I've been borrowing videos/DVDs from my local library lately which is great because then they don't just pile up when I don't want to watch them anymore. Note - if you have any you don't want or books and CD's- you can donate those to your local library(ies) too
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Being John Malkovich - Ya, I never got round to seeing that until now and I was disappointed. It had a great deal of hype and though the concept was interesting, I think they could have done a lot more with it. Malkovich and Diaz acted well and I like that Diaz is a versatile actress. John Cusack was so so and I haven't seen much of Catherine Keener but from what I have, her character is similar. Basically I think they had a great idea for a film and then botched it with the romantic web of lies/changing partners and not enough on the interesting bit. You get twisted romance in movies alot but a unique idea is exactly that - unique - use it! I think they should of shown what would have happened in a courtroom, shown more of John dealing with what was happening to him and more of the plotting old people.
Castaway - Yep another one I took ages to see. I really liked this, and yes I'm a Tom Hanks fan anyway but good reason(!) - he genuinely injects a feeling and unique person into every character he takes on. Before watching it I obviously remembered 'The Swiss Family Robinson' and 'Robinson Crusoe' but this was a good addition to that genre. It was predictable but the years he spent alone on the island and escaping was worth the predictability of the rest of the script. For example, his relationship with Wilson was a great idea and something that humans do in lonliness/fear/sadness.
The Very Best of The Muppet Show Vol3 - Lol I love The Muppet Show
(and when I was younger - The Muppet Babies) and watching this made me love the show more. I'd never actually seen the original 70's series and only saw the comeback 90's version but I can see that they always had 'it' - the ability to make you laugh and love the characters. I also noticed that some things had changed, like the type of humour in places e.g. they had more innuendo and jokes against animals back then then they did in the 90's - but I think the 90's ones were still great - anyone remember the Sandra Bullock Mahnamuhna (or however you spell it) sketch? Lol well that was originally a Sesame Street sketch. My fave episodes were the Rita Moreno, Avery Schreiber and Christopher Reeves episodes.
The Out-of-Towners - Typical comedy from the classic Goldie Hawn and Steve Martin. It was ok but it was like they were just repeating comedy they've done before.
Catch Me if You Can This was a good movie - compelling and again had Tom Hanks. For some reason throughout the movie I thought that Leonardo DiCaprio was Matt Damon... They picked a very original real life story to adapt for a movie and I think it worked well because it was so crazy but well acted. It reminded me of 'The Talented Mr Ripley'.
Connie and Carla - Lol I wasn't going to take this one but thought what the hell and I'm glad I did. It's in the theme of 'To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything Julie Newmar' and it's fun with comedy, showtunes, drag queens and drama. The only bit I didn't like was the ending where I think they tried to wrap everything up in an over the top way (which I guess could actually be fitting...) but it was too much at once and I think they could have done better with it.
Laurel & Hardy - Double feature video. I loved this, I'm a big fan of them (as I was The Three Stoodges and others) so I knew I would like this and I did. The two films weren't silent movies but even if they were those two knew how to convey slapstick and tricks well enough to get a great laugh.
A Man for all Seasons- Stupid Henry Viii film, don't know why I borrowed it. Of course the film was well done but I hate the guy so no.
Darby O'Gill and the Little People - nice Disney movie with effects that were great for the time. I didn't agree with some bits but overall it was ok, it was nice to see Janet Munro and I'd also forgotten what Sean Connery was like before Bond. It did make me wonder whether some of Terry Pratchett's inspiration for the Nac Mac Feegle/Wee Free Men came from the leprechauns in this movie.
Death to Smoochy - I can honestly say I have never seen or heard Robin Williams act like this
. There is one scene I would never have imagined him doing in front of kids... Other then that though - great cast, funny and interesting script - I really liked the parallels of childrens tv being exploited by greedy, careless executives and criminals. Ed Norton acted well and it was refreshing and interesting to see Robin Williams in such a different role and Danny DeVito was Danny DeVito. It's a movie about kid's programs (and corporations, bribery, sex, blackmail and murder) but definitely not for kids
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About Schmidt - Another movie about real life, in lieu of the 'spark' of 'realistic' movies done by himself (Jack Nicolson), Nicolas Cage and Bill Murray in recent years. It's always interesting to have a balance of these movies with escapist movies but the thing I didn't like about this one was that it didn't seem to go anywhere. I know it was about following this guy in his retirement and his wife's death along with other realisations, a road trip and that you can make a difference even if you feel your life is/has been meaningless and even if that difference is far away it is still very real. But the whole film just seemed like a lot of nothing, numerous things happened and even though none of it was
that out of the ordinary at least in 'realistic' soaps anyway and some real life, you didn't feel the journey it took. I don't know, maybe some got into it better but I didn't find the characters engaging and they were too detatched, the only good bit was the ending.
Hidalgo - I liked this movie. I'm not sure why it didn't do as well as expected but perhaps it was because it made the Americans, English and Arabians look bad in comparison to the Native Americans. It wasn't a standout, huge epic fantasy like LOTR or epic 'histories' like Gladiator etc but remember that those two films were top of their genres in modern cinematography. This is like a smaller epic film because it didn't have groundbreaking effects and length but it had enough drama and the filming was beautiful. In terms of plotline every scene had it's purpose in progressing the plot, not one was unnecessary and each was well acted. I'm also glad that the film was named after the horse Hidalgo and not the rider, the horse was a fantastic actor as well and it's character took a bloody beating and was the true hero in the race.
There were other movies I borrowed as well but can't remember and the next ones I'm going to watch are 'The Chronicles of Riddick', 'Frida', 'Sherlock Holmes in The Scarlet Claw' (although I think I've seen that one) and 'The Stepford Wives'.
. I'd probably hide from the photographer and I wouldn't mind if TC DJ'ed a little bit because he has a great voice. 
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. I didn't even think of Nightwish being there(!) and yes, competitions in person may be a problem at the PF Prom 
