August viewing
Lots of good movies this month. We also watched some Buffy episodes and the SNL Best of Commercial Parodies disc. The SNL suffered from too much Will Ferrell. He was the host and there was a running gag/framing device that was dumb. Too many of the commercials had him in it. We also saw some new ones, from more recent years (we quit watching during the Ferrell/Oteri/Shannon years). Only three of the original cast ones made it on (You Know, Bass-o-matic, Little Chocolate Donuts) and only one from the Murphy/Piscopo years (Buh-Wheat Sings). The ad copy claims that Schmitt Gay is included but it wasn't! So, while we had a lot of laughs, there are some good ones missing.
The Producers -- even funnier than expected.
A Good Woman -- based on Wilde's Lady Windermere's Fan. Scarlett Johannson does an okay job. Helen Hunt is a little flat -- Julianne Moore would have been better in that role.
Clerks II - see post below.
Murderball -- a very interesting documentary about quad and paraplegics who play wheelchair rugby. Very poignant and dramatic.
Miami Vice -- well, you know, I watched the show every Friday night in the 1980s. This was much more interesting than the show ever was, darker, moodier, and no pastels! OK plot, some good action sequences and fun scenes in Havana.
Scoop -- latest Woody Allen. Enjoyable. I just can't help but long for the late 1980s and early to mid 1990s, when he did his best work.
Water -- a very sad movie about the practices regarding widows in earlier times in India. Set at the time Gandhi is rising in prominence, this tells the story of several young women who are forced to live in isolation as widows.
House of D -- better than I expected. The framing device was weak, but the heart of the story, which is a flashback to 1975, is well told, funny and poignant.
The Night Listener -- interesting psychological study, based on a true story. Robin Williams has some acting chops.
Little Miss Sunshine -- if this doesn't win the Oscar for best original screenplay, there is no justice in the world. A hilarious movie about a dysfunctional family.
Snakes on a Plane -- we just had to go see this, OK? Very campy, and lots of gross-out moments with the snakes killing people, but Samuel L. Jackson does a great job in this satire of airplane disaster movies.
Lord of the Rings -- we finished the month with the trilogy, one video per evening. It was fun to watch them in fairly close proximity, rather than waiting a year in between chapters.
The Producers -- even funnier than expected.
A Good Woman -- based on Wilde's Lady Windermere's Fan. Scarlett Johannson does an okay job. Helen Hunt is a little flat -- Julianne Moore would have been better in that role.
Clerks II - see post below.
Murderball -- a very interesting documentary about quad and paraplegics who play wheelchair rugby. Very poignant and dramatic.
Miami Vice -- well, you know, I watched the show every Friday night in the 1980s. This was much more interesting than the show ever was, darker, moodier, and no pastels! OK plot, some good action sequences and fun scenes in Havana.
Scoop -- latest Woody Allen. Enjoyable. I just can't help but long for the late 1980s and early to mid 1990s, when he did his best work.
Water -- a very sad movie about the practices regarding widows in earlier times in India. Set at the time Gandhi is rising in prominence, this tells the story of several young women who are forced to live in isolation as widows.
House of D -- better than I expected. The framing device was weak, but the heart of the story, which is a flashback to 1975, is well told, funny and poignant.
The Night Listener -- interesting psychological study, based on a true story. Robin Williams has some acting chops.
Little Miss Sunshine -- if this doesn't win the Oscar for best original screenplay, there is no justice in the world. A hilarious movie about a dysfunctional family.
Snakes on a Plane -- we just had to go see this, OK? Very campy, and lots of gross-out moments with the snakes killing people, but Samuel L. Jackson does a great job in this satire of airplane disaster movies.
Lord of the Rings -- we finished the month with the trilogy, one video per evening. It was fun to watch them in fairly close proximity, rather than waiting a year in between chapters.
posted by Beth at 11:10 AM
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