June Movie/DVD thread

[EllenL]

Thought I should start this so I could recommend a DVD I rented from Netflix (I don't go to to movie theatres, so all my posts will be on older films that I rented).

Saw 10 Items or Less. It's a charming movie, with Morgan Freeman and Paz Vega, a Spanish actress. Only 90 minutes. It's about an aging action film star who hasn't worked for four years. He gets an offer for an indie film but wants to do some research, so he goes to a small LA grocery store where he would be playing the part of a manager. After scoping out the store, he spends the rest of the day with one of the cashiers, a young Latina who is feisty but hurting. It sort of becomes a road movie, but they spend time off the road at a car wash and at Target (a very funny bit). It's not that there is anything romantic between them, but they just connect and spend a magical day together. It sounds hokey, but it's not at all. It's sort of a feel-good movie, but realistic as well. I just loved it. I even liked the DVD extras, like "Ten Reasons or Less You Should See THis Film on DVD."

Alos recently enjoyed The Painted Veil with Edward Norton and Naomi Watts, based on the W. Somerset Maugham novella about a young woman who marries a doctor she doesn't love just to escape her framily in 1920's England. She moves to China with him during the height of the cholera epidemic. She has an affair that almost breaks up their marriage, but then things change. Beautifully done. Costumes were fantastic. Acting excellent (Edward Norton can do no wrong as far as I'm concerned!)

[sneezles]

Is The Painted Veil on DVD or just at the theatre? I saw a trailer for it on another DVD so I wondered.

Just watched The Fountain and found it to be confusing until more than halfway through. Though I was watching on a small tv while on the treadmill so that may have been a problem itself (couldn't read the subtitles or hear some of the conversations). I was surprised that DS#1 had it on his Netflix list as I would term it a chick-flick.

Finally got around to watching The Departed-good movie just wish tough guys didn't have to use the F word quite so much.:p

Catch and Release...definitely a chick-flick but DH did laugh out loud a couple of times. He's also a fan of Jennifer's so it was easy to persuade him!;)

Music and Lyrics...sort of on a chick-flick current right now but again funny and enjoyable.

School for Scoundrels...very funny, Napoleon Dynamite grows up. Billy Bob Thorton is hysterical!

[funnybone]

Thanks for the reviews - I will have to add those to my queue.

One movie I enjoyed recently was Music and Lyrics with Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore. It was just plain fun to watch.

I just noticed that Sneezles mentioned this one too. :)

[Gilgamesh37]

We watched the remake of The Wicker Man the other night, with Nicolas Cage. OMG. Rent it for unintentional hilarity, but otherwise, give it a skip.

Also saw Irreversible. Well done, hard to watch (both in terms of subject matter and lots of swoopy, nauseous-making camera work), incredibly violent in parts. Excellent performances, but not one I'll ever feel compelled to watch again.

Pan's Labyrinth - is a bit older. DBF loved the visuals and the fantasy parts, I was less enchanted. I think it was very misleading that this was largely advertised in the US as a "fantasy" film---NOT for children, imo.

Another older one I'd highly recommend (although not for Sneezles, as there's lots of F bombs :) ) is Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. I haven't laughed that hard at a movie in a long time, and Robert Downey jr--no matter what his personal demons are, he can act rings around just about anybody else out there.

[Elisabeth13]

We just got Pan's Labyrinth and The Departed from Netflix. I was really excited about Pan's Labyrinth, not as much so about The Departed. I haven't sat down and watched a movie in a REALLY long time, so I hope at least one of them is good! :)

[Jezebelly]

The Departed is pretty good, I guess.

Breach - I thought - was slightly boring, but that comes out on Tuesday. I'm hard on movies, though.

How about an all-time favorite recommendation?
Shallow Grave - Ewan McGreggor and some other people.

[mbrogier]

I just rented Firewall with Harrison Ford and Paul Bettany--who did play the awesome vilain. The plot was the same old same old kidnapping/make the hero do computer hacking/yada yada yada... Unless you love Paul Bettany as a vilain--and I do, skip this one.

I never got into 24 because I missed the first season so the rest of the series didn't make sense to me. I just rented the first season and am now a Jack Bauer fan. I can't wait to watch the rest of the series.

I also found MacGuyver and Airwolf on Netflix. I am so psyched because I loved those series as a child. Rob has never seen Airwolf and very few episodes of MacGuyver. It's going to be fun to see him become a huge fan like me. --I think it's so cool that "MacGuyver" is actually used as a verb now. Pop culture history is awesome.

[Valerie226]

Thanks for starting this thread. We just switched from a video store to Netflix and I'm finding it hard to keep track of new releases. Guess I relied on seeing new ones on the shelf to know what was out. Plenty aren't worth watching but I don't want to miss the good movies that aren't well known.

FWIW, a fairly new movie ( last 6 months?) that I really enjoyed was "Matchpoint" with Jonathan Rhys Myers & Scarlet Johanson. Good story, good dialogue, and some interesting twists. I highly recommend this one.
We just watched Deja Vu with Denzel, but even he couldn't save it. Pans' labyrinth is up for this weekend. "The West Wing" is really enjoyable & unlike the local video store, netflix has all the episodes.

[hlao23]

We watched the remake of The Wicker Man the other night, with Nicolas Cage. OMG. Rent it for unintentional hilarity, but otherwise, give it a skip.

I have a friend who LOVES the original...not so much the remake.

We just rented The Believer. Based on the true story of a Jewish boy who becomes a skin-head. Fascinating with a very interesting final scene.

[blazedog]

Right now I am going through an old Masterpiece Theater series called The Duchess of Duke Street. If you loved Upstairs Downstairs, you will like this as well. It is loosely based on a woman who was supposed to be the best cook in England -- had an affair with King Edward and then ran a very posh hotel in London for many years.

Some other recommendations with a few pans.

Pan's Labyrinth -- great

Painted Veil -- flawed but very interesting

Last King of Scotland -- well worth seeing

The Good German -- rent a classic Hitchcock or film noir instead

Little Children -- well worth viewing but not excellent

The Prize Winner of Defiance -- very enjoyable -- from the woman who did The Cheerleader movie on HBO about a decade ago so it has a very "twisted" take

The Good Shepherd -- very interesting and fairly well done

The Wire -- I had seen these when they originally aired on HBO. This is one of the BEST pieces of film -- movie or television. If you haven't seen it, don't miss it. If you have, I couldn't believe how much more I "got" from it on the second view (I did Seasons 1 and 2) and will be re-watching Season 3 which I had TIVO'ed and kept.

Catch and Release -- utterly boring and predictable -- Garner is a third rate Julia Roberts

The Queen -- don't miss this one

Notes On A Scandal -- great movie

Hustle & Flow -- a tad predictable but worth seeing if you need something

Sherrybaby -- really good

Wonderland -- flawed but I am a sucker for these kinds of movies and my friend lived on the block at the time of the murder so I sort of knew the back story

This Film Is Not Yet Rated -- documentary which will get your blood boiling on the film rating system if you wonder why children are allowed to view gore and maiming

Pretty Persuasion -- like Heathers, this high school satire is more than what is seems on the surface -- very funny

Vera Drake -- excellent movie

Transamerica -- Felicity Hoffman is fabulous -- the move is pretty good as well.

[Elisabeth13]

The Wire -- I had seen these when they originally aired on HBO. This is one of the BEST pieces of film -- movie or television. If you haven't seen it, don't miss it. If you have, I couldn't believe how much more I "got" from it on the second view (I did Seasons 1 and 2) and will be re-watching Season 3 which I had TIVO'ed and kept.


I agree with blazedog - this is an EXCELLENT show. DBF and I have made it through seasons 1 and 2 so far. Highly recommend.

On the subject of tv shows, I also think Six Feet Under is excellent.

[mightyh]

Summer IS a great time to watch TV series.... so, I am going to suggest Arrested Development to anyone who missed the series during it's short three-season run. If you enjoy clever banter, word play, and just laughing till your sides ache, please check this series out.

[KristiB]

I rented season one of Kyle XY.

I'd never heard of the show but it's on ABC Family which suprises me because I thought ABC Family was a "prude" channel. This show has a LOT of sexual references in it. The sex/girl crazed pre-teen cracks me up.

Anyway I'm enjoying it and have Season 2 saved to TiVo.

I also watched Lies and Alibies which was a pretty good crime caper comedy with a great cast.

I also love The Wire

[Valerie226]

could someone set me straight on The Wire...? I'm sure we started watching it, saw maybe one episode and didn't like it. couldn't understand the dialogue or see what was going on, very dark and confusing. It might have been on videotape rather than DVD. But I keep hearing that it's good. Did I get a wrong first impression? How long did you need to stick with it?

[blazedog]

could someone set me straight on The Wire...? I'm sure we started watching it, saw maybe one episode and didn't like it. couldn't understand the dialogue or see what was going on, very dark and confusing. It might have been on videotape rather than DVD. But I keep hearing that it's good. Did I get a wrong first impression? How long did you need to stick with it?

This is a brilliant film and it makes the viewer work -- most media dumbs down for the viewer. In The Wire almost everything is important -- something small might happen and several episodes later, it will have significance.

Things aren't spelled out -- one has to infer it.

The creator, David Simon, has compared it to a novel -- which is accurate. In dumb TV/movies, plot exposition is spelled out so that any fool can't miss exactly what is occuring. The Wire respects the intelligence of its viewers and assumes they will remember something that occurred in a previous episode even if they weren't hit over the hit. In many movies, it is so obvious when something is of significance because the music changes, the camera hones it, the characters discuss it -- and the rediscuss it.

As for the dialogue, I watch it with the closed captions and never viewed it live -- because I often play back parts where my mind might have wandered slightly -- there is no padding in it.

As for whether it is dark -- yes it is dark but at least in my view, it portrays a reality that is dark. It is not just about drugs anymore than The Godfather was simply a gangster movie. -- although that is superficially the topic of Season 1. It is about the institutions of America -- Season 3 was, in some ways a metaphor for Iraq -- Season 4 deals with education but to describe them in this way completely fails to capture their brilliance.

[Valerie226]

Hmmm, I could never get subtitles or closed captioning to work with ideotapes but they work fine with DVDs and I use them all the time. I'm tone deaf when it comes to movie dialogue expecially if there are accents or words I don't recognize. We'll give it another try when we're done with the west wing. Thanks.

[beacooker]

Blazedog, glad to see the recommendation to watch The Wire a second time - we discovered it last summer, and devoured all the seasons in no time flat. I've really been missing my buddies Stringer Bell and Bodie, not to mention hot Jimmy McNulty and Sergeant Carver! So, now you've given me the last little push I needed to start re-watching it. :) And ditto for using Closed-Captioning for it. DH and I tried watching it a few years ago without CC, and were lost.

And Elisabeth13, Six Feet Under was my favorite show of all-time until we started watching The Wire.

We just finished watching Flags of our Fathers. Very moving. My only problem was, I never could quite get straight who was who. But I always have that problem with war movies.

We watched The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe a few nights ago. I thought it was a decent production of the book, but it mainly just made me want to read the book again.

We watched The Prestige a few weeks ago, based on a bb recommendation, and I thought it was great! I wasn't expecting to like it, because it seemed too similar to the Edward Norton magician movie which I thought was a snore, but I was pleasantly surprised.

[Elisabeth13]

I'm glad someone else likes Six Feet Under too! I just think it's so well done. DBF and I watched the whole thing, and I just started re-watching at Season One with my mom, because she's never seen it and I feel like I'm appreciating it even more.

And The Wire is wonderful. I've only made it through Season Two, but I'm impressed. I loved blazedog's description of it like a novel - so true, but I hadn't looked at it like that before. It has simultaneously enraged me, broken my heart, and made me laugh. What a great show!

[funnybone]

And Elisabeth13, Six Feet Under was my favorite show of all-time until we started watching The Wire.


I loved SFU, watched the entire series through Netflix. I even delayed watching the last episode for a couple of weeks because I just didn't want it to end. :o I've had The Wire in my queue for ages, but have never moved it up. I think I'll have to start watching that one soon.

[Jessnc]

I joined Blockbuster Total Access a couple months ago, so I've been watching my fair share of movies.

Things You Can Tell Just By Looking At Her I really enjoy movies that present different stories that all tie together. I was totally engrossed with most of this movie, but after all was said and done, I was left unsatisfied.

World Trade Center I didn't have a burning desire to see this movie, but I was curious as to how good it was going to be. I think the tragedy is still too fresh in my mind. I thought it was ok.

Meet The Parents Funny, but I'm not a big fan of sarcastic humor.

Pi Whoa - what was going on in this movie? I was left unsatisfied with this as well. The storyline was interesting, I'll give it that much. However, it didn't give the viewer a good sense of what was real and what was not, IMO.

Alfie It was ok. I'm not into male sleaziness, so this movie was kind of a turn off for me. Jude is such a handsome devil though.



Rumor Has It Cute movie.

In The Heat Of The Night An older movie. I really enjoyed this film. I liked how it played out and I would reccommend it to anyone.

Under the Tuscan Sun Loved it. I thought it was a great chick flick and I'd watch it again in a heartbeat.

[funnybone]

Under the Tuscan Sun Loved it. I thought it was a great chick flick and I'd watch it again in a heartbeat.

OMG - the male lead is reason to have the movie on a continuous loop! ;) :D Too bad my DH would turn it off! :)

[Jessnc]

OMG - the male lead is reason to have the movie on a continuous loop! ;) :D Too bad my DH would turn it off! :)

*Blushing* Yes - wasn't he just yummy?

[ClaraB]

An Inconvenient Truth - eh, it wasn't bad, but not as gripping as I expected. Some of the stats seemed pretty fuzzy, and those who said it was apolitical must be off their rockers :p . The Simpsons scene was pretty funny, though.

Blood Diamond - incredible movie, very moving. Made me despair at whether we will ever be free of the greed that causes so much of the world's misfortunes. I'm holding back awhile on watching The Last King of Scotland because of the movie, because I can only handle so many "African despair" movies (Hotel Rwanda being another one I've recently seen). Leonardo DiCaprio is one of the best younger actors around.

Flags of Our Fathers - another great movie. Clint Eastwood is just a great director, and I really like how he took the same story and made two movies from it, telling the different POV (Letters From Iwo Jima being the other one - DH saw it, and also loved it).

Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker - DS loved this one. It's really geared toward preteen boys, and is based on a popular children's novel - think James Bond without the martinis and women.

[scudgal]

Watched The Prestige on cable last night. Very well acted, interesting plot - but I have to admit, at the end, DH and I were left wondering what the heck happened. We were both totally confused!

Yesterday was a lazy, rainy, stay at home and knit/watch TV day - and I finally succumbed and watched Leaving Las Vegas which came out years ago but DH and I never wanted to see because it just sounded too dismal and depressing. Well, I have to say we were totally wrong. Yes, it's a sad subject - an alcoholic's decision to move to Vegas and drink himself to death - very dark stuff. However, having said that, Nick Cage plays it will a light heartedness (this sounds weird, but trust me, he does) and childlike innocence and Elizabeth Shue's performance as a hooker is equally compelling and poignant. Yes, there were sad moments, but also there is a very warm, compelling love story that carries the film. All I can say is, if you've hesitated to see it, you're missing one fantastic film.

[TKay]

I just switched over to Blockbuster online (rather than the store) and I'm just getting the hang of it. So far, it's been great because I can rent the same kid movies over and over without feeling like I'm wasting my money. The boys are currently into Pokemon and I simply don't want to purchase the DVDs. I happened to rent The Secret (that controversial show--well, at least on this bb--that Oprah featured). I did glean some interesting tidbits from it, but the best part is that I watched it with my kids. My seven-year-old immediately began picturing himself driving a sportscar and playing a brand new playstation 2. Cracked me up. We did do a verbal gratitude list at bedtime. :D
Rented The Last King of Scotland and then kept it for two weeks before sending it back. Never could get it on the screen.
Thanks for the good summer recommendations.

[Lauren]

My 16 yo son and I watched a great movie last night ... Freedom Writers. Hilary Swank, Patrick Dempsey and Scot Glen are in this movie based on a true story.

Glad to hear the good reviews about Blood Diamond. We've had it for two weeks and DH and haven't had a chance to watch it. :rolleyes:

[BlueMoose]

I just joined Netflix recently and I LOVE it! My favorite movie that I've seen lately is Running With Scissors....it's really quirky and thoughtful and dark and funny all at once. I also just finished the book, and loved that too.:)

[sneezles]

I just joined Netflix recently and I LOVE it! My favorite movie that I've seen lately is Running With Scissors....it's really quirky and thoughtful and dark and funny all at once. I also just finished the book, and loved that too.:)


Chrissy,
I got so creeped out watching that movie!LOL! I wonder how much is really accurate and how much is the author's twisted imagination? No way I'd have stayed at that "doctor's" house!:p

[BlueMoose]

Chrissy,
I got so creeped out watching that movie!LOL! I wonder how much is really accurate and how much is the author's twisted imagination? No way I'd have stayed at that "doctor's" house!:p

Did you like it though? I like kind of strange movies :rolleyes: . I think more of it is true than you'd like to believe. It's pretty close to the book, which is considered an autobiography I believe. He had a pretty screwed up childhood. I started reading "Dry" yesterday....which is about Augusten Burroughs (the author/main character) in his 20's. I think I'll like that one, too.

[blazedog]

Did you like it though? I like kind of strange movies :rolleyes: . I think more of it is true than you'd like to believe. It's pretty close to the book, which is considered an autobiography I believe. He had a pretty screwed up childhood. I started reading "Dry" yesterday....which is about Augusten Burroughs (the author/main character) in his 20's. I think I'll like that one, too.

Based on what I read, this is not an accurate depiction of the family. There were a lot of articles when the book and movie came out.

Even the author admitted that he had taken tremendous liberties with the "truth".

[BlueMoose]

Based on what I read, this is not an accurate depiction of the family. There were a lot of articles when the book and movie came out.

Even the author admitted that he had taken tremendous liberties with the "truth".

No matter what, I loved the movie!:)

[sneezles]

Did you like it though? I like kind of strange movies :rolleyes: . I think more of it is true than you'd like to believe.

I did like it in a twisted sort of way:p ! I would laugh and then think "OMG, this is so creepy why am I laughing?" Whether or not it's accurate in the true sense of the term I do think the author may have a twisted reality (how could he not if he was raised this way?)...I mean really who would see a shrink like that? I did have trouble keeping his age straight through much of the beginning.

[sneezles]

If you like that type of movie have you seen Confessions?

[BlueMoose]

If you like that type of movie have you seen Confessions?

I haven't seen that..I'll have to look for it. Another one of my favorite movies is The Royal Tennenbaums

[sneezles]

Another one of my favorite movies is The Royal Tennenbaums

Now there's a family!:D

[EllenL]

Saw The Prestige, but preferred The Illusionist. Prestige ws too confusing and far fetched.

Saw Long Life, Happiness, and Prosperity---an Asian-Canadian film with Sandra Oh---about a single mom whose daughter wants to match make, as well as other characters and their life issues. A warm, fuzzy film.

Also saw Hollywood/Bollywood---again, Canadian, about an Indian young guy who has family pressure to marry an Indian and he tries to resist, so gets a young woman to pretend that she is Indian. It's kind of Bollywood lite, not purely authentic, but some fun dance and song numbers.

[EllenL]

Saw The Good German. George Clooney and Cate Blanchett were excellent. (The less said about Tobey Maguire, the better.) The black and white photography was fun. But this didn't add anything to the WWII-inspired collection of films. And while it was obvious that the director was convinced he was making another Casablanca, it just ain't so.

What we did enjoy was Chinese Coffee. Basically a two-person film adapted from an off-Broadway play, about aging wannabe writers/Bohemians in the Village in the early 1980's. Al Pacino and Jerry Orbach. It was like Rent for older, more literate people.

[GingerPow]

Everything Is Illuminated is a movie about a young Jewish American man returning to his family's native Russia to find the woman who saved his grandfather during the Nazi occupation. I watched it initially on HBO, and fell madly in love with it. Beautiful imagery and story. The DVD is now on order from Amazon! I can't wait to watch it again.

Speaking of Amazon, I just sold The Holiday DVD. Ugh. Kate Blanchett was the only actor who remembered how to do her job when the director said "Action!" apparently. The story was ridiculous, and the other usually decent actors were straining to turn in a performance. Not that I'm the biggest Cameron Diaz fan, but she really should have returned her paycheck for this one.

I think I've watched Must Love Dogs about 4 times in the past couple of months. Diane Lane is great (LOVE Under The Tuscan Sun!), as is everyone in that cast.

I purchased Babette's Feast - looking forward to watching that one.

Ditto to Blazedog's suggestion - The Queen is fantastic. It is easy to forget that you're watching Helen Mirren and not the actual Queen of England!

[sneezles]

Last night we watched Breach very interesting movie.