Movie Diary
a) From The Sky Down
I've been on a bit of a U2 trip lately from seeing them live over the summer and listening to Achtung Baby, so I love that they just did this documentary about the making of the album. The whole reinvention mythology of that album fascinates me so it's cool to see that stuff articulated in detail and here some of the jam sessions that created the songs and interviews with Eno and stuff.
b) Pearl Jam Twenty
I'm glad this aired on PBS since I'd been listening to the soundtrack lately and thought it'd be months before I get a chance to see the actual movie. Between this, the U2 movie and the Foo Fighters movie, there's really been a wealth of good documentaries about popular, long-running rock bands lately. I didn't see the whole thing, but this was really enjoyable from what I saw, since I basically lived through the '90s as a huge Pearl Jam fan and there was a lot of small revelations and rare footage that I would've killed to see back then.
c) I Am Number Four
I didn't totally understand what this movie was going for, but it was pretty enjoyable anyway. Also the two gorgeous blondes in this movie really had me straying from my preference for brunettes. I feel bad for Timothy Olyphant, he's had like 3 great TV shows but really has been in zero great movies as far as I can tell.
d) It's Kind of a Funny Story
I may complain about Justin Long and Michael Cera and Jay Baruchel playing every awkward young guy protagonist role in Hollywood over and over and over, but the guy who ended up with this role after presumable all three of those guys passed isn't much better or anything. Emma Roberts is pretty and all but the way this ended was barf.
e) Love And Other Drugs
I watched this mainly for the nude Anne Hathaway but it was pretty solid. Kind of weirdly TV-ish (what with all the Hank Azaria and Oliver Platt and Judy Greer and that goddamn Josh Gad) and lightweight, but not to its detriment. I still have no idea what is up with Gyllenhaal, even when he gets a decent character to play it feels like there's nothing there, any other leading man could've at least had some presence playing that part. Hathaway's really good, though, and after all the stupidity of the plot the love story ends up resonant in spite of itself.
f) Cyrus
This is the most nothing, pointless, useless character study dramedy in a whole little run of them that seems to be going around like Greenberg. Was I tricked into watching a 'mumblecore' (ugh) movie by a recognizable and likable cast? Motherfuckers.
g) The 6 Wives of Henry Lefay
It's weird how Tim Allen movies like this and Big Trouble make me kind of like him in the moment but then he does that "Last Man Standing" show that reminds me of how absolutely I used to loathe him for "Home Improvement."
h) A New Leaf
I realized when I reflectively pulled this up OnDemand that Walter Matthau is one of those actors I will watch in pretty much anything, and that that has a lot to do with the fact that Matthau kind of did one thing really well in almost every movie and you're almost guaranteed a certain kind of movie when he's involved. This one seemed pretty good, but I didn't really pay much attention, it was kind of on in the background.
I've been on a bit of a U2 trip lately from seeing them live over the summer and listening to Achtung Baby, so I love that they just did this documentary about the making of the album. The whole reinvention mythology of that album fascinates me so it's cool to see that stuff articulated in detail and here some of the jam sessions that created the songs and interviews with Eno and stuff.
b) Pearl Jam Twenty
I'm glad this aired on PBS since I'd been listening to the soundtrack lately and thought it'd be months before I get a chance to see the actual movie. Between this, the U2 movie and the Foo Fighters movie, there's really been a wealth of good documentaries about popular, long-running rock bands lately. I didn't see the whole thing, but this was really enjoyable from what I saw, since I basically lived through the '90s as a huge Pearl Jam fan and there was a lot of small revelations and rare footage that I would've killed to see back then.
c) I Am Number Four
I didn't totally understand what this movie was going for, but it was pretty enjoyable anyway. Also the two gorgeous blondes in this movie really had me straying from my preference for brunettes. I feel bad for Timothy Olyphant, he's had like 3 great TV shows but really has been in zero great movies as far as I can tell.
d) It's Kind of a Funny Story
I may complain about Justin Long and Michael Cera and Jay Baruchel playing every awkward young guy protagonist role in Hollywood over and over and over, but the guy who ended up with this role after presumable all three of those guys passed isn't much better or anything. Emma Roberts is pretty and all but the way this ended was barf.
e) Love And Other Drugs
I watched this mainly for the nude Anne Hathaway but it was pretty solid. Kind of weirdly TV-ish (what with all the Hank Azaria and Oliver Platt and Judy Greer and that goddamn Josh Gad) and lightweight, but not to its detriment. I still have no idea what is up with Gyllenhaal, even when he gets a decent character to play it feels like there's nothing there, any other leading man could've at least had some presence playing that part. Hathaway's really good, though, and after all the stupidity of the plot the love story ends up resonant in spite of itself.
f) Cyrus
This is the most nothing, pointless, useless character study dramedy in a whole little run of them that seems to be going around like Greenberg. Was I tricked into watching a 'mumblecore' (ugh) movie by a recognizable and likable cast? Motherfuckers.
g) The 6 Wives of Henry Lefay
It's weird how Tim Allen movies like this and Big Trouble make me kind of like him in the moment but then he does that "Last Man Standing" show that reminds me of how absolutely I used to loathe him for "Home Improvement."
h) A New Leaf
I realized when I reflectively pulled this up OnDemand that Walter Matthau is one of those actors I will watch in pretty much anything, and that that has a lot to do with the fact that Matthau kind of did one thing really well in almost every movie and you're almost guaranteed a certain kind of movie when he's involved. This one seemed pretty good, but I didn't really pay much attention, it was kind of on in the background.
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on Thursday, November 03, 2011 at 10:35 PM.
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