many movies redux
Once again, I fail not only as a person, but also as a blogger. The truth is, things have been good lately. I have seen some great movies, some not-so-great movies, and as you saw above, done some fabulous NYC activities. So, here is a rundown on some of the things I have seen of late.
DARJEELING LIMITED
Loved this movie. Wes Anderson is such an interesting and quirky director. His vision in this film is so unique. The actors are terrific, in particular, Adrien Brody is just fascinating. He has the saddest eyes, and everything I see him in, I am just compelled to watch him. Both Jason Schwartzman and Owen Wilson are fabulous as well. The story is of three brothers who get together after a year, and try to build (re-build?) their relationship after the death of their father. At one point, Schwartzman wonders if the three of them would be friends, if they weren’t brothers. That question broke my heart. This film is everything…it is laugh-out-loud funny, tragic to the point of tears, ridiculous, and yet so real, it is as if you could taste the colors on the screen. This movie moved me, and I think if you like Wes Anderson, that kind of quirky, bizarre style, you will adore this film.
Final thoughts: A fantastic movie that is beautiful to look at, and moving to watch. Check it out.
ACROSS THE UNIVERSE
I so wanted to adore this movie. It is visionary, different, truly theatrical, musical, and Julie Taymor is such a distinct artist….I didn’t love it. However, I really appreciate what they set out to do. Using the music of the Beatles (love them!) as the foundation, this film explores America during Vietnam. With the draft, music, love, protest, the film explores life during a revolutionary time in our history. It was definitely a trippy exploration, and there were moments of true brilliance and perfection. However, I felt a little lost, and didn’t connect in the way that I had hoped. Jim Sturgess is really appealing as our transplanted leading man, and Evan Rachel Wood’s character makes a believable journey from school girl to activist. I hope that people will check this out with an open mind, and enjoy the craziness. It isn’t perfect, but I applaud Taymor’s vision and look forward to seeing more of her stuff.
Final thoughts: Incredible, HUGE vision that didn’t quite pull me in. Love the idea of it though.
THE JANE AUSTEN BOOK CLUB
Sometimes, a movie is exactly what it needs to be. I set off to see this one, having read and enjoyed the book, and needing something nice to see. This movie so exactly fit the bill….I LOVE when that happens. A group of friends, and two strangers, make up a book club that tackles the work of Jane Austen. Each member takes a book, and hosts a get-together at their home. As the story progresses, the book club members find that their own lives are reflected in the books they are reading. Between divorces, affairs, relationships with parents and children, broken hearts, and new love, the books come alive in the cheesy way implied by that sentence. He he. It was the perfect movie to curl up with while wearing sweats and eating goobers. Emily Blunt is hilarious as the uptight newcomer, and Hugh Dancy is appropriately dreamy as the younger guy. (Sorry, it has been so long since I saw the movie that I can’t remember characters names!) I have now decided to actually read all of the books….
Final thoughts: Grab a girlfriend, and reignite your love of Jane Austen and romantic comedy-dramas.
DEATH AT A FUNERAL
Some funny moments….not enough though. Alan Tudyk steals the movie when he accidentally takes an LSD tablet and totally freaks out. At one point, he is naked on the roof. Seriously. Matthew MacFadyen does well as the straight man to the chaos surrounding him.
Final thoughts: If you are a fan of Frank Oz, or any of the actors, add it to your netflix list, and giggle away in your pajamas.
IRA & ABBY
I loved the movie KISSING JESSICA STEIN. This movie is also written by and starring Jennifer Westfeldt, and this is just not quite as good as her first go-round. Abby works at a gym, and is neurotic. Ira is a Jewish graduate student, and is neurotic. They meet, have sex, and decide to get married in the space of the afternoon. There are great supporting players as parents and therapists, and it is nice to see NYC places I walk past or go to…but everyone is just so neurotic! I wanted to just hit them and scream BE NORMAL! Does my doing that make me neurotic?
Final thoughts: It’s not terrible, but it is not as good as it could be. Love the girl, and hope she does many more movies about slightly less neurotic people.
D-WARS
After IRA & ABBY, I decided to check out D-WARS which looked like it could be a fun sci-fi movie. Well, it turned out to be about giant snakes, and starring the cute guy from ROSWELL. I am SO not the target audience for this movie. It wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t good. I mean, perhaps if I was into dragons, or giant snakes, or prophecies, I would have loved this movie. As it was, I mostly sat there, and reconfirmed that I don’t like snakes. At all.
Final thoughts: Take your 14 year-old boy cousin to this film if you are somehow coerced into babysitting. You can probably pass this one up unless you like dragons, snakes, or prophecies.
photo credit: www.movieweb.com
DARJEELING LIMITEDLoved this movie. Wes Anderson is such an interesting and quirky director. His vision in this film is so unique. The actors are terrific, in particular, Adrien Brody is just fascinating. He has the saddest eyes, and everything I see him in, I am just compelled to watch him. Both Jason Schwartzman and Owen Wilson are fabulous as well. The story is of three brothers who get together after a year, and try to build (re-build?) their relationship after the death of their father. At one point, Schwartzman wonders if the three of them would be friends, if they weren’t brothers. That question broke my heart. This film is everything…it is laugh-out-loud funny, tragic to the point of tears, ridiculous, and yet so real, it is as if you could taste the colors on the screen. This movie moved me, and I think if you like Wes Anderson, that kind of quirky, bizarre style, you will adore this film.
Final thoughts: A fantastic movie that is beautiful to look at, and moving to watch. Check it out.
ACROSS THE UNIVERSEI so wanted to adore this movie. It is visionary, different, truly theatrical, musical, and Julie Taymor is such a distinct artist….I didn’t love it. However, I really appreciate what they set out to do. Using the music of the Beatles (love them!) as the foundation, this film explores America during Vietnam. With the draft, music, love, protest, the film explores life during a revolutionary time in our history. It was definitely a trippy exploration, and there were moments of true brilliance and perfection. However, I felt a little lost, and didn’t connect in the way that I had hoped. Jim Sturgess is really appealing as our transplanted leading man, and Evan Rachel Wood’s character makes a believable journey from school girl to activist. I hope that people will check this out with an open mind, and enjoy the craziness. It isn’t perfect, but I applaud Taymor’s vision and look forward to seeing more of her stuff.
Final thoughts: Incredible, HUGE vision that didn’t quite pull me in. Love the idea of it though.
THE JANE AUSTEN BOOK CLUB
Sometimes, a movie is exactly what it needs to be. I set off to see this one, having read and enjoyed the book, and needing something nice to see. This movie so exactly fit the bill….I LOVE when that happens. A group of friends, and two strangers, make up a book club that tackles the work of Jane Austen. Each member takes a book, and hosts a get-together at their home. As the story progresses, the book club members find that their own lives are reflected in the books they are reading. Between divorces, affairs, relationships with parents and children, broken hearts, and new love, the books come alive in the cheesy way implied by that sentence. He he. It was the perfect movie to curl up with while wearing sweats and eating goobers. Emily Blunt is hilarious as the uptight newcomer, and Hugh Dancy is appropriately dreamy as the younger guy. (Sorry, it has been so long since I saw the movie that I can’t remember characters names!) I have now decided to actually read all of the books….Final thoughts: Grab a girlfriend, and reignite your love of Jane Austen and romantic comedy-dramas.
DEATH AT A FUNERAL
Some funny moments….not enough though. Alan Tudyk steals the movie when he accidentally takes an LSD tablet and totally freaks out. At one point, he is naked on the roof. Seriously. Matthew MacFadyen does well as the straight man to the chaos surrounding him.Final thoughts: If you are a fan of Frank Oz, or any of the actors, add it to your netflix list, and giggle away in your pajamas.
IRA & ABBY
I loved the movie KISSING JESSICA STEIN. This movie is also written by and starring Jennifer Westfeldt, and this is just not quite as good as her first go-round. Abby works at a gym, and is neurotic. Ira is a Jewish graduate student, and is neurotic. They meet, have sex, and decide to get married in the space of the afternoon. There are great supporting players as parents and therapists, and it is nice to see NYC places I walk past or go to…but everyone is just so neurotic! I wanted to just hit them and scream BE NORMAL! Does my doing that make me neurotic?
Final thoughts: It’s not terrible, but it is not as good as it could be. Love the girl, and hope she does many more movies about slightly less neurotic people.
D-WARS
After IRA & ABBY, I decided to check out D-WARS which looked like it could be a fun sci-fi movie. Well, it turned out to be about giant snakes, and starring the cute guy from ROSWELL. I am SO not the target audience for this movie. It wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t good. I mean, perhaps if I was into dragons, or giant snakes, or prophecies, I would have loved this movie. As it was, I mostly sat there, and reconfirmed that I don’t like snakes. At all.Final thoughts: Take your 14 year-old boy cousin to this film if you are somehow coerced into babysitting. You can probably pass this one up unless you like dragons, snakes, or prophecies.
photo credit: www.movieweb.com
posted by beth slack at 8:42 AM
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