DMGMovie Roundup
I watched a lot of movies this week. I was home sick on Tuesday and Wednesday, and ploughed through several movies each day. And my girlfriend and I got out to the local theater on Friday night, and put in a DVD last night.
WALL-E
What a great little movie. Thoroughly enjoyable. I loved the part where EVE realizes all the things that WALL-E did for her while she was waiting to be picked up. Just great.
Jagged Edge
A great reminder of how good the 80's were. Glenn Close is especially wonderful. I was convinced of the movies twists and turns because she was totally convinced.
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance
I liked Old Boy, but was also kind of sorry that I watched it. It sticks in your head like a bad dream. Same deal with Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance. Several moments that were really just plain disturbing. At the same time, I'm in awe of Chan-wook Park's ability to tell a story visually, rather than stuffing a lot of exposition into dialogue.
I'll finish off the "vengeance trilogy" with Lady Vengeance as soon as I find a proper chaser.
The Babysitters
Netflix kept recommending this to me, but I was skeptical. The premise: a babysitter has an affair with a married man, and decides to use a "babysitting service" as a front for prostitution. Um, eeeeew. But John Leguizamo stars, and it was available via Netflix's "Watch Instantly" on my Roku, so I figured I'd give it a whirl. Maybe it would be be a farce like American Pie. Or (dare I hope?) I'd get something like Election. Anyway, I was home sick, and bored, and thought, "What the hell?"
I simply couldn't get past the implausibility of a bunch of high school girls starting a prostitution ring. That wouldn't matter in a farce, but The Babysitters aims to be very dark. But to be really dark, you have to be really believable. Requiem for a Dream was horrifying precisely because every plot point was so credible.
That said, the acting is fantastic, the writing sharp, the story engrossing, and the inevitable train wreck ending was timed perfectly: it hits just when you think you're safe for a little longer. The movie kept surprising me with unexpected plot points and character development. It rarely took the obvious path.
The Big Chill
Easily one of my favorite movies of all time. Every time I watch it, I see something new, and it's usually because I'm older than I was the last time I saw it. The first time, I just liked the story. The second, the characters' struggles to finding lasting, satisfying relationships resonated deeply. Now I hear the undertone of outgrown idealism and self-doubt, and the tremendous reassurance of being among old friends.
The Fantastic Mr. Fox
This movie is great. Lots of fun. The animation is at its best when it's at its least reserved. Wes Anderson is God.
Monsoon Wedding
I'm not sure I caught everything. More and more, I'm annoyed by subtitles. While I'm reading, things are happening on screen. And this movie has lots of dialog. So I feel like I missed lots of what was happening visually. Which is a shame, because whenever everybody shut up for a second, I got a glimpse of a really stunning movie.
The Holliday
My girlfriend and I got about an hour into this one. At that point, nothing had happened yet. Maybe some time we'll see if anything happens in the second half.