Tag: three sentence movies

It’s a good year for book-to-movie adaptations and Wild joins Gone Girl in the pantheon of engrossing books that became excellent films.  The movie manages to make a long hike (which is, when you get down to it, a lot of walking and internal processing) engaging cinema. I think they did a particularly nice job of capturing the circular nature of thoughts when one spends large amounts of time alone as well as the vulnerability some women feel being out on their own.*

Cost: $8.25 (bought advanced tickets)
Where watched: Cinema 21 (Theater 3) with Kelly.

*Which, by the way, really sucks.  Thanks, asshole guys, for making women feel unsafe.

Also!  The scene that caused much brouhaha when it was filmed last year outside my school was in the movie!  It did not land on the cutting room floor.  Predictably, the scene itself was layered with music, so there was no need to have people ask the children to be quiet during recess.  Annoyance aside, it looks really cool, like a real snowstorm in Minneapolis, not a balmy November day in Portland.

Also, also!  This is the second film in a row I’ve seen Gaby Hoffmann be the friend to a woman who needs an abortion.  She seems to be carving out a pro-choice niche.

Recasting the Western with a feminist slant (as written and directed by men) this was an engrossing movie.  Great acting, compelling characters and the movie balanced funny with tragic.  However, there was a thing that happened in Act 3 that I didn’t at all find believable,* and which sunk the whole film.

Cost: free due to gift card
Where watched: Regal Fox Tower with S. North.

*If you’ve seen it, let me know, we’ll talk.

There are many, many amusing scenes of teenage summer camp life as portrayed by actors who are a decade (or more) removed from actually being teenagers.  An incredibly star-studded cast all have great fun with silly tropes from teen movies.  Paul Rudd is hilarious as a hot teenage boy.*

Cost: free from library
Where watched: at home with Olivia, who recommended it.

*He was 32 when this was filmed.
(Also! Vinnie VanLowe is in this!  Vinnie sighting!)

A special showing with Walt Curtis in the audience and answering questions after, so this was a treat.  I love the attention to detail in this movie, the threadbare shirt, the blinking light in the kitchen, the signs in the store.  Someday I’d like to do a compare/contrast of the same streets today.

Cost:  $4.00
Where watched:  5th Avenue Cinemas.  (My first visit!  They had free popcorn!)

It’s too bad that children totally took over “Let It Go” and drove their parents crazy with their repeated singing, because in context, that song is an incredible show stopper.  Overall, this was a Disney film that hit every Disney Animated Film requirement in a pleasing fashion.  I did think a certain character’s sudden transformation from good to bad was rather abrupt, but otherwise, this was a great animated classic.

Cost: free from library
Where watched:  at home.

A great recommendation from Filmspotting, this is an uneven, yet very fun trip back to the 80s and features a very young Diane Lane and Laura Dern.  Perfect for its all-girl punk-rock exploits and interesting commentary about music, women, and women in music.  The music was good too.

I’ve read/heard a lot of reviews saying that nothing happens in this movie, but I heartily disagree.  There are decisions to be made by Katniss and other sundry people in the Panem world, and the players spend this movie making them.  That means there’s not a lot of shooting, but a ton of good acting* and political maneuvering, which I was down for.**

Cost:  $10.00
Where watched: With Kelly at the  Baghdad Theater.  We went to the 8pm night-before-it-was-released showing celebrating one year of the renovated theater. There were themed cocktails and promises of cake.  Though no actual cake.  Was that a commentary on the Hunger Games movie?

poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2014/hunger_games_mockingjay__part_one.html

*Peeta has greatly improved.  He’s quite good.  Jennifer Lawrence is, of course, phenomenal.
**I know what’s coming in the next movie, we can take our time getting there.

This was a very long movie and it really could have been much shorter, say two hours instead of 2h50m.*  I very much enjoyed the acting and was never really bored, but overall, there was just too much movie.  It’s always nice to see Wes Bently and his facial hair.

Cost: $10.00
Where watched:  McMenamins Baghdad Theater with Burt, Laurie and Matt.  (And yes, we DID get stamps for our passports.)

*Don’t want to sit through nearly three hours of movie? I’ll sum it up here:
(you should stop reading now if you don’t want SPOILERS)
(Really, now’s the time to stop.  SPOILERS ahead.)

• Establishing earth story, with different feelings of family members, mostly anger and despair.
• Endless unintelligible space science talk that sounded plausible to me, but what do I know really?**
• Surprise cameo by a very famous actor!!!!
• A bunch of rocket talk, PLUS added bonus annoying sexist thing that happens a lot in movies where the guy “makes the sacrifice” without talking it over ahead of time with the woman because you know men are really in charge and there’s no need to come to a solution TOGETHER.  I mean, really! In general, women are good problem solvers and collaborative people, so guess what lead male actor?  You probably didn’t need to do that thing you think you need to do.
• Crazy fifth dimension thing that probably will blow your mind if your high hasn’t worn off yet.
• Chatty family wrap up.

**Pretty much nothing.