In the past few weeks, I have seen 4 very different movies...all of which I have enjoyed.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
First of all, it was too long! Three hours was just too much. It dragged in places. It needed better editing.
And then there was the high level of suspension of disbelief that was necessary, since there were so many things that just couldn't ever make sense. Like: how was it that Benjamin, as he grew younger, had his body (skeleton, skin, organs) shrink into the size of a 2 year-old. When he was born, he was baby-size but had physical attributes of an old man. That was fine. Reasonable. At the other end of his life, the physical part made no sense at all.
But, I liked this movie in general. It asked interesting questions. It made me think. It was beautifully filmed. The acting was very good.
The next film was Doubt, with Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Meryl Streep.
You can't really find finer actors than these.
Growing up as a Catholic, this movie felt very real to me. Meryl Streep reminded me of all the mean nuns that I had ever known. Interestingly, she played the principal in a Catholic school and she was like every (and I mean every) Catholic school principal that I encountered growing up. Critical, suspicious, caring more about quiet and discipline in their students than actually caring about the student.
The story was about the suspicions of this school principal about possible sexual impropriety between a priest and a student. The question of what has actually happened is never answered and the viewer is asked to decide for themselves.
Truly, a fascinating movie.
Next up was Slumdog Millionaire.
This was the best of the movies, by far. This was one of the most powerful movies of the year.
It is the story of a young man, born in the slums of Mumbai, with his life going downhill from there. Death, kidnapping, thievery, loss of friends, etc. And then he goes on a gameshow, the Indian version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire, and wins. The story is told in the present, with flashbacks.
The acting is superb. The story is intriguing and sometimes endearing. The ending is happy. The look into the problems of this important country is fascinating and ferocious.
If you don't see any other movie, see this one.
Last night, we went to see the movie, Milk. Sad. Uplifting. Powerful.
Harvey Milk begins the movie by being quoted as saying he was 40 years old and had done nothing worth remembering. By the age of 48, he had made such a huge impact on his community and on the gay rights movement, and that continues today.
Again, great acting. The shaky, blurry camera work was a little disorienting for me. The PDA made us a little uncomfortable. The way the movie showed how one had to work their way through the political system was realistic and insightful. The quiet but strong personality of Harvey Milk was well-portrayed.
It made one wonder where his successor was in this last round of anti-gay legislation in California. We need a leader on this issue again.
This movie is inspirational.
Still on my list of movies to see are Frost/Nixon, I've Loved You For So Long, The Tale of Dersperaux, and Defiance.
Recent Comments