July 2009 Archives

1992

Plot: Famous country music performer disappears from tour and falls in love with the only woman on the planet who doesn’t know who he is. Uh-huh.

Eric: I know this film is almost as old as my Jeep, but it has been a guilty pleasure of mine for all those years. When Kelly found out, she bought me the DVD. That’s pure love.

Kelly: One of the things I never thought I’d hear Eric say: “Um, I have a confession to make…one of my favorite movies is Pure Country.” I didn’t even know he liked country music.

2005

Plot: Classic love story based on Jane Austen’s novel. Just when you think nobody’s getting married, everybody’s getting married.

Eric: How many novels did Jane Austen write about families comprised of all women obsessed with men and marriage? Yikes! That's my idea of cinematic purgatory.

Kelly: Loved the book; loved the movie. Maybe it’s a girl thing. My favorite part is when Elizabeth tells off Lady Catherine de Bourg. I thought Donald Sutherland and Brenda Blethyn were priceless as Mr. and Mrs. Bennett, too.

2007

Plot: Don't watch this movie--because we said so.

Eric: Could have been a cute movie, but Diane Keaton’s portrayal of the meddling mother is so overbearing and over-acted that I couldn’t really stand it. The part of the movie where she couldn’t speak with laryngitis was the best.

Kelly: Diane Keaton drove me nuts in this flick. If I was her daughter, I’d move far, far away. She was so annoying that I can barely remember the performances of the other actors.

2008

Plot: These pants have traveled far enough.

Eric: I liked the parts of this movie I stayed awake for.

Kelly: This is definitely a chick flick, and I loved it! (I also think soap operas are fun to watch, though, so maybe I shouldn’t be allowed a vote on this one.)

2008

Plot: Defiant refuges create a militant commune in a Belarusian forest and combat German troops during World War II.

Eric: I thought this would be a much better movie on paper. It was just okay. I guess I wasn’t moved as much I expected to be considering the subject matter of Jews struggling to survive the holocaust. I liked Daniel Craig and Live Schrieber cast as brothers.

Kelly: I really appreciated learning about the true story behind this movie. It’s gratifying to hear about Jews who survived WWII by uniting and outsmarting their enemies. But Defiance missed numerous opportunities to have a much stronger emotional impact. I think it’s because we didn’t get to know the main characters personally before they were thrown into life-and-death situations. We picked up bits and pieces along the way, but I would have liked to know more about the people.

2008

Plot: Movie would have been better had it been based on a 1972 Jeep.

Eric: I can’t say that I approve of the Dirty Harry anti-gangster methods, but there was something sweet about an old curmudgeon learning to lay aside his prejudices and become friends with youngsters of a different culture. I cried…because the car was so beautiful.

Kelly: I agree that there were some oddly sweet moments in this movie, but I’m not sure prejudices were totally laid aside. It seemed more like they tolerated each other in order to fight a greater evil. I didn’t cry. I think Clint Eastwood is becoming a caricature of himself. Maybe I would have cried if it was a 1972 Jeep CJ.