kris blogs » movies

True Grit

Kris — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 22:55:42 +0000

I am incredibly excited for the new Coen brothers movie coming out this winter – True Grit. The book by Charles Portis is probably one of my favorites. The 1969 John Wayne movie is great. (As is its 1975 sequel based on the main character, Rooster Cogburn.) I’m a big fan of the Coen brothers so I’m sure this one will be fantastic as well, and I hear it follows the storyline of the book a bit closer than the first movie. The first movie does actually follow it pretty well, except it completely screws up the ending. I can already tell the ending will be more accurate in this one from a scene that flashes in the trailer though. The actress playing Mattie Ross looks better than the first one – more serious, and actually 14 years old like the character. Both movies ignore that Cogburn is only supposed to be around 40 though. If you haven’t read the book I highly recommend it. It’s a quick read because you get drawn into it easily and it’s very funny.

Longer trailer than at the website:

1969 movie trailer:

Iron Jawed Angels

Kris — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 23:03:15 +0000

I recently saw Iron Jawed Angels and I can’t say enough good about it. Fantastic movie and I’ll be buying a copy for my younger sisters. I won’t bother describing it, just go watch it.

Inez Milholland, 1913

“I said she was prepared to starve to death in order to further her cause.”
“Okay, I’m not a doc but that sure sounds unhealthy to me.”
“‘Give me liberty or give me death.’ Patrick Henry, an American hero.”
“Apples and oranges.”
“In oranges and women, courage is often mistaken for insanity.”

Enchanted

Kris — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 02:27:04 +0000

I took my little sisters to see Enchanted last night. Or I guess I should say, I really wanted to see it, and used them as my excuse (although at almost 13 and 17 they’re getting a little old to be my excuse for seeing children’s movies). It was really great though. I had read mixed reviews where people liked the movie but were put off by Disney trying to make fun of itself, while still doing the traditional happy ending. But you know what? It’s a Disney movie – the villain is defeated, the hero and heroine live happily ever after. That’s why you go see it. Amy Adams played the Disney princess perfectly, maintaining her beautiful spirit throughout the whole movie. Even the real world couldn’t bring her down, which is really saying a lot.

Another fairy tale that’s been in the news lately is Princess Bubble. It’s a modern day story of a princess who’s a flight attendant, travels the world, buys her own palace, and makes lot of friends everywhere she goes. The only difference I can see between this and the traditional fairy tale is that she lives happily ever after without finding a prince. It’s not that I don’t like the whole idea of teaching little girls to be happy with themselves and value independence (because I loved this book too), but there’s nothing wrong with a fairy tale prince either. When it comes right down to it, it’s the heroine herself that little girls want to grow up to be – the beautiful, strong, kind, generous princess who is happy (sometimes despite unhappy circumstances). Princess Bubble emphasizes not being a damsel in distress waiting to be rescued, but having personal strength. If you think about it though, you’ll notice that all the Disney princesses have their own personal strength. They’re victims of villains because the story has to have a bad guy. All fairy tales do. In Enchanted, Giselle actually saves her true love at the end, which a lot of reviewers saw as a Disney role reversal. I don’t think it is necessarily. Except for the obvious stories where the princess was unconscious and needed to be woken with a kiss, all the heroines I can think of played a part in their own rescue or helped to rescue someone else. They weren’t passive.

There’s nothing wrong with little girls enjoying a good fairy tale. Obviously the real world can be harsh, but children should be allowed to stay innocent of that as long as possible. Even as they grow up and see that not everyone can be happy all the time, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with still dreaming of the happily-ever-after. When we were leaving the theater last night, I noticed that one little girl who came to the movie was dressed up as a princess. She was having a good time and loved the movie. Dressing up is fun. Just like fairy tales. In the movie someone tried to explain to Giselle that life/love is complicated. Her response? “But it doesn’t have to be.” Exactly.

weekend

Kris — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 02:14:00 +0000

Delicious recipes:
Peach-a-Berry Pie
Chicken Pot Pie

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I finally saw all of Broken Trail. It was amazing.

a few things

Kris — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 06:21:00 +0000

After my parents’ party last weekend, we all spent Sunday lounging around eating, sleeping, watching movies, and reading. It was fantastic.

Cat Ballou is a great movie.

Tullamore Dew is my favorite.

Black Snake Moan

Kris — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 03:12:00 +0000

I really want to see this movie, based on the soundtrack alone. You can listen to the whole thing at the website. I love the Black Keys.

Everything is Illuminated

Kris — Wed, 27 Dec 2006 04:37:00 +0000

I just saw Everything is Illuminated. Fantastic movie, I highly recommend it.

I love tango

Kris — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 09:24:00 +0000

“El Tango de Roxanne” (Moulin Rouge)

Pierre and Morgan (Take the Lead)

Sasha, Ramos and Danjour (Take the Lead)

“The Tango Maureen” (RENT)

What are some other tango scenes?

music

Kris — Thu, 02 Nov 2006 17:21:00 +0000

November means it’s time for Christmas music right?

vespas in foreign cities are so romantic

Kris — Wed, 18 Oct 2006 18:27:00 +0000