I avoided this movie, due to not wanting to look at that big head for two hours.* However, I’m happy to report that this was one of those movies that combined funny and drama quite well. And the music cracked me up.
Cost: free from library
Where watched: at home. Toes are red now.
*Much like Lars and the Real Girl, this was a movie with a weird element that was actually kind of cool, once I got over my resistance.
poster from: http://www.impawards.com/intl/uk/2014/frank_ver2.html
There may have been an unfortunate coinciding with my intense need for a nap, but I found this movie to be quite the snooze.* It didn’t help that Cate Blanchett was playing a hair too close to Diane Wiest in Bullets Over Broadway.** Visually, it was a stunning movie, and perhaps would have been better received, had I not been quite so tired.
Cost: $5.00
Where watched: Hollywood Theater with S. North
*I did fall asleep in a few sections. My brain was tracking, but my eyes were shut.
**”Don’t Speak!”
poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2015/carol.html
This is the movie I picked out so Matt and I could celebrate my new job. It was a long and exhausting week and so we were primed for this story of men who had an even harder time at work than we did.* Unlike most Ron Howard films,** it didn’t get saggy in the middle, it got saggy at the end.
Cost: free for me
Where watched: Laurelhurst.
*Though in the movie, I was totally rooting for the whales over the men.
**Exception: Rush, which is awesome all the way through.
poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2015/in_the_heart_of_the_sea.html
I really like the above poster, though I had to really look at it to see what the comments were in awe of. However, let’s be frank about why I watched this movie. The German poster has put my motivating factor front and center.
I’m not much of a fan of the mistreatment of animals, even simulated mistreatment. So I didn’t like this movie at all and I don’t think the last five minutes of Happy Ending Voiceover did anything to help me recover from what came before. This was a crappy love story and I do not approve.
Cost: free from library
Where watched: at home while painting toenails silver.
poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2011/water_for_elephants.html
Probably the best cheerleader movie ever, despite the fact that Kristen Dunst, is the most awkward looking cheerleader ever.* And why hasn’t Eliza Dushku broken out from her Joss Whedon work, she’s so incredibly alluring? Overall, a very good piece of confection.
Cost: $2.75 from Videorama
Where watched: at home during the snow day. This double feature (with Clueless) was brought to you by the interview with Nicole Bilderback on the “I Was There Too” podcast.
*I remember this from the first time I watched this. I think it has something to do with her incredibly long arms.
poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2000/bring_it_on.html
I was very interested in the posters from other countries. Germany features the cheerleading uniforms, but it’s called Girls United.
Whereas France has no uniforms and calls it American Girls. I hope Tom Petty fans in France weren’t confused.
Twenty years later and this movie still hits all the right notes. Sure, Paul Rudd hasn’t really settled into his beloved screen persona, but this is the movie that caused him to imprint on all women of a certain age, so we’ll let it slide.* We all talk on our cell phones now as much as Cher and Dionne did then, but thank goodness the nose jobs aren’t as prominent.
Cost: $2.75 from Videorama
Where watched: at home during the snow day. This double feature (with Bring it On) was brought to you by the interview with Nicole Bilderback on the “I Was There Too” podcast.
*Also, the age difference between Cher and Josh and the fact that they were once step-siblings is just the slightest big creepy. But we’ll overlook it because of the imprinting.
poster from: http://www.impawards.com/1995/clueless.html
To be fair to this movie, I was kind of board and would have preferred to read but didn’t have any books of interest. However, the movie was way too long and not at all the movie I thought it would be.* Also, the 26 year age difference made the supposed romance yucky and weird.**
Cost: free from Hoopla, the library’s streaming service
Where watched: in bed, on my new tablet. I sneezed once, and the screen flipped. That was more exciting than this film.
*If IMDB trivia is to be believed I wasn’t the only one who noticed: “It’s gone from a Hepburn-Tracy Woman of the Year (1942) to The Pelican Brief (1993) in a very short time span,” one competing studio marketing person noted before it was released.
**There’s one scene where a really hot 20-something in a meatmarket-type bar picks Nick Nolte (then 53) as the only guy in the bar she would go home with, which I found laughable.
(Aside: Many of Julie Robert’s outfits reminded me of my high school friend Leath’s clothing style, so that was fun.)
poster from: http://www.impawards.com/1994/i_love_trouble.html
This is a classic example of how a movie doesn’t come together, despite many things that should result in a good movie. Acting was fine, story was okay, costumes were great. But it just all felt so blah.
Cost: free from library
Where watched: at home, while the freezing rain started.
poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2009/edge_of_love_ver2.html
Funny, and with tons of cameos. The interview/interviewee framework was a good setup. I wonder if Rosario Dawson will ever get a vehicle that really showcases her talents?
Cost: free from library
Where watched: at home, while the snow tapered off.
poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2014/top_five.html
