Another original, interesting, thoughtful movie. Sure, it had its slow moments, but all-in-all, it worked both as a concept and in the nuts-and-bolts of plot, acting, script, directing, etc. It did take a while for me to get into it, but after a couple rotations of the story, I couldn’t wait for the next cut.
9
Wow. It’s so hard to make a movie that’s wholly original, and trusts the intelligence & attention of the viewers. This was a real joy to watch unfold… the joy was in the discovery of the story. Nothing is explained, you have to learn it all along with the characters. And even then, it doesn’t make much sense, but you have to accept it anyway. This movie is the dream I hope to have when I close my eyes each night.
Fantastic Four
A nice, tidy little superhero movie. They have their super powers, super personalities, super drama, and super finale. I do like these kinds of movies, but all the same, they get a little tiring after a while, and all kind of mush together. It’s hard to remember which one is which.
The Avengers
While this was a fun romp, with lots of eye candy… I just couldn’t get past the giant hovering airship thing. The physics on that thing simply don’t add up. The amount of fuel & power you’d need to keep that think aloft would make it totally unmanageable. It’s totally fine to have gods from another planet surfing rainbows to earth. I can accept that, it’s movie fantasy. But, to claim that something like that airship can fly without magic or some kind of extraterrestrial anti-gravity gizmo is insulting.
The Dark Knight Rises
While this movie was good on a number of levels – mostly that it just looked good. I start to wonder – just how many superlatives can they come up with? The bad guy can’t just be “bad”, he has to be the most formidable evil person on the planet, with a secret history that ties everything together, and, and, and… Enough already. Ya, sure… Bane is a bad dude. But don’t try to explain him with logic and a mysterious complicated back story. This is a comic book after all, characters like him are sometimes better shallow.
Little Shop of Horrors
Took me forever to finally sit down and watch this… and it was worth the wait. Who couldn’t love sadistic dentists and man-eating plants from outer space? The nice thing is that this has aged so well… While this could be re-done with higher production values & special effects, it’d lose some of the charm that makes it so… charming. Plus, Rick Moranis & Steve Martin are in their prime in this… hard to top that.
102 Dalmatians
Well I never saw 101 Dalmatians, so I was a bit lost. As for number 102? It was everything you’d expect from a movie titled 102 Dalmatians. I don’t know why I actually watched this… I think it was either due to coercion or desperation. Might have been that we got the wrong DVD by mistake from Netflix… thanks a bunch Netflix.
Brave
A cute little movie from Pixar. Sure, it was pretty good, but it didn’t grab my soul… it was really a straightforward kids movie. Pixar really shines when their movies work on multiple levels, or break new storytelling ground – this one did neither. It was fine, just not exceptional.
The Words
I know I saw this, and perhaps even kind of liked it… but I can’t for the life of me remember what happens. What does that mean? Is it lost forever to my memory? How many other details of life have simply evaporated? I wish there was some deeper meaning here, which “The Words” further explains. But, I think there is not. Apparently, this movie was forgettable, by the very definition of it.
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Somewhere halfway through this movie, I stepped back and thought, “what in the world am I watching?”. And that was a good thing. In our modern society, are there really people this marginal? Can they somehow actually make it? I wasn’t sure what to think… This is humanity at its rawest, seen through the eyes of the innocent. And I loved being treated to its weirdness.
Hitchcock
I got the impression someone was sitting in an office thinking, “You know, Anthony Hopkins could play a great Hitchcock”. And they were right – he did… Then, they really tried to build a movie around the idea. As window into another time and place, it was fun to watch. But, movies like this work better if they stand on their own. If the main character wasn’t Alfred Hitchcock, and this was just a movie about the struggles of a fictional director, it’d be completely forgettable. Anyway, I suppose I am glad they made it, and glad I watched it… kind of like stepping into a time machine and being a fly on a wall for a bit.
The Master
While I like drama as much as the next person, it’s really hard to watch a movie without any characters I can root for. I was just hoping they went out to sea and sank. While I did get the message pretty clearly – that L. Ron Hubbard was a narcissistic nutcase – I’m not sure this movie added much to the discussion, or left any lasting impression other than “yuk”. And that’s a shame, because it was well-filmed & well-acted.
Young Frankenstein
Strange that all these years went by and I’d never actually seen this in its glorious entirety. I finally watched it on a cheap TV screen in a motel in San Jose, Costa Rica. Somehow this seemed appropriate. The movie was ahead of its time in cleverness and attitude… perhaps so far ahead, it’s a time we have not yet reached. I loved how the movie took an absurd premise or mistake by the characters, and instead of trying to resolve it, just ran with it.
Magical Mystery Tour
The Beatles do an improvised made-for-TV movie. This is something that’s really hard to make sense of – basically, it’s a bunch of random characters on a tour bus through England… and they just kind of make up stuff to do along the way. Sure, it’s not that great… but it’s an experiment. And experiments are bound to be a mixed-bag. I thought this was a bit like an opening of the door to the more excessive parts of the “anything goes” 60s. It’s worth checking-out if you’re a fan… and the music is interesting at least. But, you haven’t really missed much if you haven’t seen this.
Outsourced
A light romantic comedy about culture clashes. Sure, I suppose this was entertaining, but the romance seemed a bit contrived, and not really passionate… and some of the cultural misunderstandings were a bit forced. Plus, the whole corporate part of things just didn’t make much sense – the decision making seemed kind of haphazard. I mean, it’s like they didn’t even call the guy in the India office before visiting? Just didn’t make sense.
Anna Karenina (2012)
It’s hard to take an old story in a busy genre, and make it fresh. But, Anna Karenina succeeds in this. The film uses a device of a “stage” to move between scenes, and give the story a dreamy mood. So, instead of cutting from scene to scene, the characters often just walk from scene to scene – through a door, or as the set around them changes… At first it was distracting, but after the first couple instances, I really grew to love it – something actually original and fresh!.. and beautiful.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
I saw this in 3D, 48? frames per second, IMAX… and it was glorious.
As for these people who complain about the high frame rate as looking like cheap TV… They remind me of a 12-year-old who doesn’t like tomatoes because “they’re icky”. Basically, they have undeveloped senses of taste.
As for the movie? Well, sure it was probably longer than it needs to be, but it was just as long as I wanted it to be. I liked the back story, and didn’t find it distracting or unnecessary. The filming was beautiful, the effects stunning, the acting, good enough… This movie was pure candy.
A Serious Man
Put on your yamikas, cuz this one goes pretty deep. It’s the 60s… and the 60s have yet to sweep across suburban Minnesota, and its vibrant (who knew?) Jewish community. We’re all waiting for the main character to snap as the indignities pile up… will he? or will he just figure a way out from under the dung pile?
If I had one complaint about this, it’s that there really was no end. I suppose that was kind of the point, but it’s frustrating to be left hanging just when they’re about to
Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale
Now THIS is a Christmas movie. If you’re a bit warped and jaded, and Christmas has lost its sparkle… go see this.
This is equal parts horror, suspense, thriller, comedy, and Santa Claus.
The plot? Somewhere in northern Finland, a greedy American businessman is digging up an ancient secret – the real Santa Claus. But, he’s no saint. Seems that centuries of storytelling have put frosting on the raw ugliness from the deep.
Life of Pi
A beautiful story on multiple levels, through multiple dimensions, and from multiple points of view. Just when I think I can’t be made to wonder in childlike bliss about the world around us… along comes Life of Pi to put things back into perspective. I’m tempted to put this on my favorites list…
Lincoln
I’m not sure I can say much about this movie that hasn’t already been said. It does an excellent job of transporting you to a specific time and place… almost like a time machine. Perhaps that’s what we like about these movies – not the acting or the story… just the view through the window.
Puss in Boots
How can I have anything but praise for a movie like this? Pick a day when you’re feeling a bit down… and pop this in. Instant 
We Bought a Zoo
Yes. I watched this. But, only for the sweaters.
Though this is outwardly a cheerful family movie, I was a bit taken about how dark it was… I mean, they really dwelt on the loss of a parent – no gleaming over it. So, I have to give it a little credit for that. But, it’s still titled “We Bought a Zoo”… and you can probably guess the rest.
Argo
The story of the CIA agent who helped 6 (mostly very young) US diplomats get out of Iran in 1980. There are actually people out there, doing this kind of stuff. Makes you kind of think your life is boring… but perhaps glad your life is boring.
I liked the tone of this – they didn’t overdo the drama, yet it was dramatic all the same. We all know what happens, but we’re still worried for the characters. I have to wonder how this movie would play back in Iran though. What would the people there today think of it? The diplomats didn’t really commit any crime, so it’s not like they really got away with anything. In fact, if they’d given themselves up, they would probably have been released a number of months later, along with the rest of the hostages (of course, they didn’t know this at the time). So, at the end, is all we can do shrug our shoulders?
Moonrise Kingdom
What a fun and original movie. A couple young… um, lovers? are bored or frustrated with their lives, and decide to run away together. Along the way, everything falls into place, like if you took a puzzle out of a box, threw it onto a table, and all the pieces just happened to arrange themselves. Sure, that’s a bit absurd, but beautiful all the same. I think Wes Anderson is getting better with age.