Monday, November 20, 2006
Movie Weekend
Considering the yardwork that still isn't done, the preparations still ongoing for Thanksgiving, UT/Vandy, Titans on Sunday, and our 65% full DVR, you would think this would have been a horrible weekend to spend the greater part watching movies. But somehow, that's how it worked out (maybe it was the weather). All in all, a very good weekeend.
Friday Night, Lintilla was having a girls night out with a good friend, and the kids talked me into going to Blockbuster. We decided on Click for Friday night. Let me tell you, Click is a perfect example of why I'm getting myself a ClearPlay for Christmas. Here was a movie that had a wonderful message, the kind of message you want to pass along to your kids, but also had boatloads of stuff you'd rather the kids NOT learn, like language. Objectionable stuff aside, Click is one of the best movies I've seen all year. The previews give you no idea that there are some pretty heavy tear-jerk moments in this film.
I got up early on Saturday, and I wasn't in the mood for the weekend morning news with my coffee, so I checked out what was out there in OnDemand land. I have no premium channels, so it was Encore, or pay for it. Well, Encore had one of my all-time favorite movies, so I gave it a whirl just as Trillian was coming downstairs. She decided to join me instead of watching cartoons.
While You Were Sleeping is my all-time favorite "chick flick". Trillian had never seen all of it, so she watched, too (loved it!). You see, Sleepless In Seattle seems too contrived (except for the part where they're making fun of chick flicks) - AND I can't stand Rosie O'Donnell. When I examine the kind of romantic movies I like, it seems I have a thing for "quirky" families. My favorites are Moonstruck, My Big, Fat Obnoxious Greek Wedding, strangely enough, Only the Lonely, and the best of them all, While You Were Sleeping. Sandra Bullock was adorable as Everygirl. Her love story with Bill Pullman was almost beside the point - she was saved from her loneliness by being taken in by this strange, wonderful family. Gets to me everytime.
Next on the list was the one we had been waiting for: Happy Feet. This movie did not disappoint. Everything about the film was stunning, especially the big dance numbers. The "Boogie Wonderland" scene alone is worth the price of admission. I WAS worried about the subplot of humans decimating the food supply with overfishing (could Al Gore be too far behind?), but this was neccessary and handled beautifully. From the POV of the penguins, the humans were not evil, they just didn't know what their actions were causing. This prevented many "man is the root of all evil" conversations on the way home.
There was a little disappointment in the one scene I was looking forward to, the "Somebody to Love" number. I actually thought it was done better in Ella Enchanted. Something about it seemed empty and soulless. Perhaps it was Brittany Murphey's voice, I don't know. Maybe I just set my expectations too high. But it was still jaw-dropping.
The film borrowed quite a bit from other films (in a good way). I saw pieces of The Ten Commandments, Footloose, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Fame. Robin Williams, though reserved, was wonderful, as was Hugh Jackman's Elvis-type character. All in all, I left the theater with, well, Happy Feet. Right-brained Trillian loved it. Left-brained Zaphod, not so much. You can't please everybody, I guess.
Finally, Saturday night found us watching another Blockbuster rental, Nacho Libre. I was expecting another Napolean Dynamite, but I can't tell you how bad this movie was. Awful. It was off the suckage scale. The plot was so simplistic it was boring, the only funny moments were slapstick. None of us liked it.
As a side note, we are all looking forward to Charlotte's Web. We will probably also go see The Nativity Story.
Friday Night, Lintilla was having a girls night out with a good friend, and the kids talked me into going to Blockbuster. We decided on Click for Friday night. Let me tell you, Click is a perfect example of why I'm getting myself a ClearPlay for Christmas. Here was a movie that had a wonderful message, the kind of message you want to pass along to your kids, but also had boatloads of stuff you'd rather the kids NOT learn, like language. Objectionable stuff aside, Click is one of the best movies I've seen all year. The previews give you no idea that there are some pretty heavy tear-jerk moments in this film.
I got up early on Saturday, and I wasn't in the mood for the weekend morning news with my coffee, so I checked out what was out there in OnDemand land. I have no premium channels, so it was Encore, or pay for it. Well, Encore had one of my all-time favorite movies, so I gave it a whirl just as Trillian was coming downstairs. She decided to join me instead of watching cartoons.
While You Were Sleeping is my all-time favorite "chick flick". Trillian had never seen all of it, so she watched, too (loved it!). You see, Sleepless In Seattle seems too contrived (except for the part where they're making fun of chick flicks) - AND I can't stand Rosie O'Donnell. When I examine the kind of romantic movies I like, it seems I have a thing for "quirky" families. My favorites are Moonstruck, My Big, Fat Obnoxious Greek Wedding, strangely enough, Only the Lonely, and the best of them all, While You Were Sleeping. Sandra Bullock was adorable as Everygirl. Her love story with Bill Pullman was almost beside the point - she was saved from her loneliness by being taken in by this strange, wonderful family. Gets to me everytime.
Next on the list was the one we had been waiting for: Happy Feet. This movie did not disappoint. Everything about the film was stunning, especially the big dance numbers. The "Boogie Wonderland" scene alone is worth the price of admission. I WAS worried about the subplot of humans decimating the food supply with overfishing (could Al Gore be too far behind?), but this was neccessary and handled beautifully. From the POV of the penguins, the humans were not evil, they just didn't know what their actions were causing. This prevented many "man is the root of all evil" conversations on the way home.
There was a little disappointment in the one scene I was looking forward to, the "Somebody to Love" number. I actually thought it was done better in Ella Enchanted. Something about it seemed empty and soulless. Perhaps it was Brittany Murphey's voice, I don't know. Maybe I just set my expectations too high. But it was still jaw-dropping.
The film borrowed quite a bit from other films (in a good way). I saw pieces of The Ten Commandments, Footloose, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Fame. Robin Williams, though reserved, was wonderful, as was Hugh Jackman's Elvis-type character. All in all, I left the theater with, well, Happy Feet. Right-brained Trillian loved it. Left-brained Zaphod, not so much. You can't please everybody, I guess.
Finally, Saturday night found us watching another Blockbuster rental, Nacho Libre. I was expecting another Napolean Dynamite, but I can't tell you how bad this movie was. Awful. It was off the suckage scale. The plot was so simplistic it was boring, the only funny moments were slapstick. None of us liked it.
As a side note, we are all looking forward to Charlotte's Web. We will probably also go see The Nativity Story.
Labels: Movies
// posted by Slartibartfast @ 6:48 AM 
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