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What are you watching? Readers recommend 'Waking Ned Devine,' 'Star Wars'

Monitor TV and movie fans share what they've been watching lately.

  • By Monitor readers

We recently purchased a delightful British classic, Waking Ned Devine, for our all-ages home and community screenings. The film’s plot as summarized on the website IMDb is this: “When a lottery winner dies of shock, his fellow townsfolk attempt to claim the money.” It’s beautifully shot, brilliantly written, and subtle in its plotlines. Although I’ve seen it a number of times, it was only this last viewing in which I caught yet another of the quirky relationships the story contains.

Also, a few years ago, we spent some time in Ireland, including biking around Dublin. It truly was a memory of a lifetime. Because of that experience, I know that watching the RTÉ TV series Striking Out, which is shot in Dublin, gives viewers a wonderful sense of the spirit and beauty of Ireland that we saw. The landscapes and cityscapes are lead elements in the show. The storyline circles around a lawyer’s life with its personal and professional moments, and the characters are authentic, the acting brilliant, and the writing excellent. It’s full of drama.

– Christopher Bowers, Victoria, British Columbia

A movie I watch over and over again is Goodfellas – the best Mafia movie ever made (sorry, “Godfather” movies). And it’s based on a true story.

– Tom Kuekes, Bakersfield, Calif.

20th Century Fox/AP/File
'Star Wars'

A movie that I’ve watched over and over again is the original Star Wars movie, which came out in 1977. I still remember the magic of that opening scene when I first watched it in the theater. It had truly groundbreaking special effects for its time. 

It came out on video when my son was around 4 years old. Because he was a typical preschooler, he wanted to watch “Star Wars” again and again – daily viewings were the norm. During that period, I could actually deliver the dialogue for the whole movie by heart. I often sat down to watch it with him. Though I have literally seen the film hundreds of times by now, I still can watch it joyfully again and again.

– Judi Ryan, Indianapolis

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