Dear Interweb,
I have a problem. Not a big problem. Just a problem that I'm sure you can all help me with.
I have Netflix. I have a "queue" that contains heavy, heavy movies, almost entirely. I like these movies, but I'm having a hard time getting through the list. You sort of have to be in the right mood to watch Hotel Rwanda, yuh know? I need some good feel good movies or else I'm gonna end up paying $14/month while The Lost Boys of Sudan and Control Room wait for my proper viewing mood, which is not a lazy Saturday night when I most often have a free couple of hours to watch a flick. So, PLEASE, I need some movie recommendations, keeping in mind the following:
Billy Eliot and Amelie are among my favorite feel good movies. I don't always need to lean that artsy fartsy, but I don't like cookie cutter comedy/romance movies.
Sometimes I'm goofy enough to like slapstick...but usually in older movies (i.e. not like Jim Carey slapstick...too much I'd say.)
I don't like movies that try too hard to shock me (like the horse sex in 40-Year-Old Virgin...though otherwise I liked it.)
Gonna have to say a big no to Meg Ryan, Tom Cruise, Renee Zellweger, Keanu Reaves, and Cameron Diaz. Sorry, just can't take them.
So, got any good ones for me? Pretty please?
PS - It would be nice if they were movies that N might also watch, but this is a tall order being that he likes "true" stories, movies with at least one black person as a main character (he denies this sometimes, but always asks me if there are any black people in any movie before he consents to watching it), and movies that verge on cheesy (verge? Who am I kidding....he likes A Walk in the Clouds for god's sake, but don't tell him I told you).
I have Netflix. I have a "queue" that contains heavy, heavy movies, almost entirely. I like these movies, but I'm having a hard time getting through the list. You sort of have to be in the right mood to watch Hotel Rwanda, yuh know? I need some good feel good movies or else I'm gonna end up paying $14/month while The Lost Boys of Sudan and Control Room wait for my proper viewing mood, which is not a lazy Saturday night when I most often have a free couple of hours to watch a flick. So, PLEASE, I need some movie recommendations, keeping in mind the following:
Billy Eliot and Amelie are among my favorite feel good movies. I don't always need to lean that artsy fartsy, but I don't like cookie cutter comedy/romance movies.
Sometimes I'm goofy enough to like slapstick...but usually in older movies (i.e. not like Jim Carey slapstick...too much I'd say.)
I don't like movies that try too hard to shock me (like the horse sex in 40-Year-Old Virgin...though otherwise I liked it.)
Gonna have to say a big no to Meg Ryan, Tom Cruise, Renee Zellweger, Keanu Reaves, and Cameron Diaz. Sorry, just can't take them.
So, got any good ones for me? Pretty please?
PS - It would be nice if they were movies that N might also watch, but this is a tall order being that he likes "true" stories, movies with at least one black person as a main character (he denies this sometimes, but always asks me if there are any black people in any movie before he consents to watching it), and movies that verge on cheesy (verge? Who am I kidding....he likes A Walk in the Clouds for god's sake, but don't tell him I told you).
Copyright 2005-2006 by Spells With...All rights reserved
Speak to me, 11 already did
11 Comments:
Hmmm...have you seen Crash? That was really good. I'm drawing a big blank; I'll think about this and come back if I have any brainwaves.
Yup, I saw Crash...good one, defintely.
Hmmm, Feel Good Movies....Did you watch Love Actually yet? It is a romance-comedy, but it's one of the good ones!! I'm looking through my list realizing I don't watch many Feel Good Movies, ha ha, what does that say about me?
Baby Boom, The Family Man, Into the West, Raising Helen, Sense and Sensibility, Something's Gotta Give (Keanu is in it, but doesn't have a big part), Circle of Friends, Dreamer, In Good Company
I could go on and on, but I know you don't want me to! Did you watch Grey's Anatomy yet??
The Island was pretty good and it's a new movie. I liked Lost in Translation too, they both have Scarlett Johansen in them...
The End of the Affair is one of my favorites, but not a feel good movie...
I just realized none of those movies have a black man in them! Doh!!! I didn't do that on purpose, I just wasn't thinking.
See, I'm NO help!!
Well, I don't know if this would be up your alley at all, but Freeway is a really funny, dark comedy with Reese Witherspoon and Kiefer Sutherland, directed by Oliver Stone. Give it a whirl.
Feel good movies with Black characters . . . Love Actually, Grand Canyon, Finding Forrester, Shawshank Redemption, Save the Last Dance (might be too teeny bopper for you? Julia Stiles. I'm a sucker for dance movies). Passionfish (I love Alfre Woodard), Ray, Collateral (oops, Tom Cruise but he's good in it actually and I hate him too, action flick) and I also loved Freeway (but it has its intense, psycho moments) and Ghost Dog is interesting but also a bit dark.
Other movies I'd recommend (without any Black characters that I can recall) - Strictly Ballroom (smart funny, heartwarming "mockumentary" about ballroom dancing), Waking Ned Devine, the Full Monty, Millions. If you like many of these and if we have similar tastes in movies I can recommend so many more. I have seen WAY too many movies : )
I saw quite a few of those Jayne....I LOVE Waking Ned Devine...N won't even watch it! Shawshank is one of our all time favorites. I loved Ray....N fell asleep....and I like Save the Last Dance, but won't usually admit it...lol!
I'll have to put Freeway on my list...and I moved Love Actually to the top....I had forgotten who reccommended it to me SO...so it was just floundering somewhere in the middle. And I keep forgetting to add Something's Gotta Give!
Thank guys!
"Dear Frankie" is a good one, available from Netflix, not a comedy but not a super heavy drama either, a low-key feel good movie.
For slapstick, I love Ben Stiller movies. Take your pick.
Love Actually is fab. And I totally recommend Something's Gotta Give with Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton.
I am absolutely no help. But I think I'm going to come back and check out some of the recommendations myself! Let us know if you find some good movies.
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