Lucky Number Slevin

Killing. Blood. Lots of killing. But, a good movie. It was another fast moving, psychological kind of mystery, with great acting and fun dialogue. Lucy Liu impressed me. She carried it a few times.

The movie was dark and funny. So I'll leave it at that.

On DVD, finished Friday, March 13, 2009

Brick

I had no idea what to expect with Brick. Within the first minute I knew I would like it. Creative, artistic, and dark. Dialogue is stilted, Bogart style, with just the right amount of tongue in cheek, and the right amount of seriousness to make it work like a charm. The dialogue made the movie.

Beautifully done! Brick was a fast paced and dark mystery, but cannot be put anywhere near the category of mysteries most would think of. It was completely unique. This one is worth watching again!

Watched on DVD, Friday, March 6, 2009

Spidey Man II

Spiderman vs. Nanerpuss. This was a good one. Spiderman gives up some of the things he loves most, like spidering and MJ, but thanks to Auntie May and some hardcore soul searching, he discovers who he really is. Or at least who he wants to be. This is the sequel where Peter Parker learns some tough lessons and gets some good lectures, which I wanted to remember, but didn't. Either way, good flick.

We started the movie in Merida, Yucatan, and finished it on DVD at home. This date is uncertain, but I think it was finished Saturday, February, 28, 2009.

Coraline

Coraline was good, but could have been better. It was a little bit of a let down. The story seemed solid, but the movie did not really develop it at any point. Coraline was the main character and the movie focused so much on her, it never really developed other characters. She didn't even connect strongly with other characters, so there was no real strong feeling for her friend, her parents, or her neighbors. Without that, I never cared much about what was going on, because when it came down to it, that's what the movie was about - people connections. The animation was good, but not unique. The idea was good, but undeveloped. No real building of tension or exciting climax. This one was unfortunately, super so-so.

http://s.video.rottentomatoes.com/video/video/article/950/950579/coraline_1_020309_qtlow.mov

Groovy Movie Monday, February

The Hoax

This was a 2006 film based on a true story about a writer named Clifford Irving who convinced a huge publisher and Life Magazines that he was working in conjunction with Howard Hughes to write Hughes's autobiography. Since Hughes is an enormously wealthy and powerful man, and equally as eccentric and secluded, this is an amazing life-time opportunity for the publishers and the writer. Irving carries the story with conviction, involving his best friend and his wife in the elaborate weave of schemes and tales, until everyone, including the publishers, is in over their heads. The scheme only ends as Irving includes a chapter involving money laundering and bribery between Hughes and Nixon, loosely tied to Watergate.

I was most impressed by how truth and fiction became confused, even in the author's own mind. The cinematography of the false stories was distinct from reality and done in a dreamlike fashion that was fantastic. The movie was beautifully acted by Richard Gere and almost every other actor. It was a thriller, but also a wild slice of history. I enjoyed the movie and got a kick out of how it tied in with Watergate, since we just finished Frost Nixon.



We finished the DVD on 01/31/09.

Frost/Nixon

This one had a long, slow start. I was a little put off by the make up and how the characters were put together to look almost theatrical to me, but I do cut them some slack since they were portraying specific, and recent historical people. The person who played Frost did an excellent job and the guy who played Nixon seemed to warm up to it. Or maybe I warmed up to him. Either way, about one third to the end, it picked up and went out with a bang. The film really captured some great moments, emotions, and psyches.

This was a Groovy Movie Monday flick.

Let The Right One In

A young boy. Cruel classmates. And a new friend comes along... This was a story about social isolation and survival. It was also about vampires and watching your back at night! I loved it. It is a Swedish independent film, Låt den rätte komma in, with a solid storyline and creative parallels. It's not often you get to see a horror film that could carry itself on plot alone. This one not only does that, but it does it along with a good dose of the creeps. There won't be many movies this year that I like more. We saw this one at the Dobe theater in Austin, TX at the Monday, January 19 matinee.