I'm an April Fool!

So, it's been a while. Jan 15th was the last update. I'm a little afraid to see how many movies I have to write on... Here goes.

"The Air I Breathe" (2007) - What's weird about this movie is the year in which it was made. It seems like it was from the mid-90's with Sarah Michelle Gellar and Brendan Fraser and Kevin Bacon. Weird weird weird. It was remniscent of Crash (2004) in that the characters were all interconnected. However, in this film, each was supposed to represent a different emotion. Since it was in January that I watched this, I don't recall which emotions. The imdb page relates the emotions to a Chinese proverb. Summary: "A drama based on an ancient Chinese proverb that breaks life down into four emotional cornerstones: happiness, pleasure, sorrow and love. A businessman bets his life on a horse race; a gangster sees the future; a pop star falls prey to a crime boss; a doctor must save the love of his life. "  The movie can be slightly enjoyable if you can allow it to be all schmaltzy and just go with a higher level of suspension of disbelief. The movie isn't epic and it probably isn't watchable more than once... unless you are dying to watch it again and pick up any possible nuances. Doubtful you will watch multiple times, but stranger things have happened.

"Tangled" (2010) - Okay, I'll admit. This movie got me near the end a couple times. I had to discreetly wipe away my tears, but I'm pretty sure my cousin noticed. Luckily she didn't make fun of me for it. ;)  It was your basic Disney movie where the girl had too skinny a waist and there was singing, which I could have done without. But I found it to be pretty cute. And I suppose I'm a closet romantic. Sigh. I know. I'm ashamed. Hey, here's a thought. Maybe a movie should be made about .... wait, I'll keep this one to myself and store it in my writing drawer... mwahahaha! Anyway, the movie was pretty standard and safe. I would watch it again. Maybe a few times.

"Alila" (2003) - This was another 'interconnectedness' movie. Little hard to follow as there are so many characters and it is from Israel (so language and customs and way of life are different). The movie carried along slowly as you basicallly just witnessed their lives. There were plots to all of them, just took it's time getting there. I will say that half the time I was confused as to who was where and what was happening. It was an okay movie, but not overly exciting. There were some interesting characters and scenarios, but it was basically just an exercise in observation. Could have been more engaging.

"Dragnet" (1987) - I have a Tom Hanks box set. Yay! This one is so fun to watch. I don't watch cop/detective movies unless they are tongue-in-cheek like this one. You've gotta love Tom and Dan Aykroyd together. I'm not sure what else there is to say, except definitely watch this one if you don't take yourself too seriously! :)

"The Scorpion King" (2002) - I have discovered that the surefire way to get me to watch an action movie is if it involves muscly, sweaty, half-naked men in the desert. That proved true with Jake Gyllenhaal  in Prince of Persia and I don't even like that dude. But make him fit into the above category and I'm there. Same with The Rock, whom I have a thing for, for some reason. I don't usually go for the big beefy guys in real life, but hey. A fantasy isn't supposed to be real. If you're looking for a movie with content and gripping characters... well, you can pretend this is it and I won't correct you, but I do have a bias for movies sometimes. I just know when to admit it. ;)

"Megamind" (2010) - I could have sworn I'd already discussed this movie, because I know I'd seen it before. I loved it. It's clever and we focus on the 'bad guy'. It really delved into his character and made us like and understand him. A movie that can make you like the bad guy is pretty damn clever. Yes, I just used that word twice, but this movie is that. So yes, I give this movie the stamp of approval.

"FernGully: The Last Rainforest" (1992) - This may possibly have been the first movie I remember seeing in the theatres. I had my nephews watch it with me this time around and was sad that they weren't more taken with it, but that's technology for you. That and they watned to watch Ghostbusters or Gremlins or something they had seen before. This movie is the original 'Avatar'. Again, super-skinny female lead and disproportionate male characters as well, but I do like the storyline. Sure, a bit preachy, but really, caring for the earth is damn important!! Watch and enjoy. If you don't, I don't wanna know! ;)

"Broken Embraces" Los abrazos rotos (original title) (2009)  - If you know Almo, this is not his normal kitsch. But I liked it anyway! :) Definitely a bit more tender side to him, but of course the passion is still there. And the twisted self-serving characters and the familial connections that drive the story. I love his loyalty to certain actors as they are always fun to see in his films. No complaints, really.

Watched parts of "Kismat Konnection" (2008) and "Connie and Carla" (2004) while doing other things. I won't discuss them, but I own them both for a reason! Like and like. :)

"Taking Woodstock" (2009) - Oh, to have been there!.... which would have meant I would be stinky, dirty, on drugs and having sex with strangers. But there would have been good music! ;) Yes, this movie had great music and it was fun to see how the location was chosen. I liked the homage to Godard's "Week End" (1967) in which there was the long shot through the stopped traffic. Well, I assume it was an homage!! I'd recommend watching the flick at least once. Just for a bit of time travel :)

"Ceremony" (2010) - I'd like to know how many movies reference 'Catcher in the Rye' to show us the angsty coming of age to which apparently all boys can relate! ;) The movie was pretty angsty itself. I wasn't in love with the characters, well Teddy was frickin awesome. The movie was VERY F. Scott Fitzgerald, 'Great Gatsby'. Actually, I'm almost 100% sure that in the scene where a character was reading a book and said it was Catcher in the Rye, it was actually 'This Side of Paradise'. I have yet to read that one, but I do appreciate those little Easter Eggs. You should know that the movie is the first effort of Max Winkler... I bet you can figure out who his famous father is :) The movie wasn't terrible. Not my favorite, but it had some awesome lines. I might like it more if I watch it again. I was pleased with the ending, which helps to balance out my indifference to a more favorable position. *note: saw this movie thanks to The Omaha Film Festival

"Leave Them Laughing" (2010) - I should know better by now than to watch movies about people with terminal illnesses. I watched this movie this year at The Omaha Film Festival  and last year watched 65_RedRoses (2009) only to read a month or so later of the death of Eva Markvoort , a brave fighter of Cystic Fibrosis. In the movie being discussed now, Carla Zilbersmith let us watch her decline from ALS, or Lou Gehrig's Disesase. She made you cry, but true to the title and her spirit, she left us laughing. Both of these films are HIGHLY recommendable. Watch them to regain your sense of humanity, compassion and perspective. If you don't feel something, you may be dead already.

"Sophie" (2011) - Oh, Sophie... Saw it directly after the previous movie at The Omaha Film Festival. Sophie, Sophie, Sophie. If I was my 8 year old former self, who hadn't learned so much about film, I might have adored this movie. It's a cute movie for a little kid who doesn't know any better, but it was so on the nose and so 'scripted'. It's like they followed the Dummy's Guide for Screenwriting or something and just formulated a story, making sure to stay in the lines. The main character was annoying and the beginning of the film didn't allow us to get to know the character, so we didn't feel for her when her elephant was taken away in the first scene. Sure, the little photo montage during the opening credits was nice, but there was no soul to it. I didn't care for the whiny-ness of it, and the elephant wasn't even a character, just an animal doing poses. Blah. If you want to sit your pre-teen girl in front of a safe movie, this would be fine, but I don't recommend it otherwise. I wanted so badly for it to be good too :(

"Pirate Radio" (2009) - Yup, another film that I wanted to be good, but wasn't. The music was great of course, but making a 'music' movie is not a guaranteed success. Sure, you may get people in their seats, but keeping them there... This was similar in that I felt like I was just thrown into the story and didn't quite get to empathize with the characters. We were a little like the main character who just shows up on the boat and meets the zany crew. That's all fine and dandy to show all the oddballs and we may like a few of them, but ugh, that's not enough. I guess I'm used to stories where you see those oddballs come together from the beginning. Sure, one doesn't have to stick with formula, but you NEED to connect with your audience or you fail.

"An Education" (2009) - Another slow movie in which I didn't feel for the main character. I know we were supposed to feel for this innocent, wide-eyed girl and we were supposed to question to which type of education the title refers. Obviously, it's both the school-learning and life lessons. But the movie dragged out and I didn't really care deeply for the characters. I understand we all make mistakes. Perhaps watching this movie was one of them. ;) Ba dum dum. My friend had to explain to me that in those days (and that culture?) it was normal for an older man to take on with a younger girl, but even so, the parents were bowled over too. Whatever. Sure the costuming and time period was enjoyable, but I got it... updo=sophistication for a young girl. Whatevs.

"Paul" (2011) - I will admit that when I saw the previews, I thought this movie was going to be ridiculously dumb, but I really enjoyed it. The pair of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost was a major draw of course. Having a basic knowledge, or more than basic, of sci fi flicks got me through the majority of the references and a couple were pointed out to me. I really had a blast with this movie. The characters were entertaining. I want to say they were fresh, but I don't know that that's true. But very fun flick with some cool surprises.

"Cedar Rapids" (2011) - Saw this and Paul back to back, which was quite a treat in itself. I had fun with this one as well. But I've never heard Omaha referred to as "Ohmygod". Hmmm. This is strange b/c Omaha native Alexander Payne was on board producing. Sure, it made small town seem really small, but there is some humor in that and I could laugh at it without being too uptight about it. Sure, it was a bit far-fetched but I was entertained and that's important.

"The Big Lebowski" (1998) - I saw this one way back during high school, a few years after its release. I decided to brush up on it. ;) You have to like abusurdist comedies, and of course that's just what Ethan Coen and Joel Coen do. I love the Dude and I kinda wish I could beeee him with his freakin laidback attitude and awesome attire. Of course, as John Goodman reminds us, this film shows us how very un-dude-like The Dude becomes due the circumstances. Good writing, as it follows the 'rise to the challenge' mantra I've learned :)

17 movies isn't too bad in all this time, considering the amount of things I've been up to. Well, I saw many more movies actually, thanks to the Omaha Film Festival, but I'm not discussing the shorts. That's just too much!! So, I hope you found something to watch!! Peace out!