We met on a rainy evening in the summertime.
The Art of Getting By
2011 2/5 - nothing special
Freddie Highmore, Emma Roberts, Rita Wilson
Believing the quote that you are born alone, die alone and everything else is an illusion, George doesn't see the point of life, school, or homework. Then he meets Sally and he now has a reason to go to school and make friends, even if he's not ready to admit to himself or to her that he likes her. The school's principal and art teacher introduce him to an alumni, and successful artist, Dustin, who can help guide George along life's path, but other distractions start surfacing, and George might not even be able to graduate from high school.
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Spoilers. Could anyone blame Emma Roberts for not wanting to date that mess of a boy? He couldn't even take care of himself, let alone anyone else. I admired him for stepping up when the time came though. Of course there was the art assignment that bothered me. He was supposed to paint something from his soul. I said that if he painted her I was going to throw up. Anyway, I did not like the Sally character. She seemed to be just flighty and mean and boring.
Bridesmaids
2011 1/5 - bad
Kristen Wigg, Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrn, Melissa McCarthey
Annie's life is a mess. But when she finds out her lifetime best friend is engaged, she simply must serve as Lillian's maid of honor. Though lovelorn and broke, Annie bluffs her way through the expensive and bizarre rituals. With one chance to get it perfect, she'll show Lillian and her bridesmaids just how far you'll go for someone you love.
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What is everyone talking about? I don't even know why I watched this. I don't think I laughed once. The Irish cop was sweet. I liked him.
All Good Things
2010 2/5 - nothing special
Ryan Gosling, Kirsten Dunst
A love story and murder mystery based on the most notorious unsolved murder case in New York history. The original screenplay uses newly discovered facts, court records and speculation as the foundation for a story of family, obsession, love and loss.
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Kirsten Dunst was very good in this movie. There was one scene, where he tells her that she would have made a wonderful mother, and her reaction was just perfect.
I heard Kiki say in an interview that while they were filming, the man this movie is based on would actually come to the set. Creeepy.
My Week with Marilyn
2011 3/5 - worth the watch
Michelle Williams, Eddie Redmayne, Kenneth Branagh
Sir Laurence Olivier is making a movie in London. Young Colin Clark, an eager film student, wants to be involved and he navigates himself a job on the set. When film star Marilyn Monroe arrives for the start of shooting, all of London is excited to see the blonde bombshell, while Olivier is struggling to meet her many demands and acting ineptness, and Colin is intrigued by her. Colin's intrigue is met when Marilyn invites him into her inner world where she struggles with her fame, her beauty and her desire to be a great actress.
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I was a little distracted through this whole movie just staring at Eddie Redmayne. It was a good movie. Michelle Williams was excellant. I never knew Marilyn Monroe was such a deeply sad person.
The Descendants
2011 2/5 - nothing special
George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Amara Miller, Nick Krause
With his wife Elizabeth on life support after a boating accident, Hawaiian land baron Matt King takes his daughters on a trip from Oahu to Kauai to confront the young real estate broker, who was having an affair with Elizabeth before her misfortune.
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I don't really get it. It wasn't a bad movie, but what's the big deal? I guess there are just a lot of times that I just don't get Oscar movies. That being said, Shailene Woodley was amazing and I can't believe she's wasting her talent on that mess of a tv show.
Martha Marcy Mae Marlene
2011 3/5 - worth watching
Elizabeth Olsen, Sarah Paulson, Hugh Dancy
Martha has run away from an abusive hippie-like cult where she was living as Marcy May for two years. She turns to her sister and brother-in-law who take her in and want to help her. The problem is Martha is having a hard time separating dreams from reality and when haunting memories of her past keep resurfacing, she may need more help than anyone is able to give her.
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I wasn't too into this one. I liked seeing a little bit from both sides, but I also would have liked to see her life before. What made her turn to these people? Her fear and paranoia that they found her was very interesting to watch.
The Young Victoria
2009 2/5 - nothing special
Emily Blunt, Ruperet Friend
Dominated by her possessive mother and her bullying consort, Conroy, since childhood, teen-aged Victoria refuses to allow them the power of acting as her regent in the last days of her uncle, William IV's rule. Her German cousin Albert is encouraged to court her for solely political motives but, following her accession at age eighteen, finds he is falling for her and is dismayed at her reliance on trusty premier Melbourne. Victoria is impressed by Albert's philanthropy which is akin to her own desire to help her subjects. However her loyalty to Melbourne, perceived as a self-seeker, almost causes a constitutional crisis and it is Albert who helps restore her self-confidence. She proposes and they marry, Albert proving himself not only a devoted spouse, prepared to take an assassin's bullet for her, but an agent of much-needed reform, finally endorsed by an admiring Melbourne
Ella Enchanted
2004 4/5 - just wonderful
Anne Hathaway, Hugh Dancy, Lucy Punch, Minnie Driver
Based on Gail Carson Levine's award winning novel, this is the story of Ella, a young woman who was given a "gift" of obedience by a fairy named Lucinda. Anything anyone tells her to do, she must obey. When her mother passes away, Ella is cared for by her thoughtless and greedy father who remarries a loathsome woman with two treacherous daughters.
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I really liked this movie! It was super cute! Even though it was a kid movie, it was really smart. I really liked the modern touches in this medieval world.
Vertigo
1958 2/5 - nothing special
James Stewart, Kim Novak
John "Scottie" Ferguson is a retired San Francisco police detective who suffers from acrophobia and Madeleine is the lady who leads him to high places. A wealthy shipbuilder who is an acquaintance from college days approaches Scottie and asks him to follow his beautiful wife, Madeleine. He fears she is going insane, maybe even contemplating suicide, because she believes she is possessed by a dead ancestor. Scottie is skeptical, but agrees after he sees the beautiful Madeleine.
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I wonder what Hitchcock movies were like in their day. When I saw Hitchcock in his little cameo that he does I realized that M. Night Shyamalan is trying to be the new Alfred Hitchcock. So I wonder if I had seen this movie at the time it was made, would it have been as mind blowing to me as Signs was? This movie was on cable, it started at 1:30 in the morning. I wonder if it would have been better in my opinion if I weren't just waiting for it to end so I could go to sleep.
In Time
2011 3/5 - worth watching
Justin Timberlake, Amanda Seyfried, Cillian Murphy
Welcome to a world where time has become the ultimate currency. You stop aging at 25, but there's a catch: you're genetically-engineered to live only one more year, unless you can buy your way out of it. The rich "earn" decades at a time (remaining at age 25), becoming essentially immortal, while the rest beg, borrow or steal enough hours to make it through the day. When a man from the wrong side of the tracks is falsely accused of murder, he is forced to go on the run with a beautiful hostage. Living minute to minute, the duo's love becomes a powerful tool in their war against the system.
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Spoilers. I liked this movie. A very interesting dystopian world. I really thought they were going to die at the end. They should have died, really.