WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

[moira finnie]

I love Betrayed because of Victor Mature's lines when he introduces himself as. "I am...The Scarf!" and says to snarling Lana "You're beautiful when you're angry." Otherwise it's a sad, limp movie that should have let Ian Carmichael take over from the tired American movie stars around him. He was such a wonderful actor, capable of great mischief even in serious movies.

[charliechaplinfan]

I'd have liked to have had more of Snape in this final episode, all through the books he was integral and the doubt that hung over him and how he behaved, his character was the best of all. Alan rickman is very good, he was the best casting. Helena Bonham Carter's role was some what played down from what it was in the book. I agree though, I don't think the fans of the books have much to complain about with the adaptations to films. I might be pernickity but overall I'm quite happy.

[MichiganJ]

Alan Rickman's open letter to J.K. Rowling from April

http://www.geekweek.com/2011/05/read-al ... wling.html

And some Potter fun:
[youtube][/youtube]

[knitwit45]

What a great letter, and very creative video. Thanks for sharing!

[charliechaplinfan]

That's a lovely letter, thanks for sharing.

[knitwit45]

I just read this on a friend's facebook page. This is really something to ponder! IF ONLY.....

Just saw the new Harry Potter. Wow. Thinking about what if it was filmed in the early 40s...maybe Roddy MacDowall as Harry, young Elizabeth Taylor as Hermione, Micky Rooney as Ron Weaseley...Monte Wooley as Dumbledore, possibly Basil Rathbone as Snape, Katherine Hepburn as Professor McGonagall, Victor McLaglan as Hagrid...further thoughts, anyone?

Can you imagine that cast? with JKRowling as writer (natch)...but what director????

[moira finnie]

I just read this on a friend's facebook page. This is really something to ponder! IF ONLY.....

Just saw the new Harry Potter. Wow. Thinking about what if it was filmed in the early 40s...maybe Roddy MacDowall as Harry, young Elizabeth Taylor as Hermione, Micky Rooney as Ron Weaseley...Monte Wooley as Dumbledore, possibly Basil Rathbone as Snape, Katherine Hepburn as Professor McGonagall, Victor McLaglan as Hagrid...further thoughts, anyone?

Can you imagine that cast? with JKRowling as writer (natch)...but what director????

WoW! What a cast--though part of me would like to see C. Aubrey Smith in there too. Maybe more than one director would have been able to pull this off?

Victor Fleming to help create the big canvas
George Stevens for the sense of adventure from Gunga Din
Edmund Goulding for the dark romance
Fritz Lang for the suspense and sense of myth and psychological truth
John Cromwell to bring out the story's humanity within the grandeur

[knitwit45]

I'm having a problem with Mickey Rooney as a secondary character, by the time he got done it would have been The Ron Weasely Chronicles of Hogwarts... I do love the idea of C.Aubrey Smith as Dumbledore! Since I wear the dunce hat when it comes to directors, I would go with any or all of your suggestions, Moira.

How about Bellatrix LaStrange's character? the original author of this idea suggested Bette Davis (actually, I can see her or Joan Crawford as the weird lovesick handmaiden of Lord Voldemort) He also suggested Orson Welles as the Dark Lord (minus a few pounds )

[JackFavell]

I had trouble with Mickey as Ron too, but no one else really has his acting chops. How about Charles Smith (Rudy in Shop Around the Corner)?

[knitwit45]

Charles Smith would be wonderful as Ron.

And how about Charles Lane as Severus Snape?

Move Basil Rathbone to the Lord Voldemort role. Now, Mickey Rooney would be a great Tom Riddle!!!!

[MikeBSG]

A few years ago, my daughter and I played "the casting game" in which we asked "What if they made a big budget Batman in 1946? 1956? etc." We had Tyronne Powers as Bruce Wayne/Batman and Orson Welles as Two Face with Rita Hayworth as Poison Ivy. We did this for nearly every decade, and then we started on Harry Potter but never finished. I'll have to ask her if she still kept the list we started.

[MikeBSG]

Yesterday I took my son to see "Captain America." We both had a great time.

I think I liked "Thor" better, but "Captain America" was very good. My only problem with CA was that it took a little too long (for me) to make the hero become Captain America. (We all know its going to happen! That's why there's a movie in the first place!) Once the transformation took place, the movie was absolutely first rate.

Chris Evans was wonderful as the hero. Hugo Weaving really nailed the part of the Red Skull, and the clashes between the two foes were really splendid. (Maybe the retro-futuristic technology gave these battles a different look and a freshness compared to other CGI films.) I liked Toby Jones as the Skull's assistant, Arnim Zola. Jones had a near-Peter Lorre creepiness in a couple of scenes. Tommy Lee Jones provided excellent support in his scenes.

Overall, this was a film that could restore a person's faith in Hollywood blockbusters.

[Fossy]

My Favorite Wife (1940)

This is a fun show. Irene Dunne is shipwrecked on a desert island and returns to find her husband ( Cary Grant ) has remarried. She is recognised by her mother and her dog, but her children do not know her.
Fun and games happen when she turns up at the hotel where her husband and his new wife have gone for their honeymoon.

While working on the remake of this film, Move Over Darling (1963) Marilyn Monroe died. The movie was recast with Doris Day as the star.