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).

The Spirit

The Spirit is Hud's movie. I was just kind of along for the ride on this one. I should have gone to bed instead of staying up late to watch, since I have to be up super early for work tomorrow, but I figured I need to hang around with my husband every now and then. So why is it that he went to bed halfway through the movie and I stayed up until it was over? I guess because I'm stupid. He'd seen the movie before and realized how worthless it is. I had to stay up and see for myself.

I had seen previews for The Spirit, and I had never intended to actually watch the movie. I have nothing against movies created from comic books, but this one never really caught my interest at all. I headed into it with the preconceived notion that I would regret staying up instead of going to bed. Surprise, surprise... I was right. Believe it or not, the movie itself is far worse than the previews let on. This entire movie can be summed up by one of its characters' lines. Octopus says, "There's shot to hell, and then there's just plain ridiculous." This movie falls much closer to "just plain ridiculous" in that spectrum. There are serious movies, and there are funny movies, and then there is The Spirit, which somehow got lost in limbo between the two genres. It is far too cornball to be either serious or funny. 

I guess I can relent and say ONE good thing about this movie. It was frequently visually stunning, as if a comic book had come to life. I am sure that was intentional, and they did a good job in that case. However, this one quality was nowhere near buoyant enough to keep an entire movie afloat. 

Too bad there will probably be a sequel, judging by Scarlet Johansson's last line as the character Silken Floss (yes, the entire movie was THAT corny--she was among good company, like Sand Seraf and Plaster of Paris), which was, "We start from scratch. Who knows what I'll do." I can only hope that this movie was such a flop that someone will realize they should use the money that might have gone towards a sequel and feed the starving children in Africa instead.

Electra Glide in Blue

I knew nothing about this movie other than that it is about a short cop. Oh, and that it stars the guy from Beretta (which I've heard of but never seen... and apparently he murdered his wife in real life...?) Hud had watched this movie, and then he put it on *my* netflix queue. (Yes, we each have our own). In fact at first I assumed he had mistakenly put it on my queue instead of his, but no, he really did intend to add it to mine. Hmmm. Apparently this is one of those "cult classics," but have you ever heard of it? It's definitely not a "cult classic" in the same league as The Rocky Horror Picture Show or Heavy Metal  (because I've at least heard of those other two, and have even seen one of them). 

I didn't really know what to make of this movie. Maybe I didn't understand it. But I couldn't figure it out. After we watched it I asked Hud what the point of the movie was and he replied, "Does a movie always have to have a point?" Then, reading the netflix synopsis, I asked Hud what the main character's "delusions about himself" had been, and Hud replied that he didn't want to dissect the movie like a book in English class. Oh well. I am guessing the character's delusions had something to do with being alone.

I must say I was surprised that the main character got shot dead at the end of the movie. I didn't see that coming at all. Although I think that the point was, this was the first time he had ever deviated from "proper police procedure" and look where it got him. 

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince!!!

I had been waiting to see this movie since last November when it was SUPPOSED to come out. Well, the time finally arrived, and I was so excited! Excited enough to go see the midnight show on the first day the movie was released! It had been a while since I read the book, so I really didn't remember many details, but I knew this was the one where Harry learns about horcruxes, and we get to see Harry and Ginny kiss!! ^^ But I was not looking forward to seeing Dumbledore die. In fact, I was in denial about his death and thought for sure he was still alive almost all the way through the 7th book.

It would have been fun to do a five-movie marathon and watch all of the previous Harry Potter movies before going to the theater... but I really didn't decide I was going to the midnight show until the day before, and by then I already had other plans for that day. Plus, people with kids (me) don't have time for five-movie marathons. But each of the Harry Potter movies, as the books, stand alone just fine. 

My assessment: Awesome! This may be the best Harry Potter movie yet. I'll have to reread the book before I can decide for sure, but it seemed to be pretty faithful to the book and didn't leave out anything that should have been absolutely necessary to leave in. I think they added a little to it, but mainly for laughs, which is just fine with me. The Harry/Ginny kiss wasn't what I expected, but it was cute and sweet. And even though I was awfully tired by bedtime the next night, I think it was totally worth going to the midnight show. Fun!

Our local theater put on 4 midnight shows. I was glad we bought our tickets several hours in advance--the first 2 shows were already sold out at that point, and our show was sold out by the time we got to the theater.

The Gift

This movie was fine, as far as murder mysteries with "things that go bump in the night" go. I had to clench my jaw a few times to keep from biting off my tongue in fear because I knew something was about to jump out at me. But it wasn't one of those movies that gets so scary that I start thinking something is sneaking up behind me in real life. I remember watching a movie once (could it have been White Noise? I'm not sure) that got me so rattled that I had to call Hud at work in order to feel a link with reality. This one never got that bad. 

Suspense thrillers may be my favorite kind of movie--especially those with unforeseen plot twists that keep me guessing throughout the whole thing. This movie was somewhat disappointing in its lack of twists and in how obvious the killer's identity was from the moment the main character, Annie (Cate Blanchett), went to his house. We did get a nice little montage of all of the possible murder suspects right before the final confirmation of the real one that sort of briefly caused me to doubt my certainty (fulfilling its intended purpose, I'm sure). But I can not think of a single thing that was revealed in this movie that surprised me. By the time the characters figured out each "surprising revelation", I already knew. Oh, except for the blue diamond. I didn't know what the heck Buddy was talking about until they actually showed the blue diamond. But I did already understand its significance. 

OK, so I will admit that I didn't guess the killer right from the beginning. In fact I probably at some point or another suspected every single character in the movie except for Annie and her kids. So to say that I guessed who the killer was, out of the many I suspected, is kind of cheating. It was bound to be one of the many. 

Australia

I was surprised by this movie in several different ways. First, I was surprised that my husband really liked this movie and encouraged me to watch it. (After I watched it myself I was even more surprised by this fact). Second, and I am not sure why, but I had previously had the idea that this was a musical (maybe because of Moulin Rouge, also directed by Baz Luhrmann), but it wasn't, although the Aborigine boys did sing occasionally, and the song "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" was kind of a theme throughout the movie.

I found it interesting how the little Aborigine boy, Nullah, who was basically adopted by Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman's characters, seemed to be the keeper of all the secrets. He doled those secrets out in such a tantalizing manner without even realizing the power those secrets held. With the information he held, he could have manipulated all the people and situations surrounding him, but he was too forthright and innocent to even see this possiblity; and if he had seen the possibility he would not have desired it.

One warning--this is a long movie, so plan accordingly. Two hours and 45 minutes! I had to watch it over two nights because I couldn't hack staying up late enough to watch it all in one night. But that worked out pretty well anyway, as this movie had several "endings" (after the cattle drive... at the ball...) In fact, this might have made a better TV series.

Transporter 3

My faith in Jason Statham is restored. All it took was the first fight scene, where Frank Martin was whooping up on at least 5 thugs simultaneously (of course)... and in the midst of the chaos, he tosses his suit jacket onto a coat rack. Yes, he is super cool. I should have known... two guns in the picture, see? And the second fight sequence was just gravy. First Frank uses his suit jacket, then his tie, and finally his shirt, as weapons... with the nice side effect that he ends up shirtless. He looks mighty good that way! And he ends up taking his shirt off twice during the movie. Bonus! And who would have ever thought of breathing air from your tires if your car becomes submerged in a river? He is super cool, ripped, and smart!

There were a few problems. How did I see the ambulance explosion coming as soon as Malcolm said "not far from the car" but Frank didn't figure it out until it was too late? It also took Frank half the movie to figure out "You're the package" (referring to the girl)--Duh! I figured that out in the first scene. And I was cracking up when Frank got onto a bicycle to chase the car thief. I'm not sure why I can suspend disbelief for the rest of the movie (the fights, the driving--even when Frank came to a sliding stop inches from the edge of the cliff) but not for the bicycle chase sequence. 

Found another good song in this movie! I will be downloading "Wherever You Were" by Holly Golightly. 

27 dresses

I got exactly what I wanted from this movie (namely, mindless entertainment). There is really nothing important to say about a movie like this, so I just have a few random bits and pieces to mention. 

I remember talking out loud to the movie at least twice. Once I said, "Oh, this is ridiculous," although I can't remember why I said that. The other time it was "This is so corny," when Katherine Heigl's character leaped onto the departing boat at the end. (I mean, was that really necessary?)

Throughout the entire movie I was trying to figure out who played Kevin. As soon as I pulled up James Marsden on imdb.com (before I even saw X-Men in his list of movies) I remembered he was Cyclops. He is kind of like Paul Walker of Fast and Furious "fame": pretty is all there is to him.

Katherine Heigl looks like a cross between Ashley Judd and my friend Jenna K. (who, coincidentally, just got married 5 days ago! Congratulations, Jenna!) 

Surely you can't really spoil a movie like this (and remember I made no promises about keeping spoilers out of my posts) so I have no problem mentioning the 27 dresses at the end. It was a nice twist, and (believe it or not) I didn't see it coming. Blame the wine. 

Favorite quote: "What good is it being appreciated if no one is naked?" Not that I ascribe to that philosophy but it made me laugh. Oh, and I liked it when Kevin told Jane, "Get over here," at the end. That line could have been far more gag-inducing but they actually picked a good one, and Cyclops spoke it well. 

Redeeming quality: the song "Be Here Now" by Ray LaMontagne. I plan to download it from iTunes in the morning. Plus I got all my ironing done while watching. So it wasn't a total loss... although admittedly it may have been a waste of brain cells. I'm sure a few of them died while watching this movie.  

The Bank Job

This was another one selected by my husband (I didn't see a gun in the picture, but heck, it's Jason Statham; I was sure he had one under that coat somewhere) but I expected to enjoy it anyway. I usually like to watch Jason Statham at work. I thought he was super cool--so cool that it doesn't even matter that he is mostly bald.

Well, I found out in watching this movie that Jason Statham is only super cool when he is in the Transporter movies. In fact, it is not Jason Statham that is super cool at all; it is just Frank Martin (his character in the Transporter movies) who is super cool. You know, I bet he didn't even do his own driving in the Transporter movies. I am so disillusioned. 

I thought (and my husband agreed!) that this movie was long and dull. Jason Statham barely even kicked ass. Ugh. This was not the movie I was expecting. In fact my husband said he would have preferred going to bed early over staying up to watch this movie. Yup, I could have used the extra sleep.

Brick

I had no idea what to expect of this movie (other than what I read in the synopsis on netflix). I can't even remember what made me choose this movie, because I had never heard of it before. I had the idea that it was a quirky high school murder mystery--but I was not expecting something in the vein of Scream; perhaps more like Heathers or Jawbreaker.

I was wrong. This movie is in a category all by itself. It was definitely an indie type of movie, with teenage high school students acting like a bunch of gangsters, spies, hit men and thugs. It was like High School Mafia. Their "lingo" was so incredibly hip that most of the time I had absolutely no idea what they were talking about, although it was usually pretty easy to guess. The characters spoke in such constant slang that it was like listening to a foreign language. I don't know how they even understood each other.

This movie would have made more sense with adult characters out in the "real world" rather than being set in a high school with teenage characters. On the other hand, had the movie been portrayed this way, it would have ended up as one of many in that genre, whereas it stands out as unique in its current incarnation.

A final note: The main character's dealings with the vice principal were laughable. No school administrator would ever treat a student with such deference and respect, giving him the leeway to combat their problems in any manner necessary, no matter how noble the motivation. This was echoed in the relationship between the young "mob boss" figure and his mother. She was unbelievably naive about what was going on all around her--so much so that I have to assume that was an attempt at humor.