DVDs I've Watched When I Should Have Been Reading (or Walking)

Netflix has got me in its delightful clutches. I signed up for a subcription on Aug 18, 2004. So far, I've watched:

#99 BLUE PLANET: SEAS OF LIFE British
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.

#95-98 BRIDESHEAD REVISITED, Disc 1-3 British
Slow at times, but lovely. My favorite part is when they're in Venice. Beyond gorgeous.

#94 GREY GARDENS American
Mesmerizing. Sad and a little bit scary. Embarrasing even. But kind of inspiring. This is a woman who wears her skirts upside-down!

#90-93 5 FILMS ABOUT CHRISTO & JEANNE-CLAUDE American
Fascinating to watch these 5 installations over a period of more than 30 years. This is the first time I've heard that two people were killed during the "Umberllas" project--a viewer in California and a worker in Japan.

#90 DAMAGE British
Oh-My-God.

#84-89 CARNIVAL, Series 1, Disc 1-6 American
Grapes of Wrath meets the X Files. Beautifully shot. Fascinating to watch, but the story drags.

#83 5 OBSTRUCTIONS Danish
Strange. Very strange. And surprisingly beautiful.

#82 ELLING Norwegian
Delightful. Smart. A little gem.

#81 SHOWER Chinese
Charming. Sweet. But not too sweet.

#80 HARVIE KRUMPET Australian
Fun. But short.

#78-79 ANGELS IN AMERICA, Discs 1-2 American
A bit long (and a bit too Ghost-Buster-ish), but wonderful nevertheless.

#72-77 SIX FEET UNDER, Series 3, Disc 1-5 American
Still love it.

#71 THE CUCKOO Finnish
Delightful. Funny, but sad, too, and tender. Moral of the story: there's more to understanding someone than being able to speak their language. Also: what is war but the most profound miscommunication of all.

#70 ELLEN DEGENERES: THE BEGINNING American
This is a bit dated now (she's still with Ann at the time), but I enjoyed it anyway.

#64-69 SIX FEET UNDER, Series 2 Disc 1-5 American
I'm addicted.

#63 SIX FEET UNDER, Series 1 Disc 5 American
Can't get enough.

#62 BAD EDUCATION Spanish
Exquisite. My favorite Almodovar is still "Talk to Her," but this one is also great.

#61 SIX FEET UNDER, Series 1 Disc 4 American
Love. This. Show.

#60 CRACKER, Series 1 Disc 1 British
Brilliant. I can't get enough of it.

#59 DANNY DECKCHAIR Australian
Sweet, light, fun to watch. The best part, though, is that it's based on a true story. But I understand that in real life, things didn't turn out quite so well. (Even in Australia, it seems, they feel the need for a "Hollywood" ending.)

#58 MARGARET CHO: I'M THE ONE THAT I WANT American
Fun to watch. Especially when she does bits about the messages her mom leaves on her answering machine.

#57 EDDIE IZZARD: CIRCLE British
What can I say--I love watching this guy.

#56 KITCHEN STORIES Norwegian
Sweet but definitely not saccharin. Charming. Tender. Worth a watch for the old cars and their trailer/campers alone.

#55 SIX FEET UNDER, Season 1 Disc 1 American
Wow, this is great! What took me so long?

#54 TIBET: Cry of the Snow Lion American
Beautiful footage of Tibetians, their land and their customs. It's more of a politcal call-to-action than a documentary, but then how can you not be on their side? Brave but disheartening look at the Dalai Lama's non-violent resistance to brutal oppression.

#53 MY ARCHITECT: A Son's Journey American
Gorgeous. Thoughtful. Fascinating. I don't know why this didn't get more play when it was in theaters. I was mesmerized.

#52 JULES & JIM French
A classic, I know. But I wasn't in the mood.

#51 CRACKER, Series 3 Disc 1 British
American cop-show TV doesn't even come close.

#50 L WORD, Season 1 Disc 5 American
I thought this was going to be more of the series, but it was just a collection of bonus tracks. Still, I watched every bit of it. I'm hooked.

#49 GARDEN STATE American
Tedious. Tries way too hard to be quirky. Or profound. Or something.

#48 L WORD, Season 1 Disc 4American
Only 2 episodes on this disc! More, more, I want more.

#47 EDDIE IZZARD: DEFINITE ARTICLE British
I love this guy. I am fascinated by the masculine/feminine thing--mesmerized is more like it. And I love it when he sort of mumbles something incomprehensible, and all the while his face tells it all.

#46 SUPERSIZE ME American
OK. That does it. No more fast-food fixes for me.

#45 L WORD, Season 1 Disc 3 American
Love it. (But enough with the Jenny character!)

#44 Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN Mexican
What a relief to watch something so refreshingly honest about sex, without being lascivious or prurient. Both fun and sad to watch. Beautifully shot.

#43 INSOMNIA American
Although I don't usually like watching Al Pacino or Robin Williams, I thought the complexity of the characters--and the plot's basic moral dilema--made worthwhile. (Plus, the all-day night of the Alaskan setting was terrific.)

#42 L WORD, Season 1 Disc 2 American
What can I say? I'm hooked.

#41 YOU CAN COUNT ON ME American
A delightfully soft touch on a topic that could eaisly have turned sentimental. (Brother and sister orphaned in childhood try to relate to each other now that they're grown up.) But it was much, much better than that. Smart. Real. Tender.

#40 DAVE CHAPPELLE: KILLIN' THEM SOFTLY American
He does a great "white guy" voice, but over all the humor was just so-so.

#39 L WORD, Pilot and Season 1 American
The pilot was slow, but the next episodes were much better and by the end I was completely involved. I identify most with the plump little blond who is sure to get dumped on by the un-possessable Shane, but I'm mezmorized by that exotic Marina. Can't wait to see more.

#38 THE OFFICE, Final episodes British
I'm amazed at how much I actually cared about the two main characters, Tim and Dawn. What a sweet--but not saccarine--love story.

#37 WINGED MIGRATION French
Beautifully photographed. Amazing, really, but I can't help wondering, after seeing whatall went into the making of this too-staged-to-be-a-documentary film, who paid for all that!

#36 THE DINER GAME French
Updated variation on the traditional French bedroom farce. Funny. And kind of sweet.

#35 EASY RIDER American
Not as heavy, man, as I remembered it. Great music, though, and a real nostalgic "trip."

#34 EDDIE IZZARD: UNREPEATABLE British
Not as good as "Dress to Kill," but still fun to watch. Especially his facial expressions and sotto voce asides.

#33 EDDIE IZZARD: DRESS TO KILL British
I can't remember when I've ever laughed so hard. He absolutely nails it. (And the guy looks great in heels.)

#32 CHINATOWN American
Wow. I've seen clips from this classic, but never realized what a great film it is. Complex characters in a believabley complex situation. Gorgeously shot, all in tans and beige. Stunning.

#31 COFFEE AND CIGARETTES American
Fascinating. And graphically mesmerizing. But I'm left with the feeling that I'm just not hip enough to get whatever it is that's going on. Something to do with communication, that's for sure. And being related. And something, too, about race. I've seen it twice now and it's growing on me, though. Bill Murray is absolutely great.

#30 TIE ME UP! TIE ME DOWN! Spanish
Absolutely gorgeous. But I just can't buy the female lead falling "in love" with her kidnapper quite so easily.

#29 CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM, Season 1: Disc 2 American
More of the same with some episodes (the last one on this disc, for example) much better than others.

#28 NOWHERE IN AFRICA German
Lots of lovely shots of Africa and some nice period sets of pre-war Germany, but no real drama to speak of and nothing unexpected from any of the characters.

#27 CONTROL ROOM American
Documentary featuring interviews with reporters from Al Jezeera, and from the clearly conflicted American Army Press Spokesman. Hard to watch because it makes me so sad and so mad.

#26 CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM, Season 1: Disc 1 American
Not as good as Season 2, which for some reason was available for viewing before Season 1, but still fascinating in an I-can't-believe-this-guy kind of way.

#25 ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND American
I've seen this before, but it's totally worth a second look. In fact, it almost begs for a repeat viewing. Very intelligently done. And Jim Carrey is anything but what you'd expect.

#23-24 MY VOYAGE TO ITALY (2 discs) American
Fascinating. Martin Scorsese gives what feels like a private tour of memorable scenes (and themes) from classic Italian cinema. Beautiful to watch and way more interesting than it sounds.

#22 RIVERS AND TIDES British
Gorgeous. And fascinating. I confess that I'd never heard of Andy Goldsworthy before seeing this documentary of his work. Unbelievably wonderful.

#21 WAIT UNTIL DARK American
Classic. Vintage 60's, but, still, it really holds up. Audrey Hepburn looks painfully thin, which only adds to her character's vulnerability. Beautifully shot, with nicely dramatic use of darkness and light.

#20 MY BEAUTIFUL LAUNDRETTE British
I know this movie has reached near cult status, but I found it disjointed (for no discernable artistic reason) and the characters hard to care about.

#19 KISSING JESSICA STEIN American
Cute. A little too Hollywood-ized for my taste (everything turns out OK and, in the end, the girl gets the guy) but still fun to watch.

#18 MAURICE British
Beautiful, but boring.

#17 BAGDAD CAFE American
I've seen this movie at least a dozen times and I'm sure I'll see it at least a dozen times more. It's not a great work of art, but it's sweet and funny and makes me feel hopeful about friendships and the possibility of making a real, human connection.

#16 THE OFFICE, Series 1 & 2 British
This is a brilliant series, although sometimes annoying to watch. It's billed as a comedy, but by the end of the last series, it's clear that the show is much more than that. It's amazing, but I do care about what happens to the characters Tim and Dawn, and maybe even to their awful boss David. They are all deeply flawed, but sympathetic none the less.

#15 THE BARBARIAN INVASIONS Canadian
I've seen this movie twice now, and I'm still trying to parse out the multiple facets of these characters and their situation. I'm especially intrigued with implications of the title. Who, exactly, are the barbarians, and are their invasions, on the whole, destructive or constructive?

#14 L'AUBERGE ESPAGNOLE French
I love this movie. It's the fantasy I'm still trying to live--of going off to a foreign country to learn a new language and instead ending up with a whole new life.

#13 CRACKER, Series 2, Disc 2 British
I don't know what it is about this grossly overweight, chain-smoking, womanizing, gambling-addicted criminal psychologist that I like so much, but I suspect it has something to do with his unflinching awareness of his own, as well as others', complex emotional states and his right-on gut-level intelligence.

#12 THE TURANDOT PROJECT American
A great look at an extraordinarily international accomplishment: the Indian-born Zubin Meta putting on Puccini's opera set in ancient China, right there in Beijing, using a Chinese director and Chinese extras, German sound specialists, Italian lighting experts and Italian, American and even one Chinese soloist. Plus incredible costumes. Wow.

#11 LA DOLCE VITA Italian
Stylistically gorgeous and, of course, brilliantly Fellini-esque, but at 174 minutes it's way too long. Which, I think, is sort of the point--that everything, even things that are vital. like sex and love and family and hope--after a while, even these things break down and it all just gets to be really too much.

#10 TRIUMPH OF THE WILL German
This is the famous Nazi propoganda film shot by Leni Riefenstahl. It's masterfully done (the light is incredible) but pretty boring, unless you happen to chance upon the voice-over (which we did) and then it's mezmerizing. Depressing, too, because you can see how easy it is to be seduced by the images of strength and the trappings of glory.

#9 TOUCHING THE VOID American
This was incredibly powerful and beautifully photographed. I loved the interplay of re-inacted scenes with interviews by the real-life guys who made the climb. I'm blown away by the fact that one of them bascially climbed down the mountain with a shattered leg (after having been cut loose by his partner who presumed that he was dead.) But I can't help feeling annoyed at them for trying such a stunt. They were ill prepared, under equipped and pig headed. The resulting disaster was hardly an unforseeable event. One entirely of their own doing. They did it just because no one else had ever done it. What arrogance. I don't get it.

#8 CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM American
It took me a while to warm up to the series, but after a couple of episodes I found Larry David playing Larry David strangely fascinating. I don't know why. I wouldn't want to spend 15 minutes talking to him, but I had no trouble watching his show for 2 hours straight.

#7 GOODBYE LENIN German
Sweet. Somewhat sentimental, but not sappy. A humorous, even nostalgic, look at East Germany. Seems made-for-TV-ish, but worth a watch.

#6 RUN LOLA RUN German
Fast, sharp and fun to watch. (And I LOVE her hair!)

#5 CAPTURING THE FRIEDMANS American
Unsettling and sad. The only thing we know for sure, after watching this film, is that our "justice" system is tragically flawed.

#4 CRACKER, Series 2, Disc 1 British
Outstanding! If only US TV could be like this!

#3 AIMEE AND JAGUAR German
Beautifully done. Especially compelling, when you realize it's based on a real-life couple. An interview with the surviving partner is a nice touch. (And the woman playing Jaguar is stunning.)

#2 MALENA Italian
Gorgeous. A bit over the top in depicting the Italian male's well-known madona/whore syndrome, but still fun to watch.

#1 ANTONIA'S LINE Dutch
Wonderfully complicated relationships. Beautifully shot and very smartly written.

© Copyright 2005 Jan Rosamond. Last update: 8/17/05; 3:13:45 PM.