Fool's Gold

I really only watched this so I could see Matthew McConaughey with his shirt off (yet again). Jimmy Kimmel assured me he couldn't keep it on. However, before watching, I had a pseudo-premonition that I'd seen the movie already and it was horrible. (Or maybe it was just a memory of a bad review). I was pretty relieved to realize the movie I'd been thinking of was "Into the Blue," but I was still worried about this one. But not too worried, because I had some wine to drink.

Surprisingly, Mr. McConaughey kept his shirt on far more often than I would have thought. I should have known that from looking at the poster. But that was OK, since the movie was decently funny, and it didn't take itself too seriously. And I hadn't seen it before.

I just have to say, poor Kate Hudson . . . Matthew's boobs are bigger than hers.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

I think this may be one of the many movies that was better as a book. (Not that I've read the book--I'm just guessing). It didn't contain much that was more compelling visually than I imagine the story is in words (except perhaps the scene where Daisy dances at night in the gazebo), although as I've said before, Brad Pitt is awfully pretty and I don't mind looking at him one bit. On the other hand, once again his obviously fake accent was annoyingly distracting.

For most of the movie I found I didn't care much about the characters. Benjamin's condition was mildly interesting, but beyond that I didn't give a whoop about what happened to any of them. (I was curious about how his retro-aging would progress and what this would do to Benjamin's relationship with Daisy, but that was about it). Until Daisy announced that she was pregnant. Then I started to care. Of course Brad Pitt ruined the moment of the baby's birth by announcing that his daughter was "poifect." (I am not kidding. He did it again on Caroline's "foist boithday.") But I must admit it was sadly sweet to watch Toddler Benjamin walking along with Old Daisy, holding her hand as she bent down so he could place a baby kiss on her wrinkled cheek, and I was slightly choked up by the time the cherubic Baby Benjamin closed his darling little eyes and died.

And I was most impressed by the way they managed to make Brad Pitt look younger when he returned after his long absence. Movie magic! How did they DO that?? I mean, he's still a beautiful man, but there's no denying he has some age on him these days. They somehow got him to look just like he did back in his "A River Runs Through It" days, or maybe even "Thelma and Louise" young. I did notice he only appeared in low lighting, so I'm sure that helped, but they must have somehow digitally erased the years. Where can I get me some of that?

Deliverance

I have been avoiding watching this one for a week now. It felt like a required watching assignment. I mean, hasn't this movie already been seen by everyone in the whole world except for me? Hud claims no one's actually seen it--they just know about dueling banjos and squealing like a pig. (Funny thing is, those are the only two things I knew about the movie, too). But I finally got it over with tonight.

Even though I didn't know what they would fill nearly two hours with (other than banjos and pig squeals), I was surprised by the ethical dilemmas presented. There were so many choices made where the right or wrong decision was not clear. You have to wonder if you would have done the same things, and if not, what you might have done differently. Most times it seemed no choice was available other than a bad one or a worse one. All in all, the movie was pretty riveting. Not something I'll ever watch again by choice, though. Not even to see Burt Reynolds' big guns.

Hitman

All I want to know is, how the heck did this movie get in my netflix queue? It must be a remnant from ancient times when Hud didn't have his own list. It's definitely right up his alley. (Notice the two guns in the picture. Not only that, but apparently this concept started as a video game. Not a very auspicious beginning in my book, but I'm willing to bet that Hud knew that fact before watching the movie, and liked it all the better as a result.)

My goodness, what a lot of exploding heads in just the first 15 minutes. Copious amounts of blood splattered throughout the entire movie. If I had been watching more closely it might have been interesting to time the longest interval between episodes of blood on the walls or the faces of bystanders (the latter of which happened at least three times during the movie, if not more).

I must admit I didn't pay especially close attention to this movie. It's a sad commentary to note that, even so, it was not difficult to follow the plot. I call The Bourne Identity a far superior assassin movie.

Do all sexy Russian girls wear such heavy eye makeup? (Nika the Whore wasn't the first I've seen with some serious raccoon eyes going on. "The Package" in Transporter 3 looked just the same way.) Maybe it's just the girlfriends of Russian mob bosses. But you gotta love when Hitman #47 is dragging Nika out of the restaurant and she resists long enough to reach back and grab the bottle of wine off their table. That would have been me right there. That was the best part of the movie, though. Well, maybe the second best thing; the first being that it was only an hour and 40 minutes long.

Changeling

The first thing I noticed about this movie was how much Angelina Jolie looks like my friend Colette. I'd never noticed it before, but I think if Colette would dye her hair and run around in a cloche she would be a dead ringer for Christine Collins.

The second thing I noticed was how different the actual movie was from the movie I thought this would be. One big thing that threw me off was the title. To me, a changeling is a fat and brainless (or at least airheaded) baby that malicious fairies put in your cradle when they steal your real child. I thought the child they returned to the mother would look exactly like the real one, but the mother would know it wasn't him because of his behavior. I also didn't think she would figure it out right away--I thought it would be a gradual realization that this was not her son. I guess I must have missed the part on the movie poster about this being "a true story," but I expected some sort of weird supernatural element that I didn't find.

The third thing I noticed was that the movie lost momentum and slowed to a crawl after about an hour and 20 minutes--just after the boy dug up the bones. I remember looking at the time and thinking, "there's AN HOUR left??" but then thirty minutes later it got interesting again, since we were led to believe that Walter wasn't dead.

It was annoyingly frustrating that Christine never got closure, after several close calls. I was slightly mollified by the text at the end which more or less told us that Walter was never found, but I sure had been hoping for a happy ending. If I had believed the idea that it was a true story, the bittersweet ending would have been somewhat easier to swallow. During the movie I was thinking the story seemed really realistic but I didn't let myself believe it; after all, when I read "The Bridges of Madison County," that seemed really realistic too. It was mostly just little things (like the radio preacher's weird name. If this had been a made-up story, I don't think they would have made up such a weird name).

When I saw that the Burn Notice guy was in the movie, I was glad, because I like him in his TV show. Too bad it didn't take long to decide he should stick with TV. His accent was so horrible that it was distracting. Also annoying, though slightly less so: while some characters in the movie looked convincingly like people from the 1920s, there were a few (like the whore in the asylum) who for some reason looked like they belonged smack dab in this century. It could have been worse, though. I saw in the trivia section on imdb.com that Hilary Swank and Reese Witherspoon both wanted the lead in this movie. My friend Colette could have done a better job looking the part than they could have!

Overall this was a decent movie and not a waste of time. Angelina Jolie has been in more hokey movies than good ones (Taking Lives? Tomb Raider? Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, for Pete's sake?) but she picked a good one here. I guess you can't go wrong with Clint Eastwood.

Get Smart

Does it make a movie funnier if you have someone to watch it with? I laughed harder (and more often!) at Get Smart than any comedy I've seen in a long time. Even though it was really corny. (That's what Hud said about it, anyway). Maybe I'm just happy from all the tryptophan I ingested for Thanksgiving. No, wait, tryptophan makes you sleepy, not happy. I knew it was one of the dwarves, anyway.

I really think it's Steve Carrell's fault that I found this movie so hilarious. See, if I try to imagine Jim Carrey in the role as Max Smart I just get all annoyed. But Carrell, with his unexpected deadpan humor, is right up my alley. Although I must say I can't understand why they bothered to have Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in this movie when he never even once takes his shirt off.

True Romance

I was expecting this to be basically the same movie as Kalifornia. I couldn't have been more wrong. My first clue was the music in the very first scene, which told me that this one would be comparatively light-hearted. My second clue was seeing that it was written by Quentin Tarantino. Although this was not the gem that was Pulp Fiction, it's pretty much a romantic comedy, Tarantino style.

Before watching, I didn't even realize Brad Pitt was in this one. (Do you sense a theme throughout the past few movies? Apparently I have reached the point in my netflix queue where I picked out all of the Brad Pitt movies I hadn't seen yet). It was kind of funny to see Pitt in a bit part as a Spicoli-esque stoner.

If I ever had any doubt before (and I may have, during The Fifth Element), this movie convinced me that Gary Oldman is amazing. I would never have believed he could pull off a dreadlocked pimp until I saw it with my own eyes.

Unfortunate that Samuel L. Jackson had such a brief part in this movie. Lucky for us, Tarantino saw the error of his ways and gave us Jules Winnfield a year later.

Kalifornia

Hud warned me I wasn't going to like this movie and for once he was wrong. His warning made me worry that this was going to be as awful as something like Silence of the Lambs (saw that in the theater in high school and it freaked me out so bad that I promised myself I would never watch it again) but, despite all the killings, it was nowhere near as bad as SoL, and I think I know why. See, there was kind of an excuse for the killings in this movie; Brad Pitt played an inbred hillbilly (is that what they call them in Kentucky? I thought that was more of an Arkansas thing) who was obviously not right in the head, and who murdered for money or "necessity" rather than "enjoyment." On the other hand, in SoL we have Hannibal Lecter who is highly intelligent and cultured, and very methodical and matter-of-fact in his killings, just the way a normal person would select a wine to go with their meal. It is much harder to understand why such an outwardly normal-seeming person would end up as a murderer, let alone a freakin' cannibal.

Anyway, this movie was nowhere near as horrifying as Silence of the Lambs, which makes me wonder if I should actually watch one of the Godfather movies. Hud warned me away from those too, knowing I really dislike movies that portray people at their most heartless and cruel, but I've heard so often how great all of those movies are.

I am still trying to decide if Brad Pitt did a good job with his character and accent or if it was more of a caricature. I think most of the time he did pretty well, until he would make one of his Beavis & Butthead grunting noises. One thing's for sure, I really didn't notice the pretty about him much in this flick.

The Devil's Own

You would think that Harrison Ford and Brad Pitt sharing the screen would hold my interest. I mean, all that's missing is Hugh Jackman, right? But alas, let's just say I was not glued to the screen, nor did I run to blog about it immediately. Chalk this up as one of the movies about which nothing stands out for me (other than Brad Pitt trying to do an Irish accent. I didn't think he did a too horribly awful job of it, but then again I'm not Irish. It does make me wonder, though, why they wouldn't let him try a British accent in Snatch. Either way--with an Irish accent here or as an unintelligible Pikey in Snatch--it works better than Kevin Costner's unapologetic American accent in Robin Hood).

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Instead of bothering to write anything about this movie I'll just refer you to the first paragraph of this blog entry. Pretty much the whole thing applies (although this movie did veer into slightly depressing territory for a little bit before the happy ending).

Just a note: You definitely don't want to watch this movie with your kids (don't worry, I didn't!!), unless you want them to learn virtually every possible sexual position. This may apply to watching the movie with your mom, too.

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

This DVD sat in my house for days just waiting for me to watch it. I was planning to watch it last Thursday night, but Hud saw it by the TV, picked it up, shook it at me and asked, "Have you actually watched this?" in a tone of disbelief. I told him I hadn't yet, but I planned to, and... why? His response: "This movie is really, really long and really, really boring, and... just really long and boring." (And, by the way, if the title of the movie could be any indication, I thought he might be right). Discouraged by this, I decided I needed sleep more than I needed to watch this movie Thursday night. I didn't regret that decision.

Of course, I knew I would eventually get around to watching this movie. I mean, it has Brad Pitt in it--how bad could it be? I should have at least been able to enjoy looking at him for a few hours. Although I do recall hearing his "Seven Years in Tibet" referred to as "Seven Years in My Seat," which kind of made me squirm uncomfortably every time I thought about popping this 2 hour and 39 minute movie into the DVD player.

Well, as it turns out, Hud was right. Not even Brad Pitt's über-sexiness could hold my interest in this movie. In fact, he wasn't even looking all that hot as Jesse James. The only remedy I could suggest for this flick is the one Toby Keith sang about 15 years ago: "a little less talk and a lot more action." I definitely would have preferred to spend 2 hours and 39 minutes reading the book I can't wait to get back to.

As I watched I found myself wondering why Bob Ford was referred to as a coward in the title of this movie. (This was between moments of wondering HOW much longer until the end??). I could see him being called a traitor, maybe, but he didn't seem any more cowardly than the next guy. I speculated that it could be because he shot an unarmed man who suspected (or expected?) that he was about to be killed, and because he wouldn't admit to Jesse's wife that he'd done it on purpose. While Ford may have killed James in a cowardly manner, it didn't sound fair to classify Ford as a coward based solely on that fact. But that thought did give me an idea. They should have made the title of this movie even longer and more boring: The Assassination of Jessie James in a Cowardly Manner by Robert Ford.

Of course watching the rest of the movie explained his label as a coward. First of all, that was the way the public came to view him. Sounds to me like they came to this conclusion based on the way he killed Jesse James, which was probably the only instance they had by which to judge him. Second of all (apocryphal though this may be) he all but admitted his cowardice to his girlfriend when he told her he shot James because he was scared that if he didn't, James would kill him first.

So we have determined that Robert Ford was a coward, and that I was an idiot for sitting through this movie. Lesson learned.

Baby Mama

A cute, funny movie that made me smile. Before I even watched it, I already knew I would find at least one part of it humorous, because I'd seen a clip of Angie's conversation with Carl where she told him the ultrasound picture he'd found looked like a squirrel. Carl's response? "That's because it was a squirrel. It's the only one I could find on the Internet." Luckily, that wasn't the only funny part. I had been a little worried, because movies with Saturday Night Live people in them can tend towards the stupid (A Night at the Roxbury, anyone? OR... just about any movie with Chris Farley in it??) but I should have known that Tina Fey is too smart to make a stupid movie.

Based on the squirrel ultrasound, I already knew prior to watching that Angie was faking her pregnancy with Kate's baby, but I didn't know it would turn out that Angie was actually pregnant the whole time, so that was a nice surprise. However, I saw Kate's pregnancy coming from a mile away... although it made for such a sweet and happy ending that I didn't care.

It's nice to actually like a movie for a change. I was starting to wonder if I've just become so critical that I can't enjoy watching movies anymore. But now I know it wasn't me, it was the movies. Whew!

Quantum of Solace

Rather than bothering to write a new blog entry for this movie, I might as well just have you read my previous entry about Casino Royale. OK, so it wasn't exactly the same movie, but I really have nothing new to say about Quantum of Solace, right down to my disbelief at seeing James Bond in a Ford, which is just so wrong.

I lied. I do have one thing to say about this movie. It was surprising to me that it is a direct sequel to Casino Royale, following Bond's response to Vesper Lynd's death (which centers around revenge). I asked Hud whether this was the first Bond movie treated as a sequel (he knows lots more about Bond movies than I do) and he agreed that it was.

Superbad

I had no idea that this movie goes into American Pie territory. It makes There's Something About Mary look like it took place in a convent. And all I can think is, were the guys really like THAT in high school??? I assume most cops are nothing like the pair portrayed in the movie, so maybe most boys aren't this bad either... but I really don't even want to know.

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

One of the better movies I've watched in a while. It's a pretty riveting crime drama, or what happens when people who aren't criminals try to pull off a heist. (It doesn't work well, by the way). It definitely can't be classified as a "dramedy," as there's absolutely nothing funny about it, although with its basic premise you would think it could have been quite humorous. That's just not the direction it went. I'd say this is one of those movies that "they" would call "gritty."

I must admit that about an hour into the movie I looked at the clock and couldn't believe there was still an hour to go, but I didn't look at the time again between then and the end. I think this one was actually worth cutting into my 8 hours of sleep to watch.

Be warned that right from the very first scene you will realize you don't want to watch this movie with your momma, especially if your momma is anything like my momma.

The Haunted Airman

This is a made-for-TV-movie by the BBC. It really wasn't scary at all, although it was quite weird and somewhat confusing, not the least because it's never absolutely clear when the main character is dreaming, hallucinating, or experiencing real life. Oh, and if you happen to suffer from arachnophobia, you might find it quite a bit more creepy than I did. I mean, I wouldn't want spiders crawling on me any more than the next girl, but seeing them in a movie (this one, at least) isn't about to make me jump and scream. The treatment of this movie did, however, make me interested in reading the book, "The Haunting of Toby Jugg."

The main character (Jugg) is played by Robert Pattinson, who I had seen in Twilight. It was nice to see him in another movie, because judging from Twilight I really couldn't decide whether I thought he was a good or bad actor. His portrayal of Edward Cullen didn't seem to be completely consistent. I think he did very well in this movie; but if nothing else, he is a beautiful boy!

Be Kind Rewind

This was a really stupid movie.

I had originally intended for that to be the extent of my entry, but I find I feel compelled to say more about it.

In his movies, Jack Black is always partly a loser, so that's nothing new. He usually makes up for it by being hilarious, and by having at least a few endearing qualities. However, in this movie he is a complete loser, and also perhaps somewhat insane... and I must have missed the endearing qualities.

Best part of the movie: When Jerry (Jack Black) stood up between the signs that said "Keep" and "Out", mimicking the message Mr. Fletcher had been trying to pass on to Mike (which was, of course, "Keep Jerry out.") You're probably asking yourself, "and she thinks that is the BEsT part of the movie?" Yup, that's what I said. The entire movie was disappointingly un-funny, and was slapped together like one of Mike and Jerry's Sweded videos. There were points during the movie where, judging by the soundtrack, they were trying to convey poignancy or tension, but... it wasn't working. I'm not sure if they were trying and failing, or if they were mocking movies that try to convey poignancy and tension. Either way, it didn't work for me.

I had been hoping that this movie would be hysterical, perhaps even funny enough to usurp the ruling position of "There's Something About Mary" on my Best Comedies Ever list (not the least because that movie is raunchy enough that I'm embarrassed to call it a favorite) but it wasn't even close.

We Are Not Amused.

Princess Protection Program

I don't actually have anything to say about this movie (another Friday Family Movie Night selection) other than the fact that the entire thing screams DISNEY. There is just one reason why I am adding an entry to my blog for this movie, and that is Selena Gomez. She is a really good actress! Very believable as a teenage girl in high school. OK, so I don't know how she would deal with a role that forced her to stretch some, but in all seriousness, she has a very natural manner that keeps you from remembering she's acting. Most Disney divas beat you over the head with their subconscious, "I'm acting!! I'm acting! Look at me act!" throughout their performance. Not Selena. I actually first noticed her skill in an episode of The Wizards of Waverly Place that I was forced to endure. She was the only actor in the show, surrounded by over-actors. (You like that term? I made it up. In case you weren't certain, it refers to actors who over-act. Otherwise known as bad actors). It doesn't hurt that she is also super cute. Or maybe, like my friend Jill might have said long ago, she is cute with a pretty twist. I like her! I am looking forward to seeing what kinds of movies she makes if she ever gets away from Disney.

Sphere

I thought this was another movie I'd seen bits and pieces of throughout the years. In my mind, it was Event Horizon under the sea (rather than in outer space) with Sharon Stone. I was looking forward to seeing how much it differed from my expectations.

As it turns out, I don't think I'd ever seen any of it before. It almost reminded me more of The Matrix (without the matrix) than Event Horizon. It was a pretty good sci-fi-slash-psychological-thriller flick.

I really can't put my finger on why, but I loved finding out that the space ship they found at the bottom of the ocean was actually an American ship rather than an alien one as previously suspected. I think what I mainly liked about that was the fact that I didn't guess it or see it coming.

Lorenzo's Oil

This was another movie I absolutely dreaded watching. I had heard it was very good, but also that it was extremely sad, and I like tear-jerkers about as much as I like war movies and westerns but for different reasons. (Westerns and war movies tend to bore me; I just can't get into them. Tear-jerkers make me mad because I get into them too much.) It didn't help that my mom is one of the people who recommended this movie to me, and our taste in movies differs wildly.

I must admit this was an excellent movie. Certainly not something I can put in the category of "fun and entertaining," but it wasn't the tear-jerker I expected, for which I was very glad (although I must admit I did get choked up at one point). One big thing was that I had totally expected Lorenzo to die during this movie, and he didn't! That went a long way towards keeping this movie from being as depressing as I expected. In fact, I looked Lorenzo Odone up on wikipedia.org just now and was very surprised to find out that he lived until the age of 30, having passed away just over a year ago. It wasn't all good news online, though. Getting the actual facts took away from the feeling of hope the movie leaves you with. The movie gives you the idea that perhaps, rather than just stopping the progress of the disease, Lorenzo actually began to improve after treatment (he was able to wiggle a previously immobile finger, and began to signal "yes" and "no" with eye movements after months of no communication whatsoever), but this was not the case; the ability for these movements and signals was not lost and regained, it was merely never lost. Yes, Lorenzo's Oil has successfully treated many other boys, but it was discovered too late for Lorenzo. It definitely prolonged his life, but at what quality? It was also sad to hear that his mother passed away in 2000 (only 8 years after the movie was made).

I thought that the movie rather vilified several doctors and the couple at the head of the ALD charitable organization, and I wondered if in real life it wasn't more shades of grey than the black and white presented in the movie, but it is an understandable modification given that black and white makes for a much more striking story than grey.

Event Horizon

A horror movie in outer space. This is one of those movies I've seen bits and pieces of throughout the years but had never watched the entire thing from start to finish (until tonight). Good solid entertainment! No more, no less. No deep thoughts, but it sure kept my attention. One thing I never picked up on in all the snippets I'd seen in the past was that the ship had literally been to Hell and back. Interesting idea.

I didn't get the eyeball thing. Why did Sam Neill's ex-wife (or whoever she was) keep showing up without her eyeballs? (Other than "because it was really creepy"). The closest thing to an explanation given is when Neill says something along the lines of, "Where we're going we don't need eyeballs," although perhaps his actual phrasing was slightly less corny.

Everyone was hallucinating about dead people they used to know, right? Except for Mama Bear, who was seeing her son who she left behind in a wheelchair on Earth with her ex. I took this to mean that her son had died after she left, although I suppose that's up for debate.

Big plot hole: When Justin was in the airlock, he was in pretty bad shape after just over 30 seconds of decompression; however, after Weir shot out a window, Miller survived what seemed to be several minutes of the same type of situation without any visible effects. That's fine with me, though. The movie still managed to keep me riveted and hanging on the edge of my seat (figuratively, since I was standing up washing dishes and such throughout most of the movie) even if it wasn't especially realistic--or perhaps because it wasn't.

Mamma Mia!

Our local library actually has several of the movies that are on my netflix queue. Since the netflix disc I received on Thursday was broken and we were going to the library anyway, I picked up Mamma Mia! ABBA-fan friends of mine have really enjoyed it.

What a fun movie! It reminded me of Grease... in Greece! I don't know ABBA songs well enough to sing along very much, but I could at least hum all but one of them. I think if I could have sung along it would have been just that much more fun (although I'm afraid if I tried that my howling might have awakened my kids).

I loved the surprise wedding switcheroo at the end, and Pierce Brosnan is definitely the one I would have chosen too. Although, as hard as they tried to make him sound good, he really can't sing all that well. At least he's pretty.

The Four Feathers

I was definitely not looking forward to watching this movie. I have a vague memory of bad reviews when it came out; even worse, Hud was convinced I'd seen this movie before AND that it was lame. But evidently at some point something about the movie had gotten me curious enough to put it on my netflix queue, and if I'd watched it before, I had absolutely no recollection of it. So I went ahead and watched it. I had plenty of dishes to wash and clothes to iron anyway, so it was either this or another rerun of Friends.

It's entirely possible that this was simply another case of low expectations being exceeded, but I thought this was a pretty good flick! Very nice to see Heath Ledger looking handsome and dashing again, unlike his role in "Lords of Dogtown." Even when he was covered in hair and dirt after spending weeks (or months?) in the desert he looked much better as Harry than as Skip. On the other hand, it was somewhat disappointing to see Kate Hudson with red frizzy hair. She looks much better when her hair is smooth and blonde.

I can't really figure out why the reviews would have been bad. It may not be Oscar quality, and it's not a movie I would watch over and over again (there are very few of those), but the acting was good, the story was interesting, the romance was sweet, and the action was exciting. Oh, and I had not seen it before, so that was another nice surprise.

King Arthur

I thought Arthurian legend received fairly decent treatment in First Knight, and even in the TV series Merlin. I thought I would find it interesting to see how this movie measured up. I just hoped Keira Knightley's great big chin wouldn't annoy me all they way through.

OK, so after watching. Note #1: I've done it again. I've already seen this movie and didn't remember. As soon as one of Arthur's men uttered the word "Woads," (or is it Wodes?) I remembered I'd seen it.
Note #2: that is OK, because this is an excellent movie! How I can both forget that I've watched it AND that it was great is beyond me. But since I would put this up there with movies like Braveheart, I'm not complaining.

I never was one for enjoying medieval battle scenes, what with all the swords and battleaxes spattering blood and gore everywhere. So the fact that I can still give this movie two thumbs up is quite a tribute. And it really had nothing to do with Tattooed Blue Guinevere doing battle in her loincloth and various strategically placed straps (which I found quite odd, because I always thought of her as a ladylike girl who would have been hiding safely in the castle during all the battles).

Speaking of which, this movie seemed to turn everything I remember about Arthurian legend on its head. It wasn't until the very last scene that I realized it was in some ways a prequel. The end is when Arthur becomes king and Merlin becomes his guide and ally. It basically ignores Guinevere's betrayal with Lancelot, although they do trade a few lustful looks. There is no Lady of the Lake, and really no magic evident. And Tristan must have had his day with Isolde before this movie started, since he dies before it's over.

I spent an hour and a half of the movie trying to figure out where else I'd seen the actor who played Lancelot, before I remembered he was in the Fantastic Four. And Keira Knightley's chin probably gets its own trailer for all her movies. But all in all--good flick!

Made of Honor

Not much to say about this movie either (which doesn't surprise me). It's cute, sweet, funny at times, stupid at others. Nice mindless fluff. I snuck this one up to the top of the queue because I wasn't ready to dive right into the run of "movies I don't especially want to watch." I should have picked something a little more worthy, though. Nothing about this movie really makes it stand out from any other romantic comedy (although I did learn that Dr. McDreamy is a pretty awesome juggler. Those Hollywood actor types are just multi-talented, aren't they).

Several times (like during the two kissing scenes) I found that rather than being happy for Tom and Hannah, I was thinking, Oh, poor Colin. Although really, you know the saying about how if something sounds too good to be true, it is? I expected it to come out that Colin was some sort of monster. But it never did. He was just a good sweet (rich!) guy. Of course Tom was rich too so that made it all better, right? How did this chick end up with two millionaires fighting over her and why has that never happened to me? But I digress.

I found another song to download in this movie: "Stop crying your heart out" by Oasis. I just want to know why the heck I have to pay $1.29 for a song that's already 7 years old. I prefer discovering songs that are still obscure enough to cost only 99 cents. And I was proud to recognize "Stolen" by Dashboard Confessional towards the end. (Already have it, so I get to listen to that one for free). It rarely happens that I recognize movie music, unless we're talking a movie like Paul Blart Mall Cop which I heard used all 80s hits like "Eye of the Tiger"--I would recognize that one.

The Ghost and the Darkness

Call me crazy, but I just couldn't seem to care a squirt for watching this movie. I have now come to the part of my netflix queue where I had run out of movies I really, really wanted to see and started adding movies I'd heard were good but I really had no interest in watching. I just can't get excited about lion attacks. I wasn't even really looking forward to Val Kilmer. At least I retained some hope that I'd be pleasantly surprised.

Well, after watching, I determined that I was right. This is just not my kind of movie. I mean, I've definitely seen worse. It's not as if this movie was boring, or poorly done, or by any means laughable. It was interesting enough, and certainly a nail-biter at times, but I would never put it on my personal Best Movies Ever list. There's just something about the combination of guns, Africa, lions, and man vs. nature that sounds like just about the last thing I want to watch a movie about (just above war movies and westerns). At least I got it over with. I can mark it off my list and go on.

Personal reactions to the movie: Beaumont should have been mauled by a lion. I was afraid John Patterson wouldn't survive, since Samuel was narrating. Although I was glad Patterson did survive, I thought they stretched reality quite a bit at the end when he basically outran the lion. In reality in such a situation that lion would have been on top of him in three strides. I totally thought it was real when Patterson's wife got mauled (though I'm sure that's what I was supposed to think) and I hated the movie right then, but I was very relieved to find it was a dream.

At the end Samuel mentions that both The Ghost and The Darkness are stuffed and on display in the Chicago Field Museum. This movie was supposed to be based on a true story. I've been to the Field Museum. Are the lions really there? Was this really a true story? I fell for that before, when I read "The Bridges of Madison County" about 15 years ago (I thought it probably wasn't true, but I still checked several old National Geographics for photo credits naming Robert Kincaid)... not sure whether to let myself believe this one was true. Not sure I really care that much, either, although if I ever make it back to the Field Museum I'll be looking for those lions.

Coraline

Coraline is another Friday night movie we watched with the kids. I wasn't completely surprised to find that it's not your garden-variety sweet little children's movie, but it was more weird than I expected. It's a creepy movie, but to my surprise my kids liked it and weren't scared by it.

The story reminded me of a modern Alice In Wonderland that arises from a child's world and a child's fears rather than from an adult's drug-induced hallucinations. The film itself, with stop-action animation, is visually stunning. I was surprised that Tim Burton was not affiliated with it, because this is the look I associate with him (think Nightmare Before Christmas and The Corpse Bride).

I thought the soundtrack was somewhat odd, but fitting. It does well to create the eerie mood. Several of the songs sound like they're sung in French...? I'm not sure what went into that decision unless it was for ambiance without distraction by lyrics (except for people who understand French, I guess).

I didn't realize this movie started as a book. Now I'm interested in reading it to the kids, especially since they really liked the movie.

Crank

I was afraid I may have seen this movie before. I just couldn't remember. I knew Jason Statham played Chev Chelios who has been poisoned and must keep his adrenaline pumping until he can find the antidote (or something like that) but I couldn't remember if this knowledge came from a combination of seeing the previews and reading the netflix blurb, or if I'd actually watched the movie. One thing that made me think maybe I hadn't seen the movie is that his girlfriend is played by Amy Smart, who I really liked in Rat Race--I really wanted to see her in other movies, but previously I think the only other movie I'd seen her in was The Butterfly Effect. I felt like if I'd seen her in Crank I would have remembered it. But maybe not.

Well, after watching the movie tonight, would you believe I'm still not sure if I'd seen it before? I definitely had never sat down to watch the entire thing, but it's possible that Hud watched it while I puttered around the house. I seem to remember the ringtone on Chev's cell phone, which has got to be the most annoying one I've ever heard--at first I thought it was just distorted due to the effects of the poison, but it continued that way throughout the movie, so I assume it was just a weird ringtone that sounds like it's melting. But that's the only part of the movie that seemed familiar to me.

It was funny to see Pedro of "Vote for Pedro" fame in this movie, especially as he played a very flaming gay friend of Chelios. Certainly nothing like the Pedro I remember. And I recognized Laurent the vampire as the Haitian cabdriver.

Favorite exchange, as Chev's doctor is asking about his symptoms to try to determine what kind of poison he's been given:

Doctor: "Any pain in your chest?"
Chev: "Not really. Actually I'm feeling pretty good right now."
Doctor: "What are you doing?"
Chev (very matter-of-fact, even blasé): "Driving through a mall, cops chasing me."

By the time Chev was at the hospital, I was thinking he's pretty much a jerk (as was everyone around him) and wondering why I should care if he lives or dies. He wasn't even the "hit man with a heard of gold." His doctor tells him on the phone, "Hey Chevy you're a good dude," but I just wasn't seeing it. Then he gets out of the hospital all hopped up on epinephrine and I'm cracking up. He was just Forrest Gumpin' it all over the city. So I decided I could stand to keep watching.

I was disappointed with Amy Smart in this movie. She was nothing more than a blonde bimbo--the kind of role Goldie Hawn would have filled 20 years ago--think back to "Bird on a Wire" with all that stumbling around and shrieking. She's a cute girl, but in this movie she should have gone by Amy Stupid. The one thing I liked about her performance was her hiccups while Chev was trying to tell her the truth about his job. Those hiccups made the scene (or at least made it palatable enough that I could stand watching it). But overall, her character of Eve the Girlfriend didn't hold a candle to her sharp and tough (but slightly psychotic) helicopter pilot in Rat Race. And their public sex scene in Chinatown was just absolutely ridiculous. Although I must give kudos for the choice of Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On" as accompaniment.

I'm not interested in seeing the sequel. I definitely like Statham's Frank Martin better than his Chev Chelios. I think I'll stick with Transporter movies from now on and won't rush to see anything else Jason Statham is in. Speaking of sequel, anyway, it's just stretching reality way too far to have Chelios survive a chute-less fall from a helicopter, including bouncing off a car's roof and splattering on the pavement, and live to shoot a sequel. Even if he did blink after he hit the road.

Requiem for a Dream

I wish I could remember why I picked this movie to watch. I'm going to have to start making a note of that. When I received the movie and the netflix sleeve said it was "not for the squeamish," I worried that it might as well have added, "This means YOU, Kathy!!" So, when I noticed I was 45 minutes into the movie and nothing in it had shocked me yet, I was thinking, This isn't so bad. Well, the last 10 or 15 minutes made up for that. All four main characters (though to the least degree with Tyrone) simultaneously hit rock bottom in their various addictions, and we see the mom receiving electroshock therapy, the son losing his arm, the friend in jail and the girlfriend reduced to committing unspeakable acts in a sequence of cut-scenes that would have made my mom faint and then disown me when she regained consciousness.

On the surface this movie is Trainspotting with American characters instead of Scots. With further contemplation I see more differences. I do remember Trainspotting being quite funny at times. A dark humor, to be sure, but humor nonetheless. Requiem doesn't hold many laughs--in fact, I can't recall any--it just shows a group of losers whose lives briefly improve but then through their addictions all four lives fall completely apart. Maybe Trainspotting was more realistic in a way, because it shows different outcomes for the different characters (kicking the habit, dying of AIDs, absconding with the money) rather than showing everyone's life ruined. Both movies make a pretty compelling anti-drug statement, but perhaps Requiem tries to give the idea that drugs will ruin your life no matter what, whereas Trainspotting seems to communicate the idea that there are both pros and cons to such a life.

For some reason Trainspotting made much more of an impression on me. I remember that movie was on my mind for quite a while after I watched it. As gutwrenching as the last part of Requiem was, it didn't compare to various scenes throughout Trainspotting, the most disturbing of which was definitely the baby in the crib. I can still remember that as clear as day and it's been several years since I watched the movie. Seems like what made it even worse was how they threw stuff like that at you with no warning, and it received the same treatment as something like the soccer game they played. The baby on the ceiling also stuck with me, and the scene where Ewan McGregor is so badly in need of a fix that he fishes the pill out of the nasty toilet. That scene was definitely overdone and not realistic, but it really drove home his desperation due to his addiction.

Oh yeah, this is a post about Requiem for a Dream, not Trainspotting. Back on topic...

At the very beginning of the movie I noticed that the soundtrack was like an orchestra tuning up, and then the orchestra began to play as the movie went on. This fit nicely with the title and theme of the movie, which could just as well (though less poetically) have been called Death of a Dream. I didn't constantly notice the music throughout the movie, but as far as I remember, it was all orchestral score and no pop music.

Very interesting that this movie was based on a book whose author also wrote the screenplay. I assume this means the finished product very closely matched the author's original intent.

The netflix sleeve claimed I would either love or hate this movie. After watching it, I disagree. I'll probably not bother watching it again (which I might if I had loved it, or at least if it seemed like there was more to it that I might catch with another viewing), but I don't regret watching it (which I would if I hated it).

Adventureland

This is the kind of movie that makes me bored with this blog. I mean, it's not like it was a horrible brainless movie, but I'm just not sure I have much to say about it. It was funny, and it was nice that not every single funny part was in the preview; it wasn't just a straight comedy (I guess it would be classified as a romantic comedy) and it had a sweet little story. At least it didn't get all serious and dramatic and depressing like "White Men Can't Jump" (man, the previews for that one sure don't warn you about what a downer it ends up being).

I first saw Kristen Stewart as Bella in Twilight, and it was kind of odd to see she played the character of Em in the exact same way (albeit as a slightly alcoholic pot-smoking cussing young-twenty-something girl who sleeps with married men). Em is what Bella would be like if Edward dumped her and her life fell apart.

My favorite line: after James ridicules the misspelled graffiti that says "Satin Lives," Em says, "One of those textile-worshipping cults, no doubt."

Frailty

I enjoyed this thriller. At times it was somewhat predictable (we knew the man calling himself Fenton would end up killing the FBI agent) but there were parts I didn't guess right off the bat (like the fact that the man who came to see the FBI agent was not Fenton, but his brother Adam; and the great twist that those Adam and his father called "demons" really had committed grave sins).

Did Fenton really kill anyone at all? I do think that Fenton was the one who killed the boys' father, and though I believe it is possible that the events of his childhood affected his mind, causing him to have a homicidal bent similar to Adam's, I question the idea that the bodies in Fenton's basement were victims of Fenton rather than Adam. I think it's entirely possible that all the bodies in the basement and all the bodies in the rose garden were killed by Adam alone, and that Fenton was not involved in any of those murders, though he was framed for the murders by Adam to ensure that the true "Hand of God" would escape unscathed. Because the entire story was told by Adam, and he obviously lied to serve his purposes, who knows how much of his story was a lie? One thing I can't figure out: was the house that the FBI raided really Fenton's house? (This is the house with the bodies in the basement and the bulletin board with the list of names on it). If Fenton was not a part of the murders, I can't understand that being his house. Really, though, do we have any proof that there ever actually was a Fenton? Maybe Adam completely made him up...

I have to wonder what was wrong with the sherrif office dispatcher/Adam's girlfriend that she would go along with him and cover for him. And that sure must have been the spawn of Satan that they were incubating! I can just picture that Hand of God being handed down to the next generation once again. I also wonder what happened to the boys' mother... (could the father have murdered her too? Probably not, since he didn't have the "vision" from the angel until after she was long gone, and when he killed the sherrif he said it was the first time he had killed a person), and I wonder why they didn't show what evil deeds the third "demon" victim had committed. I suppose we can assume he was abusive towards his wife, judging by the way he yelled at her.

I have decided that the name of the movie refers to the psychological state of Adam's mind.

Monster House

I don't usually bother posting about the "family movie night" movies my kids watch on Friday nights, but this one was a little bit different. For one, it looked interesting enough that I actually watched most of it. Also, this movie was creepier than I expected an animated movie to be! If it had been live action with scarier music it could have been a serious horror movie. Funny thing was, it didn't seem to scare my kids at all. I'll just keep my fingers crossed that they don't wake up screaming in the night.

It was a good thing I kept watching it until the very end. When I thought it was over, my first question was, What happened to Bones and the policemen? But just a moment later I got to see them climbing unscathed out of the foundation of the house.

We should have saved this for a Movie Night closer to Halloween.

Something's Gotta Give

This was a nice little movie! A chick flick, certainly. I don't think I could have gotten Hud to sit through it with me. Not without some serious bribery, anyway. But I enjoyed it! And was pleasantly surprised. I honestly did not expect to like it.

I was definitely impressed by Jack Nicholson. I mean, not that I doubted his acting ability, but I just couldn't see him pulling off "charming older gentleman." All I could picture was "crusty old man" from "As Good As It Gets." So, props to the old guy.

OK, I must admit that I was a little bit grossed out seeing old people making out. There are some things that should just be left to the imagination. But at least they didn't put in so much detail that I wanted to cut out my eyes.

It was nice to see Keanu Reeves smiling and acting like a human rather than a block of wood. I didn't know he had it in him. He actually spoke as if he is fluent in English, rather than as if he were only half literate and trying to read directly from the script. I could almost believe he was smart enough to be a doctor.

I was especially glad they made it crystal clear that Harry and Marin never did sleep together (even if they did beat me over the head with that fact to make sure I noticed), because that would have been awfully squicky when he ended up with her mom. As it was, it was a little bit weird to think that he had once dated his future step-daughter (assuming Harry and Erica got married, which I guess they didn't specify, but still the ick factor is there).

The ending was a little bit too perfect (would the gorgeous young doctor really have bowed out so easily?) but let's face it, this is Hollywood we're talking about, not real life. The less realistic a movie is, the more fun it is. Um, in moderation.

Hot Fuzz

I wish I could remember what it was that made me pick this movie for my netflix queue. I'm sure it was probably a recommendation from netflix itself... perhaps even from when I watched Shaun of the Dead, although it seems like that was years ago... Anyway, whatever it was that caused me to choose this movie was somewhat ill-advised. I mean it definitely wasn't the worst movie I've ever seen, but it will never make my Best Movies Ever list. And the only way I'd ever watch it again is if my cinematic amnesia hits and I forget I've seen it. I hope this blog entry will keep that from happening.

Not that it wasn't a funny movie. But maybe I'm just too American for this British humor. I hate to admit that I'm probably not cultured enough to appreciate humor this dark and dry, but there it is. The only times I laughed out loud were at the two pratfalls, one of which was when Danny crashed through the fence rather than jumping over it, and the other of which I don't remember. I did crack a mental grin when the desk lady called Nicholas a fascist and he called her a hag (both answers to clues on her crossword puzzle) though when they called each other these same names during the gunfight at the end of the movie, all it got from me was a mental eye-roll.

Not only did I not sufficiently appreciate the dry, dark humor, but for me the movie quickly veered off into the ridiculous, treading dangerously close to the too-ridiculous-to-even-be-funny, starting with the revelation that there was not just one killer, but an entire secret sort-of-Satanic society behind the "accidents", and culminating in the village-wide firefight--just like high noon in a Western set in the English countryside with automatic weapons. (See what I mean? A little bit ridiculous). Then it became the Neverending Story. There were several points where the movie could have ended with a satisfying resolution, but no. This was the Energizer Bunny of ridiculous British humor.

I thought Hud said he didn't like this movie, and that surprised me because they blew a bunch of stuff up (ok, so maybe it was just one house and one police department, unless I'm forgetting something) and "busted lotsa caps" at the end. But I clarified with him and figured out that what he'd actually said was "It wasn't as good as Shaun of the Dead," and since I personally didn't think SotD was that great I assumed this meant Hud didn't like Hot Fuzz. Think of it this way: if I said that something was not as good as smashing my thumb in the car door, you would assume I didn't like that something, right?

I was surprised by how many people I recognized in this film, like Horace Slughorn from Harry Potter, Slartibartfast from The Hitchhiker's Guide (who will also be Rufus Scrimgeour in the last two Harry Potter movies!), and James Bond (though probably the worst one, after Roger Moore), and I even recognized the actress who played Eve Draper but I can't think from where.

By the way, this doesn't really apply here, but did you know Slartibartfast is much funnier when pronounced with an English accent? When I read The Hitchhiker's Guide, I read it as "Slartybartfast" but it was much better in the movie as "Slahtibahtfahst." Just try it yourself and you'll see.

Donnie Darko

I'm trying to think of a good word to describe this movie but the only one that keeps coming to mind is a rude one. An insufficient substitution would be "mind-bending". I'm not going to bother rehashing the plot here, but my take in a nutshell is that Donnie was called into a tangent universe the night of the jet engine crash (and that tangent universe is, by the way, where the jet engine came from). Donnie was killed by the jet engine upon his return to the "real" universe when the tangential one broke down as predicted. 

I wondered why Donnie did not try to avoid his death from the falling jet engine the second time around, when he was back in the primary universe. But then I realized if he avoided death again, he would only find himself in another tangent universe (or a repeat of the same one?) which would at some point break down; and then he would be Bill Murray in Groundhog Day, only creepier.

Lars and the Real Girl

I am at a loss as to how to categorize this movie. I expected it to be a comedy, though certainly one of the more quirky and less mainstream types. But this movie did not make me laugh. It wasn't quite a drama, but it was closer to drama than comedy. Though it didn't make me cry, either. I suppose the closest I can come to describing it would be by calling it the darkest of the dark dark comedies, but not funny. Really, it was an amalgamation of genres: it had the soundtrack of a quirky indie and the premise of a comedy, but it played like a drama. Or tried to.

Ryan Gosling stars as Lars (channeling David Arquette in both looks--must have been the mustache--and personality) as a painfully awkward pseudo-adult who lives in his brother's garage. He is shy to the point of creepiness. In a normal movie you would find out he's a serial killer or suffers from MPD. Or both. But not in this movie. He's just delusional enough to believe his blow-up doll is a real person. And his brother Gus is such a normal person! The contrast between the brothers is stark.

The movie started towards a theme of "Everybody's weird", first with Lars' coworkers and their affinity for action figures and teddy bears to keep them company in their cubicles at work, then with the church support group. If they had worked that angle a little more, they might have been able to weave in some laughs, but that fizzled out quickly. Even if they had followed that thread farther, I'm afraid it wouldn't have flown with me. Yes, everyone has their quirks (some more than others) but not everyone is delusional.

I couldn't laugh at this movie. The one scene that may have coaxed a slight grin out of me was the one where Gus and his wife Karen "meet" Bianca the Real Girl for the first time. The expressions on their faces were priceless. As for the rest of the movie, I can sum it up in the conversation Gus and Karen had while bathing Bianca:

Karen: "Oh, come on, it's funny!"

Gus: "Is it?"

Karen: "I don't know... I don't know, maybe not."

I must make special mention of the scene towards the end of the movie: Bianca is "dying", they're at the lake, poignant music is playing, and I'm wondering, What are they wanting me to feel? I'm not laughing, nor is this heartwarming or bringing a tear to my eye by any means... I'm just kind of grossed out. Especially when he kisses her. And then cries. Seriously, was I supposed to be sad about that? Was I supposed to laugh about that? I just didn't know what to do with it.

I must be missing the big picture and taking this movie too literally. (It wouldn't be the first time). It has to be an analogy for something and I can't see it. I guess I need someone to explain it to me. That's the only logical excuse I can think of for this movie. But at the end, what did I learn? And is Lars all of a sudden going to be a normal person? I kind of see this issue in black and white. Either he is going to snap back to reality, look at those photographs with Bianca in them, and say to himself, What the heck was I thinking?? I was freakin' out of my MIND!! OR, he is going to live the rest of his life believing Bianca was a real person who really died, in which case he is still freakin' out of his mind. And then I think, it's just a movie... none of it was real...

Nifty note: I was pleasantly surprised to hear the Tom Tom Club's "Genius of Love" playing when Lars and Bianca arrived at the party. But on second thought I suppose I shouldn't be so surprised to find obscure music in this movie.

Secret Window

This movie was so-so. It had a few twists and turns that surprised me, so at least it wasn't completely straightforward, but it really seemed to get more and more predictable as it went on. 

One big thing that surprised me was that, before I started watching it, I was expecting a sort of re-hashing of another of Stephen King's novel-to-movie translations, Misery. Mainly, I was expecting the novelist in this movie to be the good guy through and through, so I was surprised that he turned out to be the crazy one.

I have found that, as gripping as Stephen King's novels can be to read, they don't survive the leap to screen particularly well. So many of the movies made from his books seem rather corny (hah, I guess that's a pun for this one... a steaming bowl of corn...) and false, perhaps even melodramatic. There are a few notable exceptions, done with more subtlety; The Shining was one of the good ones. He also had a few that were kind of a departure for King, containing a tension common to most of his work but with a very different subject matter (The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile). Most of his other movies I've seen (like this movie, and Pet Sematary) were just somewhat overdone. 

The creepiest part of this movie was during one of Mort's first naps when he dreams, without sound, that something is shaking the door to his cabin while a weird glowing blue light shines in from the outside. Too bad the rest of the movie couldn't maintain near the amount of tension found in that brief scene. The fact that there was no sound to that scene was definitely a plus. The wrong music or sound effects would have completely negated the scary factor. 

At least I got my ironing done while watching this movie, so it wasn't a complete waste of time.

Casino Royale

This was the usual James Bond fare; entertaining fluff, a little bit of eye candy. It was funny to find that, though I'd since forgotten, I had watched this movie before. Before (re)watching it I couldn't remember anything about it (except for the obvious things that I probably would have known even if I hadn't seen the movie--for example, that it starred Daniel Craig). I guess you could say it didn't make much of an impression on me (neither last time nor this time), and I'm pretty sure it won't be one of those movies I watch over and over again, even though we own it on DVD.

A few things of note: a fun parkour scene in the beginning as Bond chases an African bomb-maker through a construction site. The bomb-maker was a much more skilled free-runner, but Bond showed himself to be the more intelligent a few times. Also, I stared in disbelief as I saw James Bond headed down a road in the Bahamas driving a Ford rental car (the sacrilege!!) but he soon regained my respect by winning a beautiful old silver Aston Martin in a poker game (whew!!)

The 39 Steps

This movie was recommended to me by an old friend as one of his favorites. It's a movie I had never heard of, and if I hadn't heard about it from Chris it probably never would have come to my notice. I've seen the more well-known Hitchcock movies (Psycho, North by Northwest, and Vertigo), among others, but have never even really looked at the entire list of movies he directed until now--and I see a few more I'd like to watch. But back to this movie.

*SPOILER* I like that I did not guess that Mr. Memory's memory was to be the method of transporting the sensitive data out of the country. Looking back, I feel I should have known to attach some significance to his presence in the movie, but I suppose at the time I just assumed it was a way to establish that Hannay (played by Robert Donat) was Canadian (though I'm not sure now why that matters) and, more importantly, a way for Hannay to meet Annabella. But I always enjoy it when a movie keeps me guessing.

I found it to be an annoying plothole that the assassins were able to enter Hannay's apartment and stab Annabella in the back without waking (or killing) Hannay, especially as Hannay did not seem at all worried that the intruders could still be in his apartment. I guess it shouldn't be very surprising that any assassin worth his salt could pull this off without detection, and I suppose the fact that they left Hannay alive could be explained by the idea that, by leaving a dead woman in his apartment and thus framing him for murder, they both get Hannay out of their way and cover their own tracks. However, that still leaves the problem of Hannay being completely unconcerned that a killer could still be in his apartment. Plus... if you were an assassin and you didn't know how much information your mark had passed on to the man in whose apartment she was staying, wouldn't you kill him too, just in case? Oh well. It was still a fun movie to watch.

It was funny to notice what must have been really risqué back in 1935--in this movie they showed a woman's brassiere (no woman in it, of course) which I can imagine causing quite a scandal 74 years ago.

By the way, *I* know what causes pip in poultry.

Lords of Dogtown

I don't have much to say about this movie. To me, it was kind of like "Gleaming the Cube" meets "Boogie Nights". I did find it interesting that the movie's writer, Stacy Peralta, seemed to make himself appear to be practically a saint: handsome and fresh-faced, loyal although no one returned the favor, hard-working and straight-laced; nothing was ever his fault and he was always the victim, although he rose above it all by virtue of his strong moral fiber. OK, so I'm exaggerating, but you get the idea. I guess that's one of the benefits of writing the screenplay for your own life's story. I just can't help but wonder if his friends from back then would agree with the portrayal of his character. The fact that they wouldn't is sort of hinted at in Kathy Alva's response to Peralta's insistence that he was the last one to leave Skip's team: "Everyone sees it their own way, I guess."

I was glad this wasn't the first movie I'd seen Heath Ledger in. Not only was he rather unattractive in this movie (he was a dirty, scruffy hippie who was apparently high constantly) but his acting really wasn't all that great, either. He spoke in an annoyingly affected manner, keeping his upper lip curled so that he appeared to have buck teeth. I just have to assume that's the way "Skip" was in real life.

It was interesting that Nikki Reed seemed to play the exact same character as in the movie "thirteen", maybe just a little older, and with a different name and family. Kind of starts me thinking she wasn't acting but was just being herself...

Not Watching Tonight: Stir of Echoes

The first night I tried to watch this movie, Hud was at work (as usual) and the kids were asleep, so I might as well have been home alone. I thought I was going to watch this movie while I picked up the house, folded laundry and washed dishes, but I couldn't even make it through the menu clip because it was too creepy. I thought maybe I could mostly just listen to the movie and not look if it got too scary, but even the sound was freaking me out (and I was catching glimpses of the TV reflected in the windows and the door to the microwave when I didn't want to). For a while it remained to be seen whether I would be able to convince Hud to watch this movie with me or whether I would just return it to netflix unwatched. What I was certain about was the fact that I would not be watching the movie that night, nor any other night that I was effectively alone. Especially after midnight! That's OK, I needed to just go to bed anyway.

Last night I managed to convince Hud to stay up with me and watch it. He'd seen it before and really didn't care about it but I guess he must love me because he agreed to watch it again anyway. My characterization of the movie? Utterly forgettable. My reason? Turns out I'd seen it before too, and had completely forgotten this. Even as I watched, parts of it seemed vaguely familiar, but overall it was like my "literary amnesia" except I suppose in this case it's "cinematic amnesia". 

It was creepy, and I was glad to have Hud there with me, but I hope that from now on I can remember that I've already seen this movie, so that I won't bother watching it again.

Cloverfield

This was one of Hud's picks, but I had heard enough about it that I was curious. I knew that it was a sort of Monster-Attacks-Manhattan movie, but that was about all I knew; for some reason I had the mistaken idea that "you think it's a monster but it's really something else" and I waited throughout the entire movie to find out what the "something else" was, only to be sorely disappointed.

This movie reminded me of The Blair Witch Project--not at all because of the plot, but entirely because of the jerky hand-held camera work, along with the "oh my gosh I'm so scared" acting throughout.

It's a good thing it was short. I couldn't have sat through much more of it. Not because it was too scary (it wasn't), not because it was awfully boring (it marginally kept my interest), but because how much of the same thing can you watch over and over again? Monster wreaks havoc, people run and scream (mostly away from the danger but a scant few straight towards it) repeatedly. In fact, 35 minutes into the movie, I asked Hud, "HOW long is this movie again?" It could have ended at 40 minutes and I would have been satisfied.

We watched the "alternate endings" and they weren't sufficiently different from the acutal ending to be of any interest. My husband's take: the best thing about the movie was that it had a character named Hud. In fact it took some getting used to, hearing them hollering "Hud" over and over again! Too bad Hud got munched up by the monster right before the end.

I do have one question about the movie. What happened to Marlena? Did she EXPLODE??

The Rocketeer

I don't know what possessed me to pick out this movie. It's a nice little Disney family movie--you know, the kind I usually pick out for my Friday night movie night with the kids--the kind I usually only half pay attention to as I do laundry and wash dishes or scrapbook. Maybe if I had sat down and paid attention to the entire movie I would have enjoyed it more, but I didn't, and I found it quite boring. I have a feeling that if I *had* watched it with my kids, even they would have found it boring.

When I first started watching, I thought the main character (played by actor Bill Campbell) was quite handsome, and I wondered why I hadn't seen him in any other movies. However, as the movie wore on, I realized he was very dull, and I became glad that I hadn't seen him in any other movies.

One more parting insult: the score (all orchestral, that I recall) was particularly uninspiring and VERY Disney (and not in a good way).