Their Eyes Were Watching God (2005); Barton Fink (1991); A Monster in Paris (2011); Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse (2015); La Mano de Satán (2010); Deadpool (2016); Freaks of Nature (2015); What We Do In the Shadows (2014); Highway to Hell (1991); Thao's Library (2015); Learning to Drive (2014)

It's been about a month of watching movies and not updating my blog. I've actually been writing and revising a short script for film festival submission, so I've been occupied. 

• Their Eyes Were Watching God (2005) Watched on DVD, sola. I read the book in high school as part of required reading, so decided to re-read it and watch the movie. It was a movie that basically floated like a dream. What I mean is, the feel of the movie was of a dreamy quality. I'm not sure that elaborated any better. You could tell that producer Oprah held it sacred. She even did an intro to the film. I would have thought Terrence Howard would have had a bigger role than what he did. I enjoyed seeing so many non-white actors and we need more of that. The film takes place partially in an all-black town, so that was reflected pretty well here. A couple things were changed from the book, but no gripe here as it was done for time/ease of storytelling. There was a weird scene in which Janie basically was the "other" in the Glades, taking in the different cultures, what some might call 'appropriating' and it seemed like they were tripping acid in the cinematography, which was a bit strange. It was an okay adaptation of the book.
  
• Barton Fink (1991) Watched on DVD with S.O. Andy. Another Coen Brothers film. There were some good names in this. I like that they didn't protect our main character, and we could see he was kind of a jerk. You definitely had to suspend disbelief, especially at the end. There were plenty of symbolic moments in the movie as well. Things that were more quirky than realistic. At some point, it was easy to tell what was going on, but getting there was quite the shocker. It was funny to see a writer portrayed, since Andy and I are both writers. Luckily, neither of us is like that. ;) I'd probably watch it again. They did a good job at giving us a variety of characters and that is the key to getting audience members to connect with your story.
  
• A Monster in Paris (2011) Watched on Netflix, sola on a sick day. I don't remember hearing about this film at all. I kept trying to determine if it was originally recorded in French or English. Hard to tell. It was alright. Hard to know who the protagonist was, which is important in screenwriting. It followed several different characters. Who was the one who changed the most is usually a key to figuring it out. The voice of the flea when singing, (yes, sounds bizarre, doesn't it?) could have been easily mistaken for female since it was a higher register. I believe it may have been Sean Lennon singing. Sorry, Sean. I mean, not that sounding like a female is a bad thing. Overall, it was a decent film. Typical 'monster film' as an imdb reviewer pointed out similarities to Phantom of the Opera, King Kong and Frankenstein. The song lyrics left something to be desired, but if they were originally in French, it could be that something was lost in translation. I probably wouldn't purchase it to watch again, but I'm glad I watched it and experienced a children's film outside the scope of Disney and Pixar.
  
• Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse (2015) Watched on DVD with S.O. Andy. Had a good time with this one. It did well on delivering on the concept of 'Scouts would be well-equipped with skills to defend themselves in time of emergency'. There were fun running jokes. There were relationships at stake amidst the chaos. The characters grew through their problems. There were homages to other horror films (that even I picked up on). Lot of popular music used to set the scenes. I would watch this again.
  
• La Mano de Satán (2010) Watched on DVD, sola. This was a hard film to watch. It was cheaply shot and you could tell. The actors over-acted and the concept had plot holes. There was unnecessary dialogue with the Satan character. SPOILER: The love interest didn't seem to be gay either and then all of a sudden was after our protagonist changed. Didn't make sense at all. END SPOILER. I would not watch this again and now understand why the movie was in the cheap bin at Homer's Music Store. :( Sad. The cover gave me great expectations.
  
• Deadpool (2016) Watched in theater with my S.O. Andy. Sometimes I feel like I am dating the Merc with the Mouth. I've been wanting to see the film since Ryan Reynolds leaked some footage... or somebody leaked footage... I really enjoyed it. The title sequence was pretty clever and the movie poked a lot of fun at itself and at pretty much everything, including Marvel and superhero movies. The relationship/cancer/sentimental stuff was blended nicely with the rest of the film. Fun characters. I enjoyed being a part of the world for as long as was allowed and will look forward to my next return. I would definitely watch it again.
  
  
• Freaks of Nature (2015) Watched on DVD with my S.O. Andy. I recommended the move for Andy just by seeing it at the store. It was an interesting concept. From IMDB: "In the town of Dillford, humans, vampires and zombies were all living in peace - until the alien apocalypse arrived. Now three teenagers-one human, one vampire and one zombie-have to team up to figure out how to get rid of the visitors." Yup, there is a lot going on, but it's handled well. Andy and I had a convo afterwards about the title. My take: MAYBE SPOILER? All the teenagers feel like freaks of nature, human or not. It's just part of growing up. END OF MAYBE SPOILER. I'd watch this again. Afterwards, Andy watched the alternate beginning and I'm glad they didn't go with it... too much backstory that is non-essential to the main story.
  
• What We Do In the Shadows (2014) Watched on DVD with my S.O. Andy. I picked this one up from the store because it's from the guys who did Flight of the Conchords so I knew it had to be good. And it was. It also had a 96% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and that's what ultimately got it for me. Mockumentaries are usually a pretty great time. And it comes from New Zealand. We've had good luck with movies from NZ. Andy said it wasn't what he expected, but he'd watch it again. I would too. Fun characters and situation.
  
• Highway to Hell (1991) Watched on DVD with my S.O. Andy. This was definitely not what I was expecting... but that's mostly because Andy told me Ben Stiller and his parents did cameos and I thought they were the main characters. It was interesting to see the different concepts of hell on screen. I thought it was creative. There were only a couple special effects for me that were obviously from the past. It was an okay film. I kind of think a remake might be interesting. But don't kill me for saying that....
  
• Thao's Library (2015) Watched on DVD sola. So I cried. A few times. Thanks Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media for promoting this film. Great reminder we can all make a difference. I found the narrator a little too mopey for me, but I'm sure there is a lot of soul-searching that goes on when one's sister commits suicide. The most interesting part of the film is Thao and her struggles but I can see why the narrator is included as she is telling the story of how she came to meet Thao. It was important to see that she returned home and the sadness was still waiting for her. So it wasn't totally for naught. I also thought it was interesting to hear Stephen (the photographer) talk about his perception of Elizabeth. Thao seems like an amazing person and it pisses me off that our country used Agent Orange. Shit like that is not excusable, wartime or not. And our own soldiers suffer effects too. Such bullshit. It was heartbreaking to see the children still being born with birth defects because we poisoned their food, water, vegetation... all so we could kill them better. Yeah, America is NOT the greatest country. But here I am. And yes, I'm happy to be here in my easy-peasy life. This documentary was a great reminder to do what you can, with what you have, where you are, as Eleanor Roosevelt said. Also as Thao said: "The good leaf covers the torn leaf. The torn leaf covers the shredded leaf." I didn't understand it at first, but once she explained it, it made sense. We can ALL help others. Thao is amazingly selfless, despite her physical limitations. Or perhaps because of her physical limitations. We should all try to be so amazing... It was an inspiring film. And like I said. I cried a few times, for many reasons.
   
• Learning to Drive (2014) Watched on DVD, sola.  I had to ask Google what ethnicity Ben Kingsley is because he was also Gandhi and I was hoping he wasn't just a white guy. IMDB tells me: "His father, Rahimtulla Harji Bhanji, is of Gujarati Indian descent". Okay, he gets a pass! IMDB also tells me of the woman who played his wife: "After her debut film Mississippi Masala (1991) became an art house hit, Sarita Choudhury was determined not to "go Hollywood," focusing her acting energies on independent film instead." That was a great Mira Nair film! (My friend got to meet her and gave me a signed copy of The Namesake (2006). Anyway the characters were relatable. They each had something they were going through. I enjoyed seeing Kingsley's character struggle, only because it made him more human. I was happy with the way it ended, but was nervous for a while. Good character-driven story. I'd probably watch again.
  
  
  So there you have my take on the movies I watched this past month. What do you think? Have you seen any? Did I persuade/dissuade you?