At The Movies

Third Monday Movie Day

48 Comments

Another one I'll probably miss most of. Dang.

For the sixth or seventh month in a row, I've seen very few movies. I had one in mind for this day but I'll be damned if I can remember what it is. I have, however, been all the heck over Netflix's House of Cards, a political drama based (somewhat loosely) on an '80s BBC drama of the same name. It's one of those shows that's so good, it doesn't matter that the backdrop does not, as a rule, interest me.

Oh, I remember the movie I was going to use. Comedian Mike Birbiglia starred in the movie Sleepwalker which I took in a few weeks ago. Watching relationships fall apart is a hell of a lot more interesting to me than watching them come together (this is largely due to the fact that Hollywood focuses so heavily on the latter), and this didn't disappoint me. It's funny enough and it's wrenching enough. Plus, it focuses a lot on his rise in comedy (it's not purely autobiographical, but he plays a comedian) so final feelings are somewhat mixed, as he's really made it in that business as the movie comes to a close.

I think I'm in the mood for more melancholy sorta-drama, sorta-comedy. Suggestions?

Or, hey, ignore all this and talk about blockbusters and porn. I'm down for whatever.

What have you seen?

48 thoughts on “Third Monday Movie Day”

  1. You had this categorized as Co'C, Spoons, and it was preempting the "real" one. FTFY

    I checked out the following films from the library:
    The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (USA) -- better than the Swedish version, IMO

    Battleship -- the action was fun, but OMG was the acting/story embarrassing a times. I had to fast forward through the first 10 minutes to keep my sanity. And the rudimentary science involved with interstellar radio communication was conveniently ignored. I'm certain that basic military protocol was as well.

    I saw others, but I can't think of them at the moment.

  3. Saw the new Die Hard. It was mind-bogglingly bad.*

    Finished up season 3 of Justified, and about halfway caught up on season 4.

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    Saw the premier of The Americans, and plan to continue watching.

    Finally saw The King's Speech.. It was good, but I'm not sure how it was better than The Social Network, Toy Story 3, True Grit or Winter's Bone. In fact, of all the movies nominated, the only one I would absolutely rate it higher than was The Fighter. Oh well, don't ever underestimate Harvey Weinstein.

    Diane is gone for good on Cheers thankfully, although now I'm stuck with Eddie Lebec. At least Lilith is getting more involved.

    *Not my first, second, third, or tenth choice. We were going out with some friends (an engaged couple) and they "needed something light." Well, two days later and she's been kicked out of the apartment. Guess it didn't do the trick.

    1. Justified Season 3...

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    2. I might be the only person here who absolutely adores The King's Speech. I definitely liked it better than True Grit and I'd put it on par with TS3. Haven't seen The Social Network yet. Watching King's Speech I must have laughed out loud 20 times or more and cried at least once.

      1. I'm with you - I really enjoyed The King's Speech, more than those other 3 (though all were great in their own way...)

      2. I loved The King's Speech, though I can't speak to how it compares to any of the others mentioned since I haven't seen them. I have to say, though, that it's completely my kind of movie, so it's not a surprise in the least that I like it so much.

    4. For what it's worth, I didn't think TS3 was that great. It was good, sure, but didn't earn the level of praise it received.

      1. I agree with you. On its own, I thought it was as good as the other two. Since I had already seen the other two, I didn't think it was great.

        1. and for me it's miles and miles ahead of the first movie and a bit better than the second one. I saw all three for the first time within a three day span back in 2010, so I have a unique perspective.

        2. If there hadn't been a TS2, TS3 would have impressed me much more. Still a good movie, just too similar to the second one.

  4. Um... not a lot of watching for me lately. Some old 30 Rock episodes. The new Burning Love on Yahoo. Yup, that's it. We cancelled our cable, and there's been lots of working on other projects, so the TV hasn't been on much at all.

  5. isn't it called sleepwalk with me? i remember from frequent promos on the podcast circuit and the ol' PubRad. coincidentally, i just started listening to some of his stand-up yesterday. i've been hearing his name for years, and hearing other comics speak of him made me finally check him out. initial assessment: pretty good.

    also not a lot of watching over here. saw the (newest) true grit. never saw the other, so no frame of reference there. i definitely liked it, though i wouldn't mind watching it again with the subtitles on. not that i felt like i couldn't understand the dialog, just i don't want to miss any of the subtle, brilliantly written, but rapidly fired phrasing. one tiny example: "i do not entertain hypotheticals, the world as it is is vexing enough." great acting all around.

    other than that, a loooot of parks and recreation. i never watched the office, nor did i have any strong desire to, and that feeling extended over to parks and rec. for some reason though, i impulsively started watching the first episode. after 2 weeks i'm currently halfway through the 3rd (if Pete was around, i'm sure i would be caught up to the current episode). i don't laugh out loud much in solo company, but wow, i've been laughing my tits off the whole way through it so far.

    1. I agree about True Grit- there were multiple times my wife and I looked at each other and said, "What was that?" One of us usually caught enough of the line that we could piece it together, but it did take away from the continuity of the movie.

    2. It's definitely called Sleepwalk With Me, which I knew at the time of this post, but I posted this rather drunkenly and messed it up, as well as the tag. Ugh.

  6. I watched the newest Bond movie, Skyfall. I enjoyed the homages paid to the earlier films (the entire last scene of Bond entering M's new office was very well done), but it tries too hard to be serious at times. I'm okay with some drama in my action flicks, but I didn't like how it was done in this movie (I thought Casino Royale did a pretty good job of adding in drama without getting overly pretentious).

  7. After Life--Beautifully shot Japanese film about the after life, where you get three days to decide which memory you'd like to relive for eternity, and the guys in purgatory film it for you. Lauded by critics, and very well acted, but it really bored me for long stretches.

    Hugo--Also very well shot, also bored me for stretches. Plot didn't move me at all and I felt like I was supposed to be moved. But damn, either Asa Butterfield and Chloe Moretz are going to be great actors or Scorsese is a miracle worker. They were a joy to watch.

    Primer--I realize most time travel movies need repeated viewing to really understand, but this one just pissed me off, with how out of the way it went to make sure I wasn't going to understand anything. The first thirty minutes is just non-sensical exposition. Why have exposition if it's all gobbeldygook?

    The Following--Now this I liked. a little rough around the edges, but i was pretty much grinning the whole time. I think I might like it better than Memento.

    In The Company of Men--Not sure I get all the critical love for this one. So, it's guys just being A-class assholes for two hours? I can see that in real life. I didn't laugh once, even when I think I was supposed to. I did like the final shot, at least, probably the best part of the movie.

    1. I saw In the Company of Men years ago, and I'm inclined to agree. It seemed like a lot of the love it was getting was of the "Can you believe they made this OMG LOL" variety.

    2. Plot didn't move me at all and I felt like I was supposed to be moved.
      That's a great point, but I enjoyed it nonetheless...perhaps it was the performances.

    3. I liked "In the Company of Men" but I saw it years ago. I'm not sure I would feel the same way now.

  8. Regarding Sleepwalk With Me: In the stand-up routine, he uses everyone's real name (with the possible exception of his ex-fiance), but in the movie, he changes everyone's name, including his own. What would be the reason for this? He tells virtually the same story about his life, and most people who would see it know at least Mike's real name. I don't get it.

        1. I thought it was a little strange to have changed the ending - in his act it's really, really powerful - but maybe it wouldn't have translated as well to the screen.

          1. in his stand-up, they also break up. they both end up with different people, but it is more powerful than what he says in the movie

            1. You're right, I'm mashing together different versions of his act. The most recent (I think) was My Girlfriend's Boyfriend and I think that's the one where he says they got back together and got married. I think he moved out to LA and got in a car accident and had some epiphany or something. Because his stuff is more one-man show than classic standup it makes me more invested in his story.

  9. Last night: Manhattan. My wife and I wanted to watch a movie. She said that she wanted to see something "current". We went through the menu and she suggested that one, which was released in 1979. She quickly lost interest and went upstairs, leaving me to watch it alone.

    If you like Woody Allen movies, it was great. Plus, Meryl Streep! I should add that my wife didn't appreciate that Woody Allen's first love interest in the movie was 17 years old. The past is prologue, I say.

  10. Deja Vu - Fun enough movie, wish they would've examined the bad guy a bit more. I actually enjoyed how little effort they took to explain the time travel; they just sort of said "it's magic, put on your time helmet and let's fight crime."

    Silver Linings Playbook     - I'll agree with some folks who have criticized the ending.

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    "

    That alone wasn't enough to make me dislike the movie. I actually loved it, but can see the reservations re: the ending.

    Titanic 2 - My friend and I had an hour and twenty minutes before people would start arriving at the Super Bowl party, so we decided to watch the first movie short enough to fit in that time frame. This was that movie. It is truly awful, but hilarious in that "SYFY Original" way.

    Trouble With the Curve - Almost exactly the way JoePos said it would be. The wife called it "not as good as Moneyball." Sadly, it was only the third worst movie I saw this month.

    Identity Thief - Dragged to this by friends. It is as bad as the previews make it be - worse, actually. Two chuckles throughout the whole thing. Wretched. Much less enjoyable than Titanic 2.

    Also, Linds and I are midway through season three of Parks and Rec. My word, but does that show keep getting better. Laugh out loud parts in every single episode.

  11. Working our way through season 1 of Homeland. Awesome so far, but only on disc 3.

    Saw Warm Bodies at the theater on Friday "date" night. I actually enjoyed the hell out of it. Light, funny story with some good performances and likeable characters. Sort of a self-aware mash-up of Romeo & Juliet and Twilight.

    Rewatched 300 - holds up well in my opinion but not much to add after a half-dozen viewings.

    Flight - as advertised: gripping performances (loved John Goodman) and the subject of addiction well handled (more Leaving Las Vegas than Requiem for a Dream ).

    ParaNorman - Cute, with a good story, well-paced plot and amazing animation - 3D stop-motion technology. Same people who brought us Coraline (which I still haven't seen).

    Not sure if I've included this one before, but we watched the retread of Total Recall, or as someone here called it: "Running". As was previously noted, Jessica Biel and Kate Beckinsale are nice additions to any movie.

    On Spooky's recommendation, I watched Cave of Forgotten Dreams. It was breathtaking, but seemed to drag on bit at the end. Certainly an eye-opening documentary.

    Watched the first episode of Luther, then Walking Dead started back up, my wife got back into Downton Abbey and the aformentioned Homeland so I'm not sure when I'll pick this back up. First episode was good.

      1. Hmm, I guess I've been desensitized...I'd say that ParaNorman was nearly on par with Bodies in terms of gore.

  12. Luther eats crap like The Walking Dead for breakfast, dude. That first season is phenomenal.

    Yeah, Cave of Forgotten Dreams does drag late with long shots of things we've already seen. It seems that either Herzog needed to pad the film to make it feature length, or he just wanted it to be quiet and introspective (much more likely). You wanted something quiet and easy that night though, as I remember, which is why I lobbed that one at you.

    See Coraline!!!!

    2. I appreciate the lob - I did want something quiet and easy which was the same need when I eventually watched it. It was amazing. I wouldn't have seen it if you hadn't pointed the way - I knew about Herzog more by reputation than having actually seen his work.

      As for Luther, for some reason* I can't seem to get my wife interested. We don't watch much television together. When I find something she likes that I can stand, we watch it...thus the Walking Dead.

      *Odd because she loves British television and really enjoyed Sherlock...

  13. Perfect timing: Presidents Day and Movie Day!

    The smart people calendar wants me to replace each of the letters in KENNEDY with a different letter (repeating letters assigned the same replacement letter) to make the surname of a famous movie director who won three Oscars for writing, directing and producing the same movie.
    I took care of both Sat/Sun puzzles, but this one has me stumped and I'm running out of time.

    If you can, name the director and his movie. As usual, without help and please spoiler your answers.

    Further restriction/hint:

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