Movie Monday 7/22

I have missed several Movie Mondays in a row, so I will do a quickie catch-up today. We saw a few movies as a family recently, including one in the theater! And this weekend, I have been alone (ALONE!!) and indulging in movies my family would hate.

We watched a couple of 80's classics on DVD with the kids:

Mr. Mom, starring Michael Keaton as the overwhelmed husband who tries to take care of the house and kids while his wife works (my husband hates these movies, TV shows, and ads that shows Dads as totally inept!). Craig enjoyed the humor in it.

The boys and I watched Risky Business, Tom Cruise's first big hit, where he plays a high school student who starts a prostitution business in his parents house when they go away for the weekend. Best line ever from an 80's movie: "I have a Trig final tomorrow, and I'm being chased by Guido the pimp!" Both boys, ages 15 and 18, enjoyed it very much, as I knew they would.

Jamie was away with friends one weekend, so Ken and I and Craig actually went OUT TO THE MOVIE THEATER! This is a big event for us. We normally get out once a year, when the new Harry Potter movie comes out (how can they be over?), but this was our second time in the theater in the past few months. We saw Now You See Me, and we all loved it! It features an all-star cast (Mark Ruffalo, Morgan Freeman, Woody Harrelson, and more). Four magicians/illusionists receive a mysterious summons; the result is a magic show that captures the attention of the entire world. Their first show in Vegas results in a massive bank robbery in Paris. The FBI is put on the case but are always two steps behind them. It's an original story that keeps you guessing right up to the very last moments and was perfect to see on the big screen, with all the cool illusions.

The next night, the three of us rented a DVD, The Dark Knight Rises, the latest Batman movie. Craig had already seen it with friends but wanted to share it with us because he said it was the best of all the Batman movies! It was very good - classic action/superhero movie with a fast pace, nonstop action, and plenty of twists and turns.

I got back home from dropping off the kids on Saturday afternoon and was totally wiped out. I have been indulging in girly movies each evening since then! Saturday night I watched Now is Good, starring Dakota Fanning as a 17-year old girl named Tessa who is dying of leukemia. She has a bucket list of things she wants to do before she dies, and her best friend is helping her, much to her father's frustration since some of the things on her list are dangerous and/or illegal. Then Tessa meets the hunky boy next door, and her life takes a dramatic turn. My husband hates sad movies, and I bawled my eyes out over this one! It was very good, Fanning was excellent in the role, and a good cry over fictional troubles is always so cathartic!

After crying so hard, I decided I needed something light and fun next, so I watched Party Girl, a 1995 film starring Parker Posey that was nominated for an award at the Sundance Festival. Mary, played by Posey, is the party girl of the title, living a carefree and drunken life, barely scraping together enough money for rent and her designer clothes habit by throwing wild parties and charging for admission and drinks. She gets arrested for one of these illegal parties, and her godmother bails her out and gets her a job as a library clerk. Though it is somewhat light and fun, the movie actually has some heartfelt emotion to it. It was the perfect antidote after crying over Now is Good!

And, continuing the tear-jerker festival, last night I watched The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, a movie adaptation of a wonderful book I recently listened to on audio (my review) about a young German boy whose father is a high-ranking Nazi official during World War II. His family moves to Auschwitz, and the boy - desperate for a friend to play with - befriends a boy his age on the other side of the fence. Their friendship grows, though as anyone familiar with the Holocaust knows, there can't be a happy ending. So, another crying bout last night, but it is an excellent movie. It was also great on audio.

Have you seen any good movies lately?