The Monuments Men

the-monmuments-menIf you watch this movie and expect massive heroism & big action… you’ll be disappointed. As it is, the bits of action and tension in the movie are contrived. More likely, an actual story like this one plays-out in offices and on the phone – it’s kind of hard to dramatize that on-screen. Now, I wonder… this was surely 90% “made-up”. Is it better to make a watchable movie about an historical event with lots of invented drama, or make a movie that’s as accurate as possible, but likely unmatchable? Or just no movie at all? It seems these are the choices we have. I’m not sure any of them are good ones.

The Ides of March

There were some good moments of acting & dialogue in this one, but there was so much forced plotline eye-rolling preposterousness, it just couldn’t squeeze through my “come on!” filter. Key to the whole thing – one guy meets with his political enemy, and his boss can’t get over it? They only met. And nothing was kept secret. Meeting someone is a sin?  That’s ridiculous… any campaigner who is so petty about stuff like this is surely doomed.

Another thing about movies like this – with made-up politicians… I find it really hard to suspend my disbelief with these movies, because I’m continuously reminded that I’m watching a movie with a bunch of actors. I know the reality of the political situation too well.

Solaris

A science fiction movie that keeps you guessing about what is real, what isn’t… and keeps you wondering about what the difference is. It was a little slow at times, and some of the characters were annoying non-forthcoming about their motivations. But, the story at the heart of the movie was worth pondering, and it was acted well; if you’re given a chance to redeem part of your past by living a fiction, do you do it? or move on?

That said, there were a few things that were simply not answered. Why did the one guy kill himself? (or was he killed?), and what exactly happened to the “commandos” who boarded the ship? I think they could have handled the “situation”, and certainly would have communicated back Earth about what was going on. Also, we’re left with the impression that there were once many people on the ship. So, what happened to them? Better yet, what happened to their “companions”? We see the little boy, but one must assume that the rest of them had companions too.

Burn After Reading

How many times have you seen a movie about some caper and the plot just gets deeper and deeper until there’s a conspiracy for someone to take over the world? Well, this movie is the opposite of that. A bunch of fools stealing something that just isn’t that valuable… A guy who thinks he’s way more important than he is… you get it. Twisted hilarity ensues.

The Perfect Storm

I had the feeling I was watching a carefully constructed hollywood entertainment product… and I was. It had elements which appealed to both adult (braindead) men and women, thus increasing the total market. The directing, cinematography and writing in this movie were totally flat. There was nothing imaginative or interesting throughout the whole movie. That was a shame because there was a lot of opportunity to do some interesting stuff. For example, when the main character talks about the “Zen of Fishing”, they could have filmed some really cool stuff for him to talk over. The only redeeming qualities were some of the special effects and the acting. The rest of the movie played like it was made-for-TV.

 

O Brother, Where Art Thou?

A thoroughly entertaining film with a great sountrack. Apparently, it’s a 1930’s take on the Odessey – yes, the old geek story (I mean gReek story). A trio of prisoners escape a chain gang to find some hidden treasure… or maybe not. The movie is all about their encounters with strange characters along the way (all parallels from the Odessey). Good stuff from start to finish.