For the first time in a long, long time, I think I’m reasonably caught up with the movies out there. Saw a lot(for me that is) over the holiday. I’m nowhere close to the number Maureen’s seen, but that’s not going to change for a few years.
I am Legend. – Gotta agree with Molly on this. Really entertaining and tense, and Will Smith is amazing. A couple of big plot holes, but they didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the movie. A great movie to study how to create tension with little dialogue.
Juno – Seriously quirky, well-written movie that is both more serious and funnier than the trailers make it appear to be. A great movie to study how to craft dialogue.
No Country For Old Men – This was a really interesting movie for me. Amazing cast, great, great performances, tight, tight story telling, and riveting tension and then it all fell apart for me at the end. Now, I’m seriously in the minority with this, as every critic out there disagrees, and I think I’m showing my genre roots here, but an ending that left me puzzled, and thinking for days afterwards, but not entirely satisfied.
Sweeney Todd – Johnny Depp is wonderful, I love Tim Burton and the story was already fascinating. It’s a musical so don’t expect serious character development. Maureen covered this better in her personal blog, but a really fun, dark movie.
I still need to see Atonement, Michael Clayton and There Will be Blood, before I really feel ready, but I’m close. Or at least closer than I have been for a few years.
I feel like it’s been a good year for movies. For the first time in a few years they’ve eclipsed TV in storytelling for me. With the writer’s strike, I don’t see that trend changing anytime soon.
As long as the fourth season of Battlestar still starts in April, I’ll be happy.
And on a last note. If anyone is looking for a really wierd, but very entertaining horror movie, check out The Host. It's Korean, so if subtitles put you off, this will not be your cup of tea, but it went in directions I did not expect, but made sense, in a strange, but enjoyable way. The monster is cool and the humor is bizarre. Anyone else out there seen it?
6 comments:
Good God --- Sinead - that's a whole lot of movies. I am insanely jealous. It will be so interesting to see what the academy decides to do wth Johnny Depp - they have been dying to give him an award forever.
Is There WIll Be Blood out yet? Is that how out of the loop I am?
Funny thing about the ending of No Country for Old Men. I missed it. Twice. Tommy Lee Jones was telling a dream to his wife and my mind wandered and bang the movie was over. TWICE!!! I gave myself (and the movie) the benefit of the doubt at the film fest. It was about the 30th movie I saw that week, but I went again in the theatres and it happened again.
Liked the film, overall though. But not sure why all the critics are putting it at the top of their lists.
I almost went to see There Will Be Blood tonight. (Opened today, Molly.) Still could go, I guess..
Re the Host... I'm not good at horror movies (as you know) so it may be a while before I see that, if ever. Still, a recommendation from Sinead carries a lot of weight. Ref the entry on my blog where I described how many days of viewing it took for me to get through the DVD for MIMIC.
Not this year for Johnny, most critics seem to overwhelmingly favour Daniel Day Lewis..
Yep, had the same reaction to No Country, but up till that point, a brilliant movie.. I just never felt smart enough for the ending..
And the Host, it's a little scary, but never, what the hubby and I refer to as toture porn gratuitiously violent..
Hm. I thought I Am Legend was only OK, but I'm jaded because I've read the original novel some 6 or 7 times and I was really disappointed in the adaptation. I'm all for being original in adapting a book, but they dumped EVERYTHING from the novel, including the really, really good stuff and the bits that are metaphors for society :) Plus the novel had a really unique twist ending that they completely dumped. WTF?
No Country for Old Men - I went in cynical over all the hoopla and came out convinced. Really, there's so much there - it's genius. And I LOVED the ending. Hubby and I talked about it for days.
No way Johnny Depp's getting an Oscar - sorry, not this year.
Gee, I guess I'm disagreeing with all the drunk writers today. Does that mean I'm sober for once?
Abby, I didn't read the Matheson novel, (although I should have) and would love to hear more about why you loved the ending of No Country.
I'm pretty sure I missed the point of the ending..
You very well might be sober.. I think I might have to give it a try myself.
Abby,
We HAVE to talk about the ending of No Country. Especially the very last thing TLJ says. Like I said, I saw it twice and for some bizarre reason let my mind wander JUST at the wrong time. Okay, I was thinking about other things about the movie, but if he says something profound while describing that dream, I totally missed it. But I did have a great argument with someone during the festival about the outcome/who got the money. I thought it was pretty obvious, and this person thought it was different. That's probably what I was thinking about -- reaffirming my conclusion about who got the money -- when TLJ was telling that dream to his wife at the end.
I don't think Johnny Depp should win an Oscar this year, either -- although I do think he was very good in Sweeny Todd. But there are other performances much more deserving. I'm bigger on the more subtle roles for acting recognition.
It's going to kill me if Emile Hirsch doesn't get an Oscar nomination, but given that he hasn't had much recognition in all the other awards, I guess he probably won't get an Oscar nod, either. Criminal. I thought he was amazing in Into the Wild. Amazing.
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