Random Cinematic Ravings

[churnage]

1) Saw "Wanderlust" with Paul Rudd & Jennifer Aniston. Don't fork over $9 bucks to see it. It's OK, definitely worthy of a Redbox rental. But there's a moment of absolute comic genius from Paul Rudd... I don't think I laughed so hard at a movie in a long time.

2) Speaking of Paul Rudd, is he ever bad in a movie? Even in "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," which I hated, he was funny as the rental guy in the hut.

3) Best movie of the year was "Hugo." Should've won best picture, but it's hard to break the movie down into easy sound bites, which hurt it at the box office and in the Academy voting.

4) Interesting... 3 of the best movies of the year dealt with cinema's past -- "The Artist," "Hugo" & "Marilyn & Me."

5) Just watched "Never Cry Wolf," the 1983 flick with Charles Martin Smith based on the Farley Mowat memoir about a scientist who goes up near the Arctic Circle in Canada to study wolves. Majestic scenery. Strong concept done well. Well worth seeing it, if you get a chance. A quiet movie, but funny in parts.

6) Saw "Private Benjamin" for the first time the other week. What a mess of a movie! I was expecting more.

7) What have you seen recently?

[oz]

Paul Rudd is fabulous. Have heard some great things about Wanderlust; looking forward to seeing it.

It's funny how subjective films are. I have never enjoyed Woody Allen's work. Never. LOVED Midnight in Paris.

I've loved everything 'Scorsese' for years but thought Hugo was horribly boring/predictable/BORING! Seriously. I was upset that I spent money on it. It moved so slow and nothing surprised me. The acting was fine and it was visually successful but I didn't think the story was all it could have been.

I've had that experience, too, of seeing an older, 'successful' movie for the first time and wondering how it ever became let alone became successful. I want to say it probably worked in that time period but there are tons of movies that are dated that I still record every time I see them coming up on tv.

[churnage]

I liked "Midnight in Paris," too. Cool concept. Executed well. Kinda thin, though. But that's true for a lot of his movies.

Right before seeing "MiP", watched Woody's highly praised Vicky Christina Barcelona, which had come out a year or two before. Hated this movie. All through the movie is this intrusive narration that tells what's happening on the screen. Just really unnecessary.

Another pet peeve about Woody -- why does he have a character who's either writer or artist in almost every movie? I haven't seen all his movies, but almost every one that I have seen (from the late 70s on) involves a character who's a writer or artist. Anyone else notice that?

[mscherer]

churnage...

4) Interesting... 3 of the best movies of the year dealt with cinema's past -- "The Artist," "Hugo" & "Marilyn & Me."

I think Hollywood secretly longs for the old days of straight forward drama in the vein of Hitchcock, Wilder, etc. but doesn't yet have the Kahoonas to make that kind of movie yet. But, maybe, this is a sign they are ready to give real movies a go again. I for one am bored with CGI and the who-can-make-the-loudest-movie syndrome. I would love to see more thoughtful movies.

Another pet peeve about Woody -- why does he have a character who's either writer or artist in almost every movie? I haven't seen all his movies, but almost every one that I have seen (from the late 70s on) involves a character who's a writer or artist. Anyone else notice that?

Maybe this has something with the adage: write what you know

Keep Writing!