One Year Anniversary of Mary's List

I am pleased to say that Mary's List has been around for a year, and I achieved my goal of posting at least once a week, sometimes more. After reviewing my blog, (while I was adding labels so you, the reader, could search my blog) I noticed a few trends. First off, apparently this was the year of Ryan Gosling--I have seen more than a handful of movies featuring him. Second, I watch my fair share of movies in French. Finally, I watch a lot of "independent" movies, whatever that means. Actually, I think it means "arty" FILMS and believe me it does not always mean they are good. Probably, I read a review or saw a preview of spme little known film and thought I MUST see it. I guess, I keep trying to find that perfect movie. And I will keep reporting my findings. Thanks for reading, Mary

The United States of Leland

In my effort to see more and more Ryan Gosling movies, I watched The United States of Leland that came out in 2004. The movie has several other great actors such as Kevin Spacey, Don Cheadle, and the young talented Jenna Malone, but despite such talent, the movie is a muddle of story lines just started and not ending anywhere. From the beginning of the movie we find that the young Leland, Gosling, has inexplicably killed a special needs child. Leland seems lost and detached but also gentle. Gosling gives him a sort of airy-like quality which helped me become invested in the question of why he would kill. Don Cheadle's character is also interesting in the movie but his character seems a little mixed up. Worth seeing for all, probably not. For Ryan Gosling fans? Probably!

My Dinner with Andre

Remember this oldie but a weirdie? Back in 1982 two playwrights, Wallace Shawn and Andre Gregory, starred in this strange movie where they just sit at a table in a restaurant and discuss weird stuff like improvisational theater in a Polish forest, being naked and lowered into an 8 foot grave, or a Japanese shaman walking on Andre's wife named Chiquita. It's weird and was somewhat popular back in the 1980s. I remember seeing it back then on PBS, and I am sure I was seeing it because I thought it was THE movie to see. (I still do that, you see) I wanted to see it again because 1.) it was at the library 2.) I love Wallace Shawn and had recently seen The Princess Bride, and 3.) I wanted to remember what all the fuss was about. Well, the fuss is about a couple of intellectuals struggling with some pretty esoteric issues and deciding, in the end, that it is all bunk. Or is it? I kinda enjoyed watching it again. My friend Mary was too engrossed in Scrabble to have an educated opinion on this movie.

3:10 to Yuma

As earlier stated, I am not much for the action adventure film, Western or not-- those movies filled with chase scenes and shoot'em up scenes usually bore me. Suprisingly then, I kinda liked 3:10 to Yuma. It took me about 20 minutes of the movie before my attention got locked in. I began by asking, who's shooting who and why and whose the bad guy and it that Christian Bale? I like him. I eventually got involved in the story and found it compelling.

Why is Anthony Lane so annoyed by Sex in the City?

Anthony Lane, one of the movie reviewers for The New Yorker, wrote an extremely snarky review of Sex in the City in the June 9 & 16 issue entitled "Carrie". He basically characterizes the four female leads as vapid men hunters and sneers at any woman who would deign to enjoy this film. The review is filled with cheap shots such as Carrie, Samantha, Miranda, and Charlotte are "banded together like hormonal hobbits, and all obsessed with a ring." He also compares Kristin Davis' acting to a ninth grader auditioning for the Crucible. I mean he just seems plain offended and annoyed by the movie to a degree that I find surprising. I agree that there are parts of Sex and the City that have always bugged me, like the over the top emphasis on clothes and shoes and, well, just about everything about the oversexed Samantha (except for her sweet relationship with Smith and bout with breast cancer--she bugs me). I am far from a fashionista, yet have always been a fan of the show, especially the aspect of the show that holds it together, the female friendships through all its up and downs. The emphasis on their friendship is central to the movie as well. It seemed right how the friends cared for Carrie after her almost marriage (yes I thought the reaction to Big's cold feet was over the top) by arranging her life via cell phone and getting her to laugh at Charlotte's intestinal issues. Really Sex and the City, the movie is simply a female fantasy movie. Just as male fantasy movies have incredible chase scenes and hot babes, Sex in the City the movie has incredible clothes, men, and friends. It's no Anna Karenina, as Lane mentions in the article, but it carried me away, made me laugh, and made me root for their happy ending, man or no.

There Will Be Blood

Yikes! There will be a painful, grim movie-watching experience, if you watch There Will Be Blood. Sure, you can't look away; visually the movie compels you to watch. Daniel Day Lewis plays this horrible greedy vindictive oilman who manipulates all of the people around him to meet his own ends. OK, I guess I liked learning about this stark turn-of-the-century world, but watching an irredeemable monster -- not fun! He even treats his "child" who he actually may love with the same meaness. There is also a young preacher who is equally as freaky as the Day-Lewis character. Anyway, if you really want to put yourself through something, watch There Will Be Blood.

La Vie En Rose

I finally got a chance to see La Vie En Rose, the biopic about Edith Piaf. I have Piaf's music on my iPod and play it for my students from time to time, much to their wonderment. And, I guess, I was a little leery about watching the movie, maybe for the same reason I never saw Angela's Ashes; I loved this book so much and had read that the movie was a dour remake of the original; I didn't want the movie to ruin my vision of the book. When I heard that La Vie En Rose focused on Piaf's train wreck of a life, I was leery. Despite these reservations, the movie was fascinating and the lead actress, Marion Cotillard, is captivating and impossible not to watch.

Paris, Je T'aime

You may have noticed that I am attracted to movies with certain characteristics. I watch a lot of independent films, movies with certain actors I like (Ryan Gosling or Mark Ruffalo, Juliette Binoche to name a few), and of course, movies about France or movies in French; I'm a bit of a Francophile. I like other than French foreign films usually (when I am up for subtitles), but gravitate the the French ones in particular. So Paris, Je T'aime was right up my alley; it combines France, French, independent film with Juliette Binoche, what else could you ask for? It's a collection of short films shot in Paris and about love. An amazing array of well known directors and actors take part in the project. Directors such as Gus Van Sant, Wes Craven, the Coen brothers and many more and actors such as Steve Buscemi, Rufus Sewell, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Elijah Wood, Gena Rowlands and Natalie Portman. About half of it is in French. Some of the films are truly memorable, some truly strange, and some truly forgettable. As I watched these short films I was amazed at how easily the directors can present a story in sometimes just 5 minutes. So if you want to slog through a unique movie and find some gems, you might enjoy Paris, Je T'aime.

Sex in the City, the movie

If you like the TV series, you will not be disappointed by the movie. The movie makers give the audience everything she wants from the four stylish girlfriends without laying it on too thick. I enjoyed every minute in the theater and even had a few hardy laughs. I won't tell what happens for those of you who haven't seen it yet.

I'm not there for 27 Dresses

I'm not there -- the Bob Dylan movie is perplexing. Especially if you know a bit about Bob Dylan and keep trying to figure out what bits are really from his life and what bits are distorted additions to his life. After reading the notes included with the DVD extras, I learned that the movie is meant to be like an extended dream. Well, it's not that fun watching a dream where each event seems unconnected. I enjoyed the music; I love Bob's music. I enjoyed watching the well-known actors create versions of the Dylan persona (Cate Blanchett, Heath Ledger, Richard Gere, Christian Bale to name a few). But I lost interest in the movie as it progressed and was ready for it to be done at the end.

On a completely different note I watched 27 Dresses about a beautiful woman (Kathrine Heigle) who is always a bridesmaid. I couldn't get past the beautiful woman who couldn't snag the guy. Good movie potential gone very bad.