Sunday, January 21, 2007

Movies in Brief, Volume 1

Relocating to LA has made me a busy, busy person. Here's all the movies I've seen since the move that I haven't had time to write about yet.

California Split: A lesser Robert Altman movie, but still, a really good one. I think Elliott Gould was one of the most awesome actors of the 1970s.

Code 46: A weird combination of Blade Runner, Lost in Translation and Brief Encounter with a vaguely Oedipal story on top of all that. But somehow it really really works. It's a romance, but it's not sappy, and it's futuristic without being sci-fi-nerdy. Tim Robbins and Samantha Morton are perfectly cast - they aren't the first pair that comes to mind when you think of a great couple, but they work so well together.

Derailed: I had no desire to see this when it came out, but it was on cable and I TiVo'd it because Clive Owen is the epitome of hot. I saw the twist coming from a mile away, and Vincent Cassel, who I normally like, just sort of irritated me. The frustrating thing is that the film started off quite promisingly, and if it hadn't had the twist, it probably would have been much more enjoyable. Needless to say, I deleted this from the DVR as soon as I finished watching it.

Dreamgirls: As a general rule, I enjoy stage musicals yet have a problem with movie musicals. I don't really know why, but I'm much more willing to accept someone breaking out into song on stage than I am to accept it on screen. The singing was good, but the acting underwhelmed me. And I strongly dislike Jamie Foxx (for stealing an Oscar from an extremely deserving Don Cheadle), so it had a strike against it going in. The film wasn't bad... but I can't honestly say it really appealed to me. On a shallow note, I was extremely thrilled to see my favorite office worker John Krasinski put in a cameo appearance.

For Your Consideration: Speaking of John Kraskinski, he had a cameo in this film as well (although I knew about this one). I absolutely loved it. I understand that it didn't have the universal appeal of Best in Show or A Mighty Wind, but I'm in on the joke. It felt even more appropriate to see it here in LA, in Hollywood. Ricky Gervais was an excellent addition to Guest's repertory company, each and every member of which was in top form.

Wordplay: It's wonderfully nerdy, but in a great way. Yes, people doing crossword puzzles are actually quite compelling. Plus, it's got nerd-girl heartthrobs Jon Stewart and Mike Mussina. How can you go wrong?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

oo, i want to see wordplay!

can we discuss inland empire??

xtina said...

Oh man, where oh where to begin?