Weekend Movies (0 comments)
I've had a slow string of movies in my Netflix queue over the past few weeks. They're (mostly*) not bad movies, but until this past week, there had been a distinct lack of movies that I really enjoyed watching. So, about those...
I loved V for Vendetta. It's among the most inspirational films I've ever seen. It was a good story, well acted, and presented slowly and carefully without insulting my intelligence (as opposed to "yes, I get it: 'great power, great responsibility.'"). And it had the sweetest murder scene ever. The only problem was Natalie Portman's speech at the end. Just ignore that one.
Beyond the movie, the Netflix user reviews were pretty funny. There were a lot of people who said things like I did about the movie, but they were diametrically opposed by a group who hated the movie. The latter group called it a cheap attack on our President and urged people to skip this movie in order to make a stand against Hollywood's liberal agenda. Gaving seen the movie, the government there is beyond a caricature of what we're currently being screwed by. The comic book that provides the basis of the movie was published in the early 1980's attacking Thatcher and Reagan. And the word "orwellian" was around before the NeoCons got their power.
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow was fun. I missed the era of pulp comics about giant robots and mad scientists, but I get the feeling that the movie captured it pretty well. All of the effects were overdone, but obviously to create a style, and once I got used to the style, it worked really well. My only complaint was their (faithful) use of the old "stupid bitch journalist does greedy things to thwart our hero and probably endangers millions of people" plot device. While it fit with everything they were doing, I hated the character. But I liked the movie.
Little Miss Sunshine opened at The Art on Friday, and I caught it yesterday. It's quirky and independent and great. It's the kind of movie that you want to like because you think that it's the kind of movie that cool people like, but when it's all said and done, you like it because it was hilarious. All of the leads put on great performances, but my favorite role had to be Alan Arkin as the heroin-snorting, porn-loving, loud-mouthed grandfather. "Oh, and get me some porn."
* The Japanese version of Pulse was way too slow. It's the first ever movie that I returned unfinished because I got too bored waiting for something to happen.