Gran Torino

I went and saw this last night with some girlfriends. What a great film! It was widely dissed at the Oscars this year, and didn't really get all that much attention in general. Maybe it hits too close to home for a lot of people?
Clint Eastwood plays such an interesting character in this movie. It's really a story of salvation, redemption and sacrifice, all on his part.
Two thumbs up for me!

Vampires

So we saw Twilight a couple of weeks ago, and I have to say... I loved it. I know it didn't get the best reviews and the book purists were dissapointed, but I haven't read the books so I didn't have anything to compare it to. I said to W afterwards that if I were 15, this movie would have been my Pretty in Pink (my essential teen movie that defined my high school experience.) I love unrequited love, and combined with teen angst and vampires, it is the perfect teen movie.
Now having said all of that, we saw another Vampire movie last night called Let the Right One In. It's Swedish with subtitles, and apparently (according to the reviews) it is everything Twilight tried to be. I liked this one for totally different reasons. I LOVE foreign films, and this one was so dark and macabre compared to Twilight. It was also about love, but a v-e-r-y different kind of love. It was sad and scary (but not too scary... I can't handle slasher movies any more!) but had a strangly happy ending. If you can find it, rent it!

The Shining

Why did I read this book? I've seen the movie, shouldn't that have been enough? Nooooooooo, I had to go and read it and scare the pants off myself AGAIN! I just finished it last night at midnight (when the masks come off!) If you've read the book or seen the movie you'll get the reference...
At the end of the day I'm glad I read it. It gave me more insight into the movie, which is one of my absolute favourite horror movies of all time. I'm a huge fan of Stanley Kubrick as well, so that just deepens the love.
I was a bit shocked by the language in the book. Not the swearing so much as the racial slurs towards Mr. Hollorran. I don't remember that from the film. Having said that, I haven't seen it in years... I guess I'm going to have to rent it now, aren't I?

Gratuitous Cute Pic of Henry

I can't think of anything to blog about so I'm just putting a cute pic of the boy up! I've been such a homebody lately! Reading and movies... that's my life! It's January I guess... it makes me want to hibernate!

Slumdog Millionaire - the best movie I've seen in a long time. It has everything you could possibly want in a movie. Loved it!
The Reader. Kate Winslet is absolutely amazing. She's going to give Meryl Streep a run for her money as one of the best actresses out there. There's nothing she can't do!
The Wrestler. I really didn't think I was going to like this one, but it was great! Mickey Rourke is the comeback kid, and I hope he gets an Oscar for his role as this sympathetic character.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Liked it, but didn't love it. I always like Cate Blanchet. She's up there with the other Kate for me, but it didn't grab me the way I thought it would. Totally watchable though, and Brad Pitt wasn't too shabby!

I still want to see Revolutionary Road, and saw a preview last night for He's Just Not That Into You... TOTALLY want to see that one for some mindless fun entertainment!

Wall-E

I finally saw Wall-E yesterday. How can a computer generated robot make me cry? I had a very emotional reaction to this little guy. There's just something about a lonely robot who just wants to hold someone's hand that brings a tear to my eye! This is NOT a kids movie in my opinion. Yes, kids can watch it, but (depending on their age)the message would be lost on them, I'm afraid. My 4 year old nephew saw it and but found it a bit scary, but loved Wall-E himself. I hope this one cleans up at the Academy Awards. I think it deserves to be a contender in categories other than just animation. The environmental and political undertones give it a greater depth than most movies in this genre. Run, don't walk and rent WALL-E!