On the one hand, this was a rather boring movie with an annoying main character, and I just didn’t care very much about anything that happened. On the other hand, it was interesting to see actresses I don’t usually see very much of. Also, there was a bit of a mystery that was solved at the end in a very satisfying way.
Cost: free, on loan from co-worker from his library system
Where watched: at home.
I read half the book, became confused and hoped this movie would clear things up. It did a little, but I found the film just as boring as the book and nearly as confusing. There are flashback scenes that I only could tell were flashbacks because I’d read the book, so overall, this was a dud.
Cost: free from library
Where watched: at home.
Oh Season Four, you did something few television shows do: throw off the majority of your lead characters, tumble the fortunes of the others, while deftly introducing four brand new characters. And you managed to make me still tune into the fortunes of a small-town football team, even though I’m still so football illiterate I can never read the entire scoreboard before you cut back to the football action. How do you manage to do this?
Cost: free from library
Where watched: at home, with Matt.
What was spectacular about the Spectacular Now was the acting and the actors. Both sank into their roles in a way that I don’t often see in a movie with teenagers and for that alone this movie is worth seeing.* I had problems with the ending–it felt revised and tacked on in an unsatisfying way–and I didn’t feel a tremendous depth, a problem I solved by reading the novel, which was quite good.**
Cost: $7.00
Where watched: Living Room Theaters with S. North.
*There were a lot of interesting non-standard teen movie things to like about this movie.
**In novel/book comparisons, I observed that it is very difficult to bring to the movie screen a book character like Aimee, the female protagonist/lead. I think the problem is that everything is shiny in the movies, making it difficult to project the inherent awkwardness/uncool persona that easily comes across on the page. Nerds live in books, easily. They don’t really exist well on the silver screen.
This was much better than the previous Wolverine movie which shall not be referred to ever again. As with Iron Man 3, the superheros are more interesting when they can’t be quite so super. The movie was a bit slow in places and I had time to contemplate the fact that really only Hugh Jackman could pull off some of those lines, but overall, a pretty good way to spend a summer afternoon.
Cost: $5.00 ($5.00 Tuesday special)
Where watched: Regal Tigard Cinemas, with mom and Matt
This was a fun, funny, well-acted film that you should see because all the main actors are clearly having so much fun. But my favorite part was the way the people in the town told the story of poor Bernie and that horrid Marjorie Nugent. After the movie is done, you can watch the great DVD extras of the locals telling town stories and how Richard Linklater was interested in the story very early on.
Also! Jack Black in a scene from my very favorite stage musical!
I saw this movie for Sam Rockwell and loved him, but overall I was not enamored. I found the storytelling a bit lazy (Really? Two overheard/random discoveries by the main character at just the right time?) and also I didn’t buy the fact that Steve Carell’s character could be that much of a jerk to the kid and his mom would put up with it. That said, it’s not a bad movie, and it’s full of a stellar cast, so there are worse ways you could spend your time.*
*Also: one of my favorite things about the movie was that–with one exception–I felt that both the teenage girls and women acting in this movie had normal bodies. The lack of overly-starved and unnatural skinny Minnies was quite refreshing.
A really good movie deserves a second viewing and this got one. Round two found me still charmed. Perhaps a Greta Gerwig film festival is in order?
I have a love/hate thing going on with Baz Luhrmann* so I was interested to see where I fell with this one. The answer turned out to be right smack in the middle, mostly because the huge party scenes were fantastic and all I could ask for, but the quiet moments (of which are the last half of the movie) were kind of bor-ring. Also, I’m pretty sure we didn’t need a fully fleshed-out back story for Mr. Jay Gatsby.
Cost: $3.00 (the key to not buying all the delicious food and drink and thus bumping your tab to $15.00 is to bring with you only three one-dollar bills)
Where watched: Kennedy School
poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2013/great_gatsby_ver15.html
*love Romeo + Juliet, HATE Moulin Rouge!