As it turns out, having as much free time as I have had recently equals becoming an avid movie theater-goer. In the past two weeks, I have seen four movies and my little blogging brain has been going crazy trying to figure out what to write about each one. The pressure is almost unbearable so I've decided to cover all of them in one blog. Here they are in order of when I saw them.
Funny People
Oh Judd Apatow how I love you and what you've done for raunchy comedies. That being said, I was not crazy about this movie. I had a feeling from the previews that I would feel a little differently about this one than his past summer hits, "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" and "Knocked Up." "Funny People" has a different look than those movies and a more serious story line. There are plenty of laughs, some boobs, and lots of dick jokes, but not as many as usual. Since I love Apatow and all of the people in this movie so much, I think it's worth another try once it comes out on DVD. A good movie, but not as solid, or quote-worthy, as his previous efforts.
The Ugly Truth
At first, it seems like your basic chick flick, but any guy who gets dragged to this one on a date night will be pleasantly surprised. Perhaps knowing that "Funny People" wouldn't adequately fill this particular void in our lives this summer, this movie brings the raunch. I laughed out loud more during this movie than any in recent memory. Katherine Heigl plays an uptight single TV producer who takes dating advice from a real guy's guy, the ruggedly handsome Gerard Butler. As usual in chick flicks, most of the jokes are based on the inherent differences between Mars and Venus. What sets it apart are moments like a dinner scene involving Heigl and a pair of "special" panties that rivals a certain "When Harry Met Sally..." scene. Ultimately predictable or not, the movie is a winner.
(500) Days of Summer
Finally. A movie I can rate as 5 stars on Netflix. Yes, maybe I just gave away my review, but in the spirit of "(500) Days of Summer" I guess I'll do things a little out of order.
This adorable movie tells yet another story of "boy meets girl," but in a way all its own. It doesn't bother with chronological order, but instead jumps around, for example, from day 290 back to day 1 of the relationship between Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and Summer (Zooey Deschanel). It's like "Memento" with brighter colors and more smiles.
What makes the story special is that it makes you really care about the characters and feel what they're feeling. At one point in the movie, I thought I might be in love with Summer because of all the beauty shots sprinkled in the movie. You feel as enamored with her as Tom, even though you know a little more about the future than he does.
Speaking of Tom - who knew that "3rd Rock From the Sun" would grow up to be so...dreamy? I would have lost that bet, but I probably would have been a good sport about it once I saw him. Get this guy some more work.
Creative, quirky, adorable, sad, a great soundtrack, and set in my future home of L.A. - what more could I ask for? See this movie.
Julie & Julia
Amy Adams? Love. Meryl Streep? Love. This movie? Like. The movie goes back and forth between the story of how Julia Child became a great chef and the story of how, 40 years later, New Yorker Julie Powell finds a calling. Julie is an office drone who goes to work every day with no sense of fulfillment. She decides to cook her way through Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" and blog about it. While I certainly understand and identify with Julie's twentysomething disillusionment with her non-career, watching her cook and blog isn't really that interesting.
Julia's story, which of course is set up to mirror Julie's, on the other hand, is actually pretty interesting. Streep is Julia Child - no question. From the way she carries herself to the accent; she's completely believable. The only thing I had trouble believing was Stanley Tucci as her husband. Tucci played her fabulously gay co-worker in "The Devil Wears Prada" and here it was hard to believe in his heterosexuality.
In the end, if the movie had been called "Julia," I think I would have enjoyed it more. Great actresses and beautiful food don't make for a bad night, just not a great night.
No comments:
Post a Comment