This post is my entry for IndieWeb Movie Club #002. This has been on my rewatch list for a while. The last time I watched this movie was also the first time my (now) wife and I watched a movie together. Someone at work recommended it to her, and I had a copy of it (remember DVDs?). First viewing: I don't know exactly but it was around the summer of 2008. I remember because a store I loved going to was closing and that's where I found the DVD and got it. Watch count: 3 times. Favorite quote: This is a movie of good lines and even better deliveries. My favorite delivery has to be: Then you know what happens? Six years later you find yourself singing "Surrey with the Fringe on Top" in front of Ira!. Favorite scene: The Met scene is shot beautifully but it also presents the slight shift in the relationship between the two leads. Not because Harry asking Sally to a movie is necessarily a romantic ask, but because this version of Harry is changed so much from the one we originally meet that believes "men and women can't be friends". He's asking his friend to the movies much like I asked my wife all those years ago to watch this movie with me. Cut to us now doing one of those couple interviews that are so brilliantly done in this movie. Fun fact: They were all real interviews and stories but they cast actors to perform them. Prop I wish I had: You know that little container that Sally has to alphabetize her VHSes with index cards? I want that. Cards and all. While I think this is generally regarded as a classic in the romcom genre, I feel like it doesn't get as much of the attention as others. I'm pretty sure even other Meg Ryan movies of the same genre get more play even today on TV and movie theaters. I need to eventually find a movie theater that is playing it so I can watch it there.
Wake up, Neo... This post is my entry for IndieWeb Movie Club #001. It's hard to write anything original about a movie (and series) that has had every frame analyzed, discussed, copied, and (to some degree) has come true. Instead of an analysis or review, I came up with a list which may or may not carry over to future IndieWeb Movie Club posts. First viewing: I can't say exactly but I know it was in theaters. We had one movie theater in the town I grew up and it played movies about 6 months after they were released elsewhere. So I want to say either late '99 or early '00. Watch count: I've logged this movie 4 times between my site and my letterboxd. But even before this I had probably seen this double of that. So I'm estimating between 10-15. Favorite quote: What is real? How do you define 'real'? If you're talking about what you can feel, what you can smell, what you can taste and see, then 'real' is simply electrical signals interpreted by your brain. Favorite scene: This one is difficult because every scene is great for different reasons. Trinity's first scene is pretty great and builds up to what action scenes are going to look like in this movie. Morpheus training with Neo does so many new things while taking shots and moves straight out of the media that inspired it. Then there's the writing with scenes like Morpheus in the construct teaching Neo about the Matrix, and Smith's interrogation scene venting his frustrations of humanity vs machines and his place in this world. But I think in this last watch something stuck out to me about the scene where they are going to unplug Morpheus. I interpreted this moment as Neo finally understanding what Morpheus was teaching him during the fight and the jump programs. The word believe is used a lot. Free your mind. Prop I wish I had: Many movies have done the multiple monitor workstation, but this is the one I wanted. While this is my favorite of the series, I do love all the sequels and the Animatrix. Since I can't just watch one, I'm probably going to continue on to the rest of the series before next months IndieWeb Movie Club. The Matrix has you...
Thanks to Joe and James for this recommendation. Favorite quote (spoilers): You have this way of making everything sound reasonable and then rooms begin to burn. People start to chase people.
It's great seeing this story told from this specific point of view. It's hard to explain but there was a certain mythology surrounding this story growing up near the Andes region. Also worth checking out the "Making of": https://youtu.be/VFBbf-MbEl8
Got to watch this today with my Minnesotan friends that had somehow not watched this before. Very 90s but seeing them react to the MN specific jokes made this a great movie watching experience.
It's not a tradition but usually the first time we hear "All I Want for Christmas Is You" by Mariah Carey outside of home during the holiday season means it's time to watch this again.
