Movies

Rumor Has It... - Shirley MacLaine was fun and spunky, but she's as far as that went. The rest of the movie was a bit forced.

The Polar Express - I watched the first half hour and was bored, so I turned it off.

Hairspray(the musical)- it was soo bubbly and squeaky clean. I missed the grime of he original. It was engaging, but won't go down as one of my favorite musicals.

Movies

Becoming Jane - A seemingly entirely made up account of Jane Austen's young love, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Coraline - Amazing stop motion animation! It was so fluid and vivid. Also, I now understand why I had no idea what it was about from the trailers. How do you sell a movie where a young girl has to save her parents from Teri Hatcher?

Perfect Stranger - I usually don't go in for Halle Berry anything, but they made her pretty and unannoying. It's another "suspense thriller with a twist ending".

Movies

Freaks and Geeks - I finished the series and I'm sad. It sucks that it was only one season. I know I wouldn't have appreciated it when it was on, so why couldn't more other people have, shame on you all.

Avatar: The Last Airbender - I love this animated series but their schedule is so messed up that it's easier just to rent it.

Shoot 'Em Up - Combine Clive Owen's roles in Children of Men and Sin City and you get this movie. I didn't really like it.

In Good Company - It was funny, short and "real". Overall a decent film.

City of God - Woah! An abrasive film if there ever was one. I had to take a break from it. It was very good all said.

Instant

Murder, She Wrote - I'm almost done with season 1. It's a lot of Jessica Fletcher but she's so clever. My favorite episode title is Hooray for Homicide!

Auntie Mame - the 1958 version is quite lively and entertaining. If there is one lesson to take a way it would be to LIVE!

Movies

This week started as a crazy feminist revenge binge and ended with comedy.

The Brave One - Foster goes psycho. Pretty much the whole movie.

Hard Candy - Page goes crazy. These teenagers today, I don't know what's gotten into them.

Freaks and Geeks - A long cancelled tv show that my friends rave about. I like it, I have the next dvd coming.

The Chumscrubber - Again with these kids today. Bell was good, why isn't he in more movies. The rest of the cast is full of surprises, delightful ones.

Instant:
Dilbert - I watched the full first season, at times funny and then not.

Murder, She Wrote - The first episode which apparently was a movie. I never knew that she wasn't always a writer.

Friday Movies

A long update....
for a long absence.

God Grew Tired of Us - It was okay, it seemed like a gloss over of the refugee's experience in America. I felt for their plight. They were Sudanese lost boys.

Brokeback Mountain - I rented this one right after Heath's death, which made it all the more heart breaking.

O Fantasma - Oh boy, quite interesting. A case study on the decent into madness or whatever running around a garbage dump in a latex suit qualifies as.

Far From Heaven - Very beautifully shot and Moore is amazing. It's frustrating to see people's "open-minded" responses to racism but it was so true.

Babel - This quite the integrated story and it was well done but I wouldn't watch it again even though it has Garcia and Blanchett in it.

Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix - I enjoyed it. I read the book a while ago, so I'm not sure what was left out because it covered most of what I could remember.

The Science of Sleep - It was different but a little further out there that I wanted to go. But Garcia was great.

Cars - I finally watched this Pixar gem and really liked it. It was much better than I thought it would be and there is a sequel on the way.

Inside Man - This one was quite good. Foster, Owen, Washington, and Captain Von Trapp team up for a fun suspense flick. I'd watch it again.

Elizabeth: The Golden Age - Blanchett does quite well but the film over all fails to live up to its predecessor and it has Owen in it also.

Wedding Crashers - I wanted something light and funny. It didn't disappoint and it didn't try to be more than it was.

Finding Neverland - A touching film that shows our societal norms hinder creativity and imagination. Depp and Winslet shine.

Thumbsucker - ehh, it had an interesting cast but on a whole it didn't so anything for me. Swinton I love and now I've seen a few films with the lead, Lou Taylor Pucci.

Blades of Glory - I got this one solely for Amy Poehler and Will Arnett, the married couple playing brother and sister. the rest of it was quite ehh, a few funny moments.

Breakfast on Pluto - It's okay. Murphy knows how to be fem, that's for sure. But they tended to mumble and I didn't quite follow the whole thing.

Jesus Camp - Scary, scary, scary. Basically how evangelicals breakdown kids and rebuild them to do their political/religious work.

I Could Never Be Your Woman - Sadly this was not Clueless in a mid-life crisis. It wasn't awful and Rudd and Pfeiffer do well in it. But it is lacking something.

Fast Food Nation - It's Sinclair's The Jungle for the modern age. It doesn't add anything that wasn't there a 100 years ago but it does have a pretty surprising ensemble cast.

Mysterious Skin - Gordon-Levitt has been picking some provocative roles and this one's out there. It's a strong story of a child's way of dealing with abuse. It's intense.

The Bourne Ultimatum - Another solid offering in the Bourne saga. Good fast paced action, but you have to pay attention unless all you want are chases.

Winter Passing - Daschanel is the only child of eccentric writers going back home to make some money off the remaining one. Ferrel in not his usual role which is a bonus. Over all could have been funnier, more emotional, darker, something stronger.

Spartan - Veronica Mars is in this one, only reason to rent it, but she isn't in it until the end. Otherwise it's just pseudo political thriller starring Kilmer. meh.

Enchanted - Yay! I really enjoyed it. I have been a Disney animation fan forever. This film has so many references that if I drank I would make it a game every time I spotted one.

Burnt Money - The fictionalized account of the last month of two bank robbers from Argentina that go out in a blaze of gunfire, drugs and lust/love. The film ends powerfully and it stuck with me for a long time.

Zodiac - A murderer is on the loose and he loves the media but no one ever catches him. That is until one cartoonist catches obsession fever. It's a bit long, but well acted and overall done.

Across The Universe - Oh Magic. It's like a long music video with a very loose plot based on a decade starring The Beatles songs. Beautiful and lovely voices and pretty pictures.

Wristcutters: A Love Story - I posted about this movie a few months back. It's not as good as it could be but enjoyable nonetheless. Plus, GOB is in it!

Now, Netflix also has an instant viewing feature which I have taken advantage of and those films are the following:

I'm Reed Fish - Quirky little film about the director making a film about his life in the movie butthe movie's about his life. There are three layers here, it kills time nicely.

Chalk - I mocumentary about high school teachers that I couldn't even finish.

The Great Happiness Space - A documentary about Japanese guys that's job is to make women happy and separate them from their hard earned money. I didn't finish this one either.

The Motorcycle Diaries - Interesting look at the beginning's of Che's life. But there are issues with showing his idealistic start without continuing to show the after mass of his ways.

The Ten - I wish it were funnier. There were a lot of cool people in it.

A bunch of Miss Marple Mysteries - I love Agatha Christie.

Movies on a Friday.

Every week, every other week, whatever.

Nanny McPhee - It was magical, if a little formulaic. I enjoyed it.

Stardust - A sprawling magical epic. Hmm magical trend. Michelle Pfeiffer and Clair Danes were good. And Robert De Niro was fun and light.

I Know Who Killed Me - Um, Lohan, seriously? Was it a different script you read because this is crap. Plot holes the size of her leggings obsession. I'll chalk this one up to drug fueled choices.

God Grew Tired of Us - Documentary about the lost boys of Sudan. straight forward and not very insightful. Basic fish out of water in America and tragic back ground.

Movies this Week

Some catching up to do since I missed the holiday weeks.

Monster House - Interesting animation. It was done with the motion capture technology. I guess I understood the plot but it was odd.

Superbad - I really enjoyed this flick. It was a funny misadventure comedy. I would recommend it.

Disturbia - Much better than I expected. Sitting a foot from the screen in the dark with head phones made it even better.

The Aviator - Interesting study of a meltdown. I love Cate Blanchett.

The Simpsons Movie - It was enjoyable and didn't feel like they were trying to stretch out a half hour episode.

Waitres - Kari Russell was really good. The true story lies with what happened after shooting finished.

Locked Up - Not so good. An obviously British man trying to pass himself off as American was just one low point.

Futurama the Movie: Bender's Big Score - Not as good as The Simpsons Movie. It had a slightly expected plot twist that fits in with the theme of the show.

X2: X-Men United - I forgot that I had already seen this movie. I was still pretty good except I have serious issues with how the women are depicted verses the comics.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest - Long. Plus there was challenge after challenge and some plot/continuity issues. Depp was god as usual.

Notes on a Scandal - Both Dench and Blanchett were sublime. Very delicate telling of an obsesion.

28 Weeks Later - A retread of the original which was much better. I still don't understand why they would try to repopulate so soon after.

Movies this Week

Thank You for Smoking - It was funny. It shows what a smooth talker can do, I still don't like smoking.

The Darwin Awards - I like Winona Ryder and she's good in this, but the film itself could have been better, but there were some laugh out loud moments.

Meet the Robinsons - Disney's first animated feature in a while was good, not their best. It had a good message and unexpected twist, but sometimes I can be slow.

Slutty Summer - Poor acting and off writing, but something about it stuck in my mind. Not as visually slutty as the title.

Movies this Week

Every Friday I'm going to give short little reviews of the movies I've watched that week. Yay for Netflix. This week will have a few extras in order to catch up from where I started.

Knocked Up - I thought it would be funnier but I guess I'm not a stoner, I haven't knocked anyone up and I don't have kids.

Stranger Than Fiction - It was sweet and I really enjoyed it up til the end.

Marie Antoinette - I loved it. I loved the pace, visuals, music, the whole thing.

Idiocracy - It was funny, it was done a disservice by the way it was released.

Borat - I enjoyed the Ali G Show and the film was such a success that I was a little let down.

Casino Royale - I liked it. Slower than expected but Eva Green was sublime and beautiful. Craig was very convincing and gave bond an edge.

Yay movies!

I never actually go to the movies even though I follow them all the time. So, to remedy this situation I have joined Netflix. One of my old roommates had Netflix and I used it all the time. I checked out the deal at Blockbuster but you have to pay extra to exchange them in store and for the same price you can add a DVD at Netflix. Right now I am watching Idiocracy, so far so good. I love Maya Rudolph. I recently watched Marie Antoinette, it immediately went on my Christmas list, it's soo lush and visual. A film that has to be watched. So far Netflix has been a success. Maybe I'll write one or two lines about each movie I see.