Living at the Movies Volume 3 Issue 1

I watch a lot of movies.   I see so many films you might think I don’t have anything better to do with my time.   Umm, guilty as charged.   I do have a terminal illness that limits my mobility and all.

The plan I have for this post — and subsequent ones just like it — is to give you a one sentence review,  an accompanying letter grade,  and the name of the poor sap or saps I conned into spending upwards of two and a half  hours with me watching either the best film of all time or the worst .

Here’s the first batch:

Get Him to the Greek:  The songs were hysterical,  the laugh-out-loud scenes were predictably lewd and crude,  and the rest of it all was just sorta there.   The two nameless munhooses who accompanied me didn’t seem to mind as they made short work of two upsized popcorns.   Grade: B-

District 9:  It always takes a little convincing on my part to get Fehmeen to buy into a movie that is a skosh out of her typical comfort zone but one that I knew she would be riveted by despite her disdain of the science fiction genre and films that have a lot of dirt,  mud, blood and general yuckiness in them.   I am happy to report that she really really liked it.   Grade: A-

My Left Foot:  If I had seen this film for the first time when it was released or even prior to my diagnosis,  I don’t believe that it would have had the same effect on me.   DDL’s portrayal of Christy Brown was awe-inspiring and has provided some much needed fuel for my artistic inner fire.   Grade: B+

Fast Times at Ridgemont High:  I couldn’t believe that Ameer and Rose had not seen one of the most iconic and before-they-were-stars-laden  movies of all-time.  Rose enjoyed it and Ameer fell asleep half-way through.  Grade: A

Shutter Island:  Despite her pre-ordering on On Demand trepidations, Fehmeen was quite impressive in her sniffing out the twists and turns of this intriguing and entertaining film.  Plus she loved that last line.  Grade: B+

Star Trek:  Even though this was the fourth time I had seen this incredibly well-crafted franchise redefining reboot, it was nice to watch it with a real Trekkie like Janet.  And this time I didn’t pass out from an excessive consumption of outside food.   Grade: A-

Bart Got A Room:  I am a total sucker for quirky indie comedies just like this one.   It started off with plenty of promise but slowly faded down the stretch.   Grade: C

Passing Strange: The Netflix gods suggested that I would like this movie based on my 5-star rating of Dr Horrible.   While common in genre only,  I wholeheartedly recommend this filmed-on-stage revelation for anybody who has had the dream of being an artist in every sense of the word.   Needless to say,  I loved every second of it.   Grade: A-

500 Days of Summer:  Fehmeen and I saw this in the theater and we recently purchased it for home viewing as well.   I am a big fan of non-linear storytelling and who hasn’t felt like dancing to You Make My Dreams Come True the morning after.   Grade: B+

Pumpkin:  I really tried to like this movie but I struggled mightily to jibe with the film’s overall tone.   It just didn’t work for me.   Grade: C-

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