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Wait, It's the Soldiers, I'll Hang Up Now Jaqi Ross   National Gallery of Art   Saturday, February 21, 2004 Sitting at home in his study in Tel Aviv, filmmaker Avi Mograbi receives a phone call from a friend inside the occupied territories. Acting out the conversation from his end, Mograbi conveys not only the unease but also the informality of the moment when his caller is interrupted.

Walk Don't Run (1966) Kristin Schrock   Turner Classic Movies   Sunday, August 14, 2005 Cary Grant stars (his last movie) in this screwball comedy with Jim Hutton. There's some wackiness, there's some explanation at the Japanese Consolate and a marriage of convenience (or is it?). Pretty much everything you'd expect from a screwball.

Walk the Line Tony Pisarenkov   AMC Mazza Gallery, Washington, DC   Saturday, November 26, 2005 More than a little Hollywoody for my taste, and Joaquin Phoenix was channeling Elvis way better than he was channeling Cash, but the story kept my interest and the music was quite good.

War of the Worlds Steve Gadd   Countryside Megaplex   Friday, July 15, 2005 A passable summer blockbuster, with all the requisite elements: brilliant, thrilling effects; a boring Act 2 in which the characters become slightly less flat; and the need to suspend more disbelief than you have since "Independence Day." Voiceover excerpts from H. G. Wells give a note of dignity to the opening and closing moments, but with disappointingly few nods to the 1953 version this is just an interplanetary "Jurassic Park."

Warrior Queen A Bennett   TiVo'd from PBS' Mobil Masterpiece Theatre   Thursday, October 16, 2003 The only mistake the Romans made was letting her live.

Warrior Queen Julie Gephart   Basic cable   Sunday, October 19, 2003 The reign of Boudica, in all its dirty barbarian glory.

Waterloo Bridge (1940) A Bennett   Taped off TV: Turner Classic Movies   Sunday, November 03, 2002 A story about ruin, and prostitution during WWI. Remarkable for many reasons, but largely for its ability to never once utter the word prostitution--yet never fails to get the point across. A perennial Alicia favorite, to both view and discuss.

We Don't Live Here Anymore Steve Gadd   DVD   Monday, May 02, 2005 Two academics, bored with their home lives, try to spice things up with a bit of adultry, but do a pretty poor job at it. With good direction and mood music, this psychodrama is neither boring nor particularly enjoyable.

We Were Soliders Jeff Gadd     Monday, October 28, 2002 A very well made movie of Vietnam,great action,great actors,and a very realistic movie.Worth seeing,if your into war movies.

Wedding Crashers Steve Gadd   Reston Town Center   Friday, July 29, 2005 Pairing the indomitable cuteness of Owen Wilson with blustering, crass Vince Vaughn was inspired, but there just aren't enough jokes to make the comedy work, and not much else to go on. Christopher Walken is always fun to watch, of course.

Wedding Crashers Kristin Schrock   Brew 'n View: Chicago   Friday, November 11, 2005 Owen Wilson is in fine form here (I'm tempted to take him back as my boyfriend) playing the straight man (!) to Vince Vaughn. Also stars Christopher Walken, who may just have the most eclectic resume in Hollywood.

We're Not Married Julie Gephart   Basic cable   Saturday, March 06, 2004 Old comedy was less than satisfying since it divided its short time into six separate stories. A judge begins marrying couples before his appointment is official, so two years later, six couples find out that their marriages were not actually legal. Many are quite pleased with this development, as at least one couple actively loathes each other by now. Nevertheless, we somehow consider it a Happy Ending when they all get remarried again at the end.

We're Not Married! (1952) A Bennett   TiVo'd from AMC a.m.   Wednesday, October 01, 2003 Five couples, in pre-Altman vignettes, learn that due to a technicality years prior their marriages are not legally binding. Marilyn Monroe and Man #1 are thrilled to learn she can now compete and win *Miss* America (non-husband, baby and all), after which they remarry. Eddie Bracken and Woman #2 rush to find a way to remarry before he is shipped off to Korean combat and she gives birth to their first child. Man #3 burns the letter, seemingly intent on not telling Eve Arden of their situation (yet in the last moments they re-wed as well), so loathe he is to jump back into the expensive live of the dating game. Zsa Zsa Gabor's marriage (and subsequent divorce proceedings) are caught in the wacky misunderstanding when she learns she was never married to very very rich Man #4. His infidelity--a hoax she herself initiated--loses her Man #4, and as a result of the glitch he keeps all his assets, both wiser and richer. Ginger Rogers and Man #5 prove the oddest situation of the five--married only so that they can win the spot of a coveted radio gig as "Mr. & Mrs.", the intervening years find them hateful and unhappy--except on air. Why they married in the first place was enough of a mystery. Why they choose in the final seconds of the film to remarry is even more so. Misery, perhaps, loves matrimony.

Wes Craven's Dracula 2000 Julie Gephart   Mysteriously free HBO   Tuesday, February 18, 2003 This took what could have been a very interesting story about the origins of Dracula ("Dra-COOL-ya") and made it completely overbearing and ridiculous by the end. Still, it's not every day you get to see killer leeches, so that's something.

Wet Hot American Summer A Bennett   TiVo'd from Comedy Central   Tuesday, June 15, 2004 Entertainment Weekly warned me that, by watching on Comedy Central, I'd be getting a less wet, less hot--and possibly less American version of this film. I confess, it was totally daffy (particularly the second part when the 'errant piece of Skylab' plot popped up). Who knows what I would have thought of it had I not been viewing it alone. As it was, though, it was awfully funny. Including arguably the funniest on-screen kiss ever. Did I mention it was funny? Why aren't they making funny movies anymore? P.S. As the Gephart parents once said of the original Austin Powers: 'but it's just full of sex jokes'. And I think, maybe, that goes for this film, too. The only thing I can say in my defense? At least I'm not giving high ratings to excretory humor [I'm looking at you Adam Sandler. And you, Ben Stiller]. (Small consolation, I know)

Wet Hot American Summer Kristin Schrock   VHS   Wednesday, June 30, 2004 I wasn't able to watch the TiVO'd version with Abennett so a rental was in order. This movie was bizarre and incredibly funny in places. It's rare that a comedy seems so joyful--even when the jokes don't hit.

Whale Rider Julie Gephart   Basic cable   Monday, March 01, 2004 This was a lovely little movie, and as for the three people in the world who are not yet in love with New Zealand, well, I just can’t imagine why not. The little girl was both brilliant and beautiful, thus showing us that it is only adult actresses who have to ugly up for award consideration.

Whale Rider A Bennett   TiVo'd from Oxygen (and thank you, Oxygen!)   Friday, March 05, 2004 I LOVE NEW ZEALAND! AND ITS PRIME MINISTER, HELEN CLARK! This film broke my heart (in a good way, I think). I felt real peril for Pai, the main character, emotionally and physically, and am willing to dismiss a nagging in the back of my mind that says her drive to be a leader had less to do with any idea she hatched on her own, than with a desire to please the men in her life and find acceptance/approval from them. I read a review that said Keisha Castle-Hughes did not deserve an Oscar nomination because she was a child who was only doing what the director told her. Well, if that's the case (and it so isn't), I wish all the Harry Potter kids and every other child in film could 'do what they're told' even a quarter as well as she did. ALSO, I LOVE THE MAORI!

Whale Rider Ray Hunley   Netflix DVD   Saturday, April 09, 2005 A story about the special relationship young girls have with their whales. Keisha Castle-Hughes really is brilliant in this absorbing portrait of Maori life.

What About Bob Mike Gadd   Dvd purchased at Target for $5.50   Tuesday, August 10, 2004 An old favorite that was too cheap to not pick up. Bill Murray at his goofy best.

What Happened Was... Steve Gadd   Video   Sunday, August 03, 2003 Jackie and Michael, two maladjusted New Yorkers, share an awful first date. Set entirely in her apartment, with almost no music, it's a struggle against boredom as they outdo each other revealing their insecurities and complexes. It is a very convincing portrayal that may have worked well on stage, but on screen it is too much like watching a car crash in very slow motion.

What Lies Beneath Mike Gadd   dvd at home   Saturday, March 29, 2003 This movie's been sitting around the house waiting to get watched. It wouldn't be nearly as good of a movie without Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer, both whom seem to be aging gracefully.

What's Cooking? (2000) A Bennett   TiVo'd from Lifetime   Sunday, November 30, 2003 I probably don't watch enough Joan Chen films. Four families, each of a different race, confront issues that divide family members from one another (most having to do with matters of romantic love and choice of partners) during the Thanksgiving holiday. Stories only tangentially touch until the final moments, when it is revealed that each of the four own a house at the same intersection in suburban LA. Contains the occasional, small moment (as with Alfre Woodard and Mercedes Ruehl's seperate performances) that proves very rewarding.

What's Love Got To Do With It Julie Gephart   Basic cable   Sunday, February 22, 2004 I would like to nominate Angela Bassett’s Arms for a co-starring role in every single movie I watch for the rest of my life.

When Trumpets Fade Jeff Gadd   Video   Monday, October 28, 2002 A sad war movie of Hurtgen Forest in 1944. American soldiers are trapped and are ordered to secure a bridge flanked with tanks.They are also trapped in a mine field,that seems impossible to get out of.

While You Were Sleeping Julie Gephart   Mysteriously free HBO   Friday, February 21, 2003 Always a good time. The epitome of what makes Sandra Bullock loveable.

White Tony Pisarenkov   AFI Silver Theatre, Silver Spring, MD   Wednesday, January 14, 2004 The middle installment of the "Colors" trilogy, this film actually stands wonderfully on its own. A story of a hapless loser who, dumped by his wife, transforms himself into a ruthless business tycoon out of obsession for her, bequeaths her his millions, and stages his own death. With a happy-yet-unhappy ending, and lots of subtle commentary on various aspects of love, life, cultural differences, and free market reforms in newly democratic Eastern Europe, "White" is a veritable layer cake of themes and messages.

Why Do Fools Fall in Love Julie Gephart   Basic cable   Friday, November 07, 2003 The life and loves of doo-wop star Frankie Lymon, as told through the court testimonies of three women who claim to have been married to him at the time of his death. They all loved him, he ruined all of their lives, a dog got killed, and Halle Berry looked really pretty, the end.

Wild Strawberries Tony Pisarenkov   National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC   Saturday, July 17, 2004 A story of an old doctor reminiscing about his childhood and youth and realizing his failure as a human being even as he was a great success professionaly. Bergman's appropriately bleak allegories and a subtext of Swedish society in the 1950s struggling with its Lutheran inflexibility and encoraching modernity make this a small masterpiece, however rough around the edges it appears today.

Wimbledon A Bennett   Hollywood Video DVD   Thursday, August 04, 2005 Sort of surprising this charming film of good acting didn’t make more of a splash. Granted, I know nothing of tennis, but the two leads have chemistry to spare. Could have done without the lengthy, wooden, and painful cameos by John McEnroe and Chris Everett as announcers. The world cannot have enough diverting films that manage to entertain.

Winged Migration Steve Gadd   Visions Cinema   Friday, November 28, 2003 I got stuck on my way out of Hollywood Video when I noticed this film playing on the monitors. Despite the comparisons to Baraka and similar films, I had my doubts about paying cinema prices to see a movie entirely about migratory birds. But this documentary is done extraordinarily well. The recurrent image never wears thin: a flock of birds, the nearest one seemingly inches away from the camera, soaring above beautiful backgrounds from nature and cities around the world. Every few minutes there is a shot so perfect it must have taken weeks to capture. And you can't beat those penguins for goofy charm.

Without a Trace (Sin Dejar Huella) Steve Gadd   DVD   Friday, June 03, 2005 Aurelia and Ana, each fleeing their own troubles, hook up on a road trip from Ciudad Juarez to Cancun. A drug dealing ex-boyfriend and corrupt federales on their tail keep the pressure on, but the movie frequently loiters over achingly beautiful scenes along Mexico's eastern coast.

Woman of the Year (1942) Julie Gephart   Basic cable   Saturday, September 13, 2003 The first of the Hepburn/Tracy movies, and my favorite so far. I thought it was going to preach at me about how a woman can’t have a career and be a good wife, but it came through with fairly flying colors.

Wonderland Kristin Schrock   DVD   Wednesday, June 30, 2004 The "true" story behind the murder of four people in California in the early eighties which involved legendary porn star John Holmes. Strong performances by Val Kilmer, Dylan McDermott, and Josh Lucas (who does not play a southern redneck), but the story seems to be hampered by the dual point of view--which hampers our ability to identify with any one character. Bonus points for a Gordon Lightfoot song playing over the credits.

Word Wars Ray Hunley   Netflix DVD   Sunday, July 31, 2005 This documentary tracks four Scrabble aficianados as they gear up for, and compete in, the U.S. championship tournament. The level of obsession and dedication among the top players is amazing.

Wuthering Heights (MTV) Julie Gephart   Basic cable   Monday, September 22, 2003 Phheeeeeeeeeeeewwwwww, what's that smell?