2008
Plot: Habitual wedding planner/bridesmaid finds her own true love…or does she? --another dress at least.
Eric: I think I would have shot myself by wedding number five…but, enjoyable movie anyway.
Kelly: I thought this movie was going to be boring and predictable. It was a little predictable, but the fun dialogue and great chemistry made it really fun to watch. If you want the girl to get the guy, but you don’t want to have to turn off your brain, watch this one.
2006
Plot: A moving documentary depicts Estonia’s non-violent break from the Soviet Union.
Eric: The people of Estonia rock! How many eternally oppressed countries would organize a vocal concert instead of promoting bloodshed? Please see this film.
Kelly: I was stunned by this movie. What a triumph! Go see it…right now!
2006
Plot: A Russian man dying of radiation sickness tries to redeem his family by selling PU-239 stolen from a nuclear power plant on the black market.
Eric: This quirky movie took me by surprise but I highly recommend it. I loved how this movie takes a serious, heartbreaking subject and humanizes it with tenderness and poignant humor. The dying man’s declarations of love for his wife are one of the best moments of dialogue I’ve heard recently. My sympathy for the man made it easy to overlook the staggeringly immoral implications of what might happen to the radioactive material he stole…
Kelly: Wow, I didn’t see this movie coming. I shot Eric a very skeptical glance when we sat down to watch a movie about “Pu.” But it was terrific! The unexpected humor made the rotten truth bearable. I’ve been thinking about it for days.
2008
Plot: A retired secret uber-agent destroys France to retrieve his daughter kidnapped by women traffickers.
Eric: I love how these mild-mannered movie characters can magically turn in to Jason Bourne whenever their families are threatened. If I was that guy I would have told my ex-wife “I told you so” a million times. Everybody was so selfish—no one thanked him except the presumably self-absorbed pop singer. Sigh.
Kelly: Whiny daughter, bitter ex-wife, repentant dad, creepy human trafficking thugs: the perfect ingredients for a ridiculous plot with lots of needless violence.
1962
Plot: A vain British soldier wears fancy robes and eyeliner in the desert and goes insane.
Eric: I had low expectations for this movie because it was directed by David Lean, who also directed Dr. Zhivago, which I did not like. But, I enjoyed it. We needed a whole week to get through this four-hour desert marathon. I am fascinated by Roger Ebert’s comments on the film. He said everyone should see this movie on the big screen at least once. I bet Peter O’Toole’s makeup looks great at that size.
Kelly: I know, I know, this is a classic (yawn). I bet it is spectacular on the big screen, but I got bored toward the end. They needed a chic in the plot somewhere. I liked Dr. Zhivago better! (I guess I’m just a romantic at heart.)
2009
Plot: An LA Times columnist tries to turn a homeless Julliard drop-out into the second coming of Yo Yo Ma.
Eric: I'm so glad Kelly graduated from New England Conservatory instead...
Kelly: Why was this movie so boring? It seemed like a good idea on paper!
2006
Plot: A man crashes a wedding and discovers that he is the father of the bride. Whoops.
Eric: This movie didn’t have any substance or plot to speak of. The storylines were not interesting to me. Dumb.
Kelly: It had tons of interweaving plot lines and very interesting moral dilemmas. (Who is this guy I married? Did he see the same movie?) I liked it. Those Scandinavians sure do like drama, though—sometimes maybe a little too much.
* This movie was recommended to us by one of our small handful of fans. Thanks a lot!
1984
Plot: This film, based off a Pulitzer Prize winning play, depicts the investigation of a racially-motivated murder in segregated army barracks during World War II.
Eric: I didn’t much appreciate the acting in this movie. However, I thought the racial issues involved were important to see, because the most racist person against African Americans in the film was an African American himself. I enjoyed seeing a young Denzel Washington in this film.
Kelly: I liked the acting in this movie, but then I’m a former stage actor. I thought it was an interesting twist on what I thought was going to be a predictable plot. Denzel Washington looked so young!
