February 02, 2007
the devil wears prada
I really enjoyed the movie's Miranda, Nigel, and Emily. Unfortunately, I didn't like Andrea and her quasi-journey into the world of work. Part of the problem was that she didn't really go on a journey. She jumped from being uninterested in succeeding at her job to interested, and then back to uninterested. Basically, she ended up where she began and the movie was about an unfortunate detour.
By the way, how will Andrea and Nate share late night grilled cheese sandwhiches when he's living in Boston and she's working at the New York Mirror?
Posted by charity at 12:55 PM | Comments (0)
January 20, 2007
the girl from paris
Basically, the movie caught my eye because of its setting in France. I was then sold by the trailer's beautiful scenery. Set in the Vercors region of France, the story had similar feelings to another favorite film, Kitchen Stories. The young agricultural expert comes to take over an aging farmer's property. There were some excellent running gags and the movie touches a bit on some of the tough issues of farming in general and in Europe specifically. Keeping in mind that I have an affinity for seeing France on a movie screen, I found this movie quite enjoyable.
Posted by charity at 08:50 AM | Comments (2)
January 05, 2007
the cabinet of dr. caligari
I saw the DVD cover of The Cabinet of Dr Caligari, and it reminded me of Edward Scissorhands. Sure enough, accoring to Wikipedia, Edward was based on the somnambulist, Cesare.
Throughout the movie, I kept thinking, "this was made in 1919?!" Considered one of the first art and horror films in cinematic history, it's a murder mystery set in the distortions of carnival shows and insane asylums. The color tones of the scenes are great and the forever off-kilter set gives a hint of the ending -- though you won't be able to guess it. There were parts where Jeannie and I laughed and others that I found kind of freaky. Don't watch it alone.
Posted by charity at 11:51 PM | Comments (0)
November 12, 2006
the Duplass brothers
I have quickly become a Duplass Brothers fan.
My general affinity for low-budget, relationship and character-driven movies drew me to The Puffy Chair. With the purpose of picking up a puffy chair bought on e-Bay for their father's birthday, Josh, his girlfriend Emily and his brother Rhett roadtrip from New York to Atlanta. What made it real to me, was that there wasn't a hero in the movie. Rather each person has moments of insight and moments of pettiness as their relationships unfold and unravel.
The DVD also has the Duplass Brother's short films. My favorite was "This is John", which you can watch here. A short film about identity via the tone of your answering machine message. Brilliant! I wish Chapel Hill had an outlet for short films...
Posted by charity at 10:20 PM | Comments (2)
November 01, 2006
friends with money
Not a great movie - I was glad that it was only an hour and a half long. But I did like one of the last lines:
"I just... I umm... I guess I have some issues... I, you know... people... sorta ... problems ... ummm ... I have them."
Amen!
Posted by charity at 10:23 PM | Comments (3)
August 19, 2006
elling
"A bizarre Norwegian Odd Couple." - Andy
A Norwegian film, it felt a lot like Kitchen Stories, which I loved. It was a little slow, but I think it was supposed to be like that. The story of two mental health patients who have one opportunity to make it in the real world. Elling is the flawed character who's a liar, selfish and kind of a whiner, but you still love him. Kjell is the caretaker who isn't able to express himself very well and ends up beating his head against the wall a lot. He shows compassion not through words, but by picking people up and carrying them to where they need to be. Both begin to learn how to express themselves and to share their friendship with others.
"In the end it's all about sauerkraut." - Andy
Posted by charity at 10:09 AM | Comments (0)
August 15, 2006
mad hot ballroom
After long days of moving and unpacking this was the perfect movie to watch. It had a similar feeling to Spellbound as the documentary follows three schools to the ballroom dancing championships in New York City. It was fun seeing the insights of fifth graders and to hear the things they've picked up from the soundbites they hear. We laughed and rooted for our favorite team, the largely Dominican school. I would have liked further stories about each of the students, though there was a bit of that at the end. None the less, I tried to convince Andy to take ballroom dancing when it was all over. Merengue anyone?
Posted by charity at 01:44 PM | Comments (4)
August 07, 2006
on a clear day
From our favorite production company, Focus Features, On a Clear Day is another great find. Taking place in Scotland, Frank finds himself unemployed after 32 faithful years of service to his company. He not only has to face the world without a job, but also ends up facing the emotional hurts he never dealt with in the past. In order to do this, he decides to push his physical capabilities to the edge as he attempts to swim the English Channel. With the help of a great cast of friends (including the welcome return of Billy Boyd) this was a good film with heart and laughter.
Posted by charity at 12:57 PM | Comments (2)
July 19, 2006
everything is illuminated
Wonderful! The film looks at where history lives and how that history is translated across generations and cultures; the history of a nation, a family, an individual. Other than wondering whether or not Elijah Wood's glasses gave him a headache, I was taken in by the story with its laughter, friendship, memories and, of course, seeing eye b--ch.
Posted by charity at 08:46 PM | Comments (5)
June 27, 2006
the family stone
Interesting family dynamics and Claire Daines playing a confident, non-awkward person made this film better than Shopgirl, but only three stars on the Netflix rating. The movie started to grapple with the heavy issues of death, homosexuality and identity, but never really brought anything to fruition. Oh well, I always like the intuitive-drifter characters and Luke Wilson provided that in this film. He delivered my favorite line to the straight-laced Sarah Jessica Parker:
"You've gotta a freak flag, you just don't fly it."
Posted by charity at 10:01 AM | Comments (0)
June 11, 2006
shopgirl
Ever since My So Called Life, I've been intrigued by Claire Daines. She knows how to play the painfully awkward character to the point that you want to keep watching in hopes she can get comfortable in her own skin. Daines plays a similar character in Shopgirl. Unfortunately, while the movie tried to dive into serious issues, it never made it out of the shallow end. There were some great camera shots, sets, clothes and colors, but the relationships didn't always make sense to me. Not necessarily because of the obvious reasons (like age), but because we never saw where the spark or connection took place. Instead the characters engaged in one or two awkward conversations and then had sex. Boo. Perhaps the book is better.
Posted by charity at 12:06 PM | Comments (5)
June 09, 2006
arrested development
We are almost done with the first season of Arrested Development and have thoroughly enjoyed it. The story of the rise and fall ... and then the rise ... and then the fall again ... of the Bluth family has been addicting. The show takes the reality of the dysfunctional family to the extreme from the "never nude" brother-in-law to the I-found-religion-in-prison father. I find the storyline of one cousin having a crush on the other a little too strange and hope it resolves itself soon. But otherwise, I've thoroughly enjoyed the twists and turns of the plot and the oddity of it all. Plus, it actually seems like the characters are changing and growing as they experience new things, like the youngest brother trying to leave his controlling mother but not knowing how to deal with the insecurity of pulling away. This may sound like a heavy storyline, but don't misunderstand me, it's just as quirky as the black-balled magician brother who can't find the man he made disappear.
Posted by charity at 11:30 PM | Comments (2)
May 21, 2006
monsoon wedding
It was a good movie and if I watched it again, I would think it great. The movie gave me insight into Indian culture and gave me a desire to know more. It gives rise to discussion of arranged marriages, Western influence on culture and the ties of family. With laughable and cryable moments, I would recommend this movie to anyone.
Posted by charity at 11:16 AM | Comments (1)
May 20, 2006
new category
After the conversation about the movie Junebug a few posts earlier, I decided that it might be a fun experiment to have a "2 cent review" category. I've replaced "Netflix Queue" with "2 Cent Review" on the sidebar, which will list the recent movies that have exited the queue. The movie links will be to my 2 cent review (probably just a few sentences) in hopes that others would post their 2 cents.
If there's a movie you haven't seen, you can hear what other folks have said and vice versa. It'll be an experiment and we'll see if it works!
Posted by charity at 11:19 AM | Comments (0)
May 15, 2006
junebug memoirs
Per Jane's inquiry about my thoughts on Junebug and Memoirs of a Geisha...
I thought Junebug was a good movie. I'm not sure if I can say I "liked" it though. I didn't like it because of the crass sexuality in the art. But I thought the depiction of the family was fascinating. It hit home in that I saw images of my family in theirs. Strangely, I related to Ashley a lot; someone who tended to be hopeful and excited about life, but was often met with disinterest and apathy. I needed a bit of counseling after watching it!
I thought Memoirs of a Geisha was pretty good. I would have thought it more beautiful if we had watched it on a big screen rather than our 20"! The storyline was ok, but wasn't particularly satisfied with the ending.
We just watched The Life of Emile Zola which I would recommend for historical-fiction-but-based-on-a-true-story buffs. The first 30 minutes were a bit boring, but things got more interesting after that!
Posted by charity at 11:20 AM | Comments (6)