Stardate 62969.35 - You Don't Mess with the Zohan

Cheryl and I were in the mood for some comedies so I moved this one up to the top of the Queue: You Don't Mess with the Zohan. Cheryl did not even remember when this was in the theater, but consented to watch it "for 30 minutes or so" to see if she got into it enough to make it a preferable alternative to just going to bed early.

She watched the entire movie.

It was not great art, and it was not a fantastic movie, but with minimal expectations going in, we both found ourselves snickering through most of it and even laughing out loud a couple of times. If you are looking for something pretty silly and humorous, you could do worse than Zohan. Two thumbs up.

NYC

Stardate 62804.69 - Shrek 2 and Persepolis

Watched Shrek 2 last weekend. Cheryl had watched it on a plane, so when it finally bubbled up to the top of the NetFlix list I was the only one interested. In short, I found it to be pretty well done (maybe because I had low expectations?) and enjoyable. I won't really speak much about it because I cannot imagine anyone would be watching the sequel if they hadn't already seen the original. I give it a thumbs up.




Cheryl and I watched Persepolis that same weekend. This very well done film tracks the life of a girl who is very young at the time of the revolution in Iran, up thorugh modern times. It was very interesting, and shows the perspective of people and families who were not part of the Islamic movement. We both thought it was quite good - two thumbs up. The original is in French and we watched it dubbed into English--normally not something we do but since it is a cartoon we figured watching it in French with English subtitles was unnecessary.

NYC

Stardate 62722.31 - Movie Reviews

Cheryl and I have watched a bunch of movies through NetFlix over the past few months but we just haven't had the time to post a review of anything. Here is a quick summary of some things we watched this summer with just a short highlight and recommendation for each.

Sicko was pretty good, although is typical with Michael Moore films the pugilistic morality was a bit hard to take. But he makes an excellent point - in a country this wealthy there is no reason people shouldn't have health care. How we, as the human race, can permit people without insurance to be dumped into a taxi so that they are dumped at a free clinic so that the hospital doesn't have to take care of this is abhorrent. When I am benevolent dictator for life, we'll have socialized medicine in this country. Two thumbs up.


Talk to Me was one that I had heard about, but really didn't know what to expect. Excellent, excellent film. Don Cheadle is always fantastic, and this movie is no exception. The fact that it is based on an actual person and actual events makes it even more poignant. We watched this one pretty late on a weekend night and Cheryl stayed awake for the entire thing, which is a tribute to how much she liked it. Two thumbs up.



The Upside of Anger was described by a co-worker as a "chick-flick" but even Cheryl was disappointed in this one. There was a pretty good twist near the end that we didn't see coming at all, but that didn't make up for this movie that believed it was teaching a lesson but in reality just made us annoyed at most of the characters. Two thumbs down.





No Country for Old Men was, in a word, over-rated. I couldn't figure out if it was an incredibly violent movie mascarading as an artsy movie or an artsy movie mascarading as an incredibly violent movie. We didn't even know it had ended. I won't spoil it, but at the very end one character is talking and we were so busy making fun of the scene than when the movie faded to black and the credits rolled we said simultaneously, "That was the end?!?" We had to back it up and watch the scene again. Two thumbs down.



Attonement has Keira Knightley in it, and she is on my list making this a must-watch film. Not a feel-good film for sure, but well-done. I'm a sucker for big English manors and domestic servants and all that, so I have to say I really enjoyed this one--even with the non-hollywood ending. Two thumbs up.





Bad Education (La Mala educacion) was one that Cheryl had picked out, so I knew it was probably foreign, well-acted, and potentially strange. It was foreign, well-acted, and had some interesting twists and turns but I felt it was ponderously slow. Cheryl gave it a thumbs-up, I gave it a thumbs-down. I think we discussed it afterwards and I had more reasons for not liking it (and no, the homosexuality was not one of my reasons), but I cannot remember them (other then the feeling that lots of stuff could have been cut for pacing).



I am Legend was one I'd been looking forward to seeing if for nothing else, to see the empty NYC shots. Turns out that was pretty much all it was worth. Lots and lots of missed opportunities to give the bad guys much deeper, complex motivations. Lots of me saying, "wait a minute...". Simply, not good. Cheryl fell asleep early in the movie, so two thumbs down.





NYC

Stardate 62320.47 - Walk the Line

Cheryl and I watched Walk the Line Saturday night. This was a story about Johnny Cash, and won a lot of praise and some awards in 2005-2006. It clocked in at a little over 2 hours and we started it after 9PM, so it is a tribute as to how good it is that not old did we stay up until 11:30PM watching it, but also Cheryl stayed awake for the entire film.

The movie focuses on his start and early career, and I must confess that I knew nothing about the man and very little about his music. I found the movie to be quite interesting, and clearly it held my attention. We do agree with the director (mentioned during the "deleted scenes" extras) that the start was a bit slow (hence a lot of early deleted scenes), but we still give it two thumbs up.

Even if you have never really listened to the "The Man in Black's" music, you will still enjoy the film.

NYC

Stardate 62313.00 - Movie Reviews

Cheryl and I watched two movies last weekend: Jesus is Magic and Munich.

First, Sarah Silverman's Jesus is Magic (which we watched first). This film is essentially a stand-up routine, with some skits around it. Parts were laugh-out-loud funny, but parts were not. Overall, it was not what I was expecting (I guess I was expecting either all stand-up, all skits, or some-type of film with a plot). I think the comedy / humor was uneven, and relied a little too much on shock value when a woman cursing and being crude is quite frankly not that much of a shock these days.

Cheryl watched it also and I am pretty sure she felt the same way, but we didn't discuss her actual rating for it. I give it a thumb-sideways. I probably laughed more than most people, but it is because I really want to enjoy comedy.

The next film we saw was Munich. This film is based on a book about the actions that Israel took after the assassinations of its Olympic athletes back in the 70s. I did find the film to be balanced, which was one of the director's intentions, although at the very end there was a shot of the two towers that I felt was a bit pugilistic. They didn't edit out a building that went up in the past 6 years (since we moved to NYC), but they intentionally put back in the two towers and ended the movie with that shot as the credits rolled. I felt like it was a not-so-subtle reminder of the terrorist attack here, and was perhaps saying that the Palestinians are "our" common enemy. It just took away from the balanced nature of the film to have that as the final scene. Additionally, I felt like some of the characters were a bit one-dimensional and it was very hard to understand motivations near the end for some of them. I know putting a book into a 2-hour movie is tough, but I just felt like it was rushed in terms of character development at the end.

Again, Cheryl saw most of this one, but was falling asleep near the end. I think she would agree with my thumb-sideways rating.

NYC

Stardate 62304.81 - John Adams, The Series

I've been watching John Adams, the mini-series on HBO, for the past month or so. I have found it to be most excellent. I should have posted about it earlier, as this past Sunday was the finale. I'm sure they will either show it again or put it out on DVD pretty quickly, however. I am always amazed at how little US history I really know well, although my last US History class was in 11th grade so I really shouldn't be so surprised.

I think this was very, very good. My only complaint is that I was a little confused at how some of the personalities were portrayed (especially Franklin and Jefferson). They just didn't mesh with my memory, but I assume these folks have researched history more throughly and more recently than I.

Cheryl started the first one, but this was a lot of television for her to commit to over a long period of time. If we had it on DVD I'm sure she'd watch the whole thing.

One thumb up!!!

NYC

Stardate 62206.30 - Everything is Illuminated

Cheryl and I watched Everything is Illuminated Saturday night. Cheryl had previously read the book, I had not. The general plot is that an American Jewish man of East European descent returns to the Ukraine to find a woman who may have helped his grandfather escape from the Nazis.

In general, it was disappointing. Cheryl thought that 10 minutes in or so it managed to capture the dark humor of the book, but it then lost it very quickly. It was uneven and very slow in parts, while quite funny here and there but just not consistent. Cheryl also thought it seemed quite different from the book in many places, at least as far as she could remember.

I think we have to give this one two thumbs down. Cheryl fell asleep 20 minutes before the end and plans to watch what she missed later today, but her mind is pretty much made up.

NYC

Stardate 62195.71 - Smokin' Aces

I watched Smokin' Aces recently off of the DVR (recorded in High Definition). I had zero expectations going in, so I was pleasantly surprised. I thought (maybe incorrectly) that it didn't take itself too seriously, and while it was incredibly violent, having easily recognized actors in all the main roles made it less real and more campy.

Not one for the kids, and not one Cheryl would have enjoyed, but I give it a thumbs up. If you want loads of violence with some camp, this movie might be for you.

NYC

Stardate 62186.72 - Casino Royale

I watched Casino Royale on Saturday (Cheryl started to watch but fell asleep). They have done a good job in re-starting the franchise by eliminating "Q" and all the impossible gadgets and making it someone more realistic, at least in terms of equipment. The problem is that all the insane chases that you used to go to a Bond film to see are all done in other movies (like Borne). It is harder and harder to one-up the previous action film with the next. And these chases are all done so well and the budgets are so high that you end up expecting them and they just are not special anymore - they are required. And not really unique. At the start, Cheryl said, "Wasn't there another Bond film with a chase through a construction site? Or was that one of the Borne movies? I cannot remember." When they all start blurring together you see my point that none of them are special anymore.

The story is actually pretty straightforward and easy to follow and Craig is easy to imagine as a British Agent (although Cheryl said he had a "2-hours a day in the gym" body and not a "wiry special agent" body).

Overall I give it a thumbs-up, and while the chases are pretty cool I'm not sure they are all that memorable.

NYC

Stardate 62111.4 - Juno

Cheryl's parents came into town today and babysat Loren so we could go out for Valentine's Day. We went to see Juno. Three Words: See. This. Movie.

It was funny, it was well-acted, it was well written, and it was extremely entertaining. Highly, highly, highly recommended. Two thumbs up, way up!

After the movie we went to Felice, a newly opened wine bar a few blocks up from us. We had an octopus appetizer and a couple of glasses of wine. It was a nice way to unwind before heading back home and ordering pizza for dinner with Grandma and Grandpop at home. The pizza was from Pizza Park, a favorite from the "old neighborhood".

NYC

Stardate 62105.33 - Nacho Libre

I watched Nacho Libre in fits and starts over the past week. In a word: awful. Cheryl started it with me and 10 minutes in said, "If you want to waste your time watching this, that's fine, but I'm not watching any more."

It started very slow, was pretty slow throughout, was not funny, and several times I almost deleted it from the DVR. I usually like Jack Black, but not in this stinker.

Two thumbs down. Don't waste your time.

NYC

Stardate 62089.2 - Sunshine

I watched Sunshine Saturday afternoon during Loren's nap. Generally, I liked the movie although I would have done a couple things differently. The short synopsis is that the sun is dying and the crew of a second spaceship is approaching Mercury on their way to deliver a payload to re-ignite the sun. The movie is by the same director as 28 Days (which Cheryl and I both really enjoyed), so I should have expected a very serious SciFi/horror film (which is what it is). But for some reason I thought it would feel less serious.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the film, but I think it needed some comic relief. It was almost too serious from the start. I know the future of mankind hangs in the balance, I know that they have the specter of the failed first mission, but everyone and everything was so incredibly serious from the very start of the film - even before things started going wrong. I could have used a character with some humor. There were a couple of humorous lines, but in general the mood of the piece was very somber and very serious and from the first minute I found myself anxious, knowing that things were about to go horribly wrong. You knew from the first minute that you were watching a tense film. I think it might have been more impactful to have had some levity at the start, which would have contrasted with the later scenes.

Not sure if my friend James has seen it or not, but I'm sure he'd have some comments on the computer access and security issues, as I found myself having a bit of an issue with the suspension of disbelief over some items near the end, but I won't go into them here because I try to avoid spoilers in my reviews.

I still give it a thumbs up, but be prepared for a somber ride. If you are interested in Jess' viewpoint and her meeting with the director, click here.

NYC

Stardate 62069.43 - The Fountain

Cheryl and I finally watched The Fountain last night. Actually, I watched it and Cheryl dozed on and off during the movie. She tried to watch it, especially since I told her it was one of Jess' favorite movies in 2006, but she felt (and I agreed) that it was uneven in terms of pacing. During the "present day" segments the story was "gripping" (Cheryl's word), but the future story was slow. James outright hated it, and you can read his post and Jess' rebuttal here. Warning: James' entry contains significant spoilers, which I suggest you do not read before actually seeing the film.

This movie was by the same writer director (Darren Aronofsky) as Requiem for a Dream and Pi. Cheryl and I both watched Requiem and liked it a lot, and Cheryl watched Pi (and seemed to like it, as I recall). Here are my thoughts on The Fountain - as a work of art it was quite stunning. The visuals, the use of light and shadow, and the transition across the three time spans were all quite remarkable. The story was alright, and (at least for my poor brain) a little difficult to piece together. The movie was more a work of art than a film, if that makes sense. Cheryl felt the same way about The Fifth Element as I did about this film. I think by the end I had everything tied together, but I'm not sure that I was supposed to be trying to tie everything together into a logical narrative, and instead I should have just immersed myself in the art.

I think that people who see this film looking for some time of science fiction, time-jumping film will be disappointed. If you have seen the director's other movies then you will be better prepared for this film. If you watched any of the trailers and then went to see this film you'd probably be disappointed. If you want an experience that challenges you and is unlike any other film in recent memory, then you will enjoy this film. If you like film as art you will enjoy this film. I enjoyed this film, although I do feel like the pacing was a bit off as there were moments I was almost on the edge of my seat and others when I said out-loud to Cheryl, "This is a bit slow". I'm glad I watched it and I enjoyed it, although not in the same way I enjoy "traditional" films. It is really hard to put into words the experience - you'll just have to watch it and decide for yourself. I think Jess' roommate had it right when he described Requiem as "it affects different people different ways".

I really did like the movie, but more for the art of the film making and the experience of watching it, and less as a "traditional" narrative/film.

I still give it a thumbs up.

NYC

Stardate 61985.05 - Borat

Cheryl and I stayed up way too late and watched Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan last night. It was pretty damn funny. There were a few scenes where I was cringing (one in particular), but in a good way. This is one where the DVD extras have the potential to be as funny as the movie. We recorded it off of Cinemax HD, but may still get the DVD through NetFlix just to watch the extras.

In a nutshell, this is a spoof documentary where Borat (of Kazakhstan) visits the US to learn how we do things, and as part of that experience they set up meetings with real, actual people and groups who are not in on the joke. Hilarity ensues.

Two thumbs up.

NYC

Stardate 61976.37 - Children of Men

Cheryl and I watched Children of Men last night. In a post-apocalyptic world only England has any sense of normalcy (aside from violently deporting all aliens), while fertility has dropped world-wide to zero. Let me say up-front that I have not read the book upon which the movie is based, but the movie was not great. It didn't have enough action to be an action movie, but it wasn't cerebral enough to be a thinking-man's movie. Apparently it was intended to be a criticism of the US and President Bush specifically, but that criticism was far too subtle to truly be effective (or even noticeable most of the time).

Cheryl and I also didn't like the fact that the apocalypse was never explained. There was a 10-second news program you glimpsed that had names of places (like New York) with pictures of destruction (like a mushroom cloud over Manhattan) but nothing more specific, and nothing on why England was apparently spared. I realize that the world-wide destruction may have been secondary to the fertility story, but if you have a movie where the world has pretty much ended I want to at least know what happened.

To me, it was too slow to be an action film and too subtle and vague to be a commentary on society. Cheryl (and I) went in with high expectations based on reviews (and the subject matter is highly relevant to her work), and the movie didn't live up. We will, however, probably read the book now.

Two thumbs sideways (Cheryl even said maybe three-quarters up).

NYC

Stardate 61954.19 - 300

Late yesterday afternoon and last night (while Cheryl was out celebrating her birthday with her co-workers and I was home on Loren duty), I watched 300. I thought it was ok. Almost the entire movie was filmed in front of blue/green screen in a studio, and the surroundings and effects were pretty over-the-top (similar in some respects to Sin City). But, since it is based on a graphic novel that didn't bother me too much. I had pretty low expectations, so I guess I was surprised to some extent. However, this movie is really just a lot of combat. Sure, there are some other plot threads that make a token appearance, but in reality this is just one big battle. Not a great film, but if you just want to sit back and watch a lot of over-the-top fighting you will probably enjoy this.

Thumb sideways.

P.S. I watched most of it before I picked up Loren from daycare, and the rest of it after she went to bed.

NYC

Stardate 61946.26 - The Iron Giant

I watched The Iron Giant over the past few evenings. I thought it was pretty good, although I think some of the themes (the red scare, the hysteria following the sputnik launch) will probably be lost on children. And this is a children's movie. Other than the killing of a deer by hunters, there really are no other deaths in the movie and the hero is a young boy. Essentially, the Iron Giant crashes on earth with no memory and the befriends the boy. There is a constant struggle to keep the giant fed (must eat metal) and hidden from the Government agent sent to investigate.

I don't think this one did very well at the theater, and maybe it was because of the time it is set in. Children may just not "get it". The humorous thing to me is that it could be set in present day and the subtext would be just as impactful. For a movie released in 1999 its lessons are very timely in this post-9/11 world. Perhaps if it had been made just 2 years later and set in present day it would have been more successful.

Thump up.

Approved for the kids.


NYC

Stardate 61943.85 - Miami Vice

I was not a fan of the TV show Miami Vice when it was on back in the 80s. Everyone was watching it, everyone in High School was going on and on and on and on and on about how good it was--and all that hype made me really NOT want to watch it.

I did, however, record the movie Miami Vice on the DVR and watched it over the weekend. In a word: awful.

As far as I could tell it bore no resemblance to the TV show, except for the main two characters having the same names as the TV characters. Now, I only watched a handful of the TV episodes, so I could be wrong here but I doubt it. The characters here didn't even act like their TV counterparts. This movie could have been called something else entirely and it wouldn't have mattered or been noticed by anyone.

The characters were poorly done, with very little historical information to establish their credibility. Am I to expect that two Miami cops have more experience dealing with drug runners than the FBI and a joint task force? Am I to believe that a joint task force in Miami on drug runners didn't involve the Miami police? Am I to believe that the Miami Vice unit has the funds to purchase cigar boats and private planes and enough guns to make the Terminator jealous? That's just crazy-talk.

I watched it to the end, but I didn't enjoy it. I found myself just waiting for the inevitable ending where the bad guys would get theirs.

Thumb Down.

NYC

Stardate 61927.98 - The Guardian

The Guardian is another move that was on my NetFlix list, yet as I was browsing the HD movie channels I found it and recorded it. The Guardian is very much a passing of the torch story, where an older US Coast Guard swimmer essentially trains his replacement. I had very low expectations on this one, because I don't remember it doing very well in the theater, but I was pleasantly surprised. The story won't surprise you, and you can pretty much figure out everything that will happen along the way, but the action is good and the training scenes are very cool as well. And as a sailor, I have a great appreciation for the US Coast Guard and what they do, and God willing will never need to call on them for the type of assistance they provide in this movie.

Thumb up.

NYC

Stardate 61927.96 - Flags of our Fathers

I watched Flags of our Fathers this week during my lunch breaks (since I work from home I don't lose time by going out for lunch, I waste my lunch time by watching a little TV). I don't remember this movie doing very well in the theater, but after watching it I think I understand.

It tells the story of the soldiers on Iwo Jima who raised the flag in the famous picture everyone is familiar with. The problem is that it intersperses present day with the battle on Iwo Jima with the main story (what happens to those marines and navy corpsman immediately after the picture becomes famous). There probably isn't enough war story to keep someone watching for the war story happy, and there is probably too much war story and graphic violence to keep someone watching for the "after" story happy. And the cuts to the present day (done as the son of one of the flag raisers interviews survivors) adds somewhat to what became to me a confusing narrative. As is common in movies like this, there are a lot of characters and a lot of names and a lot of them die. And since they all dress alike in uniform, it is difficult to keep everyone straight.

Am I glad I saw it? Yes. Would I recommend it? Not sure. I guess I give it a thumb-sideways.

NYC