No new movies were watched as 2008 made it to 2009. I was out visiting my family at my brother's place in Florida. Sometimes we watch movies when we're together, but often we're too excited about eachother's company to sit still for very long.
Let's continue with my movie countdown...
5. Quantum of Solace - A satisfying, stylish continuation of the cliffhanger ending of Casino Royale, this is a Bond movie that has characters that are approachable in spite of all the usual fantastical bond elements, which in my view are exotic locales, beautiful women, sharp expository dialogue, and the main character's collected demeanor. Only a little lower on the list because it feels like an intermediate chapter in a larger saga. After viewing some of the tangents the older Bond movies went on, it's nice to see something this direct and entertaining.
4. Happy-Go-Lucky - This was the movie that I shamefully omitted as I finalized my first version of this countdown. Maybe it, like other Mike Leigh movies, just felt so natural and honest that it was folded into my memory as something other than fictional cinema. One of my friends called Roberto Benigni's character in Life is Beautiful one of the most likeable characters he has ever seen, but I think Poppy, the main character in this movie, is incredibly loveable and infectious. Very few movies have characters that provide a personality mold on how to live your own life, but after watching this, I deeply felt that all my problems could be solved by facing every dire situation and difficult personalities with a smile and a relentless positive attitude. Sounds super-corny I know, but watch the movie and you'll know what I mean. Excessive happiness leads to so many benefits.
Honorable mention must also go to my original #4, Forgetting Sarah Marshall... a comedy that doesn't have the indie-cred or natural style of Happy-Go-Lucky, but is comparable in its innocence and sympathetic main character, and the joy of watching two gorgeous female characters by themselves or together in nearly every scene. A little shallow of a factor in movie-viewing, yes, but harmless in a cute and hilarious comedy such as this one.
3. Speed Racer
The reviews for this were extremely mixed, with some people really, really hating this movie. The status of it as a box office bomb doesn't help it's reputation, but this movie is the purest example of why I will still go see movies in theaters. A stunning visually-innovative spectacle, with homage to 2001: A Space Odyssey light shows and just about any bright and shiny thing that served as eye candy to me from age 1 to the present, this was so fun to watch on a huge screen. Maybe upon a second viewing I will see how stupid this movie's plot, dialogue, or message is. But I've seen stupid spectacles before, and this movie as a whole is so mesmerizing that its giddy pace and colors distract you from thinking too much. Like an art gallery where every blank space and door is covered in neon paints and bright colors, Speed Racer leaves no room for anything but the suspension of reality. For a overserious and rationalizing person like myself, that cinematic effect deserves respect.
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