Tag: movies

Monday Movie Meme – Tearjerkers

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This week’s movie topic is all about Tear Jerkers…

The Bumbles aren’t big criers. In fact we find “a good cry” to be quite the oxymoron. So therefore we don’t go looking for sad movies – but every now and then a movie tricks us into thinking it is going to be perfectly fun and some damn sad scene gets snuck in there. Why don’t you share some others with us so that we aren’t caught off guard without our tissues?

Here are a few movies that have caused a tear or two to fall

1.Old Yeller – can’t handle death or injury to animals

2. E.T. – still don’t understand why he had to leave

3. Terms of Endearment – I was a mess!

4. Schindler’s List – brutality and hate are hard to watch

5. To Kill a  Mockingbird – when Atticus walks out of the courtroom…well, you know.

6. The Passion of the Christ – same as 4

7. Dead Poet’s Society – loved this movie, but it got me.

8. Love Story – anything titled Love Story should n0t be sad!

What about you?  What’s the last movie that made you cry?

Tom Hanks Was In That? Quiz

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Tom Hanks - 288 x 340This weekend we saw the movie Angels & Demons and while I liked the movie it was not one of my favorite Tom Hanks movies.  This week’s quiz answers are my 10 favorite Hanks films.  I’ll give you the character he played and the year it came out.  Leave a comment telling me the # and the name of the movie.  No Googling – that’s cheating and no fun!

1. 2002 – Michael Sullivan (also starred Paul Newman) – Road to Perdition , Barbara

2. 1986 – Walter Fielding Jr. (also starred Shelley Long) – The Money Pit , Barbara

3. 1992 – Jimmy Dugan (Also starred Madonna) – A League of Their Own , Barbara

4. 1998 – Capt. John H. Miller (Also starred Vin Diesel) – Saving Private Ryan , Jo-Jo

5. 1984 – Allen Bauer (Also starred John Candy) Splash , Kathy

6. 1993 – Sam Baldwin (Also starred Meg Ryan) Sleepless in Seattle , Kathy

7. 1994 – Forrest Gump (I don’t think you need any more help!) Forrest Gump , Kathy

8. 1989 – Det. Scott Turner (Also starred Mare Winningham) – Turner & Hooch , Kathy

9. 1988 – Josh Baskin (Also starred Elizabeth Perkins) – Big , Barbara

10. 1998 – Paul Edgecomb (Also starred Michael Clarke Duncan) – The Green Mile , Barbara

Don’t see your favorite Tom HAnks movie on here?  Which one is yours?

Angels & Demons (2009 movie)

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17 Again PosterMy husband and I went to the first showing today and we both enjoyed it.  We also both thought it was much better than The Da Vinci Code (movie), mainly because it moved at a brisk pace.  Of course, this fast pace made light of every event in the book.  I found the scenes that were the most detailed were ones not in the book at all!

Anyway, you know right from the first scene with Robert Langdon that the movie is not going to follow the book.  After the first scene I turned to my husband and commented that they skipped a good fourth or fifth of the book right from the get go.  And the changes did not stop there.  It would be quicker to tell you what was the same as opposed to what was different from the book.  But, I just the read the book this year so it was fresh in my mind.

But, the movie was good.  I loved the Italy backdrop and enjoyed revisiting the country we just visited last year.  Made me want to go back, but that’s a different post.  I will say without giving too much away that I disliked the ending of the movie.  To me, the book was so much better and there was no reason to change it.  My husband said the change was due to a time crunch, but I believe they made a story choice and I did not like it!

So, if you liked the Da Vinci Code or liked the book, I think you will like the movie.  Tell me what you think after you see it!  Or, you can leave a comment just to say hi:)

Monday Movies Meme- Some Like It Hot

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This week’s movie topic is all about Steamy Love Scenes…

This weekend in Boston a heat wave arrived. Usually the only things this hot here in April come from a steamy love scene. You know the kinds I’m talking about – where the screen just sizzles with passion and you would be embarrassed to watch it with your parents. Sometimes they are key to the plot development, and other times you know the director just threw it in there to be “titillating.” (ha ha) Hopefully this warm weather spell will stick around for a while, but just in case here are some steamy scenes that came to mind should we need them to warm up. What ones have fogged up your screen?

hosted by the Bumbles

Here are my choices-

Body Heat (1981) William Hurt & Kathleen Turner

Mulholland Drive (2001) Naomi Watts & Laura Herring

Fatal Attraction (1987) Michael Douglas & Glenn Close

Unfaithful (2002) Oliver Martinez & Diane Lane

A History of Violence (2005) Viggo Mortensen & Maria Bello

and if you like Diane Lane and Viggo Mortensen a sweeter, hotter love scene  – A Walk on the Moon (1999)

So what do you think?  Did I miss a good one?

100 Movies To See Before You Die

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This week Yahoo came up with this list of 100 movies to see before you die.  I’m not sure I agree, but it is fun.  I’ve bolded the ones I’ve seen and added my two cents, for what it’s worth.  And two cents isn’t going to go too far these days 🙂  Feel free to join the fun and do your own list.

To choose the titles for the list, we considered factors like historical importance and cultural impact. But we also selected films that we believe are the most thrilling, most dramatic, scariest, and funniest movies of all time.

from Yahoo

 1. 12 Angry Men (1957) – loved it

2. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) – couldn’t wait for it to end.

3. 400 Blows (1959)

4. 8 1/2 (1963)

5. The African Queen (1952) – loved it

6. Alien (1979) – loved it

7. All About Eve (1950) – very good

8. Annie Hall (1977) – liked it.  love Diane Keaton

9. Apocalyse Now (1979) – bizarre

10. The Battle of Algiers (1967)

11. The Bicycle Thief (1948)

12. Blade Runner (1982) – interesting

13. Bllazing Saddles (1974)

14. Blow Up (1966)

15. Blue Velvet (1986)

16. Bonnie and Clyde (1967) – very good

17. Breathless ( 1960)

18. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) – loved it

19. Bringing Up Baby (1938) – loved it. can’t go wrong w/ Katherine Hepburn & Cary Grant

20. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) – very good

21. Casablanca (1942) – liked it

22. Chinatown (1974) – very good

23. Citizen Kane (1941) – liked it.

24. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) – cool & different.  liked it.

25. Die Hard (1988) – liked it, but really, what is it doing on this list ?!

26. Do the Right Thing (1989)

27. Double Indemnity (1944) – liked it

28. Dr. Strangelove (1933) – hated it.

29. Duck Soup (1933) – didn’t like it

30. ET the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) – made me cry in 1982

31. Enter the Dragon (1973)

32. The Exorcist (1973)

33. Fast Times At Ridgemont High (1982) – funny

34.  The French Connection (1971) liked it

35. The Godfather (1972) – very good

36. The Godfather, Part II (1974) – still very good

37. Goldfinger (1964)

38. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1968)

39. Goodfellas (1990) – not a big fan

40. The Graduate (1967) – loved it

41. Grand Illusion (1938)

42. Groundhog Day (1993) – wanted the day to end, like yesterday.

43. A Hard Day’s Night (1964)

44. In the Mood For Love (2001)

45. It Happened One Night (1934) – one of my absolute favesCover Image

46. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) – what’s not to love?

47. Jaws (1975) – still don’t like swimming in the ocean

48. King Kong (1933) – okay

49. The Lady Eve (1941)

50. Lawrence of Arabia (1962) – very good

51. The Lord of the Rings (2001) – LOVED it.  Wish I was young enough to have an Aragorn poster i nmy bedroom 🙂Cover Image

52. M (1931)

53. M*A*S*H (1970) – funny

54. The Maltese Falcon (1936) – loved it

55. The Matrix (1999) – very good.  but I could watch Keanu in anything.

56. Modern Times (1936) – good

57. Monty Python & the Holy Grail (1975) – funny

58. National Lampoon’s Animal House (1978)

59. Network (1976) – Hell yes!

60. Nosferatu (1922)

61. On the Waterfront (1954) definitely a contender

62. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975) – funny

63. Paths of Glory (1958)

64. Princess Mononoke (1999)

65. Psycho (1960) – creepy and good

66. Pulp Fiction (1994) – saw it twice.  did not like it either time.

67. Raging Bull (1980) – good

68. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) – it was better in 1981

69. Raise the Red Lantern (1992)

70. Rashomon (1951)

71. Rear Window (1954) – loved Jimmy Stewart. liked the movie

72. Rebel Without a Cause (1955) – I get the James Dean thing, but the movie was just okay for me.

73. Rocky (1976) – I love Rocky and have watched them all (but 5) many times. 

74. Roman Holiday (1953) – LOVE Audrey Hepburn, Gregory Peck and Rome.

75. Saving Private Ryan (1998) – not a fan of war movies or ones that make me cry, but this was really good.

76. Schindler’s List (1993) – hard to watch, but excellent

77. The Searchers (1956) – not a John Wayne fan, but this was okay.

78. Seven Samurai (1954)

79. The Shawshank Redemption (1994) – loved it.

80. The Silence of the Lambs (1991) – creepy and wonderful.  loved it.

81. Singin’ in the Rain (1952) – love musicals.  this was pretty good.

82. Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs (1937) – it’s Snow White, of course it’s great!

83. Some Like It Hot (1959) VERY funny

84. The Sound of Music (1965) – one of my all time favesCover Image

85. Star Wars (1977) – very good in a campy sort of way

86. Sunset Blvd. (1950) very good

87. Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991) no idea why this is on the list

88. The Third Man (1949) – very good

89. This is Spinal Tap (1984)

90. Titanic (1997) – loved it, but wouldn’t need to see it again

91. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) – loved it.  named our cat, Scout

92. Toy Story (1995) – okay

93. The Usual Suspects (1995) – good

94. Vertigo (1958) – didn’t really care for it

95. When Harry Met Sally (1989) – love it

96. Wild Strawberries (1957)

97. Wings of Desire (1988)

98. The Wizard of Oz (1939) – love it

99. Women on the Verge of Nervous Breakdown (1988

100. The World of Apu (1959)

I’ve seen 70.  How about you?

Oscar Winning Quotes Quiz

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Thanks for participating!  10 out 15 is not too bad!

The Oscars are next Sunday.  I looked through the list of past Best Picture winners and chose my favorite 15.  Let’s see if you can guess them by the quotes from the movies I chose.

Here’s how to play…Identify these Best Picture Oscar winning movies and leave a comment with the # and movie,  and I’ll cross it off the list. No Googling, that’s cheating and no fun!  To help you out these are in chronological order (the first one winning an Oscar in the 1930′ s and the last one winning in the 2000’s)

1. “What she needs is a guy that’d take a sock at her once a day, whether it’s coming to her or not.  If you had half the brains you’re supposed to have, you’d have done it yourself long ago.”  It Happened One Night (1934 winner)

2. “Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine.”  Casablanca (1943 winner), Mark

3. “You gotta hand it to the Navy; they sure trained that kid how to use those hooks.”

    “They couldn’t train him to put his arms around his girl, or to stroke her hair.”  The Best Years of Our Lives (1946 winner), Hockee

4. “You’re maudlin and full of self-pity.  You’re magnificent!”  All About Eve (1950 winner)

5. “A word to you about escape.  There is no barbed. No stockade.  No watchtower.  They are not necessary.  We are an island in the jungle.  Escape is impossible.  You would die.”  The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957 winner)

6. “The mirror…it’s broken.”

    “Yes I know.  I like it that way.  Makes me look the way I feel.”  The Apartment (1960 winner)

7. “The best of them won’t come for money; they’ll come for me.”  Lawrence of Arabia (1962 winner)

8. “Where the Lord closes a door, somewhere He opens a window.”  The Sound of Music (1965 winner), Kathy

9. “Leave the gun.  Take the canolies.”  The Godfather (1972 winner), Don

10. “I think we make a real sharp couple of coconuts- I’m dumb, you’re shy, whaddaya think, huh?” Rocky (1976 winner), Hockee

11. “Bob, I gotta bad feeling on this one all right?  I mean I gotta bad feeling!  I don’t think I”m gonna make it outta here!  D’ya understand what I’m sayin’ to you?

    “Everybody gotta die some time, Red.”  Platoon (1986 winner), Hockee

12. “I’m an excellent driver.”  Rain Man (1988 winner), Hockee

13. “I do wish we could chat longer, but I’m having an old friend for dinner.”  The Silence of the Lanbs (1991 winner), Mark

14. “But we have the white wizard.  That’s got to count for something.”  Lord of the Rings:Return of the King (2003 winner), Tonya

15. “It’s the sense of touch.  In any real city, you walk, you know?  You brush past each other, people bump into you.  In L.A. nobody touches you.  We’re always behind this metal and glass.  I think we miss that touch so much, that we crash into each other, just so that we can feel something.” Crash (2005 winner), Jason

Jane Eyre, 1983 movie

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Cover Image*****

Okay, this is my third Jane Eyre movie in a few month’s time and it was the best of the three.  Your comments led me to believe it would be and you were right! 

Timothy Dalton was an almost perfect Edward Rochester.  He was harsh, commanding, moody, and dark.  I could listen to that voice all day.  I said almost perfect because he was really too good looking for the role, but there are worse things than a handsome Mr. Rochester so we’ll move on.

I really liked Zelah Clarks as Jane.  She showed Jane’s strength and depth that I found lacking in the other two adaptations. 

The BBC miniseries was four hours long so it was obviously the most thorough of the movies and it was a delight to see how much more was included.  I thought it may have skimped a little on Jane’s time at Lowood School, but it allowed for richer, fuller scenes later.  The production itself seemed dated, but that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing since Jane Eyre wasn’t written yesterday 🙂

I will probably watch more versions, I hear the latest BBC production is great, but will need to take some time off from Jane and Edward.  I certainly don’t want to tire of them!  As a Jane Eyre fan I was not disappointed with this version and highly recommend it.

Jane Eyre, 1944 movie

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Jane Eyre****

After watching the 1996 iterpretation of Jane Eyre (review here) and reading the comments I thought I’d try another version.  I watched the 1944 movie with Orson Welles and Joan Fontaine and loved it!  It certainly wasn’t perfect, but it was a vast improvement over the last. 

This movie contained more of the story and details in less time than the 1996 version.  There wasn’t a wasted moment and I surprised at how much they were able to show in the 96 minutes.  Her time at the school was well done; I wouldn’t want to attend the strict school.  I thought it did a good job at showing the growing relationship between Rochester and Jane.

The cast was wonderful.  Orson Welles did a good job as Mr. Rochester.  He was dark, menacing, and a commanding presence.  He may not have been old enough, but if that is my main complaint, that’s not bad.  I thought Joan Fontaine captured the spirit of Jane, if not the personality.  I was enchanted by young Jane, Peggy Ann Garner, and Adele, Margaret O’Brien.  And I was surprised to see a young Elizabeth Taylor as young Jane’s friend, Helen.  She was beautiful even at such a young age!

I also have the BBC miniseries checked out of the library and am looking forward to watching it soon.  Maybe after I’ve watched all of the different versions I can choose my dream cast!

Finding Neverland, 2004 movie

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Finding Neverland****

Finding Neverland is the charming story of James Barrie, author of Peter Pan, and his inspirational, yet odd relationship with the Davies family.  Barrie is a married man whose last play has just bombed on stage.  He meets the widower Sylvia and her four young sons and becomes fixture in their lives while becoming a ghost to his wife.  The boys, including the troubled Peter, provide the perfect muse for his next play, Peter Pan.

I love watching Johnny Depp on screen and the beautiful Kate Winslet was as wonderful as ever.  From the previews I was expecting a lighthearted, fun tale, not the earnest, heartfelt movie that it turned out to be.  I was very much moved by it.

It was nominated for 7 Oscars and won one for Best Original Score.

I have read that the movie is not exactly accurate in its details, but for me that did not take away from my enjoyment of the film.  If you know the true story of Barrie and the Davies family it might make you feel differently.