Monday, October 07, 2013

Movie Monday 10/7

Rough week followed by a rough weekend and an even rougher Monday. I've been in bad shape lately - seems to be a typical virally-induced crash since my son had a cold/sinus infection recently. Since I started Imunovir, I rarely get these kinds of crashes from virus exposure anymore, but it still hits me once in a while. And today's rainy weather probably isn't helping. Crazy illness, right? We ended up having to give up our plans of camping this past weekend, so it turned out to be an entire Plan B Week!

Anyway, we stayed home so I could rest. Our son had a friend sleep over Saturday night, so my husband and I watched At Any Price, a family drama starring Dennis Quaid and Zac Efron, as a 3rd generation farmer named Henry and his son, Dean, respectively. Henry has not only successfully run the farm he inherited from his own father; he has expanded it and his business steadily. He is an aggressive businessman, as the opening scene shows when he drags Dean along to the funeral of another local farmer in order to buy the man's land from his grieving family. Henry pins his hopes on his oldest, beloved son, Grant, taking over the family business, but Grant (who was a great student and football star) is off exploring the world and showing no signs of coming home. Younger brother Dean, who has lived in his brother's shadow and struggled for his father's approval, also has other plans - he wants to be a race car driver. Dean is good at racing and has made a name for himself; he's a local star who wins a lot of races and a lot of attention, from everyone except his dad. It's an intricate family drama with plenty of conflict, and the actors are all excellent, including supporting roles by Kim Dickens as Henry's wife and newcomer Maika Monroe as Dean's girlfriend. Both Henry and Dean are wrapped up in their own dreams with little regard for the people around them, and, of course, their goals are in direct conflict with each other. Their problems escalate - due to their own flaws and impulsive actions - and have far-reaching effects on their family, friends, and neighbors. It's a good movie (Ebert's very last "thumbs up" before his death!), but it's quite a downer. Even when things wrap up at the end and many of their problems have been resolved outwardly, it's not exactly a happy ending.

We have also been trying lots of new TV shows and enjoying some of our old favorites, with the fall TV season in full swing. With our 15-year old son, we've been enjoying Bones, Glee, Amazing Race, and lots of comedies (his favorites!) like New Girl, Big Bang Theory, and new shows like The Crazy Ones, the Michael J. Fox Show, Dads, and Brooklyn 99.

My husband and I like the new shows Sleepy Hollow and Blacklist and are enjoying our old favorites like Grey's Anatomy and Elementary.

Have you seen any good movies or TV shows lately?

2 comments:

Tanya @ Moms Small Victories said...

Sorry the rain and virus exposure has made you feel run down. I feel that way too when it's raining or my body is trying to fight off a virus. Hope the rest of the week is better for you

Sounds like a good time to curl up with good books and good movies! I haven't seen at Any Price but we recently watched Life of Pi (gorgeous imagery and very thought provoking/dramatic), Identity Thief (meh, good thing it was free from Redbox), and This Means War (perfect combo of romantic comedy and action so hubby and I both enjoyed it).

Sue Jackson said...

Tanya, I really want to see Life of Pi - my husband and I both loved the book. That was actually the first DVD I looked for on Saturday at Redbox, but it was already out! This Means War sounds good, too!

Thanks for stopping by and for the movie ideas!

Sue