Movies

It's been a long time since I've been wowed by a movie. Last week I saw two that made me want to watch them repeatedly and discuss them and think about them and dissect them and generally dive into them and turn them inside out.

The first one is one I should have seen a long time ago. Until last week, I had never seen The Breakfast Club. I know, right?! I was born in the 80's, I was old enough to see the aftermath of the 80's, and I know a tolerable amount about 80's culture. I love Labyrinth, The Dark Crystal, Back to the Future, and other 80's movies...so why did I never see The Breakfast Club?

I watched it twice last week. I'm fascinated with high school stories (which is one reason the Buffy series holds my attention despite its sometimes cheesiness) because I never really experienced a "real" high school. 1 year of MK school and 1 year of a small "Christian" high school didn't really prepare me for the stories of public school. I just never understood. The Breakfast Club is a fascinating look at teenagers, the 80's, and public high school. It has some really foul language (it's rated R because of it) but it stars some of the "brat pack" (Emilio Estevez, Ally Sheedy, & Molly Ringwald) and...of course...my favorite character is the "bad boy," John Bender. People like that just...draw me. I'm not really sure why. Maybe because I was, to all appearances, a "goody two-shoes" in high school. Who knows. Anyway, he's Stu's favorite character too and we had a great conversation about why we liked him so much. The main reason seemed to be that Stu and I both respect people who feel comfortable being themselves, which is something we've both struggled (and in some ways, continue to struggle) with. Anyway, it was really interesting and not at ALL what I was expecting from a cult classic. It made me cry and laugh and I think it's pertinent at any point in history. Teenagers who are growing into adults are very similar, for all our outcry of being individuals with no similarities to anyone.

The second movie I watched was in indie movie. Usually, I'm hesitant to watch independent movies because it seems as if they can't do special effects because of their budget so they just deal with sexual things. Which, honestly, I don't care to watch. Phoebe in Wonderland surprised me.

It has a great cast - Elle Fanning (little sister to Dakota and a brilliant young actress in her own right), and Patricia Clarkson (one of the most graceful and beautiful people I've seen on film) as well as Bill Pullman! I won't ruin it for you, but to watch the story unfold is magical. I highly recommend it. It's available on Netflix as instant play. Phoebe in Wonderland is a beautiful story about a little girl, her role as Alice in the school play, and a family's ways of dealing with a difficult child.

I've also seen Atlantis this week (it was alright, but nothing can beat the old Disney classics), as well as old favorites like Good Night & Good Luck (2005 historical drama, SO WELL DONE), Harvey (LOVE IT!), and Penelope (a gorgeous fairytale).

We finished Ugly Betty Season 1 this week and have started Star Trek: Next Generation Season 2 as well.

Whew.

I'm media'd out. For tonight. XD