Last movie you watched......

Saw "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" last night. Very, very good, if somewhat mannered (all that darkness and brown). Gary Oldman was great. But I was also damn glad I'd read the book. Coming into that movie cold, you would lose the plot in a heartbeat.

 

Thor was so far from great it would need Hubble to see it.

 

Gotta disagree. I loved it. Fun movie.

 

OK, on one of the Encore Western cable channels, last week I watched "Riders of the Northwest Mounties," a very, very bizarre 1943 second-feature film starring Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys (!!!) as members of the RCMP in pursuit of fur thieves in what was supposed to be the Canadian Rockies and was obviously Lake Arrowhead.
It's hard to tell what was my favorite moment of this masterpiece, which I loved and it made me wish I was on drugs when I saw it. Maybe it was the Western swing dirge done by Bob and the boys at a Mountie funeral. Or maybe it was the Western swing number by Bob and the boys that played as they paddled their canoes off into the sunset just before the credits.

 

Once you cross that ole Canadian border hoss, Bob Wills is still the king ...

 

Finally got around to watching "The King's Speech"

Fantastic. Firth was every part of amazing in that role. Definitely the Best Picture from last year in my mind.

 

While I thought it was an outstanding job of acting by both Firth and Rush, I didn't think it was a great film per se. Definitely didn't find it as entertaining — or as well-written or well-shot — as The Social Network, or even Toy Story 3.

 

Haven't seen Toy Story 3. Did see The Social Network.

Compared to The King's Speech, I just see the latter as the more superior film. I think partly because the acting so outshined that in The Social network that it just elevated it.

Both were damn good though.

 

I liked the earthbound scenes in Thor a whole lot better than the ones in Asgard. King's Speech was good, but to me Geoffrey Rush stole the show. The Social Network was very entertaining as was the new Mission Impossible movie.

 

If anyone sees "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close," please let me know. I just can't get past the whole 9/11 thing. From reviews I've read, it sounds like it's quite exploitative and serves as an unnecessary plot point. Apparently, another tragic event or something could have as easily served as a way to write the story. Anyway... it's trending around 50 percent at Rotten Tomatoes, with most of the negative feedback calling it 9/11 porn.

 

The Chicago Tribune gave it 1 1/2 stars today. It's basically been booed off the stage by critics. EW is about the only major publication that liked it. It was utterly meant to be an award winner, and it has just flopped.

I am starting to wonder if anybody can possibly make a 9/11 movie or write a 9/11 novel that people don't think is exploitative. I don't understand that attitude. Sadness was a huge part of that day. Loss was a huge part of that day. Isn't art supposed to be about capturing the human experience? It's a fine line, I suppose.

* It might indeed be a terrible movie. I didn't love the book. I thought Foer overswung a little bit. Let the art get in the way of the story. I thought the kid's voice was distinctive, but a lot of passages were way too on-the-nose for a stylist like him. There was some cognitive dissonance going on for me.

 

For a $1.50 Redbox rental or two hours of Netflix time, it is a very good movie.

For $10.50 at the Multiplex, not so much.

It is defiantly in the top half of superhero flicks I have seen.