1) Ladder 49: The trailer made it look alright, at least in the way that a sap like me can appreciate. But they really didn't hit the mark at all, it just kind of keeps going and trying to make you feel something or give a damn and I really couldn't. And usually I like Joaquin. And the fact that it was filmed on location in Baltimore is only utilized sparingly, actually mentioning the name of the city maybe twice in the whole movie and namechecking fictitious crabhouses. I wouldn't be surprised if they picked the location based on the fact that Baltimore has so many buildings that they could cheaply burn down for the movie. Mayor O'Malley has a little cameo in there, too. Is Baltimore really as Catholic as the movie depicts it? My dad says it was when he was growing up but I never really got that impression, and the movie makes it look like Boston-level Catholic.

2) After Sunset: Short of actual nudity, this movie is enormously generous to the demographic I will refer to here as "people who have a boner for Salma Hayek". Like, way beyond just the usual obligatory PG-13 cleavage shots. I really think they could've increased their box office take significantly if they had cut the trailer to reflect this. Go figure. Otherwise, it moved along at a good pace, decent little heist movie with a few implausible twists and contrivances. Am I crazy for kinda wishing Woody Harrelson was in more movies these days?

3) Flight of the Phoenix: I watched this with my mom and step-dad, who are fans of the original with Jimmy Stewart, and they said it was a good remake, although I think I'd like the original better. There's something about that kind of movie about earnest people in a desperate situation that I think worked a lot better 40 years ago when it wasn't a rule in Hollywood for every character to have an endless supply of snarky put-downs for each other. Also, it's one of those movies where the music supervisor seems to be going for the most inoffensively generic acceptable-for-all-audiences music for every scene. I think in the first 10 minutes they went through both Johnny Cash and James Brown (although it's kind of funny that I only recognized "Nighttrain" because of the Baltimore club mix). And don't even get me started on the part where suddenly it's revealed that the big manly men stuck out in the middle of the desert have a CD player, and put on "Hey Ya" and start dancing like Carlton from "The Fresh Prince". Seriously, WTF.

4) Gangs of New York: I worked at a post office the summer before this came out, and working in those places you end up reading a lot of magazines, and I read a few articles about all the trouble that plagued the filming of this and was pretty interested in seeing it but never got around to it when it was first out. But a couple weeks ago hanging out with J.G. at school we saw it at a party. It's weird to think that this is the kind of movie that gets watched at parties at an all-girls school, but evidently it is. I like the fact that even though it's largely fact-based and historical, it all feels so surreal and unlikely, especially the clothes. I mean, it might be really accurate and true to life, but it just looks so over the top and ridiculous, in a good way.

5) Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle: Actually only saw about the first half of this, which happens a lot because there's a Playstation/DVD player in my office and the guys I work with rent stuff a lot when there's nothing to do, and I'll end up seeing half of a movie if they're watching it at the beginning or end of my shift or it gets interrupted by the need to do actual work. What I saw was good though, better than I expected. All the stuff I read about it made it sound like it was basically the same as any stoner buddy flick with the exception of the buddies being Asian, but the race of the leads was referred to quite a lot in what I saw, and that usually accounted for the sharpest jokes.

6) Down Periscope: Another one seen at the office. For some reason I think someone here actually owns a copy. I mean, low brow 90's comedy, ok, sure, but this? I think I forgot it existed after opening weekend, and figured so did everyone else. The cast is a veritable who's who of 2nd and 3rd bananas (well, maybe not so much "who's who" as "who's that?"), the highlight being Toby Huss, who I regard warmly for his role in "The Adventures of Pete & Pete" and the bizarre MTV spots he did in the early 90's ("mornin', Roy...top of the mornin' to ya").

Labels: Movie Diary, movies

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 06, 2005 at 3:39 PM. You can skip to the end and leave a response.