It's "hurry up and catch all the Oscar nominees before the big day" month! :p
Or at least it was supposed to be... but some of the ones I was missing had already come and gone (Tinker, Tailor...), others only hit the screens here on Oscar weekend (Hugo, My Week With Marylin...) so I didn't really have time to get to them! Oh well, short month - short movie list.
Well now, that was interesting! I went in (my Dad's choice of movie) knowing absolutely nothing about this movie other than Brad Pitt got a Best Actor Oscar nomination for it (imho a well deserved nomination!). Voil�! The sum of my knowledge before it started. Which is probably a good thing because had I known just a little bit more I probably would have said "no thanks" since a movie about baseball and statistics would have held no interest for me beyond Brad Pitt's performance and seeing as how I had no choice but to see it in Spanish (wasn't one of the few we've been getting un-dubbed) I would have chosen to wait for the dvd. And I would have missed out, because that was one damn fine movie! Great performance, yes sir, but also a fascinating story and look into an aspect of a sport that I knew next to nothing about! Who knew player's stats could be given so much meaning and brought to life in such an interesting manner? And based on a true story... the ending surprised me! I expected Pitt's character to make a money/prestige-based choice which he didn't. Anyhow, really like this film! :o)
Addendum: just my rotten luck! One week after seeing this the Yelmo went ahead and released it in VOS (i.e. English w/ Spanish subtitles) as well! I guess I should have waited... oh well! :p
Wow! Way to tug on the heart strings Spielberg + John Williams (beautiful musical score)! I have vague memories of reading this book as a kid, must have gotten it from the library though 'cause I searched through the bookshelves at home, and it's not with our childhood books (although there are tons of other "horsey" books). I thought it was a beautiful tale, full of moments of magic, heartbreak and thrills. I particularly loved the dialogue between the two enemy soldiers as they worked with those wire clippers... Lovely, epic movie. :o)
Wow, I can't believe I didn't notice the first time around just how much this movie was skewed to a younger audience compared to the original trilogy! Between the Gungans and the battle droids ("roger, roger")... yikes! Could they be any more annoying?! I guess the first time out I just let myself be overwhelmed by the fact that I was getting more Star Wars (to say I'm a fan would be a major understatement... you should see my bookshelves... lol!) plus the amazing special effects, the gorgeous soundtrack and Liam Neeson and Ewan McGregor. ;o) And I like Natalie Portman as Padm�, but not so much when she's all decked out as Queen Amidala (and speaking in that stilted voice and language). Plus I got a hoot out of seeing R2-D2 and C3PO and loved the fact that I could pick out key musical cues from the original trilogy in various parts of the soundtrack.
In any case, Gungan and droid shuddering aside, I quite enjoyed watching it again on the BIG screen (some movies were just meant to be seen big), and I thought the 3D transfer was fantastic! I was just as moved as the first time while watching the climactic fight between Darth Maul and Obi Wan and Qui Gon, with the mesmerising Choir of the Fates singing in the background (brilliant John Williams!). I'd say it's worth going if you're a fan, or if you have younglings you would like to properly introduce to the world of Star Wars. And you're willing to ignore the cringe-inducing Gungans.
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