Movies, Mom & Me

• 
  Commentary:  This movie received highly contradictory critiques, from being considered a high best film of 2010 to being declared not having been worth making. It created so much critical controversy that, aside from triggering more than one critic to produce a review of this movie on RogerEbert.com, there were also several critics who opined about the issues the movie raised for them. The immediately previous link takes you to the simple search I performed for the movie's title, which typically brings up only one review per movie.
    I found the movie intriguing, involving, enjoyable and ultimately entertainingly disturbing. It was sent to me by MFS, out of the blue. After I watched the film I wondered why she picked it out for me. I still haven't asked her, but now it doesn't matter. I've watched it three times since I received it. I find that with each viewing, I discover something that I need to bookmark in my mind and pull out on a next watching. In fact, I think I might watch it, again, tonight, now that I'm thinking of it.
    Although it appears to have a highly complicated plot, by the end you realize that the complications are solely in the main character's mind, not in yours, which, in a sense, increases the satisfaction in watching it. It is also, for me, a bit scary to watch. After the second watching, I found myself speculating that a similar type of confusion could easily afflict me. I wouldn't have the excuse of murder to drive me to confound myself, but there's enough odd about my life that I can imagine becoming troubled over my deep contemplation of myself and not being able to exit. That is the power of this movie. Although few of us are outright murderers, most of us feel deadly guilty about some incident in our lives. Even my mother had such an incident. When she finally told me what it was, it seemed benign enough to me. It did not involve the murder or even the mistreatment of someone. It involved an incident in which she realized she was unfairly prejudiced against a particular group of people (not because of color, because of religion). It did not involve an opportunity to make direct amends. Upon discovering her prejudice she immediately set about conquering it, but the memory of the discovery haunted her, literally, to her dying day, for a full 40+ years, even though she was successful in understanding and overcoming it.
    So, essentially, for me, this movie is a reminder that our monsters, as well as our angels, are just beneath the surface, ready, equally, to take advantage of any opportunity to escape.
  Update 6/9/2022:  This post was originally published on 8/14/16 but disappeared from public view. I am now reinstating it.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Leonardo DiCaprio	Edward Daniels	Mark Ruffalo	Chuck Aule	Ben Kingsley	Dr. John Cawley	Max von Sydow	Dr. Jeremiah Naehring
  Michelle Williams	Dolores Chanal	Emily Mortimer	Nurse Portraying Rachel Solando	Patricia Clarkson	Rachel Solando	Jackie Earle Haley	George Noyce
  John Carroll Lynch	1st Deputy Warden McPherson	Joseph Sikora	Glen Miga	Ted Levine	The Warden	Elias Koteas	Andrew Laeddis
  Ruby Jerins	Little Girl	Robin Bartlett	Bridget Kearns	Curtiss Cook	Trey Washington	Christopher Denham	Peter Breene

  
    Here is the Wikipedia write-up for this film.
    Release Date: 2010
    Directed by Martin Scorsese.

Labels: ben-kingsley, drama2, dream1, emily-mortimer, leonardo-dicaprio, martin-scorsese, max-von-sydow, mystery1, neo-noirC, psychological1

# posted by gail @ 15:10    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  This is one of those "sprawling historical epics" that tends to put me in a dream state. I am a fan of the director, even though his movies are sometimes difficult on the public. I am a fan of the musical scorer and always delight when I notice his name in the credits before watching a movie, including his collaboration on what general movie mavens consider the questionable compilations The Bible Collection and The Bible Series, both to which I remain devoted and continue to watch on a regular basis. I love all the actors in this movie, including the minor ones.
    I can't remember how I learned about this movie, but I checked it out of our library a few years ago, thinking I might enjoy it, despite its length and convolusive structure. I did. Once I watched it, I couldn't get it out of my head. It is a depiction of the struggle between capitalism and communism/socialism (in several guises), but on a very personal level. At the time I first watched it, I was deeply involved in the vagaries of the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election and Bernie had not yet been discarded by the Democratic Party in favor of Hillary. By the time I ordered it for my movie collection I was no longer smarting from debacle of the actual election. I was, however, deep into a reading campaign of literature disparaging capitalism/neo-liberalism and arguing for socialism. Watching this movie again, owning it, helps me put politics into perspective and calms me down, especially in light of everything that's happened since. If you're really into politics and you enjoy movies, you should watch this one.
  Update 6/2/2022:  This post was originally published on 2/5/2018 but disappeared from public view. I am now reinstating it.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Robert De Niro	Alfredo Berlinghieri	Gérard Depardieu	Olmo Dalcò	Dominique Sanda	Ada Chiostri Polan	Francesca Bertini	Sister Desolata
  Laura Betti	Regina	Donald Sutherland	Attila Mellanchini	Stefania Sandrelli	Anita Foschi	Werner Bruhns	Ottavio Berlinghieri
  Stefania Casini	Neve	Sterling Hayden	Leo Dalcò	Anna Henkel-Grönemeyer	Anita Dalcò	Ellen Schwiers	Amelia
  Alida Valli	Signora Pioppi	Burt Lancaster	Alfredo the Elder	Romolo Valli	Giovanni Berlinghieri	Giacomo Rizzo	Rigoletto

  
    Here's the link to the Wikipedia write-up for this movie.
    Release Date: 1976
    Directed by Bernardo Bertolucci.

Labels: §2, anti-fascist, burt-lancaster, donald-sutherland, dream1, gérard-depardieu, historical2, political2, robert-de-niro

# posted by gail @ 11:08    0 comments    email......this post

• Who's watched:  M & G
• Mentions:  none
• 
  Commentary:  This is another excellent series produced by the same people who brought us Planet Earth. I have a preference for nature shows that explore water environments and this one stacks up very well. Unlike March of the Penguins, it lives up to its hype, even if you're a regular watcher of the variety of channels that frequently host animal and geographical specials. While I have tended, over the years, to become a bit jaded in the company of Animal-Vegetable-Mineral programs, seeing as how we view so many of them, this one, like Planet Earth, engages me, every episode, every time, and, because of my sub- and unconscious veering toward water videos, adds an extra "dreamy" dimension for me.
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 2001
    Alistair Fothergill is listed as a director for one episode. No other directors are listed.

Labels: documentary1, dream1, film-art1, political3, science, shared-favorite, TV1

# posted by gail @ 12:08    0 comments    email......this post

• Who's watched:  M & G
• Mentions:  *1*
• 
  Commentary:  This movie has haunted me since I saw it when it was first released. My mother has watched it a couple of times with me. She likes the background digideroo music, the otherworldliness of the movie...but she's not interested in trying to make sense of it. Neither am I, so we just watch it in awe on a fairly frequent basis.
  Update 5/15/21:  This post was originally published on February 9th, 2005. I had to replace it because some glitches had developed in its labels and it wasn't coming up when I corralled most of the labels applied to it. Everything is working fine, now.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Richard Chamberlain	David Burton	Olivia Hamnett	Annie Burton	David Gulpilil	Chris Lee	Fred Parslow	Reverend Burton
  Vivean Gray	Dr. Whitburn	Nandjiwarra Amagula	Charlie	Walter Amagula	Jerry Lee	Roy Bara	Larry

  
    Here's the Wikipedia write-up for this movie.
    Release Date: 1977
    Directed by Peter Weir.

Labels: apocalyptic, Criterion1, drama1, dream1, fantasy1, haunting1, me-favorite1, mystery1, peter-weir

# posted by gail @ 18:43    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  I'm surprised I haven't entered this movie into this index before this. I've owned it for about a year. My movie collecting has slowed, considerably, true, but I didn't realize it had slowed to the point that I was sure I'd entered this one. Everything I've entered in this update is much "younger", in my collection, anyway, than this one.
    Thus, it should not surprise you that I've watched it several times since buying it. Which is exactly why I bought it for my collection. I checked this movie out of the library so much that I remember looking it up online and thinking, "This is so cheap, I should just own it!"
    For me, this is another one of those movies that has a diaphanous quality to it. No matter how much contact it actually contains, for me the bulk of the movie is about dreaming, wishing, hoping and actualizing, even in the face of the lack of recognition of everyone around you. Sure, it's a cool sci-fi movie. But, bottom line, this movie says to me, experience isn't what others say happened to you, it's what you know happened to you.
    In case you're wondering, yes, I read the book upon which it is based long before the movie went into production. The book, perhaps because my primary familiarity with Carl Sagan is through the Cosmos series (which is, in itself, more about dreaming and actualizing than it is about space) was, for my mother and me, an essential fill-in for the series. I sometimes wonder if Carl Sagan considered himself, primarily, a dreamer and only secondarily a scientist. Or, perhaps he was a scientist, an astrophysicist, because he was, first, a dreamer.
    In Roger Ebert's initial review of this film (linked to the title of this post), he gave the movie three and a half stars. Then, in 2011, he christened Contact one of his Great Movies and added the initially lacking half star. In the review he discusses the differences in his opinion from his initial watching and watching it 14 years later. It's interesting to compare the two reviews.
  Update 8/11/2021:  Funny thing, yesterday my older sister and I, in a lengthy phone conversation (life-catch-up, really), discussed this movie (it remains a popular movie, folks) in light of a series of beach scenes aired during Season 17 of Grey's Anatomy in which Meredith, while suffering from COVID-19, meets up with previous and current colleagues on a beach. I don't have access to this season (or any seasons past 12), but I looked them up to clarify exactly what my sister was comparing to this movie. For those of you who remain as cable-challenged as I, here is a descriptive rundown of those scenes. My sister brought up those scenes (in our conversation she remembered them as one scene) without reference to this movie. Once she described them, I brought up their curious duplication of Ellie's beach scene with her father in this movie. Although I didn't use the term, my sister's description of these scenes seemed to me a rip-off of that famous scene in Contact. Although my sister said she's seen the movie, she didn't recall the scene I was describing. My take-away, now, is that, both of us being unaware of the other's references, we were kind of talking at cross purposes, yesterday, without realizing it.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Jodie Foster	Dr. Eleanor Ann Arroway	Jena Malone	Young Ellie	Matthew McConaughey	Palmer Joss	David Morse	Theodore Arroway
  Tom Skerritt	Dr. David Drumlin	James Woods	Michael Kitz	John Hurt	S. R. Hadden	William Fichtner	Kent Clarke
  Angela Bassett	Rachel Constantine	Jake Busey	Joseph	Rob Lowe	Richard Rank	Geoffrey Blake	Fisher

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1997
    Directed by Robert Zemeckis.

Labels: adventure1, aliens, david-morse, drama3, dream1, fantasy1, james-woods, jodie-foster, john-hurt, popcorn-and-soda2, pseudo-cgi-animation, science-fiction1

# posted by gail @ 10:09    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  Why did I come by this one? Hmmm ... one day about a month ago I decided to check out La La Land from the library. Mind you, other than it being a musical that was heralded and had won lots of awards, and who starred in it, I knew nothing about it. Hadn't read anything on it, laudatory, critical or otherwise. I happened to mention to my niece, the actor with whom I share a love of films, that I'd borrowed it for a line-up of movie watching. She confessed to me that it was her favorite film and asked to know my reactions once I'd watched it. I trust her tastes and instincts so I was ready to love the film. As well, I knew it was written and directed by the same guy who is responsible for Whiplash, a movie I loved, so I was excited to see it. Still and all, it took me a couple more weeks to get around to watching it. By that time, my anticipation level was through the roof. I should have remembered my experience with Mary Poppins decades ago. Oh well.
    Certainly, I enjoyed watching La La Land, but my anticipation was not satisfied. I did, however, notice significant correlations with Singin' in the Rain, which I own, and An American in Paris, which, at the time, I didn't own. I decided I wanted to do a comparison of La La Land with both. I borrowed An American in Paris from the library, watched it and was reminded of how intriguing and masterful that film is. That's when I looked it up, found a reasonably priced copy and decided to buy it. Although I've noticed, since buying and watching it (twice, and once for all the special features, which are very interesting), that Singin' in the Rain is celebrated more than An American in Paris, well, let's just say, An American in Paris is such a treat I'm surprised we never bought it when Mom was alive.
    Since watching it, I've become curious about musicals as a form in themselves, and have been working my way back through my own meager collection and checking even more out of the library. Considering what I own, this is a worthy addition.
    In case you're curious, here's what my initial verdict on La La Land was to my niece:

    I just finished my first viewing of "La La Land". I say that because I'm convinced I'll have to watch it again, probably tomorrow, while it's fresh in my mind. That's because I'm, well, ambivalent.
    I was prepared to love it because it was written and directed by the same guy who wrote and directed "Whiplash", which I absolutely loved. When I learned that he is responsible for "La La Land", without knowing anything about the movie (including before I watched it this evening) [I know, hard to believe but I didn't look it up anywhere before I watched it and didn't run across any material about it prior, even though it was such a smash], except that it is a musical, I figured the movie must have a really interesting take on Hollywood musicals because, well, holy shit, this guy did "Whiplash"! So, I was shocked to discover how wrong I was. That realization is taking some getting used to. It is obvious, though, that the writer/director has serious chops, being able to do "Whiplash", then turn around and do "La La Land".
    Right off the bat, here are some things I loved about the movie. Ryan Gosling, for one, but, I love him in anything. He could play a mushroom and I'd love him. "The Fools Who Dream" song, for another; that whole sequence, in fact. Sounds like my theme song! Sounds like I'm Mia's aunt, except for the whole Paris thing. Even better, though, I'm your aunt, and Emma Stone is merely a stand-in for you in that movie! I'll just go to Paris, and invite you!
    The movie is clearly a revival of the old-time Hollywood musical. I easily recognized many parts of "An American in Paris" (which I saw with Mom too many times to recall, on TCM; it was a regular, so we never needed to own it) and just about every Ginger Rogers/Fred Astaire movie in existence (all of which I saw more than once with Mom on TCM). The brilliant color is taken right out of just about every musical Gene Kelly ever made. Sadly, neither Emma Stone nor Ryan Gosling are very good singers or dancers. [Frankly, Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire were only passable actors, but Ginger Rogers was good; even more so, Leslie Caron.] That was mildly disturbing. But, I think I can forgive them that, since both are, clearly, well developed and flexible actors. It would have been nice, though, if great actors who were also stellar singers and dancers had been given the parts. Hollywood should spend more time checking out stage musical actors. I'm not sure why such people weren't sought out for roles like this. I really like those old musicals, too, so I was ready to be wowed by this reinterpretation ... but I wasn't. I loved how Chazelle worked in the day-dream sequences, how he introduced them, what he did with them. The final one when Mia and her husband were watching Sebastian in his club was lovely. That's right out of "An American in Paris", including the use of the road. He must have a thing for that movie. In fact, I'm surprised he didn't attempt to resurrect Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron. To be fair, there was stuff from "Singin' in the Rain", too, specifically Gene Kelly's work. And, the dancing on stars and clouds? Ginger Rodgers and Fred Astaire.
    Initial impressions of the story: Sad, sometimes sober, sometimes delightfully silly, sweet, sweet, sweet. The music? Aside from the "The Fools Who Dream", which I loved, okay. Definitely enjoyable. The production was made for the big screen, rather than the home screen, I think. My TV screen sometimes had trouble with the spotlighting techniques used. It seemed to me that there were places where the movie story went flat, but it never stayed that way and I'm willing to concede, upon a second viewing, that it may have just been me.
    One more tiny, tiny thing about the movie: The end disappointed me. I don't usually have problems with movies in which initial relationships wither and evolve into others, like the branches of a tree. For some reason, though, and I'll have to reconfirm this with a second watching, Chazelle did not prep his audience well for it in this movie. It was, frankly, an unpleasant denouement to see Mia with a throw-away husband and kid, even as she was a famous actor. And the suggestion that Sebastian was alone in his personal life. Yes, I know, I saw the two something-or-others he was frying up in the pan before going to his nightclub, but, where was his throw-away wife and kid? Better yet, there never was a really good explanation for why Mia and Sebastian weren't married to each other with a kidlet, and an international acting career, and a successful night club. Not good story construction. Chazelle needs to work on crafting realistic, believable and successful love relationships.

    Frankly, I prefer An American in Paris, Singin' in the Rain and, dare I say it, all the other musicals I own, over La La Land. But, it was the watching of La La Land that has launched me on a serious consideration of musicals (I've made a list of several I'm planning on borrowing within the next months) and the ownership of yet another, this one. For that, I'm grateful.
  Update 11/18/21:  By the way, each mention of the name of this movie in this write-up is linked to a different review (including the last link, which is the Wikipedia write-up). This is such a famous movie and so many people are familiar with it, I thought it would be fun to scatter the availability of internet reviews throughout this write-up. I know, my sense of fun doesn't have much to recommend it, but it's mine and I enjoy it.
  Update 6/4/22:  Yet another movie made during the year I was born!
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Gene Kelly	Jerry Mulligan	Leslie Caron	Lise Bouvier	Oscar Levant	Adam Cook	Georges Guétary	Henri Baurel
  Nina Foch	Milo Roberts	Eugene Borden	Georges Mattieu	John Eldredge	Jack Jansen	Anna Q. Nilsson	Kay Jansen

  
    An American in Paris [Wikipedia write-up attached] is breathtaking. I'm glad I own it.
    Release Date: 1951
    Directed by Vincente Minnelli.

Labels: birth-year, dance, dream1, fantasy1, film-art1, mom-favorite1, musical1, popcorn-and-soda2, romance1, spectacle1

# posted by gail @ 05:42    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  I know, I know, what am I doing with this movie, relatively unknown, certainly a peculiar take on Christianity's final judgment doctrine, in my collection? Let me explain. I saw this movie when I was living in Seattle, when it premiered in the theater. I decided to see it after reading Roger Ebert's remarkable review of the movie, linked to the title of this post.
    No, I am not a believer, for all practical purposes I've never been, but I lived, in my teenage years, with a relative who became a rabid Christian fundamentalist and spent quite a bit of her time at home (which was, in those days, less time than she spent at church functions) trying to convert the rest of the family (which she never accomplished; an unusual defeat considering that the usually successful tactic of the church with which she was associated was to snatch the teens and badger them to convert their families). I was particularly affected, to the point of studying scripture, despite my lack of faith, and presenting her with an essay about how, if her beliefs were true, I was willing to be eternally damned. Some years later this relative renounced her belief, with her husband, whom she met in the church, and became a staunch atheist and Unitarian Universalist. I've remained an agnostic atheist with a fascination for religious rabidity and the media it inspires. This is my favorite movie of that genre. Notice all the labels I've attached to it. It affects me on several levels, of which I am reminded at least once a year since I obtained it.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Mimi Rogers	Sharon	David Duchovny	Randy	Kimberly Cullum	Mary	Darwyn Carson	Maggie
  Patrick Bauchau	Vic	James LeGros	Tommy	Will Patton	Deputy Foster	Sam Vlahos	Wayne

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1991
    Directed by Michael Tolkin.

Labels: adventure1, apocalyptic, bible-movies1, drama4, dream1, fantasy1, film-art1, haunting1, jesus-dvds, me-favorite1, neo-noirB, prophecy, spiritual1, suspense1

# posted by gail @ 08:42    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  So, I bought a copy of this movie for my dramatist niece. And, remembered it (and the book) so fondly that I had to have my own copy. Which I watched immediately upon its arrival. I love this movie so much that I've checked it out of the library too many times to remember exactly the number. It's just one of those. You know. This movie is the first time I'd seen or heard of Jennifer Lawrence. It's a spectacular performance. I've seen her in other stuff, since. She's a talented, stand-out actress but, in my mind, she has yet to best her performance in this piece. It is, as well, yet another in my collection that, immediately upon watching it, makes me feel as though I've just dreamt it.
    One of Roger Ebert's Far Flung Correspondents, Wael Khairy weighed in, also, with a haunting review.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Jennifer Lawrence	Ree Dolly	Isaiah Stone	Sonny Dolly	Ashlee Thompson	Ashlee Dolly	Valerie Richards	Connie Dolly
  John Hawkes	Teardrop Dolly	Garret Dillahunt	Sheriff Baskin	Dale Dickey	Merab Milton	Sheryl Lee	April

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 2010
    Directed by Debra Granik.

Labels: drama5, dream1, female-director3, haunting1, john-hawkes, mystery1, neo-noirC, southern-gothic, thriller1

# posted by gail @ 23:44    0 comments    email......this post

• Who's watched:  G
• Mentions:  None
• 
  Commentary:  I had wanted to watch this movie ever since it came out and somehow never got the chance. I never mentioned it to anyone, but I thought of it often. When we joined a rental service I put it in my queue but there were always so many other, much lighter movies that I placed before it because, somehow, I knew this wasn't a film Mom would want to watch. Then, during the spring of 2008 when Mom was in the hospital in rehab, out of the blue MFS sent me a copy of this movie...even though I'm sure I never mentioned my interest in it to her...it's become, since, a symbol of our psychic link.
    This movie is frenetic, tragic and gorgeous, all at the same time. Ostensibly the story of what addiction (to a variety of "things", including dreams) can do to a person. It's wonderfully acted and so succinctly imagined, written, produced, directed and portrayed that, after one scene in which one of the characters sexually compromises herself for drugs, MFS told me she felt like she needed to take a shower. It's true: The movie throws the grime of desperation right through the screen at you. There's something in this movie to make anyone, everyone feel dirty. The desperation never lets up; it's like watching a family version of Titus Andronicus. Which, of course, thrills me. I don't know why I'm attracted to such spot-on portrayals of the dregs of life, but I am, and this one is a masterpiece. I've watched it three times since I've received it. I'll watch it again. I've even created the category of "tragedy" for it, because, oddly, despite my attraction to tragedy, except for some of the video adaptations of Shakespeare's plays, we have no other relentless tragedies. I think I held off while Mom was alive because I suspected that I wouldn't be able to watch them, much. I was right...but, (cackling deleriously and rubbing hands together) THE SCREEN IS MINE, NOW, ALL AND ONLY MINE ...
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Ellen Burstyn	Sara Goldfarb	Jared Leto	Harry Goldfarb	Jennifer Connelly	Marion Silver	Marlon Wayans	Tyrone C. Love
  Christopher McDonald	Tappy Tibbons	Mark Margolis	Mr. Rabinowitz	Louise Lasser	Ada	Marcia Jean Kurtz	Rae
  Sean Gullette	Arnold The Shrink	Keith David	Big Tim	Janet Sarno	Mrs. Pearlman	Dylan Baker	Southern Doctor

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 2000
    Directed by Darren Aronofsky.

Labels: audio-visual, darren-aronofsky, drama7, dream1, dylan-baker, ellen-burstyn, film-art1, haunting2, jennifer-connelly, me-favorite2, tragedy2, violence2

# posted by gail @ 14:56    0 comments    email......this post

• Who's watched:  M & G
• Mentions:  none
• 
  Commentary:  I'm truly surprised that I never mentioned this movie in the journals because, after I'd first seen it, the year it was released, I was mesmerized by it and talked it up to everyone who would listen, rented it endlessly and forced relatives to watch it with me, etc. I've often tried to explain why this movie has such a hold over me. Luckily, Mom always enjoyed it, as she does most big country-spectacle-epics. The acting is poor to fair to good to very occasionally excellent (usually the minor characters ring in the excellence in acting); the story is, well, the father-son story at the base of it is reasonably interesting but predictable; but the whole business about bears and the fall...it resonates with my own interest in bears and the fact that I've always been unreasonably proud of being a fall baby and feel "special" because of that accident of birth timing. I tend to feel as though I am in a dream when I watch this movie. Weird, I know. But, I expect to unreasonably love this movie for the rest of my life. I was lucky that Mom enjoyed it, too, I think it was like reading a sprawling novel, for her, thus she indulged my need to watch this at least once a year, if not more.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Brad Pitt	Tristan Ludlow	Anthony Hopkins	Col. William Ludlow	Aidan Quinn	Alfred Ludlow	Julia Ormond	Susannah Fincannon-Ludlow
  Henry Thomas	Samuel Ludlow	Karina Lombard	Isabel 'Two' Decker-Ludlow	Gordon Tootoosis	One Stab	Christina Pickles	Isabel Ludlow
  Tantoo Cardinal	Pet Decker	Robert Wisden	John T. O'Banion	John Novak	James O'Banion	Kenneth Welsh	Sheriff Tynert

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1994
    Directed by Edward Zwick

Labels: action1, adventure3, anthony-hopkins, drama7, dream1, haunting2, me-favorite2, period3, spectacle1, tantoo-cardinal, violence2, war1

# posted by gail @ 14:33    0 comments    email......this post

• Who's watched:  M & G
• Mentions:  None specific to this season
• 
  Commentary:  We now have completed our collection of Northern Exposure seasons. This last season was, for many people, the most confusing. It's definitely the season I love the most, because of the many, many dream and fantasy sequences. I remember when this season first aired. Lots of people were put off by the appearance of the new doctor and his wife. The show stayed on its wide, every winding track, though, and the final episode was a credit to the entire series.
    For a list of recurring actors/characters, see this post.
    Here is the Wikipedia write-up for the sixth season.
    Release Date: 1994-1995
    This is not Mom's favorite season, because she has trouble following all the dream and fantasy sequences. She watched it through like the moose-trooper she is, though, and I'm sure we'll watch all these episodes again and again.
    Directed by various people, two of whom were women.

Labels: dramedy1, dream1, fantasy2, female-director3, haunting2, TV1

# posted by gail @ 02:09    0 comments    email......this post

• Who's watched:  M & G
• Mentions:  *1**2*
• 
  Commentary:  Again, another movie in which the "mentions" say it all; except for an update: We've watched this movie a couple more times since I purchased it. Each time, I question Mom on her one preferred memory. Each time, she comes up with a variety of memories but still can't decide which she'd keep and which she'd allow to be blocked.
    One other thing: I noticed, when I received our purchased copy, which came in a DVD case with, you know, the usual info sleeve, that my interpretation of the movie, that one relives their chosen memory for eternity, is exactly the way the sellers of the movie to the U.S. interpret it. Here is the specific part of the cover blurb: "With the help of dedicated caseworkers, each soul is given three days to choose one cherished memory from their life that they will relive for eternity." Interesting that the English subtitles for the movie don't exactly explain this. Makes me wish I was fluent in Japanese, so I could tell if the original script for the movie suggests this. I wonder if this interpretation is strictly a U.S. cultural interpretation or if the movie is meant to communicate this and does so in the Japanese dialogue. Comments in regard to this mystery from anyone who is fluent in both Japanese and English would be welcome.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Arata	Takashi Mochizuki	Erika Oda	Shiori Satonaka	Susumu Terajima	Satoru Kawashima	Taketoshi Naito	Ichiro Watanabe
  Takashi Naito	Takuro Sugie	Hisako Hara	Kiyo Nishimura	Kei Tani	Kennosuke Nakamura	Kisuke Shoda	Toru Yuri
  Kazuko Shirakawa	Nobuko Amano	Yūsuke Iseya	Yusuke Iseya	Sayaka Yoshino	Kana Yoshino	Kotaro Shiga	Kenji Yamamoto
  Kyōko Kagawa	Kyoko Watanabe	Natsuo Ishidô	Young Kyoko Watanabe	Sadao Abe	Ichiro Watanabe	Tomomi Hiraiwa	Receptionist

  
    Here's the link to the Wikipedia write-up of this movie.
    Release Date: 1998
    Directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda.

Labels: drama8, dream1, fantasy2, film-art2, haunting2, shared-favorite, spiritual1

# posted by gail @ 18:10    0 comments    email......this post

• Who's watched:  M & G
• 
  Mentions:  *1*
• Commentary:  The above comment in the "Mentions" pretty much says it all, from which I'll take the liberty of quoting:  Last night, Mom rearose as I was about 10 minutes into watching Japanese Story. This is one of those movies I rented, when it first came out on DVD, strictly on the strength of Toni Collette being in the cast. I fell so in love with the movie that I have continued to think of it since. Mom didn't watch it at that time. When I ran across a barely used (probably only watched once), cheap copy of it some days ago when turning in movies for credit at my favorite get-rid-of-DVDs-you-don't-want place, I snatched it using some of my accumulated credit. When Mom joined me last night, I told her what I was doing and restarted the movie. Although she expressed interest, I expected that at a point after about 15 minutes of watching the movie she'd become bored and I'd stop it for viewing at another alone-time. I was wrong. She was riveted, too. When the movie ended, she surprised me by saying, as the credits rolled, "I really enjoyed that! Let's buy that movie. I'd like to see it again."
    We discussed it, mostly the landscape, about which Mom commented, more than a few times during the movie, "Where is this? Australia? We should move to Australia," despite me reminding her that we probably couldn't live in the environments shown in the movie with which she particularly fell in love [You can take the woman out of the desert, I guess, but you can't take the desert out of the woman]; and about the subtle appreciation that grew between the main characters (the wife of the businessman included, even though she appears only in the last quarter of the movie), despite their extreme cultural differences.
    At one point I mentioned something about my reaction when I first saw the movie.
    "You've seen this movie? Why don't I remember seeing it?"
    "You didn't see it the first time, Mom. I wasn't sure you'd like it."
    "Well, from now on, check with me before you decide what you think I'd like."
    Yes m'am!
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Toni Collette	Sandy Edwards	Gotaro Tsunashima	Hiromitsu Tachibana	Matthew Dyktynski	Bill Baird	Lynette Curran	Mum
  Yumiko Tanaka	Yukiko Tachibana	Kate Atkinson	Jackie	Bill Young	Jimmy Smithers	Reg Evans	Bloke in a Boat

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 2003
    Directed by Sue Brooks.

Labels: drama9, dream1, female-director2, me-favorite2, toni-collette

# posted by gail @ 13:19    0 comments    email......this post

• Who's watched:  M & G
• Mentions:  None
• 
  Commentary:  I bought this movie on a hunch. I'd seen it a couple of times on PBS. The second time, I insisted my mother watch it. Unfortunately, both times it was shown without closed captioning and the New Zealand accents threw her for a loop. I thought, though, if she could see it with captioning she'd really enjoy it, so, when I noticed a copy of it for sale, I bought it. I was right. She not only enjoyed the movie but was interested in the special features, as well, even though they didn't have closed captioning. This is a strangely dreamy movie, while appearing to be firmly set in reality. It's one of the most unusual coming-of-age movies I've ever seen. I'm sure we'll be watching this again.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Keisha Castle-Hughes	Paikea Apirana	Rawiri Paratene	Koro	Vicky Haughton	Nanny Flowers	Cliff Curtis	Porourangi
  Grant Roa	Uncle Rawiri	Mana Taumaunu	Hemi	Rachel House	Shilo	Taungaroa Emile	Willie

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 2002
    Directed by Niki Caro.

Labels: coming-of-age1, drama9, dream1, fantasy3, female-director2, shared-favorite, sport1

# posted by gail @ 22:41    0 comments    email......this post

• Who's watched:  M & G
• Mentions:  None
• 
  Commentary:  I'm surprised I've made no mention of this movie in any of my journals. This is one of those movies that we watch every time we can catch it on a television channel, which is why I snatched it up when I ran across a copy of it. We both hone into this movie as though we're having a dream. I'm glad we finally got a copy of it because when it was on TV I used to have a hell of a time getting Mom to go to the bathroom during a playing of it. Now, I can stop the movie when I notice she looks like she'd better hit the toilet. [Her joke is that you can tell when someone needs to go to the bathroom when you can see waves crashing in their eyes...which is almost the truth with my mother.]
    Roger Ebert was so impressed with this movie that he not only gave it an initial four star review the year of its release (that review is linked to the title of this post), he followed that up with an interview with Whoopi Goldberg and later christened it as one of his Great Movies.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Whoopi Goldberg	Celie Harris Johnson	Danny Glover	"Mister" Albert Johnson	Oprah Winfrey	Sofia	Margaret Avery	Shug Avery
  Akosua Busia	Nettie Harris	Adolph Caesar	"Old Mister" Johnson	Willard Pugh	Harpo Johnson	Rae Dawn Chong	Mary Agnes “Squeak” Johnson
  Laurence Fishburne	Swain	Carl Anderson	Reverend Samuel	Leonard Jackson	Pa Harris	Dana Ivey	Miss Millie

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1985
    Directed by Steven Spielberg.

Labels: danny-glover, drama9, dream1, laurence-fishburne, period4, political4, steven-spielberg, whoopi-goldberg

# posted by gail @ 22:26    0 comments    email......this post

• Who's watched:  M & G
• Mentions:  *1* *2*
• 
  Commentary:  Another favorite of mine. I love luxuriating in Maggie Smith's performance in this HBO movie. I love luxuriating in Maggie Smith's performances in any of her movies and TV productions! What a multifaceted actor she is!
    I love the ambiance of the voice over in this movie. I enjoy the story. It takes "character driven" to a new level.
    Mom has liked this movie on and off. She has to be in the mood for it. I'm always in the mood for it.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Maggie Smith	Emily Delahunty	Chris Cooper	Thomas Riversmith	Timothy Spall	Quinty	Emmy Clarke	Aimee

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 2003
    Directed by Richard Loncraine.

Labels: chris-cooper, dramaA, dream1, maggie-smith, me-favorite3, TV2

# posted by gail @ 16:59    0 comments    email......this post

• Who's watched:  G
• Mentions:  *1* *2*
• 
  Commentary:  Now, this is my idea of a comedy! I laughed and laughed all the way through this thing, and then was stunned at the end! I never think to watch this movie when Mom's awake. I don't know if she'd like it or not. She surprised me with her devotion to My Dinner with Andre so, you never know. If she ever sees it, I'll be sure to report.
    Roger Ebert reviewed this movie twice. His initial review is linked in the title to this post. He reviewed it again when he christened it as one of his Great Movies.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Wiley Wiggins	protagonist	Eamonn Healy	self	Ethan Hawke	self	Richard Linklater	self

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 2001
    Directed by Richard Linklater.

Labels: animated, dream1, fantasy3, film-art2, me-favorite3, pseudo-cgi-animation, satire2

# posted by gail @ 07:22    0 comments    email......this post

• Who's watched:  G
• Mentions:  None
• 
  Commentary:  This one is my treat, one of my trance movies. I don't know if Mom will ever see this movie. I think it would bore her. She does not find representations of the internal flights of one's mind interesting, not even if a story centers around them. She is a "what did they do", not a "what were they thinking" person. I think this is because she is such a quick study in regards to picking up on what people are thinking...but, considers that what a person is thinking is absolutely no excuse for bad behavior.
  Update 5/11/2020:  Per my above prediction, and my machinations, Mom never saw this movie. Frankly, if she's "out there somewhere", I think she would still feel that it would have been a waste to time to watch it. Go, Mom!
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Sean Gullette	Maximillian Cohen	Mark Margolis	Sol Robeson	Ben Shenkman	Lenny Meyer	Samia Shoaib	Devi
  Pamela Hart	Marcy Dawson	Stephen Pearlman	Rabbi Cohen	Ajay Naidu	Farouq	Kristyn Mae-Anne Lao	Jenna

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

Labels: A24, darren-aronofsky, dramaB, dream1, film-art2, me-favorite3, mystery2, neo-noirB

# posted by gail @ 15:12    0 comments    email......this post

• Who's watched:  M & G
• Mentions:  *1*
• 
  Commentary:  This series is our church. We watch episodes of it often, reverently and with maximum alertness. The music has a tendency to blur the experience for Mom, but the stories and cosmopolitan view snap her out of it. We have been known to lose entire afternoons and evenings to episodes of this series. In a way, I consider it the essence of the spirit that keeps Mom around.
    Take note, readers. The review of this series that I've linked to the title of this post is written by an actual scientist/science writer who was motivated into the science field by this series. Not that I don't want to you check out every link in every one of my posts, but this link is especially delicious. Check it out.
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 1980
    Directed by Adrian Malone and other of its producers, none, apparently, female.

Labels: documentary1, dream1, science, spectacle2, TV3

# posted by gail @ 01:56    0 comments    email......this post

• Who's watched:  G
• Mentions:  None
• 
  Commentary:  I am also a devotee of Ben Kingsley's work. I find his portrayal in this movie thrilling. I'm sure my mother would ask, when it was over, "Now, what exactly was the point to that?!?" So, I don't imagine I'll ever invite her to watch it, nor will she express interest in it.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Ray Winstone	Gary Dove	Ben Kingsley	Don Logan	Ian McShane	Teddy Bass	Amanda Redman	DeeDee Dove

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 2000
    Directed by Jonathan Glazer.

Labels: ben-kingsley, dramaB, dream1, me-favorite3, neo-noirC, ray-winstone, violence3

# posted by gail @ 19:15    0 comments    email......this post