Movies - 11/16/2009

I know I owe y'all some pictures of the organizing frenzy, but I have to find the cord to upload the pictures to the computer first.

In the meantime, I'll tell you about a few movies I've seen recently. There aren't that many, as my focus is on decrapification right now.

Remember when I wrote about Grey Gardens, the documentary about Jackie Kennedy’s aunt and cousin (Big and Little Edie Beale) from the 1970s? Oh, I may not have reviewed that movie here, but these women ended up living in squalor in their dilapidated home in East Hampton. They were living with feral cats and raccoons. It was quite the interesting look at humanity. The documentary film makers told their story in Grey Gardens, and then with more footage in The Beales of Grey Gardens. Well…now there is Grey Gardens, the HBO movie, starring Jessica Lange as Big Edie and Drew Barrymore as Little Edie. Some references about their past in the documentary were researched and fleshed out to allow the writers to imagine events in the lives of these two women that give us all insight into how their unique situation came to be. It was really good. Lange and Barrymore did outstanding jobs in recreating the mother and daughter. It’s a must see, even if you have not seen the documentary, but try to see the documentary too.

The Class is a cute movie in French with English subtitles. It is a character driven film about the interactions of a French teacher and his students in a tough school. It was good.


Even if you are not a Michael Jackson fan per se, but you used to dance to “Billie Jean” or “Don’t Stop” at Tango, Confetti, Annabelle’s or a similar hot spot in the early 1980s, you should see This Is It. It is filled with the music to which you used to dance, and it gives you a little glimpse of MJ away from the limelight. If nothing else, the man was very, very talented. I liked it.

Michael Sheen, Timothy Spall, Colm Meany and Jim Broadbent star in The Damned United, based on true events about the Leeds United football team in the 1970s. Sheen plays the team’s new coach, Brian Clough – who has publically criticized the outgoing coach, Don Revie (Meany), and the way the team plays. Clough believes the champions didn’t deserve to win all those games, because they played dirty; so, he is going to change all that. Unfortunately, his methods don’t produce wins and much friction and conflict abounds. It was pretty good.

MK out.