Larry Martin11 said:...no matter how bizarre it felt—given he’s been on NPR or something similar so many times before—watching him for the first time actually left me feeling a bit let down... it has its perks, sure (there's that lovely atmosphere built by the phenomenal music—the way the melodies contrast between scenes, specifically those with George versus the ones with her husband, I practically froze 🙂; there's the adorable little Anna Paquin and an unusually striking—if slightly unhinged—Robert De Niro; there's an overwhelming amount of beautiful—if occasionally over-the-top—symbolism; it has a gorgeous opening and a sooo beautiful ending...), but I still couldn't shake the feeling that I was watching a cookie-cutter exploitation flick. It exploits the setting and context just to pretend it has depth, and it exploits emotions just to squeeze out emotions. Then there's that tired, repetitive trope of the unloved man who can only ever become the "aggressor"—he's really just a catalyst for the other events, but he isn't even a caricature, let alone a fully realized character (and it's always been this way since Meat—well, even before that, but Baptiste's wife is the first person who comes to mind, and she was a much stronger "character" than this guy, since Neill's character doesn't truly exist—at least until Jane Campion arrived....)...I don't know, I spent the whole time thinking the film would be drastically better if it were "stripped down," taken out of its context and presented as a study of the "layers" between the characters. It would be fascinating to see how a slightly "grittier" director would handle it (my picks would be either Michel Chereau or Michael Haneke 🙂, though I suppose Arnold could do a good job too, but maybe I'm still just under the spell...) ...but even so, I have to admit, I was moved by 🙂
...but one thing occurred to me while watching—Matanović's "Fame" owes more to this than any other film 🙂 (some scenes are almost identical copies...)
I finally sat down to catch it last night, too! I've had it on my list for ages, but I ended up feeling pretty disappointed myself... it just feels like it's missing so much, you know? Like it’s a bit unfinished. It feels somewhat hollow, and there are so many parts that could have been polished up. It's such a shame because the story really does have potential... though, I suppose it was worth the watch just to see little Anna Paquin; she is absolutely fantastic 🙏.
I finally got everything sorted out! Desiree suggested I just clear out the cookies from my temporary files, and once I logged back in, everything was working perfectly fine.
cro Fag said:So how does it actually end up in the book? Did Andrea just find a different job and that's the end of the story?
Well, Andrea did find another job, but this whole situation was something she tried to fight against with everything she had—you know, dealing with all those threats and pressure. If I remember correctly, she managed to land the new role thanks to a journalist she opened up to about her experiences. She actually spent a few months out of work and ended up moving back in with her parents after breaking up with her boyfriend, though they actually stayed together in the movie version.
cro Fag said:Meryl Streep has never actually played a villain, so the movie just shows the witchy, private side of her without any redeeming qualities, making the whole thing feel very black and white.
I don't think that's quite right. If you look closely, the movie actually hints that she has some good qualities, especially since she's the one who recommended Andrea for the job. It was actually the exact opposite in the book!
northernangler17 said:I actually really liked the movie. I don't know, the story felt pretty solid and well-made (though I haven't read the book...), even though I thought I might lose brain cells from how shallow the characters were...
The story isn't really faithful at all because there's so little connection between the book and the film. In the book, the main characters—specifically Andrea and Miranda—aren't anything like how they're portrayed on screen. Andrea just doesn't fit that mold, and Miranda lacks any sense of humanity. Plus, their relationship ends in a completely different way than in the movie, where everything is made to be super sweet and sentimental, totally ignoring the source material. If they had actually followed the book, wouldn't the movie have been much better?
Between the movie and the book, I’d definitely recommend the book. Now, let's be clear, it's not exactly deep literature, but it's fun and feels much more realistic and funny than the film. It falls under the "chick lit" category, but not in that cliché way where the protagonist is constantly obsessing over how many guys she's slept with, where she went out partying, or how much expensive clothing she bought and stuff like that.
Watched it yesterday. It was fun enough, I guess, but nothing to write home about—I definitely expected more. Anne Hathaway is adorable, Meryl Streep is her usual stellar self, and let me tell you, there is a *lot* of gorgeous clothing. For those of you who have read the book and are planning to watch, just a heads-up: the movie deviates quite a bit from the source material. In fact, by the second half, it barely feels like the same story. While the book doesn't exactly win any awards for deep philosophy, it really has a certain soul, something I felt was missing from the film. Most of the changes they made feel like typical Hollywood tropes—a bit too melodramatic for my taste, whereas the book didn't need that kind of fluff. Some scenes I was actually looking forward to, including the scene where everything reaches its peak, simply aren't in the movie.
Is there anyone else out there experiencing this....? 🙂 Honestly, it’s been driving me up the wall. I feel like I’m constantly stuck having to load the very first page before I can finally get to any of the others. It’s such a repetitive loop! 🙂 🙂
What exactly is 😳? And how am I supposed to figure out if I actually have it?
Everything had been going smoothly for me, including that particular day. But then, I logged out, and when I signed back in, all my numbers had just vanished.
Why can't I see the page numbers for this thread anymore, or even the link to the very last page? Is it just me having a weird technical glitch today? I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that I logged out of the forum earlier today... does anyone know?
I finally sat down to watch this tonight, and I have to admit, I’m feeling pretty let down. Aside from the visuals, there isn't much else to grab onto. I wasn't going in expecting some deep, philosophical masterpiece—just something fun to unwind with—but it didn't quite hit that mark either. Honestly, the only thing that kept me from completely zoning out was Colin Farrell. I found myself thinking the entire time, "Wow, he is just so handsome..." It did have a slight 80s vibe, though. Did anyone else catch that? Those linen suits were such a giveaway 😁.
gentlebear8 said:It was a really great movie. The ending felt a little rushed, though—it kind of messed with the pacing of the whole thing and left me feeling like there was still something missing.
My sister actually said the exact same thing, but I didn't feel that way at all! I mean, what else could they have possibly added to the end? Everything felt pretty clear to me. Overall, I really enjoyed it and would definitely recommend giving it a watch. Since it’s such an indie-style film, I honestly expected the theater to be practically empty, maybe just five people sitting there, but the room was actually packed!
Last night was my second attempt at sitting through Moulin Rouge, and I actually managed to stick it out a bit longer than the first time. To be fair, musicals aren't really my thing, but I think there's more to it than just the genre. Everything feels so over-the-top—it’s loud, cluttered, overly sentimental, and honestly, just a bit tacky. It felt incredibly campy and, as someone else pointed out once (which I totally agreed with last night), just very gay. It’s all just too much, isn't it? Instead of being entertaining, the whole thing ends up feeling pretty irritating. Plus, I’m just not a huge fan of Nicole Kidman either.
Kudos to those who don't fall into the trap of saying, "Well, I don't take bribes," and then projecting their own personal integrity onto an entire profession. Sometimes, trying to show solidarity like that just sounds incredibly misguided, doesn't it? It’s true—not every doctor is corrupt, but we have to admit that a significant number of them are. And we shouldn't define corruption solely by someone pocketing thousands of dollars; we need to consider smaller amounts of cash or even gifts, which are just as inappropriate. It seems like the practice of accepting gifts isn't viewed as corruption by some, but that's simply wrong. I actually saw someone bragging about being honest and uncorrupted on one thread, while on another subforum, they were mentioning how they received a gift from a patient—as if that doesn't count as a bribe.
Personally, I’ve dealt with both the "good" and the "bad." When my mom needed surgery, a surgeon tried to convince my dad that her condition was much worse than it actually was, purely to squeeze more money out of him. My dad didn't bite; instead, he took Mom to a top-tier hospital in Boston where she received world-class treatment without any shady payments. After the surgery, my dad wanted to prepare expensive gifts for the doctors and nurses (you know how our mindset can be sometimes!), but his friends from Boston told him there was no way he should bring anything to a hospital because the staff would get angry and refuse to accept it.
Another example involves my grandmother's primary care physician. Whether Grandma went to the clinic for an exam or the doctor made a home visit (which happened often), Grandma would give her $67 every single time. One instance, when Grandma was feeling really unwell, she came in, but because she was in such poor shape, she wasn't able to physically take out the cash to give to her. Not long after that, we called the doctor because Grandma was feeling worse than ever (that was the day she passed away), but the doctor didn't come because she assumed Grandma wouldn't be able to pay her again in that state. After all that, my family switched to a different doctor—someone who is truly a person of high moral character. Even though she faces significant financial struggles, she won't hear a word about gifts, let alone cash.
One particularly disgusting case of extortion involved a friend of my mother's when her child needed tonsils removed. The doctor told her, "Look, your little one is fourth on the list tomorrow, but my concentration slips after three surgeries, and I might slip with the scalpel, and then anything could happen." Once she handed over $100 at the time, the child was moved to the very top of the list.
More recently, a friend of mine had a major surgery on her gallbladder, and her family ended up shelling out a few thousand dollars just to ensure she received satisfactory treatment.
To wrap things up, there is definitely corruption in healthcare, and it absolutely needs to be rooted out. It exists heavily in other industries too, but that’s no excuse.
Back when my mom was in her early twenties, she was dealing with an echinococcal cyst. My dad happens to be a doctor, but after just one quick, superficial look, he told her—completely stone-faced—"Just stay strong, it's cancer and she's done for." And he said this right there on the hospital stairs, just passing through. Naturally, the family wasn't having any of it; they gathered everyone up, grabbed her, and drove her straight to a specialist clinic in Chicago. There, they successfully removed the cyst and assured us there wouldn't be any lasting issues or complications. Thankfully, everything turned out perfectly fine, just as they promised.
I’m sitting at about 170 lbs and 5'5", and honestly, I feel pretty good about where I am. It's been quite the journey, though! I used to be down at 147, but then I went through this phase where I was trying to gain some weight and ended up pushing past 180, before finally settling back down into the 165-170 range.