There has been some back and forth, some "Will he or won't he" talk about JJ Abrams and Daniel Lindelof adapting Stephen King's Dark Tower Series for film or television. The last word on this was that it wasn't going to be adapted anytime soon, with Lindelof just wrapping up Lost it would probably be a pretty huge feat to pull off something with such a big mythology as DT. However, the speculations still abound and a few days ago I came across This Site with their ideas for DT Casting. Some of them I have no Problem with...others I'm not so sure. And since I think I rock at this sort of thing, I'm going to give it a shot myself. I'm putting in a jump since this is an image-heavy post...Click Images to Enlarge...
Showing posts with label List Love. Show all posts
Showing posts with label List Love. Show all posts
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Saturday, April 10, 2010
My Top 10 TV Tearjerkers
It occoured to me when watching this past week's episode of Lost, the room "got a bit dusty" as it usually does with Desmond episodes. I really thought about the television moments that have made me openly weep, and because I love inflicting on others, I thought I'd provide a list...
10. Sid's Back and She's Pissed - Alias
Imagine waking up in Hong Kong, with no idea as to how you got there, only to discover that you've been missing for two years, your Daddy is in Federal Prison and the man you love is now married to someone else. That's gotta hurt! Sid let's Vaughn have it in a way that makes you feel like you've been punched in the gut. And when she finally lets it all out with "You want to know how I am? I am Horrible! I am ripped apart!" my waterworks start.
9. 'I Will Always Love You' - Gilmore Girls
This little gem was from the Gilmore Girls finale, where Lorelai starts singing Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You" to her Daughter Rory, but then Luke walks in and after some very emotional pauses the meaning changes entirely. It's a very sweet moment. Her little shrug mid-song as she looks at Luke just gets me every time!
8. A Hole in the World - Angel
Oh Fred. You were sort of annoying, then sort of endearing, then we really loved you, and then you died only to become the no less awesome, time-bending Illyria. Between her death throes and Wesley's desperation, this is a moment so sad and so touching, It makes me want to go to bed for about a week.
7. Heart - Supernatural
I'm thinking now that it's a rule for this show that the characters are never, ever allowed to be happy. Especially not when it comes to Love. Poor Sam has just found a woman he could love in Madison, except for the teensy problem of her being a werewolf. Sam and Dean race to find a way to save her, but alas, as it is Supernatural such is not to be had, and Madison asks Sam to take her out of the picture before she can hurt anyone else.
6. Ellen Tigh drinks the Kool-Aid - Battlestar Galactica
Well, finding a video clip with this one scene is impossible (or rather was taking too long) so here is the 'What the Frak' video which has the aforementioned clip in it. As they say..."Very Sad".
5. Gemma's Confession - Sons of Anarchy
This entire episode was something of a masterpiece. All season there had been this slow tension building, and just when everything was about to explode, Gemma the Matriarch steps forward with the painful confession of being brutally attacked, knowing that this is the only thing that can bring her family back and keep them together. Katey Sagal is one of the most incredible actresses I've ever seen, and she plays that scene so quietly and so understated that Jax and Clay's reactions, more than her confession, moves me to tears.
4. The Body - Buffy the Vampire Slayer
This episode is truly set apart from all others Buffy eps, for it's stark look at the death of a parent. Buffy comes home to find her mother dead of a Brain hemorrhage, and even though the first half hour of this episode is so difficult to watch, it's Anya's speech that makes it Brutal. I couldn't find a clip without some crappy song playing over the actors so I'll just paste the quote:
Anya: But I don't understand! I don't understand how this all happens. How we go through this. I mean I knew her and then she's , .. there's just a body and I don't understand why she just can't get back in it and not be dead anymore! It's stupid. It's mortal and stupid. And Xander's crying and not talking and I was having fruit punch and I thought well Joyce will never have anymore fruit punch ever, and she'll never have eggs or yawn or brush her hair, not ever and no one will explain to me why..
3. The Final Montage - Six Feet Under
The last part of this wonderful, beautiful mess of a show gave us a glimpse into the future. After five years of watching a stranger die at the beginning of each episode, we got to see how the end comes (as it must come for all of us) to the Fishers and their circle of friends and family. It begins with Claire, truly beginning her life at 22 years old, and ends with her lying in bed at 108. But it's really the moment when David sees Keith again that really gets me going. I know it's kind of long, but it so worth it! And damn if watching this clip doesn't make me miss the hell out of Ruth Fisher.
2. Godric Meets the Sun - True Blood
I had a really tough time trying to decide between the previous video and this one as #2, but in the end this one won out. Between Eric's emotional breakdown and Sookie's line "I'm afraid for you" my eyes didn't stand a chance!
1. The Constant - Lost
You would have to be made of stone to not cry at the beautiful phone call between Desmond and his true love Penny. It's a matter of life and death, and no less moving. Unfortunately, I can't find any embed code so Here is the link. Grab your tissues and enjoy this display of the purest, truest love.
10. Sid's Back and She's Pissed - Alias
Imagine waking up in Hong Kong, with no idea as to how you got there, only to discover that you've been missing for two years, your Daddy is in Federal Prison and the man you love is now married to someone else. That's gotta hurt! Sid let's Vaughn have it in a way that makes you feel like you've been punched in the gut. And when she finally lets it all out with "You want to know how I am? I am Horrible! I am ripped apart!" my waterworks start.
9. 'I Will Always Love You' - Gilmore Girls
This little gem was from the Gilmore Girls finale, where Lorelai starts singing Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You" to her Daughter Rory, but then Luke walks in and after some very emotional pauses the meaning changes entirely. It's a very sweet moment. Her little shrug mid-song as she looks at Luke just gets me every time!
8. A Hole in the World - Angel
Oh Fred. You were sort of annoying, then sort of endearing, then we really loved you, and then you died only to become the no less awesome, time-bending Illyria. Between her death throes and Wesley's desperation, this is a moment so sad and so touching, It makes me want to go to bed for about a week.
7. Heart - Supernatural
I'm thinking now that it's a rule for this show that the characters are never, ever allowed to be happy. Especially not when it comes to Love. Poor Sam has just found a woman he could love in Madison, except for the teensy problem of her being a werewolf. Sam and Dean race to find a way to save her, but alas, as it is Supernatural such is not to be had, and Madison asks Sam to take her out of the picture before she can hurt anyone else.
6. Ellen Tigh drinks the Kool-Aid - Battlestar Galactica
Well, finding a video clip with this one scene is impossible (or rather was taking too long) so here is the 'What the Frak' video which has the aforementioned clip in it. As they say..."Very Sad".
5. Gemma's Confession - Sons of Anarchy
This entire episode was something of a masterpiece. All season there had been this slow tension building, and just when everything was about to explode, Gemma the Matriarch steps forward with the painful confession of being brutally attacked, knowing that this is the only thing that can bring her family back and keep them together. Katey Sagal is one of the most incredible actresses I've ever seen, and she plays that scene so quietly and so understated that Jax and Clay's reactions, more than her confession, moves me to tears.
4. The Body - Buffy the Vampire Slayer
This episode is truly set apart from all others Buffy eps, for it's stark look at the death of a parent. Buffy comes home to find her mother dead of a Brain hemorrhage, and even though the first half hour of this episode is so difficult to watch, it's Anya's speech that makes it Brutal. I couldn't find a clip without some crappy song playing over the actors so I'll just paste the quote:
Anya: But I don't understand! I don't understand how this all happens. How we go through this. I mean I knew her and then she's , .. there's just a body and I don't understand why she just can't get back in it and not be dead anymore! It's stupid. It's mortal and stupid. And Xander's crying and not talking and I was having fruit punch and I thought well Joyce will never have anymore fruit punch ever, and she'll never have eggs or yawn or brush her hair, not ever and no one will explain to me why..
3. The Final Montage - Six Feet Under
The last part of this wonderful, beautiful mess of a show gave us a glimpse into the future. After five years of watching a stranger die at the beginning of each episode, we got to see how the end comes (as it must come for all of us) to the Fishers and their circle of friends and family. It begins with Claire, truly beginning her life at 22 years old, and ends with her lying in bed at 108. But it's really the moment when David sees Keith again that really gets me going. I know it's kind of long, but it so worth it! And damn if watching this clip doesn't make me miss the hell out of Ruth Fisher.
2. Godric Meets the Sun - True Blood
I had a really tough time trying to decide between the previous video and this one as #2, but in the end this one won out. Between Eric's emotional breakdown and Sookie's line "I'm afraid for you" my eyes didn't stand a chance!
1. The Constant - Lost
You would have to be made of stone to not cry at the beautiful phone call between Desmond and his true love Penny. It's a matter of life and death, and no less moving. Unfortunately, I can't find any embed code so Here is the link. Grab your tissues and enjoy this display of the purest, truest love.
Monday, March 08, 2010
Poor and Plain, Obscure and Little
I just finished re-watching the 2006 BBC version of Jane Eyre and was once again blown away by how perfectly it captures the book. And I would know, as a nerdy teenager I carried my battered, dog-eared copy everywhere. I read it and re-read it until I could dream at night about being in Thornfield Hall. If you have never read it, here is an excellent reader review that touches on Jane's Feminism and Rochester as the ultimate romantic hero. (He definitely had my vote!)
So, in honor of that, I briefly considered listing my favorite Edwards from Literature, but all I could come up with was Rochester, Ferrars, and (recluctantly) Cullen. Instead, I'd like to stick with Jane Eyre and list my top 5 favorite movie versions of Charlotte Bronte's classic. And before you comment, I have yet to see any of the versions from Mexico, Hong Kong, India, or the 1997 one with Ciaran Hinds and Samantha Morton. Not to say I won't get around to it.
5. 1996. Directed by Franco Zeffirelli.
Starring a practically unknown at the time Charlotte Gainsbourg as Jane, a definitely phoning-it-in William Hurt as Rochester, and a teeny Anna Paquin as young Jane.
I liked it when it first came out (in my senior year of high school and at the peak of my Bronte-mania), in fact I had an enormous version of the movie poster on my wall. This movie would have been so much better if not for William Hurt. He dosen't have the edge or the fire that Rochester has. He's Blandy McBlanderson. And I know I'm just nitpicking here, but dammit...Rochester is not a blond guy. Gainsbourg is okay, but to be honest when I went back and rewatched some of the clips she comes off as dry as toast. I'm not saying it's not worth a watch, Elle McPherson makes a cameo as Blanche Ingram, though she spends her scenes looking confused as to what she is doing there. So was I! All in all it's a very decent effort, though it leaves out a lot of the book (which is usually my biggest complaint).
4. 1970. Directed by Delbert Mann.
I don't have much to say about this version other than I've seen it, sorta. I watched it when I was sick with Mono, Thrush, and a whole bunch of other disgusting stuff. I had a 104 degree fever at the time and can't remember anything about it other than the colors were really, really weird (though that was probably just the fever) and the music was very eerie. My future mother-in-law loves it though. I'm not sure if it's still her favorite since the BBC version, if not it's a definite second.
3.1983.. Directed by
Julian Amyes.
This is the one I refer to as "the one with Timothy Dalton". It's good, if a bit (really) sound-stagey. Dalton turns in a solid performance (even if at times he flourishes his words a bit too much. ACTING!). Zelah Clarke plays Jane so understated she's practically on mute through most of the film, with exception of the scene when Rochester proposes. It's been a while since I've seen this version, but I remember watching that scene and thinking "She's Fiesty! Where has she been this whole time?"
2.1944. Directed by Robert Stevenson.
This was the first film adaptation of the book I ever saw, and I guess it's stuck with me quite a bit over the years. Starring Orson Welles, Joan Fontaine (who I always adored), and a very young Elizabeth Taylor as the (spoiler!) doomed Helen Burns. Orson Welles, not surprisingly, was brilliant at capturing Rochester's restless, cynical, and somewhat obsessive side. I thought (and still believe) that Joan Fontaine was way too gorgeous to have ever played a character who is by and large known as plain, but her acting is up to the challenge and she plays the part well. The sets are stark and spooky, and the recreation of the Yorkshire Moors is something to see. This is a dark and beautiful version, even if it is a bit choppy and cut short in places.
1.2006. Directed by Susanna White.
I really can't stop singing the praises of this one. The music is beautiful, the sets are gorgeous, the costuming perfect, the acting superb.
I do have to say (and give credit to the director & actors) this version was quite a bit sexier than the very chaste book. Toby Stephens' Rochester practically smolders his way through the first half of the film. And Ruth Wilson has done the best job of any of her predecessors with Jane's independence, virtue and passion. Both actors are quite a bit hotter than the characters they are playing, but you will never hear me phrase that as a complaint. And MAJOR points for this being the only version that gets the Moor House part of the story right! St. John Rivers is as cool and hard-nosed as he was in the book, yet I found myself liking his character in the movie more than on the page. And I have to give props to the casting director for casting Claudia Coulter as Bertha Mason. If you have seen Wide Sargasso Sea*, (a prequel to Jane Eyre about young Edward Rochester's exploits in Jamaica) you will know that Coulter is almost a dead ringer for Karina Lombard, who plays the Bertha in Sea.
*I just looked up the IMdb page for Wide Sargasso Sea and saw that Rochester is played in that movie by Nathaniel Parker, who I had the hots for as the Dunstan Thorn, a.k.a. the Dad in Stardust. That explains it, I knew I'd seen him nekkid before.
In any case, I've added my favorite clips below. The first one is the scene that takes place after Jane saves Mr. Rochester from the fire that was set in his room. This scene makes me SWOON.
So, in honor of that, I briefly considered listing my favorite Edwards from Literature, but all I could come up with was Rochester, Ferrars, and (recluctantly) Cullen. Instead, I'd like to stick with Jane Eyre and list my top 5 favorite movie versions of Charlotte Bronte's classic. And before you comment, I have yet to see any of the versions from Mexico, Hong Kong, India, or the 1997 one with Ciaran Hinds and Samantha Morton. Not to say I won't get around to it.
5. 1996. Directed by Franco Zeffirelli.
Starring a practically unknown at the time Charlotte Gainsbourg as Jane, a definitely phoning-it-in William Hurt as Rochester, and a teeny Anna Paquin as young Jane.
I liked it when it first came out (in my senior year of high school and at the peak of my Bronte-mania), in fact I had an enormous version of the movie poster on my wall. This movie would have been so much better if not for William Hurt. He dosen't have the edge or the fire that Rochester has. He's Blandy McBlanderson. And I know I'm just nitpicking here, but dammit...Rochester is not a blond guy. Gainsbourg is okay, but to be honest when I went back and rewatched some of the clips she comes off as dry as toast. I'm not saying it's not worth a watch, Elle McPherson makes a cameo as Blanche Ingram, though she spends her scenes looking confused as to what she is doing there. So was I! All in all it's a very decent effort, though it leaves out a lot of the book (which is usually my biggest complaint).
4. 1970. Directed by Delbert Mann.
I don't have much to say about this version other than I've seen it, sorta. I watched it when I was sick with Mono, Thrush, and a whole bunch of other disgusting stuff. I had a 104 degree fever at the time and can't remember anything about it other than the colors were really, really weird (though that was probably just the fever) and the music was very eerie. My future mother-in-law loves it though. I'm not sure if it's still her favorite since the BBC version, if not it's a definite second.
3.1983.. Directed by
Julian Amyes.
This is the one I refer to as "the one with Timothy Dalton". It's good, if a bit (really) sound-stagey. Dalton turns in a solid performance (even if at times he flourishes his words a bit too much. ACTING!). Zelah Clarke plays Jane so understated she's practically on mute through most of the film, with exception of the scene when Rochester proposes. It's been a while since I've seen this version, but I remember watching that scene and thinking "She's Fiesty! Where has she been this whole time?"
2.1944. Directed by Robert Stevenson.
This was the first film adaptation of the book I ever saw, and I guess it's stuck with me quite a bit over the years. Starring Orson Welles, Joan Fontaine (who I always adored), and a very young Elizabeth Taylor as the (spoiler!) doomed Helen Burns. Orson Welles, not surprisingly, was brilliant at capturing Rochester's restless, cynical, and somewhat obsessive side. I thought (and still believe) that Joan Fontaine was way too gorgeous to have ever played a character who is by and large known as plain, but her acting is up to the challenge and she plays the part well. The sets are stark and spooky, and the recreation of the Yorkshire Moors is something to see. This is a dark and beautiful version, even if it is a bit choppy and cut short in places.
1.2006. Directed by Susanna White.
I really can't stop singing the praises of this one. The music is beautiful, the sets are gorgeous, the costuming perfect, the acting superb.
I do have to say (and give credit to the director & actors) this version was quite a bit sexier than the very chaste book. Toby Stephens' Rochester practically smolders his way through the first half of the film. And Ruth Wilson has done the best job of any of her predecessors with Jane's independence, virtue and passion. Both actors are quite a bit hotter than the characters they are playing, but you will never hear me phrase that as a complaint. And MAJOR points for this being the only version that gets the Moor House part of the story right! St. John Rivers is as cool and hard-nosed as he was in the book, yet I found myself liking his character in the movie more than on the page. And I have to give props to the casting director for casting Claudia Coulter as Bertha Mason. If you have seen Wide Sargasso Sea*, (a prequel to Jane Eyre about young Edward Rochester's exploits in Jamaica) you will know that Coulter is almost a dead ringer for Karina Lombard, who plays the Bertha in Sea.
*I just looked up the IMdb page for Wide Sargasso Sea and saw that Rochester is played in that movie by Nathaniel Parker, who I had the hots for as the Dunstan Thorn, a.k.a. the Dad in Stardust. That explains it, I knew I'd seen him nekkid before.
In any case, I've added my favorite clips below. The first one is the scene that takes place after Jane saves Mr. Rochester from the fire that was set in his room. This scene makes me SWOON.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
