Now Showing - What We Watched - Page 191

This weekend we watched:

Left Behind -I think I found a new low. Although the run time was about 90 minutes, this was almost the worst 4 hours of my life (the other most painful time of my life was getting a double hernia repaired)! I can't even assign a number to this one.

We then grabbed a comedy for Saturday night; "Grown Ups". As mentioned by ridecolby - a funny movie filled with amusing one-liners. I give it a 3.5/5.0. Had I not seen; Left Behind the day before >> I would have given this one a 2.5/5

Sunday; I finished my masking panels and needed a movie to test them out, I put in The Wild Bunch for a teaser. Unfortunately I had to turn the system over to my teenage son for his PS3 gaming (he's a great helper and I couldn't say no). Looking forward to "TWB" another time.

Finally got tired of waiting for my wife to watch "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" and I went ahead and watched "The Girl Who Played With Fire" without her.....

It was very good.... but if I didn't know better, I would have thought it was done by a completely different director. I'm not sure why he changed the entire feel of this one, and it's still a very good film, but for completely different reasons than the first one. The tension drove the first, and action drove the second (not bang-bang-explosion-kung-fu action.... but you get the point). I'm curious to watch "The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest" now.... Not that I wouldn't had seen it regardless, but given the complete change in style, I'm perplexed. Perhaps I'm the only one who feels this way, and truthfully, I hadn't seen "Dragon Tattoo" in quite awhile, so my memories may be skewed.

4/5 either way..... I recommend it.

Watched Freakonomics two nights ago On Demand. This movie was released about a month ago on Demand and in the theater simultaneously.

If you've read the book, there isn't really anything new to experience here; a variety of unrelated topics are explored by economists. As someone who has read the book, I found the pacing a bit uneven with some segments lasting only a few minutes (and leaving you wanting more), while others plodded on for almost a half-hour. (The segment on Sumo wrestling was way too long, and the subtitles were at times unreadable).

If you haven't read the book, the movie is a fairly decent documentary that uses statistics to explore "the hidden side" of a variety of topics. Does a real estate agent have your best interest in mind? Do Sumo wrestlers cheat? Does a persons name dictate his success/failure in life? What may have been responsible for the drop in crime rate in the 80s?

Of course, if you haven't read the book, I'd definitely suggest reading the book over seeing the film. It's a quick read with some interesting topics. However, if you aren't the type of person to crack open a book, the movie is an "okay" stand-in.

(As an aside, if anyone has read Freakonomics and enjoyed it, check out the book "Gang Leader for a Day" which was written by Sudhir Venkatesh. Venkatesh was the person who had for collected all of the data that was used in the chapter about drug dealers in Freakonomics. "Gang Leader for a Day" is the story of how he (unintentionally) became accepted by a local gang, befriended their leader, and had unrestricted access to the day-to-day activities of the gang over a period of several years. )

You're not the only one who feels that way. I completely agree. I watched both movies within a week of each other. I still enjoyed the second movie, but it was very different than the first and not quite what I had hoped it would be. I'd still give it 4/5 as well, but would have to give Dragon Tattoo a 4.5 in comparrison.

Criag, I completely agree with you on "Left Behind". I'd like to see more "Christian" themed movies in the main stream, but this one blew an opportunity. If you want to be more impressed by the genre, have you seen "Facing Giants"? Much better writing. The B budget nature takes 20 minutes or so to get past, but the story takes over.

Facing Giants - Thanks, I'll check this one out.

Hoosiers BR - Wow I forgot how great of a movie this really is. The BR transfer is not all that stellar, but that sure did not detract from the overall feel of the film. This is the story of the Milan IN team that beat all of the odds. You can't be a Hoosier, love basketball and NOT like this movie. Knowing where Milan even is (I do) and knowing someone from the area (I do) makes it even better. If you like long shot, sports movies you will really like this. 4/5

Regards,

RTROSE

I think you'll really enjoy this film. A great positive message and a movie that you can show to everyone and anyone. You won't be disappointed.

Regards,

RTROSE

One of the best sports movies of all time, no doubt about it. I think it would be at the top of my list.

I watched some of it recently while flipping channels, just as good as it ever was.

Kingdom of Heaven (2005)

With Kingdom of Heaven, Ridley Scott set out to make an epic movie. A grand tale with a simple message which he shows us etched into a beam on top of Balian the blacksmith's shop. It reads, What man is a man who does not make the world better? He goes on to show us this man, this perfect knight-to-be risen from a lowly blacksmith. The bastard son of a noble knight, the father of a stillborn son and a widow from a suicide.

The loss of his wife and child shape Balian (Orlando Bloom). He has lost his all and is well on his way to losing faith in his God. He has little reason to stay in the little French town where he shapes iron. His only tie is his wish to be buried not 100 yards from where he was born. When his estranged father appears looking to make amends, Balian follows him back to Jerusalem with the promise of a new life and divine absolution.

His father charges Balian a knight with his dying words before they reach Jerusalem. Strong words they are as well, full of righteousness and emotion. They speak to the theme of the film, being a good man and helping those in need, making the world a better place for all and being true to oneself. Balian seems to have big shoes to fill but we can sense the greatness in him and impatiently look forward to the grand adventure ahead.

In the following act the film must disappointingly move away from the more interesting pilgrim's journey and enter the stale world of religious politics and the struggles for power between nobles who wage war to advance their personal cause. The film grows in scale but loosing the personal tale of Balian to a clichéd hero's rise did not make it more interesting. It loses its grounding in the reality Scott setup early on and very quickly becomes just another film designed for instant feel good gratification for the masses. A template tale you've all seen many times.

You can just feel the climax of a large scale war building up even before the third act begins. The big speeches to rally the troops and the sacrifices everyone has to make for the greater good. The power plays by the evil nobles looking to capitalise on death and weakness. Yeah, you've seen this many times before and as much practice as Scott has, it fell really short this time. Part of the problem is in the direction of the film but I felt that most of it can be placed squarely on the shoulders of the lead.

What the role of Balian required was a man. A strong charismatic leader who with mere presence inspires and whose booming voice can rally beaten men to rise and be counted as warriors. Instead, we have to watch a man boy with puppy eyes who easily elicits pity and has one expression to offer the camera, one of profound constipation. On the back of his Pirates of the Caribbean success, Bloom might have been a financially sound choice but in the long run his involvement delegates the film to the back of the shelf.

To be fair, the dialogue is partly to blame. Speeches that are written to stand the hairs on the back of your neck instead make your butt clench in uncontrollable embarrassment. At the crucial moment, amid alien scenes of war when we most need to believe, a weak delivery pushes you further away from the world they're attempting to create. You suddenly feel deflated after you've invested 3 hours into this film and the pay off is a meek one. To walk away with that feeling is to walk away with the opinion that the film was very poor.

But it's not. Despite some of its short comings it is a wonderful experience. Scott truly creates a violent yet breathtakingly beautiful middle age that's dark and alive with the tedium of daily life from peasant to king. The cinematography will take your breath away at times and should be familiar to those that have seen Gladiator or the recent Robin Hood in which the pair of Scott and cinematographer John Mathieson weave their illusions. Should that partnership have extended to Rusell Crowe, as it did in Gladiator and the less successful Robin Hood, Kingdom of Heaven would have at the least had a chance at lasting greatness with a more convincing leading man.

The support cast are a bit hit and miss but it has to be said that Edward Norton puts in a stellar performance as the leprosy ridden King Baldwin. Covered from head to toe in white with a silver mask for a face, he is easily more regal than any man on screen. A beautiful and strong man in his early years, King Baldwin has been slowly forced into seclusion but maintains a strong persona for his people who expect nothing less. The pain he has carried since the disease started to consume his flesh, and his world, are fully realised by Edward Norton in the way he carries himself, in his muffled calculated speech and in his piercing eyes - the only part of him you can make out behind the somber silver mask that hides his disfigured face.

With many redeeming qualities, Kingdom of Heaven is worth seeing if only once in a lifetime for the confident direction by Ridley Scott, and once more for the strikingly picturesque cinematography by John Mathieson.

3/5

Robin Hood (2010) - We started this two nights ago. At over 2.5 hours I knew we couldn't knock it off in one night. After the first night, I was ready to give up on it and post how terrible it was. Then, last night we watched the final hour! What a turn around! We thoroughly enjoyed it. It's an epic film of epic proportions. A bit predictable. A bit too close to the "Gladiator" formula. But there's no denying that it was big time film making.

Bonus features are, more often than not, a waste of time. This one was not. We enjoyed the "making of" as much as we did the movie.

Tonight, "Pirate Radio"

Well looks as though I'll have to back in my Netflix que as I gave on it just a little over an hour in. I usually don't give up on movies, but as you stated at 2.5 hours I was thinking I just could not muster up the courage to continue. I was also surprised that no one else had bothered giving a review of the film. Unless I missed it, another reason I gave it up.

Thanks!

Regards,

RTROSE

Robin Hood doesn't look like something I could stick with..... last hour "greatness" or not....

As for Pirate Radio.... I'm curious to see your thoughts on it..... I thought it had a great sound-track.... and it was "fun" but my wife and both kinda thought "Over-The-Top" and it didn't work for us....

RT (All),

Funny you should say this. I thought the first half was just above average, and then I fell asleep for most of the remainder. And here I thought it was me (although the wife whom is a "night-owl" said it was great movie).

I'll need to revisit this one also..

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...3#post19178503

Watched Equalizer Season-One (Television 1985)
3/5
"Got a problem? Odds against you? Call the Equalizer."
The cold war is still on back then,
but this DVD ages fairly well.
Robert McCall, a sophisticated former government agent atoning for the sins of his past by righting the wrongs of a flawed legal system in New York. Nominated for seven Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globes.

Maybe I painted the second half (Robin Hood) too pretty! I don't know if I'd go out of my way to rent it a second time, but it was significantly better than the first half.

Pirate Radio - I really enjoy films that bring you back to this period (Almost Famous, Austin Powers). Nothing particularly special about the story, but for two hours you're brought into another world, in another time. A few really, really, funny moments. A few pretty boring stretches. If it catches you in "that mood", you'll enjoy. But I could equally understand someone saying it was a snooze fest for them.

Figures the man who watches basically everything would have reviewed it. Just missed it or forgot you had reviewed it, but it was two months ago!

Just got back from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt1 (HPDHPT1) Well it is a great movie, however the pace in the movie is all over fast, slow, slow, fast, medium, slow, fast, well you get the idea. There is several different types of camera techniques used throughout the film in a couple of scenes I actually found it a little distracting. This movie IMO more closely follows the book, as it is in two parts I think this makes sense. I will say I did really like the film, it is almost a 2.5 hour film but for me it did not seem that long. The "cliff hanger" ending is expected and where they decided to end part one makes sense but when it happens your left saying "Come on" really? Here your going to stop here and make us wait? Are you kidding me? HPOOTP is still my favorite HP movie, but this is very close and part 2 if done correctly will surpass HPOOTP and HPDHPT1. 4/5

Regards,

RTROSE

Watched Expendables
2.8/5
Your basic action flick. No surprises.
Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li (using firearms?), Dolph Lundgren, Eric Roberts, Randy Couture, Steve Austin, David Zayas (phoned it in), Mickey Rourke (good acting), Arnold Schwarzenegger (visitor/cameo), Bruce Willis (few minutes).
Lots of celery snapping sound effects during fist fight scenes.
Lots of bullets being expended.
Pictures of firearms used
Everything works out the way you expected, even the Charisma Carpenter subplot is predictable. Opens with a 3 month somali pirate kind of thing.
Stalone is wearing his Panerai Luminor 1950 Regatta Rattrapante wristwatch, worth about $150,000.
I see they're making a sequel "Expendables II".

Pirate Radio is on my list. Can't wait to watch it. I'm not expecting much but it should be a fun couple of hours.


Chinatown (1974)

The past shapes who we are for better or worse. It silently makes decisions for us. Ever so tenderly pushing us over the edge or holding us back. Putting words in our mouth or stifling intentions. It defines us and J.J. Jake' Gittes (Jack Nicholson) is no exception. He is a man completely shaped by his past. It's one he hides and avoids with obscure answers. He even uses the expression, Let sleeping dogs lie and notes, Sometimes you're better off not knowing. But we do want to know. This is a mystery after all, and like Gittes, you will keep guessing until the credits roll.

Let me explain something to you, Walsh. This business requires a certain amount of finesse. Says a confident and well presented J.J. Gittes speaking of his profession. Although you are watching a noir detective film, Gittes does not conform to the classical disillusioned detective working out of a shabby poorly lit office with slumped shoulders and a poisonously cynical outlook. Gittes is self assured and financially well off with a secretary and two assistant detectives. His office looks elegant, organised and efficient - just like Gittes.

Retired from the police force, he now mostly takes on adultery cases. Cue wealthy woman with a cheating husband. She hires Mr Gittes to follow her husband, Hollis Mulwray, a well-known chief engineer of L.A.'s Water and Power' company. Gittes and his assistants waste no time in wrapping up the case. Like the classical noir detective, Gittes follows his own set of morals and values which do not preclude him from making a quick buck by selling out the high profile Mr Mulwray and his adulterous ways to the newspapers. A buck is a buck and Mr Gittes is in business.

The first of many twists surprises us when the real Mrs Evelyn Mulwray (Faye Dunaway), along with her lawyer, shows up at Gittes' office and presents him with a defamation lawsuit. There's no point getting tough with me. Gittes says to Mrs Mulwray, who in turn responds, I don't get tough with anyone, Mr Gettis. My lawyer does. And with that, I fell in love. Her pencil lined eyebrows and blood red lipstick framing a cold, almost detached expression as she sizes up and back-foots the ever in charge Mr Gittes. She's confident and intriguing and I had to exercise great control to only rewind that scene twice.

Gittes realises he was set up and used for some other purpose. I'm not supposed to be the one who's caught with his pants down. He does not intend on letting anyone use him. And so begins the game of who and why. A mystery takes shape and slowly unfolds, keeping your attention for the whole 130 minutes.

His curiosity, along with ours, grows further when Mr Mulwray turns up dead and the girl Mr Mulwray was seeing goes missing. Thugs try to persuade' him to quit it when he starts snooping around Water and Power's interests and one of them, played by the director Roman Polanski, splits his nostril with a switch-blade. Not one to back down, Gittes gives as much as he takes and driven by his need to solve the case, clear his name and help the leading lady, he calmly and relentlessly navigates the twists and turns to the bitter end.

Like any good mystery thriller, Chinatown is full of twists and none of them feel tacked on for effect. Each one cleverly progresses the story, redefines relationships and your suspicions on who is behind the murder and whether it's related to the larger conspiracy of the water kind. It keeps you guessing and interested and as the film progresses, two distinct arcs develop interrelated by the murder.

The grand arc concerns itself with who controls the water and what they stand to gain by denying L.A.'s citizens its use. We imagine many unseen figures in high places with resources behind them. Going against them is a lone detective. An ex-police officer who couldn't cut it in the force perhaps? As capable as Gittes seems, the odds area heavily stacked against him. A real underdog for the viewer to cheer.

I referred to the water arc as the grand' one because it affects the whole city, not because it's more interesting or more important than the small-scale arc, one of skeletons in the closet and family secrets coming to a head. If anything, this story arc, as intertwined as it is with the grand one, is the more intriguing and ultimately more memorable one. The family history, their relationships current and past, is what makes this detective story such a compelling one.

A third arc yet, more subtle but just as important, is played out by the man himself. It deals with his past while working in the police force in L.A.'s Chinatown. Nothing specific is alluded to but we glimpse enough to know that he was disillusioned. Despite his best efforts, he made little difference. There was a woman he cared for and in trying to help her, he hastened her demise. More than likely, Gittes quit the police force as a direct result of this event.

Most of this information is revealed in one great scene where our two leads lay naked in bed in lazy abandon of all their troubles. Jake comes across as a deeply troubled man haunted by his past. Evelyn, for her part, has let her guard down and is honestly affectionate and caring for the first time. She has just asked whether the girl he cared for died when the phone rings. And it rings as she holds his eyes waiting, hoping as much as us for an answer. It doesn't come. She answers the phone and we're racing off into more suspense.

Chinatown is a masterful blend of mystery, thriller, romance and suspense packaged in a hard boiled detective noir story. It features outstanding performances from the two leads in their prime. Coupled with confident direction from Roman Polanski and an Oscar winning script from Robert Towne, it's sure to please every fan of cinema.

4/5

Watched Centurion (2010)
2.2/5
Not the way Roman's fought, not a great story, obvious pursuit.
Costumes seemed ok.
AD 117. The Roman Empire stretches from Egypt to Spain, and East as far as the Black Sea. But in northern Britain, the relentless onslaught of conquest has ground to a halt in the face of the guerrilla tactics of an elusive enemy: the savage and terrifying Picts. Quintus Dias (Fassbinder), sole survivor of a Pictish raid on a Roman frontier fort, marches north with General Virilus' (West) legendary Ninth Legion, under orders to wipe the Picts from the face of the earth and destroy their leader Gorlacon. But when the legion is ambushed on unfamiliar ground, and Virilus taken captive, Quintus faces a desperate struggle to keep his small platoon alive behind enemy lines. Enduring the harsh terrain and evading their remorseless Pict pursuers led by the revenge hungry Pict Warrior Etain (Kurylenko), the band of soldiers race to rescue their General and to reach the safety of the Roman frontier.


Watched The Disappearance of Alice Creed (2009)
2.8/5
Didn't quite sing home. The opening was promising, in a sort of Dexter-ish way.
From the commercial, I was expecting a 'self-defence after woman kidnapped' film. But what I got was a 'series of twists' film -- and once I realized that the ending was predictable.
Stars Gemma Arterton of Prince of Persia The Sands of Time, Clash of the Titans, and Quantum of Solace.
On a suburban street, two masked men seize a young woman. They bind and gag her and take her to an abandoned, soundproofed apartment. She is Alice Creed (Gemma Arterton), daughter of a millionaire. Her kidnappers, the coldly efficient Vic (Eddie Marsan) and his younger accomplice Danny (Martin Compston), have worked out a meticulous plan.

Watched

I read the book while holidaying in Europe two years ago. It's something that will stick with me forever. I bought this really old hardcover edition for $2. Having a blast reading it and when I get to the end, the very last page was missing. Had to find it in a library when I got back home.



Inception (2010)

Not one to be left out of my social circle, I made it a priority to watch Inception. Like wow. It blew my mind. I'm not sure what happened exactly but it was awesome. There were these dreams and people were stealing them. Lots of action for the family. At least like 50 people die which is a bit low but still good. And there were all these layers, like in a cake. Oh, speaking of cakes, I've been learning to cook recently. Experimenting with food is so much fun. One of the tastiest cakes is Tiramisu. If you haven't tried it before, please do yourself a favour and add these ingredients to your shopping list:

3/4 cup Baileys Irish Cream
1½ cup of strongly brewed espresso
500g mascarpone cheese
4 tablespoon of icing or superfine castor sugar
½ teaspoon of vanilla extract or essence
½ cup of lightly whipped cream
260g of savoiardi (thin sponge finger biscuits)
20g of cocoa powder

The cheese is very important so make sure you get mascarpone. Once you have all of the above, just dive in. Don't be afraid. Cooking is very easy and oh so satisfying when you taste something that you've created. Baking is a bit harder than other types of cooking but don't let that put you off. It just means you have to pay closer attention to the instructions and follow them accurately. So let's start shall we?

Combine ½ cup of the baileys irish cream and the expresso in a shallow dish. Set aside.

Mix the mascarpone, sugar, vanilla and the remaining Baileys irish cream, until it's well combined and smooth. Then fold in the lightly whipped cream until combined. Cover and refrigerate.

Dip half the sponge fingers biscuit into the coffee and irish cream mixture and place them in a single layer on the bottom of a 2 litre ceramic dish.

Spread half the mascarpone mixture over the biscuits and dust with cocoa powder. Dip the remaining biscuits in the coffee and Irish cream mixture. Then lay it on top. Then spread the remaing mascapone mixture on top of the biscuits. Dust with cocoa powder and refrigerate. For best results refrigerate for at least 5 hours.

Decorate with whipped cream, strawberries and wafer biscuits. With any remaining coffee and irish cream mixture, add it to a glass full of ice.

Easy no? Give it a go and you'll open up a world of taste sensations with no end of experimentation. It will turn in to a life passion and you will ultimately eat better, impress friends and family and experience tastes unlike anything you can find in a microwave dinner.

Oh, the movie was pretty good too.

3/5

Wow, that is nice, but actually I really prefer Key Lime Pie or a down home Pumpkin or Blueberry pie to Tiramisu. Maybe you could on your next "review" include a good recipe for one of those. Thanks, that would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,

RTROSE

The Apartment (1960)

I have an idea. Write a really clever and snappy script. Find an actor with impeccable comedic timing that has an every-man appeal about him. Pair him up with a cute-as-a-button leading lady with excellent acting range. Finally, let a master paint the tale he helped pen and enjoy the inevitable result.

Fran tells us that some people take, some people get took, and let me tell you that we've been took by Billy Wilder and there's nothing we can do about it. What starts off as an innocent romcom builds to a memorable tale of two people that get took as a rule but in the end find the stregth to take some back.

Billy Wilder has given us timeless classics such as Some Like it Hot, Sunset Boulevard, Ace in the Hole, Stalag 17 etcetera, and The Apartment easily burrows itself amongst the cream of his filmography. In a career studded with exceptional work, it stands tall as one of his most memorable. He is credited as producer, director, and part writer. At the Oscars in 1961, the film took out 5 awards for director, editing, screenplay, art direction and of course, best picture.

The story is a pretty simple one as far as they go. A company man, C.C. Baxter (Jack Lemmon), lends his apartment to executives who use it for their extra marital affairs. Baxter is often left out in the cold and most nights stays back at work to kill the time and keep warm. He may appear overly ambition but in reality he is just being took by those that take.

His neighbours believe him to be a man about the town - bringing girls back to his apartment each night, and sometimes twice a night. In actual fact, Baxter sees very little action other than cleaning up empty alcohol bottles and stocking up with cheese crackers to keep the executives happy. He is interested in an elevator assistant, Fran Kubelick (Shirley Maclaine), that works in his busy building but the word around the office is she avoids all advances.

Things start to look up for Baxter when he gets a promotion and a date with Fran Kubelick. But, as the formula demands, Baxter and Fran must first overcome obstacles before a happy resolutions is reached.

At times a charming comedy, at others a heartbreaking tragedy, it walks a fine line between the two and I wouldn't put it past Wilder to end it either way. I would have been satisfied with a happy ending as much as with a sad one since the film doesn't hinge on the final act and is memorable throughout.

It's full of witty dialogue and memorable quotes but none of it feels forced or unnatural. The dialogue reads contrived but it plays beautifully - a testimant to the quality of the acting by Lemmon and Maclaine.

With no overbearing sountrack or showy camerawork, all your concentration is on the characters and the story Wilder is telling. And that's the way it crumbles cookie-wise.

4/5

While the review is very good. I am sad to say that you did not fulfill my earlier request for additional recipes. I'll begin to take your reviews seriously again when you start giving us bonuses with your reviews.

Regards,

RTROSE

Been doing a lot of watching so I need to do some updating.

Control Room - Documentary on the Iraq war basically from the Arab, Middle East, Al Jazeera's point of view. Very interesting to get another view on the war in the Middle East. One thing I did not know is that there are just as many people who love Al Jazeera as hate it. I figured there would be overwhelming support for Al Jazeera not entirely so. If you enjoy this type of film then I would say you would like Control Room. Well worth a watch on the documentary category. 3.5/5

Julie & Julia - Netflix streaming. Actually a very enjoyable film. Not as much as a "Chick Flick" as I thought it was going to be. Not the same ole' song and dance or script. Interesting to see how Julia Childs overcame a disadvantage, persevered, and became basically a living legend. Guys don't fret if your S.O. mentions watching this film it really is pretty good and at no time did I feel as though standards were being set so high for us mere mortal men that we could never live up to nor did I ask myself when the suffering would end. In fact guys if you want some brownie points from your S.O. then why don't YOU suggest this film. I'm just sayin'. 3/5

Clash of the Titan's 1981 Netflix streaming. I actually remember going to the theater with my dad to see this movie. For me the movie has more of a nostalgic feel than anything else. My youngest started out watching it with me but it just did not really hold up for him. I guess to be honest it really does not stand the test of time very well, but still I have a hard time bashing it. For us "older guys" who can appreciate the older "special effects" vs. this new fangled CGI it does much better than the younger crowd where CGI is pretty much all they know. I still love the mechanical owl though, forgotten about that little guy. 3.5/5

National Lampoon's Vacation - Netflix Streaming. Well what's to say about this classic. Still a laugh out loud comedy. Still holds it own against some of today's newer "classics" Very funny, but having seen it so many times on TV I had forgotten about the "F" bombs and the couple of nudie scenes. Glad I did not watch this with the kids. I think I keep them to the TV version. 3.5/5

The Color Purple - A different, eye opening, and excellent film. The wife had her interest piqued after the Oprah anniversary show and wanted to watch it. She was thinking about packing it in just a little while into the film, but stuck with it. Very thought provoking and give an insight into how hard life was and what sacrifices African American women in that time period had to make. Well worth a watch and great performances by the cast. 4/5

Regards,

RTROSE

I'm finding a drawback to watching lots of movies. When company comes for the holidays, we've already seen anything they pick out and we spend the time rewatching. I've rewatched most of the summer blockbusters this week and none of them were worth it.