Movie Review Roundup

I have delusions that I'm someday going to review all the movies I watch the same way I have been reviewing the books that I read. Fortunately, those delusions don't extend as far as thinking I'm going to go back to do lengthy individual reviews on the all the movies that I watched in the last month or too.

So......let's do them lightening round format, starting from the movie I watched most recently, proceeding in reverse chronological order until I can't remember what movie I watched before.

Picture from IMDB

1) A Fistful of Dollars -- a re-watch, with the in-laws because my wife had never seen it. Completely awesome! Action ahead of it's time; Clint Eastwood owns the steely eyed gunslinger, Sergio Leone is the master of making the desert town feel desolate, dangerous, and lonely. Only real misstep is the awkward dubbing, but what do you expect from a movie by an Italian director, an American star, filmed in Spain. 4 out of 5 stars but a bonus point for being ahead of it's time and aging very well.

What did the in-laws think? Wife seemed to like it; Brother in-law said, at minute 5: "I'm not seeing any explosions or robot fights." but he stayed to the end, so something must have kept him watching. Mother in-law was favorably inclined, but then, it was her idea to watch it.

 

(Picture from IMDB, where else)

2) Crazy, Stupid, Love. Also watched with the in-laws, this time at my request. I really enjoyed this movie as well. I thought the characters were very strong, I liked that it didn't shy away from lots of relationships, and types of love some very natural, some very awkward. I also thought it was pretty funny. I have a few complaints, mostly about the dialogue--I thought a little editing to get the pithy phrases just right would have gone a long way, and I am very curious about the rating. It was clearly PG-13, but I wonder if it was cut down from an R? If so, I'd love to see the directors cut with the jokes they weren't allowed to tell re-included. 4 out of 5 stars.

What did the in-laws this? Wife liked it (thankfully) but everyone else thought it was "not what they expected." Apparently this is a very bad thing. *Sigh*

You guessed it: IMDB!

3) Bridesmaids. Watched on an airplane. A very funny movie, completely disgusting. I wish there had been more substance to the plot and theme, though. 3 out of 5 stars.

IMDB again!

4) Senna. Also watched on a plane. In case you needed positive proof that I"m interested in cinema independent of subject matter (this is not necessarily a good thing). I'm sure I wouldn't have given this a second look if it hadn't been a Sundance winner or some such. As it happens, I'm really glad I watched it. Senna was a fascinating character. Still don't much care about Formula 1 Racing, though. Objectively, 4 of 5 stars, but if racing is your thing I'm sure it would be off the charts.

Image NOT from IMDB. Image from hrgiger.com

5) Alien III. 6) Aliens. 7) Alien. I'm embarrassed to admit this, but until last month, I had never seen any of the Alien movies. We fixed that right up, didn't we, and just in time for Prometheus (although I suppose I need to watch Alien: Resurrection, now....). I actually thought they were all good. Aliens, of course, is the best being: terrifying, exciting as all hell, and masterfully plotted, designed, and filmed. Likewise, I agree with the whole entire world that Ripley is a fantastic character. I even liked Alien 3. I was prepared to hate it, but actually it's a pretty interesting exploration of morality, life, fear, and death. Also, *spoiler alert* it takes some kind of chutzpah to kill off in the opening minutes of Alien 3 all the characters that you worked so hard in Aliens to keep alive. Damn. Alien 3: 3 stars, Aliens: 5 stars, Alien: 4 stars.

8) Moneyball. I thought the movie was great! (4 out of 5 stars!) I also thought it didn't make a whole lot of sense in the details. See my review of the book for more details.

9) Bull Durham. For some reason, I have been on a huge sports movie kick lately. So I watched Bull Durham! It was great! (4 out of 5 stars)