Monday, April 10, 2006

YIANVPAWIWMR:

"Yes, yes" you say, "you have been rather sluglike lately, but you must have been doing something!" And we have! We've been watching a rather eclectic mix of movies lately, which leads me to my first ever Yes I Am Not Very Picky About What I Watch Movie Review blog entry:

(Warning: there may be some spoilers in here if you have not seen the movies, so get on it, and come back to me when you're done!)

A History of Violence
Wow. Lots of violence in this one, which I normally HATE, but it is all rather quick and not belabored, and well, the title really does warn you about the content. But Viggo does a great job at being yet another inscrutable character (similar to Hidalgo and even Aragorn, hmmm typecasting?). But some charged content here worthy of discussion: is a compartmentalized character like that realistic in any way, can a child learn traits from a parent that are neither demonstrated nor vocalized, and what the heck was with that sex scene?! I have to mention the situation in which we saw the movie here for you to understand the awkwardness of that scene for The Hub and I. You know the little book store/theater in the Gilmore Girls that only shows movies once a week and if you are early enough you can sit on the couch? Well that is pretty much the local place where we saw this movie. There were probably 15 or 20 people there, most of whom we had a passing acquaintance with. Imagine watching a controversial sex scene with Miss Patty and Kirk and you'll understand our seat squirming awkwardness. Not a movie to watch with Great Aunt Marge. But two Tank Family thumbs up nonetheless.

Walk the Line
Hmmm, story wildly similar to Ray, but with a different music genre and skin tones. A good education for me in music history and ultimately a love story. Loved Reese much more than Joaquin, but then have never particularly liked him so no surprise there. (And how can you NOT love someone with the last name Witherspoon?) And super interesting to find out that many of the really good lines and songs originated from June Carter. You go girl! Liked it, well worth the... hmmm we saw it at a neighbors so it was completely free... so well worth the two hours and potluck potato salad expenditure.

V for Vendetta
Wow, those wacky Wachowski brothers! During the whole movie I kept looking over at The Hub and whispering, "Wow! Is this really good, or am I just going crazy?" Our undeniable answer is that it is just really good. Natalie is fabulous and lovely as always, and Hugo is masterful at completely reinventing himself. For the first time since The Matrix, I did not feel like he was about to break into the Agent Smith character. (As a matter of fact I couldn't tell it was him at all!) And as my bleeding heart liberal self I just loved the subtle as a sledgehammer political theme. I thought the whole love story part was a bit tenuous, but who am I to judge the flights of fancy. Although kissing that mask gave me the heebies. Blarg. So even if you are not a fan of the comic book-to-live action drama genre, I think this is worth a gander, even at theater prices! (The highest of praises!)

The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill
Yay! Loved it! Quirky documentary about quirky San Francisco folks and some really cool birds. I laughed, I cried, and I am almost convinced to get The Hub a parrot (or two since they get lonely...) for his birthday! Netflix this tonight! Now now now, hop to it!

Goodnight, and Good Luck
Woah, talk about an education! I had no idea that Edward R. Murrow was the political nail in McCarthy's coffin! What on earth would I do without pop culture to educate me?! (Speaking of which I finally learned where that "Have you no sense of decency" quote on that Pixies(?) album came from!) Again frighteningly resonant with current times and themes, although not as ham handed as Vendetta, it being a true story and all! A teensy tinsy bit soporific, so I don't recommend watching this in bed at 10:30 pm on a school night. Sit upright, take notes, and fill me in if I missed anything! I do have one question generated by this movie though... where is OUR Ed? Fired from the mainstream press no doubt and relegated to the liberal sanctuary of the blogosphere, my media savior. Alas.

11:14
I hesitate to say it again, but wow. And in a completely different way. This movie is VIOLENT, and makes no bones about it. Interesting in a Jim Jarmuschy kind of way, but written and directed by a guy who looks like he's 19. A fun little puzzle of a movie if you can stifle your gag reflex long enough. Okay, maybe fun is not really the right word. But it makes a neat little package of lies and deceit in the end while making you thank your lucky stars that you were never that unlucky. So yeah, interesting and also definitely worth the $3 rental fee. Not a movie to watch while eating steak though.

So that's it, I'm done. That was my month in movies. What have you been watching? Anything make you laugh, cry, gag? Do tell!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

love the sofa's am jealous..but then i love anytthing red!!. Saw 2of those movies ,WTL & Good Night etc. Loved both of them learned loads. I saw Inside Man most recently interesting twist on standard heist movies. Will have to check out the rest of your tips. Sandy & Sue(Rimu NZ) were over with me at the week end and send their regards, and best wishes for June.

Olive -ireland

Karelypants said...

You have a second calling as a movie critic....K

Unknown said...

If you are on your Netflix queue, take a look at Pi, its a nifty film noir about a mathematician gone wylde!

Unknown said...

FINALLY!

so it wasn't JUST me who when watching "V for Vendetta", thought that it totally rocked and was I the only one?

i feel....giggle, vindicated!