Jessie: Admiring the fall roses and asters blooming in the garden.
This week as we continue to chat about positive surprises I want to turn our attention to movies. Is there a movie, or even genre of movies that you have ended up enjoying far more than you would have expected? Or, is there one that you would have expected to love, but didn’t?
Sherry: I love action movies. I love the diehard movies and the mission impossible movies anything that has a lot of big sometimes silly action scenes. There was one movie that Ididn’t libe up to the hype. It was one of those movies you keep hearing about how wonderful it is over and over again and then when you see it, it’s just OK for you. That movie for me was Good Will Hunting. I’ve always thought I should watch it again and see if I loved it the second time.
Barb: I love Good Will Hunting! I was thinking about it just the other day. Probably because Matt Damon and Casey Affleck are out doing publicity for The Instigators. Anyway, I feel like this happens to me all the time, things are better than I expected. Maybe I have chronically low expectations. I have two recent examples. Bill and I laughed out loud at the Jerry Seinfeld movie Unfrosted. It got mixed/bad reviews and no wonder. No one under sixty would get half the jokes or references, which go back to our Cold War childhoods. But if you do get the jokes/references, it is very funny. (And Jerry Seinfeld was shooting his mouth off in unhelpful ways during the publicity tour, which didn’t help, but that’s a whole separate post for another day.) My second example is not a movie but a show. We went with friends to the Ross Family Ceilidh when we were vacationing on Prince Edward Island two weeks ago. It’s not so much that I had low expections. I had no expectations. What I got was a delightful celebration not just of the Scottish traditions on the island, but the French, the Irish, the Mic Mac, and with nods to the much more newly arrived. There were original songs, traditional songs, amazing fiddling, and tap dancing even while standing on one’s head. Really! A delight.
Edith: Wow, Barb, that show sounds fabulous. I don’t know if it’s a genre, but I’ve seen some stellar Asian movies recently that I didn’t know I would love as much as I did. One, which I was lucky to watch shortly before I visited Japan last spring, was called Perfect Days. It follows the life of a gentle man who is a Tokyo public toilet cleaner, and it’s slow and lovely (truly – see it if you can). Another is Parasite, a Korean movie that won the Oscar for Best Picture in 2020. It starts out entertaining and ends up a little bit horrifying but remains intriguing enough to keep watching. Everything Everywhere All at Once won in 2022, and Past Lives was nominated in 2023. Both are primarily in English and primarily feature Chinese-origin characters. I’m happy to be surprised that I like Asian-based movies as much as I do.
Jessie: I’ve never gotten around to watching Good Will Hunting. Sherry and Barb, you’ve inspired me to add it to my queue! I am a bit surprised that I love both martial arts movies and westerns. The costumes, the scenery, and the action sequences make for perfect viewing to go with a somewhat complex knitting project! I love making dual use of my screen time!
Julie: Marvel movies! I LOVE THEM. And didn’t expect to, at least not to the degree I do.
Readers, which movie took you by surprise?
The Wickeds 
A teacher suggested that I watch “My Dinner With Andre.” I watched out of duty, not expecting to like it. Who wants to see a couple of ordinary looking two men talking to each other while eating? I loved it–and still love it. An Asian movie (with English subtitles) I recommend is Raise the Red Lantern. Touching and wonderful in so many ways.
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I can understand why you felt skeptical about two men eating!
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Movies that have surprised me are the ones that you wouldn’t typically call “guy” movies.
The Emma Thompson version of Sense and Sensibility, the Keira Knightley version of Pride & Prejudice, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and The Spitfire Grille.
All movies that would seem outside of my typical movie fare, but I loved all four of those movies.
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I love that version of Sense and Sensibility! I watched it two weeks ago for the umpteenth time!
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What fun! I also love “Good Will Hunting” and have seen it twice, and Edith, I thought “Perfect Days” was beautiful and very moving (and good preparation for a trip to Tokyo!) Who’d ever expect such a think from a movie about a man cleaning toilets for a living? A movie I wasn’t sure I’d like was Edward Zwick’s “Glory,” about the 54th Regiment in the Civil War. It turned out to be superb; how could it not be with Morgan Freeman and Denzel Washington. A movie that I knew I’d love–and did–was “Kate and Leopold,” with Hugh Jackman as an English nobleman who travels forward in time to fall in love with Meg Ryan at her most charming. I’m a big sucker for time-travel movies! “While You Were Sleeping” with Bill Pullman and Sandra Bullock is a terrific screwball comedy, and I only started to watch it because my husband is a Sandra Bullock fan. It all goes to show that sometimes you just can’t predict what’s going to take your fancy.
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I loved While You Were Sleeping too!
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The older I get the more I enjoy Hallmark, GAC, etc movies. Particularly the Christmas and mystery movies. My favorite is Home By Christmas with Linda Hamilton whose spouse dumps her for a younger woman. She eventually ends up homeless. With the help of a new friend she eventually improves her situation and earns success. I enjoy movies that are uplifting. With the world the way it is today I seek movies without violence, something to entertain and uplift me.
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Feel good movies are such a welcome escape, aren’t they?
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I’m not the biggest fan of Thomas Hardy, but I loved the serialized Mayor of Casterbridge from many years ago. Something about it was just compelling.
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I keep meaning to watch that series! It is in my queue!
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Usually, I find Jim Carrey movie trailers painful to sit through, but for some reason, I decided to see Liar, Liar in the theater, and I loved it. I also love The Truman Show, but of course, that’s different from his typical movie.
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Painful to sit through is something I have felt sometimes too when watching different shows, especially sitcoms!
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In my youth, I loved those Jane Eyre movies and the others like that. I do not like them now. “Kate and Leopold” is fabulous as are the Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan movies. I am into Romcom and Hallmark movies. There are too many to say what has a surprise ending. I watch a lot of old movies and maybe “Laura” was one that surprised me. I binge watched recently the Mission Impossible movies and the Fast and Furious movies. Way good! I want to be entertained in my old age and not upset. I love Asian American books and food, but not the strange movies that are out there.
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I can understand not enjoying feeling upset!
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The Theory of Everything about Stephen Hawkins which help me understand ALS which my father died of when my second son was born. He only lived 2 years after being diagnosed that is what he had and died at age 64. I enjoy fantasy and so The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings I have also enjoyed.
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I’m sorry for your loss, Sherrie! I also love those books!
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