What have you been watching?

[Chef Ladybug]

I thought to open a new thread for each movie I see, as I see everyone else doing but then again I don't watch very popular movies, so they'd be empty threads. Most of the time my whole movie-watching experience is a way for me to regroup and regain my senses after studying nonstop for hours. In fact we even have Family Movie Night, complete with buttery popcorn, thick crusted pizzas, cold sodas, and hot temper tantrums whenever one of the children doesn't get to watch the movie they wanted to see... but then again, that's democracy.

I saw "Gilaneh" a few days ago. Very sad... it left me feeling disgusted, a little, with life. Saw "The Final Cut" starring Robin Williams and didn't quite understand the movie. Maybe someone can enlighten me on that. Saw "Stage Beauty" and "Bright Young Things" which I've added to my favorite movies' list. "The Butterfly Effect" was interesting and I'm easily sucked into conspiracy theories where someone's suffering from a disease and everyone thinks they're making it up, or they lock up pretty sane people into mental hospitals, and so on.

What have you been watching?

[Mezzaluna]

Harry Potter (Order of the Phoenix)- 3 times
Becoming Jane (could see that again!!)
The Simpsons Movie (DH's choice, but it has its moments)
Lord of the Rings (on DVD)
Independence Day (on DVD)

Would like to see: The Last Legion, Stardust, The Nanny Diaries, Sicko, The Jane Austen Book Club, Michael Clayton

[phatch]

Not a thing lately.

Phil

[Headless Chicken]

Ghost in the Shell: Solid State Society
300

Not much time for movies lately since we're getting closer to Zero Hour, the start of the semester. Yet here I sit with my large DVD collection, just gathering dust with more to be added. I may pull out some oldies I haven't seen in a while like XXX, Sin City, Last Samurai, Star Trek First Contact, Ghostbusters...how I'm gonna spend my Labour Day weekend.

[NOR]

These I have seen lately and recomend:

Pay It Forward: a very good feelgood movie. Seen it may times. My girlfriend still cries when she see it.
Arturo's Island: Drama about a teenage boy who lives alone on an greek Island, not cared by he's father. Like it, NOT a typical Hollywood film. great music. You can see it on TCM.
The Last House On The Left: Horror movie, and a VERY disturbing one. I liked it (in a strange way), but my girlfriend couldn't stand it.

Always looking for "unknown" gems

[ChefRAZ]

I never miss 30 ROCK funniest show on prime time.
heres some movies I recommend, anything with Will Ferrell
,
evil dead II see it with your "Significant other ". the movie "hair"
love affair '94, Sabrina(1995) with Harrison ford (great movie), the Postman ,TLOTR all of them of coarse.RumbleFish,pink floyd's Pulse and floyd in Pompii. ELO Zoom.

[Mezzaluna]

ChefRAZ, "The Postman" (with Kevin Costner) is a guilty pleasure of mine.

In TV land I'm a dedicated Lostie. My husband and I enjoy "NCIS", "Boston Legal" and "Numb3rs", too. I also like the Canadian series, "How It's Made" and my DH, being an engineer, won't miss "Mythbusters" and "Modern Marvels".

[shroomgirl]

Harry Potter (Order of the Phoenix)- 3 times
Becoming Jane (could see that again!!)
The Simpsons Movie (DH's choice, but it has its moments)
Lord of the Rings (on DVD)
Independence Day (on DVD)

Would like to see: The Last Legion, Stardust (really good), The Nanny Diaries (don't bother....), Sicko, The Jane Austen Book Club, Michael Clayton


I just saw Bourne Ultimatum this afternoon....was great, but then I've seen the others and enjoyed them as well as read the book series, albeit years ago.

The original Sabrina is one of my all time favorites.

I've got "Joe's Apartment"....which is a hoot, the dancing talking cockroaches are really hilarious. Forbidden warrior, some Japanese woman becomes a samari.....Ghost of a chance (don't remember what the cover said, but must have been interesting), I love your work....ditto, Flirting with Disaster.....
basically I hit the 2 for a dollar DVD specials for 5 days in case the insomnia kicks up. Joe's Apartment is the only one I've seen before.

Quiet weekend, wish I'd made plans to go out of town.....que sera.

[Chef Ladybug]

The past two weeks.

1. "Auntie Mame"
2. "Mrs. Pollyfax: Spy"
3. "After the Sunset"
4. "Nose, Iranian Style"
5. "Summer Fling"
6. "Lucie Aubrac"
7. "Tony Takitani"
8. "Ushpizin"
9. "Slaughterhouse Five"
10. "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"
11. "Brazil"
12. "The Gingerbread Man"

I think I'll watch "The Nanny Diaries" when it comes out in DVD. Am curious because I read the book when it first came out. It'll be $1 to rent it for 24 hours... that saves me about $40 from having to watch it in the movies (husband and kids included).

[Mezzaluna]

Ushpizin

Chef Ladybug, what did you think of it? Are you familiar with the culture and the meaning of it?

I saw it some months ago and was enchanted, but it's definitely not for everyone.

Just received my Ultimate Edition of "The Fifth Element" in the mail today.

[MuskyHopeful]

Originally Posted by Mezzaluna

Just received my Ultimate Edition of "The Fifth Element" in the mail today.

You like Science Fiction. Me too. That's not a bad movie. I read somewhere there might be a sequel in the works. Of course, there seems to a be a sequel or remake in the works for everything these days.

Kevin

How about those mosquitoes?

[Mezzaluna]

Kevin, I was able to watch the part on the special features disk about the French actress who played The Diva- at least, to watch most of it before it was time to fire dinner! Fascinating stuff. A sequel would be great, but I couldn't guess the premise of it.

I've been hooked on sci-fi and fantasy since watching "The Outer Limits", "The Twilight Zone" and "Night Gallery" on TV in the '60s. In grade school I read The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet and was hooked! I couldn't get enough Asimov and Heinlein. Later favorites have been Robert Silverberg, Philip Jose Farmer and John Varley.

[MuskyHopeful]

A Wrinkle in Time and a Scholastic book called A Stranger from the Depths hooked me in grade school in the late 60's. I used to order a desk top full of Scholastic books every month. I rotate in and out of sci fi now, but have been on a real kick lately since I read The Road. Alistair Reynolds, Kim Stanley Robinson, the three I referenced in another thread (the Crace and Lessing books), and a slew of others. Just bought three more the other night. I love the post apocalyptic stuff. Earth Abides, A Gift Upon the Shore, A Canticle for Liebowitz, The Last Ship, Malevil, Alas, Babylon are a few classics. Sort of cool when all the technology falls apart.

Sorry for the hijack, LadyBug.

Kevin

How about those mosquitoes?

[Chef Ladybug]

I, too, was hooked by "A Wrinkle in Time" when I was in the 7th grade and I love the little boy's name so much that I might just name my son after him. I've stopped my science fiction madness with Frank Herbert's "Dune" series -- they overwhelmed me but in a good way. I don't want to read other science fiction now that I've read Frank Herbert. It's a whole 'nother world with him. I do read Ray Bradbury here and there, though. Isaac Asimov and Robert Heinlein, too -- I don't stray much when it comes to that genre. Frank Herbert is my true love.

On to "Ushpizin" -- I can't say I know Jewish traditions, but in the past year I've been exposed to that culture through my studies. The school I go to is a pretty good school to study that field, seeing as they offer it as a major and have a lot (a lot!) of opportunities for students to study abroad in Israel, even if they're not majoring in that field. I've never had a religious upbringing, though we did celebrate Christmas and I love the way everything gets around Christmastime. So I'm kind of "allergic" to people/movies/books/etc. who become overly preachy about a certain religion, whichever that may be. But "Ushpizin" did not come on strong. It was fairly liberal considering the vile lines that were given to the two guests, who BTW would still be awful guests even amongst the most atheistic of people, and the scenes where Mali kicks them over and over again when they're hiding under the bed. It's not very womanly, obviously, but I'm cheering for the couple who finally does have that son they've always been wanting. Mali is very lovable as an actress.

In that same genre and idea (the couple who can't have a baby) we have the movie "Kadosh," which I saw a month ago or so. That's a movie that is obviously not made for people who are not familiar with the culture. By comparison, the female figure in "Ushpizin" was not oppressed the least bit. In "Kadosh" the husband is forced to leave his wife who can't have a baby because his community forces him to do so. And in a twisted irony, the doctor says she is healthy as a horse, therefore it is the husband who is sterile and not her, which is something that remains a mystery anyway because the husband never came for a check-up. After the divorce, he is so in love with his ex that when he marries, he spends nights in her bed... in her dwellings, where she is forced to become a recluse and a pariah from the shame. It's a silent rebellion that really gets them nowehere. The scene where the other couple experiences their first night in bed? Wow! How awkward. And painful to watch.

[Chef Ladybug]

Just saw "The Red Shoes," inspired by Hans Christian Andersen and "Breaker Morant." The first was slightly creepy. The second one is a true story, for anyone interested in military history.