The LMM and I see a lot of movies. Thought that we would make highly idiosyncratic judgments of eight movies we have seen that are still in theaters.
42: M: Very good. Solid baseball movie, good acting, actually allows Branch Rickey to be greedy, the real reason he wanted to break the color line. All that was necessary for desegregation was for people to be optimally self-interested, instead of bent on hurting others. LMM: Very good, story works on several levels, relationship between JR and wife was plausible and involving.
Great Gatsby: M: Appalling. As bad a movie as I have ever seen. LMM: Bad, but how bad can it be with Leo de Cap? Would leave M in a minute if LdC invited her to a party, or anything else.
Iron Man 3: M: Very good. Very very good, in fact. LMM: Ditto, very good.
Life of PI: M: Very good. Visually stunning. Story is bizarre, of course, but you have to pay attention. LMM: Okay, but not great. Hard to follow.
Mud: M: Very good. Quirky unexpected violence in an almost "Sling Blade" vein. LMM: Ditto, very good. UPDATE: LMM gives it more of a "meh."
Oblivion: M: Very good. The premise is complex, but the way it is filmed works. LMM: Appalling. Very confusing, terrible. Would leave M in a minute, however, if Tom Cruise called on the communicator.
Sapphires: M: Very good. Not sure if the "great white man saves black folks" genre really needs another entry, but this one is well done. And the connection with Viet Nam, and having the "black folks" be Australian was all very interesting. The scene with black aboriginals sitting around a fire in the outback watching news of MLK's murder was arresting. And the songs and the ladies are cute. LMM: Ditto, very good, good performances.
Star Trek: Into Darkness. M: Very good . Several parts are too long, and the implausibilities (Kirk needs to talk to Scotty, but he fired Scotty. So Kirk calls Scotty on his cell phone device....from another star system....without any delays in communication. And etc.) LMM: Would leave M in a minute if Chris Pine called her on HIS cell phone device.
42: M: Very good. Solid baseball movie, good acting, actually allows Branch Rickey to be greedy, the real reason he wanted to break the color line. All that was necessary for desegregation was for people to be optimally self-interested, instead of bent on hurting others. LMM: Very good, story works on several levels, relationship between JR and wife was plausible and involving.
Great Gatsby: M: Appalling. As bad a movie as I have ever seen. LMM: Bad, but how bad can it be with Leo de Cap? Would leave M in a minute if LdC invited her to a party, or anything else.
Iron Man 3: M: Very good. Very very good, in fact. LMM: Ditto, very good.
Life of PI: M: Very good. Visually stunning. Story is bizarre, of course, but you have to pay attention. LMM: Okay, but not great. Hard to follow.
Mud: M: Very good. Quirky unexpected violence in an almost "Sling Blade" vein. LMM: Ditto, very good. UPDATE: LMM gives it more of a "meh."
Oblivion: M: Very good. The premise is complex, but the way it is filmed works. LMM: Appalling. Very confusing, terrible. Would leave M in a minute, however, if Tom Cruise called on the communicator.
Sapphires: M: Very good. Not sure if the "great white man saves black folks" genre really needs another entry, but this one is well done. And the connection with Viet Nam, and having the "black folks" be Australian was all very interesting. The scene with black aboriginals sitting around a fire in the outback watching news of MLK's murder was arresting. And the songs and the ladies are cute. LMM: Ditto, very good, good performances.
Star Trek: Into Darkness. M: Very good . Several parts are too long, and the implausibilities (Kirk needs to talk to Scotty, but he fired Scotty. So Kirk calls Scotty on his cell phone device....from another star system....without any delays in communication. And etc.) LMM: Would leave M in a minute if Chris Pine called her on HIS cell phone device.
3 comments:
Mike,
I'm sensing a theme here. You know that "sight-seeing trip" that LMM keeps asking to take in Beverly Hills? Don't do it. I sense trouble.
A review disagrees that Iron Man 3 is good. In particular, "it's the same old liberal Hollywood crap. Because we can't even have a villain who actually looks anything like the people who actually hate us, Hollywood, whether in Avatar or Robert Redford's latest flop, always circles back to the same old lefty bogeyman: the military-industrial complex. It's lazy, it's stupid, it's cowardly, and in Iron Man 3 it robs the audience of what could have been a brilliant performance by Ben Kingsley."
This is actually the primary reason I don't go see a lot of thrillers. The villian is never, you know, actual villians. It's always amoral US government officials. It's, also, the reason Hollywood elites hate movies like Acts of Valor.
Well, Ken, that review is wrong, and I'm right. And Ben Kingsley's performance WAS brilliant. And the military-industrial complex is NOT a bogeyman, it's actually a real problem. So, that review really sucked. Feel free not to share any more things that suck.
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