January/February Movie Reviews

I review every book that I read, why not review the movies I watch too? 

Here is the whole list for January and February. The short reviews follow and are in "bundles" for series:

JANUARY

1. Gilmore Girls Season 3

2. Miracle on 34th Street (so sweet)

3. Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2

4. Gilmore Girls Season 4

5. Little Women

6. Doctor Who Series 1

7. Gilmore Girls Season 5

FEBRUARY

8. Gilmore Girls Season 6

9. Gilmore Girls Season 7

10. W (clearplayed)

11. The Conspirator

12. The Real Jane Austen

13. Doctor Who Series 2

14. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (warning: racy part and unexpected for an old movie!)

15. California Suite

GILMORE GIRLS SEASON 3-7

This all started because I had no idea who Rory Gilmore was. My friend just sent me her book list. I like that she reads lots of books. It is funny, and I don't necessarily like the morals that Loralai displays, but there are other parts that are clever and funny. The creator/writer of the show must be brilliant. It clips at such a fast pace, and I love all the references to cultural and classical things in the dialogue. Sometimes, you have to rewind though!

Season 4 had some things that I was really sad about, but we had to have closure so we finished the series. I do not like how it is a given that college girls (and their mothers!) are going to sleep around! YUKE. YAY to Lane who stuck to her morals.

The acting was very good though. I wish Lauren Graham would go back to doing comedy. She is perfect for it. I saw about five minutes of her on Parenthood. She is such a talent, but I like her as funny with a bit of somber rather than all somber. 

MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET

I put this on hold during Christmas because the boys and George had never seen it, but it didn't arrive until after Christmas so the boys weren't interested in it anymore. So, I watched it with George. I had not seen it in year, and I had forgotten how absolutely adorable and sweet it is!  I had also forgotten that it features a very young Natalie Wood!  I watched the colorized version, and I loved it. I want to reserve sooner this year so the whole family will be in the mood to watch it!

SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS 2

I saw both movies in the movie theatre because it was something Teala and I did together a few years ago. At the time, I had no idea who Alexis Bledel was, but now that I have watched her as Rory Gilmore, I wanted to watch her again in another role. All four of these girls are very talented actresses. It is funny that at the time of this movie, Blake Lively was probably the least famous of the four, and now she is the most famous, and the other women have not really done anything since they big roles in Joan of Arcadia, Ugly Betty, and Gilmore Girls.

All that to say, I think these are sweet movies. I love the views of Greece and makes me REALLY want to go to Santorini, Greece someday! Look at that blue!

LITTLE WOMEN

As per my tradition, if I read a book, I usually watch one or all of the movie adaptations. I had seen this one years ago, and I have to say that I still love it and may even buy it. Winona Ryder may have had her problems over the years, but she is a superb actress. She was even nominated for an Oscar for her portrayal of Jo March. You also cannot beat the acting of Claire Danes, whom Winona recommended for the part, and she plays Beth exactly how I envisioned her!  Lovely movie in every way. HIGHLY RECOMMEND. 

DOCTOR WHO SEASON 1-2

We went to a special screening of Dr. Faustus from the "Globe on Screen" series. There were two women who had come down from Portland just to see one of the actors in this play because he was in the Doctor Who series from the BBC Wales. I had heard about this series before, and then I saw my oldest son watching it because, apparently, many of the people in his college group love Doctor Who. 

It is so quirky and funny and has so many of the British actors we have come to know and love. We love it! The writers must have a total blast writing these, and they are very clean (so far).

W 

Josh Brolin did a brilliant job as George W. Bush as did all the actors. They made him look really bad, but one name: Oliver Stone. You understand.

We got it because a speaker born in Iran played a clip from the movie about Iran and oil. It made us curious. I would not have watched it without ClearPlay though because of the bad language. 

The Conspirator

Beautiful Robert Redford film that involves the trial of the mother (played by Robin Wright of Forrest Gump fame) of one of the conspirators to the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Was she part of the conspiracy or not? I do not think we will ever know. Regardless, she did NOT get a fair trial because it was done in a military court (something the Supreme Court would later rule unconstitutional). The acting was absolutely riveting! Perfect in every way.

The whole reason I check it out was my Alexis Bledel kick. She has a pretty minor role though. 

The Real Jane Austen

This was so interesting, but everything about Jane Austen is interesting. They used actors to portray the story of her life even though it is a documentary.

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (warning: racy part and unexpected for an old movie!)

I saw Maggie Smith on 60 Minutes and wanted to see her academy award winning performances. It is a very weird movie, but she does a good job.

California Suite

Maggie Smith is an academy award nominated actress from England who flies to California with her husband, played by Michael Caine, to attend the Academy Awards. It is pretty funny that she actually won an award for this performance too! 

Bill Cosby and Richard Prior are hilarious in it. I liked this one much better (especially since I grew up where it was filmed!). It is also little cleaner than the previous film!