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Monday, July 30, 2012

Movie Monday 7/30

Well, my week of quiet solitude is over!  We drove to pick up the kids on Saturday - everyone was totally exhausted from their week of sailing (including my mom and her husband!).  Jamie has been badly crashed since we got home, but hopefully, he'll start to perk up soon.  He still has a few more tests and essays to finish for high school...and college starts in 4 weeks!

Last week ended up being much busier than I expected (our week alone always is!), but we did watch a couple of movies:
  • Ken and I watched Water for Elephants, which we've both wanted to see for a long time!  We both read - and loved - the novel and really enjoyed the movie adaptation.  Often the film version of a beloved novel doesn't measure up, but we thought this was very well-done, entertaining, and even stuck fairly closely to the book.  The two main actors, Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattison, were excellent in their roles, and the supporting cast was, too.  Just one warning: there is a fair amount of violence in the story - against both people and animals - that is sometimes very hard to watch.  It's a great movie with a good ending, though.
  • While Ken was out golfing Friday evening, I indulged myself in a girly movie, The Jane Austen Book Club.  I've never read a single Austen novel (I know, I know...it's on my list...), so I wondered whether I'd be lost, but the movie is mostly about the people reading the books not the books themselves.  I can see how a knowledge of Austen would make the movie even more fun to watch, though!  So, it is about friendship and love and life, filled with the ups and downs of life, everything from divorce to infidelity to new love.  I thought it had a great ensemble cast, and I enjoyed it - nothing outstanding but just good entertainment.
  • As for TV, we have begun to watch the X-Files with the boys, from the very first episode of the first season.  Ken and I watched the entire show many years ago, but it is fun to share it with the boys now - they love it already!
Have you seen any good movies or TV lately?

(If you are also interested in what we are reading this week, check out the Monday post on my book blog.)

6 comments:

  1. Joel and I saw Water for Elephants and thought it was quite violent too. Good movie though. I have not seen the Jane Austin Book Club, but it sounds good. We have not rented anything lately and are into the Olympics now.

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    1. I suspect a lot of people are focused on the Olympics this week, Renee!

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  2. I found a new movie for my list of favorites.
    It's called Miss Minoes. It's actually I Dutch movie that I watched with English subtitles.
    It's a whimsical, slightly goofy, and fun movie.

    I very much enjoyed it and look forward to watching it again soon.

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    1. Thanks for the recommendation, Sarah!

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  3. Have you seen "A Big Year" - its with Jack Black, Owen Wilson and Steve Martin - its a perfect crash day movie b/c its more slow paced and not what i normally would think i would like - but i love it - caught the last few minutes on HBO last night and remembered how much i liked it. Its about Bird watching and based on a the contest to log the most...

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    1. oooh...thanks for the reminder, Heather! I wanted to see that movie when it first came out and then forgot about it.

      Definitely adding it to my list!

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