Last Movies of the Year
Trying to wrap things up here with the last movies we watched in 2010:
Fletch. Because there was a long article about it in Entertainment Weekly a while ago, and I never saw it enough times to know it well. Hilarious, worth re-watching, but the painful 80’s music is even worse than the “fashion” and big hair.
The Holiday. A friend assured me I’d like it. Throughout the utterly formulaic beginning, I doubted her. But once Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz switch houses, things became charming. Winslet and Jude Law deserve most of the credit, I think. Light and enjoyable holiday movie.
The King’s Speech. My first movie in a theater since September! I went with friends Mr. and Mrs. Blogenheimer. Loved it. Firth is terrific, as is Bonham-Carter. It took me a while to recognize the woman playing Geoffrey Rush’ wife; it’s Jennifer Ehle, Lizzie Bennet to Firth’s Darcy. Weird to see them in the same film. Firth in a kilt? Woo!
Trading Places. Another great holiday movie. It’s been too long since I’d watched it. Dan Ackroyd’s uppitiness. Eddie Murphy’s laugh. Wait for the crop report, and watch out for those frozen concentrated orange juice futures. I STILL do not understand the ending, even after I watched a dvd extra that purported to explain it.
January 4th, 2011 at 9:10 am
which bit about the ending don’t you get? I’m happy to have a go at explaining.
January 4th, 2011 at 11:37 am
Thalia, here’s what I do get: Ackroyd and Murphy use Coleman and Ophelia’s money to buy FCOJ shares before they go in. The buyer for the Dukes tries to corner the market, so others take his cue, buying like crazy and driving the price up. Once the price is suitably high, Lewis and Billy Ray sell the shares. The forecast comes out that there will be plenty of available FCOJ, so then everyone else tries to sell like crazy except for Lewis and Billy Ray, who wait till the price drops and then buy a whole bunch. Isn’t this the reverse of the usual advice to buy low and sell high? How do they make money if they sold high and then bought low?
If they’re buying and selling shares, than aren’t they left with a lot of low-price stock at the end for a product that’s going to be in good supply, so how does that make them rich? Do they wait for the invisible hand of the market to equilibrate, then sell their bought-low stocks at a higher price?
If they’re buying options, I’m going to have to have that explained, because as many times as someone has explained options to me, I still don’t get it, or at least, don’t retain it. Like the Electoral College, it makes no sense to my brain, which bounces it out.