November 2008 Archives

2007

Plot: A military project gone bad causes a thunderstorm, a rift in space or some damn thing, and a mist that brings all sorts of mutant creatures. Whoops.

Eric: I think everyone would have survived this movie if the refuges locked inside the store against the monsters had thrown out the annoying Mrs. Carmody right away instead of suffering her brainwashing religious insanity for so long. The final scene was surprising. Kelly doesn't do horror films, so I tried to convince her we were watching Love in a Mist, but she didn’t buy it.

Kelly: Scary movies give me bad dreams.

No vote.

2008

Plot: Aster-may Oogway ooses-chay at-fay anda-pay.

Eric: Cute movie, but not the best animated feature I’ve seen recently. (Think Ra-ta-too-ee.) However, this movie contains the most profound line of dialogue I’ve heard in a long time: “Panda, we do not wash our pits in the pool of sacred tears.” Those are words worth remembering. The panda's father is a goose.

Kelly: I was a little disappointed in this movie. We’ve seen several really fun animated films recently (Ratatouille, Bolt, Meet the Robinsons, Madagascar), and this one didn’t quite measure up. It had its moments, but let’s just say I got a lot more knitting done when we watched this one.

1962

Plot: A southern lawyer, Atticus Finch, defends a black man accused of rape in depression-era Alabama.

Eric: A classic? Why? The screenplay isn’t that great. The courtroom scene was the only good part.

Kelly: Yes, it’s a classic for a reason! It is a beautiful story based on the novel by Harper Lee that won a Pulitzer Prize, and there are quite a few reasons why it is still popular today. The characters are rich and funny and tragic and very believable. I could watch this movie a million times and not get sick of it, because it has a very unique way of dealing with sensitive issues like racial inequality and rape and also infusing love and humor into the story. Scout is definitely my favorite character.

Eric: Please don't make me watch this a million times.

2008

Plot: An incompetent nanny takes high society by storm, puts Eric to sleep.

Eric: This movie was one of the best nap-inducing films I haven't seen recently. Four Z's!

Z Z Z Z

Kelly: Any movie with Frances McDormand gets my vote. She had me at Fargo. This is a crazy whirlwind of a film, and I totally enjoyed watching it. I was really rooting for her to finally get something to eat by the end of the movie. The fashions in 1939 rock, too!

2008

Plot: A delusional dog, an angry cat, and an overweight hamster in a ball form an unlikely alliance during a cross-country adventure.

Eric: We saw this Thanksgiving weekend with my niece and nephew in an empty theater. I fell out of my seat laughing at several spots, and it was hard to pass Twizzlers to the kids from a prone position on the floor. The children didn’t understand the difference between Bolt’s reality and his TV show.

Kelly: I’m glad we were the only ones in the theater that night because Eric’s niece kept yelling at us, "WHAT’S SO FUNNY?" Mittens the cat was my heroine. Like her, I often feel “disturbed on a number of levels.”