Public Enemies felt strangely flat. It was almost like a movie of a movie. I can see the film that they were trying to make, but I almost feel like it needed to be in the hands of a different director, like Martin Scorsese, to achieve its intent. The cinematography made me feel distanced from the whole thing; my husband concurred. I had difficulty ( Read more... )

People, you need to warn me about sad movies masquerading as cheery kid's fare in shiny, candy-colored wrappers. (Well, okay, mumpish, you kinda did, but the early montage was only one of the sad parts.) Crikey. I was in tears at least four times during Up. Thank goodness for the Cone of Shame providing comic relief ( Read more... )

Regardless of how accurate you consider the narrative to be, this film by Yann Arthus-Bertrand contains powerful images that are both beautiful and bleak:

Home

Like Koyaanisquatsi, it provides a window into scenes around the world. However, Home ends on a more positive and hopeful note than its thematic predecessor ( Read more... )

So, um, I watched Miami Vice. Well, it was called that. It was more like Miami Vice: The Cover Band, or perhaps, "Influenced by Miami Vice," or maybe, "Jamie Foxx and Colin Farrell portraying a couple of vice cops who happen to work in the Miami area ( Read more... )

I just finally finished watching There Will Be Blood. Odd movie. Yes, Daniel Day-Lewis was formidable, but despite all the paralleling of brother relationships, despite the imperfect Cain and Abel motif, despite the lovely cinematography, I found it ponderous and strange. I think it was meant to be that -- there's no redemption for this character, ( Read more... )

Just some very quick thoughts about the new Star Trek movie, which we saw this past Saturday. I've had three posts in my head for a week or so, and haven't had time to sit down and transcribe them. I suppose that catching up with the things you missed while you were away is the price of vacation. It'd save me a lot of time if I could blog ( Read more... )

I love it when a movie surprises me by being better than I expected it to be. What a charming little film! How did I not hear about this when it was in the theaters? Cute, witty, sweet, wacky, fast-paced, fun, referential (The Matrix, Back to the Future, silent movie villains) ... the time paradox is the only minor flaw, but I've come to expect ( Read more... )

Top to bottom, visuals to music, soup to nuts, I really liked Coraline. I only regret that I didn't get to see it in 3D.

I enjoyed dinner afterward at the Bombay Grill. The service was a bit inattentive, and they brought me coffee instead of tea when I asked for it, but the food itself was quite decent, especially the mulligatawny soup ( Read more... )

Last week was busy; my parents came into town this past weekend to visit and do a belated Christmas with my niece, and the weekend before we were celebrating my husband's grandmother's birthday. In the midst of family gatherings, we've been making an effort to catch up on our DVR backlog. I don't think there are any real spoilers for any of the ( Read more... )

Heath Ledger won a Golden Globe for his performance as the Joker! I sort of thought he might, given the way the awards were designated (putting him in the Supporting Actor category, as opposed to Best Actor, where Mickey Rourke was a sentimental favorite ( Read more... )