So first we watched Skyfall with Pete. I was shocked and dismayed to see that I had originally dismissed Daniel Craig as the new Bond, because now I think he is teh awesome. (I realize that I was already there last time around, but I'm still not happy that I didn't fully appreciate him the first go-round.) So this is a typically exciting Bondsian romp, which is a good thing, and wow, Craig is just as gritty yet cool and sexy as you could want. <fanning self with Netflix return envelope>
Then it came to light that neither Steph nor Julie had ever seen Back to the Future, which is pretty close to grounds for calling DSS, so we remedied that asap. Oh boy, it is still just as much fun as ever. If you, like me, haven't seen it in a long time, you could do a lot worse than spend a couple of hours with this one.
Next up was The Devil Wears Prada, which Pete claimed to have already seen (when? why?) and was off at a friend's house anyhow, so we watched with the girls. This was a gem. Meryl Streep continues to just be able to do anything she wants, and very well, while Anne Hathaway is as adorable as ever. We also loved Stanley Tucci in this one. (Budding journalist takes job at fashion mag under dragon-lady boss. Maturation ensues.)
And, finally, last night we all ate dinner picnic-style while watching Once, per the recommendation of Twitter pal @hieronymus. It's rated R, but this is solely because of a shitload (whoops) of f-bombs. There is no sex, no nudity, no violence, and no gore, just lots of swearing. It's the story of a guy and a girl (seriously: in the credits they are listed as "Guy" and "Girl") who meet and make some beautiful music together. That's not a euphemism: He is an Irish singer-songwriter waiting for his big break, and she is the Czech who nudges him toward that. I regret to admit that we had to turn on the subtitles because their accents were so tricky to navigate that we were missing out on the dialogue, but otherwise this is a small but lovely, sweet, and just plain charming movie.
Craig and a set of clever filmmakers did the impossible in 2006: made the anachronistic, sexist and silly James Bond into something not only palatable to modern audiences but reinvigorated the franchise. I wouldn't have thought it possible, but it really has happened.
Back to the Future, awesome. Think of all the greats you're going to be able to share with them as they get older still. I know there's a lot of R-rated films they probably haven't seen.
Haven't seen Once, but I mean to.
Posted by: scott | February 22, 2013 at 08:20 PM
Skyfall is definitely Craig's best Bond performance yet. I loved it.
And you're the second blogger in my Reader today to mention Once...that must mean something...
Posted by: Deborah | February 22, 2013 at 11:33 PM
Daniel Craig is my new Steve McQueen. I haven't had a screen crush in a l-o-n-g time. That man is delicious.
Posted by: jo | February 23, 2013 at 05:18 PM
Yay for Once! Still haven't been able to squeeze in a viewing with the girls, but hope to soon.
The girls and I watched The Secret Of Roan Inish (a John Sayles movie I also highly recommend) a few years ago and they had a hard time with the accents in the beginning. But soon we got into the rhythm and we never did have to turn on the subtitles. But I'll remember that trick for Once should it come to that.
Posted by: Jonathan Arnold | February 25, 2013 at 10:39 AM
We saw Once on Broadway. The stage was the pub, and they served the audience drinks during intermission! Great music.
Posted by: kate fitzpatrick | February 25, 2013 at 04:56 PM