right now one of my all time favorite movies happens to be on tv. it's older, but not an old classic. if you haven't seen "the long walk home" it's a must! it stars whoopi goldberg and sissy spacek. and it tells the story of the south in the 50's, women's roles, segregations, and the different but interestingly similar lives of two very different women. i think this is one of those little jewels that many people haven't seen, so i wanted to mention it!

Gee, Lisa, since it was a true story and such an uplifting one, I'm surprised. If it was fiction and they were working around stereotypes, I'd probably have a problem with it, too. But since it was based on fact... What were those underlying messages that I missed?!? (I always suck at picking them out!)

Also, watched an old Audrey Hepburn movie (again! LOL) today. It was one of the most suspenseful movies I've seen - probably deemed violent for the times - I was on the edge of my seat. Wait Until Dark was a real thriller and it was so good to see some of my favorite actors again!!! Plus I always forget how incredibly beautiful she was...so elegant.

ha! we posted at the same moment, elle! i'm sceered of the suspenseful stuff. but audrey hepburn picked the BEST movies, so i'm not surprised it was great!

i see your point about it being a true story. i guess i'm sensitive to this, because i saw an african american educator talking about how he didn't like it...i mean he enjoyed the movie but didn't like the continual messages we get out of hollywood. the white woman and family saves the otherwise doomed african american. and he is the gentle giant who plays the role of some kind of saving selfless archetype. maybe hearing this guy slanted my views on the movie. maybe i'm way off. so many people enjoy it. i just want to be mindful of the messages we get from hollywood, ya know?

I think the man might have been a bit over-sensitive. Perhaps Hollywood should have taken a little literary license and made the down-and-out boy white, but it would have probably been a slap in the face to the real Michael Oher. I'm hoping the message that people took away from the movie is...move past your prejudices and reach out a hand to those in need; look past a person's "disabilities" and nurture their abilities.

And I saw The Long Walk Home. Excellent movie!! I LOVE Whoopie Goldberg (ever see Corinna, Corinna???). But didn't it kind of send a similar message as TBS?!?

Okay, all you movie lovers, I've got a fabulously rich movie for you if you haven't already seen it. Temple Gardin is by far the best movie I have seen in a very long time. I could so identify with the mother and humanity aspect of the movie. Watch and let me know what you think of this remarkable autistic gifted woman, Temple Gardin...true story.

It was a great movie! I keep meaning to pick up her book (or should I say one of them? not sure). Definitely a very special lady!

oh i loved corinna corinna...! yeah in a way it does send a similar message. i see that point. however i feel pretty strongly that whoopi goldberg characters usually are so finely tuned and incredibly developed that they are never a stereotype. she's just that good as are the writers. in the case of the long walk home, it's another true story even if fictionalized. i mean that's the history of the civil rights movement. in corinna corinna,there is definitely some magic person stuff going on there. and your point about the true story of the blind side is completely well taken. if it's true, then the point is moot. ....thanks for the temple gardin suggestion, lillian!

what's everyone watching this weekend?

your welcome Lisa, let me know how you feel about the movie... what resonates the most for you?

A movie that has touched my heart forever is Leaving Las Vegas. Most are repulsed when I say that, simply because it is not pleasant to delve into the horrific reality of alcoholism. But Nicholas Cage's portrayal of a suicidal alcoholic brings such a slap in your face reality to this heartbreaking and home wrecking disease....

i'm so glad you're back, karrie! hello!!! i never saw this, and now i will rent it. thanks so much for the great suggestion!!

It's definitely DARK and not for everyone Lisa...So I have warned you! lol But I was married for a large portion of my life to an alcoholic and it really is realistic whether we want to see that realism or not...Well that is the question I guess!

i like movies about alcoholism when they are done WELL, karrie. i think they're enlightening. i'm so sorry that you had to live through that. i think it's a topic people STILL have alot to learn about, and movies are a good way to do that.

Leaving Las Vegas is a wonderful movie, in my opinion (and a good example of the fact that Nicolas Cage can be a really good actor when he wants to be!). I would definitely recommend watching it. In fact, I haven't seen it for a long time, so I may re-watch it soon.

Watched Letters to Juliet last night. Cutesy feel good movie.

I've seen a few movies lately, including: The Town, Wall Street 2, and Tin Cup.

The first two I saw at the cinema, and didn't think much of either of them. Tin Cup I'd never seen before and it was on TV last night, so I thought I'd watch it. It's pretty watchable, and I can see why it is a fun favourite of many!

oooo helen, i want to know more about Wall Street 2....was it informative or just filled with awful people or what? what didn't you like?

Well, I'll start off by saying that I hadn't seen the first one at the time I watched Wall Street 2 (I've now seen it). The second one had a lot of weird, distracting editing/transitions that were completely unnecessary. I assumed that it was following on from the style of the first movie because I hadn't seen it, but I was wrong. Secondly, there was a whole lot of build-up where not a lot happened, and then they suddenly had a lot to wrap up in the last 10 mins or so. Michael Douglas was great again, but some of the other casting was a bit weird. I like Shia LaBeouf, but he just looked far too young for the role, and the woman (Gordon Gekko's daughter, I've forgotten her name) was just a total drip. It was hard to feel any compassion for her. There was also a weird character that maybe someone else can explain. Again, I assumed it was a reference to the first movie, but having watched it since then I found out it wasn't. It was the old man played by Eli Wallach. What on earth was all that weird whistling about?

So, all in all I thought the first movie was a lot better and felt like a 'complete' movie, whereas this one seemed badly paced and weirdly edited, and a little too conscious of itself. That's not to say you shouldn't watch it. It's only my opinion!

oh thanks for telling me this. bad editing just like bad sound is a HUGE pet peeve for me. i can't stand it when they jump around as if they pushed the whole thing together in 24 hours at the end. ugh. i never understand why they put so much money into making something and no time into the editing. thanks, helen!

What about documentaries? Does anyone have a favorite? Once again mine is a dark one...Paradise Lost. (I promise I am NOT a negative person...Just the opposite actually! LOL) It is about a group of teenagers in Arkansas who are accused of the murders of three young children. It is very interesting and leaves doubt in the viewers mind about our justice system and about stereotypes. There is also a Paradise Lost 2 out with updates on the teenagers and their cases. One of the teenagers is on death row right now....Very sad though.

i love documentaries and documentary type stuff. i'm a nerd.i love michael moore's stuff. particularly bowling for columbine. i thought that was brilliant. and i love alot ken burns' stuff. i'm watching mark twain right now. .....

Just watched the documentary Babies. LOVED it! The Mongolian Baby is by far the most advanced with the African Baby second. The Japanese baby was a prima donna and the american baby was a joke IMHO.

oh kathy...i was hoping somebody would see that and the social network. they were two of the movies i've wanted to see but haven't had any time. what was a joke about the american baby? thanks for telling us about this one!!!

The american way of birth and death are a joke to me. We are so self absorbed and overly cautious about every stinkin' thing! This documentary shows us that birth and being a child are natural and do not need all the precautions and fastidious oversight we have adopted as the norm. I feel a frustation tantrum coming on so I'll stop ranting and leave it at that. See this movie!

i hear that, kathy.i have been lucky in my life to spend time with people from other countries who have taught me how americans have made worrying and fear into a money making venture. we take the most natural things and turn them into diseases. babies were designed to survive! ;-))

Watched Babies. Very cool. Definitely agree with you, Kathy, on your evaluation of each of the babies. Loved the Mongolian baby's big brother!

I Am Comic: a documentary about stand up comedy. I really liked this since my sister and 2 friends are stand up comics. It isn't particularly funny but paints a very stark portrait of life on the road and what it takes to succeed. Support your local comedy joint!

oh kathy..i missed this somehow. and just rented some stuff and wish i had rented this. i will next time around. LOVE stand up!!! it's so brave...

ok so i finally saw sex and the city...the first movie. i know, i know..i'm sooo late. but i've been busy creating this, you guys! ok so i thought it was weak and yet i enjoyed it. so i couldn't figure out why i liked it. i am a fan of the tv series. so i already liked the characters. the writing was bad compared to the tv series. however for some reason the length of it made it better. it was like spending a few hours with old friends. it couldn't have stood alone, though. but if you're a fan of the show, it was still fun...

I agree, Lisa. It was okay - best for "revisiting". I'm eager to see the second.

And I finally saw Up in the Air. Loved most of the movie but was SO bummed that it didn't have the tied-up-in-a-red-bow, happy ending that I'd hoped for.

And I have to look to see if I can find The Shipping News. I think I saw parts of it before but I'm in the middle of the book and LOVING it (once I got used to the disjointed, unfinished sentence writing style) so feel compelled to see the movie!

oh i loved the shipping news!!! the scenery means so much in a movie unless it's super crisp play-like dialogue. but cinematography is a biggie!

I remember seeing The Shipping News a few years back and thinking that the landscape and climate looked so foreign to me that it may as well have been filmed on another planet. Now I live not too far from Newfoundland! Haha!

I remember it being a good movie, but I don't remember too much about it. I think I should watch it again soon.

Saw two great movies this past week-end.. Hereafter and Secretariat. Thoroughly enjoyed both.

Watch again, Helen! ...Lillian, I know about Secretariat. But tell me about Hereafter....???

Well let's see Lisa... Matt Damon stars as a man who has a gift for being able to connect with people that have crossed over and there are two other main characters that have a traumatic experience with death. Their lives intersect and all their lives change. A compelling movie that leaves one wondering what exist beyond life. I thought it was a different kind of movie. A movie worthy of the ticket.

oh i like the sound of it. was it scary like sixth sense or just something that explored the hereafter? what was your conclusion about life after death after seeing it?

not scary... conclusion of hereafter from this movie's perspective was, there is nothing to fear in the hereafter...

Sybil - an intense look into the minds of a woman with dissociative identity disorder. Real story. Definitely recommended.

We saw Unstoppable with Danzel Washington last night, it's base on a true story. The action in it is pretty intense (at least for me). I can say that I did enJOY the movie, love Danzel. The movie is about a run away train... about the mistakes of human error...how the corporate world sees through the hungry eyes of money... team work... heroes in action and where our true values lie... trusting our instincts.... and more.

sounds great, lillian. i love denzel washington...i'll watch for this!!!

Ooooo, me, too!!! I'm not sure why, but I love thrillers...especially if they're wrecking large objects (ala cars, buses, trains LOL).

And speaking of loves...I watched It's Complicated last night. And as much as I hate to admit it (Lisa, you're going to get a chuckle out of this), I loved it!!! Ms. Streep was amazing! The woman is like fine wine and just gets better with age. Steve Martin could have had a bigger part - he's always amused me and I had to be content with the way it ended. But, (here's where you'll chuckle , Lisa) I almost liked that Baldwin person! I only cringed a little in the very beginning and managed to enjoy the movie despite his annoying presence. I think I'd even watch it again!!

oh elle, i agree with you! i thought the acting was great.the characters were great. my issue with it was the writing could have been so much better and then made the movie great. i thought the story was weak. or maybe i should say not edited.and it frustrated me, because the other parts were SO good.and yes YES steve martin should have had a bigger part!!!!!

I loved that movie... simpy love Diane Keaten... want to see her newest movie with Ford Harrison.

thanks for that, ruth! i like movies and stories that deal intelligently with the afterlife. not many do. most are hokey. but once in awhile, somebody does a great job!

has anyone here seen "Under the Sheltering Sky" or "The Sheltering Sky" with Debra Winger? can someone give me a basic setting and plot? thanks!

NARNIAAAAAAAAAA!!!
I just watched the first two movies in preparation for the third coming out next month. Love them.

oh! i so so love the narnia stuff! it's wonderful, isn't it? and that's a case of starting with a brilliant story by c.s. lewis! brilliant, brilliant!

Indeed. Love it. Plus, the kid who plays Edmund is a descendent of both Charles Darwin and John Maynard Keynes. How cool!

i really want to see that now, too, ruth! debra winger rarely disappoints, and this sounds excellent. ...i've been watching alot of PBS stuff too. i particularly like the American Experience stuff on the presidents. i just did roosevelt and truman!

If anyone gets the chance...a lovely movie is "The Scent of Green Papaya". It is a foreign film about pre-war Vietnam. Make sure you watch the one that is subtitled. It's got some quirky moments, but all in all I loved watching it.

i love quirky movies, melodie. thanks for this suggestion. it's the "little movies" that need more attention and are often some of the best!