It's been a while since we've had any movie recommendations here. So I'll start a new thread.

We rented "Spellbound" last week and were, well, spellbound. I don't have much patience with movies and the theatrical arts in general, but I was on the edge of my cliff with this one. I loved it. The story traces the fates of eight children who qualify for the National Spelling Bee (OK, if it had been a skateboard championship I might not have been as interested ). It's got great character and plot development *and I learned a bunch of new words (my favorite was the headline on a NY tabloid).

What have y'all seen recently that was good?

Aside: "edge of my cliff"?? Well, Anna, I haven't seen any recent movies, but Duel was on late one night a while back--really late, around 3 a.m., and I watched it again. I remember watching it on TV when it first came out, and it kept me literally on the edge of my chair in my mother's kitchen. It wasn't until years later that I realized why: it was directed by Steven Spielberg. It was interesting, this time, in that some things, for ex. a silhouette against the sky, now seem clichéed--then I realized that he was setting a standard then that has been so copied since that I was reminded of the joke about the name-your-picked-on-person-type who saw a Shakespeare play and commented that it would have been better if the actors hadn't used so many clichés.

Also, some time back, I rented A Beautiful Mind; that performance has stayed with me like few others have.

Rented 40 first dates. It was pretty good. Watched it with my kids. I remember thinking Adam Sandler was an idiotic goof. Couldn't stand listening to him for more than the 30 seconds it took to locate the remote. Then I heard the Channukah song. Now, I still think he's an idiotic goof, but I can't help chuckling while he's goofing.

"edge of my cliff"??

I like to take clichés and turn them around, Jackie. Beats stretching for puns, I guess.

I have also seen spellbound. Found it very interesting. Are spelling bees really that popular in the states. We don't have them in Australia. (Don't know whether that would be considered a cause or an effect of our spelling abilities). One movie I really enjoyed lately was Mystic River. Have been eager to see 9/11 by Michael Moore but out local cinema won't play it because they think it's to controversial. Has anyone seen it and if so i'd be interested to hear your thoughts.