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Modern Times – Charlie Chaplin
A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to view this movie Modern Times – Charlie Chaplin. It is quite amazing that after some 70+ years a movie can still be funny and enjoyable to watch.
I still have a few movies more to watch from my long list.
What other silent movies would you recommend?
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Local Color – Great Movie
Yesterday I had the opportunity to watch a great movie called “Local Color” – A very uplifting story of a younger person wanting to learn how to paint and an alcoholic painter who has giving up on art and life.
This movie was rented via Netflix, if you have the ability to watch it, I highly recommend it… this movie will definitely be an addition to our collection in the future.
“Don’t you let anyone ever talk you out of what you want to do, what you want to be” – Quote from the movie.
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Pixar UP
We got the chance to see Pixar’s UP movie around the time it was released. This was our first 3D experience with the new technology, and while initially we were expecting to see the typical depth the technology provides, we were pleasantly surprised it was not overused. What Pixar did was use 3D as part of the story, they used it to aid the storytelling, I thought that was great, also as a result we didn’t experience the typical discomfort that sometimes those movies generate (perhaps the new technology has something to do with it as well).
I still want to see the movie one more time, this time in 2D to see how it looks… you know, there were two parts of the movie where the water just looked real, not 3d at all, the first one where Carl Fredricksen and Russell are crossing the creek and the second one when some of the dogs fall down into the river down below.
If you still have not seen it, don’t wait any longer.
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American Film Institute – 100 Years – 100 Movies
A couple of years ago I came across the American Film Institute list of 100 years 100 movies (PDF), and off an on I have attempted to watch all of them. The list I used apparently has been updated, they now have added new movies including Toy Story.
Back when I added the movies in Netflix not all of them were available but I believe there were about 80+ of them. I watched some when I was younger, so it was nice to be able to watch them again with a greater appreciation for what they have to offer.
Last few movies I have watched are: The Miracle Worker, A Place in the Sun, Easy Rider, My Fair Lady and Sweet Smell of Success.
If you ever get a chance you may want to watch a few, it is interesting to see how some things just never change, while others do.
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Il Postino – Movie
Greetings to all of you!
A couple of days ago I finally had the opportunity to watch Il Postino, it had been on my Netflix queue for a while and 
I came to appreciate the movie even more as I got to watch the movie again while lisening to the audio commentary with Director Michael Radford, and found out that Massimo Troisi who played Mario Ruoppolo died sometime after the shooting of the movie ended.
What an amazing story, not just the movie itself but the journey that Massimo Troisi choose to have this picture made. Massimo Troisi came across the Italian version of this story and identified with the postman (Mario Ruoppolo), purchased the rights from writer Antonio Skarmeta, and kept calling Director Michael Radford every couple of months to direct this movie, eventually Director Michael Radford agreed.
During the shooting of the movie, Massimo was notified he needed a heart operation and he postponed it so they could continue to work on the film, unfortunately he died right after the movie was completed. What a brave individual, to accomplish his dream until the very last minute.
There are many sites that go in detail about describing the movie, I suggest that if you are curious you just rent it or purchase it and enjoy it without a preconceived idea.
Here is what in my humble opinion would be the equivalent of trying to explain the movie to you, in the movie the character Mario asks Pablo Neruda if he can explain why “the smell of barber shops makes me sob?” The character Pablo Neruda responds (This is mainly the English subtitle translation and a few words of mine – I am able to understand some Italian words as they are similar sounding to Spanish words).
“You see Mario i cannot tell you in words different from those that I have used, when you explain poetry it becomes banal… better than any explanation is the direct experience of emotions that poetry can reveal to a mind predisposed to understand it.”
Il Postino was loosely based on a book called “Ardiente Paciencia” written by Chilean Antonio Skarmeta.
And it was at that age … Poetry arrived
in search of me. I don’t know, I don’t know where
it came from, from winter or a river.
I don’t know how or when,
no, they were not voices, they were not
words, nor silence,
but from a street I was summoned,
from the branches of night,
abruptly from the others,
among violent fires
or returning alone,
there I was without a face
and it touched me.
-Pablo Neruda
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Wall redecoration
I have been looking for some time for new posters to add to my room walls, and move some of the existing posters / art around.
A few weeks ago I managed to get a Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea movie poster.
Also just a few days ago I managed to secure another addition to the collection (it arrived today), I think I got lucky on this one… an original movie poster of Howl’s Moving Castle
