The race to watch as many Blockbuster rentals during one month as we possibly can continues! My goal in this endeavor is to walk into the 16th & Q store and pick out the first new release I’ve always wanted to see but haven’t yet. (Usually I pick one and Jeremy picks one.) Quite a few of my selections are romantic comedies. Something happened approximately six years ago when I got married: my romantic comedy movia quota dropped dramatically and I began to appreciate the finer sides of science fiction, fantasy and action films. At any rate, a lot of my movie selections this month are good for a few laughs and 1.5-2 hours of checking out of reality.
I was prepared to dislike Win a Date with Tad Hamilton based upon some review I once read. Instead I really liked it’s sweetness and cheese… Good stuff. Didn’t enjoy The Rundown. Ugh. I managed to find other things to do during the latter half of the movie—exciting things like scrubbing formula out of Livia’s bottle nipples and applying stain removal spray to the shirt I spilled ketchup on last week. Let’s see… What else did we see? We braved the heights and bitter cold along with the two mountain climbers in Touching the Void. This movie plays like a documentary accompanied by narration from the real-life climbers. Watching it is literally breathtaking and I found myself gasping, in empathy and horror, many times. Definitely worth renting. On my own I took in The Company with Neve Campbell. I heard a friend once say this movie is more like a documentary and he was right. At times I was a bit bored with the dance scenes. Though I love the stage and elements of ballet, lighting and set design, I wasn’t captivated by the exotic dances. That being said, the film reminded me that I need to get to the theater more often—for dances, for symphonies, for plays or musicals, whatever. There’s nothing like seeing performances live on a stage. I was also pleased to see James Franco (Freaks and Geeks, Spiderman movies) in this one though his role was minimal. Favorite scene? Neve’s character’s “duet” dance on an outdoor stage while a storm rolled in. Simply beautiful.
Finally, I’ve got Calendar Girls on pause downstairs (paused to attend to a screaming baby and now to blog). I am totally enjoying this flick! It’s delightfully funny—so much so that I paused it to call my mom and laugh with her since I am watching it alone. The movie stirs up a very strong desire to go explore the English countryside, though for now I must leave that duty to Bethany in Oxford. It’s also awakened the age-old discussion regarding art… What’s the difference between being naked and being nude? What is tasteful art and what is pornographic? Hmmm… Chew on that, if you will, and leave any comments. I’d like to hear what you think!
22 Comments
sarah Aug 6, 2004 10:49 PM
i enjoyed watching ‘win a date…’ also. like you said, the “cheese” of it was fun (a surprising fun). but it definitely wasn’t a movie that made me think very hard or that left me pondering the greater questions of life.
i loved ‘calender girls’. i thought that it was hilarious.
i haven’t seen the other three, but i’d like to see ‘the company’ if nothing else than for the visual aspects…lighting, movement, set design, etc.
bethany Aug 7, 2004 9:36 AM
Unfortunately I have yet to do any yoga on the hillsides…maybe tomorrow.
rebecca Aug 7, 2004 10:17 AM
i think it’s tai chi, but what’s the difference? stretch a little, do a few calisthenics from your junior high gym class, and call it good.
bethany Aug 8, 2004 1:51 PM
Whatevs. :)
I saw 13 Going On 30 last night, Rebecca. Certainly not a “good movie” by any stretch of the imagination, but I thoroughly enjoyed it (or maybe that’s just because I’ve been in such movie withdrawal here).
rebecca Aug 8, 2004 6:57 PM
agreed. i enjoyed it, too, and laughed out loud several times. it was a harmless, fun flick.
andrew Aug 9, 2004 3:19 PM
there are some amazing movies coming out soon that i must purchase tickets for as soon as possible. they are:
the princess diaries 2: royal engagement
i have been in possession of the princess diaries, vhs, for approximately 2 years (i didn’t purchase it, however, i did ‘acquire’ it) and i consider it one of the best movies ever. i will be in line, by myself, on august 11th, laughing at all the rest of you.
garden state.
looks good. if it’s cinematic genius it involves life-sucking tragedy. perhaps to get ready i’ll listen to the soundtrack for a charlie brown christmas…that’ll perk me up.
alien vs. predator
“no matter who wins…we lose”
sin city
the cast and directing alone make me want to see this one. mickey rourke, bruce willis, benicio del toro, directed by robert rodriquez and quentin tarantino. oh boy.
Jason Morehead Aug 9, 2004 4:07 PM
Let’s not forget “Sky Captain And The World Of Tomorrow”… or “The Forgotten”… or “Shaun Of The Dead”… or “House Of Flying Daggers”… or “Hero”… or “Team America”… or “Blade Trinity”…
Jeremy Aug 9, 2004 4:14 PM
I second the “Sky Captain” vote. In fact, it has temporarily supplanted Livia as my work desktop screen. I’m having mixed opinions about “Blade Trinity”—I’ll probably delegate it to rental status. “Sin City,” however, may entice me to the box office.
rebecca Aug 9, 2004 4:42 PM
Princess Diaries 2? Really? Let me borrw PD:1…
bethany Aug 9, 2004 5:51 PM
There are some good flicks playing at the Ross in upcoming weeks, too…I’ll have four days to catch Coffee and Cigarettes after I get home.
Have you all seen Before Sunrise? B/c I’d like to see Before Sunset, and it’s playing at the Ross from 8.20-9.2, but I feel I should see the original before the sequel. Maybe a Monday movie night?
andrew Aug 10, 2004 8:31 AM
“team america: world police” looks potentially like the funniest movie ever. everyone should see the trailer as soon as possible.
http://www.teamamericamovie.com/
Jason Aug 10, 2004 11:06 AM
Also, “The Story Of The Weeping Camel” is coming to The Ross, and I’ve heard very, very good things about it.
Jason Morehead Aug 10, 2004 12:27 PM
Hey Jeremy… if “Sky Captain” has you wowed, check out the trailer for “Casshern”. It’s in Japanese, but the visuals… whew!
http://tinyurl.com/5t8yt
Jeremy Aug 10, 2004 1:09 PM
Sweeeeet… If that trailer’s typical of Japanese films, then I now know why you like them so much.
Jason Morehead Aug 10, 2004 3:41 PM
Oh believe me… Japan puts out just as much crap as Hollywood does… but the good stuff is really, really good. For example, “The Princess Blade”, “Ping-Pong”, or “Go”…
http://www.theprincessblade.com/
http://tinyurl.com/3r3pe
rebecca Aug 10, 2004 5:06 PM
B, I’d like to see Before Sunrise as well… It’d be nice to get more background info on it — I know just enough to know that I don’t know much about it’s director and the way he filmed it.
dena Aug 10, 2004 10:47 PM
rebecca, thanks for all the great reviews… i’m going to have a week of “free time” once i get to syracuse, and i’m hoping to hit up several of the ones you’ve seen recently, esp “anna karenina” and “freaks and geeks”!
bethany Aug 11, 2004 6:05 AM
Dena, before anything else, watch Freaks and Geeks. Trust me, you won’t regret it. You’ll wonder how you lived without it all these years! ;)
Jason Morehead Aug 11, 2004 9:58 AM
Yes, yes, yes… watch “Freaks And Geeks”!!! It’ll be the best thing you do all year.
Well maybe not, but it’ll be up there.
rebecca Aug 11, 2004 10:08 AM
Agreed. You’ll love F&G.
dena Aug 12, 2004 12:03 AM
whoa, alright, i guess i’m watching F&G before i do anything else… i may not even stop to unpack!
Jason Morehead Aug 12, 2004 10:12 AM
That’s the spirit!