I figure maybe updating my movie blog wouldn't be so time-intensive if I did it more than once every two months! Last entry was 21 days ago. Three weeks isn't too bad... Here goes!
"Easy A" (2010) - This movie was pretty fun to watch. With the curly red-head title character having high school problems, it reminded me of Mean Girls (2004). I enjoyed the references to the 1980's John Hughes movies and thought it was a cute homage to his work. Doesn't seem to have landed the same impact his movies did, but the movie's effort can't be faulted for that. I liked the wink at The Scarlet Letter novel and how the movie was no justification for the book. I find it hard to believe that a person so cute as the title character really had so many problems being noticed prior to the rumor. She was very cute and put together from the get-go and the only difference was she slutted up her appearance more. I found this to be a pretty fun movie and would watch it again.
"Nine to Five" (1980) - I will admit, I didn't watch this movie in its entirity, but I really enjoyed what I saw (the last hour?) and the statement it made about women in the workplace. The fact that at the end, the corporate boss was supportive of all the changes except equal pay, really speaks to the ridiculousness of women's injustices in the workplace. It doesn't hurt my battlecry that I just finished reading "Sex and Power" by Susan Estrich which highlights the disparging statistics of number of women in top corporate positions and the variance in their salaries from the men in equal or lower positions. As far as the film itself goes, it was fun to see these powerful ladies in these roles. Actually, it almost enforces stereotypes of women and how they choose to exert power and force because of the lengths they took to maintain civility when kidnapping their boss. But even so, that says much about the differences between men and women. Even when taking a victim, these women could be more civilized, although vulnerable. The end message though is that even though we have come so far, we still have a long ways to go and we need to work together to achieve it. This is the theme of Estrich's book, as well. Wow, a lot to say about a movie I didn't fully watch!! ;)
"Dark Habits"/"Entre Tinieblas" (1983) I am a big fan of Almodóvar and was thrilled to get a copy of his early movie, thanks to Facets. As a recovering Catholic, I'm okay with seeing religion mocked ;) And when you ask me if I want to watch a movie about a nightclub singer who goes into hiding in a convent of gay and/or drug-addicted nuns, I say, sure! Right away, you can tell no one is safe. Every character has his or her own secret, even the deceased nun that went to a missionary in Africa. The fact that the characters are so bizarre is underscored by the fact that they find themselves to be so normal. I mean, why shouldn't a nun harbor a pet tiger? The funny thing is that God didn't seem to be such a presence in their lives. It was in the lip-service aspect. That was the primary reason for being a nun, but they all found ways to cope with being there. It made the nightclub singer not so strange, really. And isn't that so Almodóvar to take the person that should be the outcast and make them 'normal'? Well, maybe it isn't typical of all his films, but he doesn't hold anything back. His goal is not to protect ego of the religious folk. The thing about these characters is that even though they were supposed to be so holy, they weren't but they weren't very abashed about it. I could appreciate the irreverance and I hope you can too! ;O)
"Napoleon Dynamite" (2004) - Can I just say I liked this movie before it received all the hype? It's always fun to watch a movie about bizarre characters because they help you free your mind and bit and not take yourself or everything else too seriously. And it has a bunch of ridiculous situations. What I like best is that it is supposed to take place in 2004-2005 school year in Ohio, but even the cool kids seem like they are stuck in the 80s. Ohio must really suck!! ;)
"Zoolander" (2001) - I do like Ben Stiller a lot and this movie is always fun to pop in. If you can't tell, I really like movies that don't take themselves too seriously.
"FernGully: The Last Rainforest" (1992) - I was thrilled to find a copy of this for $5 at Target and couldn't resist the chance to snatch up a movie from my childhood. In case you were wondering, Fern Gully IS the original Avatar, complete with tree spirits and creatures to fly on and destroying/saving the natural habitat. This one is more colorful though. Not just blue. ;0)
"Get Your Stuff" (2000) - This movie is a disgrace to the gay community if ever there was one (and I'm sure there's more than one). I was really disappointed with it. Not only did it seem like a film you were forced to watch because your friends made it, it relied heavily on stereotypes of gay life such as 'there's always a drag queen at a party' or 'you should beg your husband to come back to you even though he's cheating on you' and 'gay men always want to have sex, even if the door is open and there are kids in the house'. Not to mention the movie asked you to put aside issues of legality when it comes to foster children and a druggie mother who had her rights taken away but somehow manages to land herself in the gay mens' home so they can take care of her and her kids. And honestly, why the hell wouldn't they hide the liquor if there are troubled kids and women in the house?!?!? And if they are going to add the kids to the gym membership, why didn't they get them beds? This movie didn't sit well with me on many levels, obviously. I know the couple wanted 'a baby' but the fact that they apparently had no idea how to raise children and weren't ready to change their lifestyle made it absurd. And the social services lady wouldn't have done any of the shit she did. Gah, this movie. It could have been something great, but it was a terrible premise, terribly executed with terrible results. And terrible dialogue. but you should watch it! hahaha
"A Christmas Story" (1983) - T'would hardly be a Christmas without watching this flick. And I own it on VHS. :) This time I watched it with my rents. Mom reminisced about her childhood while Dad snoozed in and out (as usual). If you haven't watched it before, I'm ashamed you're reading this. No, I'm GLAD you're reading this. Isn't that the point of this blog? To get you into new movies? If you have some for me, leave a comment, please! Always need to broaden my horizons.
"Kiss Me Again" (2006) - Maybe not the typical Christmas movie, but it was available on Hulu. When I watched it, I was so very much reminded of "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" (2008) which I just watched tonight and will be discussed in duality with "Kiss Me Again". VCB was 2008, so that threw off my idea of KMA copying VCB. But maybe Woody Allen saw KMA and decided he could do better. And yes, KMA definitely needed improvements. Similarites: artists, dark room, threesome, Spanish woman that are or look like Penelope Cruz (Mirelly Taylor bears a striking resemblance). Differences: KMA relied on visuals to titulate the audience while VCB allowed the threesome between the lovers to be of a cerebral delicacy based upon the theme that love is so hard to define (Cristina's premise of her 12 minute movie). KMA is closer to soft-core while VCB shows the beauty of love in its complexities. KMA shows how emotional people get when they aren't prepared for the results of feelings of a threesome but VCB doesn't show a threesome destroying the lives of the people in it; in fact in VCB it was the threesome that brought harmony to a tortured couple. Obviously I enjoyed VCB (I had seen it before, on the plane on the way to India) and purchased it. Watching KMA was an impulse and another example of a poorly done movie (see "Get Your Stuff"). There are some movies that just have it and others that don't. The element of narrator in VCB could be a little annoying, but at least for once, it wasn't Woody Allen's voice.! ;) In fact, it didn't completely scream Woody Allen, the movie and that was very nice. VCB was a very charming movie with beautiful people, beautiful views and an attractive soundtrack, to which I am listening right now!
And, it only took me just a bit over an hour to write about these 10 movies I watched in 21 days. Not too bad all around! :)
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