Puntabulous

Netflix #3 and Netflix #4

Netflix #3 – Wit – Suggested by No One

This isn’t going to be a movie review so much as it’s going to be a tribute to the awesomeness of Emma Thompson. Yes, the movie was incredible, but I don’t think it would have been nearly as good with someone else in the main role. How cool is Emma Thompson? She’s had a special place in my heart way before Helen Mirren came and distracted us with her old lady wonder breasts. She’s Professor Trelawny for goodness sakes! And that moment in Love, Actually when she’s crying silently in the bedroom to Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now” is heart-breaking! Plus Emma is the only person ever to win Academy Awards for both Writing and Acting! How awesome is that?! On cold, lonely nights, I imagine a world where Emma Thompson and Carrie Fisher did rewrites of all three Star Wars prequels.

Netflix #4 – AmÃ©lie – Suggested by Karen and GoKitty

Um, why haven’t I watched this movie before? Like, someone should have strapped me down into a (comfy) chair and been like: “Craig. Watch this movie. You will love it.” Because I did. I loved it. But part of me thinks that it’s fate that I watched Amelie at this very point in time: during the writer’s strike when Hollywood Producers are preventing me from enjoying the best new show on television: Pushing Daisies. It totally filled the quirky gap missing in my life since Pushing Daisies has been gone. The French talk really fast though! Good thing I’m a quick reader! I might need to see it again so I can focus on the cool visuals more than reading the subtitles.

Keep to recommendations coming!

MOVIES, REVIEWS | Craig | January 29, 2008 5:19 am

36 Comments

By BeRightBack, January 29, 2008 @ 5:36 am

I think you’d respond to the dorky sweetness of Kamikaze Girls, about a friendship between a biker girl and a Gothic Lolita in Japan (it is not an anime). I don’t know if NetFlix has it, but another funny, crazy recent Japanese movie is Yaji and Kita The Midnight Pilgrims, about two gay samurai who do a lot of hallucinogenic mushrooms.

They are two of my favorite cheerfully insane movies to come out of Japan recently.
By AdamX, January 29, 2008 @ 6:14 am

I think my favourite French language film would be La Grande Seduction, an airy piece about a small towns attempts to lure a doctor.

There was this guy in Kalamazoo (about an hour from me) who would have little “dates” where he would put Amelie in the DVD player, make a cheap dinner, and try to get laid. He tried this technique on absolutely EVERYONE in town. It was funny hearing “he did that to me” too conversation at the bar between a group of about 10 people…
By Craig, January 29, 2008 @ 7:14 am

AdamX, I didn’t realize Ryan lived near you.
By Cortney, January 29, 2008 @ 7:40 am

I agree – Wit was an *awesome* movie – and an unexpectedly awesome movie. I would also recommend “Life is Beautiful” – a subtitled film, and very sad, but very very good; “Lucky Number Slevin” – action-packed whodunnit; and if you’re really just looking for a feel-good film, watch “The Lake House” – if you can get past the ‘they’re two years apart’ thing, it’s actually a really good movie.
By Antonio, January 29, 2008 @ 8:33 am

Craig, you must see Primer. It is a great sci-fi-ish movie, but it requires a LOT of concentration to watch it. But trust me, the payoff is worth it.
By superblondgirl, January 29, 2008 @ 8:41 am

Isn’t Amelie fabulous? And if you’ve never seen their other movies, add them to your queue, too. Delicatessan, City of the Lost Children – both freaking amazing and weird and so, so beautiful.
By Brian F., January 29, 2008 @ 9:12 am

I can’t remember if you know about this, but as a PUSHING DAISIES fan, you MUST track down and watch WONDERFALLS if you haven’t already. It’s really fab. But you’re a cool kinda guy and probably already know this.
By Alice, January 29, 2008 @ 10:21 am

oh hurrah, i LOVE amelie. it’s one of my favorite movies. i was living in france when it came out and assumed no one in america ever saw it or cared about it, so i was so pleasantly surprised to find people here actually love it too
By Megan, January 29, 2008 @ 10:36 am

Alright, I have a movie for you. Man from Earth. It’s a sci-fi movie, with out any special effects. In fact, the movie was filmed in 6 days in a living room. Very low budget, but very thought provoking. I saw this movie two weeks ago and I am still discussing it today. Some people are offended by the idea of the movie, but I get the feeling you are more open minded then that.
By maestro, January 29, 2008 @ 10:38 am

I loved both of those movies. If you are feeling a campy drag queen movie my suggestion would be “Girls Will Be Girls” All the female roles are played by drag queens. Pretty funny but not pretty.
By Evolving, January 29, 2008 @ 10:44 am

OMG, we are SOUL TWINS. SERIOUSLY. First of all SCREW the writers strike! I think you and I should call up abc and be like “WE can write Pushing Dasies” because I NEED to see Chuck and Ned again. But yes, in the meantime Amelie will do (because it’s AMAZING).

Lately, because my new boyfriend is totally gorgeous and french, I pretend that I am totally gorgeous and Amelie. Il fait beau!!!
By sue, January 29, 2008 @ 11:14 am

Love Emma Thompson. Even when I hate the movie she’s in… like Love, Actually.
By Derek, January 29, 2008 @ 12:03 pm

I never considered seeing Love, Actually because it looked dull. But Emma Thompson is enough to reconsider that.

If you feel like continuing your French kick, try Eight Women. It’s French, it’s a musical, and it’s bizarre in that awesome sort of way. It’s kinda like Clue, only with a bit of lesbian action.
By Howard, January 29, 2008 @ 12:23 pm

Amelie is my favorite film of all time. I saw it 11 times at the theater. Of course, it played in Denver for over a year, but still.
By David, January 29, 2008 @ 12:24 pm

Let me be completely up front and say I will be of no use to you in this area. I see maybe ten movies a year at best. I don’t rent movies and I don’t have a NetFlix queue.

I saw Wit, but I saw it live Off-Broadway with Kathleen Chalfant who was brilliant.

In summary: I see theater, I don’t see movies.
By Nick, January 29, 2008 @ 12:41 pm

I remember watching Wit during a free weekend of HBO, and I was absolutely devastated by it. I mean, weeping…uncontrollable sobs. That doesn’t really happen to me often.

I [heart] Emma. I actually got Sense & Sensibility for Christmas after years of it lurking on my Amazon wish list. I still need to crack it open and revel in Emma’s writing.

You still need to get Hot Fuzz and Waitress. I bought them both on the used rack at Hollywood Video. I really thought my mother was going to pee her pants during Hot Fuzz!
By Drew, January 29, 2008 @ 3:35 pm

Two of my favorite movies! I watch Wit when I want to cry like a baby, a sad and lonely baby, and I watch Amelie when I want to feel good and have a color induced high. I’ve totally been saying the same thing about Amelie and Pushing Daisies. Pushing Daisies is Dead Like Me & Amelie’s lovechild!
By Drew, January 29, 2008 @ 3:42 pm

Oh! And I agree with Nick. Waitress is a great movie and Hot Fuzz is really funny.

If you’re up for a horribly funny bad movie, you should watch the MST3K “Manos: The Hands of Fate” it’s available on Netflix and is the best of all MST3K movies. I watched it 6 months ago and still laugh at it. Just beware, you might never be able to hear “The Itsy Bitsy Spider” without uncontrollable laughter.
By Karen, January 29, 2008 @ 4:01 pm

Oooh! A linky! Thank you, Craig!

I just saw Hedwig and the Angry Inch FINALLY last week and loved it. Wow. Also The Science of Sleep.

And Wit was brilliant, I agree.
By Brett, January 29, 2008 @ 4:05 pm

I think I may have reco’d these before, but whatevs

1) house of yes
2) wet hot american summer
3) mother may i sleep with danger? (total joke)
By NefariousCarrot, January 29, 2008 @ 4:06 pm

I agree with Drew, but AmÃ©lie is totally the parent to Dead Like Me and Pushing Daisies. She ain’t no lovechild; she’s a love momma called “happiness in technicolour.”

If you like AmÃ©lie, you should watch Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s A Very Long Engagement, which is sort of like AmÃ©lie set in a world war — a bit sadder but equally eclectic and… life-affirming?
By sue, January 29, 2008 @ 4:07 pm

Drew, I got a MST3K collection for Christmas. Are you really sure Manos is the best? Better than Horrors of Spider Island? The comments on Ring of Terror are better than on the Spider Island movie, but Spider Island is so 50′s awful it’s great. And then there’s the one where the lady’s head lives in a 9×13 cake pan, can’t remember the name of that one. And Nick, have you seen Shawn of the Dead yet?
By Craig, January 29, 2008 @ 4:15 pm

Brett, Wet Hot American Summer is my all time favorite comedy. I show it to all potential love interests to see if they have boyfriend potential. If they don’t laugh at precisely the right moments, they’re out!
By Jake, January 29, 2008 @ 4:37 pm

I watched Amelie maybe in my freshmen year of high school so I am in due need of watching it again. I remember loving it though
By heels, January 29, 2008 @ 7:45 pm

Another French one, but have you ever seen Ridicule? An especially fun (and sort of surprising) beginning scene!
By Josh, January 29, 2008 @ 11:27 pm

Craig! You should check out the movie C.R.A.Z.Y.

Really good- with gay content.
By chrisnj1977, January 29, 2008 @ 11:48 pm

I agree with Karen regarding her Hedwig recommendation. It was a fun movie, with cool music, and some deeper aspects. One of my favorite songs from the movie is Origin of Love. A video of the song with some neat animation from the movie can be seen here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YO9FpWX57E . The song was inspired by Aristophanes musings on the origin of love in Plato’s Symposium.
By Gaycondo, January 30, 2008 @ 4:22 am

In my opinion, the best thing about Netflix is being able to watch serialized TV shows in obsessive chunks while not interacting with any of your loved ones. My recomendations for TV shows to be sucked into:
1.Dead Like Me
2. Strangers with Candy
3.The L Word
4.Dexter (which really should be #1)
5. Big Love
6. Roseanne
By Steven, January 30, 2008 @ 4:50 am

I highly recommend Kinky Boots! It is a great movie! Also be sure to get Death at a Funeral, it is f-ing amazing.
By Karen, January 30, 2008 @ 1:07 pm

Oh! Oh! Oh! I forgot to mention Once, fabulous not-quite romance that’s more about the MUSIC, great Dublin busker stuff with plenty of emotion.
By John, January 31, 2008 @ 2:48 am

Here’s a few of my movie recommendations from someone on the left coast of Canada — Vancouver to be precise:

1) Raise the Red Lantern (tense drama from
China; complete with English subtitles)
2) Breathless (stylish French black and white
film from 1961; complete with English
subtitles)
3) Purple Rose of Cairo (amusing Woody Allen
film from 1985, complete with that amusing
New York sense of humour)
4) Run Lola Run (innovative and exciting
German film with equally thrilling musical
score; complete with English subtitles)
5) The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the
Desert (Australian film about three drag
queens on a road trip through the arid
Australian landscape – sounds cliche, but the
characterizations and the humour are
successful overall)
By flowergurl281, January 31, 2008 @ 12:51 pm

Classic:
I like it’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad world, a commedy from the 60′s with milton berle, cid caesar, etc etc.
Series:
Dog Whisperer is a great show, I love it and I dont even have a dog. My so called life, a drama from mid 90′s.

Pan’s Labrynth is great. I just saw Loving Annabelle, a story about a girl falling in love with her teacher,. This isnt one of my favorites because of some of the content but I also want to recommend requiem for a dream, a amazing movie but not something I can watch often.
By Emily, January 31, 2008 @ 1:00 pm

Damn Craig, you’ve acquired alot more friends since I’ve been gone! Haven’t been to your site in a while (too busy, nothing personal) but I’m happy to be reading about your adventures again. That buffalo chicken thing you made looks pretty awesome.

On to the movie:

I recently watched Harold & Maude (1971) and it was the best movie I’ve seen in the past year. It was an absolutely lovely movie. Definitely rent it, you won’t regret it.
By Ken, February 1, 2008 @ 11:10 pm

I told you to watch Amelie, it’s also listed as one of my favorites!
By Nicky, February 2, 2008 @ 2:08 pm

I just have to repeat what Brian F said…
Get Wonderfalls!
It is amazing, well-written, quirky, sarcastic, and fun. And it only has one season (of course, since it was so amazing that people didn’t watch it) so it won’t take long to watch the whole series.
By Kita, February 6, 2008 @ 10:13 pm

You need to watch “Antonia’s Line” Its imensly touching and is about love in all its many bizare and lovely forms. A must watch for everyone.