Thursday, August 11, 2011

Movies for July 2011

My film list for July reflects the fact that I let the husband pick most of the movies we saw. His tastes are decidedly more toward modern action and sci-fi, although he does get credit for picking Harold and Maude. July also proved a busy month for trips to the local theater, the busiest of the summer overall.

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (2008) - very sweet period film with Frances McDormand and Amy Adams set in England just before WWII

Super 8 (2011) - Lots of things blew up in this Spielberg-inspired story of kids with a movie camera, but it was worth seeing in the theater

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010) - You either get this one or you don't, but Gen Xers who have ever had video game callouses on their thumbs will love it

Harold and Maude (1971) - darkly funny but charming story of a young man who finds companionship with an eccentric old woman

Midnight in Paris (2011) - Woody Allen's best picture in years! Great story about Paris and the brilliant artists who have been drawn to the City of Lights

The Good, the Bad, the Weird (2008) - One seriously deranged but often quite funny Korean spaghetti Western, although the ending leaves something to be desired

The Long Kiss Goodnight (1997) - "Chefs do that," and so do Geena Davis and Samuel L. Jackson in one of the most unusual Christmas movies this side of Die Hard

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 (2011) - A satisfying ending to the long run of HP pictures, although the third book/film remains my favorite because of Sirius Black and Remus Lupin

The Band Wagon (1953) - A proper classic at last! Love the Girl Hunt Ballet that ends this Fred Astaire/Cyd Charisse musical

Un Chien Andalou (1929) - Was thinking about Dali because of Midnight in Paris, which led to watching this surreal 16 minute experiment in cinema

The Secret of Kells (2009) - Gorgeous, lovely, moving story and animation, with Ireland as its soul

Captain America (2011) - Probably my favorite of the summer comic book movies, partly because of Tommy Lee Jones and partly because Steve Rogers is such a sympathetic character

Pirates of the Caribbean (2003) - Played the LEGO game and watched this one again with the Kid, who had not seen it before

Cowboys & Aliens (2011) - Not a bad movie, but I thought it could have used more "cowboy" and less "alien" - it lacked the heart of a real Western