Marley and Me

My mom loves the book Marely and Me. She relayed the funny stories about the terribly behaved dog to all who came within earshot. She's not really even a dog person but got a big kick out of that book. My niece, then, thought it would be fun to go to the smash hit movie of the same name with my mom. So my mom, sister, niece, and I went last Saturday to the movie. I was so-so on going but liked the company. And, in fact, I found the movie pretty enjoyable. Owen Wilson's dry commentary was my favorite part. (my mom says that the narrator in the book isn't quite the jokester) And that dog Marley was actually pretty humorous. I too am not a dog person, as anyone who knows me will tell you, but I was charmed by this movie and got someone genuine hardy guffaw's from it. One warning, it does go a little long .

Hodge Podge 2

Death at a Funeral is a very silly British comedy with a host of well-known British actors. If you are a fan of the Masterpiece Theater-type movies, you've seen all of these actors at one time or another. The lead characters Matthew MacFadyen (Darcy in the most recent Pride and Prejudice) and Rupert Graves (The Forsyte Saga) are brothers whose father just died, and they argue about who is going to pay for it and try to manage the kooky guests that come to the funeral. It's not a great movie, but it's pretty funny at times, and it gets better as the movie goes on.

Last night I was going to go to bed at a reasonable hour when I ran across the 1958 Cat on a Hot Tin Roof with Elizabeth Taylor and Paul Newman. Somehow, I had never seen this movie before last night, and never really wanted to, but last night it hooked me in. At first I thought cheesy and overly dramatic -- I am not really a fan of Tennessee Williams plays --they seem so overwrought--but after 10 minutes or so I became so mesmerized by both Newman and Taylor that I had to watch it until the end and stayed up until 1:30 AM. If you've never seen it, it's worth a try.



Bend it Like Beckham stars Parmainder Nagra from ER who plays the adorable Jess, a girl whose Pakistani culture conflicts with her dream of playing competitive soccer. This is another good movie for girls like Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. It's just nice to see a wholesome movie such as this one where girls are all about kickin' butt on the soccer field. The movie also stars Keira Knightly as Jess' very young boyish-looking team mate. The soccer coach and love interest is played by Jonathan Rhys-Myers, who I last saw in The Tudors, and he does his usual smoldering thing, but in this early version of him, he seemed kinda sissified (is that a word?)

Hodge Podge

I have actually seen four movies in the last week, but haven't been keeping up very well with ye olde blog. So here's a quick synopsis starting with last Friday night when I was watching a DVD with my niece Holly . . .
Charlie Wilson's War: Holly could barely pay attention to this political movie, what with all the texting and facebooking. I tried my best but also was a little distracted by the world of the Internet. And quite frankly it was a tad boring. I thought the concept, a war started in Afghanistan by huge American egos, was fascinating and learned a something, but I had trouble sustaining my attention. Tom Hanks and Phillip Seymour Hoffman were good in it, though.
Rachel Getting Married: I dragged Holly and three friends to this movie and regretted it. One friend said, "I never would have seen that movie if I knew what it was about." All four found it to be a real downer. Yet, I wanted to see it -- you know my penchant for anything Indie. Sure it was depressing and odd all at the same time. Oh, and irritating, note the bizarre dishwasher filling competition, and you will wonder what the deal is with these psuedo-intellectual weirdos. Yet, I thought Anne Hathaway was really good in it, and there were some genuine moments in the film and some really good music. Oh, and some annoying music too. The genuine moment came in the cold way Hathaway's mother played by Debra Winger politely dismissed her daughter as she left the reception -- that was painful to watch. So sorry friends for putting you through that, but you know.
In Bruges: is a violent black comedy with Colin Ferrel, Brendan Gleeson, and Ralph Fiennes, and it really was violent, but also funny. I couldn't imagine how a story of three paid assassins who have a strange holiday in Bruges, could possibly be funny, but it is. Worth seeing. and Bruges is incredibly beautiful.
Jodhaa Akbar: Finally, today I saw a 16th century, three hour Hindustani epic with subtitles. How does that grab you? Well, if you want to learn a little about Indian history in a toned down Bollywood style, you might like this, but I doubt it.

Alas, I finished The Wire

I know it's not a movie but The Wire is so good it could be a movie. Each episode is a mini-movie -- and yet watching it makes you want to watch the next and the next and when you get to the end and there are no more, it's so sad. :(
The Wire's five seasons center around the gritty under belly of Baltimore, Maryland, but each season has its own focus.
Season 1: The Drug Trade
Season 2: The Port
Season 3: The City's Bureaucracy
Season 4: The School System
Season 5: The Newspaper
All of the seasons are great, but I especially enjoyed the last two. The school chapter is one of the most realistic looks of a school on the screen that I have ever seen -- and believe me, it is not always pretty.
The newspaper chapter marks the demise of the great American newspaper and makes you sad about its slow death.
As a matter of fact the show is always of the verge of disaster for one of its many great characters, and in the end I hoped that at least some of them would be saved from a terrible fate. There was in fact salvation for some of the characters but many along the way meet sad endings. While some of the characters are saved the institutions are not given the same good ending. The police department, school, city hall, and the newspaper continue to be mired in bureaucracy and greed.
My favorite characters are the following:
Bubbles (his last speech to his NA group was incredibly moving)
Omar, modern-day Robinhood, "Omar's coming"
Mr. Pryzbylewski, befuddled teacher
Lester, a detective who likes data
Bunk, hilarious homicide detective
Of course, Jimmy McNulty, seriously messed up but charming
Daquan, pull at your heartstrings middle-school waif
This is just naming a few of the many great characters in the show.
One caveat is that The Wire is an investment in time and energy. It is often violent and filled with foul language. And it isn't a show you can follow very easily if you don't make a concerted effort to pay attention to what's going on. I often found myself rewinding because I missed things. But it is so worth it. Without sounding hoity-toity, ok I will sound this way anyway, I really felt edified by The Wire and think it is one of the greatest TV watching experiences I have ever had. How's that for hyperbole?!

Sisterhood II

The thing I like about the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants stories is that they are not just a teenie-bopper movies where vapid girls vie for a boy while sniping at eachother. Instead the movies and books are about girls' friendships and girls discovering their talents. Of course, they are also about girls finding the cute boys too. So they are nice stories about likeable girls who, in the end, make smart decisions, and I'm glad the stories are out there for girls today. Now, should the stories be out there for old girls such as myself -- well, despite myself, I really enjoyed the first movie in the series. I like all four of the young actresses who play the lead roles: Amber Tamblyn, Joan of Arcadia, Alexis Bledel,Gilmore Girls, America Ferrera, Ugly Betty, and Blake Lively, Gossip Girl and they seem like genuine friends. The second movie, however, isn't that great of a movie -- it's meandering and shlocky, but it is still pleasant enough.

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.