hummingwolf (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
hummingwolf) wrote2010-02-26 08:52 pm
hummingwolf) wrote2010-02-26 08:52 pm
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and a bonus dvd disc--to two bands of dreams that twist back that puny, artless head?
For those interested in such things, here are some of the DVDs I've watched recently:
Dark Passage. Back when we were in high school, my friend non-LJ Jenny and I used to search the TV listings for any movies with Humphrey Bogart in them. Even if the movie was shown at 3 a.m. on a school night, I would get up in the dark to watch it (lucky Jenny's family had a VCR (Betamax)). This is the only one of the Bogart/Bacall movies I never saw before this year, and it may well be the weakest of the four. But even if it's not a piece of cinematic greatness, it's still well worth watching. After all, no movie in which Lauren Bacall has a perfectly legitimate reason to tie Humphrey Bogart to her bed could be all bad.
The Shop on Main Street (Obchod na korze). This is a piece of cinematic greatness. A film made in Communist Czechoslovakia about the kinds of choices people made during the Nazi occupation of Slovakia, it is also fairly depressing.
Television Under the Swastika. A TV documentary about the world's first broadcast TV network: the one run by the Nazis.
Kestrel's Eye. Birdies! If you like watching birds, you will like this movie; if you are uninterested in birdwatching, this will bore you to tears.
Jesus Camp. I'd heard from secular and non-charismatic Christian viewers that this documentary was creepy, frightening; and I'd heard similar things from folks who grew up in environments similar to that of these kids. As someone who grew up as part of a liberal mainline Protestant church, what I wasn't expecting was that I'd sympathize so much with the people running the camp. The filmmakers did a good job of documenting a lifestyle that was obviously alien to them, and the bit with Ted Haggard is a fascinating look at the face of sheer cynicism.
Eyewitness Video: Monster. From the same people who put out Eyewitness Books for children, this is a fun half-hour survey of scary creatures--mostly real but some mythical--with all the pretty visuals you'd expect. Small children probably love this. Reactions among people old enough to have developed phobias are undoubtedly more mixed.
Blade Runner. A reminder that my monitor is really rather dark.
Nova: Venus Unveiled: The Magellan Space Probe. PBS program from 1995, rather good. My only complaint is that the soundtrack seemed to feature more of "Mars: The Bringer of War" than "Venus: The Bringer of Peace."
Nova: Fractals: Hunting the Hidden Dimension. Fractals are always nifty, and I liked learning more about Benoit Mandelbrot himself.
Ultraviolet. When my non-LJ friend Rory used to take me to movies, she was almost always the one who chose what we would see. Turns out I still have a high tolerance for silly action flicks like this. (Note to IMdB reviewers who say you've never run across a movie worse than this one: You obviously haven't been trying hard enough.)
Dark Passage. Back when we were in high school, my friend non-LJ Jenny and I used to search the TV listings for any movies with Humphrey Bogart in them. Even if the movie was shown at 3 a.m. on a school night, I would get up in the dark to watch it (lucky Jenny's family had a VCR (Betamax)). This is the only one of the Bogart/Bacall movies I never saw before this year, and it may well be the weakest of the four. But even if it's not a piece of cinematic greatness, it's still well worth watching. After all, no movie in which Lauren Bacall has a perfectly legitimate reason to tie Humphrey Bogart to her bed could be all bad.
The Shop on Main Street (Obchod na korze). This is a piece of cinematic greatness. A film made in Communist Czechoslovakia about the kinds of choices people made during the Nazi occupation of Slovakia, it is also fairly depressing.
Television Under the Swastika. A TV documentary about the world's first broadcast TV network: the one run by the Nazis.
Kestrel's Eye. Birdies! If you like watching birds, you will like this movie; if you are uninterested in birdwatching, this will bore you to tears.
Jesus Camp. I'd heard from secular and non-charismatic Christian viewers that this documentary was creepy, frightening; and I'd heard similar things from folks who grew up in environments similar to that of these kids. As someone who grew up as part of a liberal mainline Protestant church, what I wasn't expecting was that I'd sympathize so much with the people running the camp. The filmmakers did a good job of documenting a lifestyle that was obviously alien to them, and the bit with Ted Haggard is a fascinating look at the face of sheer cynicism.
Eyewitness Video: Monster. From the same people who put out Eyewitness Books for children, this is a fun half-hour survey of scary creatures--mostly real but some mythical--with all the pretty visuals you'd expect. Small children probably love this. Reactions among people old enough to have developed phobias are undoubtedly more mixed.
Blade Runner. A reminder that my monitor is really rather dark.
Nova: Venus Unveiled: The Magellan Space Probe. PBS program from 1995, rather good. My only complaint is that the soundtrack seemed to feature more of "Mars: The Bringer of War" than "Venus: The Bringer of Peace."
Nova: Fractals: Hunting the Hidden Dimension. Fractals are always nifty, and I liked learning more about Benoit Mandelbrot himself.
Ultraviolet. When my non-LJ friend Rory used to take me to movies, she was almost always the one who chose what we would see. Turns out I still have a high tolerance for silly action flicks like this. (Note to IMdB reviewers who say you've never run across a movie worse than this one: You obviously haven't been trying hard enough.)
no subject
i can't make myself concentrate on anything on dvd lately. i'm still stuck in S2 of Angel, though i want to watch the last season eps with andrew. oh, i did like Taking Woodstock.
no subject
I've been watching so many DVDs partly because I'm still having trouble concentrating on books! It's getting easier, though, so maybe I'll return to the printed page again soon.
no subject
it's been years since i could sit and read a book for long, alas. hope you're able to ASAP. (and to think i was such a bookworm for so many decades.)