Movie #417 - The Lion King

The Lion King
1994 - Rated G - 1 hr 29 min
Directors: Roger Allers, Rob Minkoff
Starring: Matthew Broderick, James Earl Jones, Nathan Lane, Ernie Sabella, Jeremy Irons, Robert Guillaume, Rowan Atkinson, Moira Kelly, Cheech Marin, Whoopi Goldberg, Jonathan Taylor Thomas

Who doesn't love this movie? And who hasn't -- at some point -- quoted those iconic lines? "Everything the light touches..." "The king has returned..." "Hakuna Matata..."

Really, this one's so ingrained in my generation's childhood, it's hard to escape.  And now that it's a Broadway musical, everyone else loves it too.  It's easy to see why, with such a gripping story of deceipt that even adults can love, the kind of jokes that get mom, dad, and the kids all laughing, and some of the best songs Disney ever churned out of their powerhouse years.  This puts the cap on Disney's golden age for me.  I'll watch it over and over and over again.  Anytime Ellie asks.

Movie #383 - Girl, Interrupted

Girl, Interrupted
1999 - Rated R - 2 hr 7 min
Director: James Mangold
Starring: Winona Ryder, Angelina Jolie, Whoopi Goldberg, Brittany Murphy, Clea DuVall, Elisabeth Moss, Vanessa Redgrave, Jared Leto, Jeffrey Tambor, Angela Bettis, Jillian Armenante

Ryder plays Susanna Kaysen, the author of the autobiographical book detailing her 18 months in a psychiatric ward.  A colorful cast of women join her -- some greatly outshining her in fact, like Jolie's Lisa, an Oscar-winning performance.

As one of the least crazy women in the ward, Kaysen needs to do the most personal reflection.  Her depression, she realizes, can be overcome... but it takes her a while to get to that finishing line.  No thanks to Lisa, the rowdy, authority-challenging "bad girl" of the ward.  They become friends and, while Kaysen ultimately sees lessons to be learned from the friendship, at first it threatens to lead her down exactly the wrong path.

Whoopi Goldberg is fantastic here as well, playing the head nurse of the ward -- a tough woman remniscent of Chicago's Mama Morten who puts up with a lot of back-talk but knows when its time to speak up.  A great scene between her and Ryder is among my favorites.

So many great performances here -- Brittany Murphy among them -- and it's definitely a great new addition to the wall.