The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (2008)

Watched 20160201 (Netflix, Instant)
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008) Mark Herman. [botnotsn (2006) by John Boyne]
*The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (original title)

Bruno (Asa Butterfield)

Relevant Links:
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (IMDb.com)
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (RottenTomatoes.com)
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (film) (Wikipedia.org)
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (Wikipedia.org)

20160131:
After I watched this movie I went to read a couple reviews and was a bit surprised to see the mixed response, with several negative reviews citing the failure to accurately portray the Holocaust. Apparently the book on which the film is based was met with the same response.

Father (David Thewlis)

And while this reaction makes sense, because the topic is a sensitive one, my understanding is that the story is a work of fiction and as such the author is free to tell whatever story he pleases, woven with as much fact or fiction as he pleases.

On that note, I find it strange when critics talk about a movie's story (whether positively or negatively) when it was based on another source. Perhaps implicit judgement is with respect to the adaptation.

Mother (Vera Farmiga)

Overall, while perhaps the movie's story is historically inaccurate, I nevertheless enjoyed the story and I enjoyed the acting as well.

Instant Comments:
Hmm. It seems clear where the boy's grandparents stand, and his mom seems uneasy, but I wonder where his parents stand.
"Pajamas"
"Why do the farmers wear pajamas?"
Damn. That tone.

Shmuel (Jack Scanlon)

That conversation about being a doctor and Bruno not understanding. Rough.
Hmm. When she said 'Thank you' I felt relief but there was still this strange uneasiness. Or perhaps complicated.
Lol. An almanac.
She says a piece and he takes the whole bar.
Holy fuck, it's an electric fence.
"Horrid smell" [...] "I think they just burn rubbish there sometimes."

Grandpa (Richard Johnson), Bruno, Grandma (Sheila Hancock),
Gretel (Amber Beattie), and Mother

Poor kids. They're only 8 years old.

Mother: [she smells something in the air]
Lt. Kotler: "They smell even worse when they burn, don't they?"
Mother: "What?" [she looks around]
Lt. Kotler: "But, surely you -"

In the next scene we learn what's up.
Holy shit. Talk about wrong place at the wrong time.

Bruno and Shmuel play checkers.

Jeez. I surely can't blame Bruno, he's only 8. Lt. Kotler spooked him.
His mom points out the hypocrisy.

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)

20160118:
Although I estimate having seen the movie once before, I have absolutely no recollection of the beginning.

Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp)

With that being said, I've seen plenty of movies for which I've absolutely forgotten the ending. After having seen the movie today, I'll go ahead and assume this was the first time I've seen the movie.

In any case, I absolutely loved the movie's soundtrack.

In fact, in terms of adventurous and epic movie soundtracks, I'd easily choose this one together with the soundtracks to Lord of the Rings and Star Wars.

Just like in Disneyland's Pirates of the Caribbean

Overall, I enjoyed Johnny Depp's performance as Jack Sparrow and would definitely recommend this movie to anybody who enjoys watching movies.

Netflix determined the movie for me as a 89% match. I decided to give the movie a thumbs up.

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20170718:
Today I was partially watching the first half of this film as I tested out the functionality of the Bigscreen software. The software allows viewing media on a (customizable) big screen (via the Oculus Rift). Various environments can also be chosen such as a living room or a cinema. It was an awesome experience.

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Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley)

20171112:
I finished the movie from where I left off on 20170718.

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Instant Comments:
1: "Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me!"
1: Lol. That moment when he jumps down and you realize its just a small boat.
1: "Clearly you've never been to Singapore."
1: Love that music.

Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush)

1: Hmm, in the close-up, when he throws his chains over, it looks like he doesn't have much clearance between his hands and the rope. But in the far-shot, it seems as if he has at least one foot worth of separation.
1: Hehe. Another reference to Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean ride. (jailers vs. dog with the keys)
1: "And third, the code is more of what you call guidelines than actual rules."
1: "commandeer"
1: "That's
1: Lol. Smart, use 100% of your resources.

Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and Jack walk along the ocean floor.

1: "That's got to be the best pirate I've ever seen."
1: Tortuga - the third reference to Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean.
1: Oh wow, it's Zoe Saldana (Avatar (2009), Star Trek (2009))
1: "Dead men tell no tales."
2b: References the Pirates of the Caribbean ride: two ships attack each other, also the way one of the pirates lays on top of a cannon.

Another excerpt from Disneyland's ride.

1: "Why thank you, Jack." 2b: "You're Welcome." "Not you. We named the monkey Jack."
2b: He could have made so many requests.
1: "Welcome to the Caribbean, love"
2b: The Pirates of the Caribbean theme song!
1: "Why's the rum gone?" [...] "But why is the rum gone?"
2b: Barbossa says, "It's not possible." Jack corrects, "It's not probable."
1: Haha. "This is just like what the Greeks done at Troy. 'Cept they was in a horse instead o' dresses."

Great special effects.

1: "That's interesting." 2b: One of the best parts of the film. As they fight through the moonlight.
2b: According to the Wiki, this is the curse and the reason for Jack becoming cursed (it's not clear to me, however, why he had to keep one of the coins):
2b: "You like pain? Try wearing a corset."
2b: I see. He kept that apple around and at the moment of his death he didn't get to eat it.
2b: I had to rewind when Elizabeth said "I'm sorry Jack." and Jack responded "They done what's right by them...". I then realized it was in reference to his crew abandoning him.

2b: I realized during this viewing that William's ability to save Jack via the sword throw was proven at the beginning of the film in his duel with Jack.
2b: "Elizabeth, it would never have worked between us darling. I'm sorry."

Credits:
1: After the end credits, the monkey swims back to the treasure and picks up a coin. Underneath the moonlight, he's exterior transforms before giving a screech and jumping at the camera.
1=20160118, 2a=20170718, 2b=20171112

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Watched bits and parts before.
Watched 20160118 (Netflix, Instant)
Watched first half (64 minutes) on 20170718 (Netflix, Instant, Bigscreen), second half (79 minutes) on 20171112 (Netflix, Instant)
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) Gore Verbinski. 143 min

Relevant Links:
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (IMDb.com)
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (RottenTomatoes.com)
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (Wikipedia.org)
Pirates of the Caribbean (film) (Wikipedia.org)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Overview: This animated television series takes place between Star Wars: Episode II and Star Wars Episode III. The Clone Wars are so named after the clone troopers that fought in them.

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20160117:
I have previously seen all of season 1 and the first three episodes of season 2. Today I decided to watch watch it over from the beginning.

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20231005:
Having recently completed Ahsoka, I decided to continue watching this series on Disney+.

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20240312 Comment:
Yesterday I learned that the episodes are not in chronological order. However, a comment I didn't fully understand until today was that the show is "designed to be an anthology" and so doesn't have to be watched in order. With that being said, a chronological order was released on starwars.com: Star Wars: The Clone Wars Chronological Episode order.

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S1E16:
1=20170318.04

S1E01:
1: Of all the technology, why are droids of the Star Wars universe so dumb. Lol.
1: Yoda as the focus for the first episode is a good choice
1=20160117.01

S1E02:
1: Anakin's padawan Ahsoka.
1: "Snips" haha. It's been so long I don't remember such details.
1: "Let us hope it is not a costly one." - Palpatine
1: Oh no!
1=20160117.02

S1E03:
1: I like that moment where Anakin is hesitant to give up his intent on destroying Grievous. Indeed he does the right thing in the end, but there's still that hesitation.
1=20160117.03

S1E04:
1: Fucking Palpatine.
l: "Hey, that's just rude."
1: Technically speaking, he brought their ship onboard, so they're not stowaways.
1: Obi-Wan has one of the best personalities
1: Flings back his sword and deflects a laser blast. A droid says, "That was impressive."
1=20160117.04

S1E05:
1: The droid, impersonating a clone, says "Roger, roger."
1: Rex and Cody.
1: Lol, that trick with the camera seemed like something from a Lego Star Wars game.
1=20160117.05

S1E06:
1: Lol, why would Ahsoka still defend the R3 unit after it's clearly endangered Anakin on several accounts.
1=20160117.06

S1E07:
1=20160117.07

S1E08:
1: "Battle droids?" [...] "Jar Jar?" "Jar Jar."
1=20160119.01*
*This is the first episode which I definitely remember watching before. It's hard not to remember an alien species with blue skin and blue eyes. Well, and of course Jar Jar.

S1E09:
1: Psh. "Worthy." Could hardly even do a thing against Yoda.
1: Sucks to be a pawn.
1=20160119.02

S1E10:
1=20160119.03*
*Oh I remember bits and parts of this one

S1E11:
1: Haha: the banter between Obi-Wan and Anakin.
1: Hehe, the force swap.
1=20160119.04

S1E12:
1: Huh, is Obi-Wan is more proficient at the Jedi mind trick compared to Dooku and Anakin?
1=20160119.05

S1E13:
1: "Violence breeds violence."
1: I've read on claims against nonviolence (in short, phrased like the previous quote, "nonviolence does not breed peace")
1a=20160119.06, 1b=20170318.01

S1E14:
1: The Separatist, as the Jedi warned, is simply taking over.
1: Mentions checks to maintain security.
1: The leader's nonviolence is strict nonviolence (no defense)
1=20170318.02

S1E15:
1: It's interesting the various ways in which the show addresses real issues. In this case, it's one race referring to the indigenous inhabitants as savages.
1: Lol, in hindsight, for him to go to war against the natives was foolish (in terms of numbers)
1=20170318.03

S1E17:
1: A mad scientist.
1=20170318.05

S1E18:
1: Yeah... I vaguely recall this blue virus...
1: Anakin seems to already give into his emotions... something I thought the Jedi weren't supposed to do. Doesn't that worry Obi-Wan?
1=20231005.01

S1E19:
it's interesting that despite her age, that her jedi status somehow is more the reason to have her be in command
1=20231018.01

S1E20:
I don't think I ever understood why one side in the clone wars is droids and the other us clones... why doesn't the Republic have droids? [https://screenrant.com/star-wars-republic-use-clones-not-droids/] hehe... how did Kenobi set up two shots before being shot on.
hehe Obi-Wan covers her eyes but she lifts his hand
I wonder if they'll tell us what "nerra" means. I'm guessing "brother"
the soldier asks Obi-Wan and I was right!
1=20231018.02

S1E21:
1: Sham Syndulla. I assume he's related to Hera Syndulla of Star Wars: Rebels and Ahsoka.
1: Senator Taa is fat and so Syndulla's words about him living easily in Coruscant
1: Syndulla gives Taa a look but Windu begins talking. Yeah I would believe in Syndulla's distrust of Taa
1: Hehe. The other droids didn't notice the droids in the back being destroyed. Neither is there some sort of headcount system
1: Super quick thinking on Windu's part. Plus masterful control of the Force.
1: Smile. "Whoa, that was close, Master." "Isn't it always, Snips."
1=20231018.03

S1E22:
1: Cad bane seems much cooler here than his appearance in Book of Boba Fett.
1: "You've got two more floors to check."
1: Hmm. Perhaps it's just a cartoon... but anyone that's not blind would see that Padme and Anakin are in love
1: Hehe. "Time to pay up, Hutt. I don't work for free." "Oh."
1=20231018.04

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Watched Season 1 (all) and Season 2 (first three episodes)
Watched first 17 episodes of Season 1 (Netflix, Instant)
Watched remaining episodes of Season 1 (Disney+)
Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008-2015)

Relevant Links:
Star Wars: The Clone Wars (IMDb.com)