Good movies online @Kanopy! Thanks @CalgaryLibrary!

Here is a list of good movies online via the Kanopy streaming service. Calgary Public Library (CPL) users get to watch up to 10 movies each month. Hope you will enjoy these movies. (Note: Movie links are for CPL. A quick Google confirms public libraries in Toronto and San Francisco are also subscribers of the Kanopy service.)

1. Guangzhou Dream Factory (documentary) (5/5 stars), trailer (added: 20181206)
2. Patema Inverted (Japanese Anime) (4/5 stars), trailer (20181206)
3. Hearts Beat Loud (drama) (5/5 stars), trailer, SXSW Q&A with Nick Offerman and Director Brett Haley, Sundance Q&A (20181206)
4. Peggy Guggenheim: Art Addict (documentary) (4/5 stars), trailer (20181206)
5. Sweet Bean (Japanese drama) (5/5 stars), trailer (20181206)
6. Like Someone in Love (Japanese drama) (4/5 stars), trailer (20181206)
7. After The Storm (Japanese drama) (5/5 stars), trailer (20181206)

P.S. I love Calgary Public Library system’s awesome collection of books, audio books, and, in recent years, massive DVDs and Blu-rays collection! The brand new Central Library is really a work of beauty! Library users can actually make five (5) suggestions per month to the library (via our online account) to buy new books, DVDs, or Blu-rays to add to its collection! So far two out of my five suggestions have been accepted.

Recently Guangzhou Dream Factory was rejected as a purchase but I was told that the film is actually available to watch online via Kanopy ! Truly a case of one door closes, a window opens!

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2017 November Random

* CBC News, 2017 Nov 7, “Party crasher – Donald Trump delivered Republicans the presidency and both houses of Congress. That gift may prove fatal to the GOP” (very insightful and worth a read)

* Say this often and with love: “DRIVE CAREFULLY ME.” – Joanne Woodward (1930 -) (ref: 2017 Oct WaPo, “Paul Newman’s Rolex — with a telling message from his wife — fetches record $17.8 million“) (Just added this to my long list of Quotes I Love as we need a good dose of love in our crazy world.)

“DRIVE CAREFULLY ME.”

P.S. No idea Paul Newman & Joanne Woodward would get married later in life when I watched “The Long, Hot Summer” (trailer) but I thought their chemistry in the film were awesome!

* The Life and Legacy of Chief Justice Earl Warren (Earl Warren)

*

Dirty Dancing – Jennifer Grey

I love Dirty Dancing (1987) with Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze. The ending dance scene is one of my most favourite dance sequences!

Insightful & frank interview by ABC News (2012), Jennifer Grey Reveals ‘Dirty Dancing’ Secrets No idea that Grey didn’t know how to dance before Dirty Dancing and the fact that she STOPPED dancing afterwards because the pressure she put on herself. And her later involvement in season eleven of Dancing With the Stars which she and Derek won.

LOVE this: Dirty Dancing – Time of my Life (Final Dance) – High Quality (over 232 million views for very good reason!)

(DWTS) Jennifer Grey & Derek – Last 4 Dances & 5 Dirty Dancing Flashbacks

Little Red Brick House – A Work of Art

It was fun and exciting to see my blog friends Laura moving into her new place and Ming building his beautiful house. So I am quite excited when it is my better half and my turn to move and finally slowly settling into our own little place.

The house was built at a time when solid wood, instead of particle board, were used (for framing and flooring) to build home. And Art, the previous owner, has given the house some real wonderful care and upgrades that we just love and adore. The kitchen is a beauty to cook in. And we are happy that we finally have one of those glass-ceramic stove top that is fast to cook and easy to clean. We now have so many drawers and cabinets (all in beautiful washed oak) to store our cooking utensils. For the moment, we are re-arranging our things to find the most comfortable and convenient places to store them.

The maple hardwood flooring was nailed onto the solid wooden sub-floor one piece at a time by Art. Even the dishwasher is a lovely Bosch which we are very happy with its quietness and efficiency. And the garages provide lots of room to park cars, store things, and even turning it into my own entrepreneurial garage one day. (big smile)

With a beautiful garden, a nice fish pond, strong and durable red bricks walls, and the nice feeling when we are in the house, both my better half and I thought of the Disney version of The Three Little Pigs when we decided this house is the one for us. (big smile)

So we do feel the little red brick house, built by the wonderfully nice Art, is indeed “A Work of Art” for us. And the house has truly become part of our little fairy tale home with a happy and promising future.

Thanks a lot for sharing our happiness. (smile) Have fun watching the Disney version of The Three Little Pigs.

The Magnificent Seven

The Magnificent Seven is a remake of the spectacular Seven Samurai. I found it interesting to see the difference in the different decisions and paths taken by the filmmakers of this remake.

The beautiful Western look (shot in Mexico) and scenes in Magnificent are just unforgettable. The seven hired gunmen (stars like Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen) and the lead bandit were wonderful to watch. But the acting of the supporting actors and the script were less than inspiring when compared to Seven Samurai. There were some great scenes that just didn’t survive the remaking process (e.g. the alarm ringing scene). Now, granted, after I watched the “making of” documentary, I wonder if it was because of the Mexican censor’s handy work!

I recommend you watch Seven Samurai first, and if you are really into films, take a look of Magnificent and compare the two films. In my humble opinion, I think Kurosawa‘s film stood the test of time much better. Just my 2 cents.

The Red Shoes – binge classic movie watching

I am a closet dance and ballet lover! The graceful and seemingly effortless moves that dancers can make with their bodies just delight me to no ends. So it was my great pleasure to discover The Archers‘ The Red Shoes. The story is very engaging to watch (very nice script) and the dance sequences are just wonderful to watch.

Here is a YouTube clip of The Red Shoes,

Incidentally, I’ve learned to love films by The Archers team (Powell and Pressburger) including I Know Where I’m Going! It is a beautiful and romantic film. Highly recommended. (Spoiler ending of the film on YouTube, I am including it so it can remind me the wonderful path the film takes to get me to the end. The ending will not have the impact if you haven’t watched the film.)

As an aside, I also really enjoy Robert Altman‘s The Company – a film starring Neve Campbell who “began her career as a ballet dancer, having been a student at Canada’s National School of Ballet [starting at age nine!]“.

Seven Samurai – binge classic movie watching

Seven Samurai is a great film to watch. And the Criterion 3-DVD edition has so many good extras (making of doc, extensive interviews with Akira Kurosawa, etc.) to watch making it a guaranteed great experience. I will likely be watching this DVD set again and again and I will sure to learn something new every time.

Just for fun, I will be watching The Magnificent Seven next so that I can compare the Hollywood remake with the Kurosawa’s original. Here is a trailer to Seven Samurai.