After the fiasco of Daniel and whozis, and its lunatic true story, it is surprising how many supposedly true stories I ended up watching. J. Edgar focused on the man's personality, or to be precise, retailed gossip about Hoover's personal life. I tend not to believe gossip and had very little willing suspension of disbelief for this one. Inevitably this made it dull. The flashback structure was confusing given my inattention and I kept falling asleep. Part of the problem was that it was the man's public role that was interesting and the movie put very little of that into context. Puncture had a crackerjack performance by Chris Evans as a drug addicted lawyer trying to win a lawsuit against massive odds. It was painful to watch, as he won my sympathy. Unfortunately, the lawsuit was supposed to be about an invention to prevent accidental needle sticks. Somehow no one involved with this movie thought it might be useful to have a character explain how exactly this works. They needed to sell us on the importance of this invention before we could really care about the success of the lawsuit. Worse, although this is supposed to be another true story, the mysteriously variable finances of Evans' law firm (sometimes they are flush and Evans has unlimited funds for drugs and other times they are hand in mouth,) makes it seem like they've fiddled the facts to whitewash the character. Not calling the female Texas senator Kay Bailey Hutcheson just makes the movie seem chicken shit too. Walker at least was up front about not being true to facts. And the blatant references to then contemporary policy towards Nicaragua certainly showed the makers' hearts to be in the right place. I wish it was really was true that madmen were responsible for imperialism. If so, then advances in psychotherapy or at the least mental hygiene warrants would solve many problems. The people by and large aren't irrational, it is the system. Just for a little variety I Netflixed a thriller, In My Sleep, about a man who thinks he may have murdered someone while sleepwalking. Except that it turned out to be an overgrown boy (masseur at a day spa.) There were no less than three female leads along with the titular lead and his best friend. I was therefore astonished when none of the women were photographed undressed, much less nude or simulating sex. Not so for the male lead. I doubt that this movie was actually aimed at gay men and women who like men in underwear. The lead seemed to embody autoerotic yearnings on somebody's part. (Or maybe the lead actor was somebody's boy friend?) All these boys and girls try very hard and you hate to dis their product, but this is inadvertently amusing.
I watched the trailer yesterday and it actually does seem like an interesting movie. The story somewhat reminded me of Gattaca. But Justin Timerlake as the lead actor? Can he act?
He was good in The Social Network. His role had Oscar buzz, although nothing came of that. I haven't seen In Time, though.
Spoiler: Rest of List 1. Holy Rollers (B-) 2. The Kids Are All Right (B) 3. History of the World, Part 1 (C-) 4. Blazing Saddles (A+) 5. Scarface [1932] (B-) 6. The Purple Rose of Cairo (A) 7. Rampart (B+) 8. We Need To Talk About Kevin (A+) 9. Tucker and Dale vs Evil (B+) 10. They Live (B-) 11. Darling Companion (D) 12. A Dangerous Method (B-) 13. Haywire (C+) 14. Mission: Impossible (B+) 15. Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie (B+) 16. Twixt (C+) 17. Burn After Reading (B+) 18. Tinker, Tailor, Solider, Spy (B-) 19. Drive (A) 20. Crazy Stupid Love (A) 21. The Omega Man (D) 22. The Adjustment Bureau (B+) 23. The Artist (A-) 24. Lady and the Tramp (B) 25. Hugo (A-) 26. The Secret World of Arrietty (B) 27. Twelve Angry Men (A) 28. Act of Valor (F) 29. Walker (A) 30. Lonely Are The Brave (A-) 31. Executive Action (C) 32. Three Colors: Blue (A) 33. Bright Leaves (A) 34. Photographic Memory (A) 35. The People Vs. George Lucas (C-) 36. Avatar (B-) 37. The Life of Reilly (A-) The Life of Reilly: It's hard to believe that Charles Nelson Reilly was already ill when he filmed this documentary, which is essentially the final two performances of his one-man show interspersed with archival footage and a few "man on the street" interviews. The man has more energy in his mid-70s than I do on most days. As funny as often as it is tragic (Reilly spends a lot of time talking about his family life, which was often miserable), I'm happy that this show was recorded, especially now that Reilly is gone. Thankfully, the camerawork is dynamic and the use of quick cut-aways helps liven things up and make them more cinematic. Not that Reilly needs to be livened up; he exerts life in every frame. The only disappointment of the film is the way Reilly's monologue elides much comment about his sexuality, besides noting that the President of NBC rejected him because "they don't allow queers on television." Considering how much of his personal life Reilly reveals here, I can't blame too harshly for wanting to keep something private, though. Theatres: 15 Home Video: 20 +1 Computer: 2
34. Sneakers The film has a great cast and is - despite the twist in the middle being very obvious - a lot of fun to watch (some really funny moments like Strathairn's blind character having to drive a car). It reminded me a lot of the tv series Leverage.
Spoiler: Movies Seen in January & February Cowboys & Aliens- DVD Rise of the Planet of the Apes - DVD Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close - free screenin' Limitless - Netflix Instant The Next Three Days - Netflix Instant Man on a Ledge - free screenin' Red State - Netflix Instant Mars Needs Moms - Netflix Instant S.W.A.T.: Firefight - Netflix Instant Red Tails - free screenin' Resident Evil: Degeneration - Netflix Instant The Last Exorcism - Netflix Instant Frozen - Netflix Instant The Perfect Host - Netflix Instant Tucker & Dale vs Evil - Netflix Instant Brooklyn's Finest - Netflix Instant Stone - Netflix Instant The Woman in Black - free screenin' Salmon Fishing in the Yemen - free screenin' Haywire - free admission The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) - free admission The Artist - free admission Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - free admission Ted & Eric's Billion Dollar Movie - tech screenin' Hugo - free admission Safe House - free screenin' The Captains - Netflix Instant Troll Hunter - Netflix Instant The Evil Dead (1981) - Netflix Instant Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace 3D - tech screenin' Underworld Awakening 3D - free admission We Need to Talk About Kevin - free admission The Innkeepers - free admission Big Miracle - free admission Chronicle - free admission Underworld: Unrated Extended Cut - DVD The Grey - free admission Contraband - free admission Journey 2: The Mysterious Island 3D - free admission One for the Money - free admission The Ouija Experiment - free admission Ghost Rider - Extended Cut - DVD The Secret World of Arrietty - free admission Bullhead - free admission Underworld Evolution - DVD Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance - free admission Castle in the Sky - free admission Oscar-Nominated Short Films, Live Action: Pentacost, Raju, The Shore, Time Freak & Tuba Atlantic - free admission This Means War - free admission Alien Trespass - Netflix Instant My Neighbor Totoro - free admission Rampart - free admission Dr Suess' The Lorax 3D - free screenin' Comin' At Ya! 3D - free admission Wanderlust - free admission Act of Valor - free admission Oscar-Nominated Short Films, Animated: A Morning Stroll, Dimanche/Sunday, La Luna, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore & Wild Life - free admission Dune (1984) - free admission Doctor Strange - DVD Project X (2012) - free admission Used my employee discount to see the latest first person/found footage movie about a high school party that turns into a riot. It was entirely stupid & juvenile, but I laughed more durin' it than I did when I went to see Wanderlust. There were a lot more boobs in it than the hippie commune comedy, too.
Updates in Bold: Bad Boys (8) Blade of the Phantom Master (8) Daybreakers (5) First Squad: The Moment of Truth (8) Gantz: Perfect Answer (7) Green Hornet (6) Hellboy: Blood and Iron (8) Hellboy: Sword of Storms (6) King of Thorn (9) Legend of the Millennium Dragon (7) Mardock Scramble: The First Compression (Director's Cut) (9) Negima!: Final (7) Nydenion (7) Redline (10) Safe House (2012) (8) Salt (7) Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (5) Underworld: Awakening (8)
Spoiler: #1-19. 1. My Week With Marilyn (B-) 2. Fantasia 2000 (B+) 3. Blade Runner (B) 4. The Hidden Fortress (A-) 5. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (B+) 6. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (A+) 7. The Descendants (A-) 8. Monsieur Lazhar (A) 9. The Prestige (A+) 10. Blood Simple (A-) 11. The Big Lebowski (B+) 12. West Side Story (A-) 13. The Hours (A-) 14. Lady and the Tramp (B) 15. An Officer and a Gentleman (B) 16. All Quiet On The Western Front (A) 17. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (B-) 18. Spellbound (B+) 19. Seven Samurai (A+) 20. X-Men: First Class (A) 21. Do The Right Thing (N/A) 22. Martha Marcy May Marlene (B+) 23. The Artist (A-) 24. LA Confidential (A) 25. Young Adult (B+) 26. Children of Men (B+) Alfonso Cuaron's followup to Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and also his last film until this year's much-delayed Gravity. Bit of an absence for such a talented director. This was one a number of major works by Spanish-speaking directors in 2006 (and the only one entirely in English), and I'd set it in the middle between Pan's Labyrinth (which was my favourite film of that year) and Babel (which I thought was enormously overrated). This movie gets praised to the skys in SF/F circles, and while I liked it quite a lot, I don't think it quite lives up to that level of praise. Most of the most interesting parts occur after the baby is born (though, implausibly, the soldiers just let them wander off for the climax). I thought some of the political stuff was a bit on the heavy-handed side as well, though that's par for the course in dystopian fiction. The actress playing Kee was the best part of the movie; she doesn't appear to have done much since, which is too bad. Cinema: 7 Home Video: 15 (+1) Computer: 3
Spoiler: Movies Seen in January & February Cowboys & Aliens- DVD Rise of the Planet of the Apes - DVD Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close - free screenin' Limitless - Netflix Instant The Next Three Days - Netflix Instant Man on a Ledge - free screenin' Red State - Netflix Instant Mars Needs Moms - Netflix Instant S.W.A.T.: Firefight - Netflix Instant Red Tails - free screenin' Resident Evil: Degeneration - Netflix Instant The Last Exorcism - Netflix Instant Frozen - Netflix Instant The Perfect Host - Netflix Instant Tucker & Dale vs Evil - Netflix Instant Brooklyn's Finest - Netflix Instant Stone - Netflix Instant The Woman in Black - free screenin' Salmon Fishing in the Yemen - free screenin' Haywire - free admission The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) - free admission The Artist - free admission Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - free admission Ted & Eric's Billion Dollar Movie - tech screenin' Hugo - free admission Safe House - free screenin' The Captains - Netflix Instant Troll Hunter - Netflix Instant The Evil Dead (1981) - Netflix Instant Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace 3D - tech screenin' Underworld Awakening 3D - free admission We Need to Talk About Kevin - free admission The Innkeepers - free admission Big Miracle - free admission Chronicle - free admission Underworld: Unrated Extended Cut - DVD The Grey - free admission Contraband - free admission Journey 2: The Mysterious Island 3D - free admission One for the Money - free admission The Ouija Experiment - free admission Ghost Rider - Extended Cut - DVD The Secret World of Arrietty - free admission Bullhead - free admission Underworld Evolution - DVD Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance - free admission Castle in the Sky - free admission Oscar-Nominated Short Films, Live Action: Pentacost, Raju, The Shore, Time Freak & Tuba Atlantic - free admission This Means War - free admission Alien Trespass - Netflix Instant My Neighbor Totoro - free admission Rampart - free admission Dr Suess' The Lorax 3D - free screenin' Comin' At Ya! 3D - free admission Wanderlust - free admission Act of Valor - free admission Oscar-Nominated Short Films, Animated: A Morning Stroll, Dimanche/Sunday, La Luna, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore & Wild Life - free admission Dune (1984) - free admission Doctor Strange - DVD Project X (2012) - free admission Martha Marcy May Marlene - free admission Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind - free admission Had a slow shift at work today, and followed it up by gettin' in to see Martha Marcy May Marlene for free. Pretty good movie about a girl tryin' to adjust to life outside of a cult... Currently waitin' patiently for Studio Ghibli's Nausicaa, the fourth of four movies the Drafthouse is showin' as part of a 35mm retrospective, and the third I've gotten tickets for. It starts in less than an hour, hope it doesn't suck.
Spoiler: List Updates in bold. Cinema: 1. Beginners ★★★★ 2. The Artist ★★★★★ 3. L’Ultimo Terreste ★★★ 4. Ace Attorney ★★★★★ 5. The Loneliest Planet ★★ 6. Damsels in Distress ★★★ 7. Gaamer ★★★★ 8. King Curling ★★★★ 9. The Hunter ★★★★ 10. Hugo 3D ★★★ Hugo 3D ★★★ "Set in 1930s Paris, an orphan who lives in the walls of a train station is wrapped up in a mystery involving his late father and an automaton." I saw Hugo 3D on Tuesday. The first ten minutes I was amazed by the 3D graphics. But in the end I thought the movie was too long and the pace was too slow. I had expected more magic. I greatly enjoyed the flashbacks of George Méliès and I wished they made Hugo a bit more like A Trip to the Moon. How was it? I'm a bit reluctant to go see it.
Goon, wasn't as bad as I thought, had to laugh seeing my Brother In-law as an extra in it. Plus the showed these trailers [yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sftuxbvGwiU[/yt] [yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PGDV1SWRkQ[/yt] [yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbt0gGDCbWs[/yt]
Not to speak for Digits, but I saw it at a free screenin' last month, and found it depressin' as hell and never want to watch it again. Only reason I went to see it in the first place was Tom Hanks, though Max von Sydow turned out to have the best character in the movie.
I can imagine the story in itself might make one feel depressed, I've read the book. But if the movie is as good as the book, I would still want to see it.
I really want to see Goon. Might be worth an Itunes rental, even though for 9.99, that's quite a bit.