Netflix Fridays: What are we watching now?

One Day in September - A documentary about the Palestinian terrorists who interrupted the Munich Olympics by taking 11 Israeli athletes hostage. Besides footage taken at the time, we see interviews with surviving terrorist Jamal Al Gashey and various officials detailing how the German police, lacking an antiterrorist squad and turning down help from the Israelis, botched the rescue operation.



The Assasination of Richard Nixon - Based on real-life events, this arresting psychological drama is set in 1974 and centers on Samuel Bicke, an antisocial, unstable salesman with delusions of grandeur. As his life begins to disintegrate, Bicke decides to take extreme measures to achieve his warped version of the American Dream: assassinating President Richard Nixon.





Challenge of the Superfriends: Season 1 - This is the one we remember from our childhood and it is B.A.D. It is the perfect thing to watch when you barely haveenough grey matter to focus on the TV. Truly it is "Margarita TV."

Netflix Fridays: What are we Watching Now?

Jackman! JACKMAN!!!!! So I rented the wrong "Oklahoma." Sorry, Hugh, but I don't really want to see your version. I've heard it's good and all, but when I want to see "Oklahoma" for the first time I want to see... Gordon McRea? Is that right? Anyhow, I feel my first viewing should be the original movie. So back Mr. Jackman went - sight unseen. I only wish we hadn't let it sit on our TV for 4 days before I noticed the mix up. Grrrr..... JACKMAN!!!!

So here are the next discs due in (which I will be carefully checking over as soon as we receive them!):


The Who: The Kids are Alright - a 1979 documentary about the Who, including concert footage, interviews and footage from the last concert Keith Moon played before his death. I do enjoy the Who, but lets face it, this is a little gift for Sean sitting through so many musicals (And none of them were "Tommy") lately.




The Importance of Being Ernest - a 1952 adaptation of Oscar Wilde's famous play... which I have never seen in any form! Definitely a hole in my education which will soon be remedied! This one stars Michael Redgrave and Dame Edith Evans and was highly recommended to me by my brother - the biggest movie-snob I know.




and, of course,



Oklahoma - The real one. The Original. Surely an inferior version to the one I just sent back. Refer to last week's post for comments.

Netflix Fridays: What Are We Watching Now?

So yes, we FINALLY finished Battlestar Galactica. We watched both discs in 2 consecutive nights and enjoyed them immensely. Now we only have to wait for Season 5 to be released and we will be off the hook. You know, I read an article once about "Netflix Guilt" where you rent things you know you should watch (The previous year's Oscar winning Foreign film is a repeat offender for a lot of people) and then keep it for months, shuffling other Netflixes ahead of it in your viewing rotation. I think BSG definitely qualifies as this for us! Hopefully these next ones won't hang around quite so long:



Oklahoma - So it's pretty well known that I enjoy musicals... if I "deem" it a real musical or not. But strange as it may sound, I've never seen "Oklahoma." Now I've never been a huge fan of Rogers & Hammerstein musicals - and this one IS THREE HOURS making it a mandatory 2-night viewing in our house- ugh - but I figured it was about time I finally checked it out. Poor Sean.






Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Season 1, Disc 4 - How I love this show! This and the Twilight Zone are just the best things to watch - anytime, anywhere, for hours & hours on end. And - like the Twilight Zone - it's filled with actors who make you rush to IMDB to discover where you know them from!





Au Revoir Les Enfants - I first saw this story of a Jewish and a Catholic boy who attend a boarding school during World War II when I was in high school... except I never saw the last half hour! I had set my VCR to tape it overnight and the tape ran out before the movie did. And I never saw it again! And for some reason I never got back around to renting it before now... oops!

Guest Columnist: Gianna's Top 100 Movies Every Film Buff Should See, Pt 7

Hope you are all getting some good rental ideas from this - I know I am (except for those pesky anime choices. Uck!) I'm at 7 for 10 again... I seem to have plateaued!

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Millions (2004, Dir: Danny Boyle, Wr: Frank Cottrell Boyce)-Danny Boyle is fast becoming one of my new favorite directors, mainly because he displays such a range in the subjects he chooses. Concerning a little boy obsessed with saints, who literally has a bag of money dropped in his lap, is sweet and charming. One would never guess that it was from the same director who brought us Trainspotting and 28 Days Later (Both awesome flicks as well)

Much Ado About Nothing (1993, Dir: Kenneth Branaugh, Wr: Kenneth Branaugh)-Yes, there are countless Shakespeare films out there, all well done, but there’s something so enjoyable and exuberant about this particular film. From beginning to end, it’s pure joy.

My Dinner With Andre (1981, Dir: Louis Malle, Wr: Andre Gregory & Wallace Shawn)-Who would have thought that filming a dinner conversation between two friends would be so captivating. Of course when the friends are Wallace Shawn and Andre Gregory and the dinner topics consist of experimental theater and the meaning of life, you’re bound to be mesmerized.

My Man Godfrey (1936, Dir: Gregory La Cava, Wr: Morrie Ryskind)-A lovely romantic comedy, featuring yet another forgotten actress Carole Lombard. Lombard was a fantastic comedienne and Godfrey is one of her best films. Had she lived to make more films, she’d probably be better remembered.

My Neighbor Tortoro (1988, Dir: Hayao Miyazaki, Wr: Hayao Miyazaki)-This charming little film from the Japan’s Master Animator Hayao Miyazaki is so sweet and touching. Recently moved to a new home and dealing with their mother’s ailing health, two young girls find totoros who help them cope with life. Yet another unusual story choice for an animated flim, it is a glorious little film.

Naked (1993, Dir: Mike Leigh, Wr: Mike Leigh)-Mike Leigh’s dark a disturbing tale about a drifter who is able to charm his way into almost anything. Leigh’s process of improvising the scenes with the actors creates startling realism.

Near Dark (1987, Dir: Kathryn Bigelow, Wr: Kathryn Bigelow & Erik Red)-Quite simply, one of the best vampire flicks ever.

One, Two, Three (1961, Dir: Billy Wilder, Wr: I.A.L. Diamond & Billy Wilder)-Cagney’s second to last film (his last was Ragtime-but we won’t go there), a hysterical film that displays how wonderful a comic actor Cagney was. Interesting side-note that this film achieved Rocky Horror cult-like status in Germany.

Overnight (2003, Dir: Tony Montana & Brian Mark Smith)-Every aspiring filmmaker should watch this film as a cautionary tale of how to 86 your career before you even start.

Patch of Blue (1965, Dir: Guy Green, Wr: Guy Green)-Elizabeth Hartman stars as an abused young women, who lost her sight in early childhood. She is befriended by Sydney Poitier who shows her that she is not as trapped as she may think. Obviously given the time it was shot, they really couldn’t go much futher than friendship with this couple. However, a romance would have ruined what it a lovely story of friendship and understanding of two people.

Netflix Fridays: What Are We Watching Now?

OK - let me say this about Noam Chomsky. He's brilliant, frustrating, thought-provoking, maddening... but he's certainly not succinct! Manufacturing Consent was at times enthralling as well as mind-numbing and at a total running time of 2 hours & 45 minutes, we had to take two nights to complete it... and those two nights were 5 days apart. Ooof! We also finished Bones season 3 this week (great, but the stupid writers strike rushed an already unsatisfying ending). Born into Brothels was amazing and a definite must-see for all of us spoiled Americans who sit in our huge houses, eating our 3-squares a day, watching our cable TV in a house with clean water coming to us through indoor pipes and yet complain about how poor we are (Sean & I included). It's one thing to know that you are still better off than a lot of people, but it's quite another to see it presented so graphically for you. Truly, we are blessed.

So that leaves us with, you guessed it: Battlestar Galactica- Season 4, Disc 3. We always seem to shift this series down to the bottom of the pile. And to add insult to injury, Disc 4 just came in the mail! Yikes! The good news is that I do believe these two discs represent the end of this season and then we need only wait until Season 5 is released to complete the series. Don't get me wrong, we really do enjoy the show, but it always does seem to be a bit of an effort to begin a disc.



We are also expecting The Ultimate Carson Collection, Disc 2. We loved Disc one, which featured the ultimate Ultimate Carson moment: Ed Ames throwing the tomahawk. I have come to revise my opinion of Carson a bit. I grant that he was a master of improvisation and relating to his guests in a natural and spontaneous manner - but I still don't care as much for his scripted jokes or bits. Sue me.

Guest Columnist: Gianna reviews "Up"

Up, Pixar’s 10^th feature film is another fantastic addition to their already impressive canon of films. It follows the late-life adventure of Carl Fredricksen (voiced by Ed Asner), a newly widowed elderly man, who dreamed with his wife of going to live in South America’s Paradise Falls-a jungle wilderness discovered by their childhood hero explorer Charles Muntz (voiced by Christopher Plummer). When the threat of being ejected from his beloved house looms, Carl decides to tie millions of helium balloons to his house and set off for his beloved South American destination. Of course along the way there are a few problems thrown his way; an unwitting stowaway, an electrical storm and his old childhood hero: who has been living in Paradise Falls along with his army of dogs.

Up, strongpoint is Pixar’s always-stellar animation. The storm sequence is particularly stunning animation achievement. The wordless opening piece of Carl’s life with his wife is sweet and touching. Voicework and character design blend seamlessly together, as opposed to other animated films that like to draw attention to their famous voice actors. Especially impressive is the detail and thought done to the animating and execution of the dog army. However, Up is not without its shortcomings. Mainly I felt the some of the story might have been lost to edit it down to a more kid-friendly time of 96 minutes. There’s a lot going on in Up, but we rarely do more than scrape the surface. The character of Charles Muntz suffers greatly from his limited screen-time, not really allowing us to get invested in him as the villain of the film. There are also some issues of improbability, but I guess it’s hard to really argue that as a detraction of a film who’s main plot is flying a house to South America with helium balloons.

In all Up is still a charming, wonderful film. It’s not a masterpiece like Toy Story, Finding Nemo or WALL-E, but it is far better than the mass-produced animation junk that is so prevalent nowadays.

Guest olumnist: Gianna's Top 100 Films Every Film Buff Should See Pt. 6

Here you go - I'm still at 7 for 10!

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Ju-on(2002, Dir: Takashi Shimizu, Wr: Takashi Shimizu)-One of the scariest flicks I’ve seen in the last decade or so; a sublimely creepy ghost story that gets its chills from sound effects and lighting. Awesome!

King of Comedy (1982, Dir: Martin Scorsese, Wr: Paul D. Zimmerman)-Scorsese’s excellent examination of our culture’s obsessession with fame. Robert DeNiro’s performance as Rupert Pupkin is humorous, touching and deeply disturbing.

Kiss Me Kate (1953 Dir: George Sidney, Wr: Dorothy Kingsely)-Another one of the interesting uses of 3D in the 50’s. A great musical in it’s own right, it also features a fantastic dance sequence with Bob Fosse and Carol Haney that explodes off the screen.

Kiss of the Spiderwoman (1985, Dir: Hector Babenco, Wr: Leonard Schrader)-An evocative film of an unlikely friendship between two radically different men. Tour-de-Force performances by two fantastic actors.

Longtime Companion (1990, Dir: Norman Rene, Wr: Craig Lucas)-One of the first films to examine the first decade of the AIDS crisis, it follows the lives of several gay couples from the early outbreaks through to the early 90’s.

Manhunter (1986, Dir: Michael Mann, Wr: Michael Mann)-Before Silence of the Lambs, there was Manhunter, Michael Mann’s much overlooked adaptation of Red Dragon. Gritty and low-budget, Brian Cox delivers a more understated and restrained Hannibal Lector.

Marat/Sade (1967, Dir: Peter Brook, Wr: Adrian Mitchell & Geoffrey Skelton)-An almost literal screen translation of Brook’s fantastic stage production; it has an unusual quality of being highly theatrical and amazingly filmic at the same time.

Metropolis (1927, Dir: Fritz Lang, Wr: Thea von Harbou)-For me Metropolis remains one of the most amazing accomplishments of early cinema. The art direction, effects and acting are quite accomplished and stunning. Bridgette Helms’s portrayal of the robot is one of the most disturbing and creepy performances caught on film.

Metropolitain (1990, Dir: Whit Stillman, Wr: Whit Stillman)-This mid 90’s gem about about over-privileged New Yorkers in the winter deb season is completely charming. Stillman’s strongest film, it features some of the most well-thought out characters put to screen.

Mildred Pierce (1945, Dir: Michael Curtiz, Wr: Randal MacDougall)-It’s a little sad that for most people the mention of Joan Crawford brings up images of Faye Dunaway’s over-the-top portrayal of her, for she really was an accomplished actress. Mildred Pierce is soapy and melodramatic, but Crawford’s portrayal of the mother-who-will-do-anything-for-her-daughter is a relatively anchored and understated performance for its time.