Blockbuster
Katherine and I are about a month into the Blockbuster movie deal.
We pay $15/month. We get 2 movies at a time through the mail. No late fees. Unlimited movies. But unlike Netflix, we get to exchange a mailed movie for any in-store movie for free! And, as soon as the mail movie is checked in at the store, the next mail movie is shipped. So we could have up to 4 movies at a time (though the timing would need to be pretty good), without paying any more than the $15/month. I recommend it so far.
We've seen:
1. Bowling for Columbine -- Michael Moore documentary. Not great. He's done better work. Interesting stuff for sure, but what's his point? Not sure. Worth watching, but be prepared to be confused.
2. Waiting for Guffman -- Christopher Guest and Company, mockumentary. Hilarious, but not his best work. I liked Spinal Tap (own it), Best in Show, and Mighty Wind better. Some great scenes though. Why can't anybody else do this kind of comedy?
3. My Left Foot -- Best Actor (Daniel Day Lewis). Amazing acting and a terrific true story. Very inspiring. I really like stories like this. Whatever happened to Daniel Day Lewis?
4. Bonhoeffer -- Documentary on the German theologian/martyr. Couldn't stay awake. I'm really interested in the subject, but the movie was pretty bad, I thought. I should have paid more attention, if only to be more specific in my critique. Sorry.
5. Lost in Translation -- I think I see the beauty that so many critics saw -- and I'm not terribly impressed. Halfway between artsy and hollywood. My suggestion -- skip it.
6. An Inconvenient Truth -- Al Gore's documentary on Global Warming. I'm interested in the subject, but had a few negative reviews, so I didn't expect much. Actually, I thought was terrific! Katherine and I were very impressed. The presentation was clear, fact based, but not boring. I think I understand the issues of global warming so much better now. My highest recommendation of the last few months. You should see it.
7. The Search for Spock -- I love the Star Trek movies and I like the original series (and to a lesser extent the "New Generation"). I'm not a Trekkie per se, but I really like the movies, especially. I hadn't seen this in a while -- probably won't see it for a while again. Some good scenes, but overall, not as good as I remembered. Wrath of Khan (own it) is great, though. Watch that one instead.
We pay $15/month. We get 2 movies at a time through the mail. No late fees. Unlimited movies. But unlike Netflix, we get to exchange a mailed movie for any in-store movie for free! And, as soon as the mail movie is checked in at the store, the next mail movie is shipped. So we could have up to 4 movies at a time (though the timing would need to be pretty good), without paying any more than the $15/month. I recommend it so far.
We've seen:
1. Bowling for Columbine -- Michael Moore documentary. Not great. He's done better work. Interesting stuff for sure, but what's his point? Not sure. Worth watching, but be prepared to be confused.
2. Waiting for Guffman -- Christopher Guest and Company, mockumentary. Hilarious, but not his best work. I liked Spinal Tap (own it), Best in Show, and Mighty Wind better. Some great scenes though. Why can't anybody else do this kind of comedy?
3. My Left Foot -- Best Actor (Daniel Day Lewis). Amazing acting and a terrific true story. Very inspiring. I really like stories like this. Whatever happened to Daniel Day Lewis?
4. Bonhoeffer -- Documentary on the German theologian/martyr. Couldn't stay awake. I'm really interested in the subject, but the movie was pretty bad, I thought. I should have paid more attention, if only to be more specific in my critique. Sorry.
5. Lost in Translation -- I think I see the beauty that so many critics saw -- and I'm not terribly impressed. Halfway between artsy and hollywood. My suggestion -- skip it.
6. An Inconvenient Truth -- Al Gore's documentary on Global Warming. I'm interested in the subject, but had a few negative reviews, so I didn't expect much. Actually, I thought was terrific! Katherine and I were very impressed. The presentation was clear, fact based, but not boring. I think I understand the issues of global warming so much better now. My highest recommendation of the last few months. You should see it.
7. The Search for Spock -- I love the Star Trek movies and I like the original series (and to a lesser extent the "New Generation"). I'm not a Trekkie per se, but I really like the movies, especially. I hadn't seen this in a while -- probably won't see it for a while again. Some good scenes, but overall, not as good as I remembered. Wrath of Khan (own it) is great, though. Watch that one instead.
posted by William Sofield at 10:19 AM
2 Comments:
You should keep this movie review post as a permanent post that you update through the year. I'm going to do so, but I haven't seen any movies yet this year (gulp! is that possible?)
Lost in Translation is probably one of my top 10 all-time favorite movies. I'd be interested to know what you mean when you say you "see the beauty" but you aren't impressed.
Lost in Translation
The reviews I read fall into two basic camps -- 1)Bill Murray is not funny in this movie. It was slow and crappy. 2)Best movie of the year -- so profound and original -- the work of geniuses.
I'm not in either camp. I understand the image of being caught in a place you don't really want to be. Murray's and Johansen's characters were both there. They had almost nothing in common except that they in this weird place where they felt "out of place." Everyone else was placing expectations on them and they "just didn't get it." They were Lost and couldn't express themselves well ("in Translation"). Ok, I get it. But the movie seemed to drag on and on. I thought the point was well made half-way through the movie. I suppose that one could argue that the "boringness" of the movie helped the audience to identify with the feelings of characters, and I respect that. Ok. That gets to the art, which is terrific, but still . . .
Maybe I should say, the art was great, but I didn't really enjoy it, nor was the main point (as I saw it) very impactful. We're entertained to the point of boredom, but still, there is something to be said for real entertainment, too.
Maybe a conversation would be a better forum to describe my thoughts and feelings on this. I'm not sure I've been able really to communicate well, but that's my shot at it.
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