Cafe Chaos--Movies and TV

Welcome to Café Chaos. Grab a cup of coffee or tea (we prefer coffee) and join us for a chat. Every Saturday we’ll offer recommendations for movie and TV lovers. Feel free to comment on our picks or to throw in a few of your own. We’re listening!

SIS Barb says...

There are those movies that no matter how many times you've seen them or how many times they come on the TV you always, always watch. They may not be the best movie you've ever seen but there's something about them that gets you every time. My pick this week is one of those.

My Pick of the Week: Gladiator (2000)

from IMDb: Maximus is a powerful Roman general, loved by the people and the aging Emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Before his death, the Emperor chooses Maximus to be his heir over his own son, Commodus, and a power struggle leaves Maximus and his family condemned to death. The powerful general is unable to save his family, and his loss of will allows him to get captured and put into the Gladiator games until he dies. The only desire that fuels him now is the chance to rise to the top so that he will be able to look into the eyes of the man who will feel his revenge.

This movie stars Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix and Connie Nielsen and this movie hooks me every single time. Current count: somewhere around 20!

SIS Bren says...

Last week I mentioned that it is a rare occasion that I am able to actually watch a movie, at least one that I have not seen previously. So I decided to try and make one night a week a movie night with my husband. This week, as I searched through the "On Demand", I was able to find a movie that I thought we both would enjoy. And we did! We played not really "who-dunnit?", because you know who did it, but "how?" and then "can they still get him?". I thoroughly enjoyed this movie!

My Pick of the Week: Fracture

From IMDb: Wealthy, brilliant, and meticulous Ted Crawford, a structural engineer in Los Angeles, shoots his wife and entraps her lover. He signs a confession; at the arraignment, he asserts his rights to represent himself and asks the court to move immediately to trial. The prosecutor is Willy Beachum, a hotshot who's soon to join a fancy civil-law firm, told by everyone it's an open and shut case. Crawford sees Beachum's weakness, the hairline fracture of his character: Willy's a winner. The engineer sets in motion a clockwork crime with all the objects moving in ways he predicts.

Anthony Hopkins is great....just as creepy as ever. I wasn't sure about Ryan Gosling. I thought he seemed too young for the part, but in the end, he was excellent as well.

SIS Beth says…
Wednesday I mentioned how little time I have to read. The same goes with watching TV or movies. There are oodles of movies, old and new, that I want to watch. There are TV series that I’m itching to explore. But the clock is ever ticking on writing deadlines, so, instead of watching or reading . . . I write. That’s not to say I don’t have a TBV (to be viewed) list. Here it is. In immediate order.

My TBV Picks of the Week…

#1) ATONEMENT
I have to say that! Otherwise my co-worker at the library, Taylor, would flog me with a bookmark—or some such. As a movie buff and as someone who also knows my taste, Taylor assures me I will love this movie. I believe him. I will watch it. I swear!

#2) TIME AFTER TIME
I ordered this movie through ILL. Which stands for Interlibrary Loan. A fabulous resource. If you don’t know about it, ask your local library. Anyway… I requested this movie due to my current ‘steampunk’ fascination. Tagline: “H.G. Wells Races Through Time To Catch Jack The Ripper!" I’ve seen it before, but it’s been so long. I really don’t remember it. Looking forward to the view!

#3) THE TIME MACHINE
Another riff on H.G Wells. Also got this through ILL. Also seen this before, but mostly forgot. Tagline: Hoping to alter the events of the past, a 19th century inventor instead travels 800,000 years into the future.

#4) SHERLOCK HOLMES
Coming to a theater near me December 25!! Starring Robert Downing Jr. Directed by Guy Ritchie .
I.
Can.
Not.
Wait.

Here's why.





So… what’s on your TBV list?

Cafe Chaos -- Movies

Welcome to Café Chaos. Grab a cup of coffee or tea (we prefer coffee) and join us for a chat. Every Saturday we’ll offer recommendations for movie lovers. Feel free to comment on our picks or to throw in a few of your own. We’re listening!

SIS Barb says...

I've had zero time to watch any movies lately but I have tried to catch up on a couple of my television shows. Since I work a full time job and try to write at night, I've been trying to find shows that we can watch together as a family.

My Pick of the Week: So You Think You Can Dance

This show airs on Fox on Wednesday nights and is in it's 5th season. We watch in amazement as couples dance their hearts out competing to stay in the game. Hip-hop, Jazz, Ballet, Swing and everything in between. The choreographers are the best of the best. I wish I could dance half as good as these guys. But what I get a real kick out of? My kids trying to replicate the moves. Let me tell ya, it's a laugh a minute!

SIS Bren says... It was a rare occassion that we actually got to watch a movie tonight. While flipping through the channels trying to find something entertaining, I decided to see what HBO had On Demand. To my surprise, they had some new titles and one that I had been waiting to see.

My pick of the week: Burn After Reading (2008)

From IMDB: Osbourne Cox, a Balkan expert, is fired at the CIA, so he begins a memoir. His wife wants a divorce and expects her lover, Harry, a philandering State Department marshal, to leave his wife. A diskette falls out of a gym bag at a Georgetown fitness center. Two employees there try to turn it into cash: Linda, who wants money for elective surgery, and Chad, an amiable goof. Information on the disc leads them to Osbourne who rejects their sales pitch; then they visit the Russian embassy. To sweeten the pot, they decide they need more of Osbourne's secrets. Meanwhile, Linda's boss likes her, and Harry's wife leaves for a book tour. All roads lead to Osbourne's house.

Great actors and superb acting. The Coen brothers have strange minds! Loved this movie.

SIS Beth says…
A few week ago Richard suggested we recommend movies with great sound tracks. We’ll definitely do that as a SIS team, but until then, I’ve got a killer rec!

My Pick of the Week: Across the Universe (2007)
Here’s a short summery from IMDB: The music of the Beatles and the Vietnam War form the backdrop for the romance between an upper-class American girl and a poor Liverpudlian artist.

The acting was top notch. The story engaging. The music…. Well, come on. It’s the Beatles! The music was incredible! But what floored me was the imaginative arrangements and the fabulous talent of these young vocalists. Can’t resist. Check this out!

Cafe Chaos -- Movies

Sis Barb says . . .
Unfortunately, I really don't get to watch many movies. There just doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day. Seriously. But there are times when the family and I sit down to watch some incredibly entertaining TV...so today, I'm recommending a TV show. Hope that's okay.

My Pick of the Week: Wipeout

I know what you're thinking. Is this girl kidding me? Oh, I jest not. You must watch this show. My family and I are hooked and now since I've talked about it so much at work, others have jumped on the bandwagon! The pleasure of seeing these brave and silly contestants getting socked in the head by a mechanical boxing glove or struggling to stay atop the "big balls" only to bounce off into the murky water beneath is more than anyone can ask for in an hours worth of mindless entertainment. I recently told Tori how I dream of a Wipeout theme park. Build it and I will be there! (no cameras please!) Catch it on ABC on Wednesday evenings! You won't be disappointed.

Sis Brenda says . . .
While sitting here bored out of my skull on a Friday night, I decided to go through my DVD collection and find something to make my night a little more exciting. I came upon a movie that I have not watched in probably five years and now I can't wait to watch it!

My Pick of the Week: The Count of Monte Cristo

Here is an excerpt from the back cover of the DVD...

When the dashing and guileless Edmond Dantes (Caviezel) is betrayed by his best friend (Pearce) and wrongly imprisoned, he becomes consumed by thoughts of vengeance. After a miraculous escape, he transforms himself into the mysterious and wealthy Count of Monte Cristo, insinuates himself into the French nobility and puts his cunning plan of revenge in action. This swashbuckling thriller will have you sitting on the edge of your seat until the last ounce of revenge is exacted.

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and am thrilled to be watching it once again. Enjoy!


SIS Beth says…
The other day I tripped upon a trailer for the new Sherlock Holmes movie directd by Guy Ritchie (who’s style admire) and starring Robert Downey Jr, (whose acting I adore).
I can’t wait! But I’ll have to. It doesn’t come out until Decemeber. Darn. In the meantime, I’ll recommend one of my favorite films of last year. Saw it twice in the theater and bought the DVD. It also stars Robert Downey Jr.

My Pick of the Week: Ironman (2008)
Here’s the plot in a nutshell coutesy if IMDB: When wealthy industrialist Tony Stark is forced to build an armored suit after a life-threatening incident, he ultimately decides to use its technology to fight against evil.

One of the best things about this movie is the setup. So often movies rush to get to the action and fail to spend enough time focusing on who the protagonist was before and what made him tick prior to his/her metomophisis to ‘hero’. Braveheart did an excellent job of this. Gladiator, not so much, hence I never rooted for Crowe’s character nearly as much as Gibson’s. Ironman delivers in spades, focusing Tony Stark’s unhero-like persona for quite some time as well as the events that ‘changed’ him.

Ironman was a joy to watch. A clever adventure with nail-biting tension in addition to thrilling action scenes. Oh, and some sweet sexual chemistry! Rent it. Buy it. Watch it. Inspiring fun for all ages.

Cafe Chaos--Movies

SIS Barb says:
Sometimes you turn on the TV and flip through the channels over and over again before something catches your eye. Something that makes you say…aw, what the heck, I have nothing better to do. Sometimes it’s a waste of time, but occasionally you find a real gem, a movie that reels you in and keeps you captivated. A movie that you will remember.

My Pick of the Week: August Rush (2007)

A real gem of a movie. A romance that the entire family can watch. The music is wonderful. The characters are believable. You fight back tears, but in the end, you let them go. These are good tears. Happy tears. August Rush is a film starring Keri Russell, Jonathon Rhys Meyers, Robin Williams, Terrence Howard and a wonderful child actor named Freddie Highmore. Follow the tale of two lovers ripped apart and a child in search of his parents. It is heart wrenching and magical.

SIS Bren says...
Living in a house full of men I don't often get the chance to watch what one might consider a "chick flick" so when the boys are out I start scanning through the movie channels to see what I might find. A few weeks ago, to my delight, I found that a movie was playing that I had wanted to see. I'm so glad I took the time.

My Pick of the Week: Atonement (2007)

Starring Keira Knightley and James McAvoy as two lovers who are torn apart by the lies of a young girl, jealousy, and the onset of WWII. Filmed on location in the UK, this movie spans many decades. The cinematography is breathtaking and the story is gut-wrenching. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and highly recommend it.

SIS Beth says:
Every now and then I run across a gem of a movie that runs me through an emotional gamut. A story that can make me laugh, cry, shock me, and thrill me is a story to be treasured indeed.

My Pick of the Week: Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
A timeless movie about a severely dysfunctional family. Every single family member is as quirky as the next. Each one intensely interesting and dealing with his or her own unique gritty issues. The stellar cast, Greg Kinnear, Toni Collette, Paul Dano, Steve Carell, Alan Arkin, and Abigail Breslin are absolutely electric. Arkin and Breslin, as the grandpa who's helping his granddaughter to prepare for the Little Miss Sunshine pageant, steal the show. Hats off to writer Michael Arndt for penning such an intelligent and touching film. I highly recommend Little Miss Sunshine! (Those with kids be warned, Grandpa is awfully fond of the "F" word.)

Cafe Chaos -- Movies

SIS Barb says…
Since I don’t usually have time to see the latest movies, I sometimes find myself pulling out some oldies but goodies—and by oldies, I mean 5+ years. I like to watch them lying on the couch with pretzels and a coke on a rainy afternoon.

My Pick of the Week: Fried Green Tomatoes (1991)
It is an adaptation of Fanny Flagg’s novel starring Jessica Tandy, Kathy Bates, Mary Stuart Masterson and Mary-Louise Parker. This movie has it all…Suspense, comedy and it’s a real tearjerker. I especially love the parking lot scene with Kathy Bates and the young snobby girls! So much fun. My type of flick!

SIS Bren says…
Movies. Love them. Love the variety. Sometimes I want deep and thoughtful. Sometimes fantastic and magical. But sometimes you just need something mindless to laugh at.

My Pick of the Week: Wild Hogs (2007)
Tim Allen, William H Macy, Martin Lawrence, and John Travolta. Enough said. No? Okay, well . . .

IMDb offers a great blurb: A group of suburban biker wannabes looking for adventure hit the open road, but get more than they bargained for when they encounter a New Mexico gang called the Del Fuegos.

The scene where John Travolta is crying cracks me up every time.

SIS Beth says…
Like Barb, I rarely get to the latest movies, but I have a huge collection of favorites, in multiple genres. Aside from books, movies are my chosen form of escapism. Romance, adventure, drama, period, fantasy . . . Take me away!

My Pick of the Week: The Waterhorse: Legend of the Deep (2007)
The screenplay is an adaptation from a children’s novel—The Waterhorse. But this exciting, endearing film isn’t just for kids. Or maybe it’s just that it appeals to the kid in all of us. Imagine if, as a young child, you discovered a mysterious egg and then went on to nurture what hatched out of it. Imagine if the hatchling was a Celtic water horse… also known as the Loch Ness Monster. Charming, funny, tender, and thrilling, this movie is a magical adventure. My heart pounded during a water sequence that I don’t want to reveal. Just imagine the ride of your life!