Got it!! My mistake.
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While on the topic of “Dog” in films, one of the most poignant films I’ve seen is “My Life as a Dog” directed by Lasse Hallström and released in the U.S. in 1987. The film garnered two Academy Award nominations and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film that year. Does anyone remember this film?
Yes, I recall it being very sweet.
On the subject of dog movies - we loved Hachiko - A Dog’s Story, about a loyal dog, featuring Richard Gere and Joan Allen. Just so touching. My hub and I had a hard time keeping it together, watching!
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I loved Hachi! Based on a true story in Japan.
If you like tearjerker dog movies, which most are, watch The Art of Racing in the Rain.
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I also recommend the book!
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We saw three current movies in the last week: CODA, Belfast, and Marry Me.
Marry Me was mediocre – cheesy plot – that was only made fun to watch because Jennifer Lopez’s acting was very good. She radiates something. But pretty avoidable.
Belfast was written and directed by Kenneth Branagh and is autographical based on his growing up in Belfast until age 9. Largely black and white, well acted and touching. A small film in some ways.
CODA was absolutely excellent, especially the lead, an 18 year old named Emilia Jones who is a British actress. CODA means child of deaf adults (she is hearing). It is a coming of age movie but with the twist that she discovers that she has singing talent and is encouraged by a teacher to apply to the Berklee School of Music. As the director said, Jones had to learn a Massachusetts accent (the movie is set in Gloucester) where she helps her otherwise all-deaf family in the fishing business, improve her singing (she had had no vocal raining before getting the role and most of the singing was filmed live), learn ASL and use it for much of the film, jump off a 40 foot cliff into water (in a quarry that my wife has swum in), and carry the film. And she did a fantastic job. The film won prizes at Sundance and there was a bidding war between Netflix, Apple and others. Apple paid a record price for an indie film: $25 MM. It is both feel-good and extremely well done and well-acted (Marlee Matlin plays the mother).
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I think I know that quarry! We were there in the winter and if you threw rocks on the ice they made the most wonderful singing sounds. My brother lives in Gloucester which is the main reason I’ve been wanting to see the movie! (Not sure if we have access to Apple though.)
We started watching the first of five episodes of BBC’s The Green Planet yesterday. If you’re at all curious about plants on this planet, it’s terrific. The photography they were able to get is astounding.
I’m pretty sure it’s only released in the UK or maybe Europe right now, but Tunnel Bear helps with that if one doesn’t mind using it. I’ve heard it’ll be released elsewhere this summer (hearsay).
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I watched Looper again and thoroughly enjoyed it… again. Joseph Gordon-Levitt did a great job playing a young Bruce Willis and Emily Blunt was terrific as usual.
I love Looper! It is one of my favorite movies.
I streamed Belfast this afternoon. It deserves all the nominations it has received, IMO. I haven’t seen most of the other nominated movies this awards season, but it certainly is worthy of all the attention it has received. It speaks to the senselessness of war and is especially relevant at this time. Highly recommend.
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Worth watching the Netflix documentary Winter on Fire if you want context for the current horrors in Ukraine.
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I you want to watch something truly terrifying, consider Diving into the unknown. It is a documentary about Finnish cave divers and one of their dives that turned tragic. Available on Amazon Prime.
It is available to watch for free:
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I loved the book! The movie was ok. But the book!
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Also just saw CODA and thought it was excellent. Very touching. And yes, that’s the quarry! Recognized at least some of Gloucester!
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I loved the book (and cried and cried). I didn’t see the movie version of Art of Racing in the Rain until it was on TV because I was so afraid I wouldn’t like it It was okay, but read the book.
H and I watched on Netflix the 2001 Dream Works movie Shrek. I am mentioning this movie because I am still bothered by it. Clearly this did not age well. The movie was written by 4 men and it showed. I really was bothered by the fat shaming, the ‘not pretty’ shaming and the short stature shaming. Wow. This is not a movie I would want my young kids to watch. However, I think that this movie would be a great movie to study in a sensitivity course.
Almost a month after you watched Moonfall… H and I just returned and will say we enjoyed it a bit in spite of there being a gazillion mythbuster moments in it. I liked the spin they put on it - gave it something different than all the others instead of being totally predictable. We thought we were going to have the theater to ourselves, but right after it started one other guy came in. Perhaps H and I needed a chaperone? Regardless, it was a fun evening for the two of us.
In another week or two we’ll go watch Uncharted. I like going well after movies have been out to get the practically empty theater. We don’t have to worry about noise, getting good seats, or catching anything.
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