It's Beginning to Look a lot Like...

We have already started to get our holiday movie picks in the mail (I figured that they would start rolling on in around Thanksgiving... I am a master of Netflix queue timing:).  Tonight, we watched a decidedly religious Christmas movie, directed by Catherine Hardwicke, who also directed the current teen-favorite, Twilight.  Here is my review:

*The Nativity Story (2006), directed by Catherine Hardwicke, and starring Keisha Castle-Hughes (who starred in the amazing movie, Whale Rider, which everyone should see) and Oscar Isaac (as a very romantic Joseph!).  We all really enjoyed this version of the classic nativity story (even my son!), and I especially appreciated the sets, costumes, and casting, which felt very authentic to the time and location.  It is always a little silly when films about the life of Jesus have a lot of blue-eyed blondes, fresh out of Hollywood (maybe those actors could have been used in Twilight?  They needed a few natural blondes...).  These actors were perfect, and the story was very captivating, especially as it focused on the innocent romance between Mary and Joseph.  Very sweet.  Anywho, this one shouldn't bother too many people (not too many controversial changes to the regular Christmas-pageant tale:), and it might become a nice family tradition over the holidays, so I would recommend it to anybody who enjoys this type of film:)  It brought me back to the my days of playing Mary in the Christmas pageant... glory days.  Oh, to be 12 again!!  Hope you are all having fun gearing up for the season!!

My daily date with Shrek...

Do you remember my post about my daily date with Tarzan?  Well, the little man has now had a 4-day streak of requesting Shrek!  I am all for a little variety, and I am also very proud of my little man's fine taste in children's film.  He seems to really know when a movie has some level of interest for me, also:)

If you haven't seen Shrek (2001) (there may be 2 or 3 of you out there that fall into this category:), then you are really missing out on a great one.  The soundtrack is awesome, and my son sings the tunes all the time now (it is pretty affecting to hear your almost-two-year-old sing that Rufus Wainwright song, "Hallelujah", I will admit:).  I love the sassy donkey, voiced by Eddie Murphy, and all of his fabulous allusions to adult humor (he also sings some pretty good tunes).  The characters all have famous voices, such as Mike Myers, John Lithgow, Vincent Cassel, and Cameron Diaz, as "Princess Fiona".  The princess is a perfect example of another really great aspect to this movie (the story and characters completely defy fairy tale norms)... She is really fun, and an ogre, and she rescues the fellas just as much as they rescue her, which is a switch from your typical Disney princess:)  I have to say, the best part of all is right at the end... the entire cast of characters erupts into a wild dance party, performing songs and group dance numbers that rival any Broadway show (as far as my son in concerned:).  They sing excerpts from "Like A Virgin", "Baby Got Back", "So Happy Together", "Dance to the Music", and "Feelings", just to name a few:)  I hope that you rediscover this modern classic, and that your kids like it as much as I... I mean, my son, does! (oh, yeah!  and check out the sequels, too!)

Great Gift Idea...

For those of my dear friends and movie-lovers out there, here is a really wonderful box-set that would make a fantastic gift for just about anybody on your list!  With the upcoming holidays (Happy Thanksgiving, by the way!  I was cooking all day, and I hope that you all enjoyed the food as much as I did today:), I thought that I should toss a couple of good gift ideas out there for the movie-buff on your shopping list.  This series was given to my family by my wonderful mother-in-law, who always gives us amazing presents.  We all love it, including my little kiddo.  He will watch it over and over again, which is his favorite movie-watching style, but still, it is really great to own.

*Planet Earth and the Blue Planet (2006), put out by the BBC and shown on the Discovery Channel, also narrated by David Attenborough.  This series demonstrates the most amazing achievements in natural film-making.  The documentary style is perfectly executed, and there are creatures, environments, and acts of nature captured here that have never been seen before.  The music is beautiful and mesmerizing.   Our personal favorite is the under-water half of the series (the Blue Planet).  Whether you are interested in nature, film-making, music, or science, you will find a favorite in this set (it will totally impress your eco-friendly relatives, also:).  It is captivating.  

Masterpiece Theatre

So, for the past few weeks, I have really been missing my Masterpiece Theatre flicks on Sunday nights.  My husband and I always watch, but they go through cycles of showing period- dramas, mystery series, and special documentaries.  Lately, there has been a JFK doc. series, and I have about zero interest in that!  Hah!  

To fulfill my need for BBC dramas, I netflixed (I love this verb:) a couple of past BBC classics, and I struck gold.  Pure, cinematic, period- drama gold.  I watched two films based on novels by two of my favorite 19th- century British writers.  Thomas Hardy is actually my favorite writer of all time, which often surprises some people, but I was given an early appreciation for his merits by my Uncle T., who is an avid reader and lover of great literature:)  He gave me copies of T. Hardy's complete works when I was in middle school, and I never looked back!  I hope that you all enjoy these (they are low-budget, and star very intellectual and stage-worthy actors), especially if you love the more mainstream, larger- budget films that have been made based on the works  of Jane Austen.

1) The Turn of the Screw (1999), based on the Henry James novel, starring Colin Firth and Jodhi May (you may remember her as the younger sister, Alice, in the film The Last of the Mohicans...if you remember anything other than Daniel Day Lewis:).  This film actually follows one of the creepiest patterns for ghost stories, centering around some really spooky, possibly-possessed children, and their poor, frazzled, daughter-of-a-parson governess.  Two little blond kids that behave a little too well would definitely give me cause for concern:)  James delivers ghosts and even hints at possible past sexual abuse in the novel, which is more than implied in this adaptation.  I really enjoyed this version, and thought that Jodhi May did a great job of capturing the governess' frenzy.  You may be surprised at who the real scary character turns out to be...

2) The Mayor of Casterbridge (2001), based on the amazing book by Thomas Hardy (my all-time favorite writer), and starring Ciaran Hinds and Jodhi May (again, visions of Daniel Day Lewis dance in my head:).  Ciaran Hinds has been in so many great BBC dramas, and it would be a really easy way to target some Netflix rentals to simply search out his past performances.  In this tale, Hinds plays a man who committed such egregious errors in his past, that no amount of virtue, responsibility, or good work can ever atone.  He must face his past demons in his middle age, and his life seems to collapse around him.  Truly a moral tale about reaping what one sows, and all that.  Like all Thomas Hardy stories, this one is a bit of a "downer", but it really is powerful, and well acted.  Hardy likes to find a hero in the common, uneducated people of the English countryside, and often pits them against the corruption of the elite classes.  His books always have amazing descriptions of the surrounding country (he was regarded as a naturalist writer and poet), also, in case that is your bag, baby.  I hope that you all check this one out, as Hardy is often under-appreciated:)

New in Theatres...

So, I went last night to see the new, hyped-up movie Twilight, based on the wildly-popular series of books by Stephanie Meyer (I have read them all, and they are really great:).  My husband is even enjoying them (he is just finishing book 2), and that is saying something for a mostly-popular-with-teen-girlies novel.  I had very mixed feelings about seeing a film based on a series that I have enjoyed so thoroughly, but as I had a chance to go with a fabulous bunch of ladies (you know who you are...holla!), and I really never pass up a movie-going venture, I went out on opening weekend to see the latest blockbuster.  

*Twilight (2008), directed by Catherine Hardwicke, and starring Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson.  Hardwicke is a really good director, and has several amazing films under her belt, especially focusing on modern, teenage themes (ie. Thirteen, The Lords of Dogtown, etc.), and has also done the production design for several great flicks, which gave me a pretty high expectation for the coolness factor of this movie.  While I did enjoy many aspects of the film (the casting was surprisingly good, except for the Rosalie and Jasper characters, and the sets were beautiful), other parts of the film were so distractingly wrong that I couldn't just enjoy the experience.  I went in with the plan of setting aside my preconceived images of the story, set up to be an optimistic viewer, and the strangest things kept getting in my way!  For a movie for the teen-set, the love scenes were totally awkward and stiff, giving only one moment to the god of chemistry, and the music (crucial to a film for this age-group) was so loud and disturbing, even through scenes of intense conversation, that I could barely concentrate on the plot at hand.  Over all, the two main characters were very well-cast and appealing, despite bad make-up and dialogue, and really bad special effects (I knew that this would be tough, given that so much of the book is Bella's internal monologue).  I am glad that I went to see this film, but I can't help but feel disappointed, considering that the film-makers got so much right, and such stupid things wrong:(  I fully expected a new vampire movie to go above and beyond the range of Interview With the Vampire, but it seems that technology has only gone backward in effect.

One more complaint, and then I will cease my whining:  Are there no natural blondes to be found in young hollywood?  I mean, is it too much to ask, in a film that requires several uber-beautiful, blonde, pale vampire characters, that one of them not have a wretched dye job?  It was as if they found the darkest haired, most brunette-y actors and gave them a bleach job from a drugstore box of Clairol!  Very strange, especially coming from the land of sunshine:)

Anywho, sorry for the downer, and I truly hope that you are able to overlook some of these flaws, and enjoy the movie.  Better yet, skip the movie, and enjoy the books!!

Spotlight on a Great Director

I think that it is really important to pay attention to film direction, as opposed to choosing films based on the actors involved.  I usually find that I enjoy several films by the same director, and often find little correlation between an actor's film choices and performances (ie.  I love Luke Wilson in The Royal Tenenbaums and Bottle Rocket, but really hate him in Legally Blonde... the movies are totally different, and the roles are completely unrelated... by the same token, I love almost every movie that Martin Scorsese has ever directed, and they all carry some common elements of style that are quintessential to him, as a director.)One of my current favorite directors is completely changing the standard for special effects and has an entirely innovative style and background.  His films bring imagination to life more completely than any other, and while so many directors fail to realize a story that people already care deeply about, this man makes the story real. I find that Peter Jackson and Clint Eastwood also fit this description, but don't make quite as dramatic an impact as Guillermo del Torro.

*Guillermo Del Torro was born in 1964 in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, and is one of few famous directors to ever bridge the gap between the Mexican and American film industry.  In many cases, Mexican films are remade into American films, often replacing the actors for Hollywood A-listers, and following the exact story-line of the originals (ie. El Mariachi (1992) was remade into Desperado (1995) by Robert Rodriguez, trading mexican actors for Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek, who is in fact Mexican, but certainly has transcended the cultural barrier.)  Del Torro has succeeded in creating brilliant and wildly successful films, both in Spanish and in English.  His most famous, award-winning spanish-language film thus far has been 

El Laberinto del Fauno (Pan's Labyrinth, 2006), which is amazing and magical, and feels like

 watching a dream, complete with horrifying nightmare-monsters and beautiful, mythical storytelling.  The actors are also brilliant, and bring several great Spanish leading-ladies to American attention.   I also enjoyed The Devil's Backbone (2001), which follows a very classic style of Spanish film, detailing life during the Spanish Civil War, and highlights themes of magical realism and superstition against the harsh reality and catholic traditional belief system of the time.  The film is really a ghost story that takes place in an orphanage, which also follows another of del Torro's typical themes... a child as the central, heroic figure.

I, like many Americans, have also been amazed at GdT's ability to create a perfect american blockbuster.  His direction of the Hellboy (I in 2004, and II in 2008) series captures the true magic of the graphic-novel-based story, and I really doubt that any other contemporary director could have acheived the amazing effects that these films had in abundance.  Of course, no director is complete without a few reappearing actors, such as Doug Jones for GdT.  I mean, come on, let's face it,... Jones plays about every physically complicated character in any given GdT flick, so he is pretty special and essential to both the success and the impact of the film:)

For the record, I recommend GdT to anyone who wants to see crowd-pleasing, yet intelligent films, and I really advise those who have only seen Hellboy to view some of GdT's spanish-language films.  They are even more surreal.

GdT, el Gusto es mio!

(the many faces of Doug Jones, my friends)

Tear-jerkers

I really have always loved a "good cry".  Just ask my mom:)

I am not so much in favor of the really obvious "tear-jerker" movies, like Terms of Endearment, Steel Magnolias, Fried Green Tomatoes, or An Affair to Remember.  Don't get me wrong, I certainly have enjoyed those movies, and others of that ilk, but I prefer the kinds of movies that make you cry from happiness:)  I mean, I cry a lot, and during movies like Love Actually, Little Women, Babe, A Very Long Engagement, Roman Holiday, Il Postino and Four Weddings and a Funeral, all of which aren't inherently depressing or tragic movies.  (BTW.  I just listed a bunch of my all-time favorite flicks there, so go ahead and add them to your Queue... they are all winners:).  Here are two of my favorite tear-jerkers of all time, and I hope that you stock up on the Kleenexes before you get in too deep...

1) Kramer vs. Kramer (1979), directed by Robert Benton, and starring the incredible pairing of Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep.  I mean, is that a dynamic duo, or what?  This movie is amazing, following a father and son, struggling to take care of each other, following the mother's sudden abandonment.  I can no longer enjoy french toast because of associations from this brilliant film.   Divorce issues are so scary, and this movie attacks the idea that mothers should always get first dibs on their children in a custody battle.  It is a total sob-fest, down to Hoffman defending the right of fathers to raise their children, and explaining why he is a good father to the court.   The conclusion is beautiful and mature, so definitely go for this one if you want to confuse your kids with sudden affection and enthusiasm about mundane daily activities:)  The crying over french toast must be really strange for my kiddo:)

2) Baby Boom (1987),

 directed by Charles Shyer, and starring the always-neurotic, mildly annoying Diane Keaton (sorry if I have deeply offended you on that one, but I can't like everybody!) and that studly Sam Shepard (btw. he writes wonderful plays... check them out!).   I really love this take on stay-at-home-mom-hood, as a SAHM myself, and I totally sympathize with the sudden isolation and need for creative outlets (making a huge homemade baby-food  corporation?  not quite... but I like to blog and make arts and crafts:).  So, the crying comes in for me as Keaton comes to love her life and her adopted daughter, despite the change in her ambitions.  When she comes home near the end, and the baby says, "Mama!", I lose it every time.  I also completely believe that any woman, given the chance, would fall in love with a veterinarian from Vermont as opposed to a Fortune-500 businessman.  So put that in your pipe and smoke it:)

Kitschy B-List Horror

The Strangers (2008), written and directed by Bryan Bentino, and starring Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman.  As usual, the classic horror movie is never complete without a hot couple at a secluded summer home.   Terrifying and almost too realistic, The Strangers was a very suspenseful and uber-graphic flick.  I also have to add, without giving anything away (since I hate to write any spoilers), that vintage masks are the creepiest, and vacation homes are always the site of brutal murder (why buy them?).  I guess it must be the irony of being killed while on your vacation, but I have to say, I always think that the characters in this type of film are totally moronic (they always allow themselves to be separated, they never know how to fire a weapon, and they never lock the doors or have charged cell-phones).  I mean, who is that unlucky?  Maybe all of these movies rely on the worst-case-scenario, but it is usually highly amusing for me to watch the main character follow the exact path of least resistance toward their destruction:)  If you are interested in yet another psycho-killer-in-the-woods flick, then please, look no further:)

Movies for my Dad, who likes movies...

As I may have previously mentioned, my entire family loves movies.  It would be a typical day at home for us all to sit together, curled up on couches with blankets, and simply watch movie after movie.  My dad is having some surgery today, so I decided to write about some of his favorite movies that he made me watch as a kid, and that subsequently became some of my favorites, too.  My dad's type of movie usually center around a real bad-ass being tough, or comedic genius of former SNL fame.  They certainly are "movies for guys who like movies", but I like them, too, so I hope that you enjoy some of Dr. G's pics:

1) Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985), starring Mel Gibson, back in the days of his Australian accent.  The best thing about this flick is Tina Turner, who plays a tough survivor of post-apocalyptic society, and who also, coincidentally, sings the main theme music.   I can't tell you how many mornings I awoke to the sweet strains of, "We Don't Need Another Hero", as my dad performed his morning weight-training:)  

2) The Jerk (1979), directed by Carl Reiner, and starring Steve Martin and Bernadette Peters.  My uncle took my dad to see this one for his bachelor party:)  It is hilarious, and Steve Martin has some amazing lines in this one.  Pure 1970's-SNL-Martin Schtick:)

3) Caddyshack (1980), directed by Harold Ramis (aka. Egon), and starring the incomparable Bill Murray and Chevy Chase.  I know that you have all seen this one, and that most of you love it, so I will just tell you that I always enjoy that gopher ("I'm all right, don't nobody worry 'bout me!"), and that I have always wanted to master zen-golf:)

4) Conan the Barbarian (1982)/ Conan the Destroyer (1984), starring Herr Arnold Schwarzenegger, right smack-dab in his hey-day of pumping steel.  My dad loved the books that these films were based on, written by Robert E. Howard, but I know that it didn't hurt that the flicks also starred Herr Arnold.  These films are classic, complete with a deity named "Krom", and James Earl Jones turning into a snake.  I think that is a real crowd pleaser, and certainly appropriate for 5-year-old girls (we might have been even younger than that, when first exposed to Herr Arnold:)

5) Ben-Hur (1959), directed by William Wyler, and starring Chuck Heston:)  This one is truly remarkable, and won 11 Academy Awards, so it isn't just me.  The chariot race alone is really a cinematic feat-of-strength, and the story is so epic... I mean, it is Charlton that we are talking about here.  Another crazy moment for little girls... Ben-Hur rowing in the galleys of a prison ship for years, while his fellow prisoners die off around him ("Ramming speed!").  Very intense, Dad.  Thanks for that one:)

6) A Fistful of Dollars (1964)/ For A Few Dollars More (1965)/ The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966), directed by Sergio Leone, and starring the ever-studly Clint Eastwood.  My dad enjoys a good western, as do I, and the famous spaghetti-westerns that were inspired by the samurai films of Akira Kurosawa are true grit.  A Fistful of Dollars copies the storyline of Yojimbo (1961), the Kurosawa film about a wandering samurai that settles a long- standing dispute while passing through a town.  Like Eastwood, Yojimbo settles the dispute by being tougher than everyone else:)  The short cigar, the long gun, the poncho, and the man with no name were the perfect recipe for cool.  

Thanks for the education, Dad:)  I hope that you enjoy some good movies while you recuperate!!

Cary Grant is Always a Good Idea...

Dashing, dapper, witty, charming, urbane... the list goes on and on, my friends.  I believe that you would be hard-pressed to find a Cary Grant film that is not completely fantastic, but as I must be brief, I am reviewing my two favorites (coincidentally, these were two of Grant's later films, very near his retirement in 1966).  Cary Grant (aka. Archibald Alexander Leach), was born in Bristol, England in 1904, and married 5 times.  He also was influential in the modelling of Ian Flemming's famous character, James Bond.  You may have heard of that one:)  

I adore Cary Grant (his style, his humor, his polish), and as I didn't quite enjoy the film that I viewed this evening (the 1973 production of Godspell, starring Victor Garber... weird.), I figured that I would discuss a master.  I will introduce the topic, and please, talk amongst yourselves...

Charade (1963), directed by Stanley Donen, and also starring the fabulous and iconic Audrey Hepburn, is a hilarious and romantic mad-cap race.  Despite the disparity in their ages, these two actors are so stylish and gorgeous together, and they make a great comedic team, creating one of their (respectively) best films ever.  I especially love Hepburns constant attempts to seduce Grant, and his unshakable finesse, despite near-death experiences and the constant threat of Walter Matthau (clearly a vicious villain:).   This is a perfect combination of comedy, suspense and romance (please never mention the ridiculous remake of this film in my presence... I dare not speak it's name!!), and I know it will be a timeless favorite for anyone who sees it!!  After discussing this one, I may have to pick up and move to Europe... 

Father Goose (1964), directed by Ralph Nelson, and starring a gorgeous and very flexible Ms. Leslie Caron (alongside Mr. C.G., of course:).  This movie is truly laugh-out-loud, and another May-December romance for Mr. Grant.  Grant's privacy and independence are invaded by a French schoolmistress and her charges on an isolated island during WWII.  They try to reform the impossible, yet ridiculously attractive, Mr. Eckland, but end up falling prey to his charms, just like everyone else:)  Oh, Cary Grant... you are wonderful.  Plus, I love Leslie Caron.  I know, I know, I always love the actresses who are ballet dancers (A. Hepburn, Caron, Cyd Charisse, etc.), and I really hate when they make these modern "dance" movies, starring some simpering young actress who has studied hip-hop, or some other such nonsense, passing over the bazillions of ballerinas who are brilliant and perfectly turned-out...  sorry, I am a ballet teacher, and I care about these things:)  Anywho, definitely choose these flicks over Save the Last Dance or Flashdance.  These chickas can really point their toes:)

Movie Music

Have you ever heard a theme-song from a movie that you just loved, and it brought back the whole experience for you?  I think that certain directors have a great talent when assigning theme music and scores for their films, and this talent often "makes" the movie.  I mean, who doesn't remember the soundtracks from movies by Wes Anderson, Quentin Tarantino, or Martin Scorsese?  Sometimes, if I don't have time to watch a whole movie at once, I play theme music.  When my son was a baby, I constantly played movie soundtracks, since I was trying my best to curtail the TV-time:)  Here are some of my favorite movie themes (not necessarily from my favorite movies:):

1) Arthur's Theme, by Christopher Cross, from the movie Arthur (1981).  I am constantly getting caught between the moon and New York City.  It is becoming quite a problem.

2) The Theme from Love Story (instrumental).  This is one of the sappiest of all time, but I totally lose it.  I know that my Mom does, too:)

3) The Windmills of Your Mind, by Sting, from the movie The Thomas Crown Affair (1999).  This is Sting's remake of the song, for the remake of the 1968 film, trading Steve McQueen for Pierce Brosnan.  (Big shoes to fill for Mr. Brosnan:)  Both the song and the movie are always great.  I doubt that anyone wouldn't approve.

4) Something's Telling Me It Might Be You, by Stephen Bishop, from the movie Tootsie (1982).  This is one of my all-time favorite films, and the song is quintessential 1980's-film-mush.  Tootsie also won a zillion Oscars that year, which was also the year the I was born.  Terrific.

5) Good Enough, by Cindi Lauper, from the movie The Goonies (1985).  If you grew up in the 1980s, I know that you understand.  This is also a really great one for aerobics:)

6) It Must Have Been Love, by Roxette, from the movie Pretty Woman (1990).  Classic, tear-jerker and one of several amazing songs from the Pretty Woman soundtrack.  The whole album is a winner.

7) Stay, by Lisa Loeb, from the movie Reality Bites (1994).  This really is a favorite movie of mine, and it completely defined a generation.  If you haven't seen it, I must not only give it my highest recommendation, but I must insist, rather, that you rectify this problem.  Plus, my best friend and I used to perform this song over and over again (Obviously cool kids).

8) The Glory of Love, by Chicago, from the movie The Karate Kid II (1986).  I know, I know, the song is way lame, but it still captures the feeling of the movie brilliantly.  You don't have to listen to it if you don't want to:)

9) Skylark, by KD Lang, from the movie Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997).  This song is so beautiful, and the soundtrack to this movie is very mellow and bluesy.  The movie is very enjoyable, although I must recommend that you read the book.  It is even better:)  Actually, going to Savannah is the best idea, but that is beside the point...

10) Here I lump together some of my favorite soundtracks as a whole, because it is too hard to pick one track alone... Pulp Fiction (1994), Rushmore (1998), The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou (2004), Sense and Sensibility (1995), The Big Chill (1983), and The Wedding Singer (1998).  You just can't lose.  

Frances McDormand strikes again!

May I just say, that I love Frances McDormand?  I think that she is completely wonderful, and talented, and hilarious.  I want to give you all a very happy review of a flick that I just enjoyed, and also add a small homage to the lady herself (in manner of my top-McDormand flicks list:), so here goes:

* Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (2008), starring the great F.McD., Amy Adams, and the dashing Ciaran Hinds (I loved him in Persuasion!!!).  This is a delightful movie, complete with both youthful and mature-aged romances, 1940s glamour, and really great music.  It is definitely light and fluffy, but don't we all need that sometimes?  So, if you are looking for a Cinderella-story, set in barely-pre-WWII London, starring a fabulous and deserving heroine, then look no further!!!

Now, for a few of my favorite McDormand roles (all of which are directed and written by those fabulous Coen Brothers).  You may or may not have heard of Joel Coen, of the Coen Brothers fame?  Well, you should have.  You should also know that Joel Coen is the lucky husband of one, Ms. Frances McDormand:)  :

1)  Fargo (1996), obviously.  This is a fantastic dark comedy, and I really love the exposure to an under-appreciated accent of our great country...the "North Dakota".  I feel like I am saying "Yah, Yah" constantly after watching this film:)  McD. also won the Best Actress Academy Award for this one, folks.  That's right.  She is the best!

2) Raising Arizona (1987),  Suffice it to say, that in a movie full of brilliance and brilliant actors, McDormand steals the spotlight completely with her role as Dot, the mother of many awful children, all who have had their Dip-tet:) 

3) The Man Who Wasn't There (2001), perhaps not as widely hyped as other Coens-masterpieces, but nonetheless, an amazing film.  McD. shines as the wife of a very introspective Billy Bob Thornton.  Not-to-be-missed:)

4) Others to see:  Burn After Reading, Barton Fink, Miller's Crossing, and Blood Simple.  All Coens', all McD's, all great.  'Nuff said.

Gone Camping:)

Hey all!  Sorry to leave you hanging, but we are off on a camping trip for the weekend.  I will be back with bigger and better movies to talk about, (and with a special request for some classic comedy recommendations, so I will be sure to deliver!!), and I wish you all a very wonderful, very movie-filled weekend!

I leave you with a picture of me with my son, most likely with a movie on in the background...

Hilarious

"I thought that pure morality died with Chuck Heston."

-Jack, 30 Rock

My daily date with Tarzan...

My son will be 2 years old in December, and he begs to watch Disney's Tarzan (1999) at least once a day.  I often give in during lunch time, and we watch while we eat.  I figure it could be a lot worse.  I mean Tarzan is a really fun movie!  I even enjoy the original film adaptation of the classic Edgar Rice Burroughs novel, Tarzan the Ape Man (1932), starring Johnny Weissmuller, who patented the quintessential Tarzan-yell:)  Here are my favorites things about this version of the Ape-man tale:

1) Tarzan is quite foxy for a cartoon character, especially with those dreads:)

2) Instead of the monotonous vine-swinging that one usually finds in a Tarzan flick, this Tarzan surfs the tree-trunks in the style of Laird Hamilton!  Very cool.

3) The awesome music is by Phil Collins, and if you don't like Phil Collins, then I really don't know what to tell you... you are lost!

4) My son says "So proud!", when Tarzan beats on his chest.  Hilarious.

5) Classic themes such as gorilla wrestling, vine-swinging, Jane loving, elephant-playing-a-trumpet-with-Rosie-O'Donnell-singing, plus extremely-quick-learning of the Queen's English  are always refreshing during the lunch hour:)

If you are ever in New York City, and are looking for a family friendly Broadway show, I also strongly recommend the stage version of Tarzan.  It has the same story and music as this Disney film version, but it is spectacular when performed live, and the gorilla's swinging down from the ceiling amazed me:)

In case you need some other ideas about movies for the 2-year-old sector, my kiddo also loves Season 1 of Jim Henson's Fraggle Rock (1983), Brother Bear (2003), and the penguin movie Surf's Up (2007).  We try to stick to movies that won't make us hurl:)  Barney is for other households, I am afraid...

Sacrilege!

My husband and I just finished watching the fourth and worst installment of an amazing series of films.  We grew up with the Indiana Jones films, and I really think that the first three were incredibly formative for me.  I think that Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) are two of my very favorite movies.  I basically had cinematic religious experiences watching Harrison Ford search for the Arc of the Covenant and the Holy Grail!!!  I actually think that villains' faces would melt off in the pursuit of holy relics:)  Haha.  Here is my scathing review of this crime-against-my-youth:

*Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) directed by Steven Spielberg (who has definitely lost his touch), and starring the always amazing Harrison Ford (also starring that dorky Shia LeBeouf).  The movie opened up with a lot of promise (Russians in the 1950s, Area 51, magnetic tricks with gun powder, etc.), but then completely collapsed with some ridiculous stunts and some really bad CGI.  Why does anybody use CGI in a regular movie at all?  Don't they know it looks like poop on the sidewalks of Washington Heights?  Oh, well.  It was nice to watch Ford swing that whip again, even if the film taints the happy masterpiece of the former Indiana Jones image.  What should have remained a trilogy has become a mess.  P.S.  You may notice that I didn't include Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) with my earlier praise for the old Indiana Jones legacy... that is due to the travesty that is Kate Capshaw.  She is what happens when a director casts his wife as a leading lady.  What a mess!  (Although I did like Short Round, and wondered what happened to him later on:).

Here, dear friends, is who was missing from this film, and also any other film without him... Sir Sean Connery.  

Election Day!!!

Let's get this election over-with already!!  I am immersing myself in fun, imaginary presidential candidates today, as we wait in anticipation of reality:)  Please, release your baited breath, and peruse some viewing options on this, the day of election:

1) The American President (1995), directed by Rob Reiner, and starring the always dashing Michael Douglas, and his equally stunning leading lady, Annette Bening.  A classic romantic comedy, both well written and acted, and full of the charisma of old- Hollywood standards, this movie will always be fun to watch.  Why can't real politicians be this upstanding and honorable?  

2) Dave (1993), directed by Ivan Reitman (of Ghostbusters fame), and starring Kevin Kline (whom I adore), and Sigourney Weaver.  Why does the U.S. President inspire so many romantic comedies?  Anywho, this is a really good one, and Kevin Kline is hilarious.  I especially enjoy the dastardly cabinet member (yes, dastardly), and I actually do believe that every cabinet must have at least one super-villain.

3) Air Force One (1997), directed by Wolfgang Petersen (you gotta love the name Wolfgang), and starring Harrison Ford, who is my personal pick for President of the United States, 2008.  I really think that you guys should get behind this candidate.  He is completely badass, and studly, and I also imagine that he is both a champion of civil rights and education, and an avid environmentalist.  Is this fantasy too much to ask?  If so, then just enjoy this action-packed thrill-ride of a movie.

4) Election (1999), directed by Alexander Payne, and starring Mathew Broderick (who needs to do something with himself these days!), and Reese Witherspoon (who kind-of annoys me).  This uproarious dark comedy follows the mental breakdown of a high-school principal, as he becomes overly involved in the student elections.  Witherspoon is the neurotic, obsessed-with-ambition-and-perfection student that drives Broderick to the brink, and many antics ensue throughout that will leave you very amused, I am sure.  

Please vote today, and remember to add Douglas, Kline, and Ford to your ballot!

Vampires are Exciting

So, I watched a very creepy Vampire movie last week, and I feel that I should review it now that I bought and read the book "Twilight", by Stephenie Meyer, 24 hours ago.  Yes, I bought it, and then read it.  The whole book.  It was good:)  I think that vampires are totally fascinating, and I usually enjoy Dracula-themed movies as well (whether they are actually good movies or not:).  Before I get down to brass tacks, here are my top 5 good-but-terrible-vampire movies of all time:)

1) Interview With The Vampire (1994) (actually a good movie, based on an even better book:)

2) Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) (also really good, but with some wretched accents, and Keanu   Reeves, who ruins pretty much anything)

3) Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992) (karate and vampires, plus Luke Perry?  awesome)

4) Once Bitten (1985) (Jim Carrey makes a great vampire, plus there is a classic 80's dance-off)

5) Underworld (2003) (Kate Beckinsale is the sexiest vampire ever, and there is a lot of cool, plastic-looking spandex goin' on, which is always nice.)

Here is the movie that I watched last week:

*30 Days of Night (2007), directed by David Slade, and starring Josh Hartnett, is a totally grotesque and horrifying take on vampire lore.  In a nightmarish twist, a flock of blood-suckers invades a remote Alaskan town, which is completely isolated every year by extreme weather, and 30 days of total darkness.  I mean, come on.  Alaska is scary enough without some vampires, right?  These vampires went way beyond the run-of-the-mill undead, with nasty, crazy eyes and really messy, bloody faces:)  These guys definitely take no pride in their appearance:)  They also screeched a lot, and spoke in an archaic language that you know doesn't stem from the Indo-European (way too scary).  So, I would give this flick a thumbs-up for story-line and all-out scariness, but a big, fat thumbs-down for dialogue.  But, who watches a vamp movie for chit-chat anyway?

As you all know, I like movies a lot.  I also like books a lot.  I recommend the "Twilight" series for anybody anywhere, so there you go:)

Celebrity Worship

here are two ladies that I want to be when I grow up:)

Still in Theaters...

Here is a review of a great film that is still showing in most theaters around the country:

*Appaloosa (2008), directed and written by Ed Harris (screenwritten by Ed Harris and Robert Knott, based on the novel by Robert B. Parker), and starring the most amazing cast... Ed Harris, Viggo Mortensen, Jeremy Irons,  and Renee Zellweger.  This film joins 3:10 to Yuma in the "best new western" category, as far as I am concerned.  Jeremy Irons makes a dastardly (yes, dastardly) villain, and Zellweger presents a very complex and controversial leading lady.  These fellas are supreme cowboys, and I haven't seen a dynamic western duo like Harris and Mortensen since the fabulous Val Kilmer teamed up with Kurt Russell in Tombstone (1993),

which not only gave us the definitive portrayal of Doc Holiday, but also gave the viewing populous yet another chance to stare at the-wonder-that-is-Sam Elliot.  I mean, who doesn't love that guy?  

This movie further confirms my feeling that the western is one of the greatest film genres ever, and that the demand for tougher, grittier, good-bad-and-uglier-movies is greater than ever!!  This film gets two pistols and a shotgun all the way up!!  Yee-haw!

Children's Literature= Good Movies

Hey again!  I wanted to add a review of a new release that I watched a couple of days ago.  It has to be said, that these British film adaptations of adolescent literature are really wonderful.  I mean, we have the Harry Potter series, The Golden Compass, The Chronicles of Narnia, A Series of Unfortunate Events, just to name a few.  I think that they actually make kiddos go out and read, which is nice for a change:)  Anywho, this new flick is an adaptation of the wonderful book Ballet Shoes, by Noel Streatfeild.  This book is one in a series, all of which are completely fantastic.  Here is my review:

*Ballet Shoes (2007) had a very limited release in the U.S., and was released on TV in the UK.  It stars Emma Watson, of Harry Potter fame, and has a really lovely story about young girls, ambition, loyalty, family, and taking care of those that you love:)  How dreamy:)  I promise that non-ballet teachers will also love this movie (oh, you didn't know?  Yes, I teach and dance classical ballet:)  I wear pink tutus constantly.).  If you know a little girl, and she wants to see a movie, show her this one:)

El Dia de los Muertos

aka. My birthday:)  Many movies were unwrapped on this fine day, and I am happy to review them all (I didn't actually watch them all today, but I have seen and loved them all previously, so I reckon that I should share:).  I suppose that I will begin with the movie rental that I actually watched today:

1) Birth (2004), directed by Jonathan Glazer and starring Nicole Kidman (does anybody else think that she is a little creepy?).  I am gonna have to give this one a luke-warm review, as I simply couldn't commiserate with the heroine falling in love with her dead husband, who has been reincarnated as a young boy.   Very intense and depressing, but a little far-fetched.  Oh, well.  You can't win them all.  On a cheerful note, I can refer you to a fabulous, wonderful film about a reincarnated, dead husband... 

2) Chances Are (1989), directed by Emile Ardolino, and starring the beautiful Robert Downey, Jr., Cybill Shepherd, and Mary Stuart Masterson.  These are some of my favorite actors of the late 80's/early '90s, and this movie actually accomplished the nearly impossible... it made the viewer root for a romance between a mother and her daughter's boyfriend (the reincarnated dead husband), and then switch teams, rooting for the daughter to get back together with her fella.  Is he still kind-of her dad?  Is it weird that he almost got naked with her mom?  Very Mrs. Robinson, very that-scene-in-Ghost-when-Whoopi-danced-with-Demi-but-is-really-Swayze?  This film is a must-see:)

Now, my friends, here is the ecclectic mix of movies that I received for my Geburtstag:

1) 3:10 to Yuma (2007), directed by James Mangold, and starring the Christian Bale and the Russell Crowe.  This movie is hot, hot, hot, and I am not just talking about the cast.  If you love westerns, in the gritty, samurai style of Clint Eastwood or the badass, good vs. evil themes of John Wayne flicks, this movie is for you.  I think that this movie is for everyone.  Plot twists, romance, bromance, and some really cool shoot-outs.  Please do check this one out soon:)

2) In Bruges (2008) directed by Martin McDonagh, and starring Ralph Fiennes, Colin Farrell, and Brendan Gleeson.  This movie is amazing.  The most brilliant banter between 2 Irish hitmen that I have ever encountered, plus Ralph Fiennes?  What could be better?  How about Colin Farrell calling a little person "short-arse" throughout the film.  This has inspired a whole new nickname for me (my husband really does call me "short-arse" now).  Also, I am totally inspired to visit Bruges, and Ireland, and to become a hit-man.  Just kidding:)  But seriously, I laughed, I cried, I laughed again, and I sat on the literal edge of my couch.  This one comes very highly recommended:) 

3) The Secret of Roan Inish (1994), directed by John Sayles and starring a whole bunch of cool, Irish actors.  This one is a long-time favorite of mine, and I needed it for my collection of this-movie-was-totally-formative-for-me-and-my-child-must-see-it-flicks.  A young girl in Ireland communes with some folklore, her past, family history, nature, and some seals.  She also finds her little brother who has been missing for 3 years.  Very cool. A really great movie to show kids, especially if you want to encourage them to watch a classic, instead of a manic, badly-animated show about people who can't defend themselves, so they throw down cards or pets or magic or some crap.  Turn that stuff off:)

All Saint's Day

Today is All Saints Day, and we are heading to mass this afternoon.  I always like to do this after a wild night of halloween partying!  My favorite saints are Saint Frances of Assisi, and Joan of Arc.  They are pretty popular, I guess.  Recommended films for the day:  

1) The Messenger (1999), directed by Luc Besson, and starring Milla Jovovich, John Malcovich, and Dustin Hoffman... an exciting version of the classic Joan of Arc-story, including some big battles and an interesting take on the internal struggle of this complex historical character. 

2) Passion de Jeanne d'Arc (1928), 

directed by the incomparable Carl Dreyer, and starring the brilliant Maria Falconetti.  This is the quintessential saint- flick, and most assuredly trumps all other Joan of Arc films.  The film gives an intense account of Jeanne's trial, in which she is accused of heresy and relates her "holy visions" to the court.  I am telling you, you are gonna feel her pain.  Dreyer's other silent films are not to be missed:)

3) The Song of Bernadette (1945), directed by Henry King, and starring Jennifer Jones.  This is a beautiful story about the young saint from the French countryside, and while it is not a cinematic tour-de-force, it has definite crowd appeal.  A classic that is both sympathetic and inspirational.  (Must-see for any Roman Catholic, btw.)

4) The Saint (1997), starring Val Kilmer, in which our hero is a professional thief, masquerading under the names and identities of Catholic saints:)  This remake is very fun and well-acted by Kilmer.

Enjoy!