Sunday, June 06, 2010

April & May movies

April and May were busy months.... I was on a gig out of town for all of April, then out of the country for virtually of May.  I did not watch many movies, nor did I make careful note of the movies I did watch. Sigh... good thing I write this blog for fun.   Anyway, a roundup of those I did remember to write down... in no particular order.

1. Fantastic Mr. Fox  Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous craftmanship.   Also very clever.  So why was I ultimately kind of bored?  Some folks just can't be pleased, apparently. And apparently I am one of those folks.

 2. Forgetting Sarah Marshall  An enjoyable, mindless comedy.  Perfect thing to watch after a long day of rehearsal when you'd like to be amused but your brain cells are almost completely used up.  Plus it has Paul Rudd, who can do no wrong. Though he tries in this movie.  But still.

3. Coco Before Chanel  Another gorgeous period film about a fascinating woman.  Knowing almost nothing about Ms. Chanel, this was incredibly interesting to me and I think Audrey Tautou is amazing. 

Sidebar: I realize I am not writing earth-shattering reviews here, alright?  Mostly this list is just a reminder of what I have put into my brain throughout the year.  If you are looking for stimulating critical genius you are looking at the wrong blog.  But I'm glad you are here, please stay. 

4.  Seeing Other People   A serio-comedy about an engaged couple that decide to spend the last months before their marriage sleeping around.  Sparks ensue, lessons are learned.  slightly zzzzzzzzzzz...

5.  Taxi Driver   Amazing. As this is consistently on the list of best American movies, this should not be a big surprise, but I had never seen it before and it was amazing.  DeNiro looks to be about 14 years old in this film.  Loved the script, loved the perfomances, loved the cinematography.  Haunting and wonderful.  done.

6.  Did You Hear About the Morgans?   This is what happens when you are on an international flight and can't sleep.  You watch trashy movies.  Love Hugh Grant. Love SJP.  Did not love this movie. Not funny, just tired.  So sad, really.  I hope they had a good time on set making it. 

7.  Whip It   Awesome.  Coming of age story:  small town Texas girl discovers roller derby in the "big city" and finally finds her niche.  Fun to watch, but also moving and lovely.  Marcia Gay Harden is wonderful as the over-bearing mother. My obsession with roller derby is revived.

8.   Sex and the City 2  Oh how I wanted this movie to be even just a little bit good. sob.  Helas. Really, we have to take the ladies all the way to the other side of the globe?  Are their characters not enough?  Weren't they good enough for 6 solid seasons?   Anyway...  best parts of the otherwise dismal but visually stimulating movie: 1.  Carrie's phone call to Big, confessing a mis-deed.  THERE SHE IS! There's our girl! There's our dialog! There's the genuine delivery, the heart of the script!  2. The scene with Charlotte and Miranda discussing motherhood.  Some of the only successfully  intentionally funny writing in the show (I realize there was a lots of writing that was supposed to be funny, sob).   That said... ok, yes, I'm still one of those women... it was good to see what our old friends have been up to.  Doesn't Miranda just get better and better with age?

9.  The Lovely Bones  Also watched this during my international flight.  Unexpectedly sobbed almost throughout the entire film, much to the discomfort of the surfer guy sitting next to me, on a trip to Vegas.  Directed by Peter Jackson, who also did Heavenly Creatures, another amazing, disturbing film.   Yes, the afterlife sequences got a bit strung out....I thought the "real life" sequences were just so breathtakingly lovely, the afterlife stuff seemed slightly over the top.  BUT the performances were absolutely wonderful  (stanley tucci, saoirse ronan), the storytelling was amazing, the design, etc.  Even the aforementioned afterlife stuff.... that tree actually took my breath away. More than once.  You should see this film.  






 

1 comment:

  1. I didn't know you had a blog. I'm very excited. Sex and the City 2 SUCKED. Both of those moments were great; however, my second favorite moment was Liza singing "Single Ladies" (first being the mommy conversation). Hilarious.

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