MOVIES!!
This is my attempted Top 5 Favorite Xmas Movies of all time, until I realized there were actually 10 (or even more).
1. White Christmas (1954)
2. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
3. Love Actually (2003)
4. The Family Stone (2005)
5. Elf (2003)
6. Christmas Vacation (1989)
7. Home Alone (1990)
8. A Christmas Story (1983)
9. Miracle of 34th Street (1947)
10. Prancer (1989)
I love these movies. And maybe the reason I do is that I really only watch them once a year (except when they have those dang Christmas Story marathons on the 24th and 25th.) They make me happy and suck me back to my childhood's traditions. I have watched all of these forever, with the exception of Elf only because it's 7 years old. I have recently been turned on to a couple of new (to me) movies Christmas in Connecticut (1945) which is a classic, and Scrooged (1988) and could replace one or two from the list except these all have special places in my holiday heart. Maybe in the near future I can get this list to 20!
Please share your favorite holiday movie with me!!
Friday, December 17, 2010
Saturday, November 13, 2010
the good and the bad romance
Ondine (2009) ****
Colin Farrell, Alicja Bachleda.
This is the story of an Irish fisherman who catches a women in his net. He tells this tale to his ailing daughter, Annie, and she instantly believes this woman to be a folk-lore creature, a silky, (basically a seal-woman who lives in the water). Annie begins studying the silkies to prove to Ondine that she knows the truth. The movie has a magical/fantastical romance about it. Colin and Alicja have wonderful chemistry (turns out they dated in real life and have a daughter together too, which is all the more magical!) I have heard a lot of people complain about not being able to understand them, but I had no such problem.
The Greatest (2009) ***1/2
Carey Mulligan, Pierce Brosnan, Susan Surandon, Aaron Johnson.
(I'm not spoiling anything, this all happens in the first 5 min, but if you don't want any spoiler turn away now!) A boy and a girl sleep with each other. The boy dies in a car crash. The parents of the boy are trying to cope with his death. The girl learns she is pregnant and goes to the boy's parents for help. I really loved this movie. His parents are trying to justify why their son died and this random girl lived. There are many extremely emotional parts and a few very happy ones. The acting for everyone involved is exceptional. This just proves that love can be the greatest feeling of all even if it lasts only a moment.
The Time Traveler's Wife (2009) *1/2
Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana.
Book by Audrey Niffenegger... Amazing, touching, wonderfully original and one of my favorite books. Movie... Horrible, sappy, and maybe one of the worst book-to-movie adaptations ever! "I'm a time traveler" could be one of the stupidest lines ever. Enough said. Maybe had I not read the fantastic book before hand I could've given it a fair chance. (If you need a references for a great adaptation see Silence of the Lambs.)
Colin Farrell, Alicja Bachleda.
This is the story of an Irish fisherman who catches a women in his net. He tells this tale to his ailing daughter, Annie, and she instantly believes this woman to be a folk-lore creature, a silky, (basically a seal-woman who lives in the water). Annie begins studying the silkies to prove to Ondine that she knows the truth. The movie has a magical/fantastical romance about it. Colin and Alicja have wonderful chemistry (turns out they dated in real life and have a daughter together too, which is all the more magical!) I have heard a lot of people complain about not being able to understand them, but I had no such problem.
The Greatest (2009) ***1/2
Carey Mulligan, Pierce Brosnan, Susan Surandon, Aaron Johnson.
(I'm not spoiling anything, this all happens in the first 5 min, but if you don't want any spoiler turn away now!) A boy and a girl sleep with each other. The boy dies in a car crash. The parents of the boy are trying to cope with his death. The girl learns she is pregnant and goes to the boy's parents for help. I really loved this movie. His parents are trying to justify why their son died and this random girl lived. There are many extremely emotional parts and a few very happy ones. The acting for everyone involved is exceptional. This just proves that love can be the greatest feeling of all even if it lasts only a moment.
The Time Traveler's Wife (2009) *1/2
Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana.
Book by Audrey Niffenegger... Amazing, touching, wonderfully original and one of my favorite books. Movie... Horrible, sappy, and maybe one of the worst book-to-movie adaptations ever! "I'm a time traveler" could be one of the stupidest lines ever. Enough said. Maybe had I not read the fantastic book before hand I could've given it a fair chance. (If you need a references for a great adaptation see Silence of the Lambs.)
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
really stupid/awesome comedies...
Hot Tub Time Machine (2010) ***
John Cusack, Craig Robinson, Rob Corddry, Clark Duke, Lyndsy Fonseca, Crispin Glover, Chevy Chase.
The title of this movie made me want to see it more than anything. Hello! It's the funniest title on the planet. Four struggling friends try to rekindle their high school fun by going back to a ski lodge they used to visit in the 80s. They have a wild and crazy night in thier hot tub that sends them back to 1986, a very eventful night for them all. Quite stupid, quite funny. John Cusack is back to his quick witted 80's style comedy and is the best part of the movie. If there is an award for best movie title, this should probably win!
Couples Retreat (2009) *1/2
Vince Vaughn, Jon Favreau, Jason Bateman, Kristen Davis, Kristen Bell, Malin Ackerman.
I really thought that these hilarious/talented actors could pull off a great movie. No. I was bored but mainly uncomfortable because of their couples therapy sessions. And the length of the movie drags on way too long. There are some funny lines, but all-in-all it kinda sucked. Sorry.
The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard (2009) ***
Jeremy Piven, Ving Rhames, James Brolin, David Koechner, Kathryn Hahn, Ed Helms.
Funny! It is so much funnier than I even expected. Perfect length for a dumb comedy with a hilarious cast. Of course its not an award winner or a classic but it was hilarious. I foresee this on comedy central in the near future!
Dinner for Schmucks (2010) **
Paul Rudd, Steve Carrell, Zach Galifianakis.
Paul Rudd is trying for a huge promotion and must find a total loser, Steve Carrell, to take to a dinner party held by his boss. The boss votes whose guest is the biggest schmuck. I was dying to see this film. Those 3 guys in the top billing make any movie worth while. Not this one. I was bored and uncomfortable the whole time. The opening credits were probably the funniest and cutest part of movie. And that's all I got!
Futurama: Season 6 (2010) ****
Ok I know this is just a tv show but it is amazing! I cannot believe that they actually brought it back from the tv dead. This new season on comedy central is maybe the best yet. There have been some of the funniest jokes that I have heard in a long time. Any die-hard Fry-Leela-Bender-and-gang-fans will not be disappointed.
MacGruber (2010) ***1/2
Will Forte, Kristen Wiig, Ryan Phillippe, Val Kilmer.
Seeing how this movie did opeing weekend (a sad 4 million dollars) and then during it's entirity in the theaters (8.5 million dollars) might put anyone off. But, I laughed out loud the entire movie. At one point I was crying. If you don't know the premise... MacGruber is a moronic McGyver-type that has something like 10 purple hearts and served in all branches of the US military. It is a rediculous story and funny as hell. The scenes when MacGruber dresses Kristen Wiig like himself are amazing. You also may not look at a stalk of celery the same way again after you see this!
Out of all of these comedies I will be purchasing Macgruber and Futurama for sure!!
John Cusack, Craig Robinson, Rob Corddry, Clark Duke, Lyndsy Fonseca, Crispin Glover, Chevy Chase.
The title of this movie made me want to see it more than anything. Hello! It's the funniest title on the planet. Four struggling friends try to rekindle their high school fun by going back to a ski lodge they used to visit in the 80s. They have a wild and crazy night in thier hot tub that sends them back to 1986, a very eventful night for them all. Quite stupid, quite funny. John Cusack is back to his quick witted 80's style comedy and is the best part of the movie. If there is an award for best movie title, this should probably win!
Couples Retreat (2009) *1/2
Vince Vaughn, Jon Favreau, Jason Bateman, Kristen Davis, Kristen Bell, Malin Ackerman.
I really thought that these hilarious/talented actors could pull off a great movie. No. I was bored but mainly uncomfortable because of their couples therapy sessions. And the length of the movie drags on way too long. There are some funny lines, but all-in-all it kinda sucked. Sorry.
The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard (2009) ***
Jeremy Piven, Ving Rhames, James Brolin, David Koechner, Kathryn Hahn, Ed Helms.
Funny! It is so much funnier than I even expected. Perfect length for a dumb comedy with a hilarious cast. Of course its not an award winner or a classic but it was hilarious. I foresee this on comedy central in the near future!
Dinner for Schmucks (2010) **
Paul Rudd, Steve Carrell, Zach Galifianakis.
Paul Rudd is trying for a huge promotion and must find a total loser, Steve Carrell, to take to a dinner party held by his boss. The boss votes whose guest is the biggest schmuck. I was dying to see this film. Those 3 guys in the top billing make any movie worth while. Not this one. I was bored and uncomfortable the whole time. The opening credits were probably the funniest and cutest part of movie. And that's all I got!
Futurama: Season 6 (2010) ****
Ok I know this is just a tv show but it is amazing! I cannot believe that they actually brought it back from the tv dead. This new season on comedy central is maybe the best yet. There have been some of the funniest jokes that I have heard in a long time. Any die-hard Fry-Leela-Bender-and-gang-fans will not be disappointed.
MacGruber (2010) ***1/2
Will Forte, Kristen Wiig, Ryan Phillippe, Val Kilmer.
Seeing how this movie did opeing weekend (a sad 4 million dollars) and then during it's entirity in the theaters (8.5 million dollars) might put anyone off. But, I laughed out loud the entire movie. At one point I was crying. If you don't know the premise... MacGruber is a moronic McGyver-type that has something like 10 purple hearts and served in all branches of the US military. It is a rediculous story and funny as hell. The scenes when MacGruber dresses Kristen Wiig like himself are amazing. You also may not look at a stalk of celery the same way again after you see this!
Out of all of these comedies I will be purchasing Macgruber and Futurama for sure!!
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Temple Grandin
Temple Grandin (2010) ****
Claire Danes, Katherine O'hara, David Strathairn, Julia Ormond.
I was lucky enough to have the real Temple Grandin on a flight coming into Denver. At the time I had no idea who she was otherwise I would have sat and listened to her. Ever since then I have thought she was fascinating. Temple has autism, learned to deal with her disorder by calming herself in a wooden machine used for branding cows, has a doctorate, and created new and humane ways to slaughter animals. This movie shows her passion and knowlegde about animals. She sees life in a series of pictures and uses her incredible memory to succeed unbelievably.
I highly recommend this movie not only for a brilliant look into autism but into Temple's mind.
Claire Danes, Katherine O'hara, David Strathairn, Julia Ormond.
I was lucky enough to have the real Temple Grandin on a flight coming into Denver. At the time I had no idea who she was otherwise I would have sat and listened to her. Ever since then I have thought she was fascinating. Temple has autism, learned to deal with her disorder by calming herself in a wooden machine used for branding cows, has a doctorate, and created new and humane ways to slaughter animals. This movie shows her passion and knowlegde about animals. She sees life in a series of pictures and uses her incredible memory to succeed unbelievably.
I highly recommend this movie not only for a brilliant look into autism but into Temple's mind.
welcome...
My new movie blog!!
If you know me or follow me at all you might have sensed my obsession with movies. Or at least my obsession with the movie Titanic.
I love to watch them, read about them, discuss them, re-watch them, and get ideas from them.
There is a brilliant website www.listsofbests.com that combines my love of lists (and the joy that goes with checking things off) with movies. They have any list you could imagine about movies... The american film institute's top 100, the academy awards' best picture winners, 1980's movies, and even MTV video awards' best kiss winners. Seriously, I love this site!
My lists include...
I watch so many movies in one week that I will post weekly reviews. I watch all categories and from every decade so they will be really random but I will include them all! I will also rate them out of 5 stars *****. Let me know which ones you love or hate.
Out of all of these reviews, maybe I can broaden your movie horizon...
Let's watch!!
If you know me or follow me at all you might have sensed my obsession with movies. Or at least my obsession with the movie Titanic.
I love to watch them, read about them, discuss them, re-watch them, and get ideas from them.
There is a brilliant website www.listsofbests.com that combines my love of lists (and the joy that goes with checking things off) with movies. They have any list you could imagine about movies... The american film institute's top 100, the academy awards' best picture winners, 1980's movies, and even MTV video awards' best kiss winners. Seriously, I love this site!
My lists include...
AFI's lists
-100 years... 100 movies, 10 top 10, 100 comedies, 100 romance, 100 cheers, 100 heroes and villans, 100 movie scores, 100 passions, 100 thrills
Academy Awards/Golden Globes
-best picture, director, actress, actor, supporting actress, supporting actor, score, costumes, screenplay, art direction, cinematography
Filmography
-Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, Brad Pitt, Steven Spielberg, Alfred Hitchcock, Cate Blanchett, Kate Winslet
I watch so many movies in one week that I will post weekly reviews. I watch all categories and from every decade so they will be really random but I will include them all! I will also rate them out of 5 stars *****. Let me know which ones you love or hate.
Out of all of these reviews, maybe I can broaden your movie horizon...
Let's watch!!
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