Friday, August 26, 2011

The IT Crowd

Occasionally crude, this British sitcom by the same producers that created the British version of "The Office" is quite clever.

The show is populated with 2 extreme geeks and a manager who knows little or nothing about computers.

Episode one opens with Jen getting the job and the boss telling her she would be working in the IT department because of her knowledge of computers. "You did say you have experience with computers, didn't you."
"Oh sure, I have experience receiving emails and ah..opening emails and ah..closing emails and ah..deleting emails..

You expect it to be a goofy sort of comedy, and it takes a couple of episodes to really get invested with these characters, but from the start, it's a clever, engaging comedy. I've been watching it on Netflix streaming and even Jeanne enjoys it! A little crass at times, there are some moments that are laugh out loud funny!

Friday, August 19, 2011

Ben Hur - 1959




Filmed in 1959, Ben Hur was a hit when it was made. Not many films in those days were produced for such a large sum. It cost $15 million, a huge amount then and the film took 11 academy awards.

I've seen it before and watched it again recently. Nearly Four hours on 2 discs from Netflix. This is a movie that requires a real commitment, but it stands up so well that the time just flies.

They used to show this film every year at Easter time, but with easier methods of getting your favorite movies, they don't seem to show repeats as often. Remember the old days when Wizard Of Oz was shown each year?

If you haven't seen Ben Hur, or haven't seen it for a long time, it's worth seeing it again.

Friday, August 12, 2011

Wild Target

This is a surprising little comedy. It's avilable on both watch instantly and DVD rental on Netflix. The situation is quite funny, a hit man sent to kill a con artist and Rupurt Grint (Ron Weasley in Harry Potter Movies) gets scooped up in the drama.

This isn't going to have to laughing out loud, but you may find it amusing, I did.

Friday, August 5, 2011

Captain America

I'm crossing over with this review because I am creating a stained glass Captain America shield for the couples art show in December that we're in.

But the movie! Very good! I didn't read the Avengers very often when I was a kid and Cap seemed to be a guest story in large comic books occasionally. So I was exposed to him as a reader, but not immersed in the story.

I really enjoyed the story line. After the movie, my son, Christopher and I had a conversation about movies in general. He overheard some youths talking about an action type movie and they were complaining that it spent too much time on the story and not getting to the action. We are both appalled at that attitude, since we've both been to "nothing but action" movies and they were horrible! The story line is what makes the action worthwhile, it's what makes us invested in the character, what makes us care if he suceeds or not.

We are both happy to report that the Captain America movie has a great story line. Chris Evans is made to look so wimpy in the beginning, you can't help but love the guy! And you can't have a great hero without a great villian, enter Hugo Weaving (agent smith from the Matrix), just a great actor! Tommy Lee Jones is a surprising character that is supurbly cast.

What the heck, just go see the movie, you'll find it worth your time.

Monday, August 1, 2011

Source Code

Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Vera Farmiga and Michelle Monaghan
Here's a science fiction movie that one of the actors describes as being a cross between Ground Hog Day and Speed and De'ja vu on a train.

It's very good, very entertaining, and could easily be ruined by hearing too much about it.

You should see it as soon as you can before someone ruins it for you.

You may recognize Jake Gyllenhaal from "Moonlight Mile" or "The Prince Of Persia". The director, Duncan Jones also directed "Moon", which was a selected film at the Sundance Film Festival.

This is one of those movies that has something for everyone, it's sf, but Jeanne even got engaged in it!