Movies in the Park

I've been enjoying the Grant Park Classic Film Fest these past couple weeks. Sure, it's kind of a pain to get down there, and parking is ridiculously expensive, but for some reason watching a movie outside with hundreds of other people is way fun.

The Odd Couple was their first feature. I had rented it awhile back and enjoyed it, but for some reason it was significantly more hilarious on the second viewing. I highly recommend this movie.

Then came The Blues Brothers this week. I was pretty excited to have the chance to watch it in downtown Chicago. It seems appropriate. There were even a few people dressed up. I'll be honest, I didn't find it as funny as The Odd Couple, but there are still some hilarious moments. About an hour and a half into the movie, the rain started pouring down and I ran for cover, missing possibly the best part of the film. It seems I may never know how this movie ends as I've tried to watch it many times, but haven't been able to see it all the way through. It's getting annoying.

I'll be on vacation for the next two weeks so I'm going to miss those movies, but when I get back they'll be showing one of my favorites, An Affair To Remember. Will I cry? Possibly.

Hello, WALL•E!

I went to see the latest Pixar film, WALL•E, last night. It was excellent. Quite different than most Pixar films in that it's basically heart wrenching. I think I almost cried a few times. Luckily I kept myself under control. I never thought a robot's life could be such an emotional roller coaster.

By far the best part of the film was their brilliant use of two songs from Hello, Dolly: "Put on Your Sunday Clothes" and "It Only Takes a Moment." I had heard they used some clips from Hello, Dolly so I was looking forward to seeing it, but I no idea of what a large part they played in the film. WALL•E the robot has an old video tape of the movie and watches those songs constantly. They teach him about love and dancing. Isn't that what all musicals teach us, really?

So good job Pixar for integrating a great classic musical so well into a movie primarily about robots. I highly recommend seeing WALL•E. And Now I need to go watch Hello, Dolly.