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viewing catchup: recent-ish movies
Nov. 10th, 2010 06:57 pmThese are far from all the movies I've watched but not posted on yet the last few months, or even the ones I want to at least comment on (note: most comments are "This is about this. I liked it." But wordier.) but it's a start.
The Bachelor and the Bobby Soxer: I haven’t watched many classic movies this year, aside from some swashbucklers This may have actually been first, not counting rewatches? It’s also, I think, the first movie I’ve seen with Myrna Loy that didn’t also feature William Powell. Here, Loy is a judge whose teenaged sister (played by Shirley Temple) falls in love with a businessman (Cary Grant) who’s already crossed the judge. Loy and Grant are playing the characters they’ve played in a few other movies I’ve seen them in, but that isn’t a bad thing. Fairly predictable, but fun.
Blue Beard: A French movie from…uhm…2008, I think. It was built up as an original and revolutionary retelling of “Blue Beard,” but was actually pretty straightforward. It’s framed through two young sisters reading it to each other and starts out a detailed retelling, and then becomes more abstract and starts jumping around a bit. It’s a good movie and a good retelling, it just didn’t really add much to it.
Iphigenia: An adaptation of the play from…uhm…sometime in the 70s, I think. The first 20 or so minutes are dreadfully dull and the movie would have been better served with either text or a narrator providing the backstory info dump. Yes, I know, but you see, that first stretch has necessary information, but is terribly tedious. But then Klytemnaestra and Iphigenia show up, and everything is fabulous. Especially Irene Papas as Klytemnaestra. All in all, it’s a pretty excellent movie, especially if you already have an attachment to the story.
Malice in Wonderland: This is a modern movie loosely based on Alice in Wonderland starring Maggie Grace as an amnesiac heiress named Alice who ends up in the cab of Whitey, a time-obsessed man headed for an important birthday party, resulting in all sorts of strange adventures. Unlike other recent adaptations (and like the books), the story is utterly nonsensical and Alice goes along with it and tries to not end up dead. A strange little movie, but a fun one.
Race to Witch Mountain: I was a huge fan of the Witch Mountain movies as a kid (moreso the second than the first, because it was Tia finding a street gang and setting out to rescue Tony) but haven’t watched them in years. The remake is, unsurprisingly, more about Dwayne Johnson’s taxi driver character than the siblings, but it’s still pretty fun, even if it did make me keep saying things like “Oh, I see. The boy alien kid can phase through things and destroy speeding vehicles. The girl alien kid can…push the break pedal with her brain.” It does improve on that front a bit as the movie progresses. Also, I swear, I don’t think I’ve ever seen an actor enjoy working with kids as much as Johnson. The man literally lights up when he’s with kids, even if his character isn’t supposed to like them yet. (Dude only really has 2 strengths-badass who hits things and secret softie with kids-but he does them well.)
The Snow Queen (2005): This is an hour long BBC production based on an opera based on the fairy tale. It’s a pretty straightforward retelling, though various parts of the story are glossed over or zipped through due to the length. It’s also one of those things where they have actors running around in a completely CGI setting, and is one of the most absurdly gorgeous things I have ever seen, with most scenes looking like paintings. Here’s a clip of the summer segment:
The entire movie looks like this. But adjusted for seasons and settings, of course. The take on the tale isn’t necessarily unique or original, but it doesn’t try to pretend otherwise, and the production itself is amazing.
Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior: It’s like if Cordelia Chase were the Slayer! And Chinese! Basically, Wendy is the latest in a long line of warriors who beat up an ancient evil emperor and the terracotta warriors every few generations. It stars Brenda Song and is absurdly fun, but also err, really stereotyped. And guilty of “all Asians are the same!” But it was so entertaining that I managed to not care about things like Wendy’s Chinese monk love interest being played by a Japanese actor until after the movie.
The Bachelor and the Bobby Soxer: I haven’t watched many classic movies this year, aside from some swashbucklers This may have actually been first, not counting rewatches? It’s also, I think, the first movie I’ve seen with Myrna Loy that didn’t also feature William Powell. Here, Loy is a judge whose teenaged sister (played by Shirley Temple) falls in love with a businessman (Cary Grant) who’s already crossed the judge. Loy and Grant are playing the characters they’ve played in a few other movies I’ve seen them in, but that isn’t a bad thing. Fairly predictable, but fun.
Blue Beard: A French movie from…uhm…2008, I think. It was built up as an original and revolutionary retelling of “Blue Beard,” but was actually pretty straightforward. It’s framed through two young sisters reading it to each other and starts out a detailed retelling, and then becomes more abstract and starts jumping around a bit. It’s a good movie and a good retelling, it just didn’t really add much to it.
Iphigenia: An adaptation of the play from…uhm…sometime in the 70s, I think. The first 20 or so minutes are dreadfully dull and the movie would have been better served with either text or a narrator providing the backstory info dump. Yes, I know, but you see, that first stretch has necessary information, but is terribly tedious. But then Klytemnaestra and Iphigenia show up, and everything is fabulous. Especially Irene Papas as Klytemnaestra. All in all, it’s a pretty excellent movie, especially if you already have an attachment to the story.
Malice in Wonderland: This is a modern movie loosely based on Alice in Wonderland starring Maggie Grace as an amnesiac heiress named Alice who ends up in the cab of Whitey, a time-obsessed man headed for an important birthday party, resulting in all sorts of strange adventures. Unlike other recent adaptations (and like the books), the story is utterly nonsensical and Alice goes along with it and tries to not end up dead. A strange little movie, but a fun one.
Race to Witch Mountain: I was a huge fan of the Witch Mountain movies as a kid (moreso the second than the first, because it was Tia finding a street gang and setting out to rescue Tony) but haven’t watched them in years. The remake is, unsurprisingly, more about Dwayne Johnson’s taxi driver character than the siblings, but it’s still pretty fun, even if it did make me keep saying things like “Oh, I see. The boy alien kid can phase through things and destroy speeding vehicles. The girl alien kid can…push the break pedal with her brain.” It does improve on that front a bit as the movie progresses. Also, I swear, I don’t think I’ve ever seen an actor enjoy working with kids as much as Johnson. The man literally lights up when he’s with kids, even if his character isn’t supposed to like them yet. (Dude only really has 2 strengths-badass who hits things and secret softie with kids-but he does them well.)
The Snow Queen (2005): This is an hour long BBC production based on an opera based on the fairy tale. It’s a pretty straightforward retelling, though various parts of the story are glossed over or zipped through due to the length. It’s also one of those things where they have actors running around in a completely CGI setting, and is one of the most absurdly gorgeous things I have ever seen, with most scenes looking like paintings. Here’s a clip of the summer segment:
The entire movie looks like this. But adjusted for seasons and settings, of course. The take on the tale isn’t necessarily unique or original, but it doesn’t try to pretend otherwise, and the production itself is amazing.
Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior: It’s like if Cordelia Chase were the Slayer! And Chinese! Basically, Wendy is the latest in a long line of warriors who beat up an ancient evil emperor and the terracotta warriors every few generations. It stars Brenda Song and is absurdly fun, but also err, really stereotyped. And guilty of “all Asians are the same!” But it was so entertaining that I managed to not care about things like Wendy’s Chinese monk love interest being played by a Japanese actor until after the movie.
