Posted 12:39 PM by Blah blah

Good Recent Movies (Film)

Some very good recent movies I'd love to see. Anyone want to join me?

Capturing the Friedmans: "This documentary 'captures' the experience of a family in crisis, through the actual home video movies of the Friedmans, a seemingly average upper-middle-class Jewish family in Great Neck, NY whose world was changed disastrously when the father and son were charged with horrible crimes of child molestation in 1987. In the 1980s, Arnold Friedman was a high school science teacher who taught elementary school children computer classes in his home where his wife also ran a toddler childcare group, which made him one of the first teachers to establish a computer education curriculum for children that young. Their lives changed, however, when the U.S. Postal Service began investigating Arnold and his family, which led to the eventual charges that he and his 18-year-old son Jesse had committed dozens of acts of a sexual nature. The media saturated the airwaves with coverage of the event, but some of the best footage was shot by the family themselves... which is seen publicly for the first time in this documentary."

Excellent reviews. Plus this is a true story about freaky psychotic people. I love stories about true crime and freaky psychotic people, like Crime Library. Hehe...

Spellbound: "This documentary follows eight children of various ages as they compete their ways through regional finals, with their eyes on going to the 1999 Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., and hopefully, winning. Nine million kids try each year, but only 250 make it to the Nationals."

This film has gotten EXCELLENT reviews. I used to compete in spelling bees as a kid, so I have a personal investment in this film! I still am very anal about spelling.

Dirty Pretty Things: "When an illegal Nigerian immigrant (Ejiofor) working as a night porter at a posh London hotel stumbles across evidence of a bizarre murder (which may involve a famous surgeon), he teams up with a Turkish chambermaid (Tautou), and a Chinese prostitute (Okonedo) to solve the crime." Stars French actress Audrey Tautou of Amelie.

Saw her also in L'Auberge Espagnole, a French movie this year that I LOVED. That is about a French guy who goes to Spain for a year as an exchange student. Felt like "The Real World," but scripted. It was hilarious and warm and made me nostalgic for Europe. If you want a quick feeling of living in a youth hostel and going to Europe, SEE THIS MOVIE!

Seabiscuit: Tobey Macguire's inspiring true horse racing story. Excellent reviews.

28 Days Later: "A virus that locks those infected into a permanent state of killing rage, is accidentally released from a British research facility. Carried by animals and humans, the virus is impossible to contain, and spreads across the entire planet. Twenty-eight days later, a small group of survivors are trapped in London, caught in a desperate struggle to protect themselves from the infected."

Last year, a fantastic comic book series came out, called Y: The Last Man, by DC/Vertigo Comics. It's been optioned as a feature film. I am not a huge comics nut, but I find this series addictive and provocative. I go to the comics store to seek this series. It's about Earth in which every man dies of a mysterious plague, but one. (It's written for "mature readers," not kids.)

Finally, here's the blockbuster for dessert!

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl: Everyone, from critics to their grandmothers, loves this movie! They say Johnny Depp's performance as a slightly drunken, almost-gay pirate is one of the most wacky things you'll ever see.

Let me know if you have time to go to any of these! They are my top picks for movies I have yet to see.