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Marty McFly looks at MY LIFE SO FAR
Hola folks, Harry here and I'm here to introduce Marty McFly's review of MY LIFE SO FAR, the latest film from the director of CHARIOTS OF FIRE. Sounds like an interesting cast, though I'll hold off any anticipation till more reviews come in on it. But for now... Here's that hoverboard kid floating on the power of love....
Hey! Marty McFly here, and I'm feeling pretty good right now since it
looks like Back To The Future 4 will happen. Anyways I'm back from
seeing another delightful little indie gem called My Life So Far. I've
been hearing a good buzz on the film and if it ever opens around your
local theaters, you should check it out.
The film stars many talented actors like Colin Firth, Malcom McDowell,
Mary Elizabeth Mastrontonio, Irene Jacob, and Tcheky Kayro (sp?). It's
based on a novel I never read and can't remember the name of. Sorry.
The story is told all through the eyes of a little boy living in
Scotland named Fraser. He lives with his father, mother, and many
siblings on a huge estate and he narrates the film as a teenager,
looking back on his life so far. I've never seen this young little
actor who plays the boy but he is very natural. As he becomes older, he
learns about many things in life. He learns about love when his uncle
(played by Mr. Alex DeLarge himself, McDowell) brings home his younger
fiance (Jacob) and the young boy falls for her. This young woman also
captures the eye of Fraser's father (played by Firth) which causes
trouble in his relationship with his wife (played by Mastrontonio).
Brendan Gleeson, who I just saw today also in the incredibly
entertaining Lake Placid, is underused in a very small role.
It's a great coming of age story and it has just the right blend of
comedy and drama. The film was directed by Hugh Hudson, who most of you
know directed Chariots Of Fire. He received an Oscar nomination for
that film and don't be surprised if this film gets some Oscar attention
when the 2000 Oscars come along.
I'll see ya in the future!
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I've heard some good things about this film. Let's hope they did a good job adapting the book.
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Jul 15, 1999 7:23:10 AM CDT
This is totally off the subject, but it's about the Goonies.
by spike lee
The name Marty Mc Fly brought back the Steven Spielberg executive produced films of the 80's that I love.
Alright, last night on TNT they showed the Goonies followed by Gremlins. At the end of the Goonies when they are found by their parents on the beach. They describe what their adventure was like, and one of the kids mention a giant octopus. I have seen the film about three or four times, and I have never seen the octopus. Is it a cut scene? I dont even remember a giant octopus in the video game Goonies 2. -
Hoorah for quality films!! These days, it's really hard to keep from heaving when you see the trailers being shown even before other decent films like The Winslow Boy. (Sorry, but the current crop of grossouts hold absolutely no interest for me and you couldn't pay me to see those movies.) On the other hand, have seen the trailer at the Miramax site and have actually read the book (nonfiction) on which this is based: "The Son of Adam" by Sir Denis Forman, the head honcho of Granada Television in the UK. The story is very loosely based upon his childhood remembrances growing up in a well-to-do family in Scotland. This movie has such a top-notch cast and filmakers that it has to be good. Loved Roger Ebert's response this weekend ("I loved this movie") and the excellent review in THR. Am expecting similar praise as this movie hits the NY/LA screens next week and August 6 for the rest of us. Finally, friends saw the movie at the Newport FF last month and said that Colin Firth, a fabulous actor in his own right, is brilliant. Looks pretty good to me too!!
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Yes, the scene was cut because the (obviously) rubber octopus really looked horrible. It was when they first plunged into the cave where the ship was. No great loss. It is nice to know that the head Goonie will be guiding us on our trip to Middle Earth in 18 months.
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Frankly I cannot wait to see this gem (as The Hollywood Reporter calls it). It seems to have all the iingredients for a deligthful movie: complex and rich characters! Beautiful cinematography!
Hudson and Puttnam. Roger Ebert said this movie did not have one wrong note in it. And BTW Colin Firth isn't bad on the eyes either!
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Tchecky Karyo is a wonderful French actor with unmistakable charisma. I have followed his career as he moves up the actor tier. Hollywood has a great chance to foster a babe-a-licious man with a talent to match. Watch for his career to boom.
I first took notice of him in the original French version of "La Femme Nikita". He was the agent who trained Anne Paurillaud to be an assassin. The undercurrent of eroticism really made the movie for me. He just SMOLDERS! (Meow!)
I noticed him next in the film "Nostradamus" with F. Murray Abraham and Julia Ormand as his love interest. This film was very well done and much unsung.
Then I saw him in an episode of Zalman King's "Red Shoe Diaries" on Showtime. He co-starred with Nina Sziemazsko and Matt Leblanc.
(The "Red Shoe Diaries" are a guilty pleasure of mine. David Duchovny acts as on-screen narrator.)
He finally reached mainstream status co-starring with Meg Ryan and Matthew Broderick in the boring "Addicted to Love".
He raises my temperature significantly. (Purr....) Check him out at your local video store. -
I saw My Life so Far at a screening in NY on Tuesday, and I agree wholeheartedly with Marty's review. It's funny, poignant, and gorgeous to look at--but a lot edgier than the Merchant Ivory stuff. Hugh Hudson has done a great job here, in fact, I enjoyed it better than Chariots Of Fire. The cast is superb across the board, especially Colin Firth as the inventor dad and Robert Norman as the kid. There's a great scene in which the kid starts spouting what sounds like sexual advice around the dinner table, but of course he has no idea what he's talking about. (He's been pouring over grandpa's adult book collection.)
Roger Ebert gave it a great review; so did Rex Reed in the NY Observer. Other than that, I've heard very little about it. Hey, Miramax, what are you waiting for??? They could have a great little sleeper hit here, but they'd better start putting some marketing muscle behind it. The film is too good to let it fade away. -
You seem to be interested in the BTTF4/5 sequels. I've seen Harry publish a number of your reviews, how 'bout you send him all the BTTF 4/5 rumors. He might post them if he gets them from somebody he's delt with in the past.
And for all of you Buttheads who'll say "who cares", I have three words for you; "Make like a tree, and get out of here!"
Doc Bosch<=== -
So pleased to read a positive review of this long-anticipated film. You are perfectly right, the cast is very talented, especially Mr. Firth. It will be nice to see him play the lead for a change. I plan to see the movie as soon as it opens and bring many of my friends.
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Terrific review Marty, you did a great & positive job on this yet to be marketed movie. You know a good movie when you see one. I haven't yet & am so impatiently looking forward to seeing it soon.
sal -
A very special P.S. I forgot to mention that Colin Firth adds that je-ne sais-quoi touch to this movie.
sal -
I have not heard anything about Back to the Future 4. I thought the last two sequels didnt do so hot. It would be great if they did another one though. Luck smiled on Spielberg and friends when Ralph Macchio dropped out, and Michael J. Fox came in. The 4th film is doable because Mr. Fox still looks like he could pass for a teenager, who knows Alex P. Keaton might still be able to skateboard. MALLORY!!!
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I hope Miramax has the good sense to release this movie to the general public. I would like to see a movie that isn,t all blood and death for a change.
It was very well received at the Newport Movie festival.
There are all too few movies that I want to see, but this is one.
Colin Firth is one of the most talented and under appreciated actors that I know of. -
Hey Marty...good review...
After seeing the trailer on miramax.com website and reading the reviews and comments, I hope we get this film in mid-America soon. Sometimes, film companies by-pass us with Brit-flicks...there's a lot of interest here for quality movies.
Waddaya say, Harry?
...can't wait to see Colin firth on the Big Screen!
Roll on August!! -
Marty, yours is the latest in some great reviews I've seen for this film. It appears to have everything - great acting lead by Firth, a delightful plot told with humour and warmth, brilliant cinematography, the glorious scenery of Scotland and the flair of Puttnam and Hudson. I just can't wait to see it!
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This has to be the best movie out there this year. After having endured a tiny sighting of Colin Firth in Shakespeare In Love, it is time he got to the Big Screen with something in which we get more than a fleeting glimpse. We need Miramax to get it into wider distribution so we in the sticks can see it too. Great reviews, guys! Thanks!
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I was able to see a preview of My Life So Far the other day and I loved it! Forget teenage schlocko flicks, THIS is MY kind of movie. Gorgeous scenery (the Scottish highlands), big family of eccentrics, dogs and weird Rube Goldberg-type inventions, sexual shenanigans, terrific ensemble acting, and honest-to-God HUMOR. Watching this movie was like escaping from a filthy hot city and jumping in a cool clear lake!
My favorite in the great cast was Colin Firth, a smart and sexy actor who manages to be unbelievably expressive while seeming to do nothing at all. It was great to see him in a romantic lead again (he caused a sensation a few years ago in a TV version of Pride & Prejudice) after too many supporting roles. Hard to believe that Malcolm McDowell is now an old man (I still remember him from A Clockwork Orange), but he and Firth were great antagonists. Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio surprised me with a low-key but burningly effective performance. Rosemary Harris, as her mother, deserves a Supporting Actress Oscar.
Listen, not everyone wants to see exploding cars and pies as sex objects. Give the rest of us a chance, hunh? This is that rare kind of movie you can take the whole family to. Why don't they make more like it?? -
Marty, you have rocketed to the top of my 'favorite critics'
list with your review of My Life So Far. I've heard from
several sources that this is a wonderful film and it seems to be
getting some great reviews. I'm always delighted to here
of intelligent films being offered as an alternative to the
many films which seem to concentrate on blowing things
up in front of a camera. But, where is all the PR for this
movie? Miramax is usually very good at identifying the
small films that have tremendous potential, but need a
little public awareness boost. Hello? Miramax? -
I concur. I've been waiting for Miramax to release this from their crowded vault of shelved films for a long time. Malcolm McDowell and Tcheky Karyo rule, but Irene Jacob is heaven! I'd vote for her as president! I got a big old U.K. quad poster of Kieslowski's RED with Jacobs beautiful profile looking down on me as write this. I once had this dream that she was an Autobot and I was the Decepticon. I asked her, "Alright, dammit! Are you Optimus Prime?!" But I couldn't read the subtitles off her metallic breasts, but ... um...erm. Anyway it was Eric (God) Stoltz that was the original Marty McFly, and the Back to the Future collector's DVD was pushed back because he wouldn't let them use his footage. Someone should try to contact him by emailing Roger Avary at his website, and ask him what the fuck he's doing. That would be the icing on the DVD. We need that lost footage! Too bad Miramax is only pushing "An Ideal Husband." You'd think with their Disney bankroll they'd take more chances, but it seems the fabulous Brothers Weinstein only became more cautious. I'm still waiting for Michael Radford's "B. Monkey" with Rupert (Dellamorte) Everett and Asia (The Church) Argento to be released. And what the hell happened to Jan Kounen's "Dobermann?" That shelf at Miramax must be one hell of a treasure trove. I'll probably have better luck picking up a bootleg of it at the Chicago Comicon this weekend. See you there!
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Thank you Marty McFly for your great review. I definitely want to see this movie and cannot wait for it to be available in my local theater! If it's not, I will drive somewhere to see it! I must see this movie!! Thanks again for a wonderful review.
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Marty, from your mouth to Harvey Weinstein's ears -- I hope! Harvey, where's the publicity for this lovely film? I've yet to see an ad anywhere.
The reunion of David Puttnam and Hugh Hudson, a great cast headed by Colin Firth and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio(two marvelous and seriously underappreciated actors), great scenery, good script -- what more do you need? And not a bit of teen-age gross out humor -- Hallelujah!!!!!!
Harvey, you've had two great Oscar winning movies in the last three years -- with one common factor (and no, I'm not talking about the Fiennes boys). Think about it!!
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Thanks for yet another terrific review for My Life So Far, a charming, intelligent and entertaining film. Having seen this movie last month in Newport, I recommend it without reservation.The entire cast is wonderful, but I was particularly enchanted with Colin Firth's performance as the complex Edward Pettigrew. Mr. Firth is a gorgeous, gifted and versatile actor who always brings great emotional depth and subtle nuance to his roles. He is no less brilliant in this film than as Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice and, as usual, it was a real pleasure to see him at work, especially in a fine film that is most worthy of his talent.
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Finally a film with a great cast, great story, scenery, direction and camera work. I am so tired of the stuff coming out of Hollywood today. Not everyone is 15 and brainless.
Colin Firth finally gets a chance to show his handsome self as the principal character in a fine film. He's been in two Academy Award winning films, but only in the supporting cast. Doesn't that mean something to Miramax?
And where is the promotion for this film? I can only do so much, Harvey. -
I had the great pleasure to see this film not once but twice at the Newport International Film Festival earlier this month.It surpassed my expectations. What a beautifully filmed and directed movie carrying the audience at both screenings from rollicking laughter to exquisite insights.We applauded at the end.
One among the many fine performances,the amazingly gifted actor Colin Firth creates another personality, different from any of his other finely honed roles. Magnificent closups let us read his thoughts as they flicker across his face as his character undergoes a metamorphosis before our eyes. -
Jul 16, 1999 8:09:00 AM CDT
You'll never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy
by yossarian
I have seen many changes in Miramax lately. Disney is evil and Miramax has sold out.
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Thanks for the wonderful review of this under-publicized movie. Can't wait for it to be released in Canada. Looks like Miramax might have a winner here again - if only they would realize it. Colin Firth has to be one of their most talented actors and it's about time he starred instead of being a "second banana".
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Sorry, but this is a bit bloody weird; I posted a completely irrelevant post about the cut Goonies octopus scene following Harry's over-excited Lake Placid review a mere day or two ago. And now, somebody else mentions it? An obscure scene missing from a fourteen-year old movie? I call that kind of trippy. Anyway, just for the record, I spent 12 years hunting for the thing and finally saw it a while back. It's shite. I love it when a plan comes together..
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Absolutely the last time I mention the octopus scene in a Talkback.. (Swear !) But, just for Spike Lee, there are some groovy pics at www.thegoonies.com/octopus.htm
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I am from the Washington D.C. area and have been anxiously awaiting the release of My Life So Far. I'm glad to hear that Miramax has finally gotten the ball rolling. The movie sounds terrific. Colin Firth is an extremely talented actor who can play an Elizabethan buffoon (Shakespeare in Love) just as convincingly as he plays an aristocratic heartthrob (Pride & Prejudice). I can't wait to see him as a Scottish inventor!
Debbie -
Ya got the King of Smoldering starring in this pic: Colin Firth. This man brought a nation to its knees playing Mr. Darcy in P&P. Too bad most Americans don't know him, except for his supporting roles in Oscar-winning Best Pictures (The English Patient and Shakespeare in Love). There isn't an article that gets printed in Britain without using the words smoldering, hunk, hearthrob, or wet-shirted to describe Firth. Not that his talent is only skin-deep. He's a brilliant actor and it's taken for granted that he gives marvelous performances. But he's got the lead here and he looks fantastic. This is the guy who should be the face of British actors, not some flop-haired,speech-challenged no-talent like Hughie boy.
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Marty,
Your review is the best news since Pride and Prejudice hit our television screens in the UK, three and a half years ago. Since then we have been patient while we have watched the hrrrrrrr gorgeous Colin Firth show why he is one of todays great actors, in the English Patient and Shakespeare in Love. In those movies he was in a supporting role. In Fever Pitch he was wonderful in the leading role as a football fanatic but was let down by an inadquate script but it showed his versatility.
From your description of My Life So Far, it would seem to be the ideal role to show what a seriously versatile actor he is and to show all those male commentators in the UK that the reason we all fell for Mr Darcy aka Colin Firth was not his tight trousers but his sublime acting!
So Miramax...WHEN IS IT TO BE SHOWN IN THE UK???? -
I'm so envious of you who have already seen this film. Can't wait. It will take months and months until it comes to Germany, but it will, hurrah: http://www.scotiafilm.de/ has it already listed, but no date yet.
From what I've read up to now, in particular Marty's review, it is exactly the kind of film that will be received very well over here - even if the rubber octopus ended up on the cutting room floor ;-P. -
My ears perked up when I heard the name "Colin Firth" on Siskel & Ebert last week. Is there a more subtly expressive actor on the planet? I've been searching everywhere for more on My Life So Far. Thanks for your great info, Marty. So where can I see this film? I've called my local theatres and none have plans to show it. Why do studios think small films won't do well in small markets? Why do I have to travel so far to see Colin Firth in a film? Wake up somebody!
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Colin Firth and My Life So Far have long been waited for. It is such a shame Miramax and Harvey totaly ignore this gem of a movie and allow other stupid coming of age movies to succeed. Where is Miramax/Harvey's SIL aggressivness? This is where their support and actions are needed. Get out of the pool, Harvey, and quench our thirst. Three thousand cheers for Colin!
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Hey Marty: I am about to burst with anticipation! I must see Colin Firth's new movie SOON! He is a magnificent actor. I wouldn't say he is under rated, because everyone who knows about him can't help but be impressed with his talent. Do you know when his other movie: FEVER PITCH is scheduled for release. CF is the master of the big screen, stage and TV. Thanks for the good review, it certainly helps build up the excitement.
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Forget the blockbusters...I've just seen a preview of this, and it's absolutely enchanting. Outstanding performances by all the cast, especially Colin Firth and newcomer Robbie Norman, an idyllic setting, warmth and humour. Miramax have got a winner here...but do they know it? Easily the best movie of the summer.
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A wonderful review for a wonderful movie! For those of us movie-goers who are in to well told stories versus special affects, My Life So Far hits the spot! The scenery was beautiful and the acing magnificant! Colin Firth was perfect as Edward - I cannot think of any other actor that could have played this character better. Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio's portrayal of his wife was absolutely charming. The only flaw I could see in this movie is that it took too long to be released! AAA+++
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I can't wait to see this movie! Colin Firth is a great actor, with loads of talent and knee-weakening looks. This is clearly a film for people who care for more than the unintelligent and insulting trash being offered this summer.
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Great to read some reviews on My Life So Far. I'd like to hear from anyone who as seen the movie if Hugh Hudson included a curling scene. There are 32 curling extras here in Argyll, Scotland who'd like to know if the 4 days they spent doing it ended up on the cutting room floor. E Mail please to lengow@drimsynie.co.uk
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