September 2013 Media Inventory

Now that we're over halfway through October, I suppose I'd better hurry and post this. I may have less to say than usual.

Movies:

Megamind: Fun movie. I liked it.

Mulan: One of my favorite Disneys! Great scenery, story, music, characters, etc.

Lady and the Tramp: I loved this so much I wrote a post about it.

The Fox and the Hound: Another one of my very favorites as a kid. It does make me cry.

Beauty and the Beast: Possibly, in my opinion, the best Disney movie.

According to Greta: Knowing nothing about this other than that Hillary Duff was playing an annoying teenager, I was nervous. But it was actually much better than I anticipated. Well acted and creative plot. I especially enjoyed the grandmother's character and the relationship between grandmother and granddaughter.

A Simple Life: Very down-to-earth, documentary-feeling Asian film about a housekeeper who joins a retirement home. I actually did believe for a little bit that I was just watching a woman's real life. It was long and painstakingly detailed, but still sweet.

A Cat in Paris: Fantastic, delightful animated French film. Funny and heartwarming. Watch it if you ever get the chance!

Tangled: Love it!

The Sword in the Stone: Merlin is SO hilarious.

Howl's Moving Castle: Matthew was really in the mood to watch it, so I came along for the ride. It isn't my favorite Miyazaki, and I wasn't blown away by the book either, but despite the so-so plot it's still just a very visually appealing film.

Enchanted: Such a feel-good film. For favorite parts, I'm torn between UM EVERY SONG EVER and the moment where the Queen is hiding Giselle in the elevator and feigns surprise at seeing her ("Oh.... her.").

Spirit: I remember thinking this was awesome as a kid. Then I gradually came to think of it as less than mediocre. This time I mostly enjoyed it. There's a little bit of corniness, but I'm mostly just happy to watch horses running around and showing off.

Freaky Friday: Something about this film intrigues and delights me. I like it, but it's hard to say why.

Cinderella: You don't spend a month watching classic Disney without watching this eventually.

Charlotte's Web: This film is so much greater and better than I remembered as a child. I actually really want to read the book again now.

Minority Report: Had to watch a Tom Cruise film to commemorate our "first date" anniversary (watching Knight and Day). This one impressed, despite all the eye-cringing eye-related stuff.

The Parent Trap: This was the first time I'd ever watched the new version with Lindsay Lohan. It was better than I expected (mostly thanks to Lohan's being a believable child actress), and I loved all the references to the old version (especially the fact that old Vicki played new Vicki's mother - and her name was still Vicki!).

Clandestine Childhood: A combination of passionate, anxious, activist propaganda and a simple boy comes of age tale. Although some of it was very emotional (the story of the uncle was particularly poignant), the whole thing overall didn't quite work for me. I had trouble connecting to the main character and thought the film was somewhat heavy handed and manipulative.

Now You See Me: A lot shorter than I expected it would be, and even crazier than I thought it would be (but not in the way that I thought it would be). I think it tried so hard to make sense and be cryptic at the same time that it ended up not making much sense.

Books:

Fablehaven 4: This is my second favorite of the series. Such great characters and story!

Fablehaven 5: Not my favorite, but a good ending to a great series.

Dewey: Sweet and cute book about a library cat. I liked it.

The Finger Points of Sausage Dogs: Hilarious perspective of a touchy academic professor that really summarizes how I feel about academic professors sometimes. Refreshing and funny. And the author (Alexander McCall Smith) is a fantastic writer.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: Interesting and unique book - you can hardly help reading it with the author's devastating experience in mind, and it makes his insights all the more touching.

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man: Although Joyce's writing is certainly hard to follow at times, there were some themes and ideas in this book that really stuck with me. It also reminded me of a lot of people I knew and experiences I've had.