Danny Deckchair (2003) ****

When Danny
( an Australian cement truck driver ) goes through some relationship problems
and is bored home alone, he has the idea to tie several helium balloons to a
chair and see if he can fly. His impulsive act takes him into the sky and
changes everybody’s life.

This romantic comedy is a sweet feel good
movie that’s worth a look. We thoroughly enjoyed it and give it 4 stars.

Danny Deckchair - 2003 - English - PG13 [ Netflix - Walmart ]

PS: I don’t recommend
watching the online trailer, as it is like a 1 minute synopsis of the entire
movie (duh!).

In America [****] 2003

In America, one of last year’s best, is Jim Sheridan’s mostly true tale of
immigrating from Ireland to New York in the 1980s. A family mourning the loss of
their youngest child, comes to America for a new start in the hopelessness of
Hell’s Kitchen. Through their eyes and the eyes of their two daughters we see
the miracle of the land of opportunity. Don’t miss this movie.

In
America - 2003 - English - PG13 [ Netflix - Walmart ]
Nominated for 3 Academy
Awards

Calendar girls [****] 2003

We laughed, we cried, it warmed our hearts, this tale of Yorkshire
ladies baring it all for charity.

What started as a fundraising
effort in a small community in Northern England, mushroomed into a major motion
picture that earned the organization nearly a million dollars for cancer
research. A real “feel good” flick.

Calendar
Girls - 2003 - English - PG13 [ Netflix - Walmart ]
Bonus includes footage of the
real life calendar girl stars

Monsieur Ibrahim [****] 2004

A teenage Jewish boy, abandoned by his mother, grows up in 1960s Paris
in an apartment with his emotionally unavailable father. He has to raise
himself and learns that love isn’t bound by religion, genetics or morals. It’s
about being wanted and having someone in your life to care about. The
neighborhood “Arab” grocer teaches him to see the world with different eyes and
both are the better for it.

A story that warmed our hearts and worth
a look.

Cast: Omar Sharif
Monsieur
Ibrahim - 2004 - French - R [ Netflix - Walmart ]
Nominee 2004 Golden Globe Award
for Best Foreign Language Film
And Others

The Last Days [****]

The Last Days, produced by Steven Spielberg, is a documentary in which 5
Jewish holocaust survivors tell of their tragic experiences during WWII. It is
part of the Survivors of
the Shoah Visual History Foundation ’s aim to interview as many
survivors as possible and educate the world. Some of the images are quite
graphic, but I think this documentary is a must see for every adult, so that
history can’t be rewritten.

The Last
Days - 1998 - English - Not Rated - [ Netflix - Walmart ]
1998 Academy Award Winner for
Best Documentary

Touching the Void [*****] 2004

It’s human nature to underestimate the danger we face in our day to day
lives and how fragile our hold on life is, until it’s challenged. We had never
heard of the saga of Joe Simpson and Simon Yates, who in 1985 aspired to be the
first to reach the summit of this “ridge of some difficulty“, the 21,000
ft Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes. Little did they know how deep they would
have to go to survive.

Touching the void is a powerful and
emotional documentary. This movie is a solid recommendation. It was so good we
bought the book.

Touching the Void - 2004 - English - R [ Netflix - Walmart ]
Joe
Simpson’s Homepage

Zus & Zo [***] 2002

When their gay brother announces his wedding and the sale of the family
hotel in Portugal he’s about to inherit; his three sisters are determined to
stop that from happening. Will they work out the issues between them and how far
will they go?

Zus & Zo - which could be translated as “this &
that”, “such & so” or “sisters & such” - is a romantic comedy &
drama about, marriage, relationships, love and sexuality. Flemish/Dutch being my
native language, I certainly had an advantage to catch all it’s details. At
times it can be a little hard to follow. We give it a 3+.

Zus &
Zo - Foreign - Dutch (Eng sub.) - Not Rated [ Netflix ]
Best Foreign Film Academy Award
Nominee

House Of Sand And Fog [****] 2003

A depressed single woman’s house is foreclosed by mistake and sold at
auction to an immigrant family. Neither are aware of how their lives are about
to change as the story unravels to it’s final conclusion.

A very
good movie: 4+ The twists and turns will keep you guessing beyond the final
moment.

Starring: Jennifer Connelly, Ben Kingsley … directed by
Vadim Perelman
House Of Sand And Fog - Drama - Widescreen -
English - R [ Netflix - Walmart ]

The Cuckoo [*****] 2002

One of our favorite movies. Circumstances bring a Cuckoo (Finnish
sniper), a Russian soldier and a Lappi girl together in rural Finland near the
end of World War II. The cuckoo is a very charming movie about three people with
different languages, backgrounds, cultures and agendas. Highly
recommended.

Starring: Anni-Christina Juuso, Ville Haapasalo …
directed by Aleksandr Rogozhkin
The
Cuckoo - World - Russian, Suomi - Subtitles - PG13 [ Netflix
- Walmart
]

Behind The Sun [****] 2002

Brazil 1910. Two families continue a feud over a piece of
dry land between their farms. Generations carry over the circle of violence. Now
it’s Tonio’s turn to vengeance his brother’s death. Will he live? Will the
family survive?

Behind the Sun - 2001 - Portuguese - PG13 - [ Netflix - Walmart ]
Golden Globe Award Nominee for
Best Foreign Language Film

A very compelling film about loyalty,
honor, love and desire to break the circle of families locked in circles like
oxen on a mill wheel.

Lost in Translation [***] 2004

In Lost in Translation a fading movie star (endorsing a
whiskey) meets a 22yr old Yalie (who followed her photographer husband to a
photo shoot) in a Tokyo hotel. They are lost. Lost in the language, in their
marriages and in themselves.

Lost in Translation -
2004 - English - R - Lost in Translation [ Netflix
- Walmart
]

Like a good foreign film the cinematography gives surprising
aspects of life in 24/7 Tokyo; but then falls flat. Many describe this movie as
funny, but I was lost in translation. The movie grows but is hollow. The humor
is dry and it’s depressed characters leave you feeling empty. I had expected
something more from this film nominated for several academy awards. It’s
strength was it’s novelty at not being the usual Hollywood genre.

DVD List

A list of all recently viewed DVDs with rating &
hyperlinks to NetFlix (N) and Walmart (W)

East - West [*****] 2000

A very captivating movie about commitment, love,
promises, survival and freedom that grabs your heart from the beginning to the
very end. An invitation from the Russian government for ex-patriots to return
home after WWII, brings a Russian man and his French family to the USSR in 1946.
On arrival they learn life is not what they expected, but there is no going
back.

East-West - 2000 - French - PG13 - East-West Movie [ Netflix - Walmart ]
Academy Award Nominee

Elling [*****] 2001

Elling is a very charming Norwegian movie about 2 people
with mental illness, Elling & Kjell Bjarne. They are moved from a
psychiatric facility into their own apartment in Oslo and have to overcome their
fears & issues to prove they are capable of mainstream life.

Recently viewed it a second time. Highly recommended.

Elling - 2001 - Norwegian - R - 89 min - Ellingfilm.co.uk [ Netflix ]
Won several smaller awards and
was Academy Award Nominee for Best Foreign Film in 2002

Welcome to the DVD zone

Don’t you love personal movie recommendations when you
don’t know what to rent next?
That’s what this little corner of our blog
will be about. (read more)