The Last Movie You Saw On DVD or VHS or TV.

The Haunting in Connecticut (2009 film) was on TV the other night but was nothing to write home about and I abandoned it halfway through.
The only remarkable thing about it was that the teenage kid (Kyle Gallner) was a dead ringer for Elvis and would be a natural in the role if ever they do an Elvis biopic
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Haunting_in_Connecticut

http://walkingdead.wikia.com/wiki/Kyle_Gallner

Night Train to Lisbon Netflix

Jeremy Irons at an interesting spot in his life, witnesses a compelling moment in someone else's life - and is changed forever. Quiet, unassuming, satisfying, and may make YOU change your life...

Netflix has recently added The Artist and the Model!! I've been waiting months to see it. You may want to give it a look.

"A disillusioned 80 year old sculptor living in occupied France finds his creativity reawakened by a young Spanish refugee."

Monument Men-Fascinating to me though having read the book I think Hollywood forced Clooney to make a bunch of script changes in order to beef up the exit-polls.Good cast though. Matt Damon is a bit miscast.

Witness for the prosecution--- I watched because Marlene Dietrich was my grandfather's favorite and I was feeling nostalgic. Good film. Sir Charles Laughton gave a fab performance.

About a decade or more ago, when I was in Berlin, I visited the Sony Center where they have a museum on movie making, and there (were) are many Marlene Dietrich memorabilia there.

I love the costumes and the sets.

Anne Boleyn was supposedly known for her wit yet no one writes witty lines for actresses portraying her.

I, too, find Meyers' performance annoying. I spoke to a friend who hasn't seen the series. He said it would be interesting to know Henry's side. Henry is always depicted as a monster. What would Henry's ghost tell us?

On the other hand, I've always thought that it was hardly any wonder that his daughter never married. Her mother was beheaded when she was just 3 and then her step-mother died following childbirth, which sounds like the woman was neglected. I would think she was attended by midwives of the highest reputation but it sounds like amateurs, her ladies in waiting, were the only people surrounding her.

We almost caught this at the cinema, but I guess we'll get the second tier release on Xfinity or Netflix.

Do think based on your comment, I may read the book first. Thanks for the review, panz.

Like you, I meant to see it in a theater if only to support George Clooney and a movie that wouldn't do well in release.
I watched it again last night and take back my comment on Damon.

Cool..!Amazing how you're loved ones influence you. But--- she was a great actress.

Just ran up on "Ordinary Decent Criminal" on Netflix - boasting Kevin Spacey and Peter Mullan! Giving it a go. Will report findings soon!

I had to give up on The Tudors but I did rewatch the PBS two part series on Elizabeth I called The Virgin Queen. I liked it better this time I think in part because after I saw Anne Marie Duff as John Lennon's mother, I came to admire her abilities more. The acting is better overall in the PBS show than in The Tudors.

Plus, I researched some of the incidents depicted and found them accurate, unlike The Tudors wholesale misrepresentation. The accuracy made the drama better.

Tonight, I tuned into a documentary called Constantine's Sword without knowing what it was about. It extends James Carroll's book by the same name and looks into the Catholic Church's anti-Semitism. The film uses an incident at the Air Force Academy to give it focus. I have to admit that I drifted in and out of sleep but not because the movie was boring but because I am always tired. I found Ted Haggard frightening, all the more because I had no idea who he was because of the fragmented way I watched the movie. I recommend it.

Just watched 'Gravity' on DVD, great special effects but the plot was a bit too far-fetched

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1454468/

Oh my gosh. <---to denote excitement. I'm poised on HBO ready to watch The Normal Heart. Been waiting for over a month. Hope it's as good as I imagined. Will report.

Also saw a docu The Case Against 8 - when Cali rescinded the right to marriage for gay Californians. Looking forward to that premiere.

Oy. I wanted so much to like it...love Mark Ruffalo and the story is really compelling to me - the "outbreak" of AIDS - the horrible silence of the rest of the world...but I thought it wasn't well written or directed - and Julia Roberts seemed to me to be distractingly wooden.

Thanks For Sharing - Mark Ruffalo, Pink, Gwyneth Paltrow.
I really liked this movie. I liked their depiction of people in 12-step recovery programs. Very realistic and believable. Human drama, nice character development...good movie.
Out of the Furnace - Christian Bale, Casey Affleck, Woody Harrelson, Forrest Whitaker, Zoe Saldana.
I was prepared to like it, because of the stellar cast. And 2/3 of the movie is some pretty engrossing, hard hitting action and drama. But I really, really despise artsy fartsy endings to movies that require you to resolve all the loose ends in your own mind. Nuff said.
Robocop - Gary Oldman, Michael Keaton, Michael Kinnaman
Man, I really liked this re-make. The tech stuff is done real well, and the guy who plays Robocop (Kinnaman) is excellent - great tough-guy-with-
family-values.
Nebraska - Bruce Dern, Will Forte.
One of my favorite character actors of all time, Bruce Dern. He plays a befuddled old man who thinks he's won a million dollars and is determined to claim it. I was influenced by all the spectacular reviews this one had, but found it pretty uninteresting.

Thanks for your excellent reviews snood

Thanks.
Jack Ryan - Shadow Recruit
I really want to dislike Chris Pine. I mean, c'mon - he gets to play Captain Kirk AND Jack Ryan? I know, I'm just hatin'...
Anyway, I want to, but I can't. The guy is really a great action star. And this is a great movie. It really grabbed me and kept me interested start to finish. You care about the characters, and you want to see how the story turns out.

Oh, one more - Lone Survivor.
Oh my stars and garters, but these four navy seals go through hell on earth in Afghanistan as a result of an ethical decision they made. It's based on a true story, and it's made so realistically, I had to grimace my eyes shut for a few scenes. But I loved the characters, and there's some great human drama involving good vs evil Afghanis. Not for the faint hearted, but ex-military and anyone who likes great military action will appreciate it.

I'm not ready to watch "Lone Survivor", but I did see Monuments Men, they may have taken some liberties, but the men who fought in obscure positions to protect the US from becoming a slave nation, deserve nothing but admiration. And when I say obscure, I'm not talking about file clerks (I don't scoff at their contribution) I'm talking about the men who were dropped out of planes in the dark of night to soften resistance from the enemy. They planted explosives to take out bridges, they neutralized lookouts, so many things had to be done to win the war. Sorry, I didn't mean to go off topic.