Monday, November 23, 2009

Movie Monday 11/23

I had a weekend of highs and lows - the high of going hiking with my family on Saturday...and the low of thinking I had managed it OK, then crashing on Sunday afternoon. At least, I suspect it's from the hike, but who knows? Still in bad shape today and feeling a little down (and very worried about the rest of our week, traveling to see family for the holiday weekend). I have been looking forward to Movie Monday, though!

We watched two movies this weekend:
  • Million Dollar Baby I put off seeing this Academy award-winning movie for quite a while, in spite of its glowing reviews, because I really detest boxing, but I saw it on the shelf at the library Friday and decided to give it a try. I still think that boxing is brutal and cruel and shouldn't be considered a sport (I covered my eyes for most of the fighting scenes!), but there is no question that this is an excellent film. The story itself is both triumphant and sad, and the acting is superb. Hilary Swank is great in the title role, Clint Eastwood plays a perfect gruff old man, and I love Morgan Freeman in every role he plays! I have to warn you, though, that this is a tough movie to watch and not just because of the boxing scenes. So, you should probably stay away from this one if you don't like sad movies, but, if you feel as I do - that any movie(or book) that can make you feel something is worth seeing (or reading) - then you should give it a try.
  • Snow Falling on Cedars OK, this is a funny one - not the movie but the story of us watching it! I saw it at the library and thought, "Oh, I've always wanted to see this." So, I put the DVD in that evening and 5 minutes into it, Ken says, "Haven't we seen this before?" I told him I know I didn't see it. Another 10 minutes and he says, "I'm sure we've seen this before," and I keep insisting we haven't. At some point midway through, we finally decide we did see it. I asked Ken, "Do you remember how it ends?" Nope, me either. So, we watched it again! As for the movie, it's an excellent one, a mystery that ties into the prejudices against Japanese-Americans after World War II. Very well-done. As for the two of us, well, let's just say this isn't an isolated incident! Ken said to me, "At least you have CFIDS! What's my excuse??"
Hope you had a fun weekend and enjoyed some good movies, too!

6 comments:

Renee said...

Both of these movies are good...but both are intense too! I had to be in the right place to watch either of them...but glad I did.
Hope you recover so you can travel well...

Toni said...

I've been waiting for DVD Monday to pop up! My husband (also a Tony) and I have started watching a movie a couple of times, only to realize we've seen it. "Snow Falling on Cedars" was a beautiful movie. The book (which I listened to as an audiobook -- that's how I "pleasure read") is even better because it has much more detail about the characters.

"Million Dollar Baby" is a movie I feel I should watch, but haven't because I know it's very sad (and I hate boxing too). Maybe soon, now that you've written so compellingly about it.

This weekend, I watched "Frost/Nixon." I did so almost out of obligation: Ron Howard is an excellent director and the movie was nominated for a lot of awards. Imagine my surprise when I found it to be absolutely compelling. It's as much about Frost as it is about Nixon and the two actors do a great job of portraying the two men. They just inhabit the roles. It starts out as a docudrama but then turns into a kind of mystery/thriller. Amazing movie!

Sue Jackson said...

Thanks for the recommendation, Toni! I've added Frost/Nixon to my want-to-watch list -

Sue

Dusty Bogwrangler said...

Fatigue anxiety is a big part of our lives isn't it? I'm sure, if you rest up, you'll be OK for Thanksgiving.

And thanks for the movie recommendations. Take care.

Sue Jackson said...

Jo -

I like that term, "fatigue anxiety"! Very apt. Especially right now, as I'm recalling last year's Thanksgiving celebration when I was in the midst of a bad Lyme herx reaction and needed to take 2 naps while at my aunt and uncle's house for dinner! Hopefully, this year will be better...

Sue

Pris said...

I saw Million Dollar Baby. It's an excellent movie but found I couldn't handle what happened. I'm glad I saw it, but couldn't watch it again.