glitter

Eyes Wide Shut

Alice Harford: Millions of years of evolution, right? Right? Men have to stick it in every place they can, but for women... women it is just about security and commitment and whatever the fuck else!
Dr. Bill Harford: A little oversimplified, Alice, but yes, something like that.
Alice Harford: If you men only knew...

This movie actually had some semi-interesting preludes to thought experiments about desire and fucking and loyalty, but it never really GOT anywhere. Perhaps it's because Kubrick shuffled off his mortal coil before the whole thing was completely in the can, but I think, too, there was 'bravery' in exploring this strange cult/club Cruise's character stumbles onto that could've been better spent actually moving the husband and wife through a really dynamic sea change, even if it was overlaid with the same restrained air gripping the rest of the film.

Or did I miss it?

Oh, but I loved the lighting - the use of natural room light, the bumping up of film exposure so that Christmas lights or chandeliers are the only thing giving illumination ...

I have memories of when this movie first came out, and I was working at the bookstore in the back room. This very nervous young man named Helke was in charge of Bargain Books, but spent a lot of time making sure that the semi-rare Arthur Schnitzler books were received properly and well-stocked in the main store. He was pretty much obsessed with the movie, and with reminding all of us how very much of a Kubrick fan he was. I think he was a pretty big reason why I never bothered seeing the movie until now, actually.

For all the pretense, I sure did luck out in getting a version of the movie with all the nudity and sex blocked out. Sigh. ;)

Transamerica

This is a movie quietly sketched and filled in in such a way that you recognize the issues woven into it, but it never truly comes off as being a movie about a particular issue.

It's a journey, considered and laid out before the audience. I felt at times like I was very fortunate to see certain epiphanies and realizations: it's like seeing someone crying on the train, or hearing good news on his cellphone, the twitch of facial muscles, the shoulders relaxing into the new perspective. These semi-private moments that, I think, feel a little rare for me, since my current contact with the outside world is most often rushed and surface.

Felicity Huffman is awesome.

Valmont

Unfortunately for this movie, Dangerous Liaisons was released a year previously, and so even though the production times would indicate that Valmont would be the first out of the gate, it wasn't to be.

So, you'll read a lot of critics decrying this as the lesser interpretation of the same source material, but I guess until I see the other one in its entirety, I'll just have to hold my judgement.

On its own, Valmont strives to be lovely and careful, which really works for the most part, as the plot can certainly be interpreted as a slow dance of manipulation and twisted-up passions. There are sections which are positively anemic, though, and I felt sort of bad for these actors who are so obviously capable of more, but seemed as though they were reigned in with satin ribbons and languid garden tea parties.

Annette Bening seemed to be having fun, and while I thought Colin Firth suffered from the anemic direction most of all, I still enjoyed watching him, and how he approaches each moment.

The Secret of NIMH

Many movies on my Netflix queue are movies I've seen before, but hadn't actually viewed since their release, or shortly thereafter. NIMH is one of them.

Elizabeth Hartman's voice work in this movie as Mrs. Brisby is so amazing that it made me really sad to find out that she committed suicide only five years after this movie was released. She seriously makes this movie for me. The Don Bluth animation style is soft, and delightfully ominous in parts (owl, anyone?) - he brings out the magic and triumph in a situation without trying to wow you with animation tricks or over-the-top visuals. Instead, it's the little things: the way Mrs. Brisby grasps things, the lighting inside the rats' lair, the movement of each animal type with a direct and well-stated correlation to their characters, etc.

It was very fun to hear Wil Wheaton in a role that I had forgotten he'd done. Also, Shannen Doherty. Hee. Little tiny mouse children, all grown up now. How odd.

Snatch.

thajinx made me put this on my queue so that it would arrive when he came here for a week in June, so we could watch it together. One of the things that cracks me up about our friendship is that we experience a voyeuristic glee at watching the other experience some movie or game or song/band for the first time. Of course, because he's a bit more thoroughly hardcore about movies and games than I am, it means I am under almost constant observation when he's around, but I suppose I shall suffer the hardship. Somehow.

So, yeah, Snatch. A totally dumb and chaotic movie, with just the right amount of thuggish hip stylee and quick cut editing to keep you on a rollercoaster of unintelligible accents, bumbling crimes, and the word "fuck" uttered 153 times (according to IMDB).

Good times. I miss watching movies with people.

Amy's O

What a dumb freakin' movie.

King Kong

I never saw the original.

But I think the thing I like the most about Peter Jackson's directorial style is how much color he allows to infuse each and every shot. This is not to say that he has intense crazy rainbows of hue and tint all over the place, he just lets the colors play until they settle, and then he takes the picture and shows it to you, shaded and rich and with lots of depth.

He really likes to frame things in an epic sort of way. He likes to show you what's in his head. There's a lot of pure joy in so many camera shots, even when vile, horrible things are happening on the screen.

Naomi Watts is totally gorgeous and shows a great amount of emotional depth at having to deal with a big ol' CGI monkey. Kong himself was utterly sympathetic, and plays off of Jack Black's shallow meanness so well, that the last line of the movie kinda makes you want to punch Black right in the face.

The movie really didn't feel that long, and I felt like the whole initial lead-up before getting to the island was nicely-paced and not a drudge at all. I think people seriously have a harder time, nowadays, with sitting still in their freaking seats and listening. Sometimes character development and enjoyment takes a while. Sometimes it's perfectly alright to approach something slowly, and look at it from all angles, before proceeding. Immersion can be such a tricky balancing act, but is ultimately an art form, requiring at least some investment from the viewer. I wish more people felt it were worth their time to make that investment, and to be patient. You don't have to reject the cookie cutter stuff, or deny that you like some good old fashioned instant gratification - but it helps to admit that when you take the slower road, it makes all the quick hits give that much more of a rush.

Anyway, good movie. Icky bugs. Pretty, soulful Brody eyes. Lovely Manhattan.

Rounders

What a great movie for Matt Damon. Really. I like that guy. I like his acting - his sense of humor is wry and sharp, and I especially like how he is totally able to let other performers have moments, all while still possessing his own emotional life and action. Good stuff.

This movie is incredibly quotable, especially after chatting with thajinx about it (Jinxie contains libraries of quotes in his head, though. Very impressive, and scary). John Malkovich is just hysterical and over-the-top and so incredibly hammy that he transcends ham and circles right back around again to being awesome. What a freak show he is - and I mean that with affection.

This is a well-built story, with good pacing (and I do mean that, even with slower moments, which happen to enhance the storytelling. Gosh, I wish people would trust more in those slower moments. It feels like a lost art sometimes). I think a good deal of my enjoyment of the movie has come from having to learn Texas Hold 'Em when I played the Last Call Poker ARG last year. Watching for tells, feeling that tension of cards and personality weaving themselves together so tightly ... Yeah. Good stuff.

Vant a kewkie?

The Brave Little Toaster

I have this regular occurance in my life where people will express massive outrage at my having not seen a particular movie. Most of them, I can totally understand - Rear Window, Casablanca, Citizen Kane -- these are all classics and really should be seen because they are so excellent. I was a little surprised when a few peeps were particularly adamant that I see this one. I mean, I'd heard of it, but it was never huge on my radar back in the 80's. I was in a huge music phase back then, buying up cheap vinyl at Second Hand Tunes, precluded by totally wearing out my copy of The Cure's Head on the Door. I just wasn't too much into going to the cinema.

This is such a cute movie. Very simple and silly, for the most part. And then! In the middle, it gets all sorts of weird and surreal and screwed up and EVIL, and it sort of stays that way until the very end. In fact, I was really not sure what sort of movie this was until I got to the plot resolution, because you really just don't know if everything's going to turn out to anyone's satisfaction.

The disc I received is of a version that's very no-frills, even though there is a nice little making-of documentary (with a little too much focus on the resulting sequels and such). The biggest thing I noticed was the transfer quality - I almost felt a little motion sickness at the beginning title cards because it was as if they had chosen the most rickety projector and dirtiest print, and then aimed a mediocre-quality camera at the screen to record it for digital format. Ugh. It seemed to steady up as the movie continued, but I really regret not being able to see this in better color and resolution. The style was so fun and consistent that it would've been nice to see it close to its original glory. Ah well.

I heart Blanky sooooooo much. SO. MUCH.

Battlestar Galactica, Miniseries

Interesting enough premise that I am encouraged to watch the proper first season of this reincarnation. There's a bit of the old melodrama laced over some of the most serious moments, but the acting is so good that it's like a nice bit of addiction to keep you watching for the next plot arc to emerge, the next conflict to make itself shown. The mystery and paranoia are good, as is the structure of the tech. It all comes off as pretty believable. Especially having Starbuck be this incredibly hot chica. My mom hates that, by the way. She hates "when they do that," when they change things like gender or fundamental elements of a story in ways that she finds gratuitous.

I suppose I might agree with her if I could remember enough of the original series to make an honest comparison in my head, but I don't, so I don't really care. Plus, she's hot.

Anyway, I can't wait to watch the series, and I am trying to make a concerted effort to get into the Netflix swing of things so I can do that ASAP before the next season begins.