An Embarrassment of Riches

The Butler Did It - by Steve I wasn't having a very good evening. I was tired from work, and dinner was mediocre. The entertainment I had lined up was an old black and white movie that I had checked out ages ago, but never managed to watch. Now it was on hold and I just HAD to watch it before it was overdue. I couldn't even remember why I had chosen it in the first place. I was actually kinda dreading the film.

My Man Godfrey starts out in Depression-era New York City with a group of Upper Crusters hectically racing around the city to track down items from a scavenger hunt. A pair of sisters, Cornelia and Irene, end up in the city dump. They whisk away a curious "tramp" to claim the top prize of the contest. Dressed in a tattered coat, Godfrey goes with the girls, but ends up schooling the top hat and tails crowd at their swanky hotel. A portly gentleman, Irene's father, likes what he hears and agrees to give Godfrey a job as the crazy family's butler. They could use a bit of common sense from a common man.

While the family constantly tries to wear him down, Godfrey takes no guff from anyone. Hilarious antics ensue. Will they just fire him and start over with someone new or will he become as zany as they are? You'll have to watch and see. By the end of the movie, my frown had turned upside down, and I knew I just had to find a butler of my very own.

Movie Night - by Felicia If you remember my last post of movie recommendations, you know that I like flicks that are little off-center. Well, this list isn’t as eccentric, but they are definitely films that I really enjoy and highly recommend.

So I’ll start with Atonement. I tried to read the book and just couldn’t get into it, but the movie had me riveted. Aside from the thoroughly compelling story, it is an absolutely beautiful piece of cinematography. Add to that an A-list cast, and you have a memorable film with a twist at the end that will astound you. The story centers on forbidden love, a heinous crime and a lie that becomes so big, it swallows everyone in its wake. I absolutely loved this film.

I also enjoy a film that includes some great professional dancing. Since I don’t dance myself, I like to live vicariously through characters in movies. If you haven’t seen Billy Elliot, you are in for a treat. The story is so well-written, and the main character will make us all want to dance. Again, the cast is just amazing, and you get to see some really fantastic footwork. The main character, Billy, wants to be a ballet dancer. But his family isn’t having any of that. Boys don’t do ballet. But, boy, does Billy prove them wrong. Go, Billy!

Have you ever heard of a movie called The Edge? Well, neither had I until a few years ago. This movie stars Anthony Hopkins and Alec Baldwin. A friend of mine recommended it, and I finally watched it. Part thriller and part adventure, it puts a very interesting twist betrayal and friendship (with the help of a very relentless bear). This movie will keep your adrenalin pumping until the very end.

Dangerous Liaisons came out in 1988 and stars one of my favorite actresses, Glenn Close. Again, the cast really makes this film. The chemistry between Glenn Close and John Malkovich is palpable, and this film is so decadent and sumptuous, that I have watched it probably about 20 times over the years. It’s one of those movies that I see something new in each time I watch it. Another reason to watch — the cast also includes Michelle Pfeiffer, Uma Thurman and Keana Reeves.

Who's That Knockin' on My Door?; or amusement while waiting for Trick or Treaters - by Alison

Some Halloween thoughts for things that we lend 
while waiting for all of those young costumed friends.
What's not to like in weird combinations
Of regency style and zombie nations?

While waiting for ghosties and ghoulies arrival
Peruse our advice about zombie survival

Or perhaps a movie one can easily pause
About barbarous creatures with blood on their claws
But just remember as you open the door
You can't rescind invites to guests you abhor.

   Ding dong! You gonna get that?....

For Your Viewing Pleasure - by Felicia

I like movies that are little quirky but with a strong message. There are so many smaller films out there that people never see simply because they aren’t widely released. I wanted to mention a few I especially enjoyed.

If you've never seen Lars and the Real Girl, I highly recommend it. The premise is really strange — you see, Lars is in love with a sex doll that he orders on-line. Now, before you pass on this movie, it isn't a traditional comedy because the movie also shows us what true loneliness looks like. I love the fact that Lars’ family and friends eventually rally behind his new girlfriend, even taking her out on the town and making her hair appointments. Yes, the story is just plain weird, but once you see the way it unfolds, I guarantee that you will root for Lars. And that makes for some fine film-making.

Girl in the Café is an HBO movie that takes place during the G-8 summit. At times funny, this movie takes a not-so-simple love story and transforms it into a strong political message. The girl in the café, Gina, seems very sweet at first (if a bit strange), but she surprises us when she starts confronting politicians about why they aren't doing more to end suffering in the world. Lawrence, her love interest, is a shy man who doesn't appreciate her outbursts, especially since he doesn't want to lose his job. This creates an interesting twist in this love story that succeeds in reminding us of the importance of caring about others in the world.

My last pick, which won a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film, is called Osama. No, not that Osama. This Osama is actually a girl who disguises herself as a boy to help support her family after her father and uncle die. The tension in this movie keeps you riveted, because at any time Osama could be found out by the Taliban — the scene where the boys are being taught to bathe themselves and the scene where Osama is punished in the well are especially hard to take. This film gives us an insider's look into the lives of men and women under the Taliban, and I highly recommend it.

3:10 - Agin'? - by Ruby

I'm not overly fond of movies made from books, and especially films made from OTHER movies. They say remakes fill an artistic void or a drive to financial gain. In any case, it can seem more like re-treading a tire than creating memorable screen moments. To illustrate my point, compare the following three versions of a well-known western tale. 

It all starts with a spare, intense short story by Elmore Leonard published in a dime western magazine in the early 1950s.  Two men, one law-abiding (Paul Scallen), the other law-busting (Jim Kidd), psychologically duke it out against the backdrop of a small dry Arizona town.  It hasn't rained in Contention City for weeks and the cattle are dying. It's called "Three-ten to Yuma".

Then jump to a beautifully photographed black and white Delmer Daves film in 1957 also called 3:10 to Yuma with Van Heflin (Dan Evans) and Glenn Ford (Ben Wade). You'll note that the characters names have completely changed for reasons known only to the creators. A "love interest" theme with bittersweet links to the past is added to fill the genre definition of Adult Western. No rain, cattle dying, still Contention City.

Morph ahead several decades (2007) to view a full Technicolored bloodbath version of - you guessed it- "3:10 to Yuma".  We're in Contention and it still hasn't rained. This time Christian Bale plays Dan Evans and Russell Crowe gets to be Ben Wade. This version has a lot more murdering and thieving included.  One of the major characters gets killed off.

All of these versions use the recurrent theme of friendship blooming under unlikely circumstances, i.e. growing respect for someone who’s your direct opposite trumping the usual misgivings.  To see how well the themes were carried out compare and contrast. What do you think?

I Laughed Til I Cried - Nicola Were you around when bomb shelters and fallout shelters were being built in the 1950s and early 1960s?  Can you picture Christopher Walken as a compulsive and slightly crazy scientist?  Then the film Blast From the Past is for you.  One night Calvin and Eve are visiting their neighbors and news of the Cuban missile crisis comes on TV.  The nervous Calvin insists that he and his wife, Eve, go down to spend the night in the elaborate shelter he has built under their house.  That very night a jet plane crashes into their house and Calvin decides that is a nuclear bomb since he cannot see what it really is.  The very pregnant Eve gives birth to their son, Adam, soon after they have been in the shelter.  The three of them end up spending 35 years in the shelter because that is the half-life of radioactivity and they would then be safe from the side effects of nuclear fallout.  The fun begins when Adam emerges from the shelter on his 35th birthday to a world he has never experienced before.

Ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggedy beasties - by Alison

I'm unfortunate in that I like a good scary movie. Unfortunate because they come along so rarely. I can't get behind those slasher sort of films where someone leaps out from behind a door and the audience sees a knife plunging up and down to the strains of a badly tuned orchestra. No. Give me movies with a bit of mystery. A creepy old house is good, hopefully one with a troubled history. A ghost -- or I should say -- the suggestion of a ghost -- is even better. And ideally, the protagonist will have to go to the local library to research the events that took place in this strange little town back in 1890 or whenever. And may I say that looking for this information on a microfiche reader is just so much more atmospheric than seeing our protagonist jump on the internet and google "mysterious circumstances in Creepyville". In my opinion one of the best of these was The Changeling. If you were around at the time, perhaps you remember the ads for the movie which showed a creaky wooden wheelchair, unoccupied, chasing one of the characters down a long hall. George C. Scott played the unsuspecting man who moves into the house, only to find that someone is still living there. Sadly, the library no longer owns the movie, and I suspect it is long out of print. Add to that The Watcher in the Woods (a Disney film no less) and The Lady in White about a boy who gets locked in the school cloakroom on Halloween night and sees a murder from the past replayed before him. Alas! They don't make them like that anymore.

But hey, wait! They do! I recently watched Guillermo Del Toro's (Pan's Labyrinth) The Orphanage. A woman and her husband have purchased the orphange where she grew up with the idea of making a home for disabled children. Their son, Simon, soon begins telling his parents about his new friends. A sensitive kid, an old house with a past, mysterious visitors, bumps in the night, what's not to love? Though some of the reviews were less than glowing, sometimes all you want is a good atmospheric movie, someone to watch it with, and a blanket with which to cover your head.