What's next?

Well this week my goal is to see: Invictus, A Single Man and The Young Victoria. I hope to follow that with Crazy Heart and Broken Embraces. Then I will see Avatar (I don't really want to see it I don't find it appealing) and The Lovely Bones (thinking I will be disappointed again). Then once the Oscar nominations come out will go from there.

I promise to try to blog more often. Who knows maybe someone will eventually read this.

Nine

Oh this one hurts. I love musicals; in fact the first albums I remember are the soundtrack to "Hair" and "Westside Story" and even today they are still on my Ipod. I do not find it odd or strange that a song breaks out in the middle of a scene. But something didn't work here for me.

I wish I would have saw Nine on Broadway, even the revival. Of course to have saw Raul Julia do it would have been heaven but I wasn't even in the City at that time. Something was missing and I still can't quite put my finger on it.

It looks beautiful. It has an all star cast and a very good director but it doesn't work. Daniel Day Lewis looks really good but I understand they cut some of his songs maybe they shouldn't have. He can carry a tune so he's not as bad as Pierce Bronson in Mama Mia but not as good as Johnny Depp in Sweeny Todd. Sophia Loren look beautiful but really had nothing to do. That I think is the problem no one had anything to do.

I thought Fergie's "Be Italian" was wonderful but that was all she had. Kate Hudson's number was good but wasn't too keen on her acting. Judi Dench (found someone who can out act DDL) was wonderful in her scenes and has a good voice but that song felt so out of place. Can someone tell me is it different in the musical? Penelope was good but didn't I just see the same performance last year (without the singing and dancing) in Vicky Cristina Barcelona? Nicole was there that's about all I can say.

I was only awed by Marion. First of all she is such a beautiful woman; I still can't believe she is the same person that was in La Vie en Rose. If you haven't seen this movie rent it now she is astounding and well deserved that Oscar. Her two songs, My Husband Makes Movies and Take it All were the only 2 that I really felt connected.

I did want to love this movie and was really disappointed.

Precious and The Road

I grouped these two together as movies that are very good but will probably never watch again. I only have a few movies on this list; but these two will join Boys Don't Cry and Schindler's List.

Precious gutted me. I just couldn't believe (well yes I can you read about it in the papers, see it on the news) that a mother could treat her child. I don't know how Lee Daniels manages to get such strong performances from his actors but the man is good. Some saw this as uplifting but I didn't all I could think is where does she go from here. Precious has good intentions and makes strides but who is going to be there to keep her going? I still need to see Julianne Moore in A Single Man but as of now Monique is at the top of the best supporting actress list.

Well, this was actually my second time seeing The Road (saw it months ago at a screening). Even though I had read the book and knew what I was getting into I spent half of the movie in tears. Again, it's so bleak and depressing and again what happens after. The second time, I was able to really appreciate the story between Man and Boy and that was really moving. As a parent I could relate to wanting to protect your child at all costs and if everything else was gone what would be more important. I think Viggo is seriously being overlooked this award season; in my opinion he is better in this than Eastern Promises.

So it's been awhile

I haven't blogged in forever, but life happens. The movies do go on and I have been going to movies. I have seen: The Informant, Precious, The Road, The Blind Side, Brothers, It's Complicated, Nine, Sherlock Holmes, Up in the Air and The Men Who Stare at Goats. So let's get started.

I enjoyed The Informant and The Men Who Stare at Goats. Both were quirky, strange and funny in a sick sort of way. My only quibble with The Informant is that the sets and clothing didn't seem to match the time frame. I also enjoyed The Blind Side, Sandra Bullock is really underrated as a dramatic actress. The movie wasn't ground breaking or anything but she and Tim McGraw made it work. Up in the Air was a good movie but didn't really wow me. I almost forgot An Education, another case of good acting not really interesting story.

I found Brothers to be much better than I thought it would be. Even though it was kind of play by the book the acting was very good by actors I don't always like. Those two little girls were fantastic! Toby McGuire for some reason always creeps me out so what he does doesn't really surprise me.

Sherlock Holmes was a disappointment. I love Robert Downey Jr and he is what kept me interested until I could no longer follow what was happening. I suspect when it comes out on DVD and I can go back i will enjoy it much more.

I loved, loved loved It's Complicated! This is the one of the funniest with yet some of the most poignant moments in a film I have scene this year. Top notch acting all around and Meryl just keeps getting better.

Roman Polanski

I respect Mr. Polanski as a director and feel that Rosemary's Baby and Chinatown are classics. I am sorry he had a difficult life and bad things happened to him. But there is no excuse for what he did. At the time the girl was 13 and bottom line that is statutory rape. When you read the details it's actually a lot worse. He fled the country because he didn't think the judge was going to be fair. There is a such thing as appeals; he was offered the option to come back and clear things up but he chose not to.

The fact that he is an artist should not come into play here. He needs to face up to what he has done.

The Boys are Back

The Boys are Back was released this past weekend. I saw it about 6 weeks ago. I love Clive Owen but was lukewarm about the movie. Don't get me wrong, I think there is some great acting especially between Clive and the actors that play his sons. But the movie just didn't do anything for me. I kept thinking nice little story but it's not that compelling.

Sometimes a movie is just a movie

As we are about to leave the summer movie season behind and move on to the "important" fall season a few thoughts. I love the upcoming time of the year for movies I love watching them, thinking about them and figuring out what's going to be up for awards. By the same token, I can appreciate a movie for what is it. Most of my friend think that I am not a movie snob and I take that as a compliment.

Saw The Final Destination this weekend. It was good for what it was supposed to be: entertained for a few hours and not have to think. For me it lived up to my expectations.

I think that my go to movie (pretty sure it will be out on DVD by award season) will be Inglorious Basterds. I am going to need something to lighten the mood. Last year it was Tropic Thunder; I really needed it after seeing Revolutionary Road, The Wrestler and 7 pounds in one weekend.

So for this summer what I have loved:

1. In the Loop- political satire at it's best I haven't enjoyed a political movie this much since Primary Colors and Wag the Dog
2.Inglorious Basterds- Tarintino back to form
3. Julie and Julia- Meryl can do no wrong in my book and think she will be nominated
4. District 9- surprised how well I liked this movie so much more than sci fi
5. The Hurt Locker- character study that I keep thinking about

Inglorious Basterds

Well I have held off on saying anything about this movie. I saw a screening back in July and saw it again last weekend; haven't stopped thinking of this one since. I loved this movie and rank it right after Pulp Fiction. I love Tarintino's dialogue (OK I am evidently one of 5 people in the universe that actually enjoyed Death Proof-but I digress) this was a fun movie.

Chapter 1 is classic and Hans Landa has to be the best character I have seen so far this year. The basement scene is terrific and of course the who cinema chapter. It's almost worth the price of admission to see the Basterds "speak Italian".

District 9

Well count me as a fan. I am not a "SciFi" person. As a matter of fact if it weren't for my son I would have probably never seen the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. I was definitely intrigued by the thought of Peter Jackson producing. I have to say I really enjoyed this. I am not going to say much about the movie now. Who knows, if in 6 months there is no one reading this then I may put down my thoughts about the movie. But I have to agree with my son, the less you know about this going in the better. I probably knew a bit too much but I don't mind being spoiled. It was much more than a sci fi movie and for me at least was something new and thought provoking.

Julie and Julia and The Hurt Locker

Yes, I did go see to vastly different movies this Saturday. I began the day bright and early with a ham and cheese croissant and iced coffee with Julie and Julia. I had been obsessed for weeks with pate, bread and wine but for a 10 AM show didn't sound appealing. I really enjoyed the movie. The character of Julie is much more like able then she evidently is in person. But the standout of course is Meryl she is all kinds of awesome. I also love the scenes between Julia and Paul (Stanley Tucci). There wasn't as much food as I hoped (I was thinking more of Big Night) but it was beautifully shot. It's not a great movie but it's fun and does what it sets out to do.

Next up, The Hurt Locker at 12:55PM. Met my son, who wanted to know did I want to see this or GI Joe (no brainer). This I thought was quite interesting. There are some very good performances from actors I really don't know that well. To me this was very intense I never felt there was a moment I could catch my breath; I never felt comfortable during this movie. It was also very detached; I didn't feel a connection to anyone in this movie. I also found it interesting that this was directed by a woman (sorry her name escapes me) who did a very good job but most movies directed by women are a bit "fuzzier" for lack of a better word.

Next up: District 9, Inglorious Basterds(I have already seen-great movie), Halloween 2 (maybe) and The Final Destination (guilty pleasure).

Really, how dumb is that?

So let's just say it...I can be an idiot. I wasn't feeling well and cancelled my tickets to the screening of The Time Traveler's Wife. I haven't read the book and it looks too sappy for my taste. When I got the offer for the screening, I thought it must be the premiere. Of course it was the premiere and I missed it.

Movie Connections

Last night I realized that apart from sharing my love of movies with my son, it was the same director that caused that first spark. I still remember my reaction to seeing Jaws all those years ago. To this day, as much as I love the ocean, I will go in no more than my knees. I just thought is was amazing; "Bruce" may have been a bad performer but was effective on me.

Flash forward to Jurassic Park coming out. I take a little boy to see this movie and watching his sense of amazement and wonder was just fantastic. Afterwards he said, that is what I am going to do. He even wrote Steven Spielberg, he received a letter back. Mr. Spielberg told him to listen to his mother and do well in school. He has, he is now in grad school, so an impression was made. He also still writes, acts, does standup and still wants to be an artist.

So why this blog: simple I love movies and want to talk about them. I will discuss my favorites, guilty pleasure and work my way thru the classics that I have never seen.