Thanksgiving DVDs

The holidays are coming up, and we all know what that means. That means quality time with the family. And here are some movie suggestions that encapsulate those precious moments.

Thanksgiving
Home for the Holidays - My personal Thanksgiving favorite, this Jodie Foster directed Holly Hunter film is underrated and sentimental without being saccharine.
Pieces of April - An indie film starring Katie "Mrs. Cruise" Holmes and Patricia Clarkson.

Christmas
The Family Stone - Some uncomfortable scenarios, but what family doesn't have those?
Elf - Will Ferrell as an elf. Enough said.
About A Boy - No man is an island.
Love Actually - Colin Firth and Hugh Grant. What more could a girl want?
Bridget Jones's Diary - What more could a girl want? Another movie with Colin Firth and Hugh Grant.
Bad Santa - Well, "Santa" is an anagram for "Satan."

Family Dysfunction
Flirting with Disaster - This 1996 David O. Russell vehicle represents everything that could go wrong with finding out where you came from in a hilarious way.
Meet the Parents - What family comedies should aspire to.
The Royal Tenenbaums - Wes Anderson's characters live in a world of their own.

Saturday Night Live 10.28.06

SNLove (My Two Hours of Heaven)

host: Hugh Laurie
musical guest: Beck

I looked into Mr. Laurie's blue blue eyes and they swallowed me whole.

Waking up at 4:30 AM was worth it. Standing outside in the rain was worth it. Having to blow-dry my Uggs because they were soaked was worth it. Having my heart sink in my chest in fear of possibly missing those eyes was all worth it in the end.

Sketches included "Most Haunted," "Advance Man," "Hardball with Chris Matthews," "Weekend Update" with Tim Calhoun and two gay guys from Jersey, a job interview, Frankenstein, and a hospital scene with Hugh Laurie in drag, with special appearances by Lorne Michaels and Borat (with Azamat).

Cut sketches that didn't make it to the live show include a "Lost" parody, "Evil Speed Reader," "Vincent Price's Halloween Special," and an annoying drunk guy.

Beck sang two songs, "Nausea" and "Clap Hands," both with marionette versions of the band playing right alongside in a small replica of the stage. The second song included dinnerware as instruments. Very awesome. And Mr. Laurie also had a musical treat for us with a protest song.

Overall, a great experience to watch the workings of a live show.

The Prestige (Short)

director: Christopher Nolan
writer: Christopher Nolan, Jonathan Nolan

This magical mystery is more sophisticated and complex than the recent The Illusionist. The comparison is inevitable due to the proximity of release dates and themes.
While I found The Illusionist completely predictable, The Prestige had me wrapped around the tale, guessing and curious. This film is filled with hints and foreshadowing, along with ambiguous characters and real acting, especially from the reliable Christian Bale. The film draws in the audience not just with a twist ending, which it does contain, but with a depth in storytelling worthy of not just a simple magic trick, but a magical illusion.

rating: ****/***** (a definite-see)

recommendations: Memento, One Hour Photo, Insomnia

The Science of Sleep

director: Michel Gondry
writer: Michel Gondry

If we could live in our dreams, would we ever want to wake up? Why bother when in our dreams, the object of our affections would return our sentiments and we could ride off into the sunset together on a woven horse.

However, living in your dreams apparently has its drawbacks, like being emotionally stunted. Flirting consists of commenting on your girl's unpretentious boobs and absent penis. But then again, it doesn't get boring. Why bring your sweetheart flowers when a one second time machine makes a more "useful" gift?

Imaginative French writer/director (and music video god) Michel Gondry brings us this fanciful modern-day fairytale, starring indie film virtuoso Gael Garcia Bernal and the unconventionally beautiful Charlotte Gainsbourg. While his wonderfully fantastical Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind dealt with memories and this Charlie Kaufman-less venture deals in dreams, love is always the central theme, as in life. The reason I appreciate these films, besides their originality is the tender way they portray romance sans sappiness. I find the relationships set in these surreal backgrounds ironically real. Love is hard. People are damaged. Relationships get old and people tire of each other. Yet, we persevere and try again. And that these films can capture all this beauty in sadness with care and warmth is an achievement.

The Science of Sleep does not hold up to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (one of my favorite romantic films) in story and depth. But it is magical in its own right and surprisingly funny and perverse. And the ending will leave you with lingering thoughts like those following an enigmatic but fleeting dream.

rating: ****/***** (a definite-see)

recommendations: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Lost in Translation, Love Me If You Dare, Being John Malkovich