Watched: Ruby Sparks

Fun/sad deconstruction of the "manic pixie dream-girl". Much has been written about this film already and I don't have much to add except that I enjoyed it although I think Paul Dano's protagonist, Calvin, is pretty much a sociopath who is not exactly relatable. Still, the performances are really good in this and the main idea, that Dano creates his dream girl and that she then begins to come into her own, gives the movie more energy than a lot of romantic dramas/comedies have.

Watched: Pain & Gain

Completely baffling. Like, I'm not a particularly huge fan of Michael Bay nor am I a very serious detractor. I'm just pretty disinterested in him and his work. I've never watched The Transformers films all the way through (seen clips on tv), I've heard Bad Boys is pretty good, I remember loving Armageddon as a kid although it doesn't really hold up, Pearl Harbor was pretty shlocky, I respected The Island for its aspirations a lot more than its execution. So I guess I do kind of have an opinion on Michael Bay.

Anyway, this film is still baffling. Like, who are we supposed to empathize and care about in this film? The psychotic, amoral leads? The dickish private investigator? The one-dimensional "wife/girlfriend" characters?

The whole thing is an aesthetically garish, aurally grating nightmare of bad people who you don't care about from a director who does not care about making anyone in this film human or understandable. Maybe that's what he wanted, in which case he succeeded. But if this is his version of a successful film then it's not one I particularly want to watch (again).

Watched: Dredd

Am I sad that we never get to see Karl Urban's face in Dredd? Yes. Yes I am. Is it still a pretty good film? Yes. Yes it is. It's not the smartest or most emotionally complex story, but then, I'm willing to suspend my expectations of that kind of thing for certain movies that acknowledge their complete disinterest in telling that kind of story. Which this one does. Plus, everyone is so well cast in this. Olivia Thirlby is great as Cassandra (fitting name), the psychic green trainee on her first (disastrous) day on the job as a judge, and Lena Headey is absolutely perfect as the clearly unbalanced and psychotic "Ma-Ma" drug lord who controls the building that Dredd and Cassandra come to investigate. The story escalates both literally (as they make their way higher and higher up the building, each floor offering successively more violent and desperate fighting) and figuratively, as Ma-Ma realizes she can't evade or dissuade Dredd and decides only one of them is leaving the block.

Anyway, is it the most masterfully impressive film ever made? Nope. But it's pretty damn beautiful, with an absolutely perfect use of slomo sequences. And while the story isn't winning any awards for writing, it's consistent enough within the universes it establishes. I'm pretty much on board with this, even its bleak end for a character as great as Ma-Ma.

Watched: A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints

The most unbelievable part of this film is that we're supposed to believe that Shia LaBeouf grows up to be Robert Downey, Jr. The film looks and feels pretty authentic to a time that I was not a part of, so I sort of have to take director/writer Dito Montiel's word for it. Channing Tatum shows up and manages not to embarrass himself. Dianne Wiest is excellent, but she always is. Ditto for Downey, Jr.

 

Watched: Pride & Prejudice (2005)

The beginning of my love for Joe Wright, a director who I think is one of the best working these days. I mean, I would love him for Hanna alone, but this is also the guy who did Atonement and Anna Karenina. I've never seen The Soloist but I've heard that it's beautifully made as well.

Anyway, I remember this film getting some heat when it came out because it's not the absolutely most faithful adaptation of Jane Austen's classic novel. But I love it. If you want a true and faithful version of the book, sure, watch the 1995 BBC mini-series starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle. But if you want to watch a film with beautiful cinematography, a lovely score (Dario Marianelli, so good!), and a classic (Oscar-nominated) performance from Kiera Knightley, this is your movie.

 

 

 

Watched: Rundskop (Bullhead)

Somewhat slow-burning. Brutal. Bleak.