Well... I'm pretty sure these are the only two new movies I've watched in the past week. Just for record-keeping sake... I'll share some thoughts later.
GOODFELLAS (1990)
and
THE WHITE RIBBON (2009)
Two ambitious lengthy movies. Satisfying... in different ways.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
movie report
I'm definitely risking forgetting a movie I might have seen with these long gaps... I think I have a handle on my movie watching habits. I know that if I don't see something regularly my netflix queue fills up by the time Ain't It Cool News' weekly DVD column comes out!
CYRUS (2010)
Can I handle two doses of Jonah Hill in a row? I believe so, if you can get a performance as different as these creepy and surprisingly powerful in this movie. The critics have not said great things about it, but I enjoyed it quite a bit. My friend that I watched it with mentioned how natural the people talked... that the main protagonist was reacting the way anyone would to Cyrus' behavior. The movie starts so organically and naturally, that this live-in son situation because very tense, partly because almost anyone could imagine this happening to them. Maybe it doesn't really end in a flashy way, but it's grounded in reality and doesn't play a weird-o overgrown man-child to absurd levels, as probably makers of mainstream Hollywood comedies are tempted to do.
[Along those lines, I was able to hook up Netflix Instant on the laptop of my Chicago friend I was staying with. I fell asleep to the gentle sounds of the movie Step Brothers. Since I didn't really watch it, I can't review it, but I likely would not have said nice things.]
JERICHOW (2008)
How's this for organized movie-watching.... pick a letter of the alphabet at random and then watch the first film available on Netflix Instant beginning with that letter from your list of WIFF selections? Well that's what I did! and this movie turned me off initially with two dull elements... the unemotional silent male with a past never explained and making him so full of passion (reflected in blank unsentimental eyes) that he quickly gets into an affair with the first attractive married woman that enters his life. So given my exhausting weekend my mind drifted. But I was beginning to give it credit for not wasting my time with distracting plotlines and finally wrapping up with some strong testimonials and twists that made me hate myself for not being my usual patient self with different kinds of movies. Not that original, but not a throwaway indie film by any means.
CYRUS (2010)
Can I handle two doses of Jonah Hill in a row? I believe so, if you can get a performance as different as these creepy and surprisingly powerful in this movie. The critics have not said great things about it, but I enjoyed it quite a bit. My friend that I watched it with mentioned how natural the people talked... that the main protagonist was reacting the way anyone would to Cyrus' behavior. The movie starts so organically and naturally, that this live-in son situation because very tense, partly because almost anyone could imagine this happening to them. Maybe it doesn't really end in a flashy way, but it's grounded in reality and doesn't play a weird-o overgrown man-child to absurd levels, as probably makers of mainstream Hollywood comedies are tempted to do.
[Along those lines, I was able to hook up Netflix Instant on the laptop of my Chicago friend I was staying with. I fell asleep to the gentle sounds of the movie Step Brothers. Since I didn't really watch it, I can't review it, but I likely would not have said nice things.]
JERICHOW (2008)
How's this for organized movie-watching.... pick a letter of the alphabet at random and then watch the first film available on Netflix Instant beginning with that letter from your list of WIFF selections? Well that's what I did! and this movie turned me off initially with two dull elements... the unemotional silent male with a past never explained and making him so full of passion (reflected in blank unsentimental eyes) that he quickly gets into an affair with the first attractive married woman that enters his life. So given my exhausting weekend my mind drifted. But I was beginning to give it credit for not wasting my time with distracting plotlines and finally wrapping up with some strong testimonials and twists that made me hate myself for not being my usual patient self with different kinds of movies. Not that original, but not a throwaway indie film by any means.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)