And DVDs We Love

Stephanie's Favorites
	District 9 Knowing almost nothing about this movie, Friend of Friends Steve and I saw this in the theater and WOW! This was maybe one of the best and most thought-provoking, edge of your seat, riveting films I've seen in ages!!! An alien craft has been hovering over Johannesburg, South Africa, for 28 years. The aliens had been captured and imprisoned in a fenced in tent city for all that time. Without giving away anything, you will find yourself siding with the non-humans against the brutality of the so called humans.
	Blades of Glory Blades of Glory Is a sweet, funny movie and Will Ferrell and Jon Heder were brilliant as the former ice skating foes who become an incomparable male skating team. The skating routines alone are worth watching this. And Nick Swardson provides an added unexpectedly off the wall touch as Hector the crazed Jimmy MacElroy stalker fan. Plus, throw in a great performance by Craig T. Nelson as the coach, and Jenna Fischer our favorite "Office: girl as the love interest, plus one of my favorite actors, William Fitchner as Jimmy's callous adoptive dad.
	I noticed I didn't mention Napoleon Dynamite here, before, so, let me tell you when I saw it in the movies I fell in love with it. A perfect little oddball film and Jon Heder is completely endearing in the lead. A classic!
	Another DVD I got recently was one I've been waiting for years to see again! Yes, pardners, saddle up Skyrocket and mosey on down to the Triple R with this wonderful first Spin and Marty release. Let's hope the Disney folks are planning to release the other installments, but this gives you the introduction to the characters and reminds us of a certain age what a simpler time it was back then and kids actually still did outdoorsy things like go on snipe hunts and sing round campfires.
	And, last but not least Voyagers was released as a DVD set. This was a quirky time travel show that starred the late gorgeous and talented Jon- Erik Hexum, an actor who managed to be sexy and funny and had great comic timing. Highly enjoyable series.
	The Host: Film lovers, if you haven't seen the terrific Korean monster movie seek it out while you can still catch it on the big screen. A throwback to the nuclear mutant monster paranoia movies of the 50's, "the Host " has a sinister US caused environmental disaster subplot and the biggest scene stealer since King Kong the Han River monster. Steve W. and I went to see this in the theater and we both found it riveting. I hate that so many reviews give away a lot of the story. I avoided reviews and we saw it the day it came out, so, let's just say, if you liked "Blair Witch" and you liked "The Host" chances are pretty good you'll like this one, too. I always appreciate a film maker using unknowns so you don't have the baggage of known actors in a movie like this distracting from the rush of the action.
	The Good Baby: Henry Thomas has grown up to be a leading man, and what a sweet, poignancy he brings to the role of a backwoods recluse who just happens to find the most darling (and very good) baby on earth in the forest, and the problems that ensue when this discovery comes to light. A strong supporting cast including the eminently creepy David Strathairn. E.R. Murrow, HA! I will always view his roles with suspicion, after this, just as I never trusted Charles Grodin after he turned Mia Farrow in to the all of them witches coven in Rosemary's Baby!
	Whisper of the Heart: An absolutely lovely Anime film. If you love Miyazaki's films, this one was scripted and storyboarded by him, and directed by the late Yoshifumi Kondo. Shizuku, a book loving school girl begins to notice that every book she checks out of the library has been checked out by the same boy. It is a beautifully captured tale of first and true love which includes a brilliant music session revolving around John Denver's "Country Roads" song in Japanese. A must see!
	Love Actually: No, you can't always trust the NY Times critics. See what the fans had to say on the comments below the review, if it's still on the site, somewhere. LOVE is all around, and a wonderful cast captures it in all its craziness and many guises, from Emma Thompson as a stiff upper lip wife of a man attracted to his sleazy temptress of a secretary, to the porno stand-ins, and recent widower, Liam Neeson's relationship with his young son is touching without being maudlin, but there's so much to this movie, plus Hugh Grant as a Tony Blair-esque PM, who is just the sort of guy you'd love to see in office, and there's MORE, including Bill Nighy, Colin Firth and Kiera Knightly! Nico and I have seen this several times and it is really the perfect holiday movie. Oh, looking at Amazon, there are some sort of record 656 reviews. If you click over to read them, take my advice and skip the negative grinchy ones !
	About A Boy: What can I say. I love Hugh Grant. He is very funny as a cynical playboy living off the royalties of a Christmas song (Sant'a Souped Up Sleigh) written by his Dad, and sneakily trying to break into dating single mom's in a parents without partners type group. Toni Collette is hilarious as the depressed mother of an enterprising young son, played by Nicholas Hoult (who is the "about " character) who looks at Grant as the type of Dad he's always wanted.
	A. I. : Exquisitely beautiful and deeply moving. Haley Joe Osment gives a heartbreaking performance as David, the trendy toy capable of real emotions, brought home to cheer up a mother whose biological son is in a cryogenic coma. When the son returns, events lead to the abandonment of David and encompass a compelling journey as he tries to reunite with his beloved adopted mother. The film works on so many levels, and is the most visually gorgeous and fantastic film in years. The scene of the imprisoned mechas, or humanoid robots (used by humans for everything from sex slaves to house servants), awaiting their unfortunate fate, will haunt you. See this movie on a big screen, if at all possible. This is what they were made for!
	Ponyo: The latest from our favorite animator Hayao Miyazaki. This is the story of a brave little boy, Sosuke, who rescues a goldfish he names Ponyo. Ponyo wishes to become a real little girl so she can stay forever with Sosuke and his understanding (and also quite brave) mother and sea captain father. It also deals with the destruction of the ocean by man and features amazing scenes of storms at sea. Beautiful and thoughtful. See this one in the theater, too, as you want to enjoy every scene.
	Ghost World: A perfect gem of a movie by Terry Zwigoff who did Crumb, the best documentary of an artist ever made, and from a cartoon novel by Daniel Clowes. Thora Birch plays Enid, a girl just graduated from high school, and too cool and intelligent for any of the summer jobs in town, though her best friend, Rebecca, has settled into a coffee shop gig and is saving for her share of the rent on their future apartment. A practical joke the girls play on an unsuspecting man who had placed an ad in the “ personals” of a local paper, leads to the heart of the movie, an affectionate friendship between the man, Seymour, a quirky, obsessive record collector and Enid, who grows to admire his intellectual loner status. Steve Buscemi plays Seymour with a sweetness and sensitivity that underlies his cranky collector exterior, and both he and Thora Birch deserve major recognition and cheers and accolades of all kinds!
	Chung King Express- Entwining tales of policemen in love in modern Hong Kong. One of the best ever. We can't recommend it enough!!
	Ponette- A weepie. A four year old French girl learns to live with the loss of her mom... expect to cry a lot!!! We loved it.
	Savage Nights- A different sort of love story. It has a director and leading man, Cyrill Collard, who died of AIDS, a loss to film lovers everywhere. And its leading lady. Romane Bohringer, gives one of the best performances of a girl off the deep end for love ever put on film.
	Nashville- One of the best American movies ever made. With its outstanding cast, ranging from Henry Gibson and Lily Tomlin to Keith Carradine, and Ronee Blakely, original music and political satire... what more could you want? We Love Robert Altman, so, also check out Cookie's Fortune!
	Cold Feet- Hilarious story of jewel thieves and horse rustlers. Tom Waites is a standout! An unsung classic.
	Americathon- Oh, I know the critics panned this when it came out- but, trust me, where else can you see Harvey Korman trying to save the USA from debt by putting on a nonstop telethon that includes ventriloquists, Meatloaf bashing a car, and Jay Leno boxing his mother?
	The Dark Backwards: Incredible, visionary , and creepy dark comedy. The story of a garbage man who longs to become a standup comic. Jud Nelson and Bill Paxton are brilliant. If you're looking for something really different, look no further!
	Sliding Doors: John Hannah proves his worth in this sweet "what if" story. Gwenyth is great too. Run Lola Run and lots of other parallel life stories are forever in its debt. Mom loves this one too.
	The Object of my Affection: Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston are the happiest couple in Brooklyn... except for the fact that he's gay and she's pregnant with her boyfriend's baby. This is such a nice, funny and touching movie it is the perfect flick for when you need a pick-me-up.
John's favorites
	The Tin Drum Author Gunter Grass was closely consulted as his classic book charting the rise and defeat of Nazism was adapted for a movie, with no loss of the original genius. (German)
	The City of Lost Children: Surrealism at its finest. A three thumbs up. (French)
	Siberiade A beautifully filmed saga of the great events in Russia/Soviet Union decade after decade, and seen as ripples eventually reaching a far-flung outpost in Siberia. (Russian)
	The Life of Brian Perhaps the best of the Monty Python team's films. (English)
	Sherman's March A low budget one-man-searching-for-something-down-South documentary that becomes increasingly engaging. (USA)
	The Mirror: One of the most enigmatic films ever made. Does it start in the middle, the beginning or the end? (Let me know.) Be sure to watch the camera close in on a coffee cup and lingeringly record a moisture ring slowly evaporating from a polished table! Wow! Directed by Tarkovesky. (Russian)