I didn't graduate from Film school and I'm no Gene Shalit but I did see some movies over the break that I felt particularly strongly about. So I suppose I should inform you my trusted readers of a spoiler alert and that what follows after this sentence is only my humble opinion.
Movie number one, The Waitress. I rented this movie with my sister and her best friend for a girls night. It seemed to be just the ticket, a quirky romantic comedy featuring creative pies in a leading role. Boy were we, and when I say we, I mean I, because in the end I took the blame. It was terrible. The trailers and previews for this movie painted a vastly different story line than actually played out in the film. What critics claimed to be a "sweetheart of a comedy" was actually a basket full of moral decay. The "obnoxious husband" described on the back of the box turned out to be an abusive and controlling deadbeat. Extra-marital affair seemed to be the name of the game and nearly all of the main characters were playing. As falsely claimed on the front of the box, " a movie that leaves you feeling good" was perhaps the grossest distortion of the truth. It basically just made me angry, really angry. The tender romantic comedy moments were completely negated by the fact that fundamentally the story line was blatantly evil and wrong. Maybe I was the only one dumb enough to want to see this movie, however if a single one of you faithful readers were contemplating it, this post has not been in vain.
Movie number two, P.S. I Love You. My heart of hearts was torn over seeing this one. I love Gerrard Butler and Jeffrey Dean Morgan but I hate Hilary Swank. She is one of those actresses which for whatever reason I just do not like. Maybe it was the Boys Don’t Cry thing, I cannot for the life of me look at her without seeing the lesbian bisexual gawky looking girl trying to be a boy. The jury is still out on this one, I cannot decide if the beautiful Irish countryside and the sexy accents of the leading man hunks beat out the fact that Hilary Swank’s character spent entirely too much time running around her amazing loft apartment in her underwear. Harry Connick's socially awkward character resonated because of his faulty filter and it just made me happy to see my favorite Grey's guest star moving on to bigger and better things.
Movie number three, Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium. This was by far the best movie I saw over the break. Judge me if you want. As an avid dis-liker of 99% of animated movies on the grounds that I’m not five anymore, this G rated flick surprised me. I am a fan of seasoned actors like Dustin Hoffman taking on quirky roles in family friendly movies. It took me a while to adjust to his lisp, but his suits were as fabulously eccentric as his character. I have always been a fan of Natalie Portman’s versatility. I ate Anywhere But Here right up, everything she does she does well. The addition of Jason Bateman basically sealed the deal for me. I love this Arrested Development alum and was ecstatic to learn that he played a supporting role in this film. In summation, yes this film was fanciful and whimsical, even cheesy at parts…see picture below, but the overall message made me feel good and the visual experience was great.
2 comments:
I don't know, Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium still seems an little to much for me. But I have a feeling Mitch and I will get bored enough one night to give it a shot at the dollar theater and who knows, maybe we'll love it. Dustin Hoffman is one of my all time favorite actors. I think it's because I loved him in Hook growing up :o)
That is really too bad about The Waitress. It's a bummer!
I loved Hook too, and by loved I mean LOVE. My parents still have it at home. Seriously if you can handle a little bit of cheese I would do it, I kind of think Mitch might hate it though!
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