Here's what I watched and read in February:
Movies:
For Love of the Game: Not bad at all, although I will never like Kevin Costner in anything as much as I did in "Dances with Wolves."
The Day the Earth Stood Still: The Keanu Reaves version. Before you shoot me, I hasten to add that I've seen the old version twice and yes, it is infinitely better.
Ugetsu Monogatari: I don't know why I liked this movie. It's very long, depressing, un-scary, and grossly imbalanced in its view of men and women. Maybe I just like impressing people by saying the title.
'Round Midnight: Sigh. The first of TOO MANY Jazz films that I forced myself to see because of the pledge I made to see every International Cinema film this semester. Why did this have to be the first semester they decided to show a Jazz film every week in February? Why? Anyway, I've come to the conclusion that all Jazz films are too long, pointless, and depressing.
The Lady Vanishes: An early Hitchcock, very fun!
Katyn: A wonderful but terribly depressing film, though I must say, it was refreshing (and a bit shocking) to experience such a blunt, truthful approach to a horrible event in history.
Munyurangabo: One of the very few African films I've seen. It was interesting to see the scenery and lifestyles, but it was hard for me to become invested in the story or the acting. I found myself checking my watch and yawning a lot.
Jane Eyre: #4 in my Romance Movies Collection! And guess who plays Jane Eyre? That's right, Harriet Smith (from the Kate Beckinsale Emma)! She does a surprisingly good job at it, too, and of course we all loved Ciaran Hinds as Mr. Rochester. Who wouldn't, right?
My Dear Enemy: Cute Asian (I think Korean?) film. Good for a date or Valentine's Day activity, but it can be a little slow, so make sure you're prepared. I actually had to leave in the middle to go the bathroom. But I'm still saying I saw it. And now I feel guilty.
The Thing from Another World: I've now seen this movie three times at BYU, all in different official venues, and I've come to the conclusion that it's a delightful little horror/action/sci-fi/romantic/comic film.
The Host: The weirdest combination of comedy and horror. Also featuring one of the weirdest monsters you've ever seen.
Sullivan's Travels: I enjoyed this Preston Sturges film. It's sort of Capra-esque, if you know what I mean.
Paris Blues: It was nice seeing Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward together again. Other than that, yawn.
Andrei Rublev: Fantastic Tarkovsky film. I enjoyed the WHOLE thing. No, seriously.
Waltz with Bashir: It wasn't as good as I was hoping it would be, but it's not bad either.
Lorna Doone: #5 in my Romantic films collection. Sarah and Hannah watched this with me, and I think we can all agree that Lorna should have married Carver. I mean, really.
Quantum of Solace: Daniel Craig was the first James Bond I ever saw, and I gotta say, he's my favorite.
Miracle at Morgan's Creek: Another Preston Sturges film. It was okaaaaaay (meaning I wasn't a fan).
Night of the Hunter: This the first time I've seen Robert Mitchum play a villain, and he is absolutely AMAZING.
Casino Royale (2006): This was the first James Bond film I ever saw, and so far, my favorite Bond film ever. Can I just reiterate again how awesome Daniel Craig is?
The Scarlet Pimpernel I, II, and III: #6 of the Romantic films. I was wary going into this, what with the dark subject matter and the less well-known cast, but it turned out to be pretty good. If you're in the mood for, y'know, guillotines and conspiracies and kidnappings and all that. I still think Ian McKellen makes a better Chauvelin, though.
The Way Home: A very quiet, gentle film. Don't watch it when you're sleepy!
The Blind Sunflowers: A tragic Spanish film. Not as good as Pan's Labyrinth, but worth seeing.
The Five Obstructions: It wasn't as good as I was hoping it would be, and it was rather long, but it was a pretty interesting film all in all. I had trouble staying awake part of the time - but I'm going to blame that on stress and school rather than the movie.
Peeping Tom: A surprisingly decent horror film. I was greatly impressed by the lead performances (a young Aunt Norris in the female lead!)
Carnival of Souls: "Weird" and "creepy" were the first words to come to mind, but this film actually isn't bad. The acting (except for that of the lead character) and dialogue can be amateurish, and sometimes I felt the plot lagged, but when it hit, it hit hard.
The Class: A thoroughly interesting and engaging film. Highly, highly recommended.
The Great Dictator: I thought it was funnier than Modern Times, but I liked Modern Times more. Hmm - why is that?
Dingo: Way too long. As is every jazz film that I've seen.
Northanger Abbey: Silly and superficial, while simultaneously sweet and soothing.
Theater:
Tartuffe (BYU): Fantastic! I was excited to see how BYU built on the literary framework of the play with acting, costuming, set design (there were a lot of fun things with shadows and balconies), music and choreography. The actor playing Tartuffe gave the best performance that I've seen at BYU in a while.
A Thousand Cranes (BYU): It felt a bit amateurish, and at times slightly dull and preachy, but was still mildly enjoyable.
Books:
Blood Meridian: This book took me FOREVER to read, but whaddya expect from the book that some say is McCarthy's most profound work? Very difficult (not for the faint of heart, shall we say?) but rewarding and thought-provoking read. I'm writing my conference paper on Judge Holden, and I'm stoked.
No Country for Old Men: I tried to read this book a couple of years ago and found it too inaccessible. Now I wonder why on Earth I had any problem getting through it. A book with a lot of depth, which unfortunately can get glossed over because it reads so smoothly and quickly compared to other McCarthy books (cough/Blood Meridian/cough).
The Road: Of the three books I read this month (all of which were for my McCarthy class - busy much?), I found myself identifying most with this one. I can't even think of anything to criticize about it, I'm still so overwhelmed by the powerful and intimate emotional experiences I had reading it. Again, it's not for the faint of heart, but I think it will more than amply reward anyone who is willing to give it a chance.
And that's it for February! I promise I'll try to stay on top of the changes of the months for the rest of the year :)
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Ruth's Media Inventory: January 2010
For the new year, I've decided to keep track of all the books and movies ("entertainment," if you will) I read/watch and post a list each month. I've kept track pretty faithfully so far, even though I haven't posted yet and it's...ah...March?
Anyway, here's what I read and saw in January (in chronological order, I might add):
Movies:
Ordet - Doesn't really count, because we watched it on December 31st, 2009. But it's a wonderful film (currently in my top 5 in rating great, monumental important films) and I want to say that I started my year out watching it.
The Hustler - I learned more about how to play pool in this film than I will ever need or wish to know. But I also got to watch Paul Newman for 134 min, so, y'know, you cut your losses.
Love Story - I always wondered what Harvard was like in the 70s. Now I know - cold and lifeless.
Drag Me to Hell - Our first horror film of the semester! Scaried the heebie jeebies out of me and nearly persuaded me to never come back, even if I am only "auditing" the class.
Pan's Labyrinth - Such a beautiful film in so many ways.
Mrs. Miniver - Eh. Glad I saw it.
Goodbye, Mr. Chips - with Peter O'Toole. Favorite part of this was the song "Where did my Childhood Go?" I didn't cry much of the rest of the film, but this part had me in tears.
20,000 Leagues under the Sea - I was in the mood. And that "Whale of a Tale" song is catchy!
Inkheart - I hate to say it, but the book was better. And the book wasn't even that good. Oh, but Paul Bettany was spot-on as Dustfinger. The spitting image of the picture I had in my head (which was a little bizarre, come to think of it). But wow. Just, wow.
The Unknown - Good film. I was impressed by the quality of this oldie.
Chinaman - Sweet. Simple.
Kidnapped - Ah, Alan. I never could resist a rogue. Oh, and can I just say here that the Disney commercial before all of these films is possibly the best thing ever made?
Stardust - Funny and fairy-tale like. I liked it.
Three Colors: Blue - I liked the characters, but was missing dialogue after a while.
Himalaya - Surprisingly informative if you want to know more about life as an ancient wandering tribe. Very nice scenery; LOTR-esque, if you know what I mean.
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs - I get it, but I still hate it.
Brigham City - Good until the end - how lame.
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World - I loved this film. Paul Bettany was wonderful as usual, and Russell Crowe just might be my favorite actor for a while. The guy can act, y'know?
Pride and Prejudice - #1 in my Romance Movies Christmas Present (Thanks Mary Alma!). It doesn't matter how many times I watch it - Mr. Collins at the Netherfield Ball always cracks me up.
Three Colors: White - I absolutely loved this one. It was by FAR my favorite of the trilogy.
The Place Promised in our Early Days - Animated Asian film. Thought-provoking, but also rather weird.
Freaks - There's no other way of saying it. This film was freaky.
Mad Love - Peter Lorre, you are not the man you were. In 20,000 Leagues, that is. Don't watch this one alone.
Dear Frankie - I want to say that I "heart" this film.
Nights of Cabiria - Emotionally exhausting, but worth watching. There aren't too many decent films about Italian prostitutes out looking for love to begin with, so at least it was fresh.
A Knight's Tale - I admit I enjoyed it (Paul Bettany again? For the third time in one month?! Squeal!!!), but it was rather impertinent and vexing at times.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade - The first five minutes of this film more than made up for any flaws that it might have contained in the remainder of its duration.
Victoria and Albert - #2 in my Romance Movies Christmas Present! I know what you're thinking - stuffy British miniseries about arranged marriages and affairs of state. But it's actually really good. Just don't let your mom walk in during THAT ONE SCENE.
An Affair to Remember - I'm a fan of Cary Grant and of Deborah Kerr, so I can't imagine why it was that I wanted to throttle both of them after watching this film.
Three Colors: Red - Overrated... Better than Blue, but a let down after the magnificent White.
Cat People - Underrated!
The Seventh Victim - Weird. Not very scary, not very funny, not very memorable. Not very anything, actually.
Modern Times - I wrote a paper about this film! Go see it! (The film, that is, not the paper)
Sansho the Bailiff - One of those long important Asian films that I hope to brag about seeing one day to someone who has not.
Duck Soup - I wrote a paper about this film too! Oh, and in case you were wondering, Chico is my favorite Marx brother.
Stranded: I've come from a Plane in the Mountains - One of the most heartwrenching, emotionally devastating films I've ever seen, right up there with Sophie Scholl: The Final Days. It's not for the faint of heart or stomach, or for those short on time.
The Long Hot Summer - Aw, it's Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. They're soooo cuuuuute!!! (even if the movie is kind of, um, dumb)
Emma - #3 in my R. M. C. P.! I was very excited this time to learn that the same actor (Mark Strong) who plays Mr. Knightley plays the evil Septimus in Stardust. And you'll never guess who Harriet Smith plays... but you'll have to wait until my February post to find out, as Emma was the last movie I watched in January.
Books:
Unwind - I don't like to use this word, but there's really no better way to say it. This book is RIVETING. So well-crafted in terms of creativity, suspense, and sequence. A ton of thanks to Joseph and Kirsti for getting it for me for Christmas!
Darkness Creeping - A collection of short weird stories by the author of Unwind, Neal Shusterman. It was easy and fun to read.
Everlost - Yet another Shusterman book. A bit slower and more laborious than Unwind. I enjoyed it, but not as much.
Catching Fire - I really loved The Hunger Games, and thought the sequel was interesting and exciting, but not quite as brilliant in the overall package as its predecessor. Still, I admire her creativity and hope she keeps writing.
The Orchard Keeper - the first book for my Cormac McCarthy class! It's difficult to get into, but the detail and the insights are really astounding.
Child of God - Another Cormac McCarthy, and a messed up book, as my teacher would (and did) say. But at least there's no danger of getting bogged down by details or descriptions! I'm a super slow reader, and it only took me two or three days to finish.
Everwild - Interesting, but again somehow lacking in comparison to the compelling motivation and disturbing intimacy of Unwind.
Sideshow - A collection of short original stories about circus freaks that helped me clear my head. Yes, I know it sounds weird.
And that's my January inventory! February to come soon! Meanwhile, classes are going well and I hope to write more regularly with updates now that we have faster Internet at home and my computer seems to have recovered from the various viruses that have been plaguing it of late.
Anyway, here's what I read and saw in January (in chronological order, I might add):
Movies:
Ordet - Doesn't really count, because we watched it on December 31st, 2009. But it's a wonderful film (currently in my top 5 in rating great, monumental important films) and I want to say that I started my year out watching it.
The Hustler - I learned more about how to play pool in this film than I will ever need or wish to know. But I also got to watch Paul Newman for 134 min, so, y'know, you cut your losses.
Love Story - I always wondered what Harvard was like in the 70s. Now I know - cold and lifeless.
Drag Me to Hell - Our first horror film of the semester! Scaried the heebie jeebies out of me and nearly persuaded me to never come back, even if I am only "auditing" the class.
Pan's Labyrinth - Such a beautiful film in so many ways.
Mrs. Miniver - Eh. Glad I saw it.
Goodbye, Mr. Chips - with Peter O'Toole. Favorite part of this was the song "Where did my Childhood Go?" I didn't cry much of the rest of the film, but this part had me in tears.
20,000 Leagues under the Sea - I was in the mood. And that "Whale of a Tale" song is catchy!
Inkheart - I hate to say it, but the book was better. And the book wasn't even that good. Oh, but Paul Bettany was spot-on as Dustfinger. The spitting image of the picture I had in my head (which was a little bizarre, come to think of it). But wow. Just, wow.
The Unknown - Good film. I was impressed by the quality of this oldie.
Chinaman - Sweet. Simple.
Kidnapped - Ah, Alan. I never could resist a rogue. Oh, and can I just say here that the Disney commercial before all of these films is possibly the best thing ever made?
Stardust - Funny and fairy-tale like. I liked it.
Three Colors: Blue - I liked the characters, but was missing dialogue after a while.
Himalaya - Surprisingly informative if you want to know more about life as an ancient wandering tribe. Very nice scenery; LOTR-esque, if you know what I mean.
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs - I get it, but I still hate it.
Brigham City - Good until the end - how lame.
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World - I loved this film. Paul Bettany was wonderful as usual, and Russell Crowe just might be my favorite actor for a while. The guy can act, y'know?
Pride and Prejudice - #1 in my Romance Movies Christmas Present (Thanks Mary Alma!). It doesn't matter how many times I watch it - Mr. Collins at the Netherfield Ball always cracks me up.
Three Colors: White - I absolutely loved this one. It was by FAR my favorite of the trilogy.
The Place Promised in our Early Days - Animated Asian film. Thought-provoking, but also rather weird.
Freaks - There's no other way of saying it. This film was freaky.
Mad Love - Peter Lorre, you are not the man you were. In 20,000 Leagues, that is. Don't watch this one alone.
Dear Frankie - I want to say that I "heart" this film.
Nights of Cabiria - Emotionally exhausting, but worth watching. There aren't too many decent films about Italian prostitutes out looking for love to begin with, so at least it was fresh.
A Knight's Tale - I admit I enjoyed it (Paul Bettany again? For the third time in one month?! Squeal!!!), but it was rather impertinent and vexing at times.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade - The first five minutes of this film more than made up for any flaws that it might have contained in the remainder of its duration.
Victoria and Albert - #2 in my Romance Movies Christmas Present! I know what you're thinking - stuffy British miniseries about arranged marriages and affairs of state. But it's actually really good. Just don't let your mom walk in during THAT ONE SCENE.
An Affair to Remember - I'm a fan of Cary Grant and of Deborah Kerr, so I can't imagine why it was that I wanted to throttle both of them after watching this film.
Three Colors: Red - Overrated... Better than Blue, but a let down after the magnificent White.
Cat People - Underrated!
The Seventh Victim - Weird. Not very scary, not very funny, not very memorable. Not very anything, actually.
Modern Times - I wrote a paper about this film! Go see it! (The film, that is, not the paper)
Sansho the Bailiff - One of those long important Asian films that I hope to brag about seeing one day to someone who has not.
Duck Soup - I wrote a paper about this film too! Oh, and in case you were wondering, Chico is my favorite Marx brother.
Stranded: I've come from a Plane in the Mountains - One of the most heartwrenching, emotionally devastating films I've ever seen, right up there with Sophie Scholl: The Final Days. It's not for the faint of heart or stomach, or for those short on time.
The Long Hot Summer - Aw, it's Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. They're soooo cuuuuute!!! (even if the movie is kind of, um, dumb)
Emma - #3 in my R. M. C. P.! I was very excited this time to learn that the same actor (Mark Strong) who plays Mr. Knightley plays the evil Septimus in Stardust. And you'll never guess who Harriet Smith plays... but you'll have to wait until my February post to find out, as Emma was the last movie I watched in January.
Books:
Unwind - I don't like to use this word, but there's really no better way to say it. This book is RIVETING. So well-crafted in terms of creativity, suspense, and sequence. A ton of thanks to Joseph and Kirsti for getting it for me for Christmas!
Darkness Creeping - A collection of short weird stories by the author of Unwind, Neal Shusterman. It was easy and fun to read.
Everlost - Yet another Shusterman book. A bit slower and more laborious than Unwind. I enjoyed it, but not as much.
Catching Fire - I really loved The Hunger Games, and thought the sequel was interesting and exciting, but not quite as brilliant in the overall package as its predecessor. Still, I admire her creativity and hope she keeps writing.
The Orchard Keeper - the first book for my Cormac McCarthy class! It's difficult to get into, but the detail and the insights are really astounding.
Child of God - Another Cormac McCarthy, and a messed up book, as my teacher would (and did) say. But at least there's no danger of getting bogged down by details or descriptions! I'm a super slow reader, and it only took me two or three days to finish.
Everwild - Interesting, but again somehow lacking in comparison to the compelling motivation and disturbing intimacy of Unwind.
Sideshow - A collection of short original stories about circus freaks that helped me clear my head. Yes, I know it sounds weird.
And that's my January inventory! February to come soon! Meanwhile, classes are going well and I hope to write more regularly with updates now that we have faster Internet at home and my computer seems to have recovered from the various viruses that have been plaguing it of late.
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