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04 May 2008
Seen any good recent DVDs? Drama, action, SF, whatever, but also: Anything funny?
Most recently, Walk Hard and Sweeney Todd.
i suggest getting totally baked before hand.
It's a toe tapping good time.
i've no idea what you've seen yet.
i am also trapped under a cat who is giving me s guilt trip.
I just watched 'Manhattan' by Woody Allen. The cinematography and soundtrack are stunning but, knowing how things panned out in his life in later years, the character he played was more than a little skeevy. But I enjoyed it mostly.
I saw "Superbad." I'd call it a really good teen comedy, which maybe isn't saying much, but I laughed.
Which bring me to the fact that in Michael Cera fest here I also saw "Juno" and our Good Liberal Selves both loved it. I know many people here had Issues with it. Haters! (I don't want to revisit the debate, I'm just saying.)
Saw "The Savages" the other night at a local cinema, but I know it's out on DVD already. Highly recommended - a flawless movie. Funny and real, but sad too, so be prepared.
Some things we've watched recently. Paranoid Park 2007 Gus Van Sant at his best.
The Band's Visit 2007 Slow paced, funny and profound movie from Israel about a lost Egyptian Police band.
Garage 2007 Funny and sad Irish movie about the need for human contact and misunderstanding.
Lars And The Real Girl 2007 A guy is in love with a "Real Doll" he bought off the Internet. His family and the town support him. Sounds creepy but it is very funny and touching.
Persepolis 2007 From the graphic novels. About a girl growing up in a liberal family during the Islamic revolution. Some black humour
Find Me Guilty 2006 Very funny true story. Vin Diesel is great as the aging mobster.
I wanted to see "The Savages". Thanks for the reminder, Miko. The same person that directed, and I believe wrote, "The Savages" wrote "The Slums of Beverly Hills", which is one of my favorite movies.
I saw "Find Me Guilty" a while ago. I enjoyed it a lot.
I tried to watch "Margot at the Wedding", but couldn't get into it. I didn't have the energy and it didn't seem like it was going to turn out to be a good movie.
Recently, my husband and I are re-watching the UK version of The Office.
We rented and loved "There Will be Blood" a few weeks ago. I highly recommend.
If you're gonna get baked, watch Beowulf! I think it's so much fun I can hardly stand it. I've watched it four times now, I think. Just be ready to be a kid.
Is Juno out on video yet? That's good for laughs, and I also laughed at Superbad and... ugh don't mock me... Hot Rod. Lightweight and cute as a button.
I just watched A Beautiful Mind on Friday night, not really knowing what it was about or when I had added it to my queue (love Netflix). And I was So. Bored. with it, even considered turning it off, until the second half.
We've also been watching The X-Files and Twin Peaks and Sliers - TV series on DVD, mostly because of my partner.
Gosford Park: brilliant ensemble cast; great on class and putdowns, but mystery bit not so good.
Amadeus: Absolutely hated every minute of it - writing, acting and characters all terrible.
2001: Brilliant of course, but I'd forgotten how long it is. Don't think S liked it, but that's my revenge for her making me watch the awful Amadeus. To be fair, unless you're really into it, it must seem incredibly dull and slow-paced.
The Constant Gardener: Good fun conspiracy in a Graham Greene-ish sort of way. Also, OMG Rachel Weisz!
Oh and I (re-)watched Top Gun the other night, because it's AWESOME.
The really infuriating thing about A Beautiful Mind (for a geek like me) is that the one, single bit of economics they have in the whole film, they get spectacularly, embarrassingly wrong. The blonde/brunette girls scene in the bar is supposed to illustrate a Nash equilibrium, but it's completely wrong. Also, at least two thirds of the film is massively dull.
Wow! I might have to add that to my Zip-list (canadian for netflix queue).
Lately I've watched and enjoyed There Will Be Blood, and more Mighty Boosh. I'm into the third series, and will be sad when there isn't any more. Last night I watched Fallen Angel - a documentary about Gram Parsons that was alright despite Phil Kaufman's dramatic "flair".
Oh, I also got around to watching Laurel Canyon, and re-watching Grace of My Heart, which I loved as much this time, as last time (when it first came out). Laurel Canyon was pretty good too. It was funny to see Daniel Lanois cameo-ing in it.
For something that's actually recent, I was most moved by The Lives of Others. When it was in the theatre, I had intended to make up my own double bill (we don't have movie theatres here, so it's a real treat), but after seeing that I had to go walk around on my own for a bit.
Starting Out in the Evening is a great film if you are a lit major, which we are. About a writer who was contemporary with Bellow, Roth, etc. in New York, and a grad student who wants to use his work for her thesis. Frank Langella is great, Lauren Ambrose is, also, in a less than sympathetic character, and Lily Taylor is, as usual (for me), irritating.
i saw Death at a Funeral, too, which i really wanted to like because there were great people in it but it never quite rose to the occasion, stayed sort of mean and small. There are moments and Dinklage, though, and Alan Tyduk and outtakes.
i checked my netflix and i have the last Ab Fab on the way.
Watch Gay Purr-ee. Do we have one of those netflix friends things? You can see how long some things lay around and how stupid some of my picks are.
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