My final installment in the Movie Blog is one of my all-time favorites. If you haven't seen this movie, you're really missing out. Unrequited love, secret love affairs, money thrown around, infidelity, attempted suicide, recession, job loss, and true love that conquers all. Yes, really! This little movie from 1940 packs a punch...and ends up being so completely and utterly current even though it's 70 years old. And you know, I think it says a lot about the movie experiment in general.
Like all of the best movies I have watched this year, the topics are varied, the acting is superb and the movie itself was quality all the way through. The movie was actually remade into another movie I watched this year - "You've Got Mail" starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. While those two actors charm the living heck out of me, there's just no matching the original.
In this movie, Jimmy Stewart plays Alfred Kralik - head shop clerk at Matuschek and Co. who is corresponding with a woman who he doesn't actually know. They fall in love through letters, talking about things that matter to them like ideals and literature. One day, a woman named Klara Novak walks into the store and weasles her way into a job there. She becomes Kralik's worst nightmare. She second-guesses him, insults him, and generally makes his life miserable. Of course Novak, played by Margaret Sullivan, ends up being the secret love interest of Kralik. He sees her one predestined evening in a cafe holding a copy of Anna Karina with a little red carnation in it. Kralik discovers this and begins to try and smooth things over with Novak, even becoming a very important person in her life - and someone she can envision spending the rest of her life with. When he unveils the fact that he is...well, him...the response is met with great joy. Who doesn't love a happy ending? The perfect note on which to end this fabulous experiment.
The IMDB Link
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
(For Monday 7/19) The Incredibles - 2004
Dash, Violet, Jack-Jack---all adorable and DANGEROUS kiddos in a family bred for saving us regular folks.
This movie is a cinematic animated charmer with tons of retro stuff and therefore, tons of praise from me. When it's family friendly and teaches a lesson AAAANNNNDDDD I get my retro in, it's a major winner.
The story of an auto claims adjuster (heehee) who feels a big discouraged after giving up his favorite job in exchange for a less *ahem* challenging one. He leaves the job because he hates telling people know (and tears apart some of the building by accident) and finds his way back into the world of saving peoples rear ends. He's sent to an island to fight a bot who ends up being created by an evil villain and his entire family are lured there. Ironically, as experienced so often in real life, the family makes the man and the man makes the family. As they all band together (except for Jack Jack who gets his powers while everyone's away) to work for good and against evil, they grow to learn and love more about each other.
The IMDB Link
This movie is a cinematic animated charmer with tons of retro stuff and therefore, tons of praise from me. When it's family friendly and teaches a lesson AAAANNNNDDDD I get my retro in, it's a major winner.
The story of an auto claims adjuster (heehee) who feels a big discouraged after giving up his favorite job in exchange for a less *ahem* challenging one. He leaves the job because he hates telling people know (and tears apart some of the building by accident) and finds his way back into the world of saving peoples rear ends. He's sent to an island to fight a bot who ends up being created by an evil villain and his entire family are lured there. Ironically, as experienced so often in real life, the family makes the man and the man makes the family. As they all band together (except for Jack Jack who gets his powers while everyone's away) to work for good and against evil, they grow to learn and love more about each other.
The IMDB Link
Monday, July 18, 2011
(For Sunday 7/18) Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer - 2011
If you make a movie about a girl and the summer vacation of her dreams, of COURSE the critics will pan it! I mean, most critics can't even REMEMBER being innocent little apple cheek'ed shrimps trying desperately to NOT have a suckie summer.
Judy Moody will charm the girls, frustrate most of the young boys in the audience, make the dads ask why they're there and the moms will be whispering thankful prayers that their girls aren't as messy and overbearing as little Judy. That said, it was a cute movie. Not the most incredible epic amazing film I have ever seen, but better than that Dogs and Cats 2 movie where I fell asleep and even THEN I hated it.
Judy and her friends create a "Thrill Chart" where each cool activity counts for Thrill Points and they have to reach 100 points by the end of the summer. Things start out well for everyone EXCEPT Judy and by the end of the summer, she's grasping at straws to get out of her "0" balance. Judy's little annoying brother Stink ends up being her saving grace as they decide to set out on an adventure to CAPTURE BIGFOOT. Do they manage to pull the summer out of it's slump? You'll have to take a 3rd, 4th or 5th grade girl you know to the dollar theater to find out! Or wait about 30 seconds...it'll be on DVD in about....NOW.
The IMDB Link
Judy Moody will charm the girls, frustrate most of the young boys in the audience, make the dads ask why they're there and the moms will be whispering thankful prayers that their girls aren't as messy and overbearing as little Judy. That said, it was a cute movie. Not the most incredible epic amazing film I have ever seen, but better than that Dogs and Cats 2 movie where I fell asleep and even THEN I hated it.
Judy and her friends create a "Thrill Chart" where each cool activity counts for Thrill Points and they have to reach 100 points by the end of the summer. Things start out well for everyone EXCEPT Judy and by the end of the summer, she's grasping at straws to get out of her "0" balance. Judy's little annoying brother Stink ends up being her saving grace as they decide to set out on an adventure to CAPTURE BIGFOOT. Do they manage to pull the summer out of it's slump? You'll have to take a 3rd, 4th or 5th grade girl you know to the dollar theater to find out! Or wait about 30 seconds...it'll be on DVD in about....NOW.
The IMDB Link
(For Saturday 7/17) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 - 2011
I watched the first one ALMOST a year ago and I was hoping I could watch this one before the blog ended. I *just* made the deadline. With this final installment, I managed to watch every movie this year - which isn't to say that I wouldn't have managed to do that anyway even WITHOUT the blog in place. In fact, I can assure everyone that the Potter flicks are pretty much required watching to live in our house.
This one ended with Harry finally realizing his crux - his horcruxe,that is. He needs to die in order for Voldemort to die. What he doesn't take into account - and what everyone else neglects to remember - is that with the resurrection stone, he can come back to life. PHEW. Mischief Managed...I mean...problem solved.
The thing is, I always remember Harry Lives...when I talked over the years with friends about the last book, they were always like "Harry DIES Stephanie" and I would say "No, duh, Harry LIVES." because all I could remember was the prologue...where everything is a nicely tied-in-a-bow HAPPY ENDING. Life, unfortunately, doesn't have a lot of happy endings. I don't know which would have been a more powerful way to end this movie. The way it DID end or the way it probably should have ended.
The movie was, at first, a little slow if I am being honest. I was expecting more...but I trust that they were easing us into the end. I wished I had brought more tissues for the the film but I was thankful to be distracted by Ginny Weasley's "First Lady Helmet Hair" at the end of the movie because it gave me a chance to get rid of the evidence of the tears.
I am SO SAD that the Harry Potter franchise is done. That said, an Orange Julius at the mall with my incredible daughter pretty much took care of my sadness. I could also sit here and complain that the book wasn't much like the movie and they should have done a THIRD final movie if they were being REALLY honest with themselves and DANG Snape seemed even better in the movie than in the book. But I won't.
The IMDB Link
This one ended with Harry finally realizing his crux - his horcruxe,that is. He needs to die in order for Voldemort to die. What he doesn't take into account - and what everyone else neglects to remember - is that with the resurrection stone, he can come back to life. PHEW. Mischief Managed...I mean...problem solved.
The thing is, I always remember Harry Lives...when I talked over the years with friends about the last book, they were always like "Harry DIES Stephanie" and I would say "No, duh, Harry LIVES." because all I could remember was the prologue...where everything is a nicely tied-in-a-bow HAPPY ENDING. Life, unfortunately, doesn't have a lot of happy endings. I don't know which would have been a more powerful way to end this movie. The way it DID end or the way it probably should have ended.
The movie was, at first, a little slow if I am being honest. I was expecting more...but I trust that they were easing us into the end. I wished I had brought more tissues for the the film but I was thankful to be distracted by Ginny Weasley's "First Lady Helmet Hair" at the end of the movie because it gave me a chance to get rid of the evidence of the tears.
I am SO SAD that the Harry Potter franchise is done. That said, an Orange Julius at the mall with my incredible daughter pretty much took care of my sadness. I could also sit here and complain that the book wasn't much like the movie and they should have done a THIRD final movie if they were being REALLY honest with themselves and DANG Snape seemed even better in the movie than in the book. But I won't.
The IMDB Link
(For Friday 7/16) Apollo 13 - 1995
One of my all-time favorite movies. Seriously.
Tom Hanks is probably right up there with my list of favorite actors. I have watched so many things by him over the past year...and this is just the icing on the cake.
Jim Lovell is an astronaut slated to go to the moon. The trip begins jinxed from the start - a sick partner, a wife who wants to skip the launch because of the "13" unlucky number, a family all distracted and a world that has already lost "space madness" after getting there with Neil Armstrong a little while before this mission. Add to that a burst coil deep in the tanks of the ship causing this mission to go horribly wrong.
I saw this in 1995 in the theater with my best friend Jana. We were so enamored with space afterwards that we took a telescope out and started trying to watch every movie we could about this mission. We had NO.IDEA. this happened and SOMEWHERE I even have the full-life-size cutout of the guys in the movie...yeah...when I go all-out-fan, I get a little spooky. ANYWAY, for quality of acting and realistic you-feel-like-you're-in-the-moment-ness, this movie hits it out of the park. Maybe even out of this world... ;)
The IMDB Link
Tom Hanks is probably right up there with my list of favorite actors. I have watched so many things by him over the past year...and this is just the icing on the cake.
Jim Lovell is an astronaut slated to go to the moon. The trip begins jinxed from the start - a sick partner, a wife who wants to skip the launch because of the "13" unlucky number, a family all distracted and a world that has already lost "space madness" after getting there with Neil Armstrong a little while before this mission. Add to that a burst coil deep in the tanks of the ship causing this mission to go horribly wrong.
I saw this in 1995 in the theater with my best friend Jana. We were so enamored with space afterwards that we took a telescope out and started trying to watch every movie we could about this mission. We had NO.IDEA. this happened and SOMEWHERE I even have the full-life-size cutout of the guys in the movie...yeah...when I go all-out-fan, I get a little spooky. ANYWAY, for quality of acting and realistic you-feel-like-you're-in-the-moment-ness, this movie hits it out of the park. Maybe even out of this world... ;)
The IMDB Link
Friday, July 15, 2011
(For Thursday 7/15) Climbing Redwood Giants - 2009
Yeah. I watched it. I ran out of time to blog about it though!
Thanks for checking in on the blog...feel free to ask me if you want to know more about this one!
- Stephanie
Thanks for checking in on the blog...feel free to ask me if you want to know more about this one!
- Stephanie
(For Wednesday 7/13) UHF - 1989
Yeah. I watched it. I ran out of time to blog about it though!
Thanks for checking in on the blog...feel free to ask me if you want to know more about this one!
- Stephanie
Thanks for checking in on the blog...feel free to ask me if you want to know more about this one!
- Stephanie
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