"Murder Most English"

Murder Most English

My spouse and I found this DVD (based on the book by Colin Watson) at our local library and we found it a delightful mystery series for two date nights! There seem to be a lot of evildoers in Flaxborough and they keep Detective Inspector Purbright and his assistant, Detective Sergeant Love busy solving cases. Detective Purbright has a laid back but persistant method of solving cases and even occasionally gets unsolicited help from a Ms. Teatime.

"It's Complicated"

When I saw this movie (written and directed by Nancy Meyers) in the theater, I thoroughly enjoyed it so I picked up a copy of the DVD at the library for date night to share it with my spouse. Meryl Streep, as usual, puts in a superb performance portraying the ex-wife of Alec Baldwin's character.

John Krasinski, who plays the fiance of their oldest daughter, made a real impression on me. Although all of the actors/actresses in this film could say a lot with facial expressions, I thought he really did an outstanding job. I looked up his bio and was surprised to see how many films he has to his credit. He plays Ben in "The Holiday" and I have seen this movie (in our home DVD library) many times and have no clue who "Ben" is so I'll be looking for him when I watch it again.

Steve Martin rounds out this cast in a story about family relationships, divorce, regrets, dating and more. Although it is full of comedy, it still takes on some serious questions. Is it really that easy to throw away fifteen years of marriage, leave your wife and three children, and start a new family, without wondering if you maybe made the wrong choice? Wouldn't we all sometimes like to have a "do-over" and what would we learn if we had that opportunity? Would we make the same choice again or would we do it differently next time?

pazt

"It Happened One Night" DVD

On a recent date night my spouse and I decided to watch Frank Capra's classic movie, "It Happened One Night" with Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert. They play an heiress and a reporter who happen to meet while she's running away to elope with a man her father doesn't approve of. Of course, en route everything changes as she attempts to hide her identity and he discovers who she is and decides to help her out. There's comedy and misadventure but the real complication arises when they fall in love.

This was set in a time before I was born but life was not too different from what it was like for me -- well except for the fact that I wasn't a wealthy heiress! (See my blog "Wedding Gowns.") Even so I was still appalled that a woman of legal age could be "kidnapped" by her father in an attempt to keep her from marrying the man she loved (even though her father might have had better insight into the character of that man than she did because he'd sheltered her from the real world).

If you want a look at what life was like in the 30's, watch this DVD and you'll also get a glimpse into why Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert were so popular in their day. This film was the 1934 winner of 5 Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, and Best Screenplay.

pazt

"Gran Torino"

04/29/10

My husband and I didn't see "Gran Torino" when it was playing in the movie theaters and didn't really think we wanted to see it. However, when we attended our book club earlier this month, several members of our group were talking about what a great film it was. When we mentioned it to our daughter and son-in-law, they also praised it highly. Our son-in-law was willing to see it in the theater because he's a car buff and thought it was a show about the car -- He still thought it was a great movie.

Clint Eastwood plays the roll of Walt Kowalski, a retired autoworker and Korean War veteran. He finds his personal life changing as well as the make up of the neighborhood where he and his wife raised their family. It takes some adjustment for him to accept the Hmong immigrants from Southeast Asia who move in next door but his relationship with them changes his life and theirs as events force him to defend them from a violent local gang.

Caution: If you're easily offended by crude language and/or violence, this film does contain both.

I found this to be an amazing film, though, and highly recommend it.

Again, I look forward to hearing your thoughts about this film, too.

Happy Viewing!

pazt

Date Night: "As It Is In Heaven"

04/28/10

My husband and I have been back from vacation for about two weeks now and have had the opportunity to resume our Friday/Saturday night "date nights." What does our typical date night look like? It usually starts around 9 p.m. so, if we babysit one of those nights for our daughter and her husband to go out for their own date night, we can still enjoy our time together when we return home. Our grandson is also playing soccer on his high school varsity team again this year and, since he's a senior, we don't want to miss any games. That means some date nights start after his games end.

We put on comfortable clothes and grab our individual blankets or afghans for warmth and get cozy on the recliner together. Microwave popcorn is a must and depending on the weather we may fix some hot chocolate and fruit or cheese and crackers. Dessert usually follows -- most often ice cream.

We vary the type of films we watch taking turns choosing a film from our personal DVD library or finding one at our public library. We also subscribe to Gaiam's Spiritual Cinema Circle (https://www.spiritualcinemacircle.com)which sends out a monthly DVD that consists of 3-4 shorts as well as a feature length film or documentary and/or interviews. Sometimes we watch these over a couple of evenings and at other times we watch the whole Spiritual Cinema Circle DVD in an evening. We also spend some time talking about the discussion questions after each short or film.

This month I chose a film that had been recommended in a regular e-mail I receive that highlights films I probably wouldn't hear about otherwise. I learned that our city library had a copy of "As It Is In Heaven" and requested it. Kay Pollak directed this Swedish film (with subtitles) and it was nominated for the Best Foreign Film at the 2005 Academy Awards. It's the story of Daniel, a successful international conductor, who, for personal reasons, decides to return to his small childhood village in Sweden -- not particularly a place of pleasant memories for him. Since he was a child prodigy and has spent his adult life conducting orchestras, his relationship skills appear to be a little challenged. When he returns to the village, he seems to me to be quite shy and reluctant to become too involved in village life. However, the local church choir eventually prevails on him to direct their choir. A little romance also comes into his life and I'd guess it's his first one. Daniel's interaction with the villagers and theirs with him change all their lives and it's wonderful to watch it unfold. I highly recommend this film not only for its story but for its music. I know some of my family are a little put off by subtitles but I'd still recommend giving this one a try. My husband and I have discovered that it is helpful to turn the subtitles on when we're watching any film in case we miss the dialogue -- or it's too soft to hear.

If you watch this DVD, I'd love to hear your thoughts about it, too.

Happy Viewing!

pazt