fall movies – Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs..

Hello all! Lisa from Boondock Ramblings and I love to buddy watch movies together – even though I am in Michigan and she is in Pennsylvania! We don’t literally watch together in a watch party, although that might be fun one time! We wanted our fall list to feel fall cozy, move into some more chilling movies, than turn cozy again for November.

This week showed us that you don’t need a typical midwest fall to get cozy. You don’t need a chill in the air, leaves changing color and falling to the ground, none of that is needed to be cozy. You could be in Africa, sweating your behind off on a boat on a river surrounded by mosquitos, and still achieve that cozy feeling.

I have to admit, I am a little intimidated to write this post today! Soooo many of you said that this was one of your favorite movies, and I feel some pressure! But, I do have to say, I also too, now love this movie. Before my go-to Bogart movie was Key Largo; however, I think it might have been replaced by The African Queen. I love an adventure movie and this one was a lot of fun.

In case you are like me, and had never seen this movie, Katharine Hepburn plays Rose, an English missionary in Congo Africa who has been working alongside her brother, a Reverend. Bogart is an unkempt, vagabond captain on The African Queen, of which he is quite proud. He boasts that no one else can captain The African Queen, and while he seems to not care about too much, he does care about the boat. He happens to be near the village where Rose and her brother are working when WWI breaks out, and soldiers burn the village to the ground. Rose’s brother takes a rifle butt to the head during the invasion, and later on dies. Charlie (Bogart) shows up the day that the Reverend dies, and after Charlie buries him, he and Rose leave together on The African Queen. Charlie is concerned that the Germans will want the Queen for her cargo and has a plan to avoid being seen, mainly hide around the other side of the island. The Germans have a giant ship, the Louisa, that has a big gun and can go 12 knots. Rose however, has another plan, and that is for the two of them to take out the Louisa.

Rose’s character was impressive. She was way tougher than I would have imagined she would be, after seeing her in her muliple layers of clothing and pouring tea in her home in the village for Charlie and her brother. But first impressions aren’t everything, since she surely proves her bravery and fortitude. The duo endure rapids, waterfalls, hordes of mosquitoes, leeches, getting lost in the weeds and having to actually get out and push the boat, and Rose never gives up. For his part, Charlie doesn’t much either, but he also doesn’t like dragging Rose through all of that. The grizzly old gus is a softy and a romantic and respectful of Rose and her modesty.

Throughout this crazy journey, of course Rose and Charlie fall for each other, which was adorable. I loved this scrappy unlikely twosome as a couple. There were of course, a few scenes which were favorites. I loved when the first night they both decided they needed a bath, and Charlie took one end of the boat, Rose the other, and then Rose couldn’t get back into the boat and needed a hand. I thought that was very cute and endearing and handled so nicely. I also enjoyed all the scenes of Rose drinking tea on board. It just seemed so British. Like, here she is, the world has gone to chaos, she is floating down the river in a tempermental boat with a man she hardly knows, the weather is hot, sweaty, probably humid, (this would make me nuts, let me be honest), she is on a mission to torpedo a giant ship with a giant gun with a homemade torpedo, but still, tea is a priority and a must. And I loved it.

There is also a scene where poor Charlie is exhausted and sleeping on the floor of the boat, all tucked up under the blankets and she delivers him a cup of tea. It was adorable, such a huggable little moment.

Just look at these two. They made me smile. So sweet in the midst of craziness.

After a very harrowing night, they are both captured (separately) and both sentenced to hang by the Captain of the Louisa. Charlie quick talks the Captain into marrying them before they are executed and while he sputters over it just does it for them. And then, right before the hangman pulls the lever or whatever happens when you hang someone onboard on a boat, there is an explosion!! The African Queen has delivered its payload all by itself, and blows up the Louisa. During the ensuing chaos, Charlie and Rose escape. Huzzah!

I simply adored this movie, and all the cozy moments and tea drinking that happened. And of course, the action and adventure! I love a good adventure movie – I grew up on Indiana Jones and always wanted to grow up to be him. Or maybe more like Evelyn from The Mummy but that came out later. Anyway, I have gotten off track! If you haven’t seen this, I recommend doing so. We loved it.

You can find Lisa’s thoughts here!

Next up is Arsenic and Old Lace!

If you would like to join in on our Comfy Cozy Cinema you can print out our watch/post schedule here! You can either click the image itself or the download link below!

comfy cozy cinema Download

We plan on having the linky available next week.

And that is it for today my friends!! Enjoy your day, and stay cozy!

Over the past year or so, I became a Ghibli fan. I had been urged for years to watch Studio Ghibli movies by my husband and brother, and eventually I gave in and found that yes, they were right, I love them as they knew that I would. Well, most of them. I like the more fairy tale, whimsical Ghibli rather than some of the more sci-fi type (like Nausicaa). In fact, one of my favorite movies as a child, The Last Unicorn (I still love this movie and the book) was created by the people who later formed Studio Ghibli. So I guess I was always a fan and didn’t know it.

The Secret World of Arrietty is one of my favorites. It is such a gentle movie, with fields of flowers and dreaming, a giant fat cat, a kind boy, a brave girl. This movie is based on the book The Borrowers by Mary Norton, and is about a family of tiny people who secretly reside in homes. They borrow only what they need, things that would not be noticed or needed, things forgotten, like Arrietty’s straight pin. They keep to themselves and remain hidden, for the rule is, if a borrower is seen, than the family needs to move to keep safe.

Arrietty sort of blows that being hidden and not seen thing out of the water. She is thirteen, adventurous, and wants to see what is out there, and one day on one of her forays, a new boy arrives to the home to live with his aunt and her employee. He has heart issues and is staying with his aunt until his operation, so that he can relax and be safe and rest. Arrietty doesn’t know this, or about his personality, which turns out to be kind – but she does know that there is a good chance that she was seen by him. She doesn’t say anything to her parents, Pod and Homily, and later that night goes on her first borrowing with her father. I love this part. The seriousness that is conveyed through animation is amazing. So much is said in the quiet moments, the heaviness of her father’s walk, the stoic way he handles the whole expedition. Homily, Arrietty’s mother, is a bundle of dramatic nerves and I have to say, I sometimes can relate to her. I would be terrified if my teen was going on a borrowing and we were only like 3 inches tall. Homily however knows that her child has to learn how to take care of herself, as the three of them, as far as they know, are the last of their kind. They don’t know if there are others out there, so one day Arrietty might be all on her own. She sends them off, imploring them to be safe and with a small list – sugar and tissue paper.

It’s on this expedition that things go awry. Arrietty is not only straight up seen by the boy, Shawn, but he speaks to her. He talks about his mother who grew up in that house told him stories of little people who live in the walls, and you get the sense she was a romantic dreamer, even though now it appears she has left those days behind her. Anyway, this is not good. Not good at all. Pod starts making plans to move, and spends the next few days finding safe routes away from the house. On one of these trips he becomes injured and is discovered by another borrower, Spiller. Spiller tells them he can help them leave, he knows more borrowers out there, and can help them escape to a new beginning.

Now that they have definitely been seen, they have to move and it kills me. There house is so charming and beautiful and every time I watch it I think about how cozy it looks. Just filled with color and life and useful items, books and herbs and quilts and it is all just so delightful. Plus Shawn and his aunt are sympathetic to the family, and not out to get them, although we do know that someone else is.

The animation is spectacular. The way that flowers move in the breeze, the homes with ivy crawling up their sides, plants with dew, the attention to detail is amazing and so real – the scenes without dialogue that are just quick views of the landscape or scenery are some of the most powerful (and relaxing) in the movie.

I could just lay in a field of flowers on a lazy day reading with a cat curled up on me too.

This movie is bittersweet, in the sense that new friends Shawn and Arrietty have to say goodbye to each other, and Arrietty and her family have to move. However, the last few lines of the movie make it seem a bit better.

It was the relaxing, cozy movie I needed last night, after a sort of stressful two days around here. I fell asleep dreaming of rooms filled with plants and life and color.

Next up we leave the world of animation and move back into classics, with the African Queen! This movie has been on my watch list for years and years and I am looking forward to finally watching it. When I feel like a Bogart movie, I almost always switch on Key Largo, one of my favorites, rather than trying a new one. So I am looking forward to finally watching it!

You can find Lisa’s post on Arrietty here! I am linking straight to her blog as I know she had some stuff going on and may not get her post up until a bit later.