Playing Catch-up Since The Oscars

Such excitement on Oscar night! I did not win our friendly little bet here at home but I did get an amazing number of answers correct. Guess I'm a good guesser!

I've actually watched quite a few movies since then but haven't gotten around to writing the blogs for them. I'll try to get back on the ball and write reviews for them over the next few weeks, but thought I could at least list them for posterity or general curiosity. On 2/23, we watched Transformers again (saw it in the theater), Michael Clayton sometime that week, American Gangster 2/28, Outfoxed 3/1, G.I. Jane 3/2, Across the Universe 3/7. I feel like there were some others in there, too, but can't think of any more at the moment. Henry has now gotten me hooked on Dexter and I will be watching way too much of that for the next month or so.

No Country for Old Men

Terrifyingly awesome.

That was the entirety of my review of this movie for about a week after watching it. Javier Bardem is still haunting my dreams and not in the cute Canary Islander way that he could be. He is quietly, methodically, yet also indelibly, terrifying in this movie as the character Anton Chigurh and I'm thankful that I'll never have to cross paths with that man or his freaky hair or the incessant coin tossing.

One of the aspects that I loved about this movie was the ending, or lack of one. Many people want there to be a pretty ribbon tied up around the stories of life and that just isn't how things play out. I like when art imitates life in this way and doesn't give us the ending we are expecting. I am a fan of this ending (and won't go into detail to avoid being a spoiler) but know that many people probably aren't as pleased. Those people probably also don't like thinking too much as a general rule in life, but I guess I'm being too hard on the general population. Ahhh... I digress... I also love the work of the Davids - Lynch and Cronenberg - and neither of them likes a pretty bow ending either, so maybe it just comes down to one's personal taste for the macabre, for which I have many taste buds in my being.

If you are going to see this movie you probably have a taste for violence on some level, since they don't shy away from it in the trailers and teasers. Overall, I thought it was quite good and so did Henry, as well as our movie-going friends, including my brother, Davis. Three thumbs up! I will say that I'm surprised by the number of Academy Award nominations it has received (tied for the most this year, that'd be 8, with There Will Be Blood). I am pretty sure Javier Bardam will win for Best Supporting Actor, but I'm not sure how it will fare in the other categories (Best Picture, Cinematography, Directing, Editing, Sound, Sound Editing, and Adapted Screenplay). We'll find out tomorrow night and I will update you then! Enjoy the Oscars!

Elizabeth: The Golden Age

Henry and I watched this movie for Valentine's Day and we both thought it was wonderful. It is a beautiful movie. The costumes, lighting, scenery, acting (& actors for that matter!), and cinematography were all masterfully executed and I didn't think the music was distracting at all (a complaint from at least one review I read). The critics panned the movie and neither of us can really understand why. Perhaps our support of it is the underdog mentality or the fact that I heard more than one interview with the director, Shekhar Kapur, and felt that I understood his intentions with the movie. Whatever the reason, I know that this will be watched again many times by both of us.

Kapur stated in his Fresh Air interview (on NPR) that he intended the movie to be the telling of Elizabeth's journey from the role of a Queen into the role of a legend or a mythic figure. Kapur is of Indian background, where the culture does not bat an eye at the retelling of a famous figure in history through mythic stories. The Western world has an aversion to this and wants all stories told to be based in fact and reality. But they also want fact and reality to be exciting, beautiful and dramatic - something that is rarely the case.

He makes beautiful movies and brings new life to the subject matter in a way that makes people want to learn more about world history (even if it IS learned on Wikipedia & can't really be trusted!). He makes me want to study my genealogy and see if I really am related to Henry VII like some of my family historians state (then I'd be related to Elizabeth!). No matter what, the point is that his movies make you think and get you excited about history and life and all the possibility that exists. I am amazed by how inspirational a film like this can be. At this moment is it inspiring me to plan a trip to England! now if only I had money for such a trip...

You can blame my love of this film and it's precursor on name sharing (Libba is a nickname of Elizabeth) and a fascination with the clothing of the period and Henry's love of the movie on the fact that he is so into the Elizabeth movies that I think he was Lord Burghley in another life. Or you could just agree with us that both of these movies are amazing in their own right. May Cate win an Oscar for her performance and I'm glad to see the costumes get a nod as well since they are most beautiful and amazing like the sets - though an internal struggle now ensues between these costumes and those in Sweeney Todd for Best Costumes!

Millions

A basic synopsis is this: Two young boys and their father move to a new neighborhood after the death of the boys' mother. The movie centers around the time-frame of emotional adjustment from the move and going into the holidays in a new area. When a bag of money literally falls from the sky, young Damian believes it comes from God & tries to do good with it. Unlike Damian, his older brother has more ambitious goals, but the UK is about to switch its currency from Pounds to Euros in just a few days, so they have a very short window of time to use the loot.

I'd been wanting to watch this movie for quite a while but was worried that the preview made it more shiny-happy than it really was going to be, and/or that there would be a very painful moment or two to experience once I got into it. However, I'm happy to report that my fears were remiss - it was so good! I made Henry watch it with me a few weeks ago and he quite liked it as well. It is a really sweet story and the characters are all very engaging and tangible.

The main character, 7-year old Damian, is played by the same boy (Alex Etel) who is in the new movie, The Water Horse - which I also want to see and look forward to reviewing for you all! He is so amazing in this movie that you just want to pick him up and give him a big hug, or perhaps climb into his giant cardboard box fort for the afternoon with him and his visions of Catholic saints. This is perhaps my most favorite aspect of the movie. I've often aspired to know about the various saints (just as a curiosity, being as I'm a lapsed Episcopalian with little use for saints) and as a result I am quite the admirer of this adorable kid with such random knowledge. If only I'd had an imagination half that powerful when I was a child... or now for that matter!

This movie's director is quite out of his usual element, being known for such movies as Trainspotting, Shallow Grave and 28 Days Later. All movies which I have enjoyed more than once and most of which I own, but none of which are at all on the same planet with this movie's environment. This is a magical land (which I kept expecting to come crashing down, but was pleased to find did not) and is not like the England that is usually seen in films. Even though it is around Christmas, this England is bright and colorful rather than foggy and gray, adding to the surrealism of the story. It is a wonderful story and I highly recommend it to warm you up on a gray day. Grab a cuppa tea and a biscuit (that's a cookie for youz in the South) and snuggle up to watch this one any time of year!

Trailers are available at this site (I couldn't locate one to load here, sorry!): http://www.themoviebox.net/movies/2005/IJKLM/Millions/trailer.php

Juno

This movie is hilarious. Going off the poster I would never have seen it. I knew nothing about it when I went to see it this past Thursday with my girl's night out group but I figured it couldn't be too bad. It is instead... wonderful! I can't wait to see it again! I would never have thought that about a movie about a pregnant 16 year old. However, as I type this I realize that one of my favorite t.v. shows was Gilmore Girls (also about a 16 year old who got knocked up).

The main character of this movie, Juno, has a similar sarcastic, almost acerbic, humor to the cast of Gilmore Girls and Veronica Mars. She struck me as a Daria come to life or even a young Janeanne Garofalo. I would have loved to have been her best friend in school and I'll find myself wondering and wanting to know what Juno is doing now that she's out of high school and making her way to stardom in a rock band or whatever her destiny may be.

Speaking of music, I want this soundtrack! It is very much Velvet Underground inspired and is filled with the sounds of the Moldy Peaches' Kimya Dawson. It quite a lot of fun. I look forward to owning both the soundtrack and the movie. Yes, this is a go see! (I'll have to review a crappy movie soon or you'll all think I've got no discerning taste!)

Here is a preview for you, in case you haven't seen it, or if you are like me and just love watching snippets over and over since you can't go pop in the DVD quite yet.

Sweeney Todd

Amazing that such goodness can be found in such evilness. I loved this movie and so did Henry. We both like musicals and Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter and Tim Burton combo films. I am obsessed with the ideas found within the realm of Gothic fiction and how that is translated into the noir film and macabre genres. (Yes, you can call me dark and twisty, I don't mind.) So, I knew it was a perfect fit for me: Johnny Depp + musical + dark storyline + Tim Burton + Colleene Atwood's gorgeously gross costumes + popcorn. Heaven. Perhaps even Heaven on a stick. I wasn't sure if Henry was going to be in Heaven but gave him kudos for going with me.

I loved it so much that I went and bought the soundtrack 10 minutes after we were leaving our seats. I've been singing about meat pies ever since. (It is currently on in the background, actually.)

If you don't like musicals don't see it. They start singing at the first lines of the movie. If you don't like blood (even though it is very theatrical [read: fake]) don't go see it. If you don't like Tim Burton, don't see it! 'nuf said. If you don't like these things then you most likely picked up on them in the previews and you weren't going to see it anyway.

So, on to the critical parts. I can't think of any... Technically it was fabulous: costumes, lighting, scenery, scenic design, makeup - all great. I'm sure there will be some Oscar nods in those categories. The actors were quite good - though I was worried about them singing & that was unexpectedly good, too. There was one flaw that Henry and I both noticed where Toby is eating a meat pie and is half through with it and then in the next frame it only has a little bite missing. Henry used to get mad at me for pointing those things out and now he catches them on his own. My only other criticism was that Helena was too reminiscent of the Bride of Frankenstein in her final scene. Seriously could have been taken from that movie. Wish that hadn't been the case.

Henry mentioned that he wished it had gone into the "what happens next" part of the story, but the movie is called Sweeney Todd so I feel it was ended at the only possibly appropriate point. I highly recommend it to everyone (with the aforementioned caveats). I'll even add a preview if I can find a good one to put up here. Enjoy your meat pies!



Something is messed up with every preview I put up, so I suggest you just go to the official site for the movie at www.sweeneytoddmovie.com and have a good visit!

The Golden Compass

This movie was quite anticipated in our household. So much so that we went on the opening weekend of the film. We've loved the books since Henry's parents gave them to him for his birthday many years ago. His parents were on sabatical in Oxford when they got them and actually read them before sending them to us. Our first book is called Northern Lights instead of The Golden Compass because it is the English version. Anyway, we love the books and were very much looking forward to their appearance on the big screen. They got the cast down perfectly. Everyone was just like they should have been and played their parts beautifully and I thought Lyra was well done, too (not always true with child actors). They got the cinematography and scenic/costume/lighting design down correctly, too. So, why was I disappointed with this movie?! Well, I'll tell you...

I felt like I couldn't catch my breath - and not for reasons of suspensefulness or excitement. It was because we were being rushed through the storyline at such a pace as to make a person feel dizzy. If you hadn't read the books you might think all the events that take place occur in just a couple of days instead of over a period of months. I'm sure that issue will continue to irritate me in future viewings of the film.

My other issue with the film was that they scored it with a juvenile soundtrack that undermined the seriousness of the plot and the scenes. It was distracting and I kept wishing I could over-dub it with something more like the Lord of the Rings movies (scaled back a bit, of course) or some other more mature and epic score. Irritating.

There are the usual compressions from novel to film, where many different events that happen to different people end up happening to one person in the film version of the story. Those I expect. I also expect the abbreviated exposition since we have the visual world to aid us in telling the story.

Overall, I say for people to go see it, but I do give the above noted disclaimers. I enjoyed it but apparently expected more than could be delivered. The same was true with the equally over-hyped DaVinci Code. Loved the book and I'm sure I'll watch the movie more than once but it isn't on my list of media to grab in case of a fire. That's what I get for expecting so much from a gajillion dollar budget!

Enjoy the preview below. It still gives me chills - if only the movie were as good...