Sex and the City- movie review

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We hadn't been to the movies in years, but for some reason, when I saw this at our little local theater, I suggested to jc that we go. I got a slice of cheese pizza and a Black Butte porter and we found our seats. About thirty minutes into the movie, my cell phone rang. It was Robin. She had just been to see it as well.
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Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda, and Samantha did not fail to deliver. I spent the two hours laughing out loud and wiping tears from my face, and even at one point fighting the urge to break down sobbing. This long-awaited film is a satisfying and fitting finale to the series that we love so much.
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Favorite quote: Charlotte York: "I feel happy every day." Me too, Charlotte.
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Rose

The White Countess- movie review

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This is the tale of a sad, blind, American diplomat and a sad, exiled Russian countess in 1930's Shanghai. The sets and costumes are fabulous, the music is delightful; and the fine acting makes a relatively simple story into something far more compelling. We found it exceptionally enjoyable and spellbinding throughout. I think this film deserves a place with the classics.
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rc

House of D- movie review

I'm looking forward to more movies from David Duchovny after this gem. It paints a picture of a vast range of human experience and emotion, riddled with clever wordplay and sensitive, emotional acting. Ultimately, Tommy comes to terms with the unresolved angst of his youth with the help of Pappass and "Lady". Highly recommended.

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official website

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rc

Mr. Brooks- movie review

Mr. Brooks is some of the best work we've seen from Kevin Costner in a while. It's a psychological thriller, becoming one of my favorite genres, with enough unreality to make it interesting. We're going to watch it again tomorrow.

Bonus: It's set in our soon-to-be new city, Portland.

rc

Relax

We watched the movie Once with Ki'il and the Scholar tonight. The music is amazingly beautiful; an excellent recommendation. It continues to rain.

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rc

The Skeleton Key- movie review

The Skeleton Key is creepily, mind-bendingly, thrillingly scary. It is impossible to stop thinking about it. This is one of the ones that has me checking the closet at night. It is ultimately a glorious treat for the mind.
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They can't hurt you if you don't believe; but oh, the lengths they'll take to make you believe.
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rc

10 Questions for the Dalai Lama- movie review

When I saw the Dalai Lama at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables a few years ago, my understanding of lamas didn't go much farther than the Ogden Nash poem. Browsing through Netflix links today I chose this documentary, and I'm happy that I did so.

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It's impossible not to respect the understated wisdom, good humor, and non-violence embodied by this great man. I am inspired by his wisdom, intelligence, and simplicity to challenge myself to embrace these virtues.

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Rose

Spider

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Two different spiders, anterior and posterior views. Any spider experts know the species?

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Ki'il and the Scholar are home! Three cheers. We had a nice vegetarian dinner last night with a delicious chili garlic soy sauce that Ki'il made. I hope to attempt to duplicate it in the future.

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Currently watching Pi: Faith in Chaos. A fascinating film about a tortured but brilliant mathematician.

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Rose

Life is a Cabaret

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I've been catching up on my old movies, courtesy of Netflix' new "Watch Now" feature. Tonight I caught Cabaret, a delightful musical starring Liza Minelli. I used to judge movies by the merit of the actions depicted by the characters. If the characters were kind and good, I approved of the movie; if they lied, cheated, and stole, I blackballed it. For a while, I decided merit based on the ending: good for a happy ending, bad for a sad one. Oddly (or aptly) enough, OILBF was the one to point out to me that sad endings are more realistic. Some would argue that we watch movies to escape reality.

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I'm forging a new philosophy of movie watching. I don't know what it is yet, but a production on the scale of Cabaret scores five stars on it. This musical is a sin to miss. I can't agree with all (or most) of the things the characters do; but it has real, raw, human emotion. It has triumph and defeat, beauty and ugliness, truth and dishonesty. Somewhere in all of it is real life and somewhere there may be fantasy, but I enjoyed it completely.

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R. Connors

Rent- movie review

I laughed. I cried. I can't possibly do it justice without watching it ten more times. The music and the acting are fantastic. The sets and costumes are great. The characters are ever so real. I will put this on my list of movies to watch many more times.

rc

Notes

I'll make an attempt at a regular journal entry. The above is random, the best picture I took today, which is not saying much. I've been trying for the Common Yellowthroat for days, but he's a quick mover. I've got the go-ahead to start my new agency job. I passed my drug test and got a satisfactory reference from Boss Lady. We've been having some rainy and overcast weather, which I am enjoying completely. I've been lazy about the movie reviews lately. Favorites recently have been Deja Vu and The Jacket. Both are thought provoking time-twisters. Apparently, we've been watching too much House, MD, because I had a dream last week in which the irritating Dr. House kissed me. Funny that I would choose hime over the hot Aussie, huh? I'm currently reading One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd, a novel by Jim Fergus. It is a well-researched and imaginative book about white women traded to Custer-era Cheyennes as wives in a last ditch attempt at peacemaking. Oh, and I'm trying to be a more considerate partner after jc's complaints that I am often the contrary. Guilty, I'm sure.

Rose

Identity- movie review

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Every now and again, I like to watch a movie that makes you want to check the bathtub and under the bed for ghoulies at night. This one fit the bill. It's a classic whodunit on the surface. Ten people stranded at the same hotel on a dark and stormy night, they start being killed off one by one. Then the layers start coming out. I won't ruin it for anyone, and I'll give the disclaimer that there was one place where I had to hide my eyes from some gory scene, so I'm certainly no hard-core horror movie critic; but I got my fix on "scary" for a while and it kept me thinking.

Rose

Blood Diamond- movie review

essay

movie

This film is violent and cruel and greedy and ugly. It is not fun to watch. But there is a point. That makes it worthwhile. Are people inherently good or bad? Or just selfish? This is not an easy movie to review, and I'm not going to ramble on about the thoughts it brings to mind about existence, and good and evil, and whether or not to buy diamonds. I'm glad I watched it though.

rc

Babel- movie review

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We don't understand each other.

Remember your Old Testament and the Tower of Babel? Everyone woke up one morning and god had given them all different languages so they couldn't communicate with each other and become greater than him. The characters in the movie are all trying so hard, but they don't get through to each other. There is one senseless near-tragedy after another, each brought on in its own way by a communication barrier, whether literal language or mental block.

The film is a good bit longer than it needed to be for my taste and it requires strict attention not to miss the subtitles unless you're fluent in Arabic, Japanese, Spanish and English and can hear sign language. Other than that, I recommend it as a thought-provoking movie.

rc

The Tunnel- movie review

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Triumph of the Human Spirit is the overwhelming message of this movie. I wept and bit my fingernails and sat breathless on the edge of my seat as the powerful true story played out. It is the story of East Germans who escape to West Berlin and dig a tunnel to get friends and family out. There is escape and capture, loyalty and betrayal, birth and violent death, lowest tragedy and highest heroism, selfishness and sacrifice. In a time when current events have made us all but forget the Cold War and the Iron Curtain, it is a poignant reminder of those times. jc points out that it isn't very entertaining, but I contend that it more than makes up for it in other virtues.

rc

The Prestige- movie review

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I had to watch this twice before I "got it". If you guessed that someone in my household likes magic, you'd be close. If you knew that it was jc, you were correct. This was a perfect movie for the Scholar to watch, because it kept even him guessing.

The plot is so multi-layered and unexpected that it surprises at every turn. You can believe nothing that you see. The story follows what seems on one hand to be a senseless, destructive passion; yet the humanity of the characters shines warmly through, leaving you with the hope that just maybe there is some good to be salvaged.

A must see if you don't mind working for it.

rc

Little Miss Sunshine- movie review

Anti-Hollywood

Individuality

Family

Unconditional Love

Inspirational

The Illusionist- movie review

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I'm a real sucker for a love story, and this is nothing if not that. Add intrigue, mystery, suspense, and just plain confusion and you've got a winning story. The sets, costumes, and effects were pleasing to the eye. jc felt that it was pretty slow in the middle, but I saw no such lack. The story leaves enough ambiguity at the end for the viewer to believe what they wish, and spend a little extra time wondering about it- maybe even watch it again....

Rose

Songcatcher- movie review

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A delightful story about a music professor from England who discovers ancient preserved ballads among the mountain people when she goes to visit her sister in Appalachia after a professional disappointment. The characters are well developed and believable and experience real personal growth throughout the course of the story. The costumes and sets are well done. But most of all, the music is great. Reviewers treated this movie harshly, but I enjoyed it completely.

Rose

Twelve Monkeys- movie review

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If you don't buy time travel, stay away from this one. I personally get a big kick out of messing with the space/time continuum, preferably when it doesn't involve a time machine or a spaceship. Wormholes, unexplained phenomenon, stuff like that: it's all great. Twelve Monkeys completely sucked me in, entertained me, jarred the cogitator, there was even a little intense bit or two. I had to rewind the first ten minutes or so and watch it over because I wasn't paying close enough attention.

The best part of it all, perhaps apart from Brad Pitt's wacky impersonation of a lunatic, is the choose your own ending. (Spoiler here) Since James Cole is present at the airport at age 8 and also as an adult, even though the adult is killed, the boy can grow up, go underground, and come back to try to save the human race for a limitless number of times, potentially until he gets it right. Who knows, after enough attempts he may even live happily ever after. On the other hand, all Witchy Lady Scientist has to do is slip a little poison in Bioterrorist's champagne, assuming that is, that he didn't already release the virus, which he almost certainly did. But that would potentially save al the other cities. Just pretend Philadelphia is a house with termites and tent it.

Rose