Movie Recommendations

What have you seen that you've liked?

Ok, I'll play! I will say that I really DON'T enjoy movies in a theater, so any recommendations I put out there will be something that is available on DVD. Movies that we have seen recently that I enjoyed:

New Moon ... I really enjoyed Twilight, and New Moon was every bit as well done. As we discussed on the book thread, I agree with Kathy that you really have to have read the books to enjoy the movie to it's fullest.

Avatar... Didn't see it in the theater, but after watching it now, I understand what all the commotion was about. It was a very good movie, lots of action with romance and sci-fi thrown in. A must see in my book...

Law Abiding Citizen... An action/thriller. Was a bit violent, but had a good plot with surprises thrown in here and there. It kept me entertained when I was ready to fall asleep, which says a lot.

Avatar was incredible. I actually dragged my patootie to the theater for that one so I could see it in 3D, and it was just amazing. I was thoroughly enchanted by Pandora- I want to live there so I can have a bioluminescent garden. :D

One of my favorites in the past few years is Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont.

I also recently saw, and purchased as it was for sale at the theater, Paddle to Seattle. It's about two guys who kayak from Alaska to Seattle and is immensely entertaining.

Some other recent and not-so-recent favorites:

Hachi: A Dog's Tale - this one went right to dvd, never hit the theater. Our theater played it on their dvd player. It has big names - Joan Allen, Richard Gere, and others. No idea why it didn't make the big screens. It's very good.

I loved The Blind Side. Can't wait to buy that one. The kid that plays the little brother stole every scene he was in.

Date Night was fun and better than I expected. Tina Fey and Stee Carell are good together.

I was actually in a movie once. I'm a huge Keanu Reeves fan and when he was filming Sweet November in San Francisco, my BIL who used to work in the film industry was working on the film and got me a part as an extra. It turned out that the one scene I was in was cut and another scene I was going to be in was cut before it was even filmed. Which was okay because the movie turned out to be a stinker and who wants their film debut to be in a dud?!?! But I was mere feet away when Keanu pulled up his shirt to be fitted with his mic - swoon. And being an extra was a very interesting experience.

That's cool, Gwen! I was in the movie "Singles". I was in the crowd in a nightclub scene. If you blink, you'd miss me. hehe. It took two freakin' days to shoot one short segment, it was crazy. If I hadn't had all access I would have gone bonkers with boredom- but my friends in the band (Alice in Chains) got me a VIP bracelet so I got to hang out with the crew. :)

I'll have to go looking for that movie!

I saw Alice in Chains when they played here a few years ago. A friend bought me tickets and we were in the VIP lounge ahead of time. I can't say they're my kind of music but she loves them. She would be SO impressed that you knew them!

Thanks for reminding me about date night. Often I don't enjoy humor movies because the crassness seems to supersede the humor. But I saw the trailers for that and they made me laugh!!

The last ones I went to see were Sherk and all the Harry Potter movies. I've tried Netflix but never watch them. Maybe someday when I'm old.
Movie I've loved are every musical made ever. With Howard Keel, better.

I don't remember anything too crass in Date Night. Mark Wahlberg's scenes are funny. I don't know how he filmed the movie and kept a straight face at the same time.

Mmmm Howard Keel - Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. An all time favorite of mine.

I haven't seen that one! I'll put it right behind Singles. I discovered I can watch Singles on instant view. Yay...

OK heading into town for dog food and a movie -- I've recently discovered Red Box which is right up my alley -- not so many choices, at the grocery store, and a buck rental. I'll see what I come home with, although my kids always claimed I chose the worst movies (not without cause).

I love that: "Heading into town for dog food and a movie." I swear, it's either a movie, a bottle of wine, or dog/cat food the requires me to head into town. I don't ever seem to have enough of those on hand.

Of course, today, it was a vet visit. Poor Bug ended up having surgery on a cut on his leg and they did his teeth, as well. He's going to need the movie and the wine tonight . .

Here he is a couple of years ago with Agelina Ballerina. You can sort of see why I call her that. She loves you by dancing around you and rubbing. Won't sit still.

Cute! I see Bug crosses his front paws like Kenzie does. We call it her dainty look. So prim and proper.

Gwen, Alice in Chains used to hang out at my house a lot back in '89 / '90. I used to have a lot of big crazy parties. hehe. I dated Layne Staley for a while, it was a real heartbreaker when he died- I was always very fond of him.

Has anyone seen Ironman 2 yet? I loved the first one. I can't decide if I want to endure the theater or wait for the DVD on the second one.

Movie-less - didn't have enough patience for the Red Box thing. I do have a new book and I think there is some sporting event on the tube for Gary, so all is well.

As long as you're dry . . .

I saw Iron Man 2 last week... Loved the first one as well... The second one was 'just entertaining'.... which is good enough for me... ;) Suffered a bit from sequelitis, methinks....

Hm... maybe I'll wait for the DVD. If it's isn't fantastic, it isn't worth the theater. (I really hate going to the theater...)

I think that it would be cool to be an extra in a movie... if nothing else just to watch how everything is done. Would be kind of a bummer if you went through the whole event and then they cut your scene though! The closest I have ever come was having my MIL's car destroyed in the movie Dante's Peak.

Kathy, Hope Bug has a restful night... poor baby!

Tonight is a good night for wine, a fire, and a good book or movie. Brrrr!

If I am alone, I will usually choose a book over a movie with the exception of the work days that are bad enough that I don't even have the energy to read... then having a story told to me really appeals! DH is a TV person however, so we spend at least a couple of nights a week with a netflix movie (I don't do real TV anymore unless it is pre-recorded as commercials drive me batty). Gwen, I am glad that you liked the Blind Side as it is in the mail for Tuesday.

One of my all time favorites is Legends of the Fall. My husband doesn't understand that just because I cry through three quarters of a movie doesn't mean I didn't like it!

I'm watching The Princess Diaries right now with my boys (made them watch Glee earlier too) - I figure they need a little girl energy every now and then to go along with the Iron Man 2's, etc. :)

Oh gads, I hardly ever watch movies either, but my family did watch Forest Gump together, and Groundhog Day this year. The guys watch movies on the computer. I am just not used to this phenomenon yet.

DH has Mission Impossible 2 on at the moment............ I love a good spy/action flick... but this one kind of drags... ;)

Some of my favorite movies/tv series include (according to my netflix 5 star ratings)...

Back to the Future (1985) MJF - my first crush (although really the crush was on APK in Family Ties)
The Bourne Identity (2002) I only liked the first one really... they killed it for me when they killed off his girlfriend in the second movie...
The Civil War - Ken Burns documentary - the music, the history, this one is close to my heart...
Die Hard (1988) I can't explain why I like this, I just do... :)
Doc Martin (TV series) Spin-off about the doctor from the Saving Grace the movie below
Grosse Pointe Blanke (1997) Love assassin comedies... and John Cusack
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947) Love the monkey puzzle tree!
Men in Black (1997) Quirky and fun
Mickey Blue Eyes (1999) fuggeddaboud id.....
Midsomer Murders (Really a TV series.... but I love them)
National Treasure (2004) Nick Cage plus history :)
Nero Wolfe (Too Short-lived TV series, so good... with Timothy Hutton) I liked the books too...
Pirates of the Caribbean: Black Pearl (2003) I only liked the first one...
Rear Window (1954) Jimmy Stewart!!!
Rope (1948) Jimmy Stewart!!!!
Saving Grace (2000) A British film about a widow with a greenthumb who finds herself in debt and grows marijuana to get out of it - very funny
The Saint (1997) I sure wish Val Kilmer wasn't looney so there could have been a sequel...
Sneakers (1992) great!
The Thin Man (1934) All of them... love these!!!!!! Nick and Nora rule!
Tombstone (1993) Awesome!!!! In my top 3 of all time...
Wild China - a wonderful documentary!!!

So funny. I just recommended The Saint to a girlfriend. I wasn't really a Val Kilmer fan ever, but I loved the character. I'm a huge fan of Myrna Loy and Robert Powell in the Thine Man.

Saving Grace is hilarious. Shirley Valentine is great, too - same kind of movie.

Okay, let's see if you can peg my generational affiliation from my list of favorite movies (probably not hard):

Heathers
Say Anything
Grosse Point Blank
High Fidelity
(And to finish off the John Cusack triple feature, a new addition might have to be Hot Tub Time Machine - seriously)
The Princess Bride
Dazed and Confused
Best in Show
Real Genius
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Withnail & I

But like Kur I also love anything with Jimmy Stewart in it - and the Thin Man (William Powell & Myrna Lloyd are awesome).

I also liked Primer (a great time travel movie on a teensy indie budget), Memento, Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill ....

And having kids has given me an appreciation for a lot of animated movies, my favorites being the films by the Japanese animator Miyazaki: My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away, Ponyo, Howl's Moving Castle (also a favorite book - Diana Wynne Jones)

Hmmm... I think I could be as long winded in this thread as I am in the book thread.

OOOhhh... The Princess Bride....another all time favorite. And I am a children's movie addict as well... The Never Ending Story is another all time fav. And Monsters Inc.....

Anything with Sean Connery in it is also a hit with me.

I loved Saving Grace. That reminds me of Death at a Funeral. It has to be the British version tho. Very very funny.

And if you like Princess Bride, a few years back there was another movie, Stardust, that reminded me a lot of PB. I think anyone who enjoyed PB would like that one too.

Yep, I absolutely love Princess Bride and Stardust was good too!!

I got the Miyazaki films, technically for my granddaughter but I enjoyed them, too. I also loved The Secret of Roan Inish and The Whale Rider. She wasn't into The Whale Rider, but recently she had a tooth extracted and it was the perfect thing for her to watch. I think she needed to be a little older (she's 13 now) to figure out what was going on there.

Just saw It's Complicated and loved it. We also have Mama Mia and Julie & Julia, also with Meryl Streep; I really like her. Mama Mia was a bit silly, though. We watch a lot of French films, too, but DH is currently working on John Adams and our daughter gave us Michael Moore's Capitalism: A Love Story. I thought he was way too simplistic in that one.

I liked It's Complicated - esp her garden! I wanted to freeze frame that scene and just take it all in. The son-in-law in that movie was very funny - loved his scenes. And now I'm craving croissants. Thanks so very much for bringing this movie up!

I couldn't get into Secret of Roan Inish but did really enjoy Whale Rider. I liked The Water Horse too. I'm looking forward to Ondine. Colin Farrell looks positively yummy in that. http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2010/02/09/neil-jordans-ondine-trailer-featuring-colin-farrell-debuts-online/


A good french comedy is Eight Women.

Haven't heard of Eight Women. I'll have to check it out. The garden in It's Complicated was gorgeous but much too perfect to be real; also, there were no shots of her working in it except that one, and a garden that looked like hers would have taken a lot more time than she had to give it. Someone mentioned that Nancy Meyers' movies specialized in architectural porn - titillating interiors and exteriors that made you swoon!

I'll have to check out The Water Horse; haven't heard of Ondine.

Yes, her last movie, Something's Gotta Give had a killer house as well. "Architectural Porn" - LOL, good way to describe it!

Yes, I loved that term! I had also forgotten about Something's Gotta Give.

Julie, you are a kindred soul. I LOVE Legends of the Fall. I can't even tell you how many times I've watched it. I really like a River Runs Through It too. If you want to laugh watch The Sweetest Thing. It 's really a chick flick but very entertaining. Stars Cameron Diaz and Christina Applegate. Just watched it again the other day.

I loved The English Patient, but the book was even better. Must Love Dogs is cute. And what about Pay It Forward - one of my favorites. For some reason I like City of Angels with Meg Ryan. I love netflix!

I got soured on Brad Pitt after he left his wife. Silly, maybe, but it's how I am.

Love Actually is a wonderful light feel good movie. I love romantic comedies and Renee Zellweger is a fav - I liked her Bridget Jones movies and New in Town cracked me up. It'll probably be my next movie purchase.

If you like Meg Ryan, have you ever seen French Kiss? It's from 2003 and is really cute. The funny thing is that Amazon pans it in its own editorial review, but the customer reviews are mostly effusively positive. In it Meg Ryan goes to France to get her fiancé back, so there is some wonderful footage of Paris and the French coast and the wine country.

I just added French Kiss to my netflix list. Thanks! I saw a documentary on TV a few days ago. It was about Yellowstone and the reintroduction of wolves and the problems with snow mobiles in the park. It was very interesting. I haven't been to Yellowstone for years and if my schedule wasn't so crazy right now I would have jumped in my car and headed there.

Judi, let me know what you think of it after you've seen it. I like "feel-good" movies and this is definitely in that category, and you get a French fix thrown in, if that's a plus.

We haven't been to Yellowstone since the late 60's! I'm sure there've been a lot of changes.

Love Meg Ryan, Legends............, River........