Movies 2009 Part 5
Movies seen Mar 01 - Mar 15 2009:
-George at the movies!
Watchmen (in theatre) - What can I say about this movie that you all haven't already heard? It's remarkably faithful to the comic. Costumes, sets, color palette, etc. all brilliantly done. I didn't mind the new ending. To me, it makes a lot more sense than the giant squid. The floppy blue penis didn't bother me either. Jackie Earl Haley is amazing as Rorschach! A very nuanced performance that should get him some Best Supporting Actor talk. I'm serious. It's amazing he's the same guy as the punk kid on a motorbike from The Bad News Bears. All in all, it was a bit long and the audience was really waiting for the movie to get to the point. And that's a bad thing for movie. The movie just loses something from the book I feel.
-Home Views
Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (on dvd) - I am conflicted about this movie. On the one hand, it's a sweet teenage romance with lots of familiar themes. It will make you want to be in New York and stay out all night eating in diners and seeing shows. It has some very funny parts. Nick's gay bandmates are very amusing. Their lack of a drummer (and a name) is of particular amusement to me.
The bad parts - maybe the book did this better (I haven't read it) but I really can't imagine why Norah and Caroline are still lifelong friends. I understand having friends that you always seem to be taking care of, but Kat Dennings doesn't play Norah as someone who ends up being the caretaker friend. The two leads finally sleeping with one another (soooo not a spoiler!) after their night of mishaps is just not right. The location may be perfect, but these two have still only known each other less than 8 hours. Just seems more casual one night stand material than the start of beautiful love. And finally, there's precious little music in this movie even with them going from show to show and the iPod playing in the car. At least nothing memorable. Maybe that's my misconception.
Vicky Christina Barcelona (on dvd) - So I finally got around to seeing this one. My love for all things Scarlett is waning fast, so this kept getting pushed further and further off. If you watched this movie with the sound off, you'd think you were watching some travel channel reality show and would probably consider taking a trip to Spain. If you left the sound on, you'd quickly realize you're being treated to ninety minutes of the most uninspired people in most inspiring of surroundings. The use of a narrator is lazy, lazy storytelling to move what little plot this movie has along. The American women (Vicky and Christina) are two sides of a coin (as told to us by the narrator!) when it comes to relationships and they do not develop any further than that. Our roguish uninhibited Spanish painter really just comes off as a sleazy bum who has to have a woman around to work. And sweet Penelope just comes off shrill and deranged (which is excitement compared to the other 3 mannequins walking around mumbling lines) and she wins an Oscar for it. It really must have been a bad year for Best Supporting Actress. I've seen Penelope act better on Entertainment Tonight. Woody is you're gonna continue making a movie a year - find a plot and then go from there. Don't write a bunch of dialogue and shoehorn it into a film.
Free Enterprise (on dvd) - My recent jaunt with Fanboys made me nostalgic for the Trekkie version with the Swingers twist. The very Swinger-esque problems these men have still made me sad and depressed (having the electricity turned off to buy action figures? I mean really) but the dialogue and references are crisp and hysterical. And then there's Shatner. He is all over the map in this movie (dressing up like old characters, reading porn in a bookstore, obsessing over Shakespeare) and he looks like he's having a blast. And then he raps Julius Cesar at the end!
A Girl Cut In Two (on dvd) - So this is a dark tale of a woman torn between two different but very egotistical men. Pursued by a trust-fund spoiled brat, she initially opts for the famous married writer. The author makes her his mistress and she's very happy even as he constantly tests her. Eventually, he ends the affair (not sure why) and she runs to the spoiled brat. Spoiled brat although getting everything he wanted can't let go that the author got there first. Tragedy ensues. This film did not get into the characters enough to make it truly compelling. I could live with the men being as they are (maybe a wee bit more) but definitely for the girl. The movie seems to stay aloof of the characters rather than get mired in all their emotional turns. It's certainly stylish yet leaves you wanting more. The lovely Ludivine Sagnier plays the girl and she's quite good. I have hope that with more seasoning (like this film) she can eventually get a real star turn down the line.
My I'm chatty today.
To sum up:
This month:
5 films so far
1 in theatres
4 on dvd
This year:
35 films so far
9 in theatres
24 on dvd
2 on cable
9 rewatched