21.01.05 recently seen
Here are a few disorganized notes about films I’ve recently viewed. As , I’d rather leave the care of writing actual reviews to those who do it well. But here are my thoughts nonetheless, in particular disorder.
I loved , but it’s probably my least favorite of Almodovar’s movies. It’s hard to say why, because I can never really put my finger on why I’ve always liked his movies so much. There’s something about the way he can usually make me deeply relate to characters and situations that are completely alien and surreal to me. After watching one of his movies, I usually feel like I’ve grown a tiny bit, the same feeling I get when returning from travel, albeit on a smaller scale. I know that’s a tall order, and I’m not sure if it’s the delay in seeing this one that over-whetted my appetite for it, but it just didn’t engage me. It was just plain entertainment.
, sadly, was every bit the piece of putrid crap I expected it to be. It wasn’t even good for mindless action scenes, of which there were about two, so badly shot you couldn’t see anything. It wasn’t even good for nice hottie shots of Garner in her red suit, which she only dons twice. Huge plot holes, a terrible, terrible, watered-down, dumbed-down treatment of Elektra’s turn from “Evil” to “Good”, and mostly unimpressive villains (which is the true test of a good superhero movie, IMO). I should have left after the first 20 minutes, which were ok.
What to say about ? One of my favorite types of films, an all-dialog movie, brilliantly pulled off by a great cast, Clive Owen being particularly stellar. The only reason why I’m reluctant to recommend it high and loud is that I’m not sure these dialog movies are everyone’s cup of tea. But most of you like Woody Allen, right? A worthy renter, unless, like me, you like to have seen most of the movies nominated for Oscars each year.
Looking forward to seeing Hotel Rwanda, Sin City, In Good Company, House of Flying Daggers, Oceans Twelve, and What the Bleep do we Know?