Q&A with Josh Lanyon discussion

Currently trying to watch Castle in the Sky. I keep getting distracted though and wandering off. I'm going to give it one more shot.

Antonella wrote: "If in English you call the first three ''things'' - Legislative, Executive and Judicial - ''powers'' than it should be correct to call the same also the other two. Because in the title of the movie..."

In the US those are also our three branches of government. Legislative: Congress & Senate; Executive: President; and Judicial: Supreme Court.

My movie-viewing weekend -- before I was distracted to tears by Josh's juicing comments :) -- included three hits and a miss: American Beauty, The Falcon and the Snowman, Matewan (all great!) and Felicia's Journey (by far the most sleep-inducing serial-killer movie I've ever seen).

K.Z. wrote: "If that's the case, I wonder why the title of the Italian version isn't a literal translation of "fifth estate." (This is going to bug me now!) "

Because translations from one language to another are often not literal. ;-)

Tharayn wrote: "I've just saw again the four Donald Strachey Movies. I loved the books by Richard Stevenson, I was totally surprised when I discovered that there are movies about them.
I liked them in a way, but t..."

I can only view those movies in the spirit of something utterly removed from the books, because they are so NOT the books. Never mind the plot, they are not remotely the characters or even the themes of the books.

Still, I'm very glad that someone thought to at least *try* to make movies of the books.

Sorry, I didn't get notification.

Plainbrownwrapper wrote: "K.Z. wrote: "If that's the case, I wonder why the title of the Italian version isn't a literal translation of "fifth estate." (This is going to bug me now!) "

Because translations from one languag..."

Or because the wanna-be translator, (view spoiler)[I (hide spoiler)], doesn't know the correct expression in English :)

I think it depends on the fact that there are the traditional three powers (in Italy: legislative = parliament, executive = government, judicial = magistrates/judges), so the press become a different power, since it can influence the lives of people.

Tharayn wrote: "I've just saw again the four Donald Strachey Movies. I loved the books by Richard Stevenson, I was totally surprised when I discovered that there are movies about them.
I liked them in a way, but t..."

At a lecture Richard Stevenson said he wasn't exactly excited about the movies, but they had the result of revamp his interest in the series, so that he started again writing.

In fact I heard him because he was invited at gay a movie festival.

Antonella wrote: "At a lecture Richard Stevenson said he wasn't exactly excited about the movies, but they had the result of revamp his interest in the series, so that he started again writing.
..."

Yes! For that alone, I think the movies are a great success.

Josh wrote: "Currently trying to watch Castle in the Sky. I keep getting distracted though and wandering off. I'm going to give it one more shot."

Did you ever finish Castle in the Sky? I LOVED Spirited Away and Kiki's Delivery Service, but haven't seen CITS yet.

Cris wrote: "Josh wrote: "Currently trying to watch Castle in the Sky. I keep getting distracted though and wandering off. I'm going to give it one more shot."

Did you ever finish Castle in the Sky? I LOVED S..."

I did. I watched it twice. I loved it. And I loved Kiki's Delivery Service and Spririted Away (Kiki's Delivery Service especially -- it's so quaint).

Yesterday I was 8 Clouds Rising but then I got distracted and it seemed maybe it broke off in a cliff hanger? I'll have to watch it again.

Na wrote: "Spirited Away, Mononoke Princess and Grave of the Fireflies are the ones I like the best from the Ghibli studio. Uh uh, now I want to watch them again."

I've got Mononoke here to watch next.

I find everything by Hayao Miyazaki absolutely wonderful. I don't know how many times I saw ''Princess Mononoke''.

As for ''Grave of the Fireflies'', I don't know. For sure is one of the most depressing movies I've ever seen. Sometimes I thought it was pulling a bit too much one's heart string.

Thanks everyone, I've got a overbooked weekend as it is (a professional dossier to work on and a tango workshop) and now I want to re-watch these films. ;-)

Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away were DVDs I got for our then-teen/preteen daughters and liked them as much or more than they did. I do the freeze-frame thing or scene re-play with favorites, like the roof-top confrontation between Deckard and Roy Batty (the Orion's Belt/time to die scene).

Does anyone have any good documentaries to recommend? Bonus if they're not about something depressing (as all the award winning ones always seem to be).

This may sound strange, but I love thrillers and a good documentary feels a bit like a thriller to me. I get that whole 'what's going to happen to this person/place/object?' feel while I'm watching it.

Tina Kay wrote: "Does anyone have any good documentaries to recommend? Bonus if they're not about something depressing (as all the award winning ones always seem to be).

This may sound strange, but I love thriller..."

The first one that occurred to me is Exit Through the Gift Shop. I'm not sure about the thriller aspect, although it gave me plenty of questions to consider about the commercial controversies artists confront (the success = sell-out contention for one). It's been awhile since I watched it, but I was struck by it at the time.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1587707/

Karen wrote: "Tina Kay wrote: "Does anyone have any good documentaries to recommend? Bonus if they're not about something depressing (as all the award winning ones always seem to be).

This may sound strange, bu..."

Oh that sounds interesting...thanks!

Tina Kay wrote: "Does anyone have any good documentaries to recommend? Bonus if they're not about something depressing (as all the award winning ones always seem to be).

This may sound strange, but I love thriller..."

I like certain mockumentaries for the same reason. Discovery did Supervolcano (based around a fictitious eruption of Yellowstone). I also liked Behind the Mask: the Rise of Leslie Vernon (a serial killer coming-of-age, as it were). Contagion, of course, blew it away but one of the networks did a plague movie sometime around 2005 called Smallpox that I remember fondly.

Lou wrote: "Karen wrote: "The first one that occurred to me is Exit Through the Gift Shop. I'm not sure about the thriller aspect, although it gave me plenty of questions to consider about the commercial contr..."

I've enjoyed that movie a lot, but I wonder how much it's really a documentary. I have a sneaking suspicion that part of it fiction, or rather performance art.

I felt the same way as I watched it, but the awards and nominations it received categorized it as a documentary. It does seem too strange to be real. Part of its appeal?

Tina Kay wrote: "Does anyone have any good documentaries to recommend? Bonus if they're not about something depressing (as all the award winning ones always seem to be).

This may sound strange, but I love thriller..."

Ken Burns Baseball is fantastic. And I wasn't much of a baseball fan before I watched it! any of those Blue Planets. Oh! That incredible documentary about the allies trying to save art from the Nazis. I'm blanking on it and I even bought the extended dVD I liked it so much.

Lou wrote: "If you like animation and interesting visuals, I also recommend Cowboy Bebop. It's Japanese with strong western influence. Some of the backgrounds remind me of Blade Runner. "

Oh, yes, very good one!
And then, there's Samurai Champloo. Those guys are just crazy, you have to love them. :D

This is great! Thanks for all the documentary recs. I'm heading over to Netflix now to put them on my list.

Tina Kay wrote: "This is great! Thanks for all the documentary recs. I'm heading over to Netflix now to put them on my list."

And thank you, Tina, for asking the question because now I too have a couple of very promising documentaries (that I haven't seen yet) to look forward to! :)

Johanna wrote: "Tina Kay wrote: "This is great! Thanks for all the documentary recs. I'm heading over to Netflix now to put them on my list."

And thank you, Tina, for asking the question because now I too have a ..."

:-) Documentaries appeal to the side of me that's lazy but still wants to learn. This way someone else does all the research and all I have to do is sit and stare at the screen.

Juthi wrote: "Josh wrote: "That incredible documentary about the allies trying to save art from the Nazis. I'm blanking on it and I even bought the extended dVD I liked it so much.
"

The Rape of Europa?! It wa..."

That's it! Fantastic documentary.

So I saw Princess Monnoke (I think I spelled that wrong!) and I LOVED it.

Juthi wrote: "Josh wrote: "So I saw Princess Monnoke (I think I spelled that wrong!) and I LOVED it."

Yeeee!!!! That makes me very excited :D It meant so much to me to see female characters as complex as Lady E..."

Yes. It was wonderful to see a story where we could consider all the shades of gray rather than have it spelled out in black and white.

Josh wrote: "Yes. It was wonderful to see a story where we could consider all the shades of gray rather than have it spelled out in black and white. .."

I've always liked shades of gray stories. I can always see many sides to any story/situation. Most of the time I don't like absolutes. :)

Josh wrote: "So I saw Princess Monnoke (I think I spelled that wrong!) and I LOVED it."

Finally you joined the club! I'm glad you liked it, it's my favorite by Miyazaki.

Some years ago I went as Princess Mononoke to a mask-ball (the only mask-ball I ever went to).
Probably me and the friend who helped me to paint my face were the only ones who knew this: I had successively dropped the idea of painting my hair and of making a costume, so what was left of poor Mononoke was the face painting.

Antonella wrote: "Josh wrote: "So I saw Princess Monnoke (I think I spelled that wrong!) and I LOVED it."

Finally you joined the club! I'm glad you liked it, it's my favorite by Miyazaki.

Some years ago I went as..."

I've watched very little anime so far (if you don't count the very embarrassing and thankfully short life episode I spent watching Sailor Moon as a kid - but, well, that doesn't count as anime, anyway, right?), but I really loved Princess Mononoke. I think it's amazing how this film focuses on environmental issues (as do other animes by Miyazaki, I understand).
On a much lighter note: I've just been watching the Bourne trilogy again - and sure, it's not high cinema and intellectual or something like that. But I love it!! The pace, the combination and interlacing of story lines in the three movies... they could have cut some of the chasing scenes, but otherwise? Pretty great!
Oh, and has anyone seen Chef's Special? I thought it was pretty awesome, very funny and heartwarming! (It's a Spanish film about a gay, drama-prone chef trying to finally get a Michelin star for his high cuisine restaurant when suddenly his ex-wife dies and his two kids that he hasn't seen in years are placed with him. And let's just say, he's really not the fatherly type. And then, there's the hot, closeted Argentinian, ex-soccer-star moving in next to him. Things don't go smoothly from there...)

Antonella wrote: "Josh wrote: "So I saw Princess Monnoke (I think I spelled that wrong!) and I LOVED it."

Finally you joined the club! I'm glad you liked it, it's my favorite by Miyazaki.

Some years ago I went as..."

I love that! If only you could have ridden in on a giant wolf!

Katharina wrote: "Antonella wrote: "Josh wrote: "So I saw Princess Monnoke (I think I spelled that wrong!) and I LOVED it."

Finally you joined the club! I'm glad you liked it, it's my favorite by Miyazaki.

Some y..."

I really enjoy the Bourne movies. I even enjoyed the latest one -- the title escapes me -- and was sorry to see it get such unenthusiastic reviews, given that there was a real effort at greater character development.

Josh wrote: "Katharina wrote: "Antonella wrote: "Josh wrote: "So I saw Princess Monnoke (I think I spelled that wrong!) and I LOVED it."

Finally you joined the club! I'm glad you liked it, it's my favorite by ..."

You're talking about the fourth one? I haven't seen in yet, and have a bit of a hard time making up my mind whether I should or not. The first three just come together as this really round story with the third film ending where the first one started (Bourne being shot and crashing into the water), which was an awesome idea. I was for once perfectly satisfied with an ending and thought 'yep, that's it, now let's start again with the first one'.

On the other hand, it's pretty stupid to deliberately choose not to watch a potentially good film, right? Oh, the hard decisions of my life... ;)

Katharina...a few years ago a friend brought me a Soot Demon plushie from Long Beach Anime-con (re: Spirited Away & Totoro). he's been hanging from my rear view mirror for years.

i just tried to watch Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind and just couldn't get through it. but i adore all the other Miyazaki films.

Kira wrote: "Katharina...a few years ago a friend brought me a Soot Demon plushie from Long Beach Anime-con (re: Spirited Away & Totoro). he's been hanging from my rear view mirror for years.

i just tried to ..."

A Soot Demon plushie? Awww, so cool!! Want to have one, too!

Josh wrote: "I really enjoy the Bourne movies."

Really? The first movie was good and then the second one veered sooooooooooooooo far from the books. They were okay, once I got over the fact that they would only very loosely resemble the books (view spoiler)[once they killed off Marie, when his love/devotion to Marie was what made Jason Bourne so heroic and a truly redeemed/redeemable character (hide spoiler)], but the changes from the book series made the Bourne franchise shallow, IMO. The movies lacked so much of the depth and complexity that the books had. I felt like the movies were shades -- pale shadows of the stories I had loved.

But honestly, I'll watch Matt Damon do just about anything. LOL

Kari wrote: "Josh wrote: "I really enjoy the Bourne movies."

Really? The first movie was good and then the second one veered sooooooooooooooo far from the books. They were okay, once I got over the fact that t..."

I like a lot of shooting, running, jumping, driving fast, punching faces...what can I say? :-D

just recently saw both Red State and Jeff, Who Lives at Home (i love netflix streaming). Both were so incredibly good, in very different ways.

oh, and Argo was amazing.

Kira wrote: "just recently saw both Red State and Jeff, Who Lives at Home (i love netflix streaming). Both were so incredibly good, in very different ways.

oh, and Argo was amazing."

I really enjoyed Argo!

Kari wrote: "Josh wrote: "I really enjoy the Bourne movies."

Really? The first movie was good and then the second one veered sooooooooooooooo far from the books. They were okay, once I got over the fact that t..."

I haven't read the books, so I can't be disappointed with the screen adaptation. Probably a good thing :)
It's pretty rare that I like film adaptations; I had to watch the first part of Lord of the Rings two or three times to get the stick out of my ass and say 'who cares if Tom Bombadil isn't mentioned here, this is freaking awesome!'

As films go and without any preexisting expectations, I think the Bourne trilogy is really great! :D

Kira wrote: "oh, and Argo was amazing."

Don't rub it in. We have no video rental places left. None. Redbox wiped them all out. Fine, says I. I'll just stream it on Prime. No can do. You have to buy it. Can't rent it yet.

GAH.

I ended up inflicting 28 Weeks Later on my sons instead. Vastly entertaining, just in a different way. You've reached a parental milestone when you stop filtering scary movies and start cackling when the kiddos jump. We'll get full use out of our mental health coverage yet. ;-p

Katharina wrote: "Kari wrote: "Josh wrote: "I really enjoy the Bourne movies."

Really? The first movie was good and then the second one veered sooooooooooooooo far from the books. They were okay, once I got over th..."

The books are great! Well, they're dated a bit. As long as you read them as cold war fiction (kind of like early Tom Clancy) and filter it through that paranoia, the series was pretty cool, anyway.

Kari wrote: "I ended up inflicting 28 Weeks Later on my sons instead. Vastly entertaining, just in a different way. You've reached a parental milestone when you stop filtering scary movies and start cackling when the kiddos jump. We'll get full use out of our mental health coverage yet. ;-p "

i was raised by a single mom, she didn't have a baby sitter so i ended up seeing Coma in 1978 (i was 9)...i've never been the same *snort*

Kira wrote: "i was raised by a single mom, she didn't have a baby sitter so i ended up seeing Coma in 1978 (i was 9)...i've never been the same *snort*"

We only had one snowy channel and the nearest movie theater was a 1.5hr drive away so Mom thought she was good. Then, those newfangled VCRs came out and I spent a week with a cousin who introduced me to KISS and George Romero. I think I was 10? Rock on. LOL

Kari wrote: "Kira wrote: "oh, and Argo was amazing."

Don't rub it in. We have no video rental places left. None. Redbox wiped them all out. Fine, says I. I'll just stream it on Prime. No can do. You have to bu..."

:-D :-D :-D

Kari wrote: "Josh wrote: "I really enjoy the Bourne movies."

Really? The first movie was good and then the second one veered sooooooooooooooo far from the books. They were okay, once I got over the fact that t..."

I read the books about twenty years ago and loved them. I've really enjoyed the movies too, but I love action movies. After I watched the movies I decided to read the books again and I couldn't. I found the writing style hard to get into, yet I enjoyed the books so much before. Weird, huh?

Pender wrote: "Kari wrote: "Josh wrote: "I really enjoy the Bourne movies."

Really? The first movie was good and then the second one veered sooooooooooooooo far from the books. They were okay, once I got over th..."

I don't think it's all that weird. There are a few (adult) books that I really liked 10 to 15 years ago or so but that I'd have trouble reading now (not topic-wise, but especially in terms of writing style)! I think I was more open (or more indifferent) towards the writing style when I was younger, but by now have developed a pretty particular taste for certain styles while not liking others anymore.

I only ever read the first book -- and when I saw it was part of a series, I was actually disappointed. I never read any others. It's funny thinking that now, but I actually used to not like series books.

Josh wrote: "I only ever read the first book -- and when I saw it was part of a series, I was actually disappointed. I never read any others. It's funny thinking that now, but I actually used to not like series..."

It's been a long, long time, but as I vaguely recall, the 2nd book was eh, okay, but the third book blew my doors off. If there was anything beyond the 4th book, I didn't read it because we'd moved somewhere with a library that didn't carry the series. I'm sure we were probably only there for a year or so, but...yanno. Oh, shiny!

Yesterday I watched Harakiri. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harakiri...

Somehow I'd never seen it before. Very well done. Very moving.

Katharina wrote: "I don't think it's all that weird. There are a few (adult) books that I really liked 10 to 15 years ago or so but that I'd have trouble reading now (not topic-wise, but especially in terms of writing style)! I think I was more open (or more indifferent) towards the writing style when I was younger, but by now have developed a pretty particular taste for certain styles while not liking others anymore...."

That must be it. I really tried to get back into them because I enjoyed the stories so much.