Movies 2-5/26

None of the movies I've watched so far in the challenge have inspired me to ramble on about them except Crazy Stupid Love, so I haven't been posting for each one. Here's quick recaps of my recent viewing:

Source Code is the most entertaining of the group. I had the "twist" figured out about 3 minutes in, but it was still fun to go on the journey. That actually made me feel a bit smug, because I never figure out twists and I don't think this one was particularly obvious. Nevertheless, this movie doesn't provide a lot of material for analysis or discussion--it's a definite "popcorn" movie. But maybe just a small popcorn--way more intellectual than something like Transformers (I'm assuming--never seen Transformers). Still...it's an interesting concept that was well-acted and well-directed. Plus, it's 2 hours of Jake Gyllenhaal, which is always a plus in my book.

About Schmidt has been one of those on my "I really should watch that" list for a while, so when it came on Starz this month I went ahead and tuned in. It was definitely a superior film, and I think the only reason I don't want to write a novel about it is because I'm not particularly a fan of Jack Nicholson, so that dampened my enjoyment. But even that wasn't enough to make me *dislike* him--on the contrary, I cared deeply for Schmidt. Sure, he's kind of an ass, but that's what makes him so believable and relatable. By the time he did the speech at his daughter's wedding, there was a soft spot in my heart for Schmidt. This isn't a movie that will go into heavy rewatching rotation for me, but I wouldn't be adverse to tuning in again later.

Friends with Benefits is one that I watched out of curiousity more than anything. I'd watched its counterpart No Strings Attached several months ago and was surprised by how much I liked it (and it just appeared on Netflix streaming, so yay for rewatches!). Because they seemed like essentially the same movie, I decided to give FWB a chance. It is funnier than NSA, but it just felt like it was missing something. I was surprised to like the lead actors as much as I did, and there was some great casting for supporting characters, too. But in the end, I couldn't even make it all the way through a second viewing (usually a habit of mine).

From Prada to Nada is not counting because it's another "F," but I had to warn people to stay far, far away. It's an adaptation of Sense and Sensibility, which is why I queued it up in the first place (I'm Jane Austen's whore), but it's just horribly disappointing. Unfortunately, the acting is terrible (even from actors I've liked in other things), the two leads are orange, the plotting is clunky, and the romantic couples have minimal chemistry. The Nora and Edward characters are somewhat okay together, but they're hampered by this weird janitor lawsuit subplot that just detracts from the traditional story instead of enhancing it. The thing that stuck with me the most from the movie: sometime in the last few years, Fez (from That 70s Show) became super hot (I didn't even realize it was him until the last 10 minutes...and then I felt like a moron and had to go back and rewatch scenes to obsess about how blind I was). Also, there were two weird directorial choices: constant freeze-framing at the beginning that almost caused me to turn it off (why, why didn't I?) and a total lack of music in several scenes that required it, including a wedding celebration (there has to be royalty-free music that would fit?).

The Last Word was a neat concept: a guy makes a living writing suicide notes for others. And I really think it could have been a great movie, but the actors felt like they were all just phoning it in. Wes Bentley did a decent job, but it just wasn't enough. I guess the director had called for "low-key" acting, but between a mourning Winona Ryder and a depressed Ray Romano, this movie came close to making me want to enlist Evan's note-writing services.

Question My Judgment

I cannot believe I just spent 2 hours of my life watching a movie called Snowmageddon.

It was about an evil snowglobe that, among other sinister things, shot spikes out of the ground to kill people. It also reactivated a volcano that had been dormant for centuries. I think. I was only half-heartedly watching by that point, but somehow they were relating the whole thing to the Pandora's Box myth.

Oddly enough, the evil snowglobe did not send a blizzard. But there was a Cylon...

Movie 1/26: Crazy Stupid Love

I can't figure out how to punctuate the title of this movie. All material I read says Crazy, Stupid, Love, but the DVD box just says Crazy Stupid Love. I'm going with the box because I like tangible sources.

If I ever had any plans of rating each movie I watched with a star system (truth: I didn't), this movie would have completely screwed that up right out of the gate. I would have spent hours debating between 2, 3, or 4 stars. In the end, I probably would have settled on 3.27 slightly transparent stars.

There's a lot to like about this movie. It has a stellar cast, no doubt, and the chemistry between all of the actors (romantic and bromantic [I can't believe I just typed that word]) is wonderful. Ryan Gosling continues to be a fantastic actor (and unbelievably sexy to boot), and I always love Steve Carell when he does more dramatic roles. I've adored Julianne Moore for as long as I can remember, and I'm fast becoming a fan of anything Emma Stone does (although I still can't bring myself to watch The Help. It just looks too sappy and forced heartwarming.). Added bonus: Josh Groban. Not a fan of his music, but I have a total crush on the dude (if you've watched his appearances on Nevermind the Buzzcocks and didn't get a crush on him, please tell me your secret). He plays a complete douche, but I didn't care because it was Josh.

The film also has some truly hilarious and well-acted dramatic moments. It's ridiculous at (many) times, but it also feels very real. There's good character development throughout the movie, with the typical stumbles and lapses you'd expect a real person to have as they move toward great changes.

In the end, I think if the storyline with the teenage babysitter love triangle weren't in the movie, I would have liked it a lot more. Granted it contributed greatly to the movie's funniest scene, but the whole deal just squicked me out to the point where I couldn't get past it.

Also, Marissa Tomei's character was a total PITA, and a complete embarrassment to Eighth Grade English Teachers everywhere (sidenote: In what world is it appropriate to read Scarlet Letter in eighth grade? I'm waiting for the fallout from teaching Much Ado About Nothing each year, and this woman's getting to teach Scarlet Letter to junior high kids? No dice, people.).

The New Challenge

From December 1, 2011, to December 1, 2012, I'll be attempting to complete the Alphabet Challenge for both books and movies. In the course of a year I'll try to watch a movie and read a book with a title beginning with each letter of the alphabet.

The only rules are:

1) Rewatches and rereads are okay. This is about indulging in things that make me happy, and sometimes rewatching and rereading make me happy! I'll expand my horizons later, darn it!

2) I get to fudge on "X" for the books if I get desperate. But not for movies...I've been meaning to watch the second X-Files movie for years.

3) Made-For-TV movies and miniseries do count, but only if I watch them from a DVD. (It's my challenge; the rules only have to make sense to me!)

4) No picture books. That should really be an obvious rule, but since I'm listing them all out, I figured I'd put it down.

5) Books & movies can be read/watched in any order; this doesn't have to be done alphabetically.

This is where I'll keep my list. I'll also talk about the stuff I read and watch, because if I have too many more conversations with my dogs I'm going to have to be fitted for a strait jacket. Talking to invisible people on a blog is much more sane.