30
Jun
Tuesday Media Roundup #40
Rounding out the first half of the year…
The Girlfriend Experience – Looking back on it I can see some of the points it was trying to make and, but while I was watching it I really didn’t care. It was all kind of an uninvolved jumbled mess.
Casino Royale – Lots of fun action sequences here. I liked the introduction being done in black and white and a nice way to show history. I also liked the impression of insecurity in Bond underneath his cocky, in-control presentation to everyone.
The Bucket List – This one surprised me. I thought it was going to be all about them going out and doing trivial crap. That’s all the trailer and reviews really mentioned. Instead that was just a backdrop for quality of life at the end and learning what’s important.
I Could Never Be Your Woman – Entertaining movie about age issues with people in the tv and movie industry both on screen and in their relationships. I thought the relationships were well played throughout and the casting for Michelle Pfeiffer’s daughter was great!
Pittsburgh – I’d watch Jeff Goldblum in the Music Man; that’s what I learned from watching this. Aside from that it’s kind of an odd pseudo-documentary. It feels partly real and partly fiction and that makes it feel almost invasive at times.
The Nanny Diaries – The opening and closing visual presentations in this movie were very clever. The rest of the movie is entertaining but it’s not too special, except where you get to spot the Mary Poppins references littered throughout the film. They are musical (not sung), visual, and scattered throughout the story.
Shutter – A Japanese ghost/horror movie but centered around Americans. It’s fairly suspenseful at times and the story told is pretty good. The story of the ghost and how it acts are the main reason to see this.
300 – Well it looked pretty cool. And since it’s all told as a story being told, the embellishments told are well represented and that was entertaining, but it all just seemed so ridiculous.
The Accidental Husband – This was less believable than most romantic comedies. For being out for revenge, the male lead didn’t seem so vengeful. In fact he seemed to like her pretty much from the get go. Uma Thurman’s drunk scene was pretty funny though.
Untraceable – I think this movies wins for most realistic use of technical jargon. Not to say that it’s all correct, but the sentences made some sense and weren’t far off the marl. It kind of falls down towards the end to make it all work out, but I still think it’s pretty decent.
Jump! – I know jumping rope is hard, but these kids make so much of it look easy. The things they try to attempt and how far they push themselves is great to watch. I join them in hoping to see jump rope as an Olympic sport some day.
Zack and Miri Make a Porno – So much fun and pretty much what I expect from Kevin Smith. Great dialog and entertaining characters. It’s also a good look at making low budget films, probably inspired from his making of Clerks. Yay for seeing Jeff Anderson not as Randal and Jason Mewes not as Jay!