A few random movies

I've been trying to catch up on my movie watching over the holidays and have seen a rather random assortment of films.

The Prince of Egypt. I decided to watch this because I wanted to hear Brian Stokes Mitchell sing "Through Heaven's Eyes." It was an animated movie about Moses. Not my favorite, but it was not bad. The best part (other than BSM's song) was the plagues. That was very well done.

Bye, Bye Birdie. This was the original movie from 1963 with Dick Van Dyke, Janet Leigh and Ann-Margaret. Rock star Conrad Birdie is drafted, and as part of his farewell performance, he kisses one of his fans. I think it was a parody of Elvis hysteria. Mostly, I thought it was lame. The songs weren't even very good.

Arsenic and Old Lace. This is a Frank Capra Halloween movie. It's a strange mix of comedy and murder. A man (Cary Grant) figures out that his aunts have been murdering lonely men. His brother is crazy and thinks he's Teddy Roosevelt. The aunts trick him into digging the Panama Canal in the basement and burying all the "yellow fever" victims there. Then a third brother shows up, a murderer, and he looks like Boris Karloff. It's ridiculous, but Cary Grant is really good.

Mission: Impossible III. Action, explosions, Tom Cruise. Need I say more? Yes, it was directed by J.J. Abrams, and at the very end of the credits (for all of you who were paying attention) there is a Lost reference.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. A beautiful movie, although not as good as The Lord of the Rings. The fate of middle earth is not at stake, so it doesn't feel as important, if that makes sense. I need to see it again because there is too  much to take in during just one viewing. The casting and acting were good, and by the end I really enjoyed it.

Lincoln. I LOVED this movie. It was perfect. I was nearly in tears several times. It's the story of the passage of the thirteenth amendment abolishing slavery. All the acting was excellent, and it was well written. I thought the way they handled Lee's surrender and Lincoln's assassination were very interesting and unusual. Daniel Day-Lewis was great. I particularly liked the way he walked. It's just how I imagine Lincoln would have walked.

Vacations are a good time to watch movies

I've had some extra time to watch a few movies recently.

First, The Hunger Games. It was a well-done movie and a good story. I'll probably read the book, but I don't think I can watch the movie again. Way too disturbing (I handle disturbing things better in books than in movies). When the On Demand wigged out and I had to fast forward through three quarters of the movie to see the end, I had to close my eyes a few times because I couldn't watch some of the scenes even at double speed.

Love's Labour's Lost. This is Kenneth Branagh doing a Shakespearean comedy. It's a musical. And it's awesome.

Secret Life of Bees. This was a beautiful movie. It was well written, well acted. It was very heavy. I nearly fell apart a couple of times while watching it. Lily runs away from her abusive father and is taken in by three sisters who are beekeepers. Set to the backdrop of racially divided South Carolina in the 60s, Lily learns a little of how the world works, her place in it, and about the mother she accidentally shot. The cast was great and includes: Dakota Fanning, Queen Latifa, Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys, Sophie Okonedo, and Paul Bettany.

Mirror Mirror. I watched this in the theater on a cruise ship. It really wasn't set up to show movies on a big screen. The picture was dark and possibly distorted. And I was tired when I watched it. Julia Roberts was the evil queen. It was for a younger audience, but it was a cute movie.

17 Miracles. You know from the outset that if anyone requires that many miracles things are going to be bad.  The impression was confirmed when the first scene in the movie was our main character and others finding the Donner party. The movie was about handcart companies crossing the plains to Salt Lake City. It was kind of a downer in many respects, although many of them did make it all the way to Utah. I thought Jasen Wade did a good job. It was based on true events.

Snow White and the Huntsman. It thought this was good; definitely way better than I expected. I really only watched it because Chris Hemsworth (Thor) was in it. It was very dark, and some parts were disturbing. The queen was very evil. I wouldn't have cast Kristen Stewart, but she did a good job as did the rest of the cast. The special effects were excellent.

This only takes me halfway to 50. I guess I need a movie marathon.

A few movies

Someone recommended The Other Guys. He said he thought I'd find it funny. I didn't. The actors did a good job with their characters, but it was so not my kind of humor.

AnnaLisa lent the Ever After on DVD. I enjoyed it. I like fairy tales with spunky heroines. And the prince had good hair. That being said, fairy tales are lies we tell our daughters.

Battleship had good special effects, but other than that it was pretty lame and predictable. How they connected the plot to the game was somewhat clever, if a little far-fetched.

I was downtown a few weeks ago (after taking an awesome tour about the architecture of the National Mall), so I stopped in at the Natural History museum and caught an IMAX movie. It was called Coral Reef Adventure. The film was about threats to our coral reefs and what we can do about it. It was good and had a lot of Crosby, Stills & Nash music. I had wanted to see a 3D IMAX movie, but it's probably good that I didn't, because this one made me motion sick. 3D would have been worse.

4 movies and 1 book

Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows, was a bit complicated but still enjoyable. I like both Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law. I liked when Holmes would imagine how a fight would go, which was demonstrated for the viewers in slow motion, then we would see the fight not quite work out that way when it actually happened.

I went to see The Avengers with Leslea and her family. Even though we spent the first five minutes of the ride home commenting on all the things that were wrong with it -- apparently Hawkeye had about a hundred arrows in that quiver before it finally ran out and a bunch of beautiful people would fight for 10 minutes and end up with token scratches on their faces. That being said, we all agreed that it was a fun movie.

I can understand what Leslea said about the resemblance of The Artist to Singin' in the Rain. I felt The Artist used the earlier movie as an inspiration and jumping off point. I really loved it. It was beautiful and well done. Well worth watching.

I watched Disney's John Carter last night. I was expecting it to be really terrible, so I was pleasantly surprised. It wasn't the best movie in the world, but it was pretty good. The dialogue could have been written better. But it was filmed beautifully and the special effects were great.

I read Alan Mendelsohn, The Boy From Mars by Daniel M. Pinkwater. I found it on the shelf when I was storing some old kids books. I must have considered reading it in high school, because I found a ninth-grade class schedule in it. It was an interesting book and a clever idea. Leonard Neeble moves to a new school and everybody hates him until he meets Alan Mendelsohn. Together the boys go on crazy adventures in which they learn mind control, visit other planes of existence and save the Waka Waka people from their oppressors. I like weird books where weird things happen and normal people have solve difficult problems. But I didn't love this book. It was very creative and the characters likable, but it wasn't great. I did like that by the end Leonard had grown as a person and learned how to confront all the problems he was having in school. And maybe, he'll get to visit his friend at home on Mars.

Hugo Cabret

I put off reading The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick, because I like words and most of this 500+ page book consists of illustrations. But they are wonderful illustrations drawn in pencil on watercolor paper. I shouldn't have put it off so long. Brian Selznick is an excellent artist and illustrator. This book deserved The Caldecott Medal (for children's book illustration) that it received.

This is the story of Hugo Cabret, an orphaned son of a clock maker, who finds an automaton in the burned-out remains of the museum where his father died. Hugo repairs the mechanical man, and it changes his life. Along the way, he learns a little bit about himself and the world and finds out he's not all alone.

The illustrations move the story along in a way that text cannot. During the scene when Hugo falls onto the train tracks and is in danger of being hit by an oncoming train is beautifully depicted through a series of illustrations showing the train getting nearer and larger. The illustrations are very much like stills from a movie, which is appropriate given that one of the characters is the early filmmaker Georges Melies.

Here is part of a scene From one of my favorite text parts of the book, pages 374-375:

Hugo thought about his father's description of the automaton. "Did you ever notice that all machines are made for some reason?" he asked Isabelle. "They are built to make you laugh, like the mouse here, or to tell the time, like clocks, or to fill you with wonder, like the automaton. Maybe that's why a broken machine always makes me a little sad, because it isn't able to do what it was meant to do." 

Isabelle picked up the mouse, wound it again, and set it down. 

"Maybe it's the same with people," Hugo continued. "If you lose your purpose . . . it's like you're broken."
. . . 

Hugo and Isabelle were quiet for a moment, and then Isabelle said, "So is that you're purpose? Fixing things? 

Hugo thought about it. "I don't know," he said. "Maybe." 

"Then what's my purpose?" wondered Isabelle. 

"I don't know," said Hugo.

Ultimately, this is a book about healing and finding purpose in life as well as those people who can help you fulfill your purpose.

A short review on a little blog, can't do justice to this book. It is well worth the read.

We Bought a Zoo

This weekend I watched the Cameron Crowe film We Bought a Zoo. I thought it was great. I haven't seen too many Crowe films, but the few I have seen seem to be about healing after a loss, be it a job or a loved one. In this film, Benjamin's wife has died of cancer leaving him to care for their two children. His job is really going nowhere, so he decides quit his job and his life and start over in a new house. He finds the perfect house; the only catch is that it comes with a zoo. Benjamin spends all his savings to get the zoo up and running. But will people come? Will he and his kids be happy? The story is based on a real zoo and real people who still live there.

The movie appealed to me because it has lots of animals (and Matt Damon). I think I missed my calling to work with animals, so I watch movies in which they play important roles. The film was well acted and well written. It was poignant without being sappy. It's nice to see people work toward a goal and become whole, happy people in the process.

Hugo

This weekend, I watched the movie Hugo based on Brian Selznick's book, The Invention of Hugo Cabret. I have not read the book, but I will since I loved the movie and Selznick is the illustrator of one of my favorite picture books, The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins.

Hugo is an orphan who lives in the walls of a Paris train station and keeps the clocks working. His only friend is a broken automaton that he and his father were trying to repair before his father's death. Soon Hugo, caught stealing, runs afoul of an angry man who runs a toy booth at the station. He also meets a girl and together they bring healing to their own and others' lives.

I'm not sure what to say, other than it was a beautiful film. It was joyful (by the end) without being sappy. It was wonderful.

Competitive birding

Last night I watched The Big Year, a movie that revolved around the world of competitive bird watching, or birding. Given that the movie starred Steve Martin, Jack Black, and Owen Wilson, you might have expected a zany comedy. It had funny parts, and the lengths characters would go to spot a bird led to some funny scenes.

All three men are birders who have decided to do a "big year" in which they try to spot as many birds in the United States as possible during the calendar year. On their journeys to find birds, the characters also have to find out about themselves, what is important in their lives, and what they are willing to sacrifice to be the best birder in the world.

I enjoyed the film, much more than I think I expected to. It was well worth watching.

Adventures, Fashion, Mystery, and Shame

Watched:

The Peacemaker – This is an older movie about terrorists getting their hands on nuclear weapons, with Nicole Kidman and George Clooney chasing them. Lots of cliché action scenes, you know, the car exploding in the background as they run away (jump!), the inevitable fist fight with the bad guy at the edge of a cliff, and of course, attempting to disarm the bomb while the time runs down. I’m married to someone who studies and works with issues of weapons of mass distruction, so when he finds another movie about nukes, we generally watch it. I didn’t love the movie, but it wasn’t terrible, and other than the F word several times, there wasn’t anything inappropriate.

Bill Cunningham New York – This is a nice documentary about Bill Cunningham, a fashion photographer for the “On the Street” column of the New York Times. I’ve seen people recommend this, people who are into clothes, and I figured that I would not watch it because I figured it would make me depressed about my whole sense of style and fashion, but I had a cold this week and while resting and watching endless TV, this came up on my Netflix, so I watched it, and it had quite the opposite effect on me. The thing about Bill Cunningham is that he seems very authentic, true to himself, and very respectful to people of all walks of life, and he would never make fun of anyone for what they were wearing, he just wanted to document it all. It was overall enjoyable, and not depressing. In fact, it made me feel even less like being a slave to fashion than I already do, but in a happy way, not in a rebellious, angry at the industry way, just like: well, I can wear whatever I want and if someone is judging me for it, it’s their problem, and I’m fine even if Bill Cunningham wouldn’t take my picture.

Read:

Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage (Alfred Lansing) – Pretty amazing story about an attempted Antarctic expedition, Shackleton and his crew were going to do the first transcontinental exploration. This is right around WWI, so they have no particularly advanced technological gear for dealing with the extreme conditions they would encounter. They didn’t make it across the continent, they didn’t even make a landing on Antarctica, but they all survived, sometimes because of luck, sometimes because of skill, sometimes because of sheer determination. There were a lot of things that I didn’t understand when the author talks about navigation and maneuvering through the sea, because I’ve never sailed on a ship and I don’t know anything about these things, but that doesn't detract from it, and it was a riveting story.

How to Be a Pirate (Cressida Cowell) – The second book from the "How to Train Your Dragon" series. Hiccup has a grand adventure looking for pirate treasure, he's learning bit by bit how to be a hero, because it doesn't come easy for him. Another fun, quick read, and no techno-babble about how to actually sail and navigate a ship.

The Red House Mystery (AA Milne) – This was a fluffy, fun mystery from the author of Winnie the Pooh. It had lots of Sherlock Holmes references and a secret passage. I’m a sucker for secret passages. I actually listened to this book, I found a website where you can download free podcasts of books, they are mostly older and not under copyright. The ones I’ve listened to so far are all very well done. If there’s a book you want to read but you don’t want to spend money on it and the library doesn’t have it, and it’s a classic, I recommend looking on this website.

I Thought It Was Just Me: Women reclaiming power and courage in a culture of shame (Brene Brown) – This book is so, so good. Brene Brown researches shame and its effects on women and this book is all about how to build resilience to shame. Here is a good video of here explaining some of her research and it is a good introduction to the book. The book goes into more detail about how to identify when what you feel is shame instead of something else, like embarrassment or anger or guilt, and how empathy is the opposite of shame. She shares a lot of stories from the women that she interviewed, as well as some from her own life. Some of these stories hit me right in the gut, and some of them didn’t seem as applicable to me, but I could definitely understand why they were painful experiences. I would recommend this book to everyone that I know. If you have ever felt in some way that you are not enough, and it worries you because you think you're the only one (I’m raising my hand over here), read this book! I would be interested to see what my husband thinks of all of the topics in it, but he probably won’t read it because of the title, he seems to be under the impression that it is weird feminist stuff, and it isn’t.

Dolphin Tale

Should I be embarrassed that I watched Dolphin Tale? It's a "feel-good, family movie." I think this kind of film is called a three-generation picture, one that kids, parents and grandparents can watch together.

The film was inspired by the true story of a dolphin, later named Winter, who was found injured and washed up on the beach. She later had her tail amputated. Of course, right from the beginning we knew it would have a happy ending, because Winter played herself. It was predictable and a little sappy at times, but still, it was a story about creativity, teamwork, and ingenuity in overcoming great odds. Really, what's wrong with that? I like watching the animals. It reminds me that I missed my calling to work with wildlife.

It's a fun movie. The kids, in particular, did a great job. It was a pleasant way to spend a couple of hours. For more on the Clearwater Marine Aquarium or to see Winter's webcam, visit http://seewinter.com/

How to Train Your Dragon and Real Steel

Book: How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell

Recommended to me by Annalisa, and I LOVE the movie. I liked the book a lot, and it was different than the movie, and since it is a kid’s book it’s an easy read. Looking forward to more of the series. Whenever I read a book about dragons, I compare it to my longtime favorite dragon book, Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C Wrede. What do you think dragons would be like? Are they ferocious creatures that will destroy anything in their path? Are they nice, misunderstood creatures that just need to eat a lot? Are they intelligent? Can they talk to people? Another dragon book that I’ve liked is Dragonhaven by Robin McKinley, and I know there are others and I just can’t remember all of them. Do you like dragon stories? What are your favorites?

Movie: Real Steel

My husband figured I would watch this movie with him because it has Hugh Jackman and he might take off his shirt. So I did, and he did, and that was all good. As for the rest of the movie: Futuristic boxing robots, Human trafficking, Typical sports movie plot template, Special father-son and robot bonding. It was okay. 

From Paris to Shangri La

MOVIES
Midnight in Paris. Wonderful movie! The opening is like a city tour of Paris and all the writers and artists that you meet in the midnight hours should give you a great list of classics and biographies to explore! It’s a love story, but not a “chick flick.” Highly recommended!

Cowboys and Aliens. We have a saying in our house when we’ve watched a not-especially-good movie but we didn’t turn it off and we didn’t really get bored: “Well, it was popcorn!” This was one of those flicks! Over-acted and unbelievable, but since it wasn’t rated very highly, not that much of a disappointment.

Bridesmaids. My hubby rented this because it kept showing up on the “best movies of the year” list. He didn’t make it very far, so it wasn’t even popcorn to him. I enjoyed it more than I expected to. It was a little hard to believe that our star thought she was ugly and that no man would want her and I did think that today’s women had gotten past the “have to have a partner…husband…whatever” to be happy. My favorite character was the overweight sister of the groom! I know she was over compensating for all the cruelty she must have experienced from her peers, but she was truly a beautiful person.

BOOKS
Just finished Clive Cussler’s, The Kingdom; A Fargo Adventure (written with Grant Blackwood). It’s a typical Cussler book, which is not a criticism in my opinion! The Fargoes are a husband and wife team who travel the world looking for ancient treasures. They don’t do it for themselves, of course, but to turn the artifacts over to the government of the country where they rightfully belong. Remi and Sam are extremely smart and athletic and have influential friends everywhere who can cut through red tape for them. That really helps when you are searching for an ancient “Golden Man” in Shangri La. The fun in these books is trying to discover what is true and what Cussler has made up. I used to have to take notes and then do research. Thanks to the iPhone, now I can just sit in my easy chair and find out if an island really exists and even find it on a map. Good adventure book with a little history included for free!

Two movies

I'll get things started. Normally, I think I'd do better on the reading than on the movie watching. But here it is, the beginning of the second week of the year and I've watched two movies but I haven't read a single book (I'm part way through two of them though).

Last week I watched Captain America. With apologies to patriots and fans alike, it was my least favorite of the superhero movies. But it was still an enjoyable enough movie. Who doesn't like seeing the good guy win?

The other movie I saw was Contagion. I was interested in this because, for one of my jobs, I read about infectious diseases. I read a review that said the movie was like watching a dramatic episode of NOVA. That's what I liked about it. It didn't feel over the top. It seemed realistic. And it made me want to wash my hands. Over and over and over.

What do you think?