From The Past: July 4, 2007
These are the movies we viewed in June.
6-2-07 The Queen – Let me first say that I enjoyed this movie immensely and was riveted to the screen. I had hoped to get a better insight into the queen’s life, but that’s okay. Since I kept up with the news, I knew pretty much everything the movie covered. It was surprising this movie was just as much about Tony Blair as it was the queen. It started right before Princess Diana’s death and went through the days that followed and the actions the queen took. It ends about two months afterwards.
6-4-07 Nanny McPhee – This was a very cute, family friendly movie. The costumes and house were very colorful and delightful to the eye. As an adult, I knew how the movie would end from the very beginning; however I still enjoyed it and would watch it again.
6-6-07 The Prestige – This is the story of two magicians who worked together until a fatal error occurred one evening in the middle of one of their acts. After this event, they were mortal enemies. When one of them performs a great trick, the other has to find out how he did it at any cost.This was a terrific movie. There was one twist after another and I think in the end, I comprehended it all. I’m sure if I watched it again, I would see points that I missed though. This is definitely worth renting.
6-12-07 Over the Hedge – One day forest animals awake after the winter hibernation to find their beloved woods gone and a neighborhood in its place. With the help of one particularly rambunctious animal, they explore human territory in order to get enough food to last through the winter. This is a great family-friendly cartoon.
6-15-07 Grey Gardens – This is a documentary covering a small part of Edith Bouvier Beale and her daughter Edie’s lives. These are the cousins of the famous Jackie Kennedy-Onassis. They live in a dilapidated house in East Hampton and this documentary illustrates how eccentric they are. I found the whole thing fascinating and plan to watch it again along with the audio commentary.
6-17-07 The Devil Wears Prada – Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep star in this movie. I loved the music, the clothes, and all the color! The whole movie starts off upbeat; a kind of Pretty Woman type of transformation occurs with Anne Hathaway’s character, but then the movie takes a turn and it all becomes very sad. For such a wonderful start, it ended on a very bad note for me.
6-20-07 The Beales of Grey Gardens – This movie was made up of unused footage from the documentary Grey Gardens which I previously mentioned. I plan to watch them both again (and again and again), but I think I liked this one better than the first. Little Edie concocts bizarre fashions in both movies; however you get to see more of those fashions in this version. Also, there is more singing and a fire breaks out which adds much drama. If you watch it, don’t miss the introduction, which I think is best saved for AFTER the movie. I love, love, loved it!
6-20-07 The Forgotten – This is one of those psychological thrillers that I love. You think there will be blood or much spookiness, but there never is. Well, there is some spookiness, but no blood. Julianne Moore plays the main character whose son was killed 14 months ago in a plane crash. All of a sudden, her son’s face is missing from family photos and his scrapbooks are empty. Her psychiatrist and husband want her to just forget her son, but she can’t. She’s knows that he existed and she will stop at nothing to prove it. This movie was very interesting and there are plenty of familiar faces to see. I think it’s definitely clean enough for the entire family to watch.
6-24-07 Deja Vu – I had forgotten what a good actor Denzel Washington is until I watched this. He plays an ATF agent who uses a secret government invention to try and change a horrific event that wiped out over 500 people and to catch the killer. This was a great movie; very suspenseful and action packed.
6-27-07 The Illusionist – Like the movie The Prestige (mentioned above), this is a movie about a magician, but it is also a love story. If I had to advise you to rent that movie or this one, I would say rent this one. I thought it was just wonderful and would watch it again in a heartbeat. This was a very mysterious movie.
6-30-07 Borat – With mom being in the hospital and crying off and on over her all day, I was in dire need of some comic relief. This movie did not fail to deliver. In fact, I haven’t heard Kevin laugh this much during a movie in ages. This is about a man, Borat, who comes to the United States from Kazakhstan making a documentary all the while on his journey from New York to California. The movie is filled with one non politically correct word after another and even has male nudity. I don’t care though; it was truly hilarious. So, if you want a good belly laugh, watch this – just make sure the kids are asleep!