Movies, Mom & Me

    I didn't expect to ever be catching up, again, but, today, when I was going through the list to the left at the request of a friend who wanted to borrow a movie or two for entertainment, I realized I've picked up a few since the last time I recorded movies, back on June 12, 2010, and, as well, forgot to record a movie I picked up before those last updated posts. So, below, here are the "new" movies, pretty much for my convenience only, none of which my mother ever watched, all of which will be added to the roster on the left.

• Who's watched:  Watched this movie with Mom before Mom died; bought it AMD.
• Mentions:  none
• 
  Commentary:  I like watching this movie every once in awhile to remind me of why the life of Jesus upon which Christianity is based is more myth than reality. It doesn't make a difference to me, actually, since I'm not a Christian, but I don't shy away from religious discussions and the information in this movie helps ground me. It works well as a resource, too, as it features interviews with several well-known, self-identified atheists and Nones (a person who neither believes nor disbelieves in the existence or non-existence of a god).
    I could not resist linking the title of this post to one of the many refutations of this movie. This one is less rabid than most I found. It actually tries to make sense.
    Narrated by Brian Flemming.
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 2005
    Directed by Brian Flemming.

Labels: audio-visual, documentary1, jesus-dvds

• Who's watched:  Watched and bought this movie AMD
• Mentions:  none
• 
  Commentary:  This is another movie that was released well before Mom's death but which neither of us noticed, until it was too late for her. I'm sure she would have enjoyed it at least as much as me. Another one of those movies I can watch again and again. Yes, I know, this scenario is highly unlikely, but, frankly, considering our continued head-in-the-sand attitude toward the increasing climate change and what we, as humans, think of as climate chaos (what happens probably isn't considered chaotic from the perspective of the climate gods), how would we know what's likely and what's not? This movie has a peculiar effect on me. Every time I watch it (and, actually, I watched it, yet again, last weekend), my unedited emotional reaction is, "Yes! Let it happen! Let it happen!" Pretty much the same as my reaction to Earth 2100, which I don't yet own but probably will, since I no longer have cable, on which it used to show about once every three months.
  Update 2/7/18:  In case you're interested, here's the link to Earth 2100 on YouTube, with subtitles. As well, the next two links will connect you to the "official" ABC scripts; the first for Act One and the second for Acts Two & Three. These scripts are loaded with links to peripheral information mentioned in the documentary. Guess I don't have to own this one, after all! I'll try to check these links every once in awhile in case they go dead and I have to scavenge others.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Dennis Quaid	Jack Hall	Jake Gyllenhaal	Samuel Hall	Sela Ward	Dr. Lucy Hall	Emmy Rossum	Laura Chapman
  Ian Holm	Terry Rapson	Jay O. Sanders	Franklin Harris	Glenn Plummer	Luther	Dash Mihok	Jason Evans

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 2004
    Directed by Roland Emmerich.

Labels: action1, adventure3, apocalyptic, drama6, fantasy2, jake-gyllenhaal, me-favorite2, popcorn-and-soda2, science-fiction1, suspense2

• Who's watched:  Watched and bought this movie AMD
• Mentions:  none
• 
  Commentary:  It seems that this movie was released a good year before Mom died, but I didn't hear of it or see it until a few years after she died. Aside from the fact that the story is a nail-biter no matter how many times I see it, it is pure pleasure for me to watch the astonishing, perfect chemistry between Anthony Hopkins and Ryan Gosling, over and over and over and over ...
    I'm sorry my mother never saw this. Despite being a "pure soul", she loved a good murder mystery, which explains her addiction to Murder, She Wrote, the twistier the better. I also like a good murder mystery, but Murder, She Wrote wasn't twisty enough for me. This movie is.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Anthony Hopkins	Theodore Crawford	Ryan Gosling	William Beachum	David Strathairn	DA Joe Lobruto	Rosamund Pike	Nikki Gardner
  Embeth Davidtz	Jennifer Crawford	Billy Burke	Lt. Rob Nunally	Fiona Shaw	Judge Robinson	Bob Gunton	Judge Frank Gardner

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 2007
    Directed by Gregory Hoblit.

Labels: anthony-hopkins, bob-gunton, david-strathairn, drama6, me-favorite2, mystery1, rosamund-pike, suspense2

• Who's watched:  Watched and bought this movie AMD
• Mentions:  None
• 
  Commentary:  I can't tell you how many times I've watched this movie. Although it has a clear political point, it also contains an explanation of the financial crisis that I understand and the special features never fail to remind me of aspects of the financial crisis I continue to feel the need to research, as more and more opinion is added to the expanding conversation about what happened then and what's happening now as a result. It's like a class outline for me.
  Update 2/7/18:  Surprisingly, the commercial site for this movie, to which the title is linked, is still fully active. It still contains a lot of material that would be of interest to people intrigued by this movie. You have to click links to go deeper into the website, but it's worth it. Just in case, though, here is the link for the Wikipedia page on this movie.
  Update 4/25/21:  Well, the website for this movie still exists, but it no longer contains anything, links or information, about the movie, other than the trailer. Interesting how here we are, in Pandemic Land 2020/2021, with oligarchs reportedly become richer and richer, beyond their wildest dreams, and ordinary citizens are becoming poorer and poorer, despite their meager, day-to-day, wanting-to-simply-live-without-hassles dreams. Conspiracy theory, anyone? Anyway, I'm replacing the link to Sony's web page for this movie with Roger Ebert's review. However, just out of curiosity, here's the Sony link to it's own movie. Let's see how long it'll be before they take it down. You can bet I'll be checking back, occasionally.
    Narrated by Matt Damon.
    Release Date: 2010
    Directed by Charles Ferguson.

Labels: audio-visual, documentary1, interview, political2