Thursday, July 12, 2018

Thursday Movie Picks-Characters Magically Aging Up or Down


I am back from Vancouver but still off work which is where I can post my pictures and youtube videos. I am doing this quickly from work on June 29th! I should be home by now but late as always. Check out Wandering Through The Shelves to see everyone else's picks. Who feels young one day and old the next? I can relate and so can my 3 here...

1.  THE ADVENTURES OF BARON MUNCHAUSEN-1988


I love Terry Gilliam and here is another great film by this former Monty Python nut. Baron Munchausen is an actor, so we think, trying to put on a show during a bombing by the Turks. He is a teller of tales and, with the help of a little girl, he rounds up his old gang to make sure the Turks don't win. It is an elaborate but wonderful fairy tale that takes you to space where Robin Williams plays a king who is nuts about his Queen down to the stomach of a whale and to Hades's quarters. The visuals are stunning and I love it how we see Munchausen age when he is close to giving up but becomes youthful when he finds hope.

2. BRAM STOKER'S DRACULA-1992


I may have chosen this before but I was in a bit of a quandary this week so it is my choice again and why not? Once again, the visuals are amazing and I didn't find it frightening but there are some gross scenes which didn't bother me as it worked for the film. I found it a great retelling of this well-known take about Dracula but it brings a love story along with reincarnation into the story and I feel it works very well. Dracula is seen first as very old but he regains his youth by..well, you know, sucking the life out of people. He is on a journey to find Nina who looks like his long lost wife. Her Fiancee, Johnathan Harker is kept at the castle by the 3 beguiling bloodsuckers but he does escape. Not on;y does Dracul age up and down but Harker's hair goes from grey to black depending on who is winning. Gary Oldman deserved an oscar nomination if not a win for this.

3. THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON-2008


This stars Brad Pitt as Benjamin who is born old...literally and as time passes he grows younger. It seems to be somehow connected to a clock but we learn about his life as he is raised by an African American who loves him and calls him her own. When he is old he meets a young girl and they become friends. When he leaves for adventure and comes home a man, he meets up with her again and they meet at a time when both are at the right age. I found it a strange film, not without faults but the acting is great and the story stick with me and made me think about Alzheimers and how, I felt, this movie seems to hint at this illness but from a different angle.

Which ones would you choose? Oh if there are any spelling/grammar errors, I am writing this in haste..forgive moi

33 comments:

  1. Baron Munchausen was such a quirky film. Dracula was really cool though.
    Would a movie like Big count since he only ages magically twice?

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  2. I saw button quite awhile back, pretty great movie

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  3. I'm zero for three on this one. Want to hear more about your trip.

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    1. You will hear more...I plant to talk about it

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  4. Baron was a visually dazzling film but I became bored with it after a while. Dracula is an interesting choice and I agree Oldman was the best part of it. We match!! Benjamin Button is an odd film and not one I return to often but worth seeing.

    This week was hard! Once you remove all the body switching comedies from the mix the pickins were lean. I really struggle just to come up with three.

    Big (1988)-After being denied admittance to a carnival ride 12 year old Josh Baskin (David Moscow) makes a wish he was big on an antique fortune telling machine. He wakes up the next morning to discover his wish has come true and he is now a 30 year old man (Tom Hanks). Panicked he finds his best friend Billy, convinces him of the truth and they go on a hunt for the machine while Josh hides out in New York. By luck he gets a job in a toy company and because of his innocence manages to shoot up the corporate ladder with amazing speed while discovering romance with Susan, another exec at the company. Beguiling comedy with assured direction by Penny Marshall and captivating performances by the cast none more so than Hanks.

    The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)-In 1918 a child is born with all the characteristics of an old man and over the course of his lifetime ages backwards. Complicated fantasy has a gossamer sheen and thoughtful performances by Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett and an extraordinary one by Taraji P. Henson as his caregiver Queenie.

    17 Again (2009)-Mike O’Donnell (Matthew Perry) had to abandon his dreams 20 years ago when his girlfriend became pregnant and they wed. He is now unemployed, estranged from his wife and children and living with a friend but an encounter with a stranger allows him to suddenly be 17 again (where he’s played by Zac Efron) and a chance to try and fix all that went wrong. It sounds heavy but it’s played for comedy.

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    1. It was a tough week for sure. We match with Button and I agree with your commentary. Big is an excellent choice and I thought I would see more of it today. I haven’t seen 17 Again because Matthew Perry is smarmy and I can only take him in Friends.

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  5. Benjamin Button is popular today! Terry Gilliam is so weird, I'd probably watch your first pick.

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    1. I had a feeling it would be popular today. Being weird is great which is why I love Terry Gilliam

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  6. I never saw the whole movie but I liked the parts I've seen of Benjamin Button.

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    1. I hope you see it and would love Tom read your critique on it

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  7. Welcome back! We left the light on for ya:)
    I remember Curious Case but never saw it. I'm just not drawn to films about backward chronological aging. Sounds interesting though.

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    1. Thanks for leaving the light on. This was a strange theme this week. Some work with this theme but there are few films.

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  8. Welcome back, BIRGIT. I hope you had a wonderful vacation. (I can't even remember the last vacation I had.)

    Right off the bat, the first movie I thought of was 'THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON'. One of the few modern or recent movies made that I absolutely loved. A good friend of mine even purchased the DVD for me. I was very surprised by how much that movie appealed to me. It was so well done that it was hard for me to believe it was actually a modern movie. I didn't think they made any like this anymore.

    'BIG' is also an obvious choice. I really enjoyed that one too, although I don't own it. I loved that scene where he tasted caviar for the first time. It reminds me of my own reaction the first time I tasted the 'Buttered Popcorn' Jelly Belly flavor. I pretty much freaked out in the same manner.

    And off the top of my head, I can't even think of another movie that fits this category... unless 'THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY' would count. Although it's not really a perfect match for this category, in my opinion.

    ~ D-FensDogG
    STMcC Presents 'Battle Of The Bands'

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    1. Glad you like Button because that film grew on me and I feel close to it on some level. Big is a great choice and I think Dorian Gray is inspired! Great choice

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  9. Button is a pretty good one indeed.

    18 Again(Not to be confused with 17 Again), 13 Going on 30, and Big all popped in for me.

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    1. These are all great choices and others have chosen them on their posts

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  10. Hope you had a great trip - look forward to hearing about it.

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  11. Hi Birgit; I Don't think I've seen any of these, other than bits and pieces. It's always fun to see an actor age or get younger in a movie. Tne only one that comes to mind is "Back To The Future II", when Michael J. Fox, his girlfriend and Biff are portrayed as 25 years older. Reading some of the other comments, it sounds like you went on vacation. Looking forward to hearing about it. ☺ Hope you had a good time!

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    1. The Back to the Future is a great pick. Yes, I went to Vancouver and the Rockies and plan to talk about it.

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    2. Sounds fabulous! I haven't been there, yet, but hopefully one day.

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  12. I never did see Benjamin Button, but I have seen the other two. However, I can't remember a thing about Baron Munchausen. It's like this blank. But then again, Time Bandits was also incomprehensible to me, so it might just be Terry Gilliam.

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    1. Yes, people either like Gilliam or they find him too weird...I love him.

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  13. I liked Benjamin Button. That movie sold me on the talents of Brad Pitt. My favorite magical aging movie is the original Freaky Friday. That movie with Jennifer Garner and Mark Ruffalo was fun to watch. Can't remember the title. Jennifer's character is in her 30s and wakes up being 17.

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    1. I’ve never seen Freaky Friday but good choice. The Garner film is 13 Going on 30 which is cute

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  14. Hi Birgit - I haven't seen any of these ... but perhaps will get them out of the library if they're available. We might have crossed in Vancouver ... perhaps even saw each other ... but certainly not recognised you ... I'm back on the Island now - cheers Hilary

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    1. That’s pretty cool if we passed right by and didn’t even know:). I hope you see one of these

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  15. Hi Birgit...not seen any of these, but the genre is not one I would normally watch. I've only heard about #3, but have never watched it. You have a very diversified taste in movies! I tend to be in a rut, I fear. Hope you've been well. Thanks for your visit and sweet comments. (Yep, to answer your comment about 55 yrs, we are of the generation that didn't make promises & vows with the idea that if things didn't go just right, we'd bail out. I think that value has sort of gone by the wayside with most youngsters today.) TFS

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  16. I liked Button well enough to buy the DVD. I also read the story and a more recent novel with a similar theme. Can't think of anything that hasn't been mentioned, but I know I've seen some other movies with this plot device.

    Arlee Bird
    Tossing It Out

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  17. I realize how very late I am visiting, but I'm trying to catch up today, even though I still have chills and a morbid cough.

    I've not seen any of these, but I have HEARD of Dracula.

    Hope you enjoyed your vacation/holiday and thanks for visiting me when I was too sick to care.

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  19. Gary Oldman is a master craftsman isn't he?
    Have you recuperated from your vacay?

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