Movies Watched in 2009

These are the movies that I personally watched, with various combinations of our family members. That means, no, our younger children did not watch all of these with us!

Miss Potter--delightful movie about Beatrix Potter, the author/illustrator of The Tale of Peter Rabbit and many others. Inspiring.

Behind the Mask-- At A Hen’s Pace review here.

The Merchant of Venice—we watched this because it’s Shakespeare, and we had just read Lamb’s version. The acting was good, but there was too much nudity and a homosexual subplot that isn’t in the Bard’s tale. Yech.

Mulan—had to watch this one, since our theater group is putting this on as our next show! She's not my favorite Disney princess. This one's more of a boy's movie, with soldiers, battles and comedy provided by a horse, a cricket, and a dragon (voiced by Eddie Murphy) that kept my younger two giggling all the way through.

Slumdog Millionaire--if you missed this one, you need to see it. There is a torture scene at the beginning that is hard to watch, but get past that, and this is a wonderful movie on so many levels. Blondechick17 claims it as her favorite ever.

Death at a Funeral—a British slapstick comedy, complete with mistaken identities, bathroom humor and naked male bottoms. Can't officially recommend it. But we laughed a lot!

Lars and the Real Girl—now this was an interesting movie that all my therapist friends need to see! Lars is a repressed Scandinavian (a household joke to start with, since Papa Rooster is 50% pure Norwegian) who has issues to work through, so naturally, he orders an inflatable woman friend to work through them with. Sounds perverted, of course, and that's what everyone thinks until they realize otherwise, and then this becomes the story of a small town that humors and loves Lars to health. I wouldn't mind seeing this one again.

Jerusalem—we watched this with friends who love and own this movie. It’s long, it’s slow, and it’s subtitled, but it is achingly beautiful. It is based on the true story of a group of Norwegians who sold everything and followed a compelling preacher to join a commune of American immigrants in Jerusalem. It examines aspects of faith in those who left everything, and in those who stayed behind. Beautiful and moving.

Mamma Mia--our kids liked this one better than we, the grownups, did. As musicals go, this one was cheesy, had very little plot and no really memorable numbers. WE thought.

Bullets Over Broadway--this is one of Woody Allen's best, I think. The first line is "I am a writer"; the last line is "I am not a writer." It explores the question of what it means to be an artist, and to what extent humans should sacrifice for the sake of art. Thought-provoking in many ways. However, a lot more language and innuendo than we remembered, and I don't think our teens got enough good out of it to offset the bad.

My Cousin Vinnie--I can't help it; I love this movie despite the language and a few other problems. It's about a couple of New Jersey boys who get arrested in the deep South and wind up accused of murder. They call in cousin Vinnie Gambini, who just passed the bar exam (finally) and has never tried a case before, to defend them. Marisa Tomei won an Oscar for her role as the gum-smacking, New Joisy girlfriend whose knowledge of auto mechanics wins the day; her 80's fashionista outfits are a hoot! She's the main reason I like to rewatch this.

Clockwise--this is another one we love to rewatch, and it's perfectly fine for the whole family. John Cleese plays the always-prompt, planned-to-the-minute headmaster of a British public school. He's been invited to a conference to receive an award and give a speech, and once he leaves his own school, everything goes horribly, hysterically wrong as he tries to get to the conference on time.

The Curse of the Were Rabbit (Wallace and Gromit)--silly, clever, funny!!

Seven Pounds--Will Smith's character feels so guilty for causing 7 deaths in an auto accident, that he makes amends by killing himself, after selecting 7 deserving people who will be organ donor recipients. Well-done, but morbid and depressing. Christians know the message is wrong--there IS forgiveness available--but this movie is a powerful example of what happens when we set ourselves up as the arbiters of justice, instead of God.

The Importance of Being Earnest--oh, such a satisfying blend of wit, comedy and propriety. I could watch this over and over--and have! Oscar Wilde at his best.

A Christmas Carol--this was the most recent musical version, a Disney production with Kelsey Grammar as Scrooge. We love the old Scrooge, the Musical (with Albert Finney in the title role), but this one was really good too, a little lighter and happier.

Julie & Julia--At A Hen's Pace review here.

The Godfather--our teenage sons have asked so many question about the Mafia lately, that it seemed time to watch this with them. Bantam18 found it so disturbing he couldn't finish it; "this is evil!" he exclaimed vehemently. And it is, pure evil exposed for what it is. The chilling part is to see how one choice leads to another and another until a good man, determined to walk apart, becomes the murderous godfather of a mob family empire. (Here is a commentary on what Christians can gain from watching this movie.) I think it was good timing for B14.

GI Joe--Eh. Kinda fun, in a way, but too violent, with not just shooting and explosions, but multiple stabbings. And the violence was non-stop. I was disappointed that it wasn't more kid-friendly.

Cold Comfort Farm--this was the second time watching this one, and I enjoyed it a lot more than I did the first time, years ago, when I just didn't get it at first. But if you like off-beat comedies, this is a good one! It's about a young woman who goes to stay with relatives who are the weirdest bunch of country characters ever. The ending is unabashedly happy, and the comic moments are many, but strange. I'd watch it again--it's the kind of film that has more to notice each time.

And that's it! If you have movie recommendations for our 2010 list, let me know in the comments!!