Miscellaneous Movie Musings

[Stan4dSteph]

I saw the new Bond film. It was pretty cool. I loved the action sequences. There needed to be more scenes with Bond without his shirt though.

[Alex]

Well, I confirmed that it was indeed The Road Warrior that I was mostly remembering. I also confirmed that The Road Warrior is mostly suck as well. 12-year-old me was mightily easy to please apparently.

Watched another car related movie by the name of The Driver. From 1978 starring Ryan O'Neal and Bruce Dern. Very sparse and I liked it a fair bit.

Started to watch What's Up Pussycat but am strongly disinclined to continue after the first five minutes of Peter Sellers (when he's funny he's very funny, but when he stinks he makes Steve Martin of the last decade look like genius). Peter O'Toole's eyes, though, compel me to to continue. I'm at work now, though, so will have to finish tomorrow.

[Prudence]

We also saw the new Bond today. We thought most of the action scenes were a little overdone although I liked the fight in the Haitian hotel, as it looked very much like a street brawl and not a choreographed movie fight.

I like the new, gritty Bond, but I still kind of miss the more tongue-in-cheek Connery Bond. Also, the final action sequence was completely ridiculous.

I do love Judi Dench as M, though. No one delivers a dry, biting line like she does.

[Bornieo: Fully Loaded]

Tonight was the night for flix at the $3 theatre that just opened nearby.

-- W
I was surpised how sympathetic the filmed made Bush seem and at the same time almost surealist. There was a thin line between mockery and homage and I thought it an interesting film. Not the greatest Oliver Stone film, but Brolin does a fantastic job.

-- Sex Drive
In the spirit of American Pie - a real funny teenage R-rated film that is both hysterical and gross but had a bit of a cheesy ending.

-- Zack and Miri Make a Porno
Great quotable dialogue by Kevin Smith and alot of laughs. It was both hysterical and gross but had a cheesy ending.

OK - so "Porno" and "Sex Drive" pretty much had the exact same plot and has the same female in it,* so that was a bit odd seeing both in the same night. Boy and Girl are "best friends" and thru 1. making a porno and another driving to meet a girl for sex, they come to learn they actually "love" each other. Pretty much the same plot for both but I thought them funny.

Edit to add: It was actually "W" and "Porno" that had the same female lead. Elizabeth Banks played Laura Bush and Miri.

[flippyshark]

For those who have seen sex Drive, I work with an actress who appears in the film as "Drunk Amish Girl." I haven't seen the movie yet, but Michelle (that's her name) said she got to work with Seth Green, and she said he was as cool as she had hoped. She was also moved into the hotel room Green had been staying in after his couple of days on set were done. He had left behind massive amounts of junk food, so she now gets to boast that she ate Seth Green's snacks.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Originally Posted by Bornieo: Fully Loaded

Edit to add: It was actually "W" and "Porno" that had the same female lead. Elizabeth Banks played Laura Bush and Miri.

Oh man, now I really don't want to see W. I don't want to walk out of a theater wanting to do Laura Bush.

[flippyshark]

For those interested in seeing it, BOLT is adorable, has lots of heart, and if you catch it in a Digital 3D venue, the 3D is very good. Word on the street is that John Lasseter helped rework this into a better movie than it would otherwise have been. It's nice to see a really good movie bear the Disney Animation banner. Whee!

[LSPoorEeyorick]

We've seen a lot of movies in the last month, so I wanted to post about them, because they were all movies that left varied impressions on me. In some cases, I want to send you to see them. In others, I'd like to send you away from them.

The Changeling
I very much wanted to like The Changeling. It is set in a fascinating period of time in a city that fascinated me so much that six years ago, I moved there. It focuses on a woman, which is rare these days. Its winding narrative held my interest. But I was surprised that, despite all signs pointing to "hey, swell movie," I was left rather cold.

It's possible that its starting point – just before the main character's child is kidnapped – isn't a strong enough connecting point to make us grieve the loss as the she does. It's also possible that a character spending 60% of her time waiting anxiously (and passively) for anything to be resolved may not be as resonant – or, dare I say, active – as one would hope, no matter how strong that anxious-passive performance might be.

In general, the whole film seemed… distanced… from me, somehow. The very oh-so-composed shots (like a close-up of a shocked man's cigarette ash hanging by a thread, that so fluidly crashes to the ground as he receives the final blow to his ignorance) were more distracting than elegant. "Oh, look. We're watching a movie. Why don't you give me some Brechtian titles while you're at it."

Even though I felt held at arm's length throughout, I'd still recommend checking this out at some point. It is elegant. Its story will hold your interest. And Tom liked it more than I did, so chances are, you might too.

Synecdoche, NY
I'm a big fan of Charlie Kaufman, so I was excited to hear he was going to try his hand at directing. We'd get The Full Kaufman Experience!

As it turns out, we may not actually want the Full Kaufman Experience.

Synecdoche is the unfurling of a dream state. Or a descent into madness. Or an abstract metaphor of the devolution of the human body. Possibly all three. Possibly none.

Like a Derren film, or a Lynch one, I think you're meant to sit back and let it absorb into your pores, into your brain, into your consciousness. And so I didn't spend too much time trying to discern exactly what was happening. (I really don't think it's the point, and moreso, I don't even think it's possible.) I just let it float over me, and into me. And that experience was the bleakest, most uncomfortable one I've ever had in a movie theater. It bores into all of the least-appealing parts of humanity. And so many of them are universal. That, or Kaufman and I have the same insecurities and nightmares.

It is a horrible film. Not that the performances were bad, or anything in particular. In fact, I can't be certain, but I think it really was quite remarkable. What I mean is that it is marked by the arousal of horror. And not in an "eek, the killer is right behind you!" kind of way. In a way that says slowly, clearly, and unequivocally: everything in this life is ****, and you're never going to make of yourself what you want to. And quite honestly, it may be the truth, but I really don't need to hear it if I'm going to live a life of anything aside from self-centered regret.

Should you see it? That's an excellent question, and I don't have the answer for you. Is it brilliant? Quite possibly. Are you up for it? You might be. And then again, you really, really, really might not be.

Side note: Samantha Morton is a bright spot, and she looks incredible with a curvy body.

Zac and Miri Make a Porno
We watched these three films in sequence, and thank Christ we saw this last. It was totally delightful, surprisingly romantic, and only occasionally Kevin-Smith-heavy. It washed the brain-ick of Synecdoche right out with a constant stream of very raunchy but pretty tender humor. And that was a tall order. I highly recommend it, particularly to fans of the Apatow ilk (as it seemed much more geared towards them than towards fans of Smith's earlier films.)

Slumdog Millionaire
It's a lovely concept. A young man from the streets of India wins a huge amount of money on a game show. Before his final question, he's arrested, accused of cheating. Question by question, we see (in flashbacks) exactly why he knew what he knew. It's structurally creative, socio-politically absorbing, and emotionally compelling. And musically, it's genius; the mix of Bollywood and hip-hop is gorgeous. Danny Boyle never makes the same film twice, and I admire his willingness to branch out.

It, unfortunately, was over-hyped to me by a number of people, and it didn't quite live up to that for me. So I won't overhype it to you. Slumdog Millionaire is not a perfect film, but it's a modern fairy tale that is definitely worth watching.

Twilight
I should probably post this in the Twilight thread, but I don't really want to rain on Twilight's parade. I found it to be rather wooden, and a little bit rushed. It did have some surprisingly cheeky humor now and then (outside of the unintentional laughs.) And Bella's father's performance was quite strong. Really, my favorite part of the film was witnessing the cultural tween meme. Their little hormones didn't even know what to do with Edward, so all they could muster were squeals of various pitches and lengths. I was duly amused.

[Bornieo: Fully Loaded]

Originally Posted by Ghoulish Delight

Oh man, now I really don't want to see W. I don't want to walk out of a theater wanting to do Laura Bush.

Non-spoiler but as Laura Bush she takes off her shirt. YEs there is a bra but lead to the thought "MILF."

[Ghoulish Delight]

Originally Posted by Bornieo: Fully Loaded

Non-spoiler but as Laura Bush she takes off her shirt. YEs there is a bra but lead to the thought "MILF."

A I applaud her for that pattern, as she does the same in Zack and Miri.

However that just reinforces my desire to not see W, because I'll end up considering Laura Bush more attractive than is healthy, or consider Elizabeth Banks less attractive than is healthy.