3 Caballeros

Who:  Amber & Jonathan
What:  3 Caballeros
Where:  at home - Jonathan bought the DVD
Why:  We love the ride at Epcot, now it was time to see the movie!

I love old Disney cartoons.  Jose Carioca (green parrot) is smoking a cigar 24/7 and Panchito (red bird) has 2 pistols and he shoots wildly into the air constantly.  That sort of thing would never fly these days!  It's fun to see.

This movie/live action flick stars Donald Duck.  It is kind-of a sequel to Saludos Amigo, where we first met Jose Carioca.  Donald receives many birthday presents from his friends he met in South America (from Saludos Amigos).  Every time he opens one, a new adventure is around the corner. 

He visits Mexico City and Baja (in Brazil I think?).  We also meet Pedro, a cute little penguin who lives on the South Pole, but longs for warm weather (ahhhh - don't we all!).

This movie is a little hard to understand, since it's 90% Donald Duck talking and 10% in Portugues and Spanish.  Although it's classic Disney, so you have to love it!

Saludos Amigos

Who: Amber & Jonathan
What: Saludos Amigos
Where: @ home - Jonathan bought the DVD
Why: Jonathan is a Disney freak, and he has never seen this movie before!

I hesitate to call this a "movie", since it's only about 40 minutes long ...

Back in the '40s (??) Walt Disney took a airplane full of animators down to South America for a goodwill tour. This movie chronicals their journey.

At first, this "movie" starts pretty slow, and I got worried that I was about to bore myself with a boring documentary. But in true Disney fasion, there are hilarious cartoon segments staring Donald Duck, Goofy and a cute little airplane called Pedro (he's adorable!). 

And, introducing ... Jose Carioca! (that green parrot from the 3 Caballeros).

Nacho Libre

Who: Hiromi
What: Nacho Libre
Where: Few years ago at the movie theater when it came out.
Why: Because I love Jack Black in baby blue stretchy pants with bright red accessories .

This movie is about a monastery cook, Ignacio (Jack Black), who grew up as an orphan himself in a small village somewhere in Mexico and who had a lifelong dream of becoming a real heroic luchador (masked wrestler) despite the opposition of people around him. His dream of becoming a luchador was crushed many times, because wrestling was forbidden by the monastery. Ignacio was looked down upon by the other monks for being an orphan himself and wanting more in life than a path to be a good monk. His letdowns refueled his passion to be Nacho Libre (masked luchador he created) by night to fight to earn money to take care of the orphans so they can have better food at the orphanage. Becoming Nacho Libre in secret at night gave Ignacio a sense of norm, who he is and his purpose in life. At the end of the movie, he proves himself and to others that he is somebody other than a pitiful cook and fulfills his lifelong dream of becoming a real hero who genuinely takes care of his people.

Although I dislike wrestling matches, I saw a television commercial for this movie and decided I wanted to see it. In fact, this movie was more than just wrestling matches. It was about music, food, culture, friendship, fashion, aiming for one man's dream and finding his purpose in life, etc.

Role casting was amazing!!! I felt like I was watching a well-made documentary, because all characters were very natural in their acting and very believable.

In contrast to many of today's movies that are filled with ongoing sound and CG effects, Nacho Libre stands out in a hue of simplicity. This movie is beautifully edited, thus it instantly became one of my favorite artistic cinemas.

I recommend this movie to anyone who appreciates simple yet artistic cinematography.

Comedy - yes.

Romance - yes, pure love.

Violence - yes, there are wrestling matches (rough actions) in the movie, but they are not gory or gruesome.

Music - awesome! I even have the soundtrack.

Casts - awesome.

Story line - super great!

Overall - an instant classic!

Cold Comfort Farm

Who: Jaclyn
What: Cold Comfort Farm (the 1995 version)
Where: At home
Why: Giving it another shot

"I saw something nasty in the woodshed!"

My friend made me watch this movie when it came out 13 years ago. I hated it. I didn't understand why she thought this movie was the greatest thing since sliced bread.

So, as I was going through Netflix, looking for new victims, I saw this one and figured I'd give it another try. After all, I am older now, maybe it would make more sense.

Set in 1930's England, the premise of this movie is that the main character, Flora Poste (Kate Beckinsale) ends up having to live with relatives who live on Cold Comfort Farm. Her cousins are crazy, her aunt refers to her only as "Robert Poste's child" and her great-aunt keeps ranting about seeing "something nasty in the woodshed" when she was little.

The whole family is fit for the loony bin. But, with Flora's help, they start to find their callings,(and a bathtub).

I can't say that 13 years later, the clouds opened up and the world made sense by seeing this movie again, but it was more enjoyable than it had originally been.

Pan's Labyrinth

Who: Amber (& Jonathan)
What: Pan's Labyrinth
Where: rented from Blockbuster (thank you Coke rewards!)
Why: Jonathan saw 20 minutes of it on TV at 2am one night,and wanted to see the entire movie.


Let me just start by saying I do not enjoy artsy movies. If a movie has been nominated for ANY awards, I normally don't touch it with a 10' pole. And a movie with subtitles - forget about it! Never the less, my husband rented this movie, and I watched it ... wait for it ... it's wasn't bad! Even with all the subtitles, I still enjoyed it.

From the previews I thought it would be all labyrinth, all the time, but it was only about 10% mysterious weirdos inside the labyrinth and 90% story about a family during WWII. I actually wanted more of Mr. Eyeballs in his Hands (weirdo inside the labyrinth with no genetalia (sp?)). So from a hater of 'good/award winning'' movies - I slightly recommnend this! Just make sure you put your reading glasses on