Antarctica. When I think about it, I think of it as a cold, desolate land of ice and little life. Encounters at the End of the World brings Antarctica and the people who choose to inhabit it to life.
In this documentary, acclaimed director Werner Herzog travels to Antarctica to explore what exactly goes on down there. He’ll take you from the headquarters of the National Science Foundation to the depths of the sea and even to live volcanoes in order to explore the scientists.
On this journey you get to meet many of the scientists and “professional dreamers” who have an incredible passion for being there. That truly is one of the best parts of the movie. It’s incredible to hear the stories of all of the people who ended up, as they say, at the end of the world together. Their stories are unique and inspiring to watch them tell. It’s one thing to read a story, but to hear the person tell it is totally different.
The footage in this movie is breathtaking. Encounters at the End of the World will take you on a journey to some of the most scenic places in the world. You’ll travel under the sheets of Antarctic ice to see some of the creatures who inhabit the sub-zero waters with untethered divers, you’ll venture to a volcano with bubbling lava, and you’ll even see a bit of the penguins and seals that the inhabitants study.
I know some people think that documentaries equal boredom. This documentary, despite its masterful presentation, also offers humor. Herzog, who also narrates the documentary, seems to say exactly what he’s thinking in the moment which turns out to be humorous, thought-provoking, and insightful.
This quirky documentary about the scientists in Antarctica is a must-see for anyone who enjoys documentaries, wants to know more about what happens in the Antarctica, or someone who enjoys hearing amazing true stories.
One of my favorite things about the holidays is the movies. They can bring the family together and make the holidays even better. Below are some of my favorite movies for the holiday season. Be sure to put them in your holiday repertoire this season! Click on the titles to go to the Netflix page.
I’ve been watching this movie with my family every year for as long as I can remember. This movie is one of the funniest movies I’ve ever seen, and even though I watch it every year, it’s still as funny as the first time I saw it. If you haven’t seen this, do it as quickly as possible! This is the story of one family’s Christmas told through the eyes of the eldest son. I don’t even know where to begin when talking about my favorite parts of the movie. It’s an absolute classic and everyone should see it.
This is a great movie about a more realistic Christmas. This is a tale about one family’s Christmas where just about everything that could go wrong, does go wrong. This is another pee-your-pants funny holiday movie that’s great to watch with the older part of the family. It will make your Ch
ristmas’s look perfect compared to theirs. There are so many classic scenes in here, my favorite being when Chevy Chase’s character goes to plug in the lights he put on the house. It’s a perfect moment of holiday rage!
In this film, Buddy the Elf(Will Ferrell) travels to New York to Now this is a film everyone in the family will enjoy. It’s cute and funny and will fill you with holiday cheer. This is typical Will Ferrell comedy…just appropriate for kids. You’ll
wish you were a kid again just so you could act like Buddy the elf and not look crazy.You’ll be tempted to start answering the phone “Buddy the elf!
What’s your favorite color?!” after watching this.
I watch this every year when it repeats over and over on TV. We all know the story of Rudolph the Reindeer. This is the film to go to if you’re looking for your holiday dose of Rudolph. This is the classic Rudolph we know and love. I love the stop motion clay animation in the movie. It makes the story even cuter.
good grief (yes I went there)! This is one of the quintessential holiday cartoons for both young and old. Be sure not to miss this one because it delivers a simple, yet powerful message about the meaning of Christmas without all the commercialism.
This is the classic animated version of the book by Dr. Seuss. If you really love the book, this is fun to watch. Especially if your too lazy to read the book (please tell me you’re not!). This movie embodies the true spirit of giving and learning while still being f
This is the movie version of the Grinch with the Grinch himself played by Jim Carry. I think this movie was unde
rrated. It still captures the spirit of the original, but with just more humor. Some of the jokes may be a little hard for children to grasp, but overall the movie is funny for both kids and adults who are fans of the Grinch. Just don’t expect it to follow the original story line exactly.
Ok, so this movie isn’t really a classic, but I love it anyway! For those of you who love romantic comedies, this is a fantastic holiday themed British romantic comedy. This movie is a lot of intersecting storylines about relationships(and not just your typical husband-wife, girlfriend-boyfriend relationships either). You’ll see a lot of familiar faces in this movie including Collin Firth, Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, Alan Rickman, Kira Knightly, Emma Thompson, and Bill Nighy, just to name a few. These story lines, even the not-so-happy ones, were great.
The title says it all. Fans and even non-fans of the Colbert Report will love this Christmas special. With guests like Jon Stewart, Elvis Costello, Willie Nelson, John Legend,Toby Keith,and Feist, this special offers lots of laughs and some great new holiday songs.
For me, romantic comedies are a love-hate thing. There’s no in between; I either love it or hate it. A romantic comedy that’s not sappy, cheesy, or predictable is hard to find. However, if you’re looking for a good one, look no further.
Irène(Audrey Tautou – who you may know from Amelie, although you’ll hardly recognize her) is a gold digger who lives by taking advantage of rich men with her charm and beauty. When she and her rich boyfriend go on a vacation, she mistakes the bartender Jean(Gad Elmaleh) for a rich man. He becomes smitten with her, and now she must figure out how to get rid of him.
Although, I thought the role didn’t fully allow Audrey Tautou to display her acting ability, she does great with what they give her. Gad Elmaleh was fantastic in the role of Jean, though. I don’t think the movie would be that great if another actor had been chosen for the role.
I thought that Priceless is a great, light-hearted romantic comedy that, despite its predictability, offers witty comedy and a fun storyline. This would make a great date movie.
I had heard a lot of hype about this miniseries and I wasn’t sure if it could live up to all it was supposed to be. I found it even better than what I had heard.
John Adams is a seven episode miniseries(spread over 3 DVDs) presented by HBO about the life of John Adams from the beginning of the American Revolution until his death. Paul Giamatti stars as the title character John Adams and Laura Linney costars as Abigail Adams. The seven episodes are:
Episode 1: Join or Die.
The Boston Massacre to Adams’ departure for the First Continental Congress.
Episode 2: Independance.
The First Continental Congress to the drafting of the Declaration of Independence.
Episode 3: Don't Tread on Me.
Adams travels to France with Ben Franklin to help rally support for America against the British. Adams leaves France for Holland.
Episode 4: Reunion.
Adams returns to Paris to reunite with Abigail. He is called upon to represent America to the English crown. He returns to America to become Vice President.
Episode 5: Unite or Die.
Adams serves as the VP to George Washington. Ends with John Adams accepting the presidency.
Episode 6: Unnecessary War.
Adams takes his role as president. Ends with his loss of the Presidency to Thomas Jefferson and his return to Massachusetts.
Episode 7: Peacefield.
Shows Adams in his “retirement” to his death.
When I first heard that Paul Giamatti was to play the role of John Adams, I was unsure if he could pull it off. I mean, really? Paul Giamatti, although I think he’s a great actor, probably wouldn’t have been on my list of actors to play Adams. Well was I wrong. Giamatti does more than pull off his role; he owns it. In fact, I’d say a lot of the actors became their characters. Laura Linney was amazing in the role of Abigail. The relationship between Abigail and John is one of the great romances in history; Giamatti and Linney had great on screen chemistry to recreate the relationship. In fact, I thought the casting was perfect. George Washington(David Morse) was exactly as I had pictured him from the history books, a tall, handsome man with an overshadowing presence.
John Adams is filled with powerful speeches and great dialect. Those were some of my favorite parts of the series. They were moving and really make you appreciate America when you see what the Founding Fathers of America went through.
The characters are what make this miniseries. When you hear the names of these iconic men, it’s hard to picture them with a human light. I thought this miniseries did a great job of bringing the men in our history to life in a realistic way. I thought this brought John Adams out of the shadows of the presidencies of Washington and Jefferson, and showed us the true Adams and his accomplishments in addition to his faults.
The best part about this miniseries was the gritty realism of it all. The period of the American Revolution is often over romanticized, but this feels like it could be the real thing. Dirt, blood, sickness, unease, and bad teeth are all present. At one point you’ll see a man tarred and feathered. This is one of the most brutal things I’ve seen, and you can feel his pain and humiliation as it’s happening.
There’s also an interesting feature called “Facts Are Stubborn Things.” If you choose to, it will display facts related to the screen you’re watching at the bottom of the screen. There are some really fascinating facts that can give more insight into the scene or time period if you don’t mind taking a few seconds away from watching to read the quick tidbit.
Even if you don’t love history, I think you should see this. If they showed movies more like this in history class, more people would be interested in history. I’m not sure how it will compare to the miniseries, but I can’t wait to read the book John Adams by David McCullough that was the basis for it.
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