14. Poliwood (2003, Documentary)

14. Poliwood (2003, Documentary)

Very interesting examination about the increasingly blurred line between Politician and Celebrity. What struck me most was the insistence on the part of the many, many celebrities interviewed is the responsibility of each one of us to be informed and to make every effort to learn. I think there was a really interesting question that was, if not answered, at least raised for discussion. As celebrities who have the attention of the American people, do they have a greater responsibility to stay current and informed? Or do they have a greater responsibility to remain quiet about their own political views?

In particular, I really enjoyed discussion with musical artists. I could not believe that CSNY was BOOed for expressing run-of-the-mill CSNY views – the shift that we’ve made from music as a standard political tool to music being more media to consume (and now politics are media to consume as well). I would have liked a more in-depth look at that.

I really do appreciate the effort that the director obviously took in making sure that this movie at least attempted to be bipartisan. Michael Moore he is not (I think Moore is an irresponsible documentarian. I agree with him 9 times out of 10, but his films are just so insanely unbalanced).

On a positive note, watching two politically-charged movies in one day has totally revived my political fervor. Hello 2010 election season! I AM READY FOR YOU!

Final Grade: B

13. Milk (2008, Biopic)

13. Milk (2008, Biopic)

Nicely done. Especially great in terms of the aesthetic it presented. Very 1970s. Delicious acting from James Franco and Emile Hirsch in particular. Both were very convincing in who they were and what their characters believed. I hate, hate hated Diego Luna’s character ... but I think that is what was intended by the filmmaker. I just couldn't get over how beautiful Franco and Penn looked together.

Overall, I found the movie to be very respectfully and honestly made even as it dragged somewhat. Actually, that is putting it lightly. My girlfriend and I both found ourselves saying "This is a really great movie ... but it is SO LONG!" We both reacted emotionally to this film, which is also important as it is part of our ... heritage, I guess you could say.

It was very hard to watch Milk dragged away from his moral center (Franco) – and what is sadder is that we only saw the soul-diminishing rise to the top and not the redemption, the return to the flock. I understand that that is part of why this was such a tragedy, that so much of Milk's plans would go unrealized as his life was cut painfully short.

Final Grade: A-

12. Away We Go (2009, Comedy)

Movie #12: Away We Go (2009, Comedy)

Bert and Verona, a long-term yet unmarried couple, moved from Chicago to live near Bert's parents. Three months before her due date, his parents (Catherine O'Hara, I love you! You have chosen some fantastic roles in recent years!) announce that they are going to move ... to Belgium. Longing for an extended family for their daughter, Bert and Verona embark on a journey in order to find the perfect place to raise a child.

I think what surprised me most about this movie is how well it works as en ensemble piece. As they travel from place to place, they meet family (both close and distant relatives) and friends in a series of vignettes. Allison Janey is a hilarious and wholly inappropriate former boss; Maggie Gyllenhaal is a free-breast-feeding, orgasmic-birth-pushing earth mother type. Seriously ... I don't think I've ever seen Maggie Gyllenhaal so, so funny.

In between destinations, John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph do a rather wonderful job of showing us Bert and Verona's love story. And ultimately the audience is reminded that love is really about people holding each other up, supporting each other through the slings and arrows of existence (wow, dramatic much?). Seriously, though. That's what love is, and this movie demonstrates that lesson beautifully.

My only bone to pick with the movie was the subplot about Verona's inability to deal with the death of her parents many years before. It just seemed too typical, I suppose, an unnecessary addition to a movie that was already filled to the brim with feelings and BIG TRUTHS. I came around, though, and found myself a little bit choked up as that particular thread reached its admittedly inevitable and predictable conclusion.

I laughed a lot and cried a little ... and felt better about the plight of humanity, just from watching two people do everything that they could to be good to one another.

Final Grade: A+

11. Bride Wars (2009, Comedy)

Movie #11: Bride Wars (2009, Comedy)

Obviously, you don't go into watching a movie like Bride Wars expecting Oscar-caliber cinematic experience. It's not like I was anticipating a Slumdog Millionaire rival or anything. You don't watch it to be moved or challenged - you merely want a way to pass some time. That said, Bride Wars was pretty upsetting in that it represents so much of what is wrong with the culture around marriage today and what we bring our little girls up to believe.

The story: two little girls are best friends and one day see a wedding at the Plaza Hotel. Years later, they are still best friends who get engaged within days of each other and both want weddings at – you guessed it – the Plaza Hotel! On the same day! War on! Of course, after they play a series of wedding-ruining pranks on one another with various degrees of hilarity and success, they realize that a wedding just isn’t right without your best pal standing up there with you.

The problem is that this movie sells the same kind of half-assed feminism as the Sex in the City franchise. Yes, there are great messages about not settling for the wrong person simply because you want to want to get married and about not having your wedding to please your parents or show how much money you have or one-up your friends … but it still places The Perfect Wedding (even though we are taught that “there’s no such thing as perfect”) up on a pedestal. Marriage is often treated as “the next level’ rather than a serious commitment. It is not some video game level to be achieved and conquered – and movies like this that could make a serious statement on the issue (while still getting laughs, a la Juno or I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry) and don’t are just disappointing, I suppose. “Hold out for Mr. Right rather than settle for Mr. Right Now” is a great message – but wouldn’t “Be fine with yourself even if it means being single” be a much better one?

End rant.

What this movie does do well is stay true to its genre: comedy. There were several moments that could have been done with dramatic overtones and the director and actors chose instead to go for comedy – for which I was truly grateful. I also liked watching Anne Hathaway’s dancing.

Final Grade: C+

10. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 (2008, Dramedy)

Movie #10: The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 (2008, Dramedy)

Okay, okay. I admit that one of my favorite parts of my job is that it "requires" me (i.e. doesn't actually require me to, but I prefer to phrase it that way) to stay current on Young Adult literature. So that I can recommend books to kids. Of course. For no other reason do I feverishly anticipate each new addition to Kate Brian's Private series, stalking Amazon for release dates and then hurriedly rushing out to the nearest chain bookstore the day it is released. Nope. No personal enjoyment there. At all. At least it is somewhat relevant to my job -- so I feel like I can get away with reading books I might otherwise feel like I need to hide (as, you know, a teacher of literature and someone who is not, in fact, 12). The same can be said of why I watch Degrassi: The Next Generation and compulsively decided to buy copies of both The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and its sequel!

So it's not like I had high hopes for this movie. It falls firmly into the junk food category of my media intake. I'm aware that it's certainly not doing me any favors in the intellectual development department, but sometimes it's just what you want. Comfort food for the brain. Anyway, I had a snowday and thought it just might hit the spot. And it sort of did.

I really enjoyed the first movie, and I generally really like movies that feature separate storylines that sort of weave in and out of one another. And I like friendship. The second movie did not go down quite as well as the first, though, and I can't quite grasp why. I think some of the weirdness might come from the fact that while the first movie was an adaptation of the first book, the sequel was an adaptation largely of book #4 (and including elements of storylines from books 2 and 3) -- and maybe that was unwise of the writers (though I can see why they would choose to do that). I haven't read anything but the first book -- I probably should. For my research of course.

Some of the storylines and characters did not evolve as much as I would have liked. Carmen (played by America Ferrara) is still dealing with blended-family issues (though this time, it is her mother who is making her feel left out) and a severe lack of self-esteem ... she has not developed much of a sense of self yet, which is frustrating as a viewer. At least in this movie her character gets a little play. Lena (Alexis Bledel) has probably grown the most as a character since the first movie, but seems to force herself back into who her character used to be (and is helped along by her friends, who uncomfortably insist in a pivotal scene that she is not strong enough to do what she has to do alone ... mmm, empowerment!). Bridget (Blake Lively) continues to be the glamorous one, whose family woes are never resolved or appropriately develop. And is sometimes a very serious soccer player and sometimes an aspiring archaeologist (who, of course, makes a HUGE find). Always inconsistent. And then Tibby still gets the crappiest storyline.

And, of course, all of this is told through dialogue as cliched and contrived as one might imagine.

But sometimes, it's just what you're in the mood for, which is why I gave this a Final Grade: B- (instead of the C-area grade it deserved)

This movie was watched on 2/10/10.
This review was posted on February 18th but was postdated for continuity.

9. Temple Grandin (2010, Biopic)

Movie #9: Temple Grandin (2010, Biopic)

I had been growing discouraged in this movie project. After Observe and Report and New York City Serenade can you really blame me? All that frustration went out the window when my roommate DVRed HBO's newest straight-to-TV masterpiece, a biopic on the extraordinary life of Temple Grandin. I first read about Professor Grandin in the title essay of Oliver Sacks' An Anthropologist on Mars several years ago and was always interested in her story. I never quite got around to reading one of her many books, though.


Well done, HBO. This is how you make a movie! To quote from my original notes, I thought that this movie was "beautiful. Beautifully written, beautifully acted (Claire Danes -- very, very well done!) and beautifully shot." Seriously, I have to give the biggest thumbs up to Claire Danes, who demonstrated what it means to commit to character. My girlfriend asked me, "How much time do you think Claire Danes spent studying or talking to Temple?" and I can only think "...a lot." This was one of those instances where you see the actor becoming the character -- seamless. The supporting cast also did a wonderful job (big ups to Catherine O'Hara and Julia Ormond -- beautiful performances as well).

Of course, as with any movie, what is most important is the story that is told and how the writer and director decide to tell it. The audience is never meant to feel sorry for Grandin. Rather than pushed toward pity, I felt called toward compassion (you like the alliteration?). I was reminded of the tremendous power of curiosity and the true necessity of having a willingness to understand others.

Final Grade: A

This movie was watched on 2/07/10.
This review was written on February 18th, but postdated for continuity.

8. Observe and Report (2009, Comedy)

Movie #8: Observe and Report (2009, Comedy)

I love comedy. I love Seth Rogen. I did not love this movie. Some of Rogen's most recent projects (this little number as well as Pineapple Express; I cannot speak for the others as I have not seen them) have been really disappointing.

I can see why a certain subgroup of the world's population (straight males, ages 14-20) might enjoy this movie: lots of "guy humor" (bodily functions and sex jokes), gratuitous shots of Anna Faris' cleavage, a familiar setting ... but the movie leaves a lot to be desired in terms of Rogen's character development.

I get that this is comedy and is not supposed to be anything particularly introspective -- but good comedy can do that. In Freaks and Geeks (and even in Knocked Up), there was some apparent character growth. Yes, this is more a fault of the writers than of the actor, but Rogen's been working for long enough that he should know better than to choose such an awful script.

As I watched this movie, I heard line after line that I was sure would wind up being repeated by drunken frat boys nationwide ... and I don't think that's a great image to have in your mind (unless, of course, you are watching the timeless Animal House).

This movie was mostly too much fucked-up brand humor ... so much so that it stopped being funny and was instead just fucked up. And it dragged on forever.

Final Grade: D+
This movie was watched on 2/07/10.
This blog was posted online February 13th, but was postdated for continuity.

7. New York City Serenade (2007, Drama)

Movie # 7: New York City Serenade (2007, Drama)

Wow. This movie was a spectacular disappointment. I mean ... it is just awe-inducing bad. I love New York City and I even have a (not-so) secret soft spot for Freddie Prinze Jr.'s weird, weird movie choices. This one was just a little too off, though. Even for me.

The movie seemed like the director was trying to color by numbers, following the style of those who have had success with other movies. The problem is that he has achieved a really inconsistent (and just plain weird) effect. At times (mostly when dealing with alcoholism or drug use), he was clearly going for a gritty Requiem for a Dream (now THAT is a killer new york movie!) effect, while at other time the film would slightly start to resemble an American Pie type movie (only not that funny). Honestly, it was just weird. Too weird. Not endearing weird.

Particularly painful is how hard these actors are all clearly working. And I think they might even be doing the best they can -- hell, the best that anyone could do (well, maybe not -- Freddie Prinze Jr. and Chris Klein are the two leads) -- with what little they were given (to be specific: lousy storylines, lousy dialogue, and obnoxious, flat characters furiously striving to be three-dimensional). The only really redeeming quality of this movie is that it would lend itself quite nicely to a drinking game. Bottoms up!

Final Score: D- (I feel it is just so not remarkable enough to earn the lowest grade)

This movie was watched on 2/6/10.
This review was written online on February 13th, but was postdated for continuity.

6. I Love You, Man (2009, Comedy)

Movie #6: I Love You, Man (2009, Comedy)

Very, very funny.

I knew it would be enjoyable to watch, since Jason Segel and Paul Rudd are both so hilarious and two of my favorites. I've been loving Paul Rudd since the Clueless days and Segel since Freaks and Geeks and I'm thrilled so see how much these two comedians have been working together in the aftermath of the Apatow explosion.

Anyway, the movie. The first 30 minutes were actually mildly uncomfortable to watch. I just felt so sad for Paul Rudd's character -- he was really lonely! All he wanted was a male friend! He had NO friends! None! It tugged on my bleeding heart. The dialogue was witty and there were bountiful awkward moments (a surefire way to make me love your movie).

For all its good points, though, something was just off about the whole thing. I think that the writers may have tried to integrate too many subplots. They made the movie drag out and took away from character development.

Final Grade: B

This movie was watched on 2/6/10.
This post was written on February 13th, but was postdated for continuity.