African Cats
I love nature documentaries, and this one produced by Disney is a winner. It focuses around two prides of lions and a Cheetah and her cubs. The big cats are fascinating to watch and Disney does a fantastic job as usual. The cinematography is gorgeous and the voice over by Samuel L. Jackson makes it all the more cool. We watched it as a family and all of us enjoyed it, but my oldest son who is obsessed with studying Cheetahs and Lions was truly mesmerized by the footage. It was a great way to talk about the cycles of nature as there were a few scenes regarding death and a few scenes that brought the boys to tears. It is formulaic to all documentaries of this subject matter but is still enjoyable. There are some enjoyable personalities among the animals and some fierce battles as well. It was a great film to watch as a family and I am glad someone blessed us with it as a Christmas gift!
At one time I wanted to be a zoologist and study animals in the wild. It all began when I was in third grade and as a part of the gifted program was able to play with a baby lion, tiger and cheetah that were part of a traveling zoo program. The hands on experience hooked me in and that was my dream up into my high school years. I even interviewed for our local zoo in Clovis and was offered a job until they realized I was allergic to hay and had to negate the offer. I'm glad I didn't get hired because the guy who did was attacked by an ostrich and beaten up pretty good. I instead went back and finished my teaching license which is another field of working among wild animals.
Although I never fulfilled the dream, I still enjoy visiting zoos and watching nature shows. One day I hope to make it to Africa and take a safari tour observing the animals in their natural habitat. That will be cool! If you are animal fans and enjoy a good film definitely check this one out!
Out of Sight
I had this disc sent because I just couldn't remember seeing it. Normally that isn't a good sign if I had seen it because that means it wasn't memorable. So, with George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez headlining the cast I thought it would be worth renting. I had no idea how many top notch actors were in it including Ving Rhames, Don Cheadle, Dennis Farina, Steve Zahn, Luis Guzman, Albert Brooks, Michael Keaton, Samuel L. Jackson...wowzers, and they all look so young, it's kind of funny! Clooney is a bank robber that breaks out of prison and ends up running into Jennifer Lopez, an agent who happens to be there when the prison break happens. After that, the plot runs thick with Lopez chasing Clooney and his gang, trying to round them up and take them back. All of the prisoners are running into each other as they are planning to run a major score on a mansion that is owned by a wealthy businessman.
The movie is fantastic, with enough mixture of action, humor, and a crew of actors and characters that make it fun. I don't know how I missed this when it came out or took so long to check it out, but it really is worth it. Clooney and Lopez are a great duo, and honestly I don't know if Lopez has made a better movie. It's an old movie that is a great treasure find, and I'm glad I watched it. It is full of vulgar language (and a brief sexual encounter -no nudity), but other than that, it's a great movie that deserves to be given attention. I plan on picking this one up on Blu-ray for $7! If you can handle the language, it's classic Clooney and a lovely Lopez performance! It's one of Soderbergh's best films!
Road to Perdition
This is a such a hard movie to like because it is a movie where there really aren't any good guys. Tom Hanks plays a role that out of his norm, as he takes on the role of Michael Sullivan, Sr. who is a mob enforcer for John Rooney, played by Paul Newman. After this repeat viewing I was pleased to find Daniel Craig in the film, which is a great thing, seeing that he's one of my favorite modern actors. I don't want to describe the plot as it needs to be seen without any spoilers, however it is a grim and violent film. Hanks plays the role perfectly and for a guy that normally plays the nice guy, he's one bad dude.
I also love the visuals of the film, that bleak and monotone world that the film takes place in adds to the harshness of the characters and the plot. It's a film that really gets under your skin, and makes you think about a lot of things in life. How grey the world really is, instead of the black and white mindset that so many people have. It has one of the most unsettling endings that I have ever seen in a movie. If you've never seen it, give it a chance. Again, the language and violence in this one is heavy, and there is a lot of it, but if you can handle it, it is worth the journey. With each viewing the film's significance grows for me and I really need to pick this one up while it's in the $5 bin at Wal-Mart!
It has been years since I bothered watching Pee Wee but we came across it on Amazon Prime and thought I'd introduce my kids to it. It still had me laughing at the absurdity of one of the weirdest characters ever created. I grew up watching Pee Wee's Playhouse on Saturday morning and we watched this movie quite a bit on the good old VHS.
My boys thought it was hilarious and it was fun to relive the movie with them as I remembered lines and quoted them or chuckled at one of the many scenes that flooded my mind with memories.
I didn't know that Tim Burton directed this until we saw the credits and now I realize why the movie has some strange elements to it. Burton is a weird cookie, and honestly so is Pee Wee. It will probably be years before I revisit this one again but it was a fun movie to reflect on and enjoy with my kids.
