Movie night

A nice early Friday Five from Jan at RevGalBlogPals so I can play before I go to bed ... Jan writes: Whenever daughter MJ comes home on breaks from college, I get to go to movies, which has me thinking about motion pictures. Plus, it is fun to watch rented dvd's at home, which my husband prefers.

Share your preferences, opinions, and recommendations about movies! Choose 5 types of movies to discuss:

* action - never much sought after by me, but seemingly loved by our film group so in the last year I have seen a few. I really do find it hard to enter in to this type of movie which bombards with violence and death without real consideration of the human impact. Quantum Of Solace provided a quantum of reality in this regard, and I found it a better movie as a result.
* thriller - The Constant Gardener is the movie that first comes to mind in this category. Based of course on a marvelous novel. This movie I could really engage with. One of the creepiest movies I have seen is Disgrace - yet also a movie that remains with me and has some important themes that transcend the geographical location of the plot.
* drama - Frost/Nixon was maybe more a docudrama. Memorable as much for being viewed at the Darwin Deckchair Cinema as for the wonderful content. Helped me understand much more clearly an event I remember in recent history. I thought the dramatic characterisation was excellent. And for straight drama - the award winning Piano is a timeless treasure in my view.
* foreign - so what is foreign? At this end of the world many of the movies we watch come from beyond our shores. If we're talking about 'non-English language' then this is probably my favourite genre. Film festival lover from way back (and now no time to go sadly). Two favourites are very appropriate for the Easter season: 100 nails and Mary. The opening scene in the former was so shocking and gripping, and that tension didn't leave me throughout the performance. This is one of my all-time-favourite movies that I could watch again and again. Mary is also a wonderful movie. Juliette Binoche is so convincing. I'd like to watch it again this Easter.
* Vintage. In Claremore OK this summer (their winter) I watch my first Will Rogers movie (sorry I cannot remember the name of it). In Wellington the Aro video store had a wonderful range of classic (i.e. pre-1970) movies. I so miss that store, it is the best ever. But I digress. What did I rent and watch and remember from their nostalgia section: Lilies of the field with a young and gorgeous Sidney Poitier and very memorable characters; Goodbye Mr Chips - the 1939 version with surprising insight into the futility of war and the enduring value of friendship. Not quite so old but very powerful is The Wall - the amazing real-time capture of a nation reunited as blow-by-blow the barrier was dismantled.

Bonus: My first movie was 'The Sound of Music". It was the only movie we were allowed to see for a long time as it passed our parents' wholesomeness test. I still love to sing-along. The most recent outing was to see The Blind Side which I absolutely loved.

Bonus Bonus: Great Australian movie Bran Nue Dae seems alarmingly politically incorrect at times and has respected traditional elders on the advisory board. One of the movies where I have lol many many times, and realised at the end that this apparently light-hearted movie has conveyed a significantly deeper message about first peoples and country.