Movies, Mom & Me

• Who's watched:  Watched and bought this movie AMD
• Mentions:  None
• 
  Commentary:  Finally, one more AMD movie that isn't fluffy, not even close! I stumbled across this movie by chance when I was browsing Netflix. It sounded interesting. I fell in love with it as I began watching it and became even more intrigued when I realized that the entire script was written in poetry. It is so skillfully written, directed and acted that I can imagine lots of people watching this movie and never realizing it is poetic. It's modern day Shakespeare. The story was also mesmerizing, especially it's peculiar overview of romantic relationships, sly and ironic, erotic in an offhanded way, which makes it hard to call this movie a romance, although I'll include that label on this review. I was so enthralled that when I bought the movie I also bought the script and, as well, had a copy of this movie sent to one of my sisters who I just knew would find it as intriguing as I did. I also excerpted one of the monologues from the movie, over-narrated by a character who is in a nursing home, pretty much comatose and immediately dying, to read at my grief support group because it confirmed something I rather suspected from having attended my own mother's death; that the dying (and the dead) don't necessarily want their survivors not to grieve for them.
    I linked the title of this post to the movie's site (which, astonishingly is still up. However, I noticed that Roger Ebert was particularly impressed by this movie. You might want to read his review. He also interviewed Sally Potter and Joan Allen about their involvement in the movie. Even Chaz wrote a blog post about Ebert's admiration for the film. Why he did not christen this movie as one of his "Great Movies", I'll never understand, especially considering the glowing review he gave it.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Joan Allen	She	Simon Abkarian	He	Sam Neill	Anthony	Shirley Henderson	Cleaner
  Wil Johnson	Virgil	Gary Lewis	Billy	Raymond Waring	Whizzer	Stephanie Leonidas	Kate

  
    Although the website linked to the title of this post is actually interesting, it's a bit daunting to get into and figure out, so, just in case here's the film's Wikipedia page.
    Release Date: 2004
    Directed by Sally Potter.

Labels: drama6, erotic, female-director3, film-art1, haunting1, joan-allen, me-favorite2, romance1, spiritual1

• Who's watched:  Bought this movie AMD
• Mentions:  none
• 
  Commentary:  Funny about this movie. Yes, it's yet another emotional and, this time, comedic fluff movie that I bought after my mother died, for the same reasons I bought all the others. It was, as well, one of the movies that I recorded on our DVR long before my mother died and kept there because both of us enjoyed watching it so much, thus, watching it now has the added dimension of remembering my mother's and my shared pleasure in the movie. Although we enjoyed the entire movie, we especially liked the title sequence featuring Harry Nilsson's "The Puppy Song". Too bad this guy died so young. This isn't the only one of his compositions that intrigues me. I bought it in order to erase it from the DVR and, of course, watch it at my leisure.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Tom Hanks	Joe Fox	Meg Ryan	Kathleen Kelly	Parker Posey	Patricia Eden	Jean Stapleton	Birdey
  Dave Chappelle	Kevin	Steve Zahn	George	Dabney Coleman	Nelson Fox	Greg Kinnear	Frank Navasky

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1998
    Directed by Nora Ephron.

Labels: 20th-century-chick-flicks1, comedy1, female-director3, meg-ryan, popcorn-and-soda2, romance1, shared-favorite, tom-hanks

• Who's watched:  Bought this movie AMD
• Mentions:  none
• 
  Commentary:  It seems, after my mother died, I ended up buying a pretty few of these movies that are pure fluff, either emotional, visual or both! Here's another. Actually, Mom saw this movie and liked it so much that if we noticed it playing when we were channel surfing we'd click into it, to the satisfaction of both of us. I linked it to Roger Ebert's review because one of the things I like about it is the "gee-whiz" quality he identifies in the movie. I also like the opening title sequence and the emphasis on fashion. My favorite aspect of the movie, though, is Meryl Streep's performance. She imbued her character with astonishing dignity, to the point where it almost made me wish I'd decided to become a corporate dragoness! I also consider this a type of pussy-flick...substituting "fashion" for "pussy"...but it carries the same watchable quality as pussy-flicks.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Meryl Streep	Amanda Priestly	Anne Hathaway	Andrea Sachs	Emily Blunt	Emily Charlton	Stanley Tucci	Nigel Kipling
  Simon Baker	Christian Thompson	Adrian Grenier	Nate Cooper	Daniel Sunjata	James Holt	James Naughton	Stephen

  
    As always, just in case, here's the Wikipedia page on this film.
    Release Date: 2006
    Directed by David Frankel.

Labels: dramedy1, emily-blunt, meryl-streep, popcorn-and-soda3, pussy-flick, women's-movie1

• Who's watched:  Watched and bought this movie AMD
• Mentions:  None
• 
  Commentary:  I admit it. I'm a Flashdance junkie, just like millions (maybe billions, considering its stunning entry into the global cultural lexicon; if you doubt this, watch Caro diario; my library system used to have this film; it doesn't, anymore, I just checked). Yes, the story is dumb, yes it's pretty much badly acted, yes it's a pussy flick, but I don't care. I love the music/dance sequences. My favorite is the Maniac sequence. My second favorite is the Manhunt sequence: LOVE it when the dancer crawls across the floor! My third favorite is the one that features a reaction to television, Imagination. This is not to say that I don't like any of the other dance sequences. I found myself craving this film after my mother died, (much as I craved, with much personal embarrassment, the movie City of Angels) because I felt like I needed to feed off its energy. It worked, and still works. I guess, with City of Angels, I needed to feed off its grief process. Did my mother ever watch it? Possibly, during one of its infamous (but infrequent) television reruns, although I can't remember. Whether or not she saw it, would she have liked it? Absolutely, for exactly the same reasons I like it. I refuse to say any more on the grounds that it might incriminate both of us.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Jennifer Beals	Alexandra Owens	Michael Nouri	Nick Hurley	Lilia Skala	Hanna Long	Sunny Johnson	Jeanie Szabo
  Cyntha Rhodes	Tina Tech	Kyle T. Heffner	Richie Blazek	Lee Ving	Johnny C	Ron Karabatsos	Jake Mawby

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1983
    Directed by Adrian Lyne.

Labels: 20th-century-chick-flicks1, audio-visual, coming-of-age1, dance, me-favorite2, musical1, popcorn-and-soda2, pussy-flick, romance1

• Who's watched:  Watched and bought this movie AMD
• Mentions:  None
• 
  Commentary:  Although this movie was released before Mom's death, I didn't watch it until after she died, when it became available for rental. On first watching I determined that I wasn't particularly interested in owning it, even though it was entertaining. I wasn't impressed by the story. I did, however, find myself keeping the movie for several days and re-viewing the music segments, some of which I found captivating, and playing it in the background because I found that the reproductions of the songs by various artists added flavor to the compositions. I still resisted owning it, though, until I stumbled across a severely marked down copy. I don't find it an adequate substitute for The Beatles, but it's an interesting and informative adjunct.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Evan Rachel Wood	Lucy	Jim Sturgess	Jude	Joe Anderson	Max	Dana Fuchs	Sadie
  Lynn Cohen	Grandmother Karrigan	Dylan Baker	Mr. Carrigan	Carol Woods	Gospel Singer	Harry Lennix	army sergeant
  James Urbaniak	Manager Bill	Bono	Dr. Robert	Eddie Izzard	Mr. Kite	Salma Hayek	Bang Bang Shoot Shoot Nurses

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up for this film.
    Release Date: 2007
    Directed by Julie Taymor.

Labels: animated, audio-visual, drama6, dylan-baker, fantasy2, female-director1, film-art1, musical1, period3, romance1, spectacle1

• Who's watched:  Watched and bought this movie AMD
• Mentions:  None
• 
  Commentary:  Well, of course I own this movie! I watched it in the theater when it was first released, then bought a copy. I regularly force watchings upon relatives and friends. Much has been written and said about this movie which doesn't need repeating. I can tell you, though, that one moment I found the scariest was observing the slight smile on President George W. Bush's face when he announced the economic "global meltdown"; as though the plutocrats had not only orchestrated it but were rubbing their hands together with glee when it happened, knowing it would lead to a government bailout of the plutocracy and a startling, one time transfer of even more wealth into their rarefied percent of the population. As it happens, the financial reform that is now being wrangled over in the Legislature will likely not prevent another economic meltdown (although it's debatable whether any more bailouts will be okayed, at least in the near future). I want to mention that I found some of the special features on the DVD as, if not more, interesting than the movie. Two in particular, Commie Taxi Drivers and The Socialist Bank of — North Dakota? are especially hopeful. The movie can be relatively discouraging, so I have to be careful about repeat watchings. However, I have to say, Michael Moore's last line, "I refuse to live in a country like this — and I'm not leaving," more than makes up for the discouragement this movie and the some of special features dish out.
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 2009
    Directed by Michael Moore.

Labels: documentary1, economic, historical2, michael-moore, political2, tragedy1

  I'm adding a few movies to my list; all of them purchased after my mother's death. I suppose, in a way, I'm breaking an assumed rule, here, considering the name of the site, but a few of my friends use this site as a reference for movies they'd like to borrow and watch. As well, because movies played such a large part of Mom's and my life over the last years of her life, especially after she no longer found the theater experience comfortable, it is impossible for me to watch any movie in any venue, including at home, without thinking of her and speculating how she might have reacted to the movie.
  Poignant story: Yesterday I decided to attend the new version of The Karate Kid [I'm linking to this review because it's the kindest, although I was not as thrilled with the movie as Roger Ebert was; I very much enjoyed Jackie Chan, though, AND, there is one particular scene I can't get out of my head: At the final tournament there is a moment when the bully, Cheng, registers a facial expression of simultaneous confusion and insight; the shot is gone almost as quickly as it appears, but it's startling and left me thinking that Wang Zhenwei is an actor to watch] at our local theater. Aside from the fact that I liked the first (only the original, not particularly the sequels), the original was one that Mom loved and we'd watch whenever we found it on a television channel line-up. Although the theater was fairly packed, the seat in which I sat had an empty to my right. As the movie played, I noticed I was reaching over and laying my hand on the seat during sequences that I found interesting. When my mother and I watched movies, either at home or in the theater, I always sat to her left and she and I always reached over and touched one another when we found a scene or a bit of dialogue significant. Often we'd look at each other and smile, especially when we found our hands meeting in mid-air as they were traveling between us.
  Not sure, as I continue listing movies, here, if I'll mention how I think my mother would have reacted. Maybe...maybe not. I haven't actually purchased many movies since my mother died. Since the collection we have is more than enough for me, even minus those I've donated to the local library, and I don't find myself "losing touch" with the memory of movies I love, as my mother did, thus needing to watch them over and over, it mostly doesn't seem necessary to own any more movies than already exist in the collection. But, there have been a few...

P.S.: For these movies, in the area of the review labeled "Who's Watched:", in the following phrase, "Watched [and/or simply] bought this movie AMD", AMD stands for After Mom's Death.