Henry and I went to see Mission Impossible 3. It was a great action flick. I didn’t expect highly intelligent or believable plot, so I wasn’t disappointed. As the boy behind us said, “That’s so unrealistic.” But, it was entertaining. I’ll definitely give it entertaining.
We went to the Pickwick in Park Ridge that I have heard good things about. It is definitely a beautiful building. Unfortunately, the day was cooler than I had imagined and the building was freezing. Next time I’ll remember to take my turtleneck and hooded sweatshirt. Even Henry was cold. That’s bad.
So, I decided to go watch a movie in Wilmette last Monday - $3 there. Nice. So, I saw Friends with Money. I enjoyed it a lot and it even had some points. Nothing earth shattering, but always good to remember that money does not buy happiness. The cast is of course amazing with a ton of wonderful people. Some unresolved issues by the end that I’m getting better at dealing with in movies, but also a little bit of “too good to be true” to some of the points. A nice time to reflect on the decisions that you might make and why. Who do you give money to? How do you spend your time? How do your actions impact other people?
The world could definitely be spending some more time talking about environmental concerns – and living in community – how do we all work together to create a healthy world?
So – in cleaning up, I found a tape of movies I hadn’t seen. One was Instinct, which I had missed from before. I almost didn’t watch it and I’m so glad that I just stuck it in and pushed play.
Why is it that people continue to think that it’s necessary to destroy creation? We must dominate, destroy, and control. Awful. Beautiful creatures destroyed for someone’s entertainments or because of fear.
There are some interesting points about the treatment of prisoners, also. Though of course there was a bit of drama, several psychological studies have shown what happens when “guards” are put in control over “prisoners” and the results – the disempowerment of the prisoners and the inhumane treatment by the guards – even people who considered themselves “kind” before the study.
Our systems are so broken.
Sorry - feeling a bit hopeless today. Holy Week symptom?
Henry and I went to the movies on Saturday (Thanks, Siobhan!) and saw Thank You for Smoking. I was interested in seeing it, and it was great. I enjoyed seeing the crafting of information and a story. Amazing the amount of effort being put into people continuing to smoke. Makes me think about our government and how things are controlled. Or not.
However, there was one point where the lobbyist seemed to turn on his main client and we never saw how that situation was resolved, or how much trouble he got in for giving information to the “other side.” Maybe that will be in the DVD extras.
Definitely worth seeing.
Henry and I went to the Evanston Public Library last night to watch What I want my Words to do to You. What an absolutely riveting movie. Eve Ensler is amazing and the work that she has done should be commended – and repeated in every prison with all the populations.
I, of course, cried. Justice issues here…court systems and penitentiaries. It was great to see this side of people – especially some of the women who had been part of high profile cases. The women were really struggling with issues and trying to articulate what has happened in their lives and how they will move into the future. Check it out. Support programs like it.
My dad and I were able to check out The Pink Panther at the great movie theater in Otsego/Plainwell ($2.50 per ticket for a matinee)! And on Thursdays, the popcorn is free!
While it wasn’t a fabulously wonderful movie, it was entertaining. Could have been funnier at some point and might have been more stupid than funny. Cute, pretty much predictable. Not a bad way to spend a snowy afternoon.
The other day, someone made a joke with:
“Paul’s letter to the Hebrews – neither of Paul, nor a letter, nor to the Hebrews – discuss.”
Henry and I watched Life is Beautiful. All I could think at the end:
“Life is beautiful – it is neither life nor beautiful – discuss”
What a haunting movie. The devastation to an entire culture of people. Recently, a professor at Northwestern made a public statement about how the Holocaust didn’t really happen. Not so helpful to the understanding of history and how to make sure that it is not repeated. Though, that hasn’t really happened either as we continue to have large numbers of people wiped away.
So, overall, yes, I understand that the movie showed life in the midst of death. And this is so important but completely not comprehensible to me. I’ve never had life that bad before. But in the midst of making light of the situation, it made it even graver to me.
Powerful movie. I know that I'm behind and lots of other people have seen it. But if you haven't, try it out. Take Kleenex.
Henry, Shane, Rich and I went to see Match Point last night. I really enjoyed it. It was an interesting look at people and interactions and choices. I’ll be referencing this movie in a later post. Overall, a good movie to watch and discuss and I’m glad that we saw it.
But, for now, I say (spoilers):
- he didn’t love his wife
- Nola went crazy. I mean, she’s just crazy. I got distracted on the other point (see later email) and forgot to say something about how awful her behavior was. She wasn’t winning any points to make the outcome different. She didn’t make decisions for herself that would ensure care for herself and the baby. She was incredibly focused on trying to manipulate the people around her and not thinking about other options that she might have. Probably not helpful to convincing the man involved to stick around.
Laurie and I went to see Brokeback Mountain before she ran away again… It was excellent – and awful and horrible and powerful and beautiful. The photography was absolutely amazing – made me miss living in the mountains.
The pain and stigma of being gay was really powerful. I know that it was set “a while ago” but I feel that not enough ground has been covered. The fact that people are killed for orientation (and there was a particularly horrific scene/description of how a man was killed) is horrible to me. Sad beyond what I can express and makes me angrier than I know what to do with. It was a powerful story and worth seeing.
However, Crash is gets my vote as the best movie ever and that’s what should get the Oscar (like I get a vote, but still…).
So – I went to see Fun with Dick and Jane and LOVED it! It was very, very funny! However, the next day I woke up and thought, “What an awful movie. It says, 'If you've been jilted and screwed over, just steal stuff. As long as you're funny, it's okay!'"
But Jim Carrey was really funny. In one scene, Dick adjusts his voice with an electronic modulator of some sort. I’m sure that the director just handed it Jim and said, “Here’s this thing – do whatever…” and he did. And it was just brilliant.
So – we got a sneak peak at Imagine Me and You. Not a stellar movie by any means. And what’s even more interesting is that the plot outline listed on IMDB is not correct.
Overall a “cute” chick flick, but there are some concerns about fidelity…and falling in love and how quickly that can happen. Is there such a thing as love at first sight? And what does it mean to have the media continue to normalize infidelity?
I had heard that Butterfly Effect was fabulous and it was amazing. I finally saw it – and it was both fabulous and amazing. (I also then learned that I saw the Director’s Cut. I’m not sure how I feel about the ending that I didn’t see. Will have to watch and compare – but I was happy with the Director’s Cut ending.) I enjoyed the movie and was enthralled through the entire thing. I appreciated the plot and the unfolding of information. It was a well-crafted script and the movie just flowed really well. Ashton Kutcher shows that he can act and Amy Smart is amazing. I did not predict the ending, but wasn’t entirely surprised – there was some foreshadowing. It really addresses issues of consequences of actions and also the consequences of “fixing” something in the past. I think that it also brings up questions about what to do with the past and how to work with it and move on. Mistakes and bad decisions are made and we need to work with those along with the good things that we have chosen and the great things to “happen” to us.
In trying to expose me to classic movies, Aunt Rosemary also had us watch The Inn of the Sixth Happiness. It was a good movie. Interesting to see something a little older and broaden my cinema experience. However, I felt a little overwhelmed by war by the end of the day.
We went to Allegan to see Narnia. It was great! I had just read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe again while in Arizona to prep me for the movie. Glad that I did. And they did stay really true to the book, though I do question some of the changes that they made, since I thought that doing it the way that was in the book would have been just fine… But a great production and very glad that I went to see it on the big screen.
On Christmas Day, my mom, her Aunt Rosemary, and I watched The Great Raid. It’s base don true stories from WWII and the POW rescue in the Philippines. My mom’s dad and her “uncle” Ed were there. Aunt Rosemary’s husband (Uncle Wally) was part of the war. The movie producers had called up Uncle Ed to consult on the movie because of his book As I Remember.
While I found Jarhead slightly disturbing, this is even more disturbing, based on the fact that my family was involved. And it encourages me even more that war is a bad idea.
Watched Mad Hot Ballroom the other night. It was very cute. I really enjoyed watching the dancing. Again reminded me how much I want to learn to really dance.
Amazing to watch children get the opportunity to learn how to dance, many of whom would never have gotten the opportunity without the program in their school. I was also struck at how good it was that the children were able to have the experience of touch with another person. In neighborhoods that are often violent, touching in a positive way could help with their interactions with others. Scary for them, I’m sure…but I think a good thing.
Since I had 12 hours between Ohio and Maine, I decided that I should also get the Odyssey from the library – since it was 12 hours. It didn’t quite fit into my driving like that, but it was a great thing to listen to a long a trip. I do believe that mine was a little less dangerous than the great heroes of this book. But I’m glad that I listened to it – I had somehow missed reading it during my years of English.
I have also now seen O Brother, Where Art Thou? again. I was just curious about how the stories overlapped. I didn’t remember all the details of the movie when I was listening to the book. It’s such a great movie. And very fun to see how the Coen brothers decided to change things around…and shorten of course.
You can read about Peter Jackson’s production diary for King Kong or Bryan Singer’s production blog for Superman Returns. Thought that they were interesting to look at. Great that the movie industry is taking advantage of technology and connecting so well with fans.
I wanted to watch this since it came out. And it was amazing. It was well done and an important “commentary” on the drug trade. Unfortunately, it also leaves me with the thought of “what do I do with this information?” now that I’ve seen this.
The commentary by the writer/director was good and added to understanding the history and making of the movie. It was even more interesting than most of them because of the work that he had to do to put the movie together. (Note: I did not watch the entire commentary.) The parts that I listened to help me understand the experiences and research that led to the creation of this movie. Interesting stuff.
HARRY POTTER!!!!
HARRY POTTER!!!!
HARRY POTTER!!!!
So – the deal is, I just like Harry Potter. I just go and enjoy – totally enthralled. I don’t spend a whole lot of time thinking about how they’re different than the books. So, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was fabulous! I just enjoyed watching it. Beth, Andrew, Meigan’s kids and I went today. We then did some dinner and talked about some of the differences. Since I read the book a really long time ago, I had to trust the people who had read it more recently.
But it was good. Run out and see it soon! Because – it’s HARRY POTTER!
So, Shark Tale was interesting enough. I liked some of the cultural references, but the children that I was watching with missed many of them - even some that I thought that they would get. But, of course, this is why adults can watch these movies and not go crazy. But for some of the more fun cultural references, I found it more funny that I thought that I would.
Not a "must see" by any means, but entertaining if you trip upon it, or need to entertain some children and can't watch whatever it is that you'd rather see...
So, today I decided to watch The Wedding Date and work on catching up on email. Silly romantic comedy. But not as awful as I thought it might have been – definitely entertaining enough. I wouldn’t tell you to run out and see it immediately, but was funny and did have at least a little surprise. And Dermot Mulroney is hot.
I’d like to call this experience: A pacifist goes to the movies.
Erik, Erik, and I went to see Jarhead last night. War. Wow. I forget how much of a pacifist I’ve become until I’m faced with media coverage or a conversation about war.
Very interesting movie. It wasn’t as graphic as some other war movies have been, but it really did bring out some interesting aspects of military lives that I haven’t thought about (free time, the SAND). But it really is a horrible thing that we go through – this war thing. Which is where the pacifist in me wonders – how do we make it stop so we don’t have to put people through these experiences.
One of the “funniest” (as in entertaining) was during a scene that mentions Dartmouth. The theater went crazy. You’ll understand when you see it.
Yesterday, Gary and I went to see Elizabethtown. It was great. I really enjoyed the movie – I seemed to have an emotional connection to it – it just really kind of pulled me in. So many different things going on – a searching movie. Yes, the romantic comedy type things going on, but also the grief of death and the fear/experience of failure. It also had a road trip scene – appropriate for my life right now.
My friend gave me Harold and Maude to watch. Her daughter called it ‘disturbing’ and I have to say that I agree. Now, we know that, for the most part, if it’s a movie, I’ll like it. This one only gets an “I’m glad that I saw it” since people keep telling me that I should see it. But it is disturbing. And just strange. But it was made in 1971 and that might explain some of the weirdness that occurs.
So – Hope took me to see The Brothers Grimm for my birthday present. Thanks to Shane, I knew that it wasn’t going to be a fabulous movie. But I was entertained, so all was good. It was a little odd, and of course the plot line wasn’t particularly clear (it is Terry Gilliam, after all). But fun and a great birthday present.
My sister and I also talked about it. She was even more disappointed in it. I was really kind of hoping that it would be clever enough to rival the joy that I get in watching “Into the Woods” but we weren’t that lucky. My sister is also unhappy in the history pieces and their lack of accuracy…
My friend Ann and I went to see Wedding Crashers. Hilarious! I really had a great time with that. Vince Vaughn is great – just really, really funny and works well with Owen Wilson. Nothing too profound, but was well worth the trip and the entertainment. I’ll watch something more profound next week…
So, hanging out in McKinleyville with my sis. A bunch of her friends and I went to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory last night. It was great! Now, I am not particularly connected to the old one and I didn’t have any certain expectation for this one. I also have not read the book (though I was tempted to try to get to it). I went to see what I thought would be some great acting (which it was) and a fun story line presented well (which they were). So, I enjoyed myself thoroughly. I think that it was definitely worth seeing and great entertainment as I continue to enjoy my vacation – a fun and non-plan time!
When I was back in Allegan, my dad and I went to see Mr. and Mrs. Smith. I seem to be one of the few people that had ever seen the TV series that this movie is based on. Scott Bakula and Maria Bello. Very entertaining show. I would love to get copies of the show (probably just one season) and see what they might have actually used. I remember thinking that it was entertaining and I would have watched more seasons of it. Of course it didn’t last.
The movie was fine. The hype around Brad and Angelina is ridiculous. Not all together predictable and there were some great stunts and some great one-liners. I especially appreciated Air Supply during the car chase scene. The sheer contrast was hilarious! And Vince Vaughn is really pretty darn amazing.
The end scene was a bit over the top (yes, I’m all about action, but…really…. Just too much.). Overall, it was fine. I saw it at the Allegan Regent Theater with my dad - $3 for both of us. So, it was well worth supporting the Regent and $1.50 for a movie is not bad at all.
The Safety of Objects is an amazing movie! Go get it. Now.
A great look at people’s lives…how easy it is to get distracted by the apparent “assurance” of material possessions. An absolutely beautifully written movie. Great cast, great acting. I think that it may work into a sermon later in the summer. People searching to hold on to something and finding tangible objects are easier than God (though of course not explicitly stated) or building strong relationships with friends are families.
The DVD extras are non-existent…but the movie is definitely worth seeing.
So, my time of Netflix has ended (I’ll be gone for way too much of the summer to keep it). However, I'm not quite done reviewing movies from it...
Stage Beauty is a great movie. The acting is fabulous and they are charming characters. While it seems to be based on some real people, in the extras, they admit that they made up a lot of the “historical” information. But I really enjoyed it. Just a fabulous story line that really drew me in.
I’m still no sure what I think of this movie. Part of my problem is in watching these people making decisions based on – what – selfish desire? There seems to be no real redemption for any of the characters. They do what they do without growth or development. The men have a recognition that sexual desire is all that motivates them. The women don’t get voice enough to tell what they really think about any of it. Natalie Portman’s character may have the most development – or just living out the same old pattern in another day.
The script is great, however. As writing, I was really impressed with some of the dialogue. However, the resolution just leaves me confused as to “what was the point?” If it is to just show how patterns are lived and people selfishly live out desire, then I get it. If there was some human redemption in the whole thing, I totally missed it.
Well – I saw it (opening weekend). I have this weird thing with Star Wars – it’s not the huge thing for me that it is for some people. I’m definitely glad that I saw it in the theater. And I wasn’t too worried about how “good” it was. I was entertained and it made me want to go see Episode IV again.
I’m not sure that I think that Episodes IV, V, and VI aren’t really what people have made them out to be. Sure – they’re good, but I don’t find them amazing. I think that people are more nostalgic about them than realistic about being "good" - though, as we've found here...being considered a "good" movie is totally in the eye of the beholder.
So – Shane and I went to see Crash several days ago. I can almost talk about it now… It was a really intense movie. It was well done. I felt that it moved like a weird mix of Traffic (the intense and crazy content) and Love Actually (the number of characters and how well they kept multiple story lines going).
The movie’s content seemed to evoke the intense emotion that Frogs on Broadway did for me. This intense pain of the world – what do I do with it? What do I hold? How can I fix it? There is much pain and distress in the world. But there are also moments of grace and redemption. That’s the part that I felt that the movie did well that other movies have not done so well. Those moments of feeling that things are okay and that life is good. There are moments where it becomes clear why we do what we do.
How do we live together in a society where separation and isolation are becoming more common? How do we reach out to others who are hurting? How can we reach out in our hurting? It is an excellent movie. You should definitely go see it. But if you’re like me with emotions, it can suck a lot out of you.
In reflecting, we did come up with some moments to think about – how do we help people stop and start communicating better? There was a point in the movie (and ironically – a few points this last week) where things went quickly downhill into conflict or violence because of a misunderstanding. That more communication could have stopped the process and brought everyone to a place of better understanding instead of hurt. How do we affect society so that as a whole, more people can reach out to each other?
So – these and many other questions for me came out of this movie that just named so many issues of society so well.
I think that Orange County was incredibly entertaining. Very funny with an interesting commentary on life in California. The family dysfunction was hilarious and the whole thing was entertaining. Great discussions about family fault/blame/connection can happen through it.
AWESOME! It holds together really well. I appreciated the cons, the way things came (and held) together. It was a great thing. Great acting and directing and fabulous cast. I was disappointed that it didn’t do better in the theater. I remember being really interested when it came out, and I’m really glad that I got to see it.
It’s weird. Still working on what I really feel about it. Parts of it were great – lots of stuff about land preservation, which I am ALL about. Give me open land any day… Then, there’s the stuff about energy conservation – especially with cars and bikes. But parts of it were just weird and not as cool as I thought that they should have been.
It does have some great things to say about urban expansion and where people’s priorities are, but was not always consistent in effectively expressing these views. It gets distracted in these little side adventures where nothing really happens and no real plot is developed.
So, there has been much contemplation of how good or bad the movie would be. Should one see the movie or skip it because it is so far from the book?
Well, Marc and I went to see it. I have to say, I was entertained. It held together just fine for me. There were some things that were changed from the book (and thanks to Gary, I have actually read the book). It was an entertaining view of the book. And understanding that movies are never the same as the book, I was not disappointed or overly critical. This also has to be read through the “Heather likes movies” lens. If it’s a movie, I like it. Most other people are infinitely more critical.
Reviewers have, overall, been less than kind. Shane sent on two reviews. Another reviewer that I read often, Teddy, hasn’t read the book, so he found the movie to be a fine cinematic adventure, but does point out that it’s British humor.
So, if it’s a problem that you want the book to match the movie, don’t see it. Otherwise, go see it and be entertained…
WAIT – Where’s the END?
Which way does it go? Leave your vote in the comments.
Really, really good movie, though. It’s been on the list for a while. Very glad to watch it. Not uplifting – not happy – but good.
What a hilarious movie! I had heard that it was funny. I really like Reese Witherspoon and Luke Wilson is really cute. A fun and entertaining movie. There is a woman using it as part of her preaching thesis at Seabury – talking about women owning their voices. She used a clip as part of her presentation.
So – is life all fate? Si and I started an interesting discussion about destiny. So – what do you think? Is there fate? Destiny? And how do we distinguish between having something happen because of “fate” and “God’s ‘coincidence’”? An example: I was sitting at my desk one day at work, doing some computer stuff. For whatever reason, I wasn’t comfortable; I was tired of sitting and needed to get up and move around. I decide to go for a walk, thinking that I would do an errand. As I start walking in that direction, I run into 3 people connected to Canterbury. We had a great discussion. Random? God’s guidance? Fate?
I have started to use the term “moments of grace.” But is there a difference between what I call “grace” and what another person calls “fate.” Is it the difference of language between a believer in God and an atheist?
My other problem is that movies like this make us wander around looking for the “perfect” person. (Really probably not the time for me watching a “romantic comedy”…) And “life partner” of course seems to be the only discussion that involves “destiny.”
But, also makes me ask – in times of divorce rates at 50% - how can we frame love and relationships realistically? Who are the people with good relationships and how can we portray that better in the media. Sure, there may be some special stuff that happens when two people meet, but then there’s always the “ever after” part.
In the deleted scenes, there was a great game called “cubing” that they play. That’s great! I really like that. It was a great game. Reminds me of another one that involved walking in the woods and a cup. Should probably find that one also.
This has been on the list for a long time. I really like Robin Williams. He’s a great guy and a great actor. And he did really well with playing a totally different character (as I had heard that he did).
It was a good movie. Definitely interesting. It asks interesting questions about people who have no friends, no community. How do we recognize and help these people? Being of a trusting person, I like to think the best of people. How do I be helpful without being taken advantage of? (or at least recognize the people that can harm me…I’m sure that I will be taken advantage of…and to some extent that’s fine. People will ask for money and may not “really need” it. But I’m not as worried about that.)
The extras were great in going behind the scenes and learning more about the movie and the creators. Interesting stories and fun information. I’m glad that I took the time to watch them. They weren’t very long and added another dimension to the movie.
So, I do a lot of weird moies that are kind of off the map. Pi, however, was extra weird. Just very, very weird. I know that there are some brilliant people out there. And sometimes have issues with life and being brilliant. And this has to be the extreme. Yeah, bizarre. That’s about all I have for this one.
So, I love Johnny Depp. Such a beautiful man. I never should have watched Secret Window while I was home alone. I guess that I knew that…but thought, “oh, it will be okay…” Nope. Freaked me out. But I locked all the doors, kept the IM up and running and had the cell phone next to me.
Unfortunately, we’ve seen this particular plot twist used before. Therefore, I had figured it out way before the end. Which is too bad. But still Johnny Depp…so no problem in watching it.
Wow. How bad is this? I was in a pretty punchy mood, so parts of it were really funny. But really, Elf, not so funny. People told me that it would be good – and I love Jon Favreau. He’s great. Oh, well. All part of the Netflix deal.
Another odd movie to add to the list. Tape is all about Ethan Hawke and Robert Sean Leonard in a hotel room. Gotta love the high school reunion. Interesting as far as interactions. But I’m sure Phil would pick on the movie for being another Linklater talking movie (or movie that just involves talking). Yes, talking. But cute men talking. So, fun and worth the watch – but talking and artsy.
I have wanted to see Anniversary Party mainly because of Alan Cumming. But the entire cast is amazing. It was definitely as weird as I thought that it would be. It just looked to be a really bizarre artsy project…and it was. But definitely worth the look at a bunch of neurotic people hanging out together.
The Gene Siskel Film Center is playing a bunch of the Oscar Nominated Shorts. Shane and I went last night. It was fabulous. I won’t go through all of them. You can get the complete list at the website listed above.
I know that “Ryan” won, but haven’t even bothered to see if the other ones that I saw won or not. “7:35 in the morning” should definitely be winning something – because it was hilarious! All of them were really darn good. Though “Wasp” was just whacked – and awful. And “Rex” was just a little too much testosterone for war times.
Tuesday, Shane and I went and ate sushi for lunch and then saw Being Julia. The sushi was great. The movie was amazing. At the end, I just thought, “That was good.” On further reflection it was just “Wow. That was good.” It was a great story line, great characters, everything held together well. I’m not sure that I can explain all of the great aspects. Just flowed really well throughout the whole thing.
Great discussions can follow regarding identity and claiming power. Julia is an older woman who must decide what it is that she wants in life and claim her power in order to proclaim it.
My brother came and rescued me from the airport on Friday. Very nice of him.
We then watched Paycheck. It provided a nice distraction after a long week. I liked it and am always happy to watch Ben Affleck for a while… Good action. I appreciated the futuristic feel. Kind of scary the way that technology is going. I think about the new cop cams and how we’ve had that in fiction for so long and now we get it in real life. A good thing for crime reduction, but I worry about what is next on if it infringes on rights (Minority Report).
Perhaps I need to stop watching movies…
Laurie, Sky, and I watched The Manchurian Candidate. It was pretty darn intense. Very scary stuff; it was nice to not be home alone to sleep that night. It is scary to contemplate that people are manipulated with such technology.
Pretty predictable though. Laurie took much joy in betting on when certain people were going to die. I do like Denzel Washington and Liev Schreiber is not bad to look at for a couple of hours.
The Aviator
Shane, Phil, and I went to see The Aviator a week ago. (Lent started, and blogging went down hill.) Now, when I saw the previews, my thought was, “This could be Leo’s movie!” I just thought that it might take him to another level. Of course, Titanic was big, but it wasn’t a “defining” film. And I think that he really did do a great job with the role.
However, I don’t think that it was better than Johnny Depp in Finding Neverland. So, I’m not necessarily rooting for him at the Oscars. But Leo did do a great job and the movie was interesting. It didn’t evoke as much emotion as other movies have in the last few weeks. Because of the huge airplane sequences, however, it was nice to see on the big screen.
I saw Clerks at an indie movie theater in East Lansing. My friend and I just sort of tripped upon it. She hated it and I loved it. I thought that it was clever and funny and she just thought it was strange.
I really like Kevin Smith. I think that he’s funny and interesting and has some good stuff to say. So, I got An Evening with Kevin Smith with from Netflix. It was a montage of clips from him at 4 different college campuses answering questions. Very cool. Funny stuff happens and he tells some really interesting stories. Definitely watch it if you like Kevin Smith.
So, Shane said that it was good. And it was FABULOUS! I really liked In Good Company. When I first saw the preview, I thought, “well, maybe on Netflix” but he gave it such a good review that I saw it. It had many great themes to reflect on without being too preachy: family, dreams, believing in what you do and who you are. If you don’t believe in what you do, why do it?
A long time ago, Tripp and Annie were having a discussion about things in people’s hearts that aren’t so pretty. Because of that reference, I’ve wanted to see Dirty Pretty Things. And of course, Netflix delivers…
It looked odd before I started watching and just continued to get more and more odd. It makes me think about the immigrants (read: refugees) that my friend Alastair used to work with in England. I cannot image the many people who sell themselves to try to make a better life for themselves. Or the horror that people put others through to ensure that people are “helped” or “freed” from their terrors. I cannot imagine the horrors that people go through to try to find somewhere safe to live.
For the most part, things work out pretty well in this movie. But it’s easy to imagine that they don’t for a lot of people. Great, thought provoking movie.
Ryan is even more right about the number of movie reviews posted here... I just saw Shrek 2. Definitely entertaining. I see what it was so popular.
I particularly appreciate the many references to other movies and popular culture. Very funny to see these all spoofed. Especially the extra “American Idol” where the characters sing very appropriate songs.
Well, Hope and Andrew and I watched The Station Agent (several days ago). Wonderful movie. Brilliant acting. Someone mentioned that pacing was slower that what has turned into our “typical” movie. But it also didn’t drag. Just kept moving along with wonderful acting, good plot, and superb cinematography.
Definitely should see this movie. Interesting look at how people are treated because they are "different" or unique. And how mean people can be.
Thanks to Shane for this Christmas present! He certainly picks out great titles. Someday soon, we might actually watch movies together again… (When I say “soon” I really mean “next month”!)
Saved! is a great little movie that examines the detriment of fundamental Christianity on teens. Who gets to dictate what Jesus would want us to do? How do we work to live in love and caring for others without putting guilt or ridiculing another?
The script is good, the acting is funny and it was incredibly entertaining (when I say “incredibly entertaining” I mean “Si and I found it entertaining”). Sky stopped by for the end and Phil even caught some of the middle (again).
Then, the youth group and I discussed some of the theology. At one point, a character says that his affair with a woman is being punished through her daughter getting pregnant. This led to a discussion about causes of “bad” things, punishment by God (or not), and heaven and hell (Do they exist? What do they look like? Great discussion. It’s why I like discussing movies after I see them.
See – I’m watching more movies. Mike (in Chicago) and I saw Shaun of the Dead. Wow. I’m not even sure how I can explain my feelings on it. It was just bizarre. Very, very funny. No real surprises or things to cause one to jump, just entertaining in a really bad sort of way. The extras are entertaining (which is of course the requirement for DVD ). So, worth watching for funny British horror films.
I know – I’m behind on reviews and I’m behind on watching movies. Two people have given me a hard time in the last 4 days about the number of movies that I HAVEN’T seen… I’m working on it, really. It’s just been a really tough year…
Over break, my dad, my sister and I went to see Ocean’s Twelve at the best movie theater ever (yes, we go back a lot). My sister claims that the beginning was slower than the last one…but she was asleep, so I’m not quite sure how she knew that. However, I would agree with that in some parts. Being a sequel, they could have started the action faster. Though, the other thought that I had at the same time was “I can’t wait for the extended version so I can see what they deleted so that things will make more sense.” There were some obvious holes as they were trying to get things moving. Or, they could have added some more stories about current lives of people…could have done some more action that way.
It was a fun action movie and I’m glad that I saw it. However, there is a shameless set up for the next one in the series. That was not a sly or amusing as it could have been.