Sometimes You Lose Something in Translation ….

I will not pretend that this is an original idea for a post. In fact, this post is based on research/postings of stuff I compiled through the internets.

Another inspiration for me putting this list together is courtesy of a fellow LAMB-er, Ruth at Flixchatter. Although her post is looking at a single film promotion targeted at a Western market, it got me on a tangent and thinking about the age old issue of movie titles being lost in translation. In other words, English based movie titles that are translated into other languages. Before I get into my Top 10, here are a few honorable mentions. (Note: some titles may contain spoilers)

 

Honorable Mention:

The Shawshank Redemption becomes Excitement 1995 in China

Knocked Up becomes Slightly Pregnant in Peru

Die Hard With a Vengance becomes Die Hard: Mega Hard in Denmark

 

Top 10

10. Leon: The Professional becomes This Hit Man is Not as Cold as He Thought in China

9.  Grease becomes Vaseline in Argentina

8. GI Jane becomes Satan Female Soldier in China

7. Nixon becomes Big Liar in China

6. Leaving Las Vegas becomes I’m Drunk and You’re a Prostitute in Japan

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Random Movie Questionnaire (37 Questions)

This is getting kind of fun. I love answering movie questions because it really gets people to know who I am as a blogger and my film sensibilities.

This questionnaire in particular (via in so many words …) is a really great one in so much as it is a nice mixture of old and new.

1) Depending on your mood, your favorite or least-loved movie cliche.

As much of a romantic as I am when it comes to my movies I do have a love/hate relationship with the “happily ever after” cliche. It is on one hand satisfying and the other can be ridiculously unrealistic and trite.

2) Regardless of whether you eventually caught up with it, which film classic have you lied about seeing in the past?

I don’t lie; if I haven’t seen it I tell you and wait to see your expression :)

3) Roland Young or Edward Everett Horton?

Gonna go with Uncle Willie (Roland Young) from The Philadelphia Story

4) Second favorite Frank Tashlin movie?

5) Clockwork Orange – yes or no?

No. Only because I have not seen it – I think I may have to read the book first though.

6) Best/Favorite use of gender dysphoria in a horror film?

Norman Bates in Psycho? Or is that a severe Oedipal Complex? (Leaning towards the latter).

7) Melanie Laurent or Blake Lively?

Melanie Laurent. Her IMDB filmography looks more interesting.

8 ) Best Movie of 2011 (so far…?)

At the time of this writing I would say Jane Eyre. May change when I see Midnight in Paris this weekend.

9) Favorite screen performer with a noticeable facial deformity.

Cannot think of one of the top of my head.

10) Lars Van Trier?

Given his latest antics I would say no. But at one time I thought I liked Breaking the Waves. A moment of madness, really.

11) Timothy Carey or Henry Silva?

Henry Silva

12) Low-profile writer who deserves more attention from critics and/or audiences.

See #21

13) Movie most recently viewed theatrically, DVD, Blue-ray or streaming.

X-Men First Class

14) Favorite film noir villain.

MALE: Harry Lime as portrayed by Orson Welles in The Third Man (could not help but love his villainy)

FEMALE: Ellen Berent as portrayed by Gene Tierney in Leave Her to Heaven (just down right evil).

15) Best thing about streaming movies.

Instant gratification!

16) Fay Spain or France Nuyen?

France Nuyen

17) Favorite Kirk Douglas film that isn’t SPARTACUS?

Detective Story – if haven’t seen this film – see it!

18) Favorite movie about cars.

Don’t have one. But my favorite car in a movie is the car Grace Kelly drove in To Catch a Thief


19) Audrey Totter or Marie Windsor?

Marie Windsor – Grand Dame of “film noir”

20) Existing Stephen King movie adaptation that could use a remake/re-boot or overhaul?

Too many to name; there are several lame adaptations needing an overhaul.

21) Low-profile director who deserves more attention from critics and/or audiences.

I will focus on audiences – critics are usually students of cinematic history and really appreciated Preston Sturges’ contribution to American cinema but not many contemporary audiences know who he is.

22) What actor that you previously enjoyed has become distracting or a self-parody?

Nicholas Cage – lost patience after Leaving Las Vegas

23) Best place in the world to see a movie?

At home in the dark with grandma’s blanket on the couch and copious amounts of chocolate.

24) Charles McGraw or Sterling Hayden?

Sterling Hayden. I have been fascinated by his life story away from the movies.

25) Second favorite Yasujiro Ozu film?

Have not seen any of his films.

26) Most memorable horror movie father figure?

Jack Torrance in The Shining

27) Name a non-action-oriented-movie that would be fun to see in Sensurround.

Mama Mia – Pierce Brosnan singing  in Sensurround – something to stay in for.

28) Chris Evans or Ryan Reynolds?

TOSS UP Edge going to Ryan Reynolds, but after seeing trailer for The Green Lantern I am not so sure.

29) Favorite relatively unknown supporting player, from either or both the classic or the modern era.

I will go with the classic era and pick Dame Mae Whitty; she was excellent in The Lady Vanishes and several other films of the 1930s and 1940s. I would have gone with Thelma Ritter but I think she had SOME notoriety (at least in my mind). Also throw in one for William Bendix.

30) Real-life movie location you most recently visited or saw.

Mount Vernon (NY) East Metro North Station – it is where they shot the train station scenes for Eternal Sunshine on the Spotless Mind

31) Second favorite Budd Boetticher movie.

Nope sorry.

32) Mara Corday or Julie Adams?

Edge to Julie Adams because she was in Creature from the Black Lagoon and it freaked me out when I was a kid.

33) Favorite Universal International western.

Not sure my favorite westerns were made by Universal International

34) Favorite actress of the Silent Era.

Mary Pickford – when I was young I remember seeing a documentary of her life. Don’t remember much about her films but it is pretty cool that  Pretty she was a co-founder of United Artists; granted it was alongside the likes of DW Girffith. That said, she is a founding member of many of the institutions of modern Hollywood.

35) Favorite Eugene Pallett performance.

Friar Tuck in The Adventures of Robin Hood (one of my favorite films)

36) What could Multiplex owners do right now to improve the theater viewing experience for movie goers? What could movie goers do?

Owners – bring back real matinee pricing (before 5 or 6PM) so I do not have to be at a movie theater BEFORE IT OPENS to catch a 10:45AM show just so I can pay six bucks.

Moviegoers – find a babysitter, throw your mobile phones in a bin outside the theater before entering, and realize that you are not in your living room watching a movie.

37) What’s the biggest ‘gimmick’ that’s drawn you out to see a movie?

Not sure if it is a gimmick but when following the screening, they have a Q&A session with the people that have worked on the film . Saw a screening of North by Northwest this way (Ernest Lehman and Eva Marie Saint). Also saw Andrea Arnold and Michael Fassbender (Fish Tank) and most recently Joel Wright (Hanna) because of the Q&A sessions.

Best Picture Noms, 2011

The Guardian (UK) newspaper is featuring a great series on their website, “Best picture Oscar hustings” in which each feature describes the reason why that specific nominee deserves the golden statue.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/series/best-picture-oscar-hustings

I like this feature because it kind of proves what many, including myself, have said for a long time – so many pictures are worthy to be considered “best pictures” for a variety of reasons. In the end this is purely a subjective judgement which is nothing else, initiates a great debate and discussion but in no way should be seen as an absolute or authoritative declaration.

Makes Me (Stevie) Wonder

As much as I love motion pictures, I am almost as equally fond of music. And when I say music, I mean music in nearly all forms. In fact in my moments of of feeling awfully low, music is my refuge and salvation.  The refuge almost takes on an obsessive immersion. My latest obsession/immersion experience  into pop/rock/whatever escapism is Maroon 5. As I listened to their music, I started to think about Maroon 5/movie tie-ins, partly as a result of a conversation I had with my brother about Jennifer’s Body in which the character portrayed by Adam Brody asks his mates (prior to sacrificing Jennifer):

Do you wanna be a big loser, or do you wanna be rich and awesome like that guy from Maroon 5?

Maroon 5.

Okay. That’s what I thought.

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This Year So Far

We are headed to the final quarter of this year and I decided to take stock of some of best bits from my blog in 2010. I went through everything starting with January and realized that I did see a lot of films but not as many as I saw in 2009.

My evidence of seeing the V&A exhibit

My first viewing in 2010 was the underwhelming Nine. By the end of January, it picked up pace with weekend back to back viewings of A Single Man and Fish Tank; the main highlight of the latter film had to be seeing Andrea Arnold (director) and Michael Fassbender (one of the leads) in person at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

The spring did not offer too much in cinema pleasure but I did enter the summer blockbuster season watching Iron Man 2 (which I liked but did not review) – I was too busy preparing for my trip abroad, which included a very exciting trip to the Victoria and Albert Museum to see the fashion exhibit of Grace Kelly. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take photographs at the exhibit I guess you will have to take my word for it :)

After some time away to reflect on my recent loss, I shifted back into movie-going mode with viewings of the Sex and the City 2, the A-Team and Inception. I am still wowed by what I saw (Inception). A-Team definitely met my expectations for a summer action flick and Sex and the City – well after seeing it, definitely does not make my list of Great Girlfriend Flicks.

So, what does the final quarter of 2010 hold?

Stay tuned here and find out.

Golden Globe Nominations are Out!

From the Hollywood Foreign Press Association:

http://www.goldenglobes.org/nominations/

Commentary to follow.

My Fall/Holiday Season "Must Watch"

The season is upon us – the  film season for adults.  As much as I enjoy some of the gloss big blockbusters, I am really looking forward to these offerings of the season:

  • The Young Victoria – I like Emily Blunt and I love historical dramas
  • An Education
  • Bright Star (will try to catch this weekend)
  • Nine (the Musical) – this film is more or less a curiosity, everything and the kitchen sink is in it … I cannot wait to see how it all comes together – hopefully
  • The Road - I have been waiting for this film for a while for the following two reasons 1) Viggo Mortensen and 2) I have started reading the book and would love to see the transfer of the bleak work onto the screen
  • Whip It - I love the “quirkiness” of Drew Barrymore in front of the camera and I anticipate that she works her same magic behind it as well
  • Precious – am bracing myself for severe depression
  • Invictus – Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman at it again; throw in Matt Damon for good measure = I’m sold!
  • A Single Man - hopefully this is the film that will prove to a wider audience the talent and more importantly the range of Colin Firth; another interesting note: Tom Ford, he of the fashion world is at the helm
  • The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus - obvious curiosity aside, I looked at the trailer and was genuinely intrigued. I usually run hot and cold with Terry Gilliam, but this looks like one that I have to see in my cinema.
  • Sherlock Holmes - I have my reservations about this movie (Guy Ritchie) but I love the Sherlock Holmes story and it has been sorely missed from the big screen for some time.

And here are some family film offerings:

  • Where the Wild Things Are
  • Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
  • A Christmas Carol

As you can see my list is MUCH longer than my summer picks. So far I have seen CoCo Before Chanel – a worthy enough film if not a bit plodding and slow in parts.

… I will try to keep you posted as to my progress in seeing these and probably several other films from now until the end of the year.

Fave Movies Featuring U2 Songs

Last night (9/23) I went to see U2 perform … awesome as always. After the concert, I thought about how I could tie in the concert to movies – et voila! Here are my favorite films that have U2 songs in the soundtrack (ordered by date):

  1. City of Angels – If God Will Send his Angels
  2. The Devil Wears Prada – City of Blinding Lights
  3. About a Boy – Zoo Station
  4. Ne le dis a Personne (Tell No One) – With or Without You

and one song in a movie I did not particularly like: Batman Forever – Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me Kill Me

Love Did not Happen this Weekend

After looking at the box office numbers for the past weekend, I cannot say I am surprised by the result of the latest offering from Jennifer Aniston, Love Happens. About a month ago I saw the Time Traveler’s Wife (which I liked), with the trailer for Love Happens being in the previews. I guess the logic being that one “chick flick” deserves another. I was happy to see Aaron Eckhart but when I saw Ms. Aniston’s face appear, let’s just say I was less than pleased.

love-happens_poster-337x500While I obviously have nothing personal against her, she is not a screen presence that I clamor to see in my cinema. Do not get me wrong, she was perfectly amiable (pun intended) on the few episodes of Friends that I watched. Her films have left a bit to be desired – with noted exceptions “She’s the One” and “Friends with Money.” I would include “The Good Girl” in this category (everyone else does) but I must admit I have not seen the film in its entirety in one sitting.

Looking at the weekend receipts also got me to thinking about this great article that I read a number of years ago – I think it sums her up pretty well.

Postscript – how in the WORLD could I forget “Office Space?”

Happy Birthday to Me! A 24-Hour Movie Marathon

cupcake

In honor of my birthday this month I decided to put together a dream 24-hour program schedule for myself. Here are the movies in no particular order since they are ALL fantastic!

Film Title Year Released Total Running Time
Empire Strikes Back 1980 124
Bend it Like Beckham 2002 112
Vertigo 1958 128
Wimbledon 2004 98
To Catch a Thief 1955 106
A Room With a View 1985 117
Pride and Prejudice 1995 300
Persuasion 1995 107
Cinema Paradiso 1988 124
From this Day Forward 1946 95
Love and Basketball 2000 124
Grand Total
1435

Which leaves 5 minutes for sleep!