A Few Others

Originally I was thinking I would write a list of all the other movies that I have seen in the past few months but after checking out my Netflix DVD activity and racking my brain for the movies I saw in the theater, I could only come up with the following few: What's happening to Mary? I'd like to say she is spending more time in contemplation and reading but that would probably not be true.

The Sessions: strange little film that I saw because the lead actors were nominated for a Oscar, so I wanted to see it. It is from the perspective of a poet who is also living in an iron lung and trying to find love. It is nice film and it gets you thinking. As a side note, it also has a rare positive film depiction of a priest.

Enough Said: Another rarity, a romantic movie about oldish people, or maybe that's a trend now? thinking of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. Anyway, Enough Said does a good job of depicting the issues people have when after failed marriages and empty nest fears, they struggle to find companionship. I love Julia Louis Dreyfus and she is almost perfect in this movie but was sorry that she was made to behave in a really immature/ insecure way in this movie, and I can't decide if it was realistic or not. No spoilers here, but it is kind of appalling. Also, James Gandolfini is great as the lumpy paramour.

Hello I Must Be Going: another little film about a recently divorced woman in her 30s regaining her confidence in the arms of a 19-year-old. Other the age disparity twist, the movie is pretty conventional. It has though a nice performance from Melanie Lynskey who I was reminded was the young New Zealander opposite Kate Winslet in Heavenly Creatures when she was just 15 years old. That was a great movie!

The Lincoln Lawyer

Matthew McConaughey is a tough, street wise lawyer who is chauffeured about in a Lincoln town car. After a little set up where we get to know his tough guy character, the schmoozing with thugs and charming his ex-wife, played Marissa Tomei, we get to the meat of the movie. It’s a case about a wealthy playboy being accused of brutally beating a woman who he met at a bar that night. Ryan Phillipe is great as the the playboy who is smarmily suspicious. The case is the best part of the movie and worth the price of admission (or worth the trip to library in my case). It’s a likable movie with some cool twists, but probably not one that will stay with me.

Friends with Benefits

I heard this one was good – I heard that it breaks the romantic comedy mold. I heard wrong. I like a good romantic comedy, but this one seemed pretty tired (there were a few bright moments). I’ve liked Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis in other movies, but this movie did not live up to its hype. Strange fact about this movie, it has TWO flash mobs. WEIRD! And they were so forced and awkwardly placed in the movie. And I think the movie may now have killed the flash mob trend. At least I hope so.

Summer Update

My gosh, is it August already? I have not written one blog entry this whole summer! What’s wrong with me? It’s paradoxical that I am more productive during the school year than my work free days in the summer, but sometimes the lazy days of summer get away from me and I find it’s almost dinner time and all I did for the day was pick raspberries and go on a walk (oh and other trivial activities like that). Or watch movies which I have been doing. Here are comments about some of the movies I’ve seen since the end of May.

Midnight in Paris – I really enjoyed Midnight in Paris especially after having just visited Paris. Woody Allen depicts a beautiful world of artists and writers amid romantic nostalgic Paris. How could I, Parisophile/ Francophile that I am, not like immersing myself in this romantic world of intellectual Paris?

Bridesmaids – I wanted to say so much about this movie – I had a whole diatribe rehearsed in my head, but sadly I did not get it written down. Because of its novelty, a female buddy comedy movie, I was excited to see it and while it’s hilarious in parts and original in other ways, I think they really botched it in the area of female friends. The long standing cliché about women is that they’re catty back biters who sabotage other women for self-serving reasons – usually having to do with a guy. And sure there were some nice friend moments that seemed real in Bridesmaids, though mostly I didn’t recognize these childish women. I love comedy, I love women comedians, but I didn’t love where they took this movie. Can’t women be funny and act like grownups at the same time?

Never Let me Go – based on a Kazuo Ishiguro novel, a stark look at a world where children are raised to be organ donors. It’s disturbing and very well acted especially by Carey Mulligan.

The Tillman Story – great documentary about professional football player and soldier Pat Tilman and his mysterious death in Afghanistan. This movie, like Fair Game which tells the story of Valerie Plame, makes you seriously question the integrity of our national government. Can there be that much subterfuge and hypocrisy in Washington and in our military? I don’t like to believe it, but this movie makes you wonder.

The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (2007) – This movie definitely belongs in my list of quirky documentaries (see below because I just added it to the list). It’s about two middle aged guys who pursue a Donkey Kong high score. It’s weirdly wonderful and takes me back to my days of having the high score on the Donkey Kong game at the Bayfield arcade (it’s true!)

Super 8 – Kyle Chandler and references to Stand by Me got me to see this movie and while it wasn’t entirely what I expected nor my “type” of movie, I’m glad I went. The cute earnest kid ensemble was great and the nostalgic take on the late 70s made the movie worth seeing, oh and Kyle Chandler.

The Yellow Handkerchief – forgot it -- does that mean it is forgettable? Maybe it was good?


The Switch – another stupid romantic comedy by Jennifer Anniston. I like Justin Bateman so I thought, well maybe, but no, maybe not.

More Travel Viewing

In flight viewing:
Long flights mean lots of strange viewing of movies and TV shows that you may never get a chance to see otherwise. I tried a French, Little House on the Prairie style TV show, and a Curb Your Enthusiasm-like show – BUT much less funny. And the following films:

Another Year – I never even finished this movie because the plane landed, but I wanted to finish it! I’m going to wait until it’s on Netflix instant play. Another Year is a Mike Leigh film, the director known for having his actors improvise the dialogue after months of studying the character. This film is about a British couple whose house is the center of the social life for friends and family, and they are some dysfunctional friends for sure, especially Mary played by Leslie Manville who is flighty and ridiculous and lonely. The movie is in four episodes – one in each season of the year. As I am writing about this I am even more curious to find out what happens in the last scene but worried after I read, “The last scene is quite devastating.” Yikes, what could that be about?

Inception – probably not the best film to watch on an airplane, especially when there are many distractions surrounding me, the food cart, the dude next to me buying duty free big bottles of alcohol etc. Anyway, I tried my best to figure out what Leonardo was doing as he was flying around different dimensions or what cute Ellen Page was doing as she was falling to the ground in slow motion in a smart white parka outfit. I know people say that the LOOVE this movie but I didn’t get it. It seemed like it had one trick that they kept replaying, but as I said, I was distracted.

Post Travel Viewing
My Life in Ruins – A friend from work recommended this movie --another romantic comedy from Nia Vardalos of My Big Fat Greek Wedding fame. And since I just visited Greece and am in love with all things Greek (the Parthenon, feta cheese, tziki sauce, priests with high hats) she suggested My Life in Ruins. I really enjoyed the tourist element of this movie – it is obviously filmed right at the amazingly beautiful ancient ruins in Greece, and there were some funny moments in the film but the romance is a little dull. I definitely recommend it for those who just got back from Greece though. It was full of all the wonderful things I liked about Greece.

Tamera Drew – British movie about a writer’s colony and the village surrounding it. Very underwhelming.

Love and Other Drugs, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series

Anne Hathaway and Jake Gyllenhaal fall in love, get nude A LOT, try to cure one of them of Parkinson’s, break up, YOU CAN’T HANDLE MY ILLNESS, and then … well, you know what happens. The unexpected thing about this movie, and no it’s not the Parkinson’s, is the fact that this movie is getting pretty ok reviews and some critics are even touting it as a substantial movie rather than a mediocre romantic comedy, which it is – in my opinion.

I finally saw the last of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo movies. I only read the first book, so I think that made me enjoy no. 2 and 3 more. The first two I saw on Netflix instant play, ok, but the quality was only so-so. I saw the third one in the theater and, as with all movies, that made the experience so much better. The Lisbeth is great in these movies and the stories are intriguing. I’m not a Steig Larson nut, like a lot of people, I know. I’m not really a mystery nut either, so that may explain why I not crazy about these movies, but I believe these movies are worthy versions of the books which is no small feat.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Girl who Played with Fire
The Girl who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest

The Answer Man

I decided to see this movie because A. we were having a snow storm and I didn’t have a movie to watch so I sloooowly fired it up on Netflix watch instantly … and B. it had Lauren Graham of Gilmore Girls fame and I like her and C. it was a romantic comedy and sometimes I'm just in the mood for one of those. The Answer Man, played by Jeff Daniels, is an author of self-help books with a cult following whose personal life is a mess. My findings of this so-so weirdo romantic comedy, are that it was interesting enough to hold my attention, and odd enough to be unpredictable, and an overall unique premise, good actors, but in the end kinda cheesy and kinda enhhh with no chemistry between the two leads.

500 Days of Summer

This off beat romantic comedy has great acting, Zoey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon Levitt, and does not follow the usual pattern of the romantic comedy. Right away a stern narrator tells us that this is not a love story. But the movie is all about romantic love and is from the perspective of the ultimate romantic, Tom, who becomes obsessed with Summer, even though she claims that she is not interested in a serious relationship and that she has never been in love. The struggle of the movie is about Tom trying not to reveal his intense longing for Summer. Levitt who plays Tom is great in this movie (remember him from 3rd Rock from the Sun?). He somehow comes off vulnerable, awkward, and sexy at the same time. He even does a song and dance routine that is one highlights of the movie; it’s a choreographed dream-like dance sequence that is joyous and funny. There were some moments in this movie that seemed too cute like the addition of the preteen little sister who advises Tom on his love life, but overall I found 500 Days of Summer to be an enjoyable summer treat!

New in Town

I wanted to see New in Town, a film that depicts a Minnesota small town, and see how they made us Minnesotans look. And, big surprise, it made Minnesotans look like simple-minded, frumpy, totally out of touch goof balls, but they’re so darn nice, so that’s good. The accents are way over the top, and there is clear distinction between men and women's roles. The men hunt, ice fish, wear dorky Viking outfits while watching football, and go to the bar. While the women scrap book and make dishes to pass. Renee Zellweger is the outsider who tries to break into this foreign and harsh environment, and she is apparently dumb enough to wear spiked heels in freezing weather and snow (I’m pretty sure she would have learned a tip or two about what to wear before she came). She also rents a freezing house – because it always sooo cold in Minnesota, even indoors, according to this movie. The romance between Zellweger and Harry Connick's characters lacks chemistry and seems really beside the point. The ending kiss, I have to mention, is dumb, dumb, dumb. There is one bright spot in this movie though, Siobhan Fallon Hogan who plays Zellweger’s scrapbooking assistant, she is pretty darn funny even if she is playing a stereo type, but she does it with aplomb! So unless you enjoy seeing Minnesotans look like a bunch of stodgy rubes living in a hell hole, I would pass on New in Town. You heard it here. Ya you betcha!

I also saw Confessions of a Shopaholic and heard it was bad but think Hugh Dancy is soooo cute, that I watched. Guess what? it was el dumbo!

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

I would describe Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist as sweet and occasionally gross. A couple of cute teenagers drive around New York City looking for their favorite band while falling in love. This movie made me nostalgic for my college days when I would drive down to Dinky Town with my pals to hear bands while listening to mix tapes. Of course, in the movie they make mixed CDs and download them onto their iPods, and they are all in high school! So it's a likable movie; however it leaves me with a few posers: In what world are teenagers allowed to go to bars, drink, and stay up all night? Why are there so many movies of late featuring Michael Cera, who plays the same lovable boy in every movie? Why does anyone want to watch someone throwing up in a movie? Or listen to it. Gross! Do some movie goers enjoy this? That's all I got, out.

Oscar Reflections

I didn't see any presentable movies to write about this weekend. Well, scratch that, I did watch on cable Roman Holiday for the umpteenth time. Such a grand movie if you have never seen it, do so, soon! Gregory Peck is regal and handsome and Audrey Hepburn is lovely and graceful. In fact, it’s hard to take your eyes of either of them. Well worth seeing. (see my list of favorite romantic comedies)

But I have wanted to spout my opinions about the Oscar nominations, mainly to say I am underwhelmed by the lack of greatness in the best picture nominees. The best picture nominations are The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Slumdog Millionaire, The Reader, Frost/Nixon, and Milk. Maybe I am unenthused and a hypocrite because of the five, I have only seen Slumdog Millionaire, which is very entertaining but has a high cheese factor. Besides Milk, which I want to see, the rest don't interest me too much.

I am also disappointed that Sally Hawkins was not nominated for Happy-Go-Lucky. That seems like a huge oversight. And another favorite movie of mine this year is Vicky Christina Barcelona which only got one nomination and that was in the best supporting actress category for Penelope Cruz who was great, but I also thought at the very least the movie should have gotten a best original screenplay nomination. In Bruges did get a very well deserved nomination for original screen play, but both Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson were not nominated for best supporting actor and they were AWESOME!

So, in summary, three of my favorite movies of the year did not get the kind of recognitions they deserve:
Happy-Go-Lucky
In Bruges
Vicky Christina Barcelona
No Fair! :(

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Forgetting Sarah Marshall offers some a few good chuckles but in the end is a pretty forgettable movie. It's another Judd Apatow romantic comedy which means that it as slacker-striver romance with a dollop of teenage boy humour. This one has a lot less the teen-age boy humor than say SuperBad, but also doesn't have as many big laughs as that ridiculous movie. I liked all the actors in FSM, led by the likable Jason Segal and the equally likable Mila Kunis, from That 70's Show. Also, one of my favorites from Veronica Mars, Kristen Bell, is great. The strange Jack McBrayer, who plays Kenneth on 30 Rock, is also strange in this movie and plays a similar character to his 30 Rock role. But the previously unknown to me, British actor Russel Brand, steals the movie as Sarah Marshall's new boyfriend. He is very funny in a creepy way.

What Happens When You Watch Dumb Movies

I hate to admit when I watch some of the dumb movies I watch, such as my latest viewing, What Happens in Vegas which is another movie in the slacker-striver vein (see earlier blog entry on this topic) where we have Ashton Kutcher, fun-loving man child and Cameron Diaz, the uptight ambitious beauty. Blah, blah, blah, they hate each other -- Blah, blah, blah, they're forced to be together even though they hate eachother and tah-dah! They love eachother. This one has its fair share of over-the-top scenes and very few genuine moments -- there are a few-- and even a few funny scenes. But there you have it, another movie I watched, so you don't have to.

The Visitor and Baby Mama

Ooh! What an odd combo of movies I watched this weekend. I am going to start with The Visitor because I just finished it and it left me feeling sad and wanting to talk to someone about it. The movie potrays a middle-aged economics professor stuck in his joyless life and recovering from the death of his wife. His life changes when he encounters an exuberant Syrian drummer who is crashing in his New York apartment. The movie moves from being a story about drumming to a story about trying to save Tareq, the drummer, from being deported. This movie does not have a sunshiny view of how the good professor saves the immigrants from their doom -- sadly that is not even possible. The reality of life for immigrants in America after 911 is bleak and The Visitor examines this reality. But the movie didn't just bum me out about how are justice system can work, it also left me feeling like playing the drums or at least getting in touch with my inner drum beat!

Baby Mama, with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, is a lightweight, sit-comesque comedy. It's kinda funny in parts and makes some interesting commentary about our me-centered American culture, but it is pretty forgettable which I say regrettably since I love Tina Fey and think 30 Rock is awesome, but BabyMama isn't as clever as that show or Mean Girls, another Tina Fey movie.

AFI 10 Top 10

The American Film Institute recently came out with top 10 movie lists by genre. The genres include Animation, Romantic Comedy, Western, Sports, Mystery, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Gangster, Courtroom Drama, Epic. You know I like a good list and was most interested in their Romantic Comedy List:
1. City Lights
2. Annie Hall
3. It Happened One Night
4. Roman Holiday
5. The Philadelphia Story
6. When Harry Met Sally
7. Adam’s Rib
8. Moonstruck
9. Harold and Maude
10. Sleepless in Seattle

Roman Holiday, Philadelphia Story, and Adam’s Rib are also on my list of Classic Romantic Comedies (see side bar). I know little about the Charlie Chaplin silent film, City Lights, and question the addition of Sleepless in Seattle, but overall I think it seems like a respectable list. Except Moonstruck, while I thought it was good movie, I never really liked Cher and Nicolas Cage as romantic leads.

Definitely, Maybe

Romantic Comedies have so much potential to be good and so often go astray, that I have kinda given up on them (In an earlier blog I wrote about the modern preponderance of slacker-striver types of romantic comedies that have added to my disappointment in this genre). So when my friend Ruth insisted that Definitely, Maybe, the recent attempt at romance with Ryan Reynolds, was better than most, I thought I would give it a try. And yeah, it was alright. It had a suspenseful plot and the final happy couple did seem right for each other. The romantic comedy conventions (find each other in a cute way, face an obstacle, overcome said obstacle) made sense and did not seemed forced. There was even a nice bit having to do with the novel Jane Eyre that was fresh. It wasn't another movie-potential-gone-terribly-wrong like in 27 dresses; however, it still succumbed to over the top attempts at humour that are just painful to watch, such as when school children were raving at their parents after they received a sex-ed lesson at school. One reason to watch is Rachel Weisz who is so interesting to watch that you wish she were in the movie more.

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.

The Jane Austen Book Club

I know, I know, it seems my blog has been taken over by Jane Austen. Oh well, I think the season will be over soon. The Jane Austen Book Club, based on the book of the same name, is actually better than the book. It's so light and peppy and fun -- I was thrilled. All the female characters are charming and enjoyable to watch and the main lead male, Hugh Dancy is, well, yummy. I thought it would hardly have anything to do with Jane, but I was pleasantly surprised by all the Jane Austen references, and the way the characters showed why Jane is so great. The bit about Ursula Le Guin was funny. I have always been resistant to science fiction and fantasy novels, so people are always telling me that I should read Ursula LeGuin, and so far I have resisted -- I liked how the romantic pair showed how they loved the other by reading each other's favorite books. This is a movie about and for book lovers. How can that be bad?

David Denby's "A Fine Romance"

David Denby, movie critic for The New Yorker, wrote in the July 23rd issue about the modern romantic comedy. He compares today's romantic comedies with ones of the 30s such as It Happened one Night and The Philadelphia story where the man is the "love object" and the woman the "pursuer". He describes the modern romance film of the last 10 years such as High Fidelity, The Break Up, and Knocked Up as the slacker-striver romance: Man a good-natured slob and woman an intense career driven beauty with little spirit.
This article really struck me because I have always found this view of women in these modern films annoying where the men act like children who like being silly and having a good time and the woman are their disapproving mothers. Yuck! Why can't the woman be silly and goofy. And why would these accomplished woman want to be with these slovenly men? It seems to me that this view of men and women is depicted in many aspects of our media, commercials, Sitcoms etc. Why isn't the woman fun anymore? And if I were a man I would be offended by this view of themselves, ambitionless losers who are kinda cute but without much substance.
Perhaps this view mirrors our society where woman who work full-time, raise children, and keep a household together, seem to lose their sense of humour, while men look for escape routes from the modern expectations placed upon them.
I don't know. But I like the term "slacker-striver" -- it really hits the nail on the head, and I look for modern movies that go beyond this simplistic view of women and men.