Movie #99: Toy Story
Two words: Love it. Loved it when it first came out. Loved it when I've seen it later. Love it now that there are kids in my life that I can watch it with. Case in point: we watched our niece, Sofia, for a few hours on Monday so Bart and Melissa could go out for a belated anniversary lunch. Carey, Sofia, and I watched the movie while snacking on pretzels and drinking apple juice, and it was so much fun.
For those of you who don't know the story line: toys can come to life. Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks) is the favorite toy of a little boy named Andy. Woody's position as the favorite is threatened by the arrival of Buzz Lightyear, Space Ranger (voiced by Tim Allen). The movie follows both characters as they try to find their way back to Andy before he moves, while also dealing with Andy's "evil" neighbor, Sid, a boy who likes to mangle toys and blow things up.
This was the first in a long string of successful movies for Pixar animation studios, and it is just a cute movie. The voices are perfect for the characters, and the story is fun for both kids and adults. If you haven't seen it, watch it. If you have seen it, watch it again. You'll find something new that you haven't noticed before, and it will make you smile.
Movie #98: Yankee Doodle Dandy
This movie was a fictionalized portrayal of the life of George M. Cohan (played by James Cagney), known as "The Man Who Owns Broadway." The film follows the life of George from when he was a young boy, travelling with his parents and sister as "The Four Cohans," to later on in his career when he struck out on his own to write, direct, and star in numerous Broadway musicals. Interwoven into the movie are the outbreaks of both World Wars, which offer the tie-ins for several well-known patriotic songs, including You're a Grand Old Flag, Over There, and the title song, Yankee Doodle Dandy.
Overall, Carey and I both thought that the movie was good. I'd never seen a James Cagney movie before, but I'd heard of his roles in The Public Enemy and Angels with Dirty Faces, so I was pleasantly surprised to see him singing and dancing with such skill. At times, the plot lines were a bit weak, but this allowed the viewer to concentrate on the music and dancing, so it evened out in the end. An enjoyable movie, especially if you're feeling patriotic!
Movie #97: Blade Runner
Okay, so let me be honest. I was not looking forward to this movie. My tender constitution cannot handle lots of fighting and shooting and blood, and Carey told me that all of these things would be included in the film. So, I watched it under duress.
Blade Runner tells the story of Rick Deckard (played by Harrison Ford). The year is 2019, and the powerful Tyrell Corporation has manufactured genetically engineered beings called replicants. They look like humans, but are stronger, faster, etc. Because of an uprising, replicants are banned from Earth and are instead used for dangerous, labor-intensive jobs on Earth's other-world colonies. However, some replicants seek to come back to Earth to determine how to prolong their life-span. Enter Deckard and the other blade runners - law enforcement officials whose only purpose is to hunt down and kill these renegade replicants.
Like I said, shooting, fighting, blood - not a movie that I would normally watch. However, as one of my co-workers pointed out, it's on the list for a reason. She says that the film has many layers and can be interpreted on so many levels that it's hard to understand everything after watching it just one time. I know that this probably makes me sound very juvenile, but I just can't deal with blood and guts. So, although I do want to give every movie on the list a fair chance, I just can't bring myself to watch Blade Runner again, even if it does mean that I might understand it better. Carey said he "didn't mind the movie," which in Carey-speak means that he liked it.
Up next: Movie #96 - Do the Right Thing and Movie #95 - The Last Picture Show.
How, you many ask, are we fitting these movies into our schedule? No, we don't spend all day in front of the television. Saturdays are laundry day, so Saturday night is movie night. After Abby goes to bed, we change into our pajamas, make hot chocolate (Kristen) and tea (Carey), and go downstairs to the family room. We fold clean laundry and work on our ironing. If we finish with the laundry, we sort through the paperwork that piles up in our office. And at other times, we just sit on the couch and enjoy the few moments we have together without a cute little munchkin trying to crawl all over us. Not that we don't love being crawled and jumped on by an adorable little girl, but we do enjoy the occasional grown-up movie and conversations that don't revolve around Elmo, duckies, and blocks. There's plenty of time for all that during the day. :-)
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