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

theres about three more before I get into the ALEC GUINESS tragedies. Ill make sure LADYKILLERS is on the list. How old is that one?

I watched The Persecution and Assassination of Marat As Performed by the Inmates of the Asylumn at Charendon (Marat/Sade) again today. It is abridged over the stage production, but most of the author's points are hammered in there. I realize nobody else gives a damn, but I watch it about every four years, because it, among several other books and movies, serves to center me more in a younger incarnation of myself. I do these things when struggling with my writing, mostly. I do not 100% endorse the author's Marxism, but I do go along with him on a number of issues.

1955, but I never thought of it as a tragedy...it's described as "dark comedy"

coraline with the children, very well done and enjoyable

On Sunday we booted up an 'on demand' pay-per-view movie "Gran Torino"--Clint Eastwood as a Father's Day present for ElStud. Terrific movie that makes people laugh, cry, and think.

supposed to be a little scary for children, no?

- In the land of women (2007), coming of age story with a boy between three generations of women, plus a too-precocious kid
- The Women (2008), remake of an all women film from the 1930s, tries to cram all women's issues into one story, also with precocious kid.
- Burn after reading (2008), dark comedy by Coen brothers, quite amusing
- December boys (2007), nice enough "the summer that changed everything" flick with 4 orphan boys (Why is it always the summer and never the winter that changes things...)
- Suburban Girl (2007), girl gets involved with father figure and grows up
- Juno (2007), amusing film that relies heavily on its witty dialogue without which perhaps the whole pregnancy thing would have been less appealing.

Saw a wonderful movie this weekend: Maria Full Of Grace

http://www.reelviews.net/movies/m/maria_full.html

...but what was a revelation to me was the directors commentary. I had never seen this feature before and it made the movie 10 times more enjoyable. Joshua Marston wrote and directed the movie and he seems to me to be just as interesting as the movie. As he explained the workings of movie making: the five years it took to write the script; the way the script was edited during shooting; the search for actors; the problems of scouting for locations etc... I was fascinated by the talent and craft he demonstrated.

Don Juan de Marco - Johnny Depp

I thought it was sweet. Got me thinking about realities and false realities. I liked it - my husband fell asleep. Before he fell asleep he was reading the paper...apparently not a real interesting flick for him.

I was thinking the paper did him in

I loved the scene where he had the orderly cha-cha-chaa-ing across the lawn with him.

Don Juan de Marco. I just saw this too.

It made me think of Harvey - personal realities that don't hurt anyone else- that sort of stuff.

I liked it enough that I forgot to drool over Johnny Depp

This weekend:
- Brokeback Mountain (2005), now that I ave finally seen it, I don't undertsand what all the fuss was about, regular love story.
- Love in the Time of Cholera (2007), Gabriel Garcia Marquez' book made into a not so enthralling film. The leading actress especially, is beautiful but not very convincing (and her make up is bad).
- Maata meren alla (2009, Ground Under Water), Finnish film about depressed adopted daughter who has to find her place in the world to discover she is super Finnish.
- The Gathering (2002), really poor horror flick
- Edmond (2005), the unraveling of a salary man
- Chinjeolhan geumjassi (2005, Lady Vengeance), weird Korean film on the vengeance and forgiveness theme (the vengeance part is a bit Agatha Cristie in the end).

"The Thrill of it All". Doris Day and James Garner. Cheesy but, I loved these movies as a kid and still do.

One of my favorite comedies -- the driving into the pool scene and the car wash scene are indelibly imprinted on my mind.

I watched "The Ruins" on HBO and don't know why -- four tourists in Cancun decide to visit a newly discovered Mayan pyramid from an exclusive map they got hold of. It's about the vine-like plants covering the pyramid -- they want to invade the human body and they have little red flowers that can imitate cell phone rings and voices just like a talking parrot. Somewhat suspenseful horror drama but with ridiculously gaping holes in the motivation and plot.

Then from NetFlix, the Blu-Ray of "Slumdog Millionaire" -- really a coming-of-age epic like "City of God" but not nearly as good as that film. It explores the seedier criminal world in India, but the scenes where he's taken by the police, interrogated, torchered, and released like nothing every happened is hard to believe, and that's where he tells his life story! Beautifully filmed but the dynamic range of the PCM digital is terrible -- the voices are in a whisper and the sound effects like trains and helicopters are an ear splitting bad use of sound effects. The menu also sucks. Worthy of the Oscar -- nope. "Benjamin Button" was robbed.

spikepepsqueak said:


I can't help but drool over Johnny Depp - even when he is Jack Sparrow he is appealing.

Panzade said:


That probably helped.

I finally saw The Curious Life of Benjamin Button the other night. Good grief. I cried and cried. Such a sweet movie...There is another pretty fellow.

And some more mixed entertainment:
- Die Fälscher (2007, The Counterfeiters), good German concentration camp drama
- Namesake - Kaima (2006), decent immigration and family drama from India, a bit fragmentary in the beginning
- Black Snake Moan (2006), I decided to give Christina Ricci another chance and it paid off. I had been avoiding the film on account of the DVD cover, which suggests something other than quality drama
- The Wild (2006) , half Lion King and half Madagascar, but not as amusing
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007), well, I had already seen the other ones...
- Käki (2002, Kukushka/Cuckoo), very good Russian film about war and humanity. A Finnish and a Russian soldier meet near the end of WWII at the kota of a single Sami woman. None understands what the others say, but they have to live together until peace is signed.

Burn After Reading. Funny. Irreverent. Brad Pitt just slays me when he plays a goof.

we just recd 'STREETS OF LAREDO an old spinoff from Lonesome Dove. It was good McMurtry but, left me unsatisfied at the ending. It just seemed to come to a screeching halt based on time alotted.
The whole plot lines surround a killwr Joey Garza, and they just off him unceremoniously .

McMurtry's tales usually leave me feeling that way.