Saturday Matinee | no. 7

: :

PG for some rude content

The Decoy Bride | The famous movie star Lara Tyler is marrying the love of her life James Arber, a bestselling author.  Wanting a simple wedding without being besieged by the paparazzi, they slip away to the Scottish island of Hegg.  But when a particularly persistent photographer follows them and Lara goes into hiding, there's only one thing her management team can do.  Get a decoy bride and fake a wedding! They recruit Katie, an unattached local girl who has given up on love, as their decoy.

Very much reminiscent of a screwball comedy from the 30s or 40s, this film was absolutely delightful from the crazy beginning to the happy ending!  Yes, I watched it in the first place because of David Tennant, but I fell in love with the setting, story, and cast after just a few minutes.  What could be better than a rom-com set in Scotland with the one and only DT?  Um, not much.  The only downside is that DT is playing a British character.  Yep, he doesn't get to use his native Scottish accent.  Tragic.  But DT wearing plaid pants and "playing" the bagpipes more than makes up for that, trust me!  I think the PG rating is fair.  Not really any language to speak of, some innuendo, and yes, some rude/crude content, but nothing to terrible in my opinion.  Well worth watching, and then watching again.

My mom watched it for the first time this week and loved it!  Although she did have a wee bit of trouble understanding what they were saying - if you don't watch a lot of British/Scottish films, it can be difficult to tell what they're saying, especially if they're talking fast.  But the solution to that is watch more British movies!

: :

PG-13 for some violence and language

O Brother, Where Art Thou? | Loosely based upon Homer's "Odyssey", this is the story of three convicts who escape from a chain gang in 1930s Mississippi to recover the loot from a bank heist before a flood hides it forever.  Everett, Pete, and Delmar have one adventure after another as they evade the law, get baptized, encounter sirens, a cyclops, a KKK lynch mob, and assist bank robber George "Babyface" Nelson.

Right from the beginning, I found this film completely charming and delightful.  Beautifully filmed and acted, not to mention the fantastic music.  Oh yes, the music!  Old-time gospel and bluegrass. *bliss* I just bought the soundtrack the other day because I loved it so much. *smile*

There is a lot of language, so be warned.  The violence is mostly shoot-outs with the law (no one is hurt and it's not graphic), and one cow being shot with a machine gun and another hit and run over by a car (not graphic, although I found it disturbing).  One scene that some might find objectionable is the siren scene.  Nothing bad actually happens, but it's suggested, and the sirens are a bit scantily clad.  The PG-13 rating is appropriate.

: :

PG-13 for language

The Nanny Diaries | Fresh out of Montclair State University, 21-year-old Annie Braddock is ready to begin her career as a ---- what?  What does Annie want to do?  Undecided, Annie sits on a bench at the park and ends up saving a little boy from getting run over.  When his grateful mother, Mrs. Alexandra X, mistakes Annie's name for "Nanny", Annie is hired to be Grayer's new nanny.  But high society and life as a nanny is more difficult than she expected, especially after meeting the X's neighbor, "Harvard Hottie".

I saw a preview for this film and immediately decided I had to see it because it looked both cute and hilarious.  I was not disappointed!   There's no question that this film is cute and hilarious, but there's also a surprisingly touching message in this story that needs to be heard by more modern mothers these days.   You're little boy is only a child for a short time - don't waste that time.  There are a few scenes that had me in tears, my heart ached for that little boy so much.

I loved Scarlett Johansson as Annie, and who wouldn't love Chris Evans as "Harvard Hottie"?  Who knew that Black Widow and Captain America dated each other once upon a time?  Ahem, sorry, fangirl crossover there... *wink*

There was a bit of content, some innuendo, quite a bit of language (mostly uses of sh*t), but not enough to spoil this absolutely charming story.  The most objectionable scene would be the one where Grayer pulls Annie's pants down in the back just as Harvard Hottie shows up.  You do see Annie's underwear, but she's completely covered.  If you've seen the preview/trailer, than you've already seen the worst this film has to offer.  Not that bad, right?  Also, Annie deceives her mother by not telling her that she's become a nanny.  She does this because her mom has such high expectations for Annie's career.  Lying to your parents is never good, and the fact that Annie does that does bother me, although I can also understand where Annie is coming from.  The PG-13 rating is appropriate in my opinion.

: :

As I've said before, please do your own research and use your own judgement when choosing films to watch.  Keep in mind that everyone's standards are different and that I'm a 24-year-old adult.
Thanks and happy watching!

Question: What have you been watching this week?  I want to know!

Saturday Matinee | no. 4

: :

1967 - G

Thoroughly Modern Millie | She's fun, feminine, and she's modern.  Millie (Julie Andrews) is on a mission.  To land a job as a stenographer and marry her boss.  Simple, right?  Wrong.  Between white slavers trying to kidnapMiss Dorothy (Mary Tyler Moore), an elevator that won't run unless you dance in it, a laundry hamper with squeaky wheels, and Jimmy Smith (James Fox), there isn't much that can't go wrong in 1922 New York!
One of the wackiest, silliest, corniest musicals ever, but I LOVE it!  With Julie Andrews, how could you go wrong?!  It's rated G, but I think PG would be appropriate.  Some more mature content, although most would go right over younger children's heads.  I'd recommend this for young ladies 16 and up...although my bro certainly enjoyed watching the last 10 minutes with me.  He was laughing harder than I was, and that's saying something. ;)

: :

1966 - Not Rated

How to Steal a Million | Nicole Bonnet's father owns an impressive art collection.  And he paints.  He's an art forger, actually, a very talented one.  His collection includes Monet and Van Gogh, all fakes, and a sculpture of Venus by Cellini, which is also a fake.  Bonnet loans the Venus to be put on display at a museum despite Nicole's protests that he risks being found out.  Everything appears to be going well, until Bonnet signs a document insuring the Venus for $1,000,000, unwittingly giving the museum permission to have an art expert inspect the sculpture.  There's only one thing to do - steal the Venus!
One of the most delightful comedy heist films ever!  Who knew a boomerang was a tool every burglar should carry?  Snappy dialog, great chemistry, and an excellent supporting cast.  However, some would have a problem with this film for one reason - the Venus sculpture, which figures prominently in the story, doesn't have any clothes on.  Not a thing.  As far as naked statues go though, it's not too bad.  There is no other inappropriate content.  You have been warned. ;)

: :

And that's about all I watched this week...well I did watch The Dirty Dozen, too.  But I'm not sure what I think of it, and I certainly don't feel comfortable recommending/reviewing it here.  It was good, but also disturbing.
Anyway...I hope you all have a blessed and restful Sunday!

Question: What movies did you watch this week?  I want to know!

Commercial Time

That's me, in the grey shirt.  I'm sitting in Little Town Market, the small grocery and convenience store in our town.  Why am I sitting there, reading a book?  I'm an extra in a commercial.

With my brother as director, a group from our church filmed a commercial for Chalk Shirts last week.  

And what are Chalk Shirts?  They are t-shirts with a chalkboard painted on them.  A chalkboard which you can write or draw on with chalk.  And they are seriously awesome.

website | twitter | facebook

The creator of these fantastic shirts attends our church and as a practice project, the film crew made a commercial for him.

My brother and our friend Hank were the two man "characters" in the commercial - Chalk Shirt Guy #1 and Chalk Shirt Guy #2.  Because we're creative like that.

My job was super easy.  All I had to do was be my charming self, sit at the table, and read my book, The Scottish Chiefs by Jane Porter.  That, I can do.  And it's an excellent book, by the way.

Actually, that's pretty much all Hank had to do, too.  Sit and read.  Except he got to read Alex's book The Adventures of Rathdrum Willie.  Seeing as it's a much, much shorter book, he probably had that book memorized by the time we were done shooting.

And who can blame my bro for a little shameless book advertising?  Hehe.

The older gentleman seated at the table with me was another extra.  He just happened to be in the store when we were just getting started and was quite interested in what we were doing, so Alex asked him if he'd like to be an extra.  He was a natural - next stop, Hollywood.  Okay, maybe not. ;)

And here it is, the finished commercial itself...

The delightful and original soundtrack/theme was written and recorded by my talented bro.
Make sure to click through to the YouTube channel so you can like and favorite the video!

Happy Trails, y'all!

p.s.
Bow ties are cool...

Yep, just had to get that Doctor Who reference in there.