You are what you love, not what loves you. - Adaptation
One of the greatest things about living here at home is the access and ability to watch movies that I would not otherwise have the pleasure of watching. Whether it is simply never hearing of such movies until now, or having such artful parents and grandparents who know of such masterpieces and insist that I watch them in order to be considered a complete person.
There have been several the last couple of weeks, and I simply would like to share some quick thoughts on some of the highlights.
The Commitments: Detroit is not the only place to find soul.
An interesting movie, once you get past the language. It shows you a whole other side to the Irish culture. The premise is 9 guys and gals from Ireland form a soul group, and preform a variety of songs before they get moderately famous and then self implode. Its the classic band story, which has been seen in any good rock and roll scenario - think That Thing You Do, and you have the right idea.
I truly enjoyed the fact that Jimmy, the manager of the band was constantly being 'interviewed' about the band- in the bathtub, in the bathroom, in his bed - it was talking to the camera, before talking to the camera. Plus, I just can't get enough of the accents.
It was a great movie, with some really amazing songs, but the language is a little heavy. Simply reminds me of the good old days of high school unfortunately.
Adaptation: The mind of an artist is disturbing at times.
You know those movies that you watch, and think about for hours on end because there was a deep, almost spiritual meaning behind all the plot lines and dialogue. This is one of those movies. Who thought that watching Nicholas Cage, 40 pounds overweight would bring such enlightenment. But, it did.
It is a movie about twin screenwriters. One is scared, insecure, and trying to write a screenplay based off a book about orchids. The other is confident, lighthearted, and new to the screen writing profession - and right off the bat writes a 'stellar' thriller on the first try. Its a deceivingly 'simple' movie which make hard to explain because when you think back to it, it is anything but simple. Every time I try to think of a way to describe the subtle themes I find another avenue to explore and pull out some other treasure of insightful wisdom that strikes me. If anything at all can try and explain the emotion of the film, I guess this would have to be it: it is a touching tall of two brothers who are brought together by the pain that they both feel, and come to love each other for their differences.
It is not a movie to watch frequently, at least for me because it is an emotionally draining movie (also, it is a slower movie than most, because it is not a 'thriller' that drives on adrenaline but rather heart). However, it is one that stays with you for a long time after the movie has finished.
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs: Classic childhood memories are something you just don't mess with.
I grew up with this book. This was one of my all time favorites - even once I got past the storybook stage. Every time I was babysitting, if I saw that book - I would take the time to reread the entire book. I loved the story, and the artwork was just so different! Simply put - I adore this story.
Hence my hesitation and my joy when I saw the preview this past year for this movie. I was excited to see something so dear to my childhood spread to the next generation of kids. However, I was hesitant to see something other than the book placed on the screen. Therefore ... I didn't see the movie in theaters. Probably a wise choice on my part, seeing that I am a 20-something college student and not a 5 year old kid.
But, babysitting certainly does give you those chances to revisit your childhood without the guilt. While babysitting today, I watched this movie with the kids. And once again my emotions were mixed. It was a cute movie. There was a whole fabricated plot in the story in order to make it a full length film - but it was a unique premise, and done well. There were laughs on my part, and there were some shots that reminded me of the pictures in the storybook. However, it was not the storybook that I knew and loved so dearly.
So, the jury is still out on whether or not the movie was good. It was good, wholesome fun with the kids - that's all I can really say. And probably won't see it again, seeing that I am a 20-something student.
Notorious: Hitchcock had some serious mother issues.
I love a good Hitchcock as much as the next, and have seen most of his more well known pieces. But until last week, I had never heard of this particular film. It was one of the firsts, if not the first major motion pictures for Hitchcock. And there are a lot of similar themes that you notice in this movie that are picked up in some of the later pictures.
Cary Grant is gorgeous in this movie, just like any other film you see him in. But he isn't very nice in this picture. I much prefer him in North by Northwest or Charade. But this movie was ... I hate to use the word interesting again to describe a movie ... but I can't think of a better word right now (it is starting to get late ... so I probably should start to wrap it up). I think some of Hitchcock's later movies are better examples of some of his more well known themes and plots - but most of the first attempts were in this movie.
I enjoyed the mild suspense and the dramatic rescue. Probably the best part of the movie was the old movie style - plots that didn't have to explain every little details. Most of the old time movies have plots with so many holes in them that they can't hold any water in them. But they reminisce of a time were people didn't care, just the experience of getting away somewhere else was enough to make a movie. Sometimes the plot twists and background information drown out the movie experience.
So pretty much ... cute movie, typical Hitchcock, and gorgeous Grant. Enough said.
Honorable Mention - Kelly's Heroes: Who said war movies couldn't have a good musical number?
So I didn't see all of this movie, hence the 'honorable mention.' But, what I saw was intriguing. Clint Eastwood looked good in the good ol' days. Donald Sutherland did not. Basic premise is a bunch of guys who go looking for a bunch of gold behind enemy lines during WWII. I only saw a total of a half an hour really - but it certainly had some memorable characters. Like lieutenants that played music through their tankers during a battle.
Maybe one of these days I'll actually see all of the movie so I can give a better synopsis. But, the least I can saw was that it deserves a second look.
This doesn't include the usual favorites seen during the last little while - Miss Congeniality, Star Trek, The Fugitive, and Ocean's Thirteen.
But I do believe that is all for my film reviews. Hopefully I will be able to continue to enlighten my few readers to a few other movies to increase their viewing pleasure.
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