December Movies
Something about December makes me ravenous for stories.
Argo: enjoyed it while watching, but dislike it the more I think about it. Manipulative and vain storytelling.
Jiro Dreams of Sushi. Utterly charming.
Hot Tub Time Machine. Made me laugh.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Magic Mike. Because I like Soderbergh movies. And don’t mind looking at Channing Tatum.
The Shop Around the Corner. MY FAVORITE HOLIDAY MOVIE.
The Ref. Made me laugh.
Bridget Jones’ Diary. Ditto.
Les Miserables (2012) Made me cry. One critic described the Fantine solo as “emotional porn,” and can’t disagree. Amused by this argument between Anne Hathaway and Sam Jackson over whose movie is the saddest.
Scrooged. Funny enough.
Home Alone. Oh, how the boys laughed. A joy to hear.
A Christmas Story. On second viewing, I see why this is classic.
The Sure Thing. Oh, such a good and funny road movie.
Silver Linings Playbook. Departs from the book in several ways, but really good, and enjoyable, as was the book.
Shaun the Sheep: We Wish Ewe a Merry Christmas. The boys laughed and laughed.
The Big Lebowski. My husband and I laughed and laughed.
Santa Claus is Coming to Town. With the boys.
Not sure what we’ll watch to ring out the year. Candidates include Clueless, Emma (Paltrow version), It’s a Wonderful Life and White Christmas.
December 31st, 2012 at 6:10 pm
I could see a movie every day. We were just on vacation in Los Angeles where lots of theaters start showing movies at 9 a.m. which was perfect. I’d have some coffee, grab the younger kid, let the older kid and husband sleep in, and we’d all be ready to go do whatever it was we were going to do by 11:30 or so. Then at the end of the day maybe we’d see another movie, an old movie. It was a nearly perfect vacation. I was resisting seeing Les Mis, but may have to rethink given your response and those of other trusted sources.
January 1st, 2013 at 9:33 am
Oh, Jennifer, that does sound like an ideal vacation. The weather here in MN is cold (2F right now) and my kids are on break, so we’ve been watching LOTS. Getting dressed and going outside are overrated, I think.
Re: Les Mis, I had only seen the play once, about 20 years ago, and had zero recollection of it. I’d read an excerpt of the book in French class in high school, and knew that Valjean stole some candlesticks. I’d also recently read about 1/3 of the book, which made the first 1/3 of the movie easy to follow. The last 2/3 rushed by. I wished that it had been a mix of speaking/singing rather than all singing, but it mirrors the show that way, right? It reminded me of Hooper’s The King’s Speech–crowd pleasing but unsubtle.
January 2nd, 2013 at 9:43 am
We saw Les Miserables yesterday and I agree that a mix of singing and talking would have worked better. A few times they spoke, very briefly, and I found myself drawn in. Anne Hathaway was amazing. I cried and cried when she sang her first big song and thereafter whenever I saw her face. A lot of the rest of it . . . not for me. Like opera, something I just don’t respond to or “get.”
January 2nd, 2013 at 9:50 am
I really felt that Russell Crowe was a weak spot, and that it wasn’t just his singing voice. I’m not sure if the character of Javert is too improbable, but the parts with him bored me.