Friday, January 18, 2008

Movies

It was cold in Nevada and we were there for five days, so we watched a lot of movies. I'm a sucker for sentimental, so while these films don't hit the top of the mark in terms of terrific-ness, they were all very satisfying and perfect for our kick-back vacation. Raleigh are you listening in? Because these chick flicks are right up your alley.

Hitch with Will Smith was funny and had some great New York scenes and of course a happy ending.

Shrek III was awesome. I love Shrek because he reminds me of my dad and he even looks like him, and I mean that in the best of ways. Shrek III can't possibly be for kids. It is full of tongue-in-cheek allusions to fairy tales that kids could not possibly get and many adults would also miss. And the good guy wins in the end and the underdog rises up-- all stuff I love.

The Bucket List is all over the media, so you can't miss it and you better take tissue because if you have even a pinch of heart, you'll cry. AND even though many critics say Nicholson is shallow in he role, I just don't agree. I thought the dynamic between him and Morgan Freeman was believable and cool. And there is always room to consider one's mortality which I was doing anyway since I knew I was coming back to an appointment about a growth on my ear that won't go away and now they are getting VERY SERIOUS about cutting it off instead of just trying to burn it and so I was thinking along some scary lines some of the time anyway. So why not a Bucket List, which Cindy and I discussed and I keep thinking about and updating in my mind.

The Emperor's Club, which starred Kevin Kline as a proper but nonetheless passionate history teacher, tapped into a vocational vein for me. It was all about ethics, and fudging, and misjudging and getting another chance, and chance, and generosity and greed. WOW! I liked it a lot.

Pride is about a black man who experienced angry and extreme racism at swim meat in 1962 and ten years later he's fighting the same racial battles in Philadelphia as he tries to get work worthy of his education without success. He ends up in a menial job at a Park and Rec Center, and the rest of the story is about how he teaches kids to swim and they go on to win a state championship and at the end there is a clip of the real guy because it's a true story and he is still coaching at this inner city pool and SIGH . . . swimming and black kids are kind of meaningful to me and yes, I cried in this one too.

So there you have it.

ph

1 comment:

Cindy said...

Okay, so it's a good thing I saw all of these with you, or I would know how they end by reading your blog...:) I REALLY enjoyed all 5 movies too. EVERYONE needs to work on a Bucket List, so they live out their dreams while they can, or in this case, overcome some fears too. You did a good job Patricia. I was teasing you about giving up the end of the movies.