Ken Burns' "The Dust Bowl" on tonight on PBS!

Recently I picked up a real bargain DVD at the dollar store -Tsotsi. It's a South African movie about the life of a Johannesburg youth gang. It's not necessarily an easy watch, but it very involving, and I will admit that it had me in tears at the end. I would highly recommend it.

Life of Pi on the big screen is one big life! I love the movie. I love the movie for the story line. I love the movie visually. As I sat and watched Pi's life change I truly felt I was sharing Pi's incredible journey via visual magic. I even got a little sea sick as I was tossed around stormy seas with Pi, Richard Parker, Mr Orangejuice, a zebra and a hyena. The movie communicated the pain and the joy of life and how in an instant everything changes and how important a simple good bye can be to one's heart and soul. I believe if you have read the book you will enjoy this movie. I know if you have not read the book you will enjoy this movie .. well, that is unless you are expecting a vampire and a zombie to join Pi on his life boat and that ain't gonna happen Thank Goodness!

Thanks, Maryanne! ...I'd love to see a bunch of reviews of "Lincoln" here....anyone?

there are so many great movies either out in the theaters or about to come out. i think matt damon in promised land is going to be a great story about fracking. hyde park on hudson is about the royals coming to fdr's  house to get help from the u.s. before world war II. lincoln, obviously. ....i just saw the descendants with clooney. i couldn't stand it. everyone else likes it, so maybe you shouldn't listen to me. but i thought it was depressing and without a good story. 

I didn't like The Descendants either. It should have never been on the big screen and gone straight to DVD  for my 85 yo mother to watch because she can't see :-)  My next movie adventure is Cirque du Soleil Worlds Away in 3-D I love visually magnificent movies on the big screen!

the big screen is a wonderful place for both intellgient "play like" stories but also for big cinematic extravaganzas that can really only be done on a big screen. gone with the wind is so perfect for the big screen. legends of the fall. apollo13, etc. i think Cirque will be great! i'm so glad you didn't like the descendants. i felt like something must be wrong with me. there wasn't a likeable person in the whole movie!

what are you all seeing on your holiday vacaton? it's a big movie week...has anyone seen "hyde park on hudson"? i would love to hear a review of that!

We saw the movie 'We're No Angels' from 1955, this morning. Fun. Bogart, Ustinov, Aldo Ray, Joan Bennett, Basil Rathbone, Leo G. Carroll. Escapees from prison at Devil's Island at Christmas time. Surprised us. 

oh i love the old ones, rick. they are so intelligent. isn't it cool to stumble upon a gem you haven't seen yet??

I saw LINCOLN last week.  It's the kind of movie my dad would have enjoyed, because it's based on a historical account of Lincoln's deeply troubled and divisive presidency and it plays that way.  Dad was reading Barbara Tuchman's works on American history during the decade before he passed away in 2007.  I came away with greater compassion for our Civil War President as well as renewed respect, because he did the best for America he could with a House of Representatives that made Obama's Congressional issues today look like a garden party.

And oh, BTW, Daniel Day-Lewis is just as much an Oscar hopeful as Denzel Washington is for FLIGHT.

thanks for this review, pamela. i'm so excited to see this movie. i think it's particularly important at this time in our history too. lincoln was certainly a great man, the likes of which we don't see often anymore if ever. i'm so glad spielberg did this movie!

i can't wait to see "hyde park on hudson"...has anyone seen it? it's about when the king of england comes to solicit help from FDR...here's the trailer. bill murray is FDR:

this also looks great...david chase (creator of the sopranos)'s new movie about those early steps towards being an artist . "not fade away"

Voila, Daniel Day-Lewis got the nod for Best Actor from the LA Film Critics at the Critics Choice Awards.

DYING to see LES MIZ.  SEVERAL Critics Choice Awards in LA.

les miserables has live singing in it...no synch'ing. love that!

Lisa, did you see Hyde Park yet? I really want to but I am torn between using my money for HP or Les M! Oh woe is me! too many movies for a limited budget!

Same here, Maryanne! we're in a time ...thank GOODNESS...when there are so many fabulous movies! Hyde Park and Les M is a difficult choice. And I want to see Silver Linings Playbook too. Choices, choices. I'm a history buff though, so I bet I'll end up in Hyde Park when I get some time.

C'mon, movie people! Whatcha watchin? Could be old or new...

We watched The Usual Suspects last night and loved it just as much as the other 10 times we've watched it! Kevin S is such a great actor and the plot is one of the best who done its I've seen. I especially love the ending when the investigator realizes that the whole story he's been given is made up from all the information off of the inspector's own information wall! And we plan on seeing Hyde Park (thank you for the suggest) this weekend if it is still playing here locally.

Saw "Lincoln" a few weeks ago - really good, schmaltzy Speilberg in places (like soldiers reciting the Gettysburg address or the parade celebrating passage of a bill), but overall fascinating.  I think I need to see it again to really absorb all the nuances.  I learned a lot, for example, that w/o anti-slavery amendment, emancipated slaves might have been restored to their previous status post-war, and that only Southern slaves were emancipated because they were considered enemy property confiscation.  Lincoln was a diabolically clever politician and Daniel Day Lewis caught his humor perfectly.  I highly recommend it.

love these reviews...! thanks for zooming them in in time for people's watchings this weekend. keep 'em coming!

another suggestion..."not fade away"...david chase's film check out the trailer down below. great story of being an artist in this country at a particular time in history. great acting!

That one would be hard for me to watch, Not Fade Away. I once was married to a musician who "almost" made it. Lot of gigs, and on stage with bigger bands, and a record and then pffffft ... it was a tough life filled with lots of crazy times/adventures and a lot of tears. Life mimics art or is it Art mimics life?

I want to see Lincoln too, sounds like it is good from what the entire world is saying ... oh decisions decisions!

Hyde Park is gone :-( guess it is either Les Miserables or Lincoln this weekend

The reviews I've read and heard (including Chris Matthews, whom I believe is a noted historian) suggest that Hyde Park is very facile and one-faceted, focusing on FDR's actual and alleged sexual predilections to the exclusion of everything else except the King & Queen of England.  I have no interest in seeing the movie.  H.R. Brands' book A Traitor to His Class is a much more comprehensive exploration of this very complex, conflicted man. 

You can't miss Lincoln, Maryanne....Hyde Park may be facile and one-faceted, but I saw Chris Matthews incorrectly sizing up some FDR history. I remember it, because I was so surprised at how uninformed he was for someone who loves historical biography and also noticed how he shut up his informed guest. 

Chris Matthews wasn't the only source of my comments.

i know. that's why i'm keeping an open mind about it. it might be total garbage, but i didn't think chris knew what he was talking about

this is an oldie that i didn't appreciate back in the day but do now..."brighton beach memoirs". it's the first in a trilogy of semi autuobiographical movies about playwright neil simon. this one is set in 1937 brooklyn and is simply about coming of age in the neighborhood during the depression. it's sweet and funny but gently done. the filming and the pacing is really good. the faces look more irish than jewish, but it works. nothing exciting happens, there are no big gags, but it's a gentle movie that moves along nicely and takes you on a sweet trip back into americana and gives you a glimpse of the artist's beginnings as well. 

Before having surgery I was treated to a movie night at the theater ... and my husband insisted on taking me to see Les Miserables. I was going to wait to see this big movie on DVD convinced my husband would be himself Les Miserables having to sit through a musical and a long musical at that. He survived and even said he enjoyed the movie so that in of itself is a 2 thumbs up!

I read Victor Hugo's Les Miserables in high school, being in an advanced literature class it came with the requried list of reads  along with several other prized pieces of literature that for me as a 16  year old were painful stories to consume. But, even with the sense of absolutely hating the story in high school I had this weird need inside to see this sad story come to life on the big screen and told through song. Wow. I am glad I accepted my husband's offer because I really enjoyed this big screen event. I was impressed with the acting, the singing, the settings, the costuming and AND I even accepted with a smile the moments I felt like I was seeing Sweeney Todd again with Helena Bonham Carter (staying in character) and Sacha Baron Cohen filling in for Johnny Depp. No I did not know that Russel Crowe had a band so yes I was surprised to hear him singing like he knew how to sing! I didn't recognize Hugh Jackman at all until he cleaned up a bit, even knowing the story line, it still did not register who I was watching because of how well character make-up was done ~ wow. Anne Hathaway did an amazing job with her character Fantine and her story telling vocals were a big surprise for me and her ability to pull tears from my eyes was also a surprise for me. All the actors did wonderful jobs with their assigned characters and all made Les Miserables a successful musical ... and did I say that my husband even like it? hahaha! he did!

Lisa, I saw Brighton Beach Memoirs years and years ago and can't tell you a thing about it! I should put it in my Netflix queu ... thanks for the suggestion.

thank you so much for these reviews, maryanne! i LOVE hearing what folks thing about movies...any movie. i'm hearing WONDERFUL things about "Silver Linings Playbook" with Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, and Robert DeNiro...Maryanne, I think it's your kind of movie.

Watching movie in INDIE network - Rabbit-Proof Fence, about 3 mixed-race aborigine/white girls forcibly taken from family and relocated in a state-run training school under 1907-1969 policy to prevent aborigines from marrying anyone except whites to obliterate aboriginal bloodline; schools were to train them to be servants.  Girls escaped, walked 1200 miles home across desert, avoiding capture, following the rabbit-proof fence, a chain-link fence bi-secting Australia to keep rabbits out of farmlands.  True story, written by oldest girl's (Molly, about 14) daughter.  More research:  Molly married, at 20 or 21, was returned to the camp w/her 2 girls, escaped with one, an infant, that one eventually recaptued @ age 3 & Molly never saw her again.  Other daughter eventually re-united and wrote a 3-book story a la Roots.  Very, very moving story; all untrained actors, compelling soundtrack, incredibly difficult saga of what whites did to indigenous populations around the world.

I've occasionally caught a similar movie "The Lost Child", also based on a true story, about a Native American infant who, w/her twin brother, was hospitalized and subsequently give to an agency for placement for adoption; she discovers her family by accident after marriage, 2 kids, and returns to reservation to reunite' difficult for husband and one daughter. 

WHY do we do those things???????

Robin, I've seen Rabbit Proof Fence and really liked it. Very sad and hard to watch at times and also maddening to know that it is indeed a true story and that people could and do treat people so horribly. I did not find out it was a true story until the end.

If you have any access to HBO, watch "Sing My Song"...it's a documentary biography of one of the most inspirational lives ever...that of Harry Belafonte! I was so inspired by his courage and contributions to humanity!

sorry, it's called "Sing YOUR Song" ..here's the trailer.

Lisa, I saw SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK.  It's good in many ways, but that's because it bends over backwards to be about 6 different movies -- which is why it's also weird in many ways.  The script is uneven and sometimes even hackneyed, but the acting is very good, esp. the whole dysfunctional family centered uncomfortably around DeNiro as the compulsive gambler father and husband.  On the whole I recommend this movie, but expect an imperfect gem, not a polished one.

Due to my local small theater's $5 Wednesdays, I saw ARGO this past Wednesday after seeing SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK the week before.  ARGO is excellent: a well-written, well-played, well-paced nail-biter of a true suspense story with a happy ending.  I can recommend it unconditionally.  The director-star is a very controlled Ben Affleck and all the supporting cast are very good.  A truly satisfying movie-going experience.

pam, do you think that silver linings playbook has a herky jerk feel on purpose to enhance the whole bipolar thing? thanks for telling us about it and argo too! sounds like you have had some good movie moments!

I've been told several times to see Silver Linings, that it is a sleeper. Good to have another person's view. Everyone says Argo is great and will most likely take Best Picture, but I have a hard time with stories like Argo / terrorist/ kidnapping covert ... maybe I should just breathe and go see it ... I could always walk out but my guess is I would choose to stay!

i've heard only "I LOVE IT!" about silver linings.  pamela is the first maybe i've heard. it's good to hear all views...that's what we're here for. i think the marketing of silver linings is wrong. that is what i've heard from folks who went to see it...that it is a million times better than what the ads make it look like. 

so who is your pick for the oscars, gang? put your hopes and predictions here!

I can't predict since I did not see all the nominees ... darn it.

well you can tell us who you're hoping for anyway! :-)

Well, I was blown away by Ann Hathaway's performance in LM ... incredible.