Clash of the Titans (1981)

We watched this movie in school during our 6th-grade session on mythology, but all these years later I couldn't remember much about it (other than the fact that I agreed to be in a Goddess Beauty Pageant before I realized that my mother did not own any plain white sheets. Of course I lost.) Seeing previews for the current remake made me curious enough to re-watch the original.

Need I even mention the sad state of the special effects in this movie? On the one hand, for having been produced nearly 30 years ago, I suppose allowances can be made for their laughable portrayal of a winged horse or a snake-headed woman. On the other hand, Star Wars came out four years before Clash. I guess it's easier to animate robots and other futuristic characters, but the makers of Clash obviously didn't have George Lucas on their team.

Hopelessly fake-looking special effects aside, those ancient Greeks were some pretty awesome story-tellers. I'm thinking with the current technology and these good old stories, the new Clash of the Titans movie just might be excellent. Even this old version can't be called eminently unwatchable.

Casanova

This was a fun little movie that reminded me of a Shakespearean comedy crossed with a Jane Austen book, although--would you believe it? it's basically a true story. I guess I previously didn't really know that Giacomo Casanova was an actual historical figure. Now I want to read his memoirs, which are oh-so-originally entitled "The Story of My Life."

Great costumes, bittersweet to watch the late Heath Ledger, and all in all a nice way to spend a couple of hours on the way home from our road trip. (Don't worry, I wasn't the one driving.)

Stardust

Here's a movie I'd never heard of before, which is somewhat surprising, as it has several big stars in it (no pun intended, of course), like Michelle Pfeiffer and Robert DeNiro. It was recommended to me by my friend Mandy. (Hi, Mandy!) Mandy and I tend to enjoy the same sorts of books, but this is the first of several movies she's suggested I watch, so I approached it with a bit of skepticism. I had the intention of formulating my opinion of Mandy's film recommendations based on this one.

I can officially assure you that Mandy has good taste in movies. This one was weirdness like Gormenghast wrapped up in a fairy tale like The Princess Bride (although I can't say it was quite as good as the latter, maybe only because--though it did have its moments of humor--it lacked what I insist on calling the comic genius of S. Morganstern). But it did have a great story and was fun to watch. I'm pretty sure my favorite character was Arthur Weasley as Billy the goat, although he was closely followed by Captain Shakespeare the Prissy Pirate.

As long as you can stand a bit of predictability (the ride is still fun even if you know what's coming) and a small number of ridiculously fortuitous events, you need to watch this movie. Just be glad you don't have to hear me or my husband shouting out our (annoyingly accurate) guesses as to what will happen next. And be glad you don't have to watch it with my cousin Lori who would make fun of you for using the word fortuitous.

The Constant Gardener

I knew nothing about this movie before watching it, though I'm sure I'd heard of it somehow, but from its name I assumed it was going to be a girly movie with, I don't know, a lot of gardening in it? So it sort of took me by surprise when I pulled the disk out of the netflix sleeve and saw Ralph Fiennes holding a gun. (Only one gun, though, so it really didn't pass muster with Hud).

However, even the picture on the disk did not give me the right idea. Although we briefly see Fiennes handle a gun in a scene or two, he's certainly no James Bond, and I don't recall ever seeing him pointing the gun at anyone or anything the way he is in that photo. I think Hud was a little disappointed that Justin Quayle wasn't anything like James Bond. In fact, the movie prompted him to ask me, "Why do these movies always have to be about something?" I think you would be correct in assuming this is not my husband's kind of movie.

Really, this is not my usual movie, either. I wouldn't be surprised if the novel it was adapted from was absolutely excellent (though, that I recall, I have never read anything by John le Carré, so I can't be sure if he writes excellent books), but I don't generally watch movies featuring political activism or healthcare policy in Africa. Not so much because I am heartless and cruel (though I am), but because I prefer movies as entertainment and books as thought-provokers.

But this was an excellent movie! If I had known what it was about, I probably never would have watched it, so it's good that I went into it blindly, because that way I experienced what I would otherwise have blocked myself from. This movie was engrossing, and thought-provoking, and eye-opening, and overall quite well-done. Don't choose this movie for a fun, lighthearted evening, but do watch it when you have the chance. And not just because Ralph Fiennes is pretty hot when he's not playing Voldemort.