Movies To See This Holiday Season

I had the pleasure this Fall to see some awesome movies with Chelsea. She had an internship with IndieVest that allowed her the opportunity to add me as her +1 on the list for a bunch of special screenings.

We saw...

The Visitor
With a Q&A with Richard Jenkins, Haaz Sleiman, and the film's producer, Michael London.

Amazing movie, go see it. I give it an A-, at times a little slow, but has a message and is well done.






Then we saw the new Emma Thompson and Dustin Hoffman movie, Last Chance Harvey. The two stars were also at the Q&A with the film's writer/director, Joel Hopkins.

Maybe it's because I'm younger than the intended audience for this film (I assume) but I found it to be mostly ooogie. Dustin Hoffman has done far better, as has Emma Thompson. Hoffman was mostly stalkerish through the whole thing...which Emma Thompson's character was supposed to like? I didn't get that.
But sitting through the movie was worth it to see the Q&A, they were both DARLING. Hoffman had little interest in what some of the audience's questions were, but in a funny way, and Emma was so delighted and tickled pink to be there that she was goofy. They did have wisdom to impart on us. I need to find clips of it online so I can remember exactly what it was they said.

Next, we saw Milk. I'm not even going to comment about it here because I've done that already below, scroll down and read that entry.

This past weekend, we did a mad dash to Beverly Hills to see Revolutionary Road starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. See, at first, we went to the wrong theatre...it was definitely not at the Arclight Theatre...but at another one. Whoops. We hopped in the car and made it as the LAST people admitted into the screening. Tight.

The movie itself was AMAZING! So good. Sam Mendes out did himself. The acting was so real, and so truthful. I haven't read the book, but the movie was full of catchy dialogue and pregnant silences. It dables in the realm of unhappiness and questions sanity from minute to minute. My absolute favorite shot in the movie is one with Kate Winslet's character, April sitting at the dining room table centered in the frame, with Leo's character, Frank, standing in the living room behind her shoulder out of focus. He's yelling at her, but she's stonecold.

Kate looks absolutely GORGEOUS in this movie. Absolutely gorgeous.

The Q&A had Kate, Leo, Justin Haythe the screenwriter, Kathy Bates, Michael Shannon, and Kathryn Hahn. Kate, Leo, Justin and Michael all seemed like they agreed with the serious nature of the questions and all answered very seriously. Kathy Bates and Kathryn Hahn on the other hand were COMPLETELY out of their element. They both felt out of place, you could see it on their faces, in the posture and in how they answered the questions directed at them. It was weird. All the ladies looked beautiful though.







And now...a movie I know I'll be seeing with my family, or well...my sister and Mom at least...




My sister really wants to see this movie, The Tale of Despereaux. Since we'll be in Canada on Christmas Day...maybe we'll have to take our cousins to see it! I think I remember this book, we read it at Day Camp to the Campers one rainy day. Good book, Great Story! So glad to see it's a movie.

Have you seen the list of people who lent their voices?! Dustin Hoffman, Matthrew Broderick, Emma Watson, Tracy Ullman, Kevin Kline, rounded out by Stanley Tucci and William H. Macy!! YAY!

Awesome...go see it.

Movies are fun, good movies are better.