How About You (2007)

This is an inoffensive, yet bad, movie. It's bad because of the abundance of plot contrivances and cutesie - pootsie meetings, departures, conversations, etc. This is a movie about growing old, being on your own, living after your loved ones are gone, and regretting the choices you have made. Given all that, this elder residence is gorgeous and clean, with caring workers and days that always come together for a joyful song or a lovely meal or a walk by the river in gently falling snow. It's a fairy tale overlaying a serious topic, and it's not well done.

The performers are amazing, though. Two of the main characters are played by Vanessa Redgrave and Imelda Staunton. Jeez. I'll sit through pure shite (it's an Irish film) for those two. And I did.

She's Out of My League (2010)

This is just really bad. The leads (Jay Baruchel and Alice Eve) do a credible job, but cannot do much with mediocre characters, a bad story and listless dialog. A basic problem? This gal is totally out of his league. It really doesn't work.

Pass on this. Watch any other teen or dating flick instead. Watch Knocked Up, Weird Science, Sixteen Candles, Easy A, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, anything.

The Women (1939)

I have seen this movie many times, but only recently realized how great it is. Weird. There are parts of this movie that are dated, like having to live in Reno for a bit while waiting for a divorce. It's hard to imagine prospective divorcees meeting random on a train and hanging out together and bonding on a dude ranch / hotel while waiting for their divorces to go through.

But parts of this ring very true: cheating husbands and pride getting in the way of what people really want. But what blows my mind when I watch it? The way women treat each other - mostly it's shitty. When mom advises Norma Shearer to NOT confide in her friends, she knows what she's talking about. Most of Norma's so-called friends are total dicks.

Film Geek (2005)

The star of this movie is Scottie, an incredibly annoying video store clerk. Scottie has, as he likes to say, "an encyclopedic knowledge of movies". This is absolutely true. And that's all he can talk about. He bores his co-workers with his knowledge, drives away customers (he doesn't want to rent them just any old movie), and has no ability to talk about anything but movies. So he gets fired. And now he's really adrift. Thank god he has his movie blog.

Yep, he's boring and one dimensional and he has a movie blog that nobody reads. Shit. This was a hard one for me to watch. Thankfully I soon realized that I am not one-dimensional at all. I can bore people on many topics. And I frequently do.

Scottie is a compelling character and Melik Malkasian does a fantastic job with the role. The movie was shot in Portland and is full of local movie rental places, local movie critics, etc. Nevertheless, the cinematography is poor and the ending sucks. However, as it is only 75 minutes or so, it is totally worth watching for Scottie. He's hilarious.

Fright Night (2011)

Yesterday was Sunday, and I read this in the paper. "One of the great things about childhood is how easy it is to access the distinct delight of being scared out of your mind. Adults just have more trouble getting goosebumps. That's because experience is the enemy of true terror. [Jason Zinoman]"

The article was about being scared, and what does it for some of the top horror directors out there. Now it's no secret that I love horror. The reason, tho, is that I'm looking for a good scare. Remember those old Twilight Zone episodes that literally made you have nightmares? Well, they were really good, but I saw them as a kid. That helped. The best scares were when I was a kid. The zombie episode from the X Files did it for me as an adult. Ju-on. But I don't have those massive nightmares and sleepless nights anymore. Nevertheless, all those good scares left me with a love of horror. I also have a soft spot for vampire films.

On a separate note, the best TV series OF ALL TIME was Buffy. Marti Noxon was one of the premiere writers for the series. Colin Farrell is a hottie and one hell of an actor.

So when Marti Noxon wrote the screenplay for the remake of Fright Night, starring Colin Farrell, and the NYTimes gave it a good review, I went first thing.

Man, it's really good. It's a real movie, not a schlocky piece of shit slasher film or Blade derivative. Colin plays Jerry the Vampire. (Such a Buffy joke! A vampire named Jerry? And he's a bad-ass, nasty piece of work, too. Colin had some fun with this role.) Jerry moves in next to Toni Collette and Anton Yelchin, and things quickly go to crap. Charley's (Anton's) friends start disappearing, Jerry is sniffing around his girlfriend AND his mom, and who the hell will believe him if he starts crying Vampire?

This is a plot, performance and dialog driven show. The effects are great, too, way better than that POS Cowboys and Aliens. And the GF and mom are not just bystanders here. They kick some ass. (If you're familiar with Joss Whedon and Marti Noxon, you'll know it could happen no other way.)

It is so wonderful to not be disappointed! I loved this show. But I wasn't scared.

Intacto (1991)

Manohla and AO Scott now write a column for the Sunday times where they answer q's and discuss random movie stuff. Manohla once said that she has to write quick and in the dark while watching a movie, as she only gets one time to watch and then review.

OK, so I have found ONE positive about NOT being the NY Times movie critic. I can watch a movie a zillion times before weighing in. I have watched Black Swan 43 times and am still discovering new stuff. I recently watched the Adjustment Bureau again, and keep loving it more.

And this week I watched Intacto, an awesome film from Spain, twice. For anyone who likes a dark movie that doesn't take itself too seriously, this is for you. It reminds me a bit of Pan's Labyrinth crossed with Ocean's 11.

Frederico works for Samuel Berg (Max Von Sydow!), who owns and lives in a casino off the coast of Spain. They are in the business of "taking" luck from people and ultimately, gambling in an underground network with captives, people whose luck is up for grabs. Samuel is the luckiest guy out there; he hasn't lost at the game since he discovered his talent during WWII. When Frederico gets on Samuel's bad side, he loses his luck and determines to get revenge. Enter a lucky individual who survived a plane crash, a bullfighter who was never hurt, and a cop who survived the auto accident that killed her family, and the match is on.

I loved this film. I picked up a ton more during my second viewing. I should probably watch it again.

Sounder (1972)

This was a favorite book of mine when I was a kid, and I loved the movie too. I doubt I saw it more than once as a kid, though, because there were no VCR's until my late HS years. I am really, really old.

This is just awesome. It's about the son of a sharecropper and injustice and working hard to just get by versus getting ahead. The book is probably better, but the movie has Cicely Tyson. I would recommend reading the book and then watching the movie.

Breathless (1960)

This film was a big deal when it came out. I can see why: the protagonist is a sexy young Frenchman who is a thug. Nevertheless, he's very attractive. He's also in love with a sexy young American working in Paris (Jean Seberg). They've already had a fling, and discuss whether or not they will have sex again. She may or may not be pregnant with his baby, but she's not worried about it. She eventually discovers he's a criminal, but she doesn't care. While she does not become Bonnie to his Clyde, she does go along for the ride. I would say this movie was a shock for many Americans when released.

These two are not easy to like, but they're easy on the eyes. The fashions are pretty cool. The movie is "nouvelle vague", and Godard's first feature film. He uses jump cuts and improvised much of the dialogue and locations. I'm glad I saw it because it's a classic, but I don't need to see it again. I like Bonnie and Clyde better.

Cowboys and Aliens (2011)

There is really only one reason to watch this piece of shit, and that is Daniel Craig. More specifically: Daniel Craig's ass in chaps. Holy shit. He is amazing. Amazing.

The movie sucks ass. The theater tonight broke into laughter when Olivia Wilde appeared on screen, and the ending also got laughter. It's not that there are one or two story lines that are stupid and disconnected, but rather that the entire film is made up of stupid and disconnected stories and characters. The dialog is ludicrous. And - no shit - the effects are terrible. The alien ship is totally fake (the Death Star was much better), and the aliens were lame. The movie lost about 50% of my respect and attention when Olivia Wilde showed up in an outfit from the Marc Jacobs prairie collection (nice and sheer), but the last remnants of interest were trampled when the aliens turned out to be poor, sad CGI knockoffs of the Alien alien. Pathetic.

I was bored. I was annoyed. I was embarrassed for Daniel Craig. He is so hot.

So is Jon Favreau the new Michael Bay?

Rango (2011)

Some movies just leave me spinning at the coolness. This one did that. It's not perfect, but the (CGI) animation is insane, and Johnny Depp is a true artist. He could just to voice work and still be the coolest guy around.

So this movie features reptiles, rodents, birds and insects in an homage to the Western, with a big Hollywood ridiculous ending thrown in for good measure. (If you're a fan of Clint, you will enjoy this one.) It is populated with freaky creatures that are so real and disgusting that my stomach turned a few times. Imagine a blind mole with bad teeth who had babies with those yokels from Deliverance - and that's what you'll see in this film. It's a bit nauseating, but good fun.

This one has raised the bar for cartoons.