Entries tagged with "movies"
My life in film
posted by srah on August 17, 2008 11:41 AM
Micah did this meme eight million years ago over a month ago and I made a note to myself to do it too. Now I am finally getting around to it. This is a list of my favorite movies for every year I've been alive. Please note that favoritism is frequently based on entertainment value rather than quality, so I am not trying to say that The Fugitive is better than Schindler's List, but rather that I can (and do) watch The Fugitive, like, five or six times a year and I haven't seen Schindler's List again since I saw...
Those who object to ninjas, vampires, werewolves and LOTS of swearing should probably abstain
posted by srah on May 3, 2008 10:19 AM
Tags: le strat, movies, ninjas, vampires, werewolves
I realize that I have already spammed you about this in pretty much every outlet known to man me (Twitter, Facebook, This is Awesome!, Digg, shouting at random strangers on the street), but there may yet be audiences and individuals I have not yet reached, and who desperately need to watch Le Strat: His Rock Is So Hard ("The story of the vampire that sucks blood and totally wails on guitar, and also saves rock and roll."). Here's the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ebf8hZgic7I If you're not sold yet, let me inform you that the movie includes cameo appearances starring-ish roles by such...
Interviewed by The Collective
posted by srah on March 15, 2008 6:46 PM
Tags: blogging, books, christmas, holidays, how nancy drew saved my life, interviews, movies, musicals, ohio
It's been over a week since The Collective invited readers to be interviewed. I asked for questions then forgot about it for a while, but here - at last - are my answers to their questions. From Jennie!: 1) Why does Ohio insist on throwing more snow at us? Why? From heather! anne!: 2) What is the all-time best Christmas movie? The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. It makes me tear up every time I see Imogene taking her earrings out to look more like Mary, or hear that Leroy left the ham behind for the Baby Jesus. "It's a present....
Signs that I am probably going to get murdered one of these days
posted by srah on March 13, 2008 12:42 PM
Tags: boys, lost, movies, norman bates, steve buscemi, tv
my love for Garland Greene in Con Air my love for Norman Bates in Psycho my love for Benjamin Linus from Lost...
Time for yet another quiz...
posted by srah on March 5, 2008 12:05 PM
... for I am too lazy/boring to make up my own content this week. Here is a meme that I have adopted: Pick 15 of your favorite movies. Go to IMDb (or Wikiquote) and find a quote from each movie. (Or in some cases, just remember them.) Post them here for everyone to guess. Italicize it when someone guesses correctly, and put who guessed it correctly and the name of the movie. NO GOOGLING/using IMDb/Wikiquote search functions. Anyone caught cheating will be put to death. My sister can offer no more than one guess per hour. The sun will go...
Oscar countdown!
posted by srah on February 23, 2008 8:49 PM
Tags: academy awards, movies, musicals, once
You have about 24 hours left to locate and watch the movie Once before it is no longer "the movie Once" and is instead "the Academy Award-winning film Once." You have been warned! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mIpwx5lA5I It's such a sweet, lovely movie and I would love for everyone to see it. It manages to be romantic without being Romantic - that is, it's a wonderful story about the relationship between two people, but it's also very realistic. It felt very real - possibly influenced by the fact that the leading actor and actress fell in love during the making of the movie....
There is no Briony, only Zuul
posted by srah on February 7, 2008 8:41 PM
Tags: atonement, movies, reviews, romantic
I went to see Atonement last weekend. I think it turned me into Anne of Green Gables. It was so very beautiful and so very tragic and so very beautifully tragic. The people were beautiful, the costumes were beautiful, the settings were beautiful, the cinematography was beautiful... and when the movie wasn't being visually beautiful, it was full of tragic, Romantic warfare and suffering and angst and longing and undying love. Anne probably would have very nearly swooned. Not actually swooned, but very nearly. It would be such a romantic experience to nearly drown swoon! James McAvoy as Robbie was...
You Are the Music, Parte the Firste
posted by srah on February 2, 2008 11:33 AM
I am running late for Tiff's latest CD Swap, but I thought I would post the beginnings here, with a question for all of you! The theme of this swap was: Have you ever watched a movie or a TV show and though, "wow, this music is really great!" Or, more commonly, "this music is so distracting! Why are they playing Nickelback, I think my ears are bleeding! I could’ve totally done a better job." Well here’s your chance. And you even get to pick the movie. The way many of us interpreted this was "Put a whole bunch of...
Purple haze all in his brain
posted by srah on January 28, 2008 10:12 PM
Tags: books, jane austen, mansfield park, movies
Mansfield Park is possibly my least favorite Jane Austen novel. I'm actually not sure exactly how I would rank all of her novels - it would be something like: Persuasion/Pride & Prejudice (tie)Northanger Abbey/Sense & Sensibility (tie)Emma/Mansfield Park (tie) I have a general idea of how much I liked them, but I've also never sat down and read each one in succession and my memories of the books are very much influenced by the movie versions. Mansfield Park, I think, suffers the worst from this, because I've never been satisfied by a movie version. Although I'm not that fond of...
You know, they call me the cautionary whale
posted by srah on January 28, 2008 8:41 PM
Tags: academy awards, academy awards 2008, juno, movies, reviews
It's a good thing that I went to Kroger in my pyjamas that one time, because otherwise I think this would have turned entirely into a pop culture and movie-reviewing blog. Don't expect that to end anytime soon. My movie-viewings are usually more exciting than my real life. And so, with no further ado, I bring you... Juno! I am really glad to be able to say that I've seen Juno. It makes me feel like that much more of a legitimate moviegoer, since my Oscar-nominee-viewing was - pre-Juno - at three, and none of those had been nominated for...
Lazy Reviewing
posted by srah on January 26, 2008 4:20 PM
Tags: jane austen, movies, northanger abbey, reviews
It's about time I finally got around to watching Northanger Abbey, since Mansfield Park is on tomorrow! I shall shamelessly copy and edit - only slightly - my own Facebook/Flixster review of the film rather than writing anything original. Alas, poor readers! It was good, but leaves room for improvement in future film versions. When I read the book, I felt that the judgment of Catherine was coming from inside - from the narrator and the reader, so that we were sort of laughing at her from our side. In the movie, it's all Henry and I felt a bit...
Barouches of Fire
posted by srah on January 18, 2008 12:29 PM
Tags: jane austen, movies, persuasion, reviews, tv
I guess I should finally finish writing this post, before it's Sunday again and time for more Jane Austenpalooza (I've never seen a film adaptation of Northanger Abbey so I'm looking forward to that one, but I think I'm going to have to tape it). Things I liked about Persuasion (2007) It was produced by Clerkenwell Films. Rupert Penry-Jones is ridiculously handsome and smoldering. I felt like Mary Elliot Musgrove was a more complex character in this adaptation than in Persuasion 1995. In 1995, her hypochondriac tendencies seemed more like annoying attention-seeking personal traits, whereas in this version it was...
One half of the world cannot understand the pleasures of the other
posted by srah on January 10, 2008 9:53 PM
Tags: daniel radcliffe, emma, jane austen, mansfield park, movies, northanger abbey, persuasion, pride and prejudice, sense and sensibility, tv, writers' strike
This SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY, coming to a TV near me (and maybe you, if you're lucky!) is the three-month Jane Austenpalooza on Masterpiece Theatre. In case this is the first you're hearing of the loveliness that PBS is providing in our hour of television need, here's the program: January 13: PersuasionThe Amanda Root-Ciaran Hinds version is probably my favorite film version of a Jane Austen novel, so I'm a bit hesitant about this one. Can it be anywhere near as good? January 20: Northanger AbbeyI've never seen a film version of Northanger Abbey, but it's the novel that I've read...
We have no time to lose! Let's go! To my secret woodland acting training area!
posted by srah on January 9, 2008 12:27 PM
Tags: christopher walken, movies, quotes, reviews, who am i this time
Last week I watched Who Am I This Time?, a made-for-TV movie starring Christopher Walken and Susan Sarandon. This movie is perfect for anyone who ever saw Christopher Walken playing a homicidal lunatic in any of his millions of homicidal lunatic roles and thought, "You know what? I need to see this guy playing a romantic lead." In this movie, instead of playing a serial killer, Christopher Walken plays an extremely shy hardware store clerk-slash-thespian who Susan Sarandon manages to seduce through the THEATAH! And who is probably a serial killer. It was actually pretty terrifying. I kept thinking, "Give...
Psst! Carrots!
posted by srah on January 9, 2008 12:09 PM
Tags: anne of green gables, gilbert blythe, movies
I rediscovered this morning a list that I made a little over a year ago for my own use. It occurred to me, upon rereading it, that others might be interested. It is equally likely, however, that you will all just laugh at me. So, at risk of great personal embarrassment, I bring you: The List of Gilbert Blythe Appearances in the First Two Anne of Green Gables Movies (Because the Third One Is an Abomination) Complete With DVD Chapter Number and Approximate Time of Appearance (This is particularly useful in Anne of Avonlea (aka Anne of Green Gables -...
'Mary doesn't even get to name her own baby? I woulda called him Bill.'
posted by srah on December 15, 2007 12:04 PM
Tags: christmas, holidays, lists, movies
'Tis the season for lists, 'tisn't it? Last year I listed my favorite Christmas songs so this year I'll do my favorite Christmas movies. Maybe next year - if I remember - it will be books. srah's Ultimate List of the Best Christmas Movies and/or Movies That Take Place at Christmas Home Alone - I actually haven't seen this in years, but it makes the list out of some sort of loyalty to my Not-So-Secret Twin.Christmas in Connecticut - I love Barbara Stanwyck and I love Cuddles Szakall. Never mind that I can't remember exactly what happens in the movie....
Yes, it came direct from Paris, France
posted by srah on November 29, 2007 7:35 PM
Tags: mimes, movies, nablopomo, nablopomo 2007, paris, reviews, steve buscemi, travel
Paris, je t'aime is a ridonkulously huge collection of famous directors (Joel and Ethan Coen, Gurinder Chadha, Wes Craven, Alfonso Cuarón, Sylvain Chomet) and actors (Steve Buscemi, Other People Who Aren't Steve Buscemi) in a series of short films about Paris. I actually wasn't expecting much, just because I find short-format films pretty hit-or-miss, but it was a cool mix of subjects and directing styles. It's hard to say which one was my favorite because there were so many good ones. The last film is about a lonely American mail carrier who's studied French for two years in preparation for...
A mezzanine seat to see the flickers
posted by srah on November 23, 2007 11:50 PM
Tags: movies, nablopomo, nablopomo 2007, reviews
Every year, my mom, my sister and I go to see a movie on the Friday after Thanksgiving. When we first started this tradition, the theaters were almost deserted, but I think more and more people are taking advantage of the opportunity to get away from the Black Friday shopping insanity. This year, our movie was Enchanted, where an animated Disney Princess accidentally finds herself in live-action form in New York City and has to deal with the problems of the non-fairy-tale world. Disney is a pretty safe Thanksgiving Friday choice for us, but after seeing Shrek 3 this morning,...
She's not only merely dead, she's really most sincerely dead
posted by srah on November 16, 2007 12:38 PM
Tags: imagination, movies, nablopomo, nablopomo 2007, the sixth sense
Warning #1: If for some reason you haven't seen The Sixth Sense yet and have managed to get through the last eight years without having the ending spoiled for you¹, you might want to stop reading now. Warning #2: The following post makes me sound like a crazy person. I kind of am. I've known more than one person (it's not just you, Jennie) who saw The Truman Show and became convinced that their entire life was a reality show created for others' entertainment. For me, it was not so much The Truman Show but The Sixth Sense that had...
You'd think a bit of snogging would cheer her up!
posted by srah on September 4, 2007 12:32 PM
Tags: harry potter, harry potter and the order of the phoenix, movies
Last night I decided I wanted to go to the movies, so I searched online to find all of the movies that were playing in a two-town radius, then narrowed that down to the ones I wanted to see. It came down to: SuperbadThe Simpsons MovieHairsprayBecoming JaneThe Nanny Diaries So I went to see... Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Again. It was nice, though, because I got a private showing. Apparently no one else wants to see months-old movies on Labor Day night (Labor Night?). In my defense, I guessed that it would be interesting to see...
Dream
posted by srah on August 18, 2007 9:17 AM
Tags: dream, duck soup, movies, srahtown
I had a nightmare last night where I found another Chinese restaurant in srahtown. It's not that I dislike Chinese food - it's just that Chinese and Mexican are all the "ethnic" food we've got in town and I think we could stand to diversify. I was driving around srahtown with my family and kept finding all of these stores and restaurants that I think are standard for srahtown in my dreams, although they don't exist in real life. In my dreams, srahtown seems to be an old-timey Wild West town that is going to be a ghost town at...
'Now I've got this dumb look on my face'
posted by srah on August 1, 2007 11:09 PM
Tags: dvd, movies, trapped in the closet
The day is nigh! Trapped in the Closet Chapters 13-22 will be released August 21! Stereogum has an awesome preview, but it also contains a LOT of spoilers for chapters 1-12. It's really something that you don't want to have spoiled, because there are so many cliffhangers. So if you've seen the first 12 chapters, proceed to Stereogum. If you haven't, well, the DVD is really the best way to experience Trapped in the Closet (the director's commentary is priceless) but YouTube will do if you can't get to the DVD. Here are the first 5 chapters: For the other...
Now I will go try on some shoes...
posted by srah on July 22, 2007 3:59 PM
Tags: apete, boys, movies, quote, while you were sleeping
Hello, The Internet. If you care to be all up in my personal business like that, I will tell you that apete and I broke up today. We couldn't make the long-distance thing work, it's mutual but it still hurts and that is all I care to share with The Internet. I hate telling people about breakups and I really hate being all Web 2.0 about it, but I feel like I have to tell people somehow. I wish I could just wear a sandwich board instead, or maybe have a t-shirt printed. At least this way I can just...
Weasley is our king!
posted by srah on July 12, 2007 12:58 PM
Tags: arthur weasley, harry potter, harry potter and the order of the phoenix, movies, neville longbottom, ron weasley
To begin with, I have to say that I really liked the movie version of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. It is a huge challenge to turn an 896-page book into a 138-minute movie and they did pretty well with it. I do still miss the things that had to be cut, though. I shall hide further discussion of this subject in the extension, for those of you who have not seen the film yet....
Ok, fine, you're Boba Fett and you're Grand Moff Tarkin.
posted by srah on July 9, 2007 5:07 PM
Tags: alfie, can't hardly wait, movies, nerds
While watching Can't Hardly Wait: X-Phile #1: There's going to be drinking there. What are you going to do? They're going to kick you out if you don't drink. William: Well, I will be drinking. X-Phile #2: (shocked) But William! You could get drunk! X-Phile #1: You could get addicted. William: I downloaded this little baby off the Net. I will know exactly how many spirits I may imbibe without affecting my judgment or my behavior. me: That's totally us. That would have been us in high school. Alfie: Except we didn't go to any parties in high school. We...
Jason Segel has the CRAZY EYES
posted by srah on June 27, 2007 12:52 PM
Tags: freaks and geeks, how i met your mother, jason segel, knocked up, martin starr, movies, tv, undeclared
In all of my Apatow-fest viewings, I have taken a shining to two of his fetish-actors (Do we use that phrase in English? Where did I get that phrase from???). The first is Martin Starr, whose comic timing and delivery is HUGE and SPECTACULAR in a very understated way as Bill Haverchuck in Freaks and Geeks (but he's also very good at the sad, hurt parts as well). He also appears as Martin (the guy with the beard) in Knocked Up and as a visiting high school friend of Steven's in Undeclared. These clips are both from Freaks and Geeks:...
I'm not a little girl, I'm a bionic woman.
posted by srah on June 27, 2007 12:08 PM
Tags: freaks and geeks, judd apatow, knocked up, movies, the 40 year old virgin, tv, undeclared
I am having a Judd Apatow-fest of late. I recently checked Freaks and Geeks out of the library and watched it for the first time. Well, sort of. I watched the final episode back when it was on TV and went "Oh, this is pretty funny. But now it's cancelled. I guess I should have started watching earlier." Then the voices of thousands of Freaks and Geeks fans cried out and were suddenly silenced. I feel bad for them, because I felt the same way after Arrested Development was cancelled and people kept telling me they'd seen it on DVD...
You say oyster and I say erster¹
posted by srah on June 13, 2007 11:30 PM
Tags: a night at the opera, movies, pirates of the caribbean, shall we dance, ship, texas, travel
I was surprised, as we started our descent into Houston, to see lots and lots of forests of green trees. Everything I know about Texas I learned from the movies, so I expected it to be all brown and sandy with little scrubby bushes, rather than huge forests of green trees. I expected it to be more like the Australian Outback, which I am also very familiar with from my vast experience of... watching The Thorn Birds miniseries once. Also, I didn't see Rock Hudson or James Dean or even Sal Mineo. All of my lifetime experience with Texas (2.5...
By the power of Greyskull!
posted by srah on June 4, 2007 12:13 PM
Tags: hot fuzz, movies, pirates of the caribbean: at world's end, reviews
Last weekend (or rather two weekends ago, but I'm really behind on posting) I went to the movies. I didn't really intend to go, as I haven't been to the movie theatre in about five months (because I'm so cheap), but it turns out that in Ann Arbor I have friends and friends like to do social things and sometimes social things include going to the movies. So we went to see Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. It was a very pleasant popcorn movie. It was overly complicated with everyone betraying everyone else, but that's what pirates do....
In the future, we will all have flying cars! But our kids will be jerks.
posted by srah on May 23, 2007 12:04 PM
Tags: back to the future, driving, gas prices, movies
When I was driving to work yesterday, I thought, "Well, it's Tuesday. Gas prices are usually lowest on Wednesday or Thursday, but this is a holiday weekend, so I should probably fill my half-empty tank this evening when I get off work." Between driving past the gas station in the morning and the time I got off work, gas in my town went up 30¢ a gallon! Argh! I am obsessed with gas prices so I tend to watch them like a hawk so that I can save something like 20¢ on a fill-up, but this will probably be a...
Is this a kissing book movie?
posted by srah on April 22, 2007 8:22 PM
Tags: books, harry potter, harry potter and the deathly hallows, harry potter and the order of the phoenix, movies
Hooray! Lots of action and tension... and I don't just mean the awful, awkward Harry/Cho kissing situation. And while we're at it... [new international trailer via dollsome]...
Aren't you relieved to know that you're not a golem?
posted by srah on April 22, 2007 7:27 PM
Tags: movies, stranger than fiction
I just watched Stranger than Fiction. It made me cry and cry. Seeing Will Ferrell cry when he's not just drunkenly sobbing about being in a glass case of emotion really gets to me. This was the first time I've seen him in a straight role, and I was surprised to find that it actually worked for him. As for the movie... I was expecting something totally different. I don't know if it was the marketing campaign or just the presence of Emma Thompson, but I was expecting something along the lines of a romantic comedy, and it wasn't anything...
Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?
posted by srah on April 10, 2007 12:38 PM
Tags: back to the future, movies
If you were George McFly, wouldn't you be the least bit suspicious when your third child ended up looking exactly like that guy your wife went out with in high school? Lorraine, you ho'!...
Pumpkins and shoes!
posted by srah on March 8, 2007 9:07 PM
Tags: books, movies, the no. 1 ladies' detective agency
Mma Ramotswe is coming to film! I don't know how I feel about this. On one hand, I'm excited about the opportunity to expose The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency to a wider audience, but on the other hand, I don't see how any movie can measure up to my mental image of the book or any actress to my mental image of Precious Ramotswe. It is nice to see, though that the movie is actually being filmed in Botswana. If nothing else, we will get to see the scenery!...
F***ing Oscars f***ing report f*** f*** f*** blah blah
posted by srah on March 8, 2007 5:01 PM
Tags: academy awards, movies, the departed
So... how 'bout them Oscars, huh? About a week before the Oscars (which was weeks and weeks and weeks ago) I saw The Departed, which brought my grand total of Oscar-nominated Movies Seen from three to four. That's an increase of... something percent!¹ It actually improved my viewing a lot more than that, because the other ones I'd seen were Little Miss Sunshine, The Devil Wears Prada (nominated for Best Actress and Costume Design) and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (nominated for several miscellaneous crew awards). So I went from seeing one of the Best Picture nominees to...
You think... you wink... you do a double blink... then JUMP!
posted by srah on December 6, 2006 10:36 PM
Tags: mary poppins, movies
I have always hated Mary Poppins, who swoops into a family's life, announces all of their flaws while claiming to be (practically) perfect, refuses to perform her witchcraft for them until she has an opportunity to show up Bert, later denies that any such witchcraft took place and basically tells the children they're liars, gets them hooked on drugs by making their medicine taste like their favorite flavors (hers is very suspiciously rrrrrrum punch!), refuses to join in a ceiling tea party like some kind of ceiling party pooper, then swoops away again. That was a long sentence. So I...
Oh my god, a Mafia-Looking Guy
posted by srah on December 4, 2006 10:20 PM
Tags: librarian, movies, the librarian: return to king solomon's mines, trapped in the closet
I meant to remind everyone about The Librarian: Return to King Solomon's Mines as December approached, but December snuck up on me. I am still in December denial. I forgot to ask someone to tape it for me, but fortunately Robin tuned in partway through and Tivoed one of the thousands of repeat showings. She has it waiting on the ol' Tivo till I come home for Chrimbo. Merry Christmas indeed! I hope that you will all have an opportunity to watch it as well. An even better Christmas present has come my way, though. Indeed, my December now glows...
Blond James Bond
posted by srah on November 27, 2006 5:50 PM
Tags: casino royale, daniel craig, george lazenby, james bond, movies, on her majesty's secret service
Apete and Alfie had been planning for months to go see the latest James Bond movie together, leaving my 007-hating self at home. However, I began to warm to the idea of this movie once I heard that so many true Bond fans hated Casino Royale. I was still on the fence, but then as it turned out, srahmom wanted everyone out from under her feet on Wednesday night while she got things ready for Thanksgiving dinner, so the rest of the family went to the movie theater en masse. Let me tell you, this was the worst James Bond...
Why don't I remember going to King Solomon's Mines in the first place?
posted by srah on November 9, 2006 12:07 PM
Tags: librarian, library, movies, the librarian: return to king solomon's mines
Are you ready for the excitement? Are you ready for the drama? Are you ready for the SEQUEL TO END ALL SEQUELS? Are you ready for The Librarian: Return to King Solomon's Mines? You'd better be, suckah! This kind of cinematic masterpiece only comes around every two years or so. I only hope that this latest episode will tell the tale of the time-traveling ninjas introduced at the very end of the last one. Also more Bob Newhart, please. Why oh why don't I have a full cable package that includes TNT? Why am I depriving myself so?...
Reptiles in some sort of jet-powered ambulatory device!
posted by srah on August 16, 2006 12:26 PM
Tags: movies, snakes on a plane
I am counting down the hours... [via celtic_elk]...
Jedi Poo-doo!
posted by srah on July 26, 2006 9:57 PM
Tags: in french, language, language week, memes, movies, star wars, star wars: return of the jedi
Mince! J'ai failli oublier la Semaine des Langues aujourd'hui! Ce soir j'ai fait du chili végétarien à la srah. Ça consisite des tomates, des haricots rouges, des champignons, des épices, et beaucoup beaucoup beaucoup d'oignons. C'est quelque chose que j'ai inventé en France quand j'avais peur de cuisiner de la viande. Ça répresente toutes les groupes alimentaires: les proteines, les fruits... et beaucoup beacoup beaucoup d'oignons. J'adore les oignons! Alors, je n'avais pas de projets pour bloguer au suject de mon chili - je voulais écrire sur Le Retour du Jedi¹. Les seules personnages au palais de Jabba qui parlent...
If you build it, they will come... FOR YOUR SOUL
posted by srah on July 24, 2006 12:08 PM
On my way to the airport last week, I drove through the farmland that is The Area Between Srahtown and Cincinnati. There is a stoplight in the middle of nowhere, and the corn on either side of the road has grown so that it was much higher than my car and came right up to the sides of the road. As I sat there at the light with no cars around in either direction and the corn closing in around me, I thought, 'I could be eaten by space aliens or the 1919 Chicago White Sox right now and no...
'Remember when I killed your brother? I talked JUST LIKE THIIIIIIIIS!'
posted by srah on July 18, 2006 7:09 PM
Another update on my AFI Top 100 progress... #71: The Manchurian Candidate - I figured it would be another one I'd have to suffer through, but... war, romance, Solitaire, politics, brain-washing... this movie has a little something for everyone! It's a must-see, especially for my sister! #72: A Streetcar Named Desire - O, Streetcar! Um, it was pretty good I guess. It was nice to see all the clichés ("I have always depended on the kindness of strangers", "STELLAAAAAAA!") in context. It had interesting, complicated characters, which I usually like, but I just couldn't get into it. Maybe it's the...
The Devil Wears A Retainer
posted by srah on July 16, 2006 10:30 PM
Tags: children, movies, the devil wears prada
I went to see The Devil Wears Prada today with some friends here in Srahtown. We met in the lobby, then someone led us into the theater, which was already dark. The room was pretty packed, but we managed to split the group up into only two adjacent rows. The previews began, including a trailer for John Tucker Must Die, an incredibly stupid looking film. It was only while this rather embarassingly explicit trailer was playing that I started to notice that the theater was full of pre-teens, most of them boys. I mentioned to someone else in the group...
Everyone involved in the creation of this film must walk the plank!
posted by srah on July 13, 2006 6:43 PM
Tags: bad movies, movies, pirates of the caribbean, pirates of the caribbean: dead man's chest, reviews
I have been trying to blog about Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest for almost a week now, but I have been so ENRAGED with RAGE that it... flames... flames, on the side of my face. Heaving... heaving breaths... Well, I think I am mostly sort of cooled off enough to write about it now, but hopefully not too cool to express to you my RAGE. When the movie ended, I could barely speak in full sentences, such was my RAGE. The only thing that I could utter between my spitting and clawing at the screen was an threat...
'I thought they smelled bad on the outside!'
posted by srah on June 6, 2006 12:52 PM
Tags: george lucas, movies, star wars, star wars: the empire strikes back, tauntauns
Why is it that George Lucas will go back into his old movies and fiddle with things that don't need to be fiddled with, needlessly changing the fact that HAN SHOT FIRST, adding silly dinosaurs to the background of scenes, and inserting Stupid McWhinersen where Sebastian Shaw should be, but he won't go back and change the ridiculous stop-actiony way that tauntauns run? I'm pretty sure that the gravity on Hoth is the same on any other planet in the Star Wars movies. I saw Han walk through the snow and I saw Luke fall from the ceiling and both...
X-Men 4: The Last Lemonade and Cupcake Stand
posted by srah on June 6, 2006 12:38 PM
Tags: movies, mutants, my favorite posts, super powers, x-men, x-men 3
Apete and I went to see X-Men 3 a while ago. A lot of people didn't like the movie, but I felt it had many explosions and people in crazy costumes with magical powers. I don't expect much more from an action movie. I found it interesting that Beast was never referred to by his superhero name. Apete tried to convince me that Hank McCoy's nickname was "Blueberry," which made him seem even cuddlier than he already was. Awwwww. He is like a big furry Sesame Street monster, but one that can TOTALLY kick your ASS. As I was watching...
And then Angela Lansbury pulled out her Beretta...
posted by srah on May 16, 2006 9:16 PM
Tags: bad movies, movies, music, open letters, r kelly, trapped in the closet
Dear Planet Earth, In going through the list of great characters... few come to mind. Blanche Dubois, from "Streetcar Named Desire"... Willy Loman, from "Death of a Salesman"... Screech, from "Saved By The Bell" and, of course, Big Man from "Trapped in the Closet". If you ever want to see acting at its finest... acting that will make you re-examine your life... acting that will make you see the world for the first time... watch the 2005 hip-hopera raperetta music video serial monstrosity Trapped in the Closet. It is truly scrumtralescent. Yes, this weekend I saw yet another example of...
Another reason to hate George Lucas
posted by srah on May 4, 2006 11:34 AM
Tags: dvd, george lucas, movies, star wars
You money-grubbing bastard... I totally want to give you more money....
François!
posted by srah on April 25, 2006 8:24 PM
Tags: movies, rushmore, wes anderson
Reasons why this Wes Anderson American Express commercial is better than Wes Anderson's movies: 1) I never fell asleep while watching the commercial. 2) I never got up to make myself a sandwich while watching this commercial then forgot (or "forgot") to come back. 3) Although longer than most commercials, this commercial is about eight hours shorter than any of Wes Anderson's movies. 4) Or maybe it just feels that way. 5) Bayonets. Actually, to be honest, Rushmore (runtime: 93 minutes) was pretty good. "O.R. they?"...
'Go Kelly! Go Kelly! The other team is smelly!'
posted by srah on April 2, 2006 5:40 PM
Tags: bad movies, movies, yours mine and ours
Say what you will about The Cutting Edge: Going for the Gold, but it is my belief that I saw The Worst Movie Ever Made on the plane back from Israel. Yours, Mine and Ours seems to take the premise of the original 1968 version then "updates" it by including as many clichés, unbelievable plot points and terrible dialogue as possible. Not satisfied with "family" movies where the dad slips and falls all over the place and nearly rights himself, only to fall face-first into a pool of something sticky? Yours, Mine and Ours can top that - Dennis Quaid...
Four soggy Mr Darcies per day!
posted by srah on March 26, 2006 1:46 PM
Tags: colin firth, jane austen, movies, pride and prejudice
I think that there should be a (network) television channel that does nothing but show the 5-hour 1995 Colin Firth version of Pride & Prejudice in an ongoing loop....
He riddled with Gollum!/ A magic ring he stole!
posted by srah on March 6, 2006 5:44 PM
It's been a really long time since I did an AFI Top 100 update. But it's also been a long time since I watched an AFI movie. I am in a lull, probably mostly due to the fact that American Idol is on EVERY FRIGGIN' DAY OF THE WEEK so I just try to avoid turning the TV on altogether. But since I'm going out of the country, it would be good to get this posted before I go. #67: Wuthering Heights - There was some question in my mind as to whether I would ever be able to complete...
This is a bitch of an satisfactory situation
posted by srah on March 6, 2006 11:24 AM
Tags: academy awards, movies, pimps
The only Academy Award that I cared about this year was won by the person I wanted to win it. Ford's in his flivver, etcetera etcetera. [ETA] I don't really get the "Best Song" category though. Is it for the song that's the stand-alone best or the song that supports its movie in the best way or what? I didn't see Hustle and Flow, so maybe the song worked well in the movie, but now that I've had it in my head all day today, I have to say that I'm not all that impressed with the incessant repetition of...
Srah makes some errors, AFI-wise
posted by srah on January 23, 2006 7:59 PM
I have discovered some inconsistencies in my AFI Top 100 list. I had some question as to whether I'd seen Tootsie all the way through before starting this endeavor and that seems to have thrown my count off. Either way, I've seen it all the way through now. I also wasn't sure if I'd seen Dances With Wolves all the way through or if I'd only seen part of it, but let me put it this way: I am not watching Dances With Wolves again. So now that I've gone through the list again and ended up with a different...
Nino Quincampoix Grows A Beard
posted by srah on January 23, 2006 5:02 PM
Tags: brokeback mountain, movies, munich, reviews, steven spielberg
I went to a meetup.com Movie Fans group this weekend in Cincinnati. We saw Brokeback Mountain, which was very good and silent and moving. After that, I did a little shopping around and figured as long as I'd already driven that far, I might as well get another movie out of it. So I went to see Munich. I'm afraid that any deep thoughts I was having about Brokeback Mountain have now been stricken from my mind, because Munich overpowered my evening's moviegoing experience. I spent about 2 and a half hours in a constant state of nervous tension. I...
*mush mush mush mush SMAAAAAAAAAAAASH eat face*
posted by srah on January 8, 2006 4:25 PM
Tags: movies, the thorn birds
Those of you who have ever watched a movie with me may find this hard to believe, but when I watch a movie by myself, I don't talk. I have a tendency, when watching TV with others, to either make comments to my fellow watchers or to interact with the characters onscreen. When I'm at home alone, I hardly ever hear the sound of my own voice and somehow talking to the characters starts to feel crazy when I can no longer claim I'm just trying to entertain someone else in the room. So if I said "ew" out loud...
Yet another update from the AFI files...
posted by srah on January 8, 2006 4:22 PM
Tags: afi, movies, norman bates
I guess it's been kind of a slow period for my mission to watch all of the AFI's 100 Greatest American Movies, seeing as I went home for more than a week and didn't take any of the DVDs with me. Luckily, apete got one of them for Christmas, so I did actually manage to make some progress. Now I'm back on top of things... and I'm watching The Thorn Birds, which is not in the Top 100 and is about 700,000 hours long. Oh well. But here are the ones I have watched recently: #59: Mutiny on the Bounty...
'Til I saw your City Lights, honey I was blind
posted by srah on December 16, 2005 9:01 PM
Boy, it's getting to be Sarah's Movie Blog around here. But that's because I have no life. Onward and upward! This week, I checked a passel of DVDs out of the library. Once I got them home, however, I was loath to sit down and watch them because I had managed to check out two Charlie Chaplin movies at the same time. This meant that I could allow myself to check out no new movies until I had managed to stomach those two. So I immediately sat down and watched Tootsie, which I've already seen, and It's a Wonderful Life,...
Remake à la srah: The witch and the wardrobe
posted by srah on December 16, 2005 7:55 PM
Tags: movies, the lion the witch and the wardrobe
Last weekend I went home to see the UMGASS performance of The Sorcerer, attended a lovely SI party and went to the movies. I haven't been to the movies in Ohio yet, because I have no one to go with and a host of lovely old classics to check out of the library and watch at home. So I go back to Ann Arbor to go to the movies. On Saturday night, I tore myself away from It's a Wonderful Life (which was showing on TV and which I was flat-out sobbing while watching because I was so emotionally affected...
srah's latest project: watch a hellalotta movies
posted by srah on December 9, 2005 12:24 PM
Tags: afi, buster keaton, movies
When I moved here, one of the first things I did was to join the local library. The DVD/video section is just across from the circulation desk and is much more compact than the book section, so the first thing I did was to check out DVDs. They have a list of The American Film Institute's 100 Greatest American Movies of All Time posted on the wall, and this (and the fact that apete's already done it) inspired me to take a shot at watching all 100. It's going to involve watching a lot of westerns, gangster films and war...
CHEEEEEEEEEEEEESE!
posted by srah on October 8, 2005 7:53 PM
Tags: movies, wallace and gromit
apete and I went to see Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit last night. Gromit was funny and Wallace was a pain in the neck as usual but I was enthralled by the hundreds of bunnies in the movie. Everything they did was so cute and awesome... I had a huge grin on my face through most of the movie and I giggled and even clapped my hands a little because I was so happy to see the adorable rabbits and the things they did. I told my mom, "It was weird, because none of the other kids...
'So... love has blinded you?'
posted by srah on August 1, 2005 7:51 AM
Tags: movies, star wars, star wars: revenge of the sith
I only saw Star Wars: Episode III once in the theater. That was enough for me - it finished things off and gave me some closure to the nightmare that was the Star Wars prequels. But then Katie linked to something that brought it all rushing back to me: 91 Reasons to Hate Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith WHAT? Only 91? I think I've linked to the Reasons to Hate guides for the earlier prequel episodes before, but this is the first that I've seen of this one. It goes through the movie chronologically, annotating with the...
Get thee to a movie theater, posthaste!
posted by srah on July 26, 2005 4:23 AM
Tags: movies
Who says it's a bad summer for movies? I've seen plenty of nice things, including: Fifth-graders who can dance better than I canDarling Oompa Loompas singing Roald Dahl's original songsPinguiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinos!...
A short srahfamily exchange
posted by srah on July 5, 2005 11:07 PM
srahmom: (looking at the video box for Terms of Endearment, which I've never seen) When we saw this in the theater, your aunt said "This is you." It's about a mother and a daughter. This movie is about our relationship. Alfie: (overhearing our conversation) What movie are you talking about? Silence of the Lambs?...
Lundi
posted by srah on July 4, 2005 6:46 PM
Tags: 1776, fourth of july, french, holidays, in french, language, language week, memes, movies
(Voilà le début de la Semaine des Langues chez srah blah blah. Je vois qu'il y a, déjà, beaucoup plus de participants que la dernière fois et je vous remercie! Parmi ces participants: Anyhoo, Armin, christina, Elemmaciltur, in actual fact, J, Jamie, katie, Marisa, patricia, Renee et Stuart) Alors, aujourd'hui on est le 4 juillet, la fête nationale des États-Unis. Notre famille vient de visionner 1776, l'un de nos films préférés, et ce qui est devenu une activité traditionnelle pour fêter le 4 juillet chez nous. L'été dernière j'étais en France et j'ai passé la plupart de notre fête nationale...
Frankly, Georgie, I don't give a damn
posted by srah on June 23, 2005 11:50 AM
Tags: george lucas, movies, star wars
On Tuesday, we watched the American Film Institute's special 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes. The show had clips from various famous actors, writers and directors including Star Wars destroyer director George Lucas, whose chin and neck have recently combined and expanded to make him look like a manatee. I always wondered where he got the idea for some of his characters and have now come to realize that he's not that creative after all - he was just looking in the mirror....
Late addition to the list
posted by srah on June 21, 2005 1:34 AM
Tags: batman, batman begins, movies
Things that I learned from Batman Begins: The Archives is the worst place on earth to be. This is where you are sent before you are fired, which makes it One Step Up From Unemployment. Dammit! I meant for this to be an insult to all of my lovely, easily-antagonized archivist readers, but I have just realized that they're still One Step Up From Me....
A series of short lists
posted by srah on June 20, 2005 1:14 PM
Tags: batman, batman begins, movies, reviews
Movies I saw in the theater Saturday night: Batman Begins Movies I saw previews for Saturday night that I don't want to see: All of them Things that offend me about The Fantastic Four: How come Mr Stretchy Guy gets the name Mr Fantastic instead of something descriptive of his powers? Is there something especially Fantastic about being stretchy? Things that offended me about Batman Begins: The Scarecrow was not given the attention and power that I feel he deserves as a Batman baddie. He was just a throwaway underling to Raz-al-Ghul or whatever his name is, rather than an...
'I get it! French class!'
posted by srah on May 25, 2005 3:07 PM
Tags: food, honey i shrunk the kids, movies
I bet Little Debbie® allowed their product to be used in the movie so that whenever we saw Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, we would think of Oatmeal Creme Pies. But whenever I see Oatmeal Creme Pies, I think of Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. Do you have any examples of your own of this backfiring product-placement?...
Bleep bleep bloop
posted by srah on May 23, 2005 11:31 AM
Tags: movies, reviews, star wars, star wars: revenge of the sith
What kind of nerd am I? Here it is, May 23 and I haven't yet blogged about Star Wars Episode III. Well, I was having trouble organizing my thoughts into cohesive sentences, so instead I bring you some bullet points, hidden in the extended entry so as not to spoil things for those of you who ain't seen it yet....
Saturday Movie Meme thing (on Sunday)
posted by srah on May 1, 2005 12:21 PM
I was planning to write something about the movie I saw last week, but I'm terrible at movie reviews ("Movie X is good. You should go.") so I decided to do a meme instead: 1. The last movie you went to see in a theater: The Chorus (Les Choristes). It was good. You should go. It's a French movie about a new surveillant (I forget how they translated this word - something like supervisor?) who arrives in a school for troubled boys. He has a past as a musician and forms a chorus in the school that brings the boys...
Required reading... and viewing
posted by srah on March 15, 2005 5:28 PM
Tags: 1776, blackadder, books, dave barry, gilbert and sullivan, jeeves and wooster, just shoot me, monty python, movies, sideways stories from wayside school, srahfam, star wars, the pirates of penzance, the stupids, three by the sea
I realized today that there are certain things that should be a prerequisite for anyone hoping to be "in" with srahfamily*. Srahfamily is, of course, the coolest family on earth and everyone wants to be "in" with them. But first you must understand the organizational culture by way of its cultural artifacts!**. This is an attempt to chronicle some of the things that are most often quoted or referred to around here (in some cases I have included a favorite quote because I just can't help myself!): BooksThe Stupids Die ("This isn't heaven - this is Cleveland!")Dave Barry's Book of...
'You are on this council, but we do not grant you the title of Master.' 'What? Hells no, biatch!'
posted by srah on March 10, 2005 9:45 PM
Tags: movies, readers' choice, star wars, star wars: revenge of the sith
Srahfamily sat around the TV this evening and sacrificed our souls and our eyes through fifteen minutes of The O.C. in order to catch the Star Wars: Episode III (I've forgotten the title of this piece of garbage) trailer. From what I can tell, this episode in the series is going to be a tale of disappointment. Obi-Wan's disappointment that Anakin is not The Chosen One Who Will Bring Balance To The Force. Anakin's disappointment that he's not made a Jedi Master. Samuel L. Jackson's disappointment that he's gonna die. And, of course, last but not least, your disappointment and...
You put a spell on me...
posted by srah on March 6, 2005 7:06 PM
Tags: movies, star wars, star wars: revenge of the sith
The O.C.? Gah! I know this stupid movie is going to be crap and it's going to make me angry that it's so crap! ... but I'm still going to want to see the trailer. And I'm probably going to put up with watching The O.C. in order to do it. Sigh. George Lucas, you jerk!...
I'll think about that tomorrow!
posted by srah on February 12, 2005 5:34 PM
Tags: gone with the wind, movies
My mom and I are watching Gone With the Wind and it has been recognized that I am Scarlett O'Hara Minus Southern Accent. Well, what's the mattuh with preferrin' to eat barbecue instead of talking about some silly war, anyway? I do declare! I don't normally approve of hitting slaves, but for Prissy's sake, I'll make an exception. I'm proud of Scarlett for only verbally abusing Melanie Hamilton-Wilkes behind her back so far. I would have punched her by now, because SERIOUSLY, where did Ashley dig up this sappy, whispering wet blanket? Well, I have a long life of adventure...
I can't even think of a title for this post because of the giggling
posted by srah on February 8, 2005 10:05 AM
Tags: movies
Every time I see the words Amish Face on this post, it makes me squash up my face with repressed giggles. AMISH FACE! Coming soon to a theater near you! In the blahblahs, I would like you to tell me what you think the plot of Amish Face would be. Set your imaginations free!...
'I've seen lonely times when I could not Phone a Friend'
posted by srah on February 7, 2005 10:16 PM
Tags: movies, office space, roommate, trivia
My cell phone rang. I looked down at the display, assuming that it was someone who knew I'd been in class and had waited until five minutes after the end to call me. Instead I saw that it was my long-lost college roommate, Roommate. It seemed strange that she would call at 10:05 pm on a Monday, since we haven't seen each other in months and all of our recent correspondence has been in the form of LiveJournal comments. I answered the phone. "Hi srah. Listen, in the movie Amish Face--" "WHAT?" "In the movie Office Space--" "Oh, that's better...
Central Services! We do the work, you do the pleasure...
posted by srah on February 1, 2005 3:04 PM
Tags: brazil, construction, movies
We are having central air conditioning installed in the house this week. They began today and should finish up by Friday. At this point, they've installed some of the tubes that the air will be flowing through but haven't connected them to the vents or, I assume, to the central cooling system. There are big, insulated silvery things poking out of holes in the ceiling and I'm concerned that a tiny Robert De Niro is going to pop out of one of them....
'Four-thirty: time for milking...'
posted by srah on January 28, 2005 8:57 PM
Tags: harrison ford, movies, witness
It's Friday night. My parents are out having a life and I am having a Friday Night In For One - chicken fried rice and a video. I scanned our DVD shelves. Sabrina? No, Harrison Ford's too stuffy in that. But Harrison Ford's a good idea... So I set off to pick my favorite Harrison Ford vehicle - the one where he's at his peak in terms of looks and romantic heroishness. I set off scanning the VHS collection for the video in question. Willow... Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory... Working Girl... WORKING GIRL? There is a conspicuous gap...
'She was wide-eyed, now she's streetwise/ To the lies and the jive talk'
posted by srah on January 27, 2005 10:53 AM
Tags: movies, sliding doors
I haven't watched Sliding Doors in years. I've considered it one of my favorite movies since about 1999, but I think that once I hadn't watched it in a while, I got scared that when I finally did watch it again, I wouldn't like it. So I avoided watching it to avoid facing that fear. I think I was also driven, to some extent, by my guilt at not updating JohnHannah.net in years. It's basically abandoned - an excellent source of information on John Hannah's career up to about... 2002 or so, but hopelessly lacking in recent years. I'm sorry,...
'Aliens? Us? Is this one of your Earth jokes?'
posted by srah on January 23, 2005 5:26 PM
Tags: movies
I'm a lot better at complaining about things than admiring them. So while I managed four paragraphs on Troy, here are some good movies I've seen recently and said nothing about: The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra: I came across this at the video rental store on New Year's Eve. Justin had mentioned it months (maybe years?) ago and I'd watched the trailer and looked forward to seeing it. So I rented it and showed it at our Tuesday movie night the next week. It was a masterpiece! Aliens, mutants, a sarcastic talking skeleton, people drinking out of candle holders, a...