Feb
25
My Netflix queue has been in a crap-ass state lately. For instance:
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. Your husband may think this movie will involve lots of gunfights and horses and Brad Pitt looking all steely-eyed and he would be partially right, but he would also be wrong in a number of critical ways, and after the movie finally draws to an end and the last strains of its eerie, repetitive soundtrack echo in your brain you will realize that you have spent your entire evening watching about a thousand weird, uncomfortable scenes that each lasted approximately five minutes too long and now you are never going to get those three hours back. As JB said to me about halfway through the movie when we realized it wasn’t going to start sucking any less, “This is a hell of a way to spend a Saturday night, darlin’. My bad.”
The Brave One. I was feeling mostly lukewarm about this one until the very end, when the plot served forth a scene that made me issue forth a series of loud mouth-farts at the television in complete and total disgust because GOD I AM SOOOO SHURRRR.
Matchstick Men. I love a good con, you know? I love a story that has someone fucking one person over, only to discover they’ve had someone’s else’s dick in their own ass the whole time, if you’ll pardon that extremely dirty expression which I just now made up. That is why Elmore Leonard books are so awesome, because they are teeming with people fucking each other over in spectacularly cool ways involving the best dialogue ever written. Anyway, there are con stories where it’s all kind of over the top but still believable or at least swallowable, and then there is something like Matchstick Men, where once the Big Huge Con reveals itself you’re left thinking, WHATEVER. Although I guess I’m glad I saw it for the one magical scene where Nicolas Cage is melting down in a drugstore and screams in vintage Cage style at a customer standing in line: “Have you ever been dragged out to the sidewalk and beaten until you PISSED! BLOOD!?”
Have you rented anything good lately? Please share, I need to put an end to our losing streak.
:::
Introducing my son, Gigantor the Sorrowful:
JB was trying to get a picture of Riley playing with his new favorite toy, a plastic farmhouse thing, but apparently things didn’t go well during the photo session. Poor kid. Sometimes life is just a shit sandwich, isn’t it, boy?
Also, I have added to my collection of Children Looking Dorky in Carseats photos:
Dylan, looking googly-eyed and surreptitiously flipping you off. Pretty funny, but I think Ninja Eyes Riley still has him beat in terms of humor had at a child’s expense.
Haaaaaa. NINJA EYES FTW!
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OMG! That photo of Riley as a baby in the carseat ROCKS! I love that look on his face. I NetFlix’d DeathProof last week and LOVED it. You’ve probably already seen it though. Anyway it was MAD good, yo!! Right now I’ve got The Safety of Objects and Darjeeling Limited just came out so get that! :) anyway good luck finding good movies. They don’t seem to make them much anymore in hollywood. I saw a really good one in the theater – The Savages. I don’t think that’s out to rent yet, but it was damn good :)
watched Michael Clayton the other night. was the husband’s choice, and i really hadn’t wanted to see it, but watched it anyway. actually, was quite good. i loved the part at the end where clooney looks at her and says, “you are so fucked!” hahah. also, was feeling sick and stayed home today and watched I Now Pronounce you Chuck & Larry. was typical adam sandler…funny, ridiculous, and touching. all at the same time.
If you need a wonderfully sappy girly movie, rent Waitress with Kerry Russell. Yeah, I know, I’m a few years behind. But it’s so cute! I heard that Once is supposed to be very fun. It won Best Original Song last night. We also have Ratatouille coming our way because rats! That cook! And on Valentine’s Day, we thoroughly enjoyed Stardust. Again, all of these are probably what I should have watched before the Academy Awards last year, but…too bad. Also? The Queen was AWESOME.
God, I love the movie My Neighbor Totoro, but this is getting ridiculous. Every time my son wakes up from his nap in a pissed-off-and-crying-for-nothing-mood he wants to watch “big kitty totoro mommy”. It calms him down, so OK then. Have you seen Tororo? It’s an old Studio Ghibli. We loves it in this house. E. got a softy stuffy Totoro for Christmas and treasures it. The kittybus is super cool too. MRRROWWWW!
So, yes My Neighbor Totoro. Or any of the Studio Ghibli films. I like Spirited Away too.
PS> Just curious if Riley (or any of your readers) children wake up from their naps in monster mode? It’s so weird and I don’t really understand whats his prob. He’ll cry for 30 minutes! For nothing!
Hahahahah I was definitely composing a comment in my head until I saw that picture of baby Riley. I completely forgot what I was about to say. Thank you :)
In other news, I like the anti-movie recommendations. I find that when someone recommends one that they just loved I get all worked up about how great it will be and then I’m disappointed. I like the tips to avoid certain ones though!
I was apprehensive about The Brave One, but I ended up enjoying it more than I thought I would. Then again I saw it in the theater last summer while I was going through LOST withdrawals. I’m not ashamed to admit that Naveen Andrews was the deciding factor on that one.
My favorite movie that I rented recently was Once. I’m looking forward to reading other people’s suggestions since I’ve been trying to decide if Martian Child looks entertaining or lame.
Haven’t watched many movies lately, but 3:10 to Yuma was suprisingly good.
To Honeybecke: they wake up pissed because they just “know” they missed something good while asleep…….same thing goes for not wanting to go to sleep in the first place. They’ll miss out on something :)
For some reason the only movie I can think of recommending right now is Kung Fu Hustle. I knew nothing about it so it was completely unexpected and quite the delightful surprise. I saw it months ago and have certainly seen movies I’ve liked since then but I can’t seem to think of a single one. http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Kung_Fu_Hustle/70020728?trkid=174833
This isn’t technically a movie, but if you’ve never seen the BBC series “Extras,” you absolutely are required to.
I recommend renting seasons 1-4 of HBO’s The Wire http://www.hbo.com/thewire/
It’s some of the best television ever made (as great as Deadwood). Has to be watched from the beginning though.
Echoing Emily’s recommendation: Extras is divine and so is Ricky Gervais’ The Office (the original). Oh, and any standup by Gervais (Animals and Politics especially).
If you can get out to a theatre, I highly recommend There Will Be Blood. It’s mesmerizing.
Well, I watched ‘Meet the Robinsons’ last night, which is a kid movie but really cute and funny. That’s how I spent my Saturday night… watching a Disney movie by myself. :D
Wow, okay, I spelled my name wrong AND got the days mixed up. Perhaps it is time for bed.
NINJA EYES!
I just saw a string of great movies, but they’re the kind you need to be in the mood for, you know? I recommend No Country For Old Men and Michael Clayton. I also rented Sunshine recently and it was pretty good. Kind of. I dunno, I guess I’m still undecided.
I haven’t rented anything but I have been watching this: http://www.boreme.com/boreme/funny-2007/snowball-the-cockatoo-p1.php
OMG, I love that picture of Riley with the farmhouse!
We’ve seen a few movies but of course right at the moment I can’t remember them.
Oh ya
300 (which you already saw)
Texas Chainsaw Massacre The Beginning (VERY bloody)
Apacaylpto (spelling is totally wrong I’m sure, it was pretty good)
Charlotte’s Web (Eric loved it and now has me reading him the book too)
Halloween (the new Rob Zombie one, I was kind of dissapointed)
Eragon (because I’m a geek and like dragons, it was alright)
Meet The Robinson’s (we own it, I would recommend it for Riley, Eric LOVES it)
I can’t remember anything else.
I don’t remember if you’ve mentioned seeing this before, but if you like con movies, “Lucky Number Slevin” is one of the best in my opinion.
Or, you can go with the original movie that all con movies are based on and watch Yojimbo, directed by Akira Kurosawa. Absolutely brilliant film…
Also, if you are in the mood to completely turn off your brain, Transformers is filled with giant exploding robots that blow shit up, cheesy lines, even cheesier characters etc.
And one more, whoever recommended the British Office was soooooo right. Best TV show. EVAR!
We watched The Good German last night, and I’ll admit I fell asleep for about 10-15 minutes of it, but it is pretty good. We got used to the grainy B&W quickly; Tobey Maguire’s mean, creepy character is definitely accentuated by making him look extra pasty..
The Kingdom is pretty good if you can get past the annoying Jason Bateman character.
I liked Breach, but it was kinda slow-moving.
Love that picture of Riley. Classic!
Ninja-ing into your house. Yoinking both those cute children and SQUEEZING. Ninja-ing out again, silent as a…ninja.
Oh, and movies. Have you seen Nine Queens (Nueve Reinas)? Paul and I both loved that one.
Agree with Eric’s Mommy about Apocalypto – Mel at his gory finest.
Across the Universe was good, but I’m a huge Beatles fan so I hesitate to tell people they’d love it too.
Right now at home we have We Own the Night, but haven’t watched it yet.
Science of Sleep was amazing – trippy and different.
Most of our Netflix has been clogged up with watching the rest of last season Entourage’s and Big Love’s; we missed the last few episodes of each because of moving to a different state.
I am positive that you will like the IFC series, The Minor Accomplishments of Jackie Woodman. It’s dirty, mean, and hilarious. You can get season 1 on Netflix now. Here’s a link with info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Minor_Accomplishments_of_Jackie_Woodman
I think you and JB would both like 3:10 to Yuma.
I haven’t seen a movie in ages. Oh, wait, we saw the second National Treasure movie, which we enjoyed, because we like pseudo-historical fluff with no redeeming value. But the last thing we watched on DVD was Casino Royale, which… rrroowrr.
So far, from your photos at least, Dylan hasn’t looked as deeply suspicious by this “life” thing as Riley did (does).
That picture of Riley makes me laugh out loud every time I see it!
We are a little behind on the times. We just watched the three Bourne movies.. I can watch Matt in just about anything, but they were also really good movies.
The last picture made me LOL!
Huge movie buffs here at chez Moxie. Some recommendations:
Candy -Indie movie starring Heath Ledger whose acting is amazing, but this is not a pick me up kinda film.
The Chorus ( Les Choristes)- very dear, charming movie about a bunch of little french hooligans.Who doesn’t love a hooligan I ask you?
Fingersmith- BBC short series about some not so nice, lesbian leaning ladies ala Charles Dickens.
A Mighty Heart- How this movie flopped at the box office is beyond me. Angelina Jolie is intense and fabulous(and I’m not her biggest fan) and the way the scenes are filmed makes you think you are there as events unfold.
Love those photos. I’m glad to see that I’m not the only one who enjoys mocking my kids.
We just watched The Assasination of Jesse James blahblahblah too and I agree. It was OK, but it went on FOREVER. And during at least 90 of those minutes, nothing at all happened.
I haven’t seen Matchstick Men in awhile but I remember loving it when I saw it. Another commenter recommended Lucky Number Slevin…. that one is really good too!
I would recommend:
The Painted Veil
Fracture
Both excellent in different ways.
“mmmmm! When 1 month old you reach, look as good you will not, yesss!”
-Riley
American Gangster. Denzel is on point as always and it’s sufficiently violent.
Riley was the most sinister infant ever!
This weekend we rented The Brave One, which I agree with you was just ok, not great. We also rented Gone Baby Gone, which we really enjoyed. Kind of disturbing, kind of sad, kind of thrilling. You’ll want to run in, wake Riley up, and hug him. We watched it during Eirinn’s nap because I know I’d need to hug her at the end.
rent zodiac….great flick….I heard Michael Clayton is good too!
Oh, the crying Riley in the first photo eerily is reminiscent of the scene I left at home this morning, as I rushed off to work.
Eh, that’s what he gets for waking up at 4:30am. (mine, not yours)
Love the ninja action!
ps … we just watched Deja Vu over the weekend. Kind of really enjoyable in a sci-fi, lose-yourself-in-the-plot-ignore-the-gaping-plot-holes kind of way. Just sayin’.
We just rented the first season of Dexter and are totally addicted. So good.
Those carseat pics are hysterical. Riley wins!
We watched Michael Clayton and it was really good – gotta love George Clooney too! YUM. :)
I can’t help but think of this man when I see that particular picture of Dylan. I feel terribly wrong comparing your gorgeous child to this, but well sometimes….
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3012/2293242811_0a7549921d_o.jpg
I’m not usually a German-movie-with-subtitles kind of gal, which is what made “The Lives of Others” such a pleasant surprise. The movie is recent (2006 maybe?) but it is set in the 1980s. An East German policeman is assigned to monitor the conversations of a playwright and starts to identify with other people for the first time in his life. I highly recommend it!
Those pictures are hilarious!
For movies I’ve recently rented and really enjoyed:
Once (if you haven’t seen it, this would be my top choice- if only for the music)
Waitress
Michael Clayton
Bourne Ultimatum
We just watched We Own the Night. It was one of the better movies I’ve seen lately. I also liked 3:10 to Yuma.
I lurve baby ninja eyes.
If you like quirky documentaries, we just watched,
“The King of Kong: A fistful of quarters”
It’s about competitive video game playing, such as Donkey Kong and Pac-Man. That’s right, I said ‘competitive video game!’
You start watching and think it’s a mockumentary, but these guys are absolutely serious about their craft man!
It was great…
Gone Baby Gone–incredible.
Also, I saw someone recommended The Painted Veil. Also incredible but I could watch Edward Norton eat his lunch and I’d nominate him for something. He’s as good as it gets for me.
Whoa. That photo of Riley’s ninja eyes is AWESOME!!! You can do so much with that one!!
Yep, Ninja eyes wins, DEF. But the flipping off finger puts Dylan at a close second.
Also, we’ve seen “Once” recently. And I loved it.
I’m not sure how into sports movies you and JB are, but “We are Marshall” was fantastic. Personally, I’m not typically a fan of sports movies, but this one had such great heart, it won me over. I was crying from a very early point in the movie, but in a good way.
Latest good ones off my Netflix queue… Lives of Others, God Grew Tired of Us, The Kingdom, Stardust, Rome (HBO series), Weeds (HBO series)
Saw Waitress during the summer & thought it was really great. Even my cynical non-romantic boyfriend liked it, so JB might be able to stomach it, too.
I also really liked The Namesake.
After a bad few Netflix selections myself, we finally saw a good one the other night “Breach” my husband actually liked it, he has been giving me a hard time lately about my queue, even after me telling him to get on there himself and pick some out – it is not easy! “I now pronouce you Chuck & Larry” is on its way, I am hoping it is somewhat enjoyable!
love the pics, too funny!