

Hey Jackie! You made me curious! Look what I'm streaming right now from Netflix:
"Doctor Who": Season 2
http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Doctor_W...
"David Tennant steps into the role of the mysterious Doctor Who in the second season of this popular sci-fi adventure series..."

P.S. I just finished watching "The Christmas Invasion" episode of Dr. Who: Season 2. I see what you mean about David Tennant. He does have magnetic personality.
http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Doctor_W...

He's a highly acclaimed Royal Shakespeare Company actor, playing Hamlet, Romeo and Antipholus. And for all that, he's amazing in his geek-chic portrayal of The Doctor.
I just saw that episode (again). BBCA has been running a marathon culminating in the final Tennant episode earlier tonight. Christmas Invasion is Tennant's first appearance as the Doctor so it's a good place to start.

"The Boondock Saints" has a lot of gratuitous bad language, to the point that it almost bothers me at times & I'm not easy to bother that way. I really didn't even notice the bad language in "Total Recall". We have a VHS tape of it too, but it's in a box under the bed, so we don't watch it very often.

It's a shame that movies can be ruined that way. "Dogma" is a wonderful movie in so many ways, but that's another one where the bad language is so gratuitous & pervasive that it almost ruined it for me.

Jackie: Today I plan to watch a streaming of the next episode: "New Earth", Episode 2 (of Doctor Who: Season 2).
http://www.netflix.com/WiMovie/Doctor...
(EDIT - CORRECTION: IT CAN BE CONSIDERED EPISODE #1.)
(See Messages #568, 570, and 571 in this topic/thread at:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/2... )

Jim: Yes, when I looked at the IMDb quotes for "Total Recall" I noticed the bad language. It's demoralizing, depressing, and dispiriting. I can usually overlook a occasional profanity, but in large doses it really brings one down.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100802/q...

Jay in Dogma, UGH! As much as I liked the movie, he disgusted me. He's been 'Jay' in other movies and I won't even consider watching them. He should take a cue from Silent Bob, LOL

NetFlixed Bordertown, Jennifer Lopez, about the mistreatment, rape and murder of women in Juarez's NAFTA factories. It wasn't bad. Interestingly, not a word was said about the theft of American jobs that created those factories.

Or the fact that it was supposed to keep Mexicans on that side of the border.
Or the fact that the only ones to make out on that deal were greedy American companies.
Those factory workers are still being paid the same crap wages so there's no incentive to stay in Mexico. Everyone got screwed with NAFTA, IMO.

Usually, I tell people not to get me started on politics, and carefully keep my mouth shut. But in this case, I can't refrain from saying a hearty "AMEN!" to what Earl and Jackie just wrote!

Jackie wrote: "Jay in Dogma, UGH! As much as I liked the movie, he disgusted me. He's been 'Jay' in other movies and I won't even consider watching them. He should take a cue from Silent Bob, LOL"

I've often wondered if I should watch the DVD of "Dogma". How big a part did George Carlin play in the movie? Was it worth watching to see HIM?

Who's Jay? (I guess "Jay" is the character played by Jason Mewes.)

IMDb cast listing:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120655/f...
Summaries at IMDb:
"Two mischievous angels who were laid off by God and are given the boot. Finding themselves banned to Wisconscin, they set out for New Jersey where they find a loophole that will allow them to re-enter heaven. The only problem is it will destroy humanity. An abortion clinic worker with a special heritage, a wisecracking 13th apostle, a stripper/muse, and mischievous mall rats Jay and Silent Bob band together to stop them."

"An abortion clinic worker with a special heritage is called upon by the Voice of God to stop two exiled angels from entering a New Jersey church and thus negating all existence. She is aided by the little know thirteenth apostle named Rufus, a literal muse turned stripper and two bad-mouthed, mall-crawling, joint-smoking prophets: Jay and Silent Bob. An ex-muse turned demon named Azrael tries to keep the group from accomplishing their goal so he can have his revenge against God."

Netflix Description:
"Dogma" (1999)
http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Dogma/26...
"Fallen angels (Matt Damon and Ben Affleck), a gnarly demon (Jason Lee) and a half-baked apostle (Chris Rock) walk among America's cynics and innocents and duke it out for humankind's fate in director Kevin Smith's 1999 comic meditation on religion."

"This movie is: Suspenseful, Goofy, Controversial"

Earl wrote: "NetFlixed Bordertown, Jennifer Lopez, about the mistreatment, rape and murder of women in Juarez's NAFTA factories. It wasn't bad. Interestingly, not a word was said about the theft of American job..."

"Bordertown" (2006)
http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Borderto...
Netflix description:
"Nearly 400 women have been murdered in the border town of Juarez, Mexico, since 1993, prompting newspaper reporter Lauren Fredericks (Jennifer Lopez) to investigate and unearth a startling cover-up by the local authorities. With the help of a colleague (Antonio Banderas), Lauren helps the only survivor find the courage to tell her story. Director Gregory Nava weaves a dramatic narrative against the backdrop of shocking true events."

"This movie is: Suspenseful, Dark"

Joy,
'Jay' is the character played by Jason Mewes, he's played that character in a few films. Excessively foul mouthed musogynist. Degrading women is not my idea of funny. It just pisses me off. I really hated the Jay character.
'Silent Bob' on the other hand, rarely speaks. The actor who plays him, Kevin Smith is a screenwriter, film producer, and director, as well as a comic book writer, author, comedian, and actor.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_and_...

Jackie wrote: "Joy,
'Jay' is the character played by Jason Mewes, he's played that character in a few films. Excessively foul mouthed musogynist. Degrading women is not my idea of funny. It just pisses me off..."

Jackie, thanks for the link and the explanation. I guess I'm not missing anything. :)

Dogma was funny, but Jay was too much for me.

Don Juan DeMarco was good. Johnny Depp is adorable in that. He still looks as good now. Somehow he never seems to age and always has that boyish charm.

I just watched yet another BBC Production: 'The Turn of the Screw'. Ghost story, possession, that kind of thing. I liked it.

Right now... on WMHT-TV (PBS) .... Kevin Kline as Cyrano De Bergerac!
"Cyrano De Bergerac" (2008)
http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Cyrano_D...
5:30 PM - 8:30 PM - "Great Performances" WMHT-TV

I love Kevin Kline, I'm going to record it right now, thanks Joy!

Jackie wrote: "Don Juan DeMarco was good. Johnny Depp is adorable in that. He still looks as good now. Somehow he never seems to age and always has that boyish charm.
I just watched yet another BBC Production: 'The Turn of the Screw'. Ghost story, possession, that kind of thing. I liked it. "

A short time ago, I saw the following version of "Turn of the Screw" with Colin Firth:
"The Turn of the Screw" (1999)
http://www.netflix.com/Movie/The_Turn...

I've never read the story by Henry James, "The Turn of the Screw".
GR description: "The narrator is a young governess, sent off to a country house to take charge of two orphaned children. She finds a pleasant house and a comfortable housekeeper, while the children are beautiful and charming. But she soon begins to feel the presence of intense evil."

P.S. See Werner's interesting review of Henry James "Turn of the Screw":
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Jackie wrote: "I love Kevin Kline, I'm going to record it right now, thanks Joy!"

More about the Broadway show here:
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pitts...
"Kevin Kline's Cyrano de Bergerac brings Broadway to TV"
(Article re interview with Kevin Kline)

NY Times review of the Broadway show:
http://theater.nytimes.com/2007/11/02...

Joy, glad you liked my review, and thanks for putting up the link! To be fair, there are other Goodreaders who hold the "revisionist" interpretation without being into any of the critical baggage that usually surrounds it in academic circles --that's just their way of reading and enjoying the story, and I respect their opinion much more than I do that of the professional critics. (You can probably guess that I don't have much use for most of the latter breed. :-))

I've never seen a film version of The Turn of the Screw, but it would really be interesting. One with Colin Firth should be especially promising --his performance as Darcy in the Pride and Prejudice miniseries is outstanding!

Werner wrote: "Joy, glad you liked my review, and thanks for putting up the link! To be fair, there are other Goodreaders who hold the "revisionist" interpretation without being into any of the critical baggage ..."

Werner, the following Netflix page describes five different DVDs of "The Turn of the Screw":
http://www.netflix.com/Search?v1=The%...
As you can see, there are two DVDs with Benjamin Britten's operatic adaptation of the story.

I like your idea that it's a straight ghost story and the ghosts are not a figment of the governess' imagination.

The ending was a shock for me.

It's interesting to read the summary and analysis at the following website:
http://www.gradesaver.com/turn-of-the...

Of course, there are always Sparknotes and Cliffnotes:
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/screw/s...
http://www.cliffsnotes.com/WileyCDA/L...

Wiki does a good job of explaining plot and all the different interpretations:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turn_of_...

I like the way shmoop.com approaches literary analysis:
http://www.shmoop.com/turn-of-the-screw/
Shmoop keeps things interesting. It's hard to explain how they do it. You have to see how they break things down to appreciate their presentation.
The following page at Shmoop is a good example.
(It's entitled: "What’s Up With the Ending?"): ====>
http://www.shmoop.com/turn-of-the-scr...

But who has time for all of this?

Thanks for those links, Joy! You're right; time is a scarce commodity for us all. But when I get some, I'll definitely try to explore those. (Being tone-deaf, the operatic adaptations probably wouldn't do a lot for me. :-))

There was an excellent film version of Turn of the Screw, called The Innocents, (1961)---adapted by Gore Vidal---stars Deborah Kerr as the governess---on my all-time best scary films list.

Arnie wrote: " There was an excellent film version of Turn of the Screw, called The Innocents, (1961)---adapted by Gore Vidal---stars Deborah Kerr as the governess---on my all-time best scary films list."

Nice to see you joining the new thread, Arnie. Thanks for the info.
Here's the Netflix description:
http://www.netflix.com/Movie/The_Inno...
I've put it on my Netflix Instant queue for streaming.
I love Deborah Kerr! Michael Redgrave is also in the cast.

I haven't seen the new Sherlock Holmes movie, and won't until it comes out on DVD. But I did get another one for Christmas, a quality production of The Hound of the Baskervilles made in 2000 and starring Matt Frewer as Holmes, and Barb and I watched it last night. We both liked it; it follows the book quite faithfully, allowing for the necessary condensing and simplifying for the visual medium. Frewer is best known as a comic actor, and he shows some of that background in bringing out both the eccentricity and the sense of humor that are part of the canonical Holmes as Doyle wrote him; but he can be deadly serious when it's called for, too, and comes across as a credible and competent Holmes. The supporting cast is good, too (Kenneth Welsh's Watson doesn't have Holmes' deductive brilliance, but he's not portrayed as a dummy --and he plays a large part in the plot here, as he does in the book) and the scriptwriters and set designers do a fine job here of evoking the Gothic atmosphere Doyle created; Baskerville Hall, the moor and the "hell-hound" are all visualized very well. Here, the climax is done more dramatically than it is in the book, and the ending has a couple of slight differences from the print version. The former change was better adopted to this art form; and I personally liked the two latter changes better than the original (though, as noted, they're only slight).