My daughter just recently borrowed A Clockwork Orange from the library and had a lot of trouble with the made up slang in the book. She did say that the more she read it the more sense it made, but that it was a slow process. The problem with reading a made up slang language is that without being able to hear tone and inflection, figuring things out by context is a bit more difficult. I suggested she see the film so that she could get a "feel" for the language.

I never knew that the film had been banned. I remember seeing it on television when I was quite young. I was probably in my late teens when I saw it putting the date around the early 80s.

I read the link and it's associated link and have one question. What does "Stonker" mean? Seriously I couldn't even figure it out by context.

I recently watched The Perks of Being a Wall Flower with my daughter. I was pleasantly surprised that the main character was a boy rather than a girl. The title lead me to automatically assume that the lead would be a girl. In any case this film hits on some difficult teen subject matters but handles it very intelligently. Emma Watts' role in this film was very good and I found that her skill in her craft has improved as she has gotten older. I don't know who the two boys are, never seen either of them before but loved both of them.
This is most defiantly worth renting.
 

KeepersPrice wrote:

As I said earlier, the emotional toll question could be nothing - or it could be everything. It has the ability to influence the mood and tone across all 3 episodes of Series 3. The writers could have John quickly overcome his shock and surprise in E1 and then have the two of them go right back to the way things were - all in the space of a few minutes. Or it could take all 3 episodes of back-and-forth and who-knows-what for Sherlock to eventually win back John's trust and admiration. The relationship dynamic could turn very angsty, involving both humor and pathos, especially if Mary Marsten is brought into the picture. Don't know - but am eagerly anticipating whatever this is going to be....

I think John will be pissed. He went through hell, and Sherlock made him watch. Yeah if he doesn't chin Sherlock I will be absolutely shocked. 

There could be emotional carry-over from episode one but I hope not. Since there are only three episodes in a season I would be pulling my hair out if they didn't get back to the friendship that we all fell in love with until the last episode. That will drive me crazy waiting another year or even two for a fourth season.

Who is Mary Martsen?

Someone posted that guns are hard to get there. I am assuming that means the UK.
Unfortunately guns are relatively easy to get here in the states. I'm sure that you have all heard of the senseless shootings that have happened here. Not only the one in the theater, but the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting and one that still makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end - The shooting in West Webster, NY of the firemen. My husband was one of the firemen at that fire on Christmas Eve but thankfully was not one of the men shot. The survivors who were wounded and trapped under the fire truck were on the news this evening talking about their brothers who were killed.

I would like to see the same kind of gun control that you have in the UK here, but unfortunately that will never happen. Every one of my kids have been taught how to disarm an assailant who puts a gun to their heads. It is a part of the Taeaqua kungfu (?sp) that they take. Even I know what to do if someone puts a gun in my face. The disadvantage to that, is when someone starts shooting from a distance. Not much you can do in that case. It is a sad world we live in where we feel compelled to teach our children how to disarm gun toting maniacs. 
 

Davina wrote:

Jeremy Brett not really comparing like-with-like here. Sherlock is a complete re-imagining of Sherlock Holmes in the modern world. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes with Jeremy in the lead role is a near perfect portrayal of the original stories.

I'm sure that is true. That is one of the reasons the show recommendation remained untouched in my Netflix queue for so long. I never really had much interest in the Victorian era detective. I appreciated his intellect, but to me the stories seemed dry and old.
This new rendition of Sherlock is exactly what was needed to bring Sherlock Holmes to the next generation. My son loves BBC's Sherlock. He loves the character, the insanely fast manner in which he speaks, and he loves how this guy can just look at something or someone and just know all sorts of cool stuff about them/it.

Moffit and Gattis (?sp) were genius' to update this character for the younger audience. It is bringing this well loved character to the next generation of literary lovers. When he gets a little older and can grasp the older verbiage he may very well want to read Doyle's books.
 

Davina wrote:

I was disappointed too with Prometheus. Not so much the effects because a cracking story can make up for a lot but for the storyline itself and the poor sloppy construction (if that's the right word) of characters. The blame for this too must lie at the feet of the writers. It is never good when one does not care about what happens to a character.

Precisley my point. You spoke it better than I.

Davina wrote:

I saw what is quite an old film (1995) yesterday Se7en. A disturbing story but fantastic script, great, tight story, marvellous portrayals by the actors. This is a cracking film. Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kevin Spacey etc. all do fine work. Directed by David Fincher. You can still see why this film received many, many awards. Catch it if you can! 18 certificate in the UK.

This was indeed a very good film. It was one of those films that 1. should only be viewed by an adult, 2. it was another one of those films that I could only watch once. The subject matter is so powerful.

For and excellent edge of your seat film with outstanding characterisations look at The Edge. 
 

I have been watching Dr. Who for as long as I can remember. I have seen every episode ever made I think. What is really cool are my kids. I never imagined that they would also like Dr. Who. Both the girls have tee shirts that say Bow Ties are Cool. Ally also has one that says Rule #1 The Doctor Lies. She wore that shirt the day she had her physical and I thought the look on her doctor's face when he came in the room was hysterical.

Even Adam my 7 year old likes Dr. Who. He actually likes the older series quite a lot. The girls find it too campy. They like the more modern special effects, but I learned to love Dr. Who because of the stories rather than the effects or lack there-of. 

My favorite Doctor is a tie between Tom Baker and David Tennant. I really did not care for Christopher Eccleston very much. David Tennant brought back some of the whimsy that Tom Baker brought to the role. I felt that when David left the show there was no one who could step into those shoes and I have to admit to being pleasantly surprised by Matt Smith. He is his own Doctor and brings his own unique quirks to the character. 

What I liked the most about Matt Smith's episodes were his companions. Amy and Rory are by far the best companions I have ever seen, and I've seen them all. What I really liked about them was the fact that they were a couple. There have been too many companions who were smitten with the Doctor. That gets old after years of it. I liked Rose well enough, but once again this was a companion who was in love with the Doctor. 

Donna was another favorite of mine. She had zero interest in the Doctor in a romantic way and that made for a much better chemistry between them in my opinion. It was about their adventures, and their friendship, rather than about some love-sick star-struck girl who suffers unrequited love with the last of the Time Lords.

My favorite episodes with David Tennant are the ones surrounding the Family

I looked around the internet a few days after watching this film to see if there was any kind of interview about it. Luckily I found a group interview with the writer, Benedict and Shaun. I wanted to do this before commenting on the film because I will have to admit that I was a little confused about this piece. 

I have not seen many independent films and am somewhat unfamiliar with the feel of this type of filmmaking. The story itself was more of a set of vignettes or at least that is how it seemed to me. Almost as though it was a patchwork of emotional experiences for each of the characters.

When this film was done I had a strong emotional reaction to it, but found that I was also not clear on the purpose of the story. I had to reflect on it for a few days and afterward I wanted to get some insight from those involved with it - hence my searching for the above mentioned interview.

I saw immediately a very strong love between the brothers, but that love was tempered with a tension that was palpable yet ill-defined. As the story progressed we hear David tell Dawn that Nick pushed their mother down the stairs. It is clear that Nick has emotional issues stemming from PTSD, but there also seems to be a sadness associated with the loss of innocence. That is no more clearly shown than when he is listening to the music box. The sheer childlike wonder on his face transforms the character from a truly rough around the edges hardened man who has seen too much adversity in life, to the innocence of a young child.  

As the story progresses we can not help but see both of these brothers through the eyes of Dawn. As she learns more about Nick she comes to form a bond with him, in that she begins to see the man underneath the pain of his circumstances. Part of that understanding comes as she sees David deal with Nick’s sleep walking and night terrors, and how he handles the flashback he experiences on their way back from the pub.

David’s character went through a metamo

SusiGo wrote:

Sorry for going off-topic, but I'm so excited. An English translator sent me the first chapter of my "Leo Berlin"! It's so amazing to read it in English. She'd love to do the whole book, but of course she'd have to find a publisher first. If anyone wants to keep his/her fingers crossed for me … 

No off topic in chat 

Okay I am a little lost. I googled Leo Berlin and got some interesting things that didn't seem to fit, so I have to ask. What is Leo Berlin? Is it something you wrote? I mean I'd cross my fingers for you as well, but I've no idea what for.