A Year of Zip Movies: October 2011
October 2011
-Battlestar Galactica: Season 4.5 Discs 1-4 (2009)
-The Next Three Days (2010)
-The Philadelphia Story (1940)
-Primal Fear (1996)
-To Catch A Thief (1955)
-Battlestar Galactica: The Plan (2009)
-Sons of Anarchy: Season 2 Disc 1 (2009)
Having trouble with cut-tags, please bear with me!! Reviews are under this cut:
Battlestar Galactica: Season 4.5 Discs 1-4 (2009)
A good ending to the series, generally speaking. The final episode had WAY too many endings (like The Return of the King) but ultimately we were satisfied.
The Next Three Days (2010)
I really wanted to see the original French movie (Pour elle - 2008) before seeing this remake, but that did not work out. Russell Crowe is good in this as the husband trying to figure out how to break his wife out of prison - I enjoy break-in/break-out planning movies and this delivered. I also liked the authentic Pittsburgh setting and scenery. Lots of twists and a lot that we did not see coming - which is good!! Too bad that Oliva Wilde was so highly billed - she is barely in it - or we might have seen it in the theatre!
The Philadelphia Story (1940)
This is the movie that forced me to admit that most ~classics~ just don't do it for me. I was really bored during this movie - only when Cary Grant was on screen could it hold my interest - and actually fell asleep partway through. I didn't re-watch when I woke up.
Primal Fear (1996)
This is a legal drama with Richard Gere and Laura Linney (and a bunch of people who we know from other things like John Mahoney, Alfre Woodard, Frances McDormand, Terry O'Quinn, Andre Braugher, Maura Tierney, Jon Seda, etc.) and introducing Edward Norton as the alter boy who allegedly murdered the archbishop. If for nothing else, watch this for Edward Norton's performance. (This was his first movie role and he's FANTASTIC in it.) Now I am all jaded and called a bunch of plot points within the first 15 minutes - and ended up right on most of them, and you might, too - but watch it anyway. You might still be surprised at where the movie goes - I was! The plot meanders a bit but Edward Norton is mesmerizing and Richard Gere is good, too.
To Catch A Thief (1955)
Grace Kelly's character was kind of kooky in this - and we figured it was because she was the infamous cat-burglar "The Cat" trying to cover her tracks. Well, we were wrong. Apparently her character is just wacky. This was weird - the casting of a guy who speaks only French (the movie does take place in France) but then they cover his face all the time so as to dub him was annoying. AND - the opening sequence clearly shows that Cary Grant IS AN ACTUAL CAT (shape-shifter) but they never follow up on that.
Battlestar Galactica: The Plan (2009)
This is mostly a clip show of moments during the series combined with new footage from the Cylon point of view. A good concept, and we liked it.
Sons of Anarchy: Season 2 Disc 1 (2009)
Ah, my bad-boy-bikers, some of whom have hearts of gold. (And even those who don't are endearing, somehow.)
Currently out from Zip:
-Sons of Anarchy: Season 2 Discs 2-4 (2009)
-The Ghost Writer (2010)
[Watched so far this year: The African Queen, Le Cercle Rouge (The Red Circle), Frozen River, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Battlestar Galactica season 2.5, Cool Hand Luke, The Blind Side, An Education, The Endurance, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, A Single Man, Shock Corridor, 2012, A Serious Man, Crazy Heart, American Splendor, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, Easy A, Toy Story 3, Anvil! The Story of Anvil, His Girl Friday, Green Zone, The Big Sleep, Moon, Shutter Island, Winter's Bone, Battlestar Galactica: Season 3, Justice League Unlimited Season 1, North by Northwest, MI-5 Season 1, Cranford, Justice League Unlimited: Season 2, Planet Earth Disc 1, Tangled, Clash of the Titans (2010), Guess Who's Coming To Dinner, The September Issue, Over The Edge, Batman: The Brave and the Bold - Season 1: Part 1 - Volume 1, Never Let Me Go, The Laughing Policeman, Hustle Season 1 Disc 1, Gran Torino, -Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage, Battlestar Galactica: Razor, The Princess and the Frog, Battlestar Galactica: Season 4, The Book of Eli, The Kids Are All Right, Battlestar Galactica: Season 4.5, The Next Three Days, The Philadelphia Story, Primal Fear, To Catch A Thief, Battlestar Galactica: The Plan, Sons of Anarchy: Season 2 Disc 1]
-Battlestar Galactica: Season 4.5 Discs 1-4 (2009)
-The Next Three Days (2010)
-The Philadelphia Story (1940)
-Primal Fear (1996)
-To Catch A Thief (1955)
-Battlestar Galactica: The Plan (2009)
-Sons of Anarchy: Season 2 Disc 1 (2009)
Having trouble with cut-tags, please bear with me!! Reviews are under this cut:
Battlestar Galactica: Season 4.5 Discs 1-4 (2009)
A good ending to the series, generally speaking. The final episode had WAY too many endings (like The Return of the King) but ultimately we were satisfied.
The Next Three Days (2010)
I really wanted to see the original French movie (Pour elle - 2008) before seeing this remake, but that did not work out. Russell Crowe is good in this as the husband trying to figure out how to break his wife out of prison - I enjoy break-in/break-out planning movies and this delivered. I also liked the authentic Pittsburgh setting and scenery. Lots of twists and a lot that we did not see coming - which is good!! Too bad that Oliva Wilde was so highly billed - she is barely in it - or we might have seen it in the theatre!
The Philadelphia Story (1940)
This is the movie that forced me to admit that most ~classics~ just don't do it for me. I was really bored during this movie - only when Cary Grant was on screen could it hold my interest - and actually fell asleep partway through. I didn't re-watch when I woke up.
Primal Fear (1996)
This is a legal drama with Richard Gere and Laura Linney (and a bunch of people who we know from other things like John Mahoney, Alfre Woodard, Frances McDormand, Terry O'Quinn, Andre Braugher, Maura Tierney, Jon Seda, etc.) and introducing Edward Norton as the alter boy who allegedly murdered the archbishop. If for nothing else, watch this for Edward Norton's performance. (This was his first movie role and he's FANTASTIC in it.) Now I am all jaded and called a bunch of plot points within the first 15 minutes - and ended up right on most of them, and you might, too - but watch it anyway. You might still be surprised at where the movie goes - I was! The plot meanders a bit but Edward Norton is mesmerizing and Richard Gere is good, too.
To Catch A Thief (1955)
Grace Kelly's character was kind of kooky in this - and we figured it was because she was the infamous cat-burglar "The Cat" trying to cover her tracks. Well, we were wrong. Apparently her character is just wacky. This was weird - the casting of a guy who speaks only French (the movie does take place in France) but then they cover his face all the time so as to dub him was annoying. AND - the opening sequence clearly shows that Cary Grant IS AN ACTUAL CAT (shape-shifter) but they never follow up on that.
Battlestar Galactica: The Plan (2009)
This is mostly a clip show of moments during the series combined with new footage from the Cylon point of view. A good concept, and we liked it.
Sons of Anarchy: Season 2 Disc 1 (2009)
Ah, my bad-boy-bikers, some of whom have hearts of gold. (And even those who don't are endearing, somehow.)
Currently out from Zip:
-Sons of Anarchy: Season 2 Discs 2-4 (2009)
-The Ghost Writer (2010)
[Watched so far this year: The African Queen, Le Cercle Rouge (The Red Circle), Frozen River, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Battlestar Galactica season 2.5, Cool Hand Luke, The Blind Side, An Education, The Endurance, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, A Single Man, Shock Corridor, 2012, A Serious Man, Crazy Heart, American Splendor, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, Easy A, Toy Story 3, Anvil! The Story of Anvil, His Girl Friday, Green Zone, The Big Sleep, Moon, Shutter Island, Winter's Bone, Battlestar Galactica: Season 3, Justice League Unlimited Season 1, North by Northwest, MI-5 Season 1, Cranford, Justice League Unlimited: Season 2, Planet Earth Disc 1, Tangled, Clash of the Titans (2010), Guess Who's Coming To Dinner, The September Issue, Over The Edge, Batman: The Brave and the Bold - Season 1: Part 1 - Volume 1, Never Let Me Go, The Laughing Policeman, Hustle Season 1 Disc 1, Gran Torino, -Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage, Battlestar Galactica: Razor, The Princess and the Frog, Battlestar Galactica: Season 4, The Book of Eli, The Kids Are All Right, Battlestar Galactica: Season 4.5, The Next Three Days, The Philadelphia Story, Primal Fear, To Catch A Thief, Battlestar Galactica: The Plan, Sons of Anarchy: Season 2 Disc 1]