Happy anniversary! It's the fourth anniversary of this blog, which I find hard to believe. I've watched hundreds of movies, some I remember and some, I honestly do not. Some I have loved, others I liked, and a few, I have just detested. People ask me all the time what's my favorite movie, what do I recommend, have I seen this or that. It's kind of fun. What's really fun is when they find out I have never seen certain 'classics', like Ghostbusters, or until recently, Dirty Dancing. If you are wondering how I decide what to watch, I'll explain. The original plan was to watch all of the Oscar-winning films going back to the beginning, all categories; that expanded to all nominees beginning in 2010, which is before the blog, but kind of when I started to methodically watch Oscar films; then that led me to the American Film Institute's list of best 100 films, the national film registry and just last year, the BBC's 100 best American films. In between, I review almost every other movie I see, mainly because it's habit, and I usually review the concerts or live events I attend; sometimes because there is a connection to films or books and, you know, everything is related. If you're looking for a movie, you can always email me, but feel free to use the search feature or the tags at the top of the blog. For this anniversary, I am going back in the archives for movies that you might have missed, skipped or just never heard of that might be worth your time. Thanks for reading.
Who are the Debolts? And Where Did They Get 19 Kids? I remember watching this documentary and being overwhelmed at the love that was in this family. I have no doubt if this film came out in the Internet troll age, there would be any number of crass comments, but it didn't, thank goodness. It's inspiring, emotional and uplifting, and real.
True Grit with John Wayne - Okay, you may not have missed this since it does star John Wayne, but if you have not seen it, or not seen it in a long time, it's time to watch it again.The Duke is in top form.
Born Yesterday with Judy Holliday and William Holden is funny and introduced me to Judy Holliday who was a great comedic talent. I had heard about this movie for a long time, and seen other actresses compared to Holliday, but would not have seen it if it wasn't on one of my lists.
The Hunt is a Danish film starring Mads Mikkelsen and it had my attention from the beginning. The Kafka-esque story will have you yelling at the screen at what transpires. Mikkelsen should have been nominated for an Oscar for his performance.
Nowhere in Africa is a movie I would like to watch again. It was a story that I had not heard before, which I always like, and it made me think, but also feel. It is a foreign film, mostly in German, but don't let that deter you. It's beautifully filmed and so moving.
The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared is a Swedish movie from 2015 that totally caught me off guard with its charm, humor and perspective. It's quirky, and had some elements that reminded me of one of my all time favorite movies, another Swedish film, My Life as a Dog from the late 1980s.
If you are a frequent reader, you know I love my documentaries, features, shorts, foreign and English. There are so many good and great ones, but I'll focus on two from 2015 What Happened, Miss Simone? and The Hunting Ground. I knew very little about singer Nina Simone, nothing really, until this documentary, and I was totally blown away by this woman's voice, her journey to become a performer, her sheer talent as a pianist and writer and her fight for civil rights during the 1960s. It left me wanting to know more. The Hunting Ground is very different, but just as powerful, as it looks at sexual assaults on college campuses, how most colleges and universities refuse to take action to protect female (and male) survivors of assault, even deny that it happens or their obligations to the survivors. We meet survivors who are taking their fights to campuses and to the media, supporting one another, and are refusing to give up and be silent.
There are so many more, but I'll leave it here.
Whiling away the time while staying at home
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