The Long, Hot Summer
Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, and Orson Wells in a movie based on William Faulkner's stories? What could go wrong? Nothing really. The whole thing simmers without boiling over. When accused barn burner and bad boy Newman rolls into the southern town controlled by corrupt Orson I expect a lot more fireworks. The romance never really gets going either. Still, fairly enjoyable.
Recommended.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
People compared this to
Forrest Gump, and I see why. Brad Pitt goes skipping through history while aging backwards. Cate Blanchett is great, but this isn't quite a David Fincher movie, no matter how excellent the aging SFX are. Again, it doesn't suck, but I want more.
Recommended.
Adventureland
Jesse Eisenberg plays a college student (stealing a good role from Michael Cera for once) whose plans fall through forcing him to work at the local amusement park for the summer. He finds himself falling for a co-worker (Kristen Stewart) not realizing she's involved with an older married worker (Ryan Reynolds). Set in the 80s, this movie had a better soundtrack than any movie actually released in the 80s. I thought this would be more of a comedy as two SNL players have supporting roles, and while there are some funny scenes, instead this is a great little coming of age story.
Highly Recommended.
The Queen
Helen Mirren is a great actress and gets the role of a decade playing Queen Elizabeth II set in the week following Princess Diana's death. Not being a Royal Family groupie or British, I never got understood what went on back then. In some ways, even despite this great film, I still don't. Michael Sheen has recently made a career out of playing Tony Blair, and you begin to admire his Blair (no idea how accurate it is).
Highly Recommended.
Rachel Getting Married
Anne Hathaway is a woman fresh out of rehab to attend her sister's wedding. She's great, but the rest of the film... I always watch the deleted scenes, but not this time. There was no point to many of the scenes in the actual movie. One with rehersal dinner speeches kept going on and on and on.
No Recommendation.
State of Play
A Washinton D.C. newspaper reporter (Russell Crowe) is investigating a seemingly drug-related shooting while his old friend in Congress (Ben Affleck) is dealing with the death of his mistress and the public unveiling of their affair. A newspaper blogger (Rachel McAdams) and the editor (awesome Helen Mirren again) begin to squeeze him to provide some access to his old friend, esp. when it appears that the woman may have been murdered. Some people don't like these type of thrillers, but this is more true-to-life than guns-n-explosions that make the money today. This is a very good and well made movie that I only wish happened more often.
Highly Recommended.
Now for the horror films!
Jeepers Creepers 2
I enjoyed the first one, a good little horror film (Justin Long's first break) that was scary and exciting. As usual, the sequel is a step down, dumber and not as frightening.
No Recommendation.
Monkey Shines
One of those 80s horror movies I never got around to seeing. Man is crippled, given a "helper" monkey to make life easier, but the monkey has been given experimental drugs that bond him to the man and the monkey begins to carry out his darkest wishes. Needed to be much scarier.
No Recommendation.
Joy Ride
Two brothers (Paul Walker and the always snarky Steve Zahn) are driving through the West to pick up a girl (Leelee Sobieski - whose nipples were on display more than anything I've seen since
Friends went off the air) and on the way decide to mess with a trucker via CB. Who, of course, turns out to be a psycho. Scary and fun.
Recommended.
Dog Soldiers
Oso recommended this one last year where British soldiers are participating in an exercise in Scotland and run into a band of werewolves who... wait a minute! I've seen this movie before! Only it was called
Aliens and is one of my favorite movies ever! I mean they are so much alike, right down to the "short controlled bursts" line of dialogue! Oh well, at least there was no Queen (alien not the band) at the end, they could only rip off a classic movie so much. Gory and fun.
Recommended.
The Changeling
Good haunted house movies no longer exist, thanks to CGI throwing shit in the audience's face. Is there anything creepier than a ball bouncing down some stairs? Not if you're a composer (George C. Scott) living alone in a giant mansion after the deaths of his wife and child. And guess what? It seems a child died long ago under similar circumstances at the house too! The creepy factor peaks with the medium's visit and then slowly receeds as the mystery unfolds to the conclusion. A worthy entry in the horror genre anyway.
Recommended.