19 posts tagged “film”
Yesterday after church we had the Christmas party for the youth group. I had asked the kids a few weeks ago if they wanted to watch Prince Caspian and they said that sounded great. So I rented it from Netflix and we watched it yesterday. I have to say that never before have I been so thankful for the sarcastic nature of those kids, because the two-and-a-half-hour-long film would have been unbearable without their asides.
I finished this book:
So, hmm, I didn't love the film enough to want to see it again any time soon, but I did find it an enjoyable way to pass time last night.
It really made me want to watch my Flight of the Conchords DVD set. And speaking of:
When this film came out I really wanted to see it in the theatre, but stayed away because I heard how violent it was. So I rented it from Netflix and watched it last night (and fast forwarded through the few gruesomely violent scenes). I really got into this film. Viggo Mortenson is such a proficient actor; in his films he makes me forget he doesn't really have an accent. He is gorgeously dangerous in this film, and his chemistry with Naomi Watts was palpable.
And it really is a romance, even though there isn't much physical affection between the characters. Oh, I'm not doing the film justice. All the acting is great; Armin Mueller-Stahl is creepy, and Naomi Watts is fully into her role as a midwife who naively gets involved with the Russian mafia.
I can't stand overly violent films, but there was less of it in this film than I expected. From what I'd heard, I expected a bloodbath. And yeah, the film is definitely not sunshine and rainbows, but it is quite watchable, and very memorable (in a good way).
The end felt slightly under-resolved, but the hope was there.
This film stinks. My sister and I couldn't even finish watching it yesterday; to get the terrible taste out of our mouths afterwards we watched Pillow Talk.
It is sad because we love Morgan Freeman. But no, no, no way could he save this film.
ICK.
I'd gotten the DVD from Netflix right before my England trip, and last night I was finally able to watch it. Both Leah and I loved it. It is quite funny in parts, and then extremely touching in others. One part of the film had us both crying.
And now Leah and I have a new actor crush: Jesse Garcia. In the film, he plays Carlos, the cousin of Maria. For those of you who haven't heard about the film, it mainly focuses on Maria, a 14-year-old who ends up quite unexpectedly pregnant. Carlos, her older (gay) cousin, is a large part of the story as we see him grow into himself while both Maria and he stay with their great-great-uncle Tomas (played wonderfully by Chalo González). There is so much captured in this film: what is family, gentrification of Echo Park, faith/religion, teen pregnancy, homosexuality within the Latino community, and more.
I shouldn't expect any less from Mira Nair.
I just don't think I can watch it again for a while because it is too sad. One scene made me flat-out cry, and I got choked up a couple times besides that.
If you rent/buy the DVD, be sure to watch the special feature on the photographs that inspired Mira Nair. Some are fairly obvious in their relation to the film, and some less so. They are all fascinating.
His name is Araphon. Vote on my daemon, or get your own! It's all related to the upcoming Golden Compass movie.
It may sound familiar to you, because this song has been used in multiple ads. I think an ad for University of Arizona used it last year, and now I hear it in the TV previews for the upcoming film, Feast of Love.
