Miscellaneous Movie Musings

[Ghoulish Delight]

Saw The Hangover. I love a good stupid Vegas bachelor party movie and this didn't disappoint. laughs all the way through.

[Alex]

I enjoyed it but it never really took off for me. Solid laughs (and very solidly constructed in how it all ends up hanging together without going too off the wall).

Just got back from The Brothers Bloom. Really liked the style and the first 70% was a lot of fun and then The Big Finish just didn't fit well with the experience that came before. But that is a flaw of almost all con movies.

[LSPoorEeyorick]

So far this weekend...

Away We Go
A charming but a confused pregnant couple goes on a journey to figure out not just where to raise their baby, but how to raise their baby.

This little gem of an emotional comedy was not well-reviewed but neither Tom nor I agreed with the points the reviewers were making. It made me laugh, right out loud, and frequently. At moments it became so wonderful and fragile and thoughtful. A common complaint was that the film was mean-spirited in its comedy, but I thought it was no more so than your standard comedy. I loved it. A lot.

We went to see it primarily because it was the first screenplay written by my favorite modern author (Dave Eggers, "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius") and his wife (Vendela Vida "Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name") - they are the co-founders of literacy/tutoring non-profit, 826 Valencia (and locally, 826 L.A.) The film was directed by someone I don't always like (Sam Mendes) and it starred someone I adore (John Krasinski) and someone I didn't know I adored (Maya Rudolph.) Plus a huge slew of wonderful supporting characters played by Maggie Gyllenhaal, Allison Janney, Catherine O'Hara, Jeff Daniels, Melanie Lynsky and others.

See it, and ignore the reviews.

Night at the Museum II
If you feel compelled towards family-type films, this is a harmless one. Diverting. Mostly notable is the charming Amy Adams as a tarty (almost Katherine Hepburn-like) Amelia Earhart. My love for her knows no bounds (and I can't wait for "Julie and Julia" later this summer.)

Angels and Demons
Similarly diverting. It kept my attention through its two and a half hours. I hadn't read the book, but I admit I enjoyed the etymology and puzzles within DaVinci Code (book, not movie so much) and that kind of thing followed here.

The Hangover
I worked on the website so I may be slightly biased, but I found this to be fun and pretty consistently amusing. Especially Zach Galifianakis, whose awkward creepiness was good for many of the laughs. If you enjoy Vegas comedy, or the "dude-where's-my" genre, definitely check it out.

Drag Me to Hell
I can tell that this movie is fun, gory, gross horror. It unfortunately might've been too soon to watch a horror movie; a few things started bringing back some bad memories I'm valiantly trying not to think about, so I don't think it was exactly a good experience for me. But if you love retro-style thrills and gross-out horror, you'll probably really enjoy it.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Originally Posted by LSPoorEeyorick

The Hangover
I worked on the website so I may be slightly biased, but I found this to be fun and pretty consistently amusing. Especially Zach Galifianakis, whose awkward creepiness was good for many of the laughs. If you enjoy Vegas comedy, or the "dude-where's-my" genre, definitely check it out.

Please don't compare this to Dude Where's My Car! <shudder>

You're right, Galifianakis carries the movie.

[Alex]

I'm intrigued by Away We Go but where David Eggers is a big plus for you, I can't really stand much of anything he's ever produced so I'm not sure I can overcome that. It'll probably stay on my Netflix DVD queue (assuming I can ever add it since it is maxed out and I haven't watched an actual DVD in months).

Oh, and something that occurred to me while drifting to sleep last night. Why is it called The Brothers Bloom? Only one of them is named Bloom. The other is Stephen.

[Ghoulish Delight]

I wouldn't say he carried it, everyone else was great too. He just gave it that extra punch that made it more interesting than the scores of other Vegas bachelor party flicks.

[Alex]

Considering that Ed Helms has never shown a lick of acting ability on The Daily Show or The Office I was most surprised by him.

[Gemini Cricket]

Galifianakis!

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Aww. I love Ed Helms. And now I finally committed his name to memory and I don't have to yell "that guy from the Office!" anymore. He doesn't look like an Ed Helms to me.

Yeah, I do think the rest of the cast was great. Didn't hurt that the 3rd lead was hotness. (Haven't worked on his name at all.)

[Ghoulish Delight]

Ed Helms funfact of the day (doubtless Alex has already learned this, from the same source I did). No makeup or special effects needed for the missing tooth. Ed Helms is actually missing that tooth, it never grew in, he's had an implant since he was 20.

Now you know!