Movie Monday

I’ve been trying to clear all the crap I’ve recorded on my DVR so I can cancel my cable and switch to satellite. That means I get to watch some a lot of movies, some good, and some bad.

So this weekend I watched a lot of TV.

First up, “Wide Sargasso Sea,” is a movie that the interactive guide promised would deliver a story about an arranged marriage in the Caribbean with voodoo and lust. I thought, “Hmm, lust?” Turns out that this movie is based on a novel that tells the story of the first Mrs. Rochester from “Jane Eyre.” Yes, I know Jensational hates Jane Eyre, but it’s part of the review. Anyway, it’s not a very good movie and it didn’t make me interested in the book. As far as I’m concerned, Mr. Rochester deserved everything he got.

The lust was on Mr. Rochester’s part toward a servant. Boring.

The next movie is a pretty big deal. There are a lot of movies I’ve never seen—“E.T.,” “Titanic,” “Gone With the Wind,” “Notorious B.I.G.” Another movie I had never seen was “Alien.” What a movie. I kept expecting the cat to turn into an alien or to get eaten by the alien, but it never happened.

It’s interesting to watch 30-year-old movies and sort of recognize actors. For example, one of the guys in the movie was the uncle in “Lord of the Rings.” He wasn’t really young, but 30 years is a long time. Tom Skerritt looked a little younger, but he’s always looked kinda old—sexy old. Another actor I recognized immediately was Harry Dean Stanton. Has that guy ever been young? He’s old in every movie.

Other recently seen movies: “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” (wow, Robert Redford and Paul Newman were really handsome) and “Mambo Kings” (meh).

Last night, because there’s nothing on TV, I saw “Russian Ark.” This is a movie R wanted to see and highly recommended. I don’t know how I stayed awake the first 20 minutes. I kept waiting for a break in the movie so I could splash some water on my face, but after a while, I wondered, “Is this movie done in one take?” Turns out it was and for some reason, that made it more interesting. After that, it started to make sense and I enjoyed it.

The movie/documentary is a tour of the Russian State Hermitage Museum as seen through the eyes of a French aristocrat. I had no idea the museum was so big. I’ll probably never go to Russia, but I have a pretty good idea about the scope of the museum and its art and ballrooms, etc.