MOVIES THREAD

Daria "Is It Fall Yet" is as good a movie as I've ever seen. 5 stars out of 5. (plus you get two bonus episodes).

"Is It College Yet" is the same caliber of excellence. 5 stars out of 5 (again, two bonus episodes)

 

When it comes out in December, I highly recommend people to go see the movie Juno. Also, the Tracey Fragments is another good flick.

Both movies have Halifax actress and the next big thing, 20 year old Ellen Page.
Rumour is from entertainment sources that Page is going to get Oscar consideration for her work this year.

Also, if you have not seen Away from Her, get it on DVD now. Gordon Pinsent does a fine acting job, and if he does not get an Oscar nod for his role, then justice has not been served.

 

I saw The Last Samurai for the first time tonight. Excellent film.

 

Saw "Before The Devil Knows You're Dead." Depressing even though Marissa Tomei is looking good naked. Overall, we give it a rating of five cups of hemlock.

 

Went with the wife and our niece and nephew yesterday to see "Fred Claus." Thought it was a nice enough little cup of Christmas pablum, with some funny stuff from Vince Vaughn. The sappy stuff at the end of the movie made the theater a bit dusty. I like Vaughn, even though I don't think he necessarily does a lot of stretching acting-wise. He's got several of his patented riffing bits in there that are funny. Oh, and it's never a bad thing to look at Rachel Weisz, although she's not in the movie very much. When she is, she's the best-looking meter maid in history.

 

I'm not really big into fantasy/sword-and-sandal/gladiator("Gladiator" being an exception)/Viking movies, but the trailer for "Beowulf" looks really cool. I've only seen two early reviews on the wires, one giving it a C- and the other giving it five stars. Might be worth checking out.

 

Reading that tale about eight times in my school career may doom my drive to see it.

 

"Catch and Release" ... Visually, it's stunning, set in Boulder, Colorado. Cinematographically, it's clean and beautiful, simple even, very much like "Bridges of Madison County." Jennifer Garner is gorgeous, love those dimples, and she can convey a moment with her eyes good as anyone these days. The story is chicky, with a Hollywood happy ending. But the journey is worth the two hours' viewing time. At one point you wonder just how Kevin Smith and Juliette Lewis would, you know, get it on. The massage scene with them is funny. And Garner delivers a pretty good monologue during a candlelit dinner scene. 3 stars out of 5.

"Little Children" ... Kate Winslet, that little bugger, gets naked! Good story that takes you in and keeps you wondering. Strong efforts across the board, including and especially "Kelly Leak." Jennifer Connolly reminds me of someone I once knew well; couldn't help but think it was her every time she was on screen. The narrator constantly narrating reminds me of John "Voice of God" Facenda. The last 10 minutes are good stuff, especially when "Kelly Leak" shows the psycho ex-cop what he's done to himself to "be a good boy." 3.5 stars out of 5.

"Pursuit of Happyness" ... Every time you thought life couldn't get shittier for Will Smith and his boy, something worse happens. A triumph of the human spirit. Will Smith has great chops. Really enjoyed the final moment when father and son walk down a steep San Francisco street because finally, they get to enjoy life downhill for once. Excellent film. 4 stars out 5.

 

From what I was told, there is a bit more to the story in the movie than there was in the book. It's been a long time since I read it, but the original story doesn't have much of a transition between the two major fights Beowulf is involved in. Neil Gaiman, a highly-regarded modern fantasy writer (Stardust was an adaptation of one of his books, for what it's worth) wrote the part filling in the gap. I've heard good things, but I doubt I'll see it before it hits HBO.

 

I watched Pretty Persuasion this morning. It was much better than I would have expected. It's sort of in the same vein as Heathers and Mean Girls but filtered through some bizarre David Mamet device. Quite possibly the meanest "girls" comedy ever. I give it a seven on a scale of 1 to 10.

 

I think I've become addicted to The Dark Knight. I don't know how long these pictures have been out, but I've only become more pumped up for this movie:

 

Very good movie. Four out of five. Only complaint is that I thought a few of the McCandless-in-Alaska scenes were a bit overproduced. But I loved most of the scenes of him with other actual people. Hal Holbrook, Catherine Keener, Vince Vaughn were all excellent. That's amazing about the guy who played Rainey. Every time he came on I was trying to figure out who he was (could have sworn I recognized him, maybe because he looked like a bit like a hippified Sam Elliot). And some interesting improvements on the book, like the narration by the sister, that gave some insight that Krakauer was able to supply as a writer but is often hard to supply on film.
I was amazed to see at the end that the parents actually cooperated with it. They must have gone through a lot.