Catch Up

She’s baaaack. I know, where would you be without knowing about ALL the movies I have seen in the last several months? I just searched my NetFlix Queue, Library Account information, and my brain to try to remember the few movies I saw in the theaters which, I think, were Moonrise Kingdom and Sleep Walk with Me. I’m annoyed with myself for letting my blog rest dormant for so long, but I will try to be better this winter. Of course, this list is really just for me. I always want to keep a list of all kinds of things: books read, witticisms, best TV shows, and what not. Therefore, keeping a public list is a way to keep myself more accountable. So I venture on keeping a list of ALL the movies I have seen. The list below is arranged from most recently seen and goes back all the way to the summer. Must sees will get a *****. All the other movies will merely get a snarky, reductive summary.

Friends with Kids -- kinda cute but ultimately dumb romantic comedy.
Next Stop Wonderland – You’d think a movie with Hope Davis and Phillip Seymour Hoffman would be good but this “smart” romantic comedy was also kinda dumb.

Sleep Walk with Me – Mike Birbiglia bio pic about his sleep disorder with help from This American Life’s Ira glass. It’ a likable movie, but I didn’t think it was a great one.

Drive – Come on, Ryan Gosling. What else do you need to know? He struts around intensely or should I say drives around in a strutting fashion.

Wallis & Edward – Madonna tells the oft told story of the king who abdicates his throne with and addition of an unnecessary modern-look-back angle.

Idiocracy – The comedic movie is kind of a mess but I appreciated the effort to show what a future of increasingly dumber and dumber people would look like. I think this movie makes same good points about our modern American society.

Bernie – I like Jack Black and I thought he did a good job as a real-life funeral director who waits upon the rich lady in town who is played by Shirley McClain. The highlight of this movie is definitely the real Texans who narrate the scandal in their kooky vernacular.

Moonrise Kingdom ***** love, love, want to see again from the man who brought you Rushmore but better than Rushmore I thought. So wonderfully weird!

The Hunger Games – read all three books this summer and was excited to see the movie. I also really like Jennifer Lawrence from Winter's Bone who plays Katniss. I guess I thought the movie was pretty good but ultimately don’t think it captured the books intensity and the main character’s coolness.

Higher Ground ***** -- I’m going to five star this movie even though I know that not all would enjoy it, but I thought Vera Farmiga’s role (she also directed) about a woman’s search for God in her life is so beautifully depicted (and does not denigrate a religious person as so many movies do) that it really makes this movie worth watching.

Flipped – cute little nostalgic romance between two preteens – now that I think about it, a romance between pretweens. That’s kind of weird.

Marley ***** I did write about this one already but worth repeating because it’s so awesome! “One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain.”

Margaret ***** This lovely – tortured movie by writer director Kenneth Lonergan of You Can Count on Me (one of my favorite movies) is well worth watching. Anna Paquin plays a teen who really acts like a teen who encounters and has to learn to accept tragedy. The dialogue is so rich and compelling that I wanted to rewind and hear it again.

Sherlock Holmes – I got this at the library after watching the excellent PBS TV modern take on Holmes. This one with Robert Downey Jr. has a lot of flash but little substance.

Cinema Verite – is a fictionalized account of the making of a 70s PBS documentary called The American Family or one of the first reality TV shows. The movie stars Dianne Lane, James Gandolfini, and Tim Robbins who are kind of fun to watch in all their groovy 70s attire. The movie also sheds some light on the reality of reality TV.

Prime – a romantic comedy starring Merryl Streep, Uma Thurman, and as Streep’s son, the very cute Bryan Greenberg. Not great but not bad. Also, after watching this movie I got the HBO series How to Make it in America, also with Greenberg which I enjoyed.

We Bought A Zoo – I guess I kinda liked this sappy family drama. What are ya goin’ do?

Albert Nobbs – story of a cross dressing gay woman played by Glen Close during 19th Century Ireland. I found this movie just plain sad. Well acted but very grim.

Phew, feels good to be caught up!