Movie Diary
a) Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World
I gave Edgar Wright the benefit of the doubt because his other movies are so entertaining, but I don't know if he could save a movie with a premise and star as unappealing to me as this. Michael Cera wasn't even so bad, although it was a little painful seeing him try to play slightly outside of the usual Cera archetype, and the supporting cast was pretty good. But the visual effects and the sense of humor just kinda fell flat for me, felt like a cheesy kids' show but with Canadian hipster in-jokes.
b) The Experiment
A fictionalized Stanford Prison Experiment movie with Forest Whitaker and Adrien Brody, predictably dark and gritty but kind of just went through the predictable beats of the story without feeling shocking or interesting or anything.
c) Greenberg
I don't know why I watched this, I had a feeling it would bore and/or anger me, and it ultimately didn't do a lot of either but I also didn't enjoy it much. It felt like a fairly accurate character sketch of people that definitely do exist, but I wouldn't want to watch a movie about that person any more than I'd want to hang out with him.
d) It's Complicated
I gave into the allure of a cast as good as Alec Baldwin, Steve Martin and Meryl Streep and watched a Nancy Meyers movie, and then kind of kicked myself like of course it wasn't good, what were you thinking. Baldwin and Streep carry it well enough, but it's really odd seeing Martin play a straight man, he's really wasted.
e) Saint John of Las Vegas
Steve Buscemi being kind of underwhelming as the headliner of a big deal cable drama like "Boardwalk Empire" has gotten me thinking about whether he can really care a project in the lead role or if he's the consummate character actor who's always better in a supporting capacity. Even though I've enjoyed several movies where he's been the star, like Ed And His Dead Mother and Trees Lounge, they're all kind of minor in a way that doesn't really contradict that theory, and this movie is no exception. It's a bit too 'darkly quirky' for its own good -- at one point Buscemi gives a lapdance to a stripper in a wheelchair -- but Romany Malco and a great cast of other character actors like Tim Blake Nelson, Peter Dinklage and Danny Trejo make it pretty good overall.
f) The Maiden Heist
Christopher Walken, Morgan Freeman and William H. Macy are all kind of overqualified to carry a slight caper comedy, but it's still a pretty enjoyable way to watch them work together.
g) The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans
I think I like batshit Nicolas Cage movies when they feel crazy by accident and the director doesn't have any crazy cred. This was alright but it felt like the Cageness was just being beamed at me at full power, it was a little overbearing.
h) Bottle Shock
Another little-seen dramedy from a couple years ago with a great cast headed by Alan Rickman that captured its mid-'70s California setting really well, aside from Chris Pine's bad hippie wig.
i) The Alphabet Killer
One of the duller and more unpleasant serial killer psychological thrillers I've ever seen, but honestly I'm happy to look at Eliza Dushku anytime and I was rewarded for my trouble with a brief but completely gratuitous (and frankly, impressive) topless scene.
j) Look
An entire movie shown from the POV of an array of surveillance cameras is a really clever and novel way to do something low budget, and I enjoyed the style exercise, but it felt like this went too broad a little too often and felt almost like a bad sketch comedy show at some point.
k) The Education of Charlie Banks
This movie probably never got a fair shake just because it was directed by Fred Durst and even the positive reactions seemed to be kind of like "surprisingly good for Fred Durst," but really this was quite good, despite some third act problems and it kind of feeling like a dry run for Social Network as a lesser Jesse Eisenberg college nerd story.
l) How To Rob A Bank
Another bad movie justified by a crush, this time on Erika Christensen, who unfortunately spent most of the movie in an unflattering black wig.
m) The Mayor of the Sunset Strip
I was suitably intrigued to watch a documentary on an L.A. music industry/radio vet I'd never heard of, and it ended up being more of a serious film than the puff piece I initially feared. But Rodney Bingenheimer is such a strange, creepy guy to watch for a couple hours that even though it ultimately made for a more interesting movie the guy ultimately just made my skin crawl (even more than friend/co-star Kim Fowley) and I couldn't wait for it to be over.
I gave Edgar Wright the benefit of the doubt because his other movies are so entertaining, but I don't know if he could save a movie with a premise and star as unappealing to me as this. Michael Cera wasn't even so bad, although it was a little painful seeing him try to play slightly outside of the usual Cera archetype, and the supporting cast was pretty good. But the visual effects and the sense of humor just kinda fell flat for me, felt like a cheesy kids' show but with Canadian hipster in-jokes.
b) The Experiment
A fictionalized Stanford Prison Experiment movie with Forest Whitaker and Adrien Brody, predictably dark and gritty but kind of just went through the predictable beats of the story without feeling shocking or interesting or anything.
c) Greenberg
I don't know why I watched this, I had a feeling it would bore and/or anger me, and it ultimately didn't do a lot of either but I also didn't enjoy it much. It felt like a fairly accurate character sketch of people that definitely do exist, but I wouldn't want to watch a movie about that person any more than I'd want to hang out with him.
d) It's Complicated
I gave into the allure of a cast as good as Alec Baldwin, Steve Martin and Meryl Streep and watched a Nancy Meyers movie, and then kind of kicked myself like of course it wasn't good, what were you thinking. Baldwin and Streep carry it well enough, but it's really odd seeing Martin play a straight man, he's really wasted.
e) Saint John of Las Vegas
Steve Buscemi being kind of underwhelming as the headliner of a big deal cable drama like "Boardwalk Empire" has gotten me thinking about whether he can really care a project in the lead role or if he's the consummate character actor who's always better in a supporting capacity. Even though I've enjoyed several movies where he's been the star, like Ed And His Dead Mother and Trees Lounge, they're all kind of minor in a way that doesn't really contradict that theory, and this movie is no exception. It's a bit too 'darkly quirky' for its own good -- at one point Buscemi gives a lapdance to a stripper in a wheelchair -- but Romany Malco and a great cast of other character actors like Tim Blake Nelson, Peter Dinklage and Danny Trejo make it pretty good overall.
f) The Maiden Heist
Christopher Walken, Morgan Freeman and William H. Macy are all kind of overqualified to carry a slight caper comedy, but it's still a pretty enjoyable way to watch them work together.
g) The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans
I think I like batshit Nicolas Cage movies when they feel crazy by accident and the director doesn't have any crazy cred. This was alright but it felt like the Cageness was just being beamed at me at full power, it was a little overbearing.
h) Bottle Shock
Another little-seen dramedy from a couple years ago with a great cast headed by Alan Rickman that captured its mid-'70s California setting really well, aside from Chris Pine's bad hippie wig.
i) The Alphabet Killer
One of the duller and more unpleasant serial killer psychological thrillers I've ever seen, but honestly I'm happy to look at Eliza Dushku anytime and I was rewarded for my trouble with a brief but completely gratuitous (and frankly, impressive) topless scene.
j) Look
An entire movie shown from the POV of an array of surveillance cameras is a really clever and novel way to do something low budget, and I enjoyed the style exercise, but it felt like this went too broad a little too often and felt almost like a bad sketch comedy show at some point.
k) The Education of Charlie Banks
This movie probably never got a fair shake just because it was directed by Fred Durst and even the positive reactions seemed to be kind of like "surprisingly good for Fred Durst," but really this was quite good, despite some third act problems and it kind of feeling like a dry run for Social Network as a lesser Jesse Eisenberg college nerd story.
l) How To Rob A Bank
Another bad movie justified by a crush, this time on Erika Christensen, who unfortunately spent most of the movie in an unflattering black wig.
m) The Mayor of the Sunset Strip
I was suitably intrigued to watch a documentary on an L.A. music industry/radio vet I'd never heard of, and it ended up being more of a serious film than the puff piece I initially feared. But Rodney Bingenheimer is such a strange, creepy guy to watch for a couple hours that even though it ultimately made for a more interesting movie the guy ultimately just made my skin crawl (even more than friend/co-star Kim Fowley) and I couldn't wait for it to be over.
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