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Tell No One

I read about this French film recently in People magazine and moved it straight to the top of our Netflix list.  So glad I did!  It was one of the best movies I've seen in a long, long time.

Here's my brief synopsis.  

Pediatrician Alex Beck (played brilliantly by the handsome and talented Francois Cluzet) is still mourning the loss of his wife Margot after her murder 8 years previously.  He receives an email which eludes to the possibility of her being alive as unbelievable as it seems and the email ends with Tell No One.  

A suspenseful thriller with a Hitchcockian flair ensues.  The movie is just over 2 hours long, but the time flew by for both Bob and me.  

Now I can tell you that I am recommending this for adults only.  There is some very brief nudity and some violent scenes that are integral to the plot.  Not violence for the sake of violence.  I don't like violent movies in general but I loved this movie.  

The movie is French and please don't watch the movie in the dubbed English version.  I accidentally chose that button at first and it's horrible.  The lips and the words don't match and you don't get the authentic feel of the movie.  You need to chose French version with English subtitles.  Don't let the subtitle thing scare you off of this movie.  Trust me, after 5 minutes you won't even realize you are reading subtitles.  

I hope Blockbuster is stocking this movie.  I don't think you will find Tell No One inside of the red box outside of Jewel but this movie is worth tracking  down.  If you subscribe to Netflix ...move it to the top of your list.

If you've seen any great movies lately I'd love to hear about them.  Please share them with me in the comments.  Happy weekend, mm

Movie Reviews by Megan

I thought I'd follow up my last post with a review of the four movies we recently got from Redbox.

Flawless--starring Michael Caine and Demi Moore.  A diamond heist taking place in 1960 London.  I love Michael Caine and his performance was subtle and intriguing.  He kept me interested in his actions and motives right thru to the end.  Demi had a nice but not particularily memorable performance.  The period clothes alone were worth the dollar rental fee.  Overall I'd recommend it.  3 stars.

Then She Found Me--starring Helen Hunt and Colin Firth.  I love Colin Firth...not a huge fan of Helen Hunt.  Colin played a very quirky vulnerable divorcee who was cheated on and is raising his two kids alone.  Helen is unlucky in love and wants to have children but her clock is ticking.  She is his sons teacher.  Rocky romance ensues.  Bob didn't care for it.  I thought it was sweet and watchable.  Not the kind of movie I tell everyone they should see, but if you like Colin Firth you might like this offbeat romance. 2.5 stars for Colin's offbeat intense character.

Atonement--well after the Oscar nominations and high praise from the critics I thought I would definitely like this period movie. But I did not!   I think James McAvoy is a good actor and not bad on the eyes.  Keira Knightley doesn't bug me and the clothes and scenery were to die for so what was the deal?  Bob and I both thought it was incredibly boring and over-wrought and just plain un-interesting.  The most interesting part was the beginning when young Briony made her very bad decision to lie and cause great harm to another persons life...but after that it was nothing but dour misery for another 70 minutes. I realize I'm not in the majority on this one...but I give it 2 stars(mostly for the scenery)

August Rush--now if I admit to really liking this movie don't snicker behind my back because I did.  The story is about a young boy who was given away at birth who believes that thru music he will find his way back to his real parents.  The story is so improbable that realists would tear it apart...but being the closet sap that I am...I truly believed that the music would bring him back.  You'll have to watch the movie yourself to see what happens.  3.5 stars for great music and the cutest child actor ever. 

So that's it for now.  Just some random thoughts about my recent movie experiences. 

If any of you have seen some good or bad movies lately....well do tell.  Leave your review of a movie or two in the comments. 

I Should Have Listened To Bob Sooner

because he kept on going on in his highly excitable Bob way about wanting to get a movie out of the "Red Box" in front of Jewel.  I think for about the first dozen times he mentioned this I just plain ol tuned him out (not nice I know).  Then on about time 15 or 16 I finally gave him the response "What's this stinkin red box you are so fascinated with?"  He said it was a vending machine for movies.  I scoffed at this ( I now accept the fact that I was judgmental and wrong in my scoffing)  "I don't want to get a movie out of a vending machine....peanut butter m&m's maybe....movie no."

To Bobs credit he did not relent.  Every time we went to the grocery store he'd faithfully ask me if I'd like to get a movie "for only $1" out of the red box.  I always said, "No we already have Netflix."   

I think you know where this story is going, so I'll cut to the chase.  Last Friday night we were fresh out of Netflix DVDs and as we walked out the door of Jewel with our weekend essentials he hit me up one more time and I caved. 

So we waited our turn (uh huh, there was a line) to get a movie for one dollar out of a giant red vending machine.  All the while Bob was putting in the credit card and pressing buttons to see his options I was quietly mumbling to myself about how there probably wouldn't be any good movies in the box and if there was it could be scratched and how do I reach the inside of the box for customer service etc etc. 

Bob cheerfully ignored me and my naysaying (he's a chipper fellow for sure) and kept on with the process until two little cases slipped out the front of the Red Box.  It was pretty simple and here is my review of the Redbox

They have a nice selection of movies but it helps to know in advance what you might be interested in especially if you get nervous to perform with people in line behind you.  The box is popular and there is often a short line.  The second time we used it I went to their online site and chose the movies first...you can even reserve them this way and then go to the location you plugged in to pick it up.

None of the movies we chose were scratched.  They all worked perfectly.  And for one dollar each for new releases, well that's pretty hard to beat.  You have until 9pm the next night to put them back in the box.  That's about it. 

I suspect that most of you already know about the wonderful Redbox and I am the last to get on board.  But just in case some of you were afraid of getting a movie out of a vending machine like I was, I'm here to tell you that it was pretty swell.  What you save on movie costs you can spend on popcorn!

Tomorrow's post.....I'll review the movies we saw.

Should I Really Admit That I Am Totally Looking Forward To The Release of This Movie?

I haven't been into a theater to see a movie in over two years. We Netflix all of our movies now. But I just can't help myself when it comes to Will Ferrell. He completely cracks me up. Ever since the cowbell sketch on Saturday Night Live with Christopher Walken I've been a big fan. Granted, sometimes his comedies miss the mark, but when he is on....he's fantastically funny. So come July 25th...I might just leave the comfort of my own home and venture out to see Step Brothers.  Please don't judge me for my love of low humor.  I'm fond of some highbrow stuff too....I like to mix it up.  Keeps it interesting.

What is one movie you loved that you think we might make fun of you for?  Post your favorite embarassing movie in the comment box.  Keep it clean....and we promise not to make fun of you for your bad/awesome taste in movies. 

So You Think You Can Dance

Yippee...my favorite show for the summer season is back on t.v.  I missed the first season of this show but got totally interested in it for season two when my fave Benji and his awesome cousin Heidi were on it.  Their specialty was swing dancing.  Benji won season two.

Last night season 4 began and I was pretty amazed at the audition performance of a 20 yr old named Robert Muraine.  He performs a style  unfamiliar to me called poppin.   I enjoy  the swing and ballroom styles the best, but I have to say that this kid was pretty amazing to watch. 

If you haven't watched this show before...the level of talent is extremely high.  If you don't like the cheesy audition stuff then wait about two weeks and start watching when the top dancers begin the competition.  I love watching shows where people do whatever it is they're passionate about (dancing, designing, cooking etc.) 

Here is a video of Robert doing his poppin thing.

Once....The Movie

Many of you might have already seen this little Irish film.....It did get some well deserved publicity when it won an Oscar for Best Original Song.

If you haven't heard about it....here is the review from Ebert & Roeper

I really loved this movie and I keep thinking about different parts of it even though it's been about six weeks since I saw it.  The movie was made on a shoestring budget of only 150,000.00 dollars.  Quite an accomplishment.

Glen Hansard was also in one of my favorite movies from way back in 1991, "The Commitments." Another great movie to add to your list if you haven't seen it already.

Looking forward to this

The little sparrow....that is what Piaf means in French.  I love listening to the music of Edif Piaf.  It captures the Paris of my mind better than any other music. 

There is a new biopic movie about her life which recently opened.  It is called La Vie En Rose  I can't wait to see it.  I have not checked to see if it is playing in town, but this one might be worth driving for.  I hope it was filmed in Paris.  I just love watching movies filmed in Paris ....the scenery is worth the price of admission.

Here are two pictures I took in Paris this February.  The one of the Eiffel Tower was taken from our hotel window.  The other was taken in one of the oldest cemetaries in Paris.

Love love love this movie

I am a documentary junkie.  Can't get enough of em. 

In 1990, at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston the largest art heist in American history took place. 13 famous artworks were stolen and have never been recovered.  Vermeers "The Concert" was one of them, and it is considered to be the most valuable missing piece of art in the world. 

Stolen is the movie.  It tells the story of the museum's history and the relentless journey to try to recover the lost art.  I feel like this movie should be seen by more people.  I stumbled upon it accidentally on Netflix.  The sad thing is that this movie only did $130,626.00 in American Box Office.  Hopefully it will be seen by many more people on DVD. 

Give it a try...you won't be sorry.  P.S...if you like Beavis and Butthead...you might be sorry.

Deadliest Catch

For the last three years Deadliest Catch on the Discovery channel has been one of my favorite can't miss t.v. shows. 

The show which airs on Tuesday nights follows several Alaskan crab fishing boats as they attempt to make their living in this deadly profession.  This show has more nail biting moments than any action adventure movie I've ever seen. 

I love watching anything where the people involved are extremely passionate about what they do.  Whether or not I have any personal interest in the activity or not.  That is what I love most about this show.  Fishing is their life.  From the looks of it....it's not an easy life at all, but they live and breathe it.  Their passion shows thru on the show. 

My favorite boat on the show is the Northwestern.  I love watching Captain Sig Hansen.  He is super driven and hard working.  I am always happy when his boat does well.  I am very old-fashioned when it comes to work ethics, and love to see hard work pay off for people. 

Old Christine

One of my favorite newer sitcoms is The New Adventures of Old Christine.  I have loved Julia Louis-Dreyfus since she was Elaine on Seinfeld.  I love her in both of these roles because she plays flawed and slightly egomanical characters on both, but you end up loving her anyway because she is so humorous.  I like flawed characters so much better than goodie two shoes.

The brother Matthew played by Hamish Linklater is the second best reason to watch the show.  Where has he been?  He plays his character so smoothly without any of those cheeseball antics you see on so many sitcoms.  The show is on Monday nights on CBS.