Film Fest (With Updates)

Lately, Dave and I have taken a break from regular television, and decided to catch up on our film viewing. Personally, I love movies, and I will watch just about anything. Below are some we've seen lately.

The Fall: (*****) Simply stunning. Highly recommended, one of the best films I've seen in a while. For a more in depth review visit the critic here. After reading this review, Dave and I both wanted to see this one, and we were not disappointed. The visual imagery in this film is stunning and breathtaking, and the story and depth of characters is spectacular. Please read the review and rent this one. You will not be disappointed.

*Side note* after watching The Fall, I kept talking about an older film, The Cell. I continually compared the visual images, and repeatedly told Dave ( who has never seen The Cell) that it is the only other film I can think of off hand with equal visual interest. But then, I looked it up and of course... same director.

Changling.(****) It was decent. Better than I was really expecting as I have been mostly let down by Ms. Jolie. However, this one gave us an in depth view into the difficulties of being a woman in the 1920's. It is emotionally intense, and while it is a long film, it captures your attention and hope.

The Darjeeling Limited.(*****) Oh how I love Wes Anderson. He brought us some of my all time favs.(Bottle Rocket, Royal Tenenbaums and Life Aquatic) Perhaps I am biased, but I just can't seem to be disappointed with these interestingly weird films. The characters draw me in, and somehow I become a part of the off-hand world they create. LOVE IT. Highly recommend all Wes Anderson films. Keep them coming Wes, everything you touch is golden!

MILK.(****) Sean Penn won best actor, and I agree, he deserved it. His depiction of Harvey Milk was dead on. The film was overly interesting to both Dave and I as it is based on a true story and the "re-enactment" portions of the film were laced with actual pictures and scenes. Regardless of your political views or stance on homosexuality, you get to know the characters on a personal level and therefore become attached to them, and cheer or cry for them as they progress. The cinematography in this film reminds me of All the President's Men, which was released in the 70's and obviously it also dealt with political issues. (Another one of my fav's in both film and reading genres, simply because I used to be a Journalism student)

Choke.(** )Having recently finished reading all the Palahnuik novels, I felt I needed to watch this one. I wasn't impressed, this wasn't Fight Club. The book was interesting and entertaining and of course provided the classic Palahnuik twists, the film left a lot out, changed some of the characters and well, it was sort of boring. My suggestion: read the book.

Pineapple Express.(***) Yet another movie about weed, that I can't explain why I (of all people) enjoy. Does anyone remember how funny Half Baked was? I loved that one too, again, oddly as I am not at all associated with the drug culture. Pineapple Express is laugh out loud funny, and I couldn't help but "love the drug dealer dude" as I kept saying throughout the film. It's a funny treat, even if you aren't a drug kid.

Role Models.(* )To follow up the comedy in Pineapple Express we opted for a couple of other comedies. Role Models was sort of funny once in a while, but mostly we noticed how irritating the woman was, how ridiculous the plot was and how unlikeable Sean William Scott is (as usual).

Tropic Thunder.(***) Funnier than I expected. I actually enjoyed it. And, I was insanely proud of myself for recognizing Tom Cruise. It is of course meant to be simple comedy, so don't expect deep insight or intellectual character development.

BOLT.(****) The animated dog movie. I admit we got this one to check and see if Wellstone would react to an animated dog as he does other dogs he sees on television. He did. One bark from the dog, one squeak of the toy and Wellstone was off the couch, staring at the screen barking and growling. He eventually sat down, watched it intently then fell asleep. Dave and I enjoyed the film. It's cute and the hamster is hilarious (and for those of you knew Shortcake, something reminded me of her..)

The Village Barbershop (***) Dave chose this one based on the cover. He did a good job. It was entertaining and much better than I had expected. It has an independent-air about it, which is probably why we liked it so much. If you like quirky little indie films, you might like this one.

Quantum of Solace (****) I love Bond. I have seen every Bond movie. I like this new guy. I am clearly biased. The worst Bond film I can think of is Die Another Day. The best, well that's a little more difficult. Some things in this film are very similar to Casino Royale, which may turn off a few fans, but what you need to understand is, we are getting back the beginning of Bond, finding out why he is the womanizer he has become. It's a decent movie, it's Bond, enjoy it for what it is, and hey, that Aston Martin isn't bad either.

The Water Horse ( *) I often admit that I will watch any movie no matter how horrible, so long as I catch it at the beginning. This movie proves it. It was ridiculous, the acting was bad and it didn't flow very well. But, sometimes the monster made faces that reminded us of Wellstone, so we kept watching until the bitter end.

Twilight (**) Ok, we we had to see what all the fuss was about. It wasn't my cup of tea. I like my vampires dark and scary and well, vampires. I admit that I got sucked into the story and by the end I was wondering what it would be like to fall in love with a vampire. But, in my mind vampires are more: VAMPIRE-Y I like my Shadow of the Vampire, Interview with the Vampire, The Lost Boys, The Blade Trilogy, Underworld and you know, Dracula versions better.

88 Minutes ( **) Al Pacino, how can you go wrong? Psychologically thrilling, again, where can you go wrong? Make it too predictable, that's how. Oh, the car exploded, surprise! Dave and I watched and enjoyed the overall story, but were struck by how quickly we figured out most of the plot, despite the attempts to make it seem confusing.

You Don't Mess with the Zohan (**) " meow meow meow meow" was the best lined uttered throughout this entire movie mess. Sandler is one of my all time favs ( Billy Madison) and while some portions were hilarious based on the fact that it was Sandler being Sandler.