I started a draft of this post a few months ago, but then I got too busy to get back to it. But now we have been without television for 6 weeks, featuring 5 visits by the Geek Squad, 3 major replacement parts (either wrong or defective), one replacement television (did not work), and we are waiting for another due in a week. As a result, I’ve been thinking about good television, which for me includes movies I used to watch through Netflix or Amazon Prime.
Anyway, here’s the blog post I started, which, when you read it, will be revised and expanded:
The Oscars have come and gone, leaving me with one question: Who cares? Really?
I suppose the reason I watch awards given out to movies I did not see, except for Roma, which I did not especially like, is that it’s live television, so we might actually witness a great moment (probably not) or an amusing screw-up (more likely). What else do we see live on television? Sports, of course. Congressional hearings. National news in the evening is live, but it seems pretty tightly written and edited. Our small-market local news has more of a live feel, and that’s part of its charm – as when the weather guy accidentally turned off his mic and awkwardly apologized, or the young guy who needs often some help selecting and putting on his clothing.
About a year ago I posted a blog listing our favorite movies: http://www.dhstringer.com/search?updated-max=2017-11-16T09:06:00-05:00&max-results=7
and asking for choices from readers. We got some great responses: http://www.dhstringer.com/2017/11/(and thanks to whoever suggested “Suits,” a series not a movie, but so what?). With winter lingering here in the North with snow and wind as I write this, it’s a good time to update our list. We again invite your suggestions.
Classics that Endure
The Graduate
The Birdcage
Annie Hall
Good Will Hunting
The Cider House Rules
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They
Classics that Don’t Endure
Blazing Saddles (no surprise)
Casablanca
New Discoveries
Mozart in the Jungle (quality down after second season)
Safe (limited series that we rewatched, not quite realizing that we’d seen it before)
Get Low (great Robert Duvall performance)
A Late Quartet (check the cast)
The Kominski Method (limited series, Alan Arkin)
Maudie
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
Krystal (very offbeat comedy)
The Children Act (Emma Thompson at her best)
About Time (Bill Nighy, who can time travel back to fix mistakes)
The Sapphires (great music, great true-ish story)
The Kindness Diaries (a documentary series with some flaws, but we really enjoyed it)
The Wife
I Saw the Light (great Hank Williams music)
Call Me By Your Name
Doubt (Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman – need I say more?)
I’ll stop here. This list may be too revealing. What I really want is to have yourecommend movies for usto watch. Please send suggestions to dstring@ix.netcom.comor stringer.david13@gmail.com.
Have you seen Aretha Franklin's Amazing Grace?
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