Movie Meme Day 20 - Favorite kiss

I was going to pick something kind of classic - like Daniel Day-Lewis and Madeline Stowe in Last of the Mohicans because it's sexy and kind of defines the movie.  However, the one that sticks in my head and just has to be made known is Reece Witherspoon and Josh Lucas in Sweet Home Alabama. 
She's been wandering around down in her hometown that she tried desperately to escape, and she's starting to wonder why she left in the first place.  Reece is sitting in the graveyard for hunting dogs talking to the one she used to know and trying to figure out her life.  Josh comes in an congratulates her for making something of herself and apologizes for being such an ass when they got married out of high school.  Even though she's engaged she leans in and they kiss.  Very sexy.  Okay, going to watch it - you know I own it.  Let the laughing begin.

Movie Meme Day 19 - Best movie cast

This movie is not the best movie, but it's one of my favorites and doesn't have a weak link in the entire cast.  Playing by Heart stars Gene Rowlands and Sean Connery, Dennis Quaid and Madeline Stowe, Jillian Anderson and Jon Stewart, Angelina Jolie and Ryan Phillipe, Ellen Burstyn and Jay Mohr.  Each pair plays a couple, some married, some not.  There isn't much else to the supporting cast, with a ensemble this big.  Some movies that are based on a series of smaller stories that eventually interrelate fall really flat because you're only interested in a few of the stories and hate others.   

Playing by Heart doesn't have a weak storyline - they're all important and interesting and do a terrific job connecting towards the end.  Every time I see the movie, I like a different couple a bit better.  Connery and Rowlands are a married couple.  She has a cooking show and he runs her productions company.  He's discovered he has cancer and she's discovered he might have had an affair 20 years ago.  They argue and bicker about what it means to be in love and how a relationship lasts for so many years.  The final reveal about the whole movie takes place at their marriage vow renewal.  Check it out.

Jimmy Fallon does Mad Men

This was pulled by NBC because the Emmy voting hadn't finished, but I'm sure it'll be up on TV soon.  It's really funny.  The Mad Men part starts about 20 seconds in.

Movie Meme Day 18 - Favorite title sequence

This was just as hard as the TV version of opening credits.  There just aren't enough of them posted online so I can show you what I mean by how awesome they are.  So I'll just describe my favorites and you'll have to trust me.  The first is from a movie that's only okay, Wimbledon, starring Paul Bettany and Kirsten Dunst as tennis players who fall in love.  Not terrible, and not great but does have one of the best opening title sequences of all movies.  The credits are bounced back and forth across a blank white screen along with the sound of a tennis ball and the hitting sound.  This may sound unoriginal, but it is done with really crisp text, good timing just so you can read them, but they don't linger too long.   The second opening sequence that is awesome is from Juno.  The scribbled animation of Juno walking down the street gives a terrific sense of the tone of the movie, and then they repeat the technique a few times when the seasons change.  My only beef with the Juno sequence is that it goes on far too long.  It could have been done much faster and been just as effective. 

Movie Meme Day 17 - Favorite series of related movies

This is probably the best description of a series of movies made by the same group about a similar subject.  My first inclination was of course The Santa Clause series, but since it's not the holiday season (and those are unjustifiably not great movies), I'm going to choose the Harry Potter series.  Since there will be eight movies covering seven books of source material, it's hard to even call it a series, though franchise seems appropriate.  I'm sure I'll have more to say about how awesome they are when we get closer to the release of the final films, but I'll give you links to some great posts on other blogs about the wonder that is Harry Potter.

Andrew at Encore's World of Film and TV describes the Children of Harry Potter and the Adults of Harry Potter

Nick at Random Ramblings of a Demented Doorknob reminds us that there are imperfections in the series, though sometimes he sounds more like a fan than a hater when describing things he dislikes.

Fletch from Blog Cabins lists the oddest thing about Harry Potter - call it the pink elephant.

And finally, Rachel and Nick argue the merits of two different Potter films, and as a bonus you get to hear all about the Twilight series.

The Happy 101 meme

The guys over at Anomalous Material and Detailed Criticisms tagged me with the Happy 101 award and so I'm happy to oblige by participating.   And while I love my family and adore my friends, I've decided to dedicate my list of things that bring me joy to the bloggers who do just that.

1.  First and foremost is Rachel over at Rachel's Reel Reviews.  In addition to being my partner in crime recording Reel Insight, she's also my friend.  A mom, wife, and insanely busy working woman, she also blogs like a fiend.  With a trustworthy opinion about movies and actors, reading her blogs about movies and her opinions about all things entertainment brings me joy.   We don't always agree (I don't think I harbor the same love for all things Twilight as she does, nor with the same level of irony), but I know where I'll stand when I hear her opinion. She also takes the time to comment on my blog and makes me feel like someone out there wants to read what I'm writing. 

2.  Fletch over at Blog Cabins was the first fellow movie blogger who reached out to me and asked me to join the LAMB.  Once upon a time I was a lonely blogger, alone in the world of movie love, and Fletch helped me join a group.  He's a terrific blogger himself, always pushing the limits of what a blog can be, what it should look like, how the community can grow.  His standards are what I aspire to live up to.

3.  Nick at Random Ramblings of a Demented Doorknob brings me joy by being such a dedicated teacher.  I never had a teacher who wanted to make movies about Shakespeare and this is just the little I know about him from his blogging about it.  I hope you never lose your desire to inspire your students and use them as cheap labor.   Oh, and his new Vlog is hysterical - I LOVE IT.

4.  David at Hoping for Something to Hope For was one of the first people to comment on my blog regularly.  While he blogs in spurts, I love reading about his love for Firefly, Buffy, and all things Joss Whedon.

5.  The Mad Hatter at The Dark of the Matinee and the Matineecast has become a new friend in the blogosphere, but his encouragement of our podcast, and participation in the whole process has been amazing.  Thanks Hatter!

6.  And to round out the other bloggers I love, I'll just give shout-outs to Sebastian at Detailed Criticisms (good luck at college), Andrew at Encore's World of Film and TV (thanks for all the meme time wasting), and Castor at Anomalous Material (thanks for all the help improving my blog).

Movie Meme Day 16 - Your guilty pleasure movie

This was was pretty easy.  There are a lot of movies that could count as guilty pleasures that I really enjoy watching.  Someone mentioned this morning one of my favorites, Joe Versus The Volcano.  The second of the Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan trilogy (the others being Sleepless in Seattle and You've Got Mail, in case you live under rocks), this movie is a stinker of the first order, starting with Hanks' hair.  He stars as Joe Banks, a mid-level working stiff who constantly feels awful.  He's diagnosed with a "brain cloud" and given just a few months to live.  Conveniently, his boss, Lloyd Bridges offers him the chance to make a lot of money and end his life on his own terms - by jumping into a volcano. 

Meg Ryan plays Banks' secretary, and then both of the daughters of Bridges.  The first sister is a "flibbertigibbet" and only conducts Banks from the plane to a boat, captained by the other sister who will bring him to the volcano.  The ship sinks, but they end up at the island anyway.  Banks and the sister realize what's going on, but jump into the volcano anyway, after falling in love and getting married.  I won't ruin the end (though I doubt you'll watch it).  The best parts of the movie don't really involve much of what I've described.  When Joe Banks realizes he's going to die, he decides to spend all his money and plan for the trip.  He hires a limo, driven by Ossie Davis, who advises him and takes him about, getting all kinds of travel equipment, like 4 large steamer trunks.  It's just a funny shopping montage, but I love it.  And then when the ship sinks, Hanks and Ryan are saved by the trunks as they pop up out of the ocean.  Hanks dances and stares at the moon, again a dumb but awesome montage.  Terrible movie, but you can't stop watching.

Reel Insight Episode 10 - Julia Roberts

People listening to me record this episode with Rachel said afterward I must have had a terrific time - or I'm a hysterical schizophrenic because I couldn't stop laughing.  Rachel and I had a fun time recording this one.  There was disagreement - our first simultaneous inclusion of a movie in the Top and Bottom 3.  You'll have to listen to find out which one.  The Quoteable Quotes game has 2 more weeks in August, so there's still time to win!

Movie Meme Day 15 - Best musical

There have been quite a few posts about musicals in the past few months.  Monday Musicals will return in a few weeks to be sure.  This post requirement is a bit strange, it doesn't say "Favorite" musical, it says "Best" musical.  Musicals have held fast to a format over many decades, though the successful ones continue to evolve in small ways to adapt to their own time.   The best musical, in my opinion of course, is West Side Story.  Taking the Shakespeare play, Romeo and Juliet, bringing it to New York City, and rather than having two families fighting, it's rival gangs of poor white Americans and poor immigrant Puerto Ricans.  The Jets and the Sharks fight over territory and attempt to stay out of trouble and stay away from the police.  Put to the music of Leonard Berstein, with the longest and best Overture among musicals, it's gorgeous music, that has amazing lyrics by the incomparable Stephen Sondheim.  You can't beat that.   Here's a scene I love.  Enjoy.

Movie Meme Day 14 - Favorite film in black and white

I had to look up some details about this one.  When I first saw The Philadelphia Story, I rented it from Netflix, so I didn't see the DVD case.  When I bought my own copy it has a color cover and I'm guessing the movie has also been released in color, but it's still my favorite movie in black and white.  On a different note - I was impressed with Steven Spielberg when he refused to shoot Schindler's List in color and transform it to black and white for a theatrical release because he never wanted the movie shown in color.  He committed to the aesthetic he wanted and I think it paid off.   Back to The Philadelphia Story.  Katharine Hepburn plays Tracy Lord, a woman about to get married for the second time.  Her ex-husband, Cary Grant, has shown up to make some trouble, and Jimmy Stewart and Ruth Hussey show up as a reporter and photographer wanting to get the dirt on Tracy's family.  However, Stewart, who won an Oscar for this role, falls for Tracy, at the same time Grant kind of wants her back.  Hepburn is terrific as a woman conflicted, but still sure she doesn't really care what anyone else thinks about her.  It's a funny, romantic, dramatic, original story that has never been duplicated, though often duplicated. 

Movie Meme Day 13 - Favorite animated movie

I reviewed Wall*E when I first saw it in the theater.  Then a few weeks ago I even got to podcast with the Lambcast (episodes 29 and 30) about my love for this movie.  There are a lot of animated movies to choose from for favorite, though.  My childhood favorite was definitely The Little Mermaid.  I saw Aladdin 5 times in the theater when it came out.  And I still see all the big animated movies every year (sometimes in the theater, sometimes not).  I'm not sure what it is about Wall*E that always makes me happy and makes it easy to watch repeatedly, but whoever was responsible for the character of WALL*E plays a big part of it. 

His innocence and determination are amazingly human, and of course his devotion to a Barbra Streisand musical (Hello, Dolly) just gives him that kind of nerdy attraction ironic for a robot!  His interactions with EVE and his desire to follow "her" around and eventually hold her hand is a childlike and yet universally acknowledged.  Overall, the movie also has an environmental message that I happen to agree with - people as a whole are trying very hard to destroy the natural world, much of the time with advanced consumerism.  Individually, people are also trying really hard to stop doing exactly that, and WALL*E represents those ideals, that we can each do our part, but it's the whole that matters as much as the individual when it comes to protecting the environment. 

Movie Meme Day 12 - Best soundtrack/background music in a scene

I've always been a big fan of movie soundtracks.  I think it started because I like musicals so much, I became aware of the music used in movies.  Sometimes it's the new music created for a movie specifically and sometimes it's the way music is combined to augment the story.  I think my favorite soundtrack has to be from Forrest Gump.  Following the story of Forrest from his childhood through adult and fatherhood, the music helps keep us grounded in what is going on in the country at the same time Forrest is leading his own life.  It does a great job making you feel like the story is that of any person who just happens to keep getting involved with pivotal moments in American history.  The music starts with Elvis Presley and includes parts of the best of all the decades like Bob Dylan, Randy Newman, and Burt Bacharach.  Because they're American classics, the soundtrack stands on its own better than most movies. 

Movie Meme Day 11 - A movie that disappointed you

I'm sure there are going to be people who disagree with me, but I have to say it's true.   Avatar was a movie I was hugely looking forward to seeing.  With all the buzz beforehand, the newest 3D technology, integrating animation and live action in a totally new way.  And on all of those things, I think they totally succeeded.  However, the process took so long, I think the story they were telling became unoriginal during the process.  They combined a bit of Dances with Wolves with Ferngully: The Last Rainforest and the story lost a lot of credibility and originality.  Considering the story takes place on another planet, with large blue people who can only interact with the avatar of people, who speak another language, have tails, and connect with the environment directly.  Somehow, the story still felt derivative.  I left feeling a bit disappointed.

Movie Meme Day 10 - A movie you thought you wouldn't like but ended up loving

For the most part, I wouldn't say I'm a fan of Will Ferrell's movies.  I don't go out of my way to see them.  Often I'll catch them on TV or someone will have it on DVD at some point.  So when an old boyfriend wanted to see Step Brothers in the theater, I indulged him.  He didn't last, but I still LOVE this movie.  Ferrell and John. C Reilly play the adult sons of newly married Mary Steenburgen and Richard Jenkins.  They are both inept enough at life on their own that they can barely hold jobs and of course hate each other when their parents get married.  However, they find out they're much more similar than they originally thought, and start behaving like seven-year-olds, hanging out and doing all kinds of things like "bunking" their queen sized beds.  When the beds collapse and John C. Reilly runs around thinking he killed Ferrell, it's hysterical.  When they put on their Chewbacca masks and hang out in the tree house looking at porn it's side-splitting.  I honestly didn't think I would enjoy this at all, and I love it, every single time. 

PS - They're wearing tuxedos in this photo because they were told to dress up for job interviews.

Reel Insight - Episode 9 George Clooney and Guest

Our first guest is one of my best friends!!!  She's been in the movie industry since college, and still works on some of the hottest movies out there.  Doubt, Julia and Julia, and Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind!!!  I know, I'm always impressed.  Rachel and I are still practicing letting other people talk too, so hopefully we'll have Alexa back soon. 

Movie Meme Day 09 - Best scene ever

A few podcasts I've listened to lately, Casta La Vista and Frankly My Dear (both available on itunes) have dealt with Indiana Jones and so I've been thinking of all the great scenes in the first three.  Other than the refrigerator flying through the air, the fourth one doesn't have a terrific scene worth remembering.  The best scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark has to be the scene when Indy brings a gun to a knife fight and just shoots the guy who wants to fight him.  In Temple of Doom the one I like best is when they realize their eating monkey brains - still grosses me out every time.  And the scene that I think ranks as the best series of scenes ever comes from Last Crusade.  When Indy has to enter the hall and get through the challenges using the cryptic advice from his dad's diary.  When he falls through after realizing the Jehovah, in the Latin alphabet, is spelled with an i, and he falls through.  There are so many scenes from all the Indiana Jones movies, that collectively they make up the best scenes ever.

Check out the rest of the movie meme

Movie Meme Day 08 - Movie that should be required high school viewing

I actually watched this movie in high school.  After we finished the exam for AP Calculus we had about 6 weeks before school ended and an entire period to fill every day.  My teacher decided we must see Stand and Deliver and I've always thought it was fitting.  Edward James Olmos plays Jaime Escalante, a teacher starting at a difficult school, he takes on a particularly difficult class of misfits who can barely do basic math and decides to teach them calculus.  This is the movie that nearly every other "new teacher takes on a difficult class and changes their lives" seems to be based on (at least the more modern ones).  He rags on them, teases, belittles, praises, encourages, and disciplines them.  He won't take crap from anyone. 

Lou Diamond Philips is one of the students and of course has a problem - he's accused of cheating on the test because it's not possible he could have done so well, except that he had a brilliant teacher.  And since he's a tough kid full of pride and hate, he refuses to retake the test the way they want to prove he didn't cheat, and you almost think it will all be for nothing.  Olmos comes along and somehow makes things right.  It's an incredibly moving film and if you ever thought you might be a teacher of any kind, this is amazing.  Check it out. 

Check out the rest of the movie meme

Movie Meme Day 07 - Least favorite movie by a favorite actor or actress

This was is the first hard post from the Movie Meme so far.  I have lots of favorite actors and actresses, but no one hits the top.  And second, for the first few that came to mind, they didn't have a lot of movies that I really don't like.  However, I just thought of one.  Paul Rudd was the topic of Reel Insight a few weeks ago (as I'm sure you already know, check it out here for a refresher or just download from itunes) and probably the most disappointing movie and movie I actively disliked in the last few years.  So my least favorite Paul Rudd movie is Over Her Dead Body.  Do not see this movie.

If you must see a movie about a ghost that is actually a romantic comedy see Just Like Heaven.  OVDB also stars Lake Bell as the alive love interest and Eva Longoria Parker as the dead girlfriend who is trying to break up the relationship of her still living fiancee, Paul Rudd.  I like all of those actors individually, Parker is terrific on Desperate Housewives so the fact that she's shrill, annoying and whiny here (the description of Gabby Solis) and you hate her is strange.  Also, she's orange.  Whoever decided she should super tan, and then lighten her hair, creating a single color or orange from her head to her fingers and toes was on crack.  She looks terrible.  Paul Rudd isn't his loveable best, and Lake Bell is just wishy washy.  Boring, unfunny and never worth watching.

Check out the rest of the movie meme

Movie Meme Day 06 - Movie that makes you cry every time

There are some movies that are so sad that you just can't help but cry - Jack letting go of the raft, Old Yeller takes one between the eyes, etc.  However, the movies that make me cry faster and more often are the inspiring ones, often sports stories.  This is unfortunate because I am currently an official for high school swimming and I can feel myself tearing up when the underdog nearly wins.  So the movie that makes me cry every single time is Rudy.  At this point I don't think I need to describe it, but the moment when Jon Favreau says "He's so little" when Rudy runs onto the field kills me every time.  Guaranteed tears, sue me.

Here's the scene:

Movie Meme Day 05 - A movie you loathe

I'm sure I'll get a few haters for this, but a recent movie I loathe is There Will Be Blood.  I know it was nominated for a Best Picture Oscar and Daniel Day-Lewis won the Oscar for his performance.  And if a best performance Oscar is won for being as much unlike yourself while playing a character, I suppose he deserved it.  As for the movie, I think the harsh soundtrack of insects buzzing and almost no dialogue for the first hour, and then lots of insanity for the rest did not make for an enjoyable movie experience.  Paul Dano was odd as the preacher, and I will confess to using the "I drink your milkshake" quote on occasion.  However, that final scene was so out of place with the rest of the movie, it could have been from something else.  I'm not a fan of P.T. Anderson's films in general, so I couldn't see what he was trying to do with There Will Be Blood.  That's all I'll devote to a movie I loathe.

Check out the rest of the movie meme

Movies Meme Day 04 - A movie that makes you laugh every time

When I read the title for today's post, I immediately heard myself saying almost the same thing about the following movie.  There's a scene in Little Miss Sunshine that makes me laugh every time I see the movie and every time they repeat the scene - which is about 5 times.  It's pushing the VW bus that cracks me up.  Every time they have to push it, I crack up.  I've started to realize this is probably because it makes me aware of how silly I looked doing the same thing for 2 weeks when I lived in Kenya. 

That car was also stick shift, so I would park on whatever hill I could find, and push start it every day.  Starting work meant rounding up 2-3 people to give me a push.  I think watching Little Miss Sunshine reminds me of how ridiculous I must have looked.  Also, the scenes when they push the bus have almost nothing to do with the rest of the story and add a moment of levity to the screwball road trip they're on.  When the horn on the bus goes out and beeps sporadically and they get pulled over by the cop and have to keep driving and explaining to people who can't hear them that they can't do anything about the horn.  It kills me every time.  In addition to lots of other kinds of humor in a terrific movie, that bus kills me.

I have to give an honorable mention to StepBrothers too.  When they "build" bunk-beds and it collapses I laugh out loud.  I'm giggling just remembering it. 

Check out the rest of the movie meme

Movie Meme Day 3 - Favorite Oscar-nominated movie from most recent ballot

In the interest of full disclosure, I have either purchased or been given the following movies that could also qualify for this post: Sherlock Holmes, Inglorious Basterds, Julie and Julia, Up, The Blind Side and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. However, I'm choosing the best one and my favorite, though potentially a movie I might not see again - The Hurt Locker.  I will actually steal from my previous review of this movie.

Most people know it's about a group of soldiers in Iraq, and directed by now Oscar Winner (and heroine of divorced women everywhere) Kathryn Bigelow (James Cameron's ex-wife) and that it's on lots of best-of lists. That was all I knew when I saw it. Here's a bit more: Jeremy Renner (I loved him on the now canceled "The Unusuals") is the lead actor playing a bomb tech brought in to lead a unit. He's a bit of a loose cannon, though it's not explained why, which is a nice change. He's just been a very successful bomb tech (obviously, he's still alive) and has used his methods of basically not being afraid to get him there. The unit he's joined, with Anthony Mackie (left in the photo), who likes to follow all protocols and make sure everyone is very safe (hard to fault him there - they're in Iraq disarming bombs) and Brian Geraghty who seems to be suffering a lot of stress, possibly because he works with bombs. The trio is called in to disarm IEDs and remove explosive things from all over Baghdad. It's got to be the worst job in the army - so stressful and if you mess up, you'll die, and likely you'll kill all the people around you. But Renner has found an inner strength to survive doing the job, and his team struggles to find their own methods to work with him.

There are lots of smaller scenes that have little to do with their bomb job that give depth to the story of the war, without ever mentioning the reasons, the patriotism, the enemies, the allies, etc. In reality, this story could take place during a war waged for any reason in almost any place. Obviously, it takes place in a city in a desert, but all the specifics of the war are left out of the story. Our bomb trio meets up with a group of British soldiers, but the only thing to identify them as from an allied force is that they have British accents, and mention they're on the same side. I really liked this fact about the movie. It's about the soliders, not the war. Yes, you're scared almost every time you see them go out to disarm a bomb, and most of the tension of the film comes from that idea, and not the overwhelming stress of winning or losing the war, but rather a small, specific, extremely important task. The directing of the movie is terrific, giving lingering views of everything they do without ever losing focus on the story. In addition, the acting is extremely capable, believable, and draws you in to care about each one.
Very good movie - go get the DVD. 5 of 5 stars/lambs

My list of Movie Podcasts

I've wanted to do a post like this for a while since beginning my own podcast, Reel Insight.  Not to suggest that you should listen to anything other than Reel Insight, but if I have time to record one and listen to others, so do you.  So AFTER you listen to Reel Insight, consider checking these out.  Also, please feel free to leave a comment about which amazing movie-related podcasts I'm missing.

1.  The LAMBcast - of course I listen to this one, I'm a proud member of the LAMB.  It's a rotating group of movie buffs, led particularly well by the LAMB major domo, Fletch from Blog Cabins.  They discuss movies in depth - sometimes random movies, sometimes popular new releases, and on occasion discuss a particular topic in it's entirety like the Pixar discussion (Episodes 29 and 30) or the films of Kevin Smith.

2.  The Dark of the Matinee - The Mad Hatter talks movies with a great format and succinct discussions.  With pertinent music choices as intro/exit music, the whole thing comes together with clarity, humor, and of course lots and lots of love of movies.

3.  NPR Pop culture - This one comes from itunes.  I like it better than their more formal Culturetopia podcast.  It's basically an accumulation of all the stories NPR has produced that week dealing with pop culture, so movies and TV most often make the cut with bits on music, art, celebrities, etc.  Since I don't commute during the best hours of NPR, this gives me all the fun stuff I miss without actual news in the middle.

4.  Smodcast - This one is movie related because it's hosts, Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier, make movies.  However, they discuss whatever comes to their minds.  This has been going on for a few years now, and they've even produced a book that is a printed version of exactly what they've said on Smodcast.  It's always funny, sometimes reveals a lot about the world of movies and definitely goes too far when it comes to sex or bodily functions and often both.  It's insanely addictive.  My only complaint is that they often run well over an hour. 

5.  This is a list within the bigger list of podcasts I've only listened to once or twice but I'm sure are worthy of more listening: The Lair of the Unwanted, Frankly My Dear, and Some cast it hot.   Also, catch old episodes of the soon to end The Demented Encyclopedia (particularly the Twilight: Eclipse discussion)

All the podcasts I've listed, including REEL Insight are available on itunes.

Movie Meme Day 2 - Movie that you think more people should see

As with everything, I suppose, my favorite movies have changed over time. A single movie will hold position for around 5 years or so as "My Favorite" to be supplanted by something else, not necessarily newer, just different. Usually I just won't get the same enjoyment out of the movie as I used to.  Perhaps it comes from just watching it so many times, or maybe it's because the flaws finally outweigh the awesomeness.  One that has faded from my favorites, but I can enjoy every single time without flaws is the 1995 Emma Thompson adaptation of Sense and Sensibility.  Directed by Ang Lee and co-starring Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant, Alan Rickman and Thompson's real life husband Greg Wise, with small appearances by Imelda Staunton and Hugh Laurie. 

The movie is the best adaptation of Jane Austen's work I've ever seen.  The acting is superb, particularly from a remarkably young Winslet - she was 19 when she played Mariane Dashwood.  I read the book both before and after and was struck afterward by how creatively Thompson used almost all of Austen's actual words for the dialogue, and probably with just stage direction and set and costume creation by Ang Lee and his staff was able to perfectly create the characters and places from Austen's work.  To do the same thing with Pride and Prejudice, it really required an entire 6-hour miniseries to get all the depth of Austen's original work.  More people should see the Oscar-winning work Thompson put into bringing a wonderful book to the screen.    For more on Why I love Emma Thompson, you can check out this older blog post.

Check out the rest of the movie meme

Reel Insight: Episode 8 Sandra Bullock

Check out maybe my favorite episode so far.  We had so much debate and discussion about just about everything, lots hit the cutting room floor, but just to make the best show possible, I'm sure.  Rachel has been doing an amazing job editing Reel Insight and I must say thanks often and publicly.   And thanks so much to all the people who write to us at reelinsight_at_gmail.com  What do you think of the podcast?  And a pretty tight leaderboard for Quoteable Quotes!  Keep it up.

Movie Meme: Day 1 Sequel that should not have been made

To start off the movie meme, we're going in a bit of a negative direction describing a sequel that should never have been made.  There are so many to choose from that I'll just list the ones that came to mind.  These are movies that should never have been made because either there was no need to further the story from previous incarnations or it was such a bad movie, it makes the movie geeks cry.  The first two are Sandra Bullock movies because this week's Reel Insight podcast was devoted to dear Ms. Bullock.

1.  Speed 2: Cruise Control - They really had to have another high speed chase, but this time on a boat, without Keanu Reeves, and a sad villain in Willam Defoe.  Really?

2. Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous  - There was no where the first and far superior Miss Congeniality hadn't explored about these characters.  Again, neither Benjamin Bratt or Michael Caine returned.  Dear Sandra, if your leading men won't repeat the film with you, say no.

3.  Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - a trilogy is sufficient for the great Indiana.  Stop while you're WAY ahead of this one.

4.  Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde - Again, once Elle Woods successfully conquered Harvard Law School and the ex that dumped her got his comeuppance, what more was there to say.  I actually waited in line to see the first showing when this came out, WOW do I wish I had used those hours more productively.   Seriously, if they'd seen this photo first, would they have even made the movie?

5.  Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen - I liked the first one just fine, mostly because hearing the voice of Optimus Prime again brought back childhood memories.  This just didn't provide any of the same thrill.  Plus the story was dumb as was Megan Fox.

Movie Meme, Here I come.....

I'll bet  you can't believe I'd get involved with this after I just completed the TV Meme in June.  Well, since I had intended to make up a Movie Meme similar to the TV version, I figure I'd better jump onto the band wagon.  Andrew over at Encore's World of Film & TV is my source behind this.  Since it's a 31 day meme, I'll get started today and should finish before Labor Day.  Enjoy.  And for those of you who did the TV Meme, jump on board.  It can't be harder (in fact I'm thinking it'll be a heck of a lot easier with many fewer repeats). 

Day 01 - Sequel that should not have been made

Day 02 - Movie that you think more people should see

Day 03 - Favorite Oscar-nominated movie from most recent ballot

Day 04 - Movie that makes you laugh every time

Day 05 - Movie you loathe

Day 06 - Movie that makes you cry every time

Day 07 - Least favorite movie by a favorite actor or actress

Day 08 - Movie that should be required high school viewing

Day 09 - Best scene ever

Day 10 - A movie you thought you wouldn't like but ended up loving

Day 11 - A movie that disappointed you

Day 12 - Best soundtrack/background music in a scene

Day 13 - Favorite animated movie

Day 14 - Favorite film in black and white

Day 15 - Best musical

Day 16 - Your guilty pleasure movie

Day 17 - Favorite series of related movies

Day 18 - Favorite title sequence

Day 19 - Best movie cast

Day 20 - Favorite kiss

Day 21 - Favorite romantic couple

Day 22 - Favorite final scene/line

Day 23 - Best explosion or action scene

Day 24 - Quote you use most often

Day 25 - A movie you plan on watching (old or new)

Day 26 - Freakishly weird movie ending

Day 27 - Best villain

Day 28 - Most over-hyped movie

Day 29 - Movie you have watched more than ten times

Day 30 - Saddest death scene

Day 31 - Scene that made you stand up and cheer