Going to The Movies

Last night while I was sweeping the floor after dinner (I made meatloaf, by the way, which is something I've not made in at least a year; it tasted so good and I remembered that I really do make killer meatloaf!), I was thinking about the movies. It seems like it's been a long, long time since there's been something I've just been DYING to see. Nothing's really grabbed my attention. I like sagas, with history and romance and a battle or two. I value intelligent chick flicks, which seem to be on the wane lately. What I don't like is a lot of senseless, stupid violence, the kind that's there only to showcase violence or to illustrate some groovy special effect.

We used to go to the movies a lot. Once Nathan was about three, we were able to leave all my kids with one of our couple-friends' kids, since they have kids the same ages as ours AND a couple of older kids who could watch everyone. So we did dinner and a movie a lot. But since Kaleb came along, and those older kids got old enough to not want to spend their weekend evenings babysitting, we've just not been to the movies very often. Which is OK---like I said, not much has grabbed me. But, coincidentally, just as I finished sweeping the floor, a friend called to ask if I'd like to do a girl's night out on Friday and go see a movie. We decided on Amazing Grace, which looks good. And then, this morning, my friend Sophia had this meme on her blog, all about movie tastes. (She did it because of the Oscar's, which I didn't watch. I forgot it was on, but I probably wouldn't have watched it anyway; I took a bath and read my book instead!) So, just because the topic of movies keeps popping up for me, here are my answers:

1. Name your all-time top five favorite movies. Lord of The Rings Trilogy; The Last of The Mohicans, Romeo + Juliet (the one with Claire Danes and Leo Di Caprio), Shakespeare in Love, Ten Things I Hate About You, Cold Mountain, The Gladiator, The Patriot and Pride & Prejudice (the newest one with Keira Knightely) (and, yes, I know i named nine...or eleven if you count all three LoTR, but there you go)
2. What’s your favorite movie line? "I do not think that word means what you think it means." Princess Bride
3. Who’s your favorite movie character? Aragorn (I am starting to sound like a hopeless LoTR geek, aren't I?)
4. What movie do you love that most people hate? Well, I'm not sure if most people hate this movie, but Kendell does: Heathers. I love that movie.
5. What movie do you hate that most people love?  Meet The Parents and Meet The Fokkers. I don't like movies that are frustrating to watch!
6. What was the last movie you saw? The Departed
7. What’s your least favorite movie ever? What About Bob (again with the frustration! In fact, movies that frustrate me are known as "what about Bob" movies around here)
8. What’s one movie have you seen that you would never ever watch again? The Departed. Kendell and I went to a movie with some friends, and the wife was dying to see this. I did like the story BUT the violence was way too over the top for me. I had my head turned sideways for about 50% of this movie. When we left we decided that SHE never gets to pick the movie again! ;)
9. What was the last DVD you saw? The Guardian. It was OK---sort of like Top Gun in the water. Exact same line---"the best of the best." And it was fairly predictable. But decent. I'd watch it over #8!!!
10. What was the first DVD you remember buying? Tarzan. I even wrote in my journal that day about buying our first DVD, lol!
11. What movie do you relate to more than any other? Family Man. Not Nicholas Cage's character, but Tea Leoni's. I get her frustrations with her marriage.
12. What actor/actress would you like to look like? Barbara Hershey. I don't really want to look like anyone else but myself (is that weird? not because I think I'm especially attractive, but because I'm ME, if that makes sense), but I think I look the tiniest, tiniest bit like her in Beaches.
13. What classic movie have you never seen? Most of them...I'm not a big fan of old movies.
14. What song would you choose be the theme song to the movie of your life story? "Left of Center" by Suzanne Vega.
15. What’s your favorite movie genre? Historical sagas.
16. Who’s your favorite actor/actress? Julia Roberts or Gwenyth Paltrow
17. What actor/actress do you refuse to see their movies? Eddie Murphy.
18. What genre would you choose not to watch? Cobs & Robbers
19. What’s your favorite theater concession combo? Whatever little snackie I can find at the bottom of my purse, lol! When I go to the movie with Kendell he WILL NOT buy concessions; it goes against his moral grain to pay $29.95 for popcorn and a soda. ("Let's say we go to the movies, that'll be fifteen bucks. Throw in some popcorn and that's 53. Plus, she's gonna want some Raisinettes. Seventy-five bucks and you got a deal." Ten Things I Hate About You. Seriously...you should watch it if you've not seen it and you have any sort of penchant for cynical high school girls, kissing in a pile of hay, the gorgeous boy-candy that is Heath Ledger, and The Taming of The Shrew seen in a cool and contemporary way. Seriously.)
20. Front row, Back row, Side Seats, Aisle or center? We always arrive EARLY at a movie. Like, early enough that the ticket-taker guy gets annoyed and I'm certain they're still cleaning the theater from the previous showing. Why? Well, Kendell is very picky about where we sit. It's got to be right in the center, both horizontally & vertically. (When we were dating we sat through all 29 hours of Dances With Wolves in the bottom row, far right, and he still talks about how horrible that was! The one and only time we've been late for a movie in 16 years.) Occasionally this bothers me but we nearly always have fun laughing and talking while we wait for the movie. It WOULD be more fun with a big tub of buttered popcorn, but...

All apologies for misspelled movie star names. I'm grumpy today and I don't want to look them all up. Grrrr.

Comments

[Mimi]

Oh my goodness, I have to comment because, I LOVE Suzanne Vega. Great to see you mention her.

And, I want to see Pan's Labrynth

[Karen Greenfield]

Dear Amy--funny you should mention the 10 Things I hate About You---the school where it's filmed is where my kids go to high School--it's Stadium HS in Tacoma. The house where the two girls live with their father belongs to a family whose girls were on the swim team with my daughter. The bedrooms were redone for the movie but the living room is still the same--the movie crew apparently didn't move anything in and the owners laugh and say they feel funny if they move the furniture around!! Should I be sending you souvenirs??? You know the tee shirts and sweatshirts my kids have outgrown, etc? The school has had a recent overhaul--$20 million worth and now looks very different inside but the outside is untouched. It's been around since 1906 when it opened and my sister's mother-in-law was a 1917 graduate. This amazes me as my high school in CA was only 2 years old when I started there in 1963--where was your high school? Karen