Saturday, July 15, 2006

Movies, anyone?

I confess, I am a movie junkie. Always have been. Besides taking you away to another world for a couple of hours, movies are also a great way to get out of the oppressive Indiana summer humidity and eat Milk Duds. I only eat Milk Duds at the movies. It's a rule I have to keep me from eating them all the time. Which I would if I didn't have that strict rule. Anyway... In the past two weeks I've seen:

Superman Returns -- Much darker than the Chris Reeve movies. The special effects were terrific except that I kept wondering (out loud, so my husband had to shush me) why no one broke any bones or, at least, bloodied their nose when the plane came hurtling down out of the sky at warp speed and the passengers were tossed around inside the plane like ice in a martini shaker. Also, is it just me, or is Lois Lane really the dumbest woman in the world? Or the most fool-hardy, at least. Who drags their five-year-old kid along when they're chasing the bad guys?

The Devil Wears Prada -- Deliciously wicked movie. Meryl Streep was fierce and funny and scary and sad, almost all at the same time. And the clothes! The shoes! Those thigh-high Chanel boots!! The only thing I didn't like about it was it perpetuates a very skewed body image. I mean, come on, a size six is FAT?!

Priates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest -- At 2+ hours, it was a little too long, but I loved it, anyway. I will admit up front that I love pretty much anything with Johnny Depp is in. And the Cracken (I think that's how you spell it) was very cool.

Speaking of Johnny, this picture of him is actually my sister--yes, my sister--done up as Captain Jack for Halloween last year. She took took theater arts in college and is a very talented makeup artist.

So, what movies have y'all seen? Which would you recommend, and why?

6 comments:

Helen Brenna said...

Hi Candace! Nice to have you on board!!

The only 2 movies I've seen lately were Superman and Pirates. I liked them both, although I wasn't crazy about Kevin Spacey as villain in Superman, and I really wish the Pirates movie actually had a plotline of it's own as opposed to being purely set-up for movie 3. 'Course I'll see anything with Johnny Depp in it!

anne frasier said...

that's your SISTER??????
oh my god!!!


that is amazing!!!
and also hilarious!!
i love it!!

Kathleen Eagle said...

I'm eager to see Pirates II and Prada. Also must see "An Inconvenient Truth." But I've been sticking close to home, which means videos. Most recently another Johnny Deep--count me in the "anything with Depp" crowd--called "The Libertine." Michel and I discussed this one via e-mail just the other day, and we're of different minds. I give it thumbs up. The prologue and epilogue, taken together, still haunt me. It's historically basically accurate--Rochester, Elizabeth Barry, Charles II all well drawn I think. Rochester has the dubious honor of being widely considered the first writer to actually publish pornography. I looked it up. It's a bit murky in places plotwise, politics-wise, and the cinematography is very dark and moody. But it was an interesting period. I see it as a redemption story. I think. Depends on how you interpret the epilogue.

Kathleen Eagle said...

Okay, I drop endings when I try to type fast. That's Michele. Our own Michele Hauf. And "Deep" might have been Freudian. Or some analyst.

Unknown said...

I see a movie a week and "Prada," "Superman," and "Pirates" were all great. That Meryl Streep. . . one minute I love her and the next she creeps me out something fierce. Remember "The Manchurian Candidate?" Whooooo. Scary woman.

But I have to say, the most refreshing piece I've seen in a while was "You, Me, and Dupree." More more there than was advertised. And even some background sight gags-- which I LOVE. Real character stuff. . . and a neat switch of support for the dufus Dupree. Owen Wilson is so adorable. Even the hokey ending and the fact that Michael Douglas didn't get a punch in the nose couldn't ruin it for me. I really liked this movie. Laughed like crazy. I think I know Dupree. Heck, sometimes I AM Dupree!

Loved "Cars." Really liked "Over the Hedge." Talking animals really do it for me. "The Lake House" was confusing as hell and I was really annoyed: such a waste of talent and opportunity. I kept thinking, "Let me have that film and a pair of scissors!" "Click" was the best of Sandler and a lot more heart-felt than I expected. "Hoot," despite its pedigree, was juvenile and too boring to believe. And "Nacho Libre" could have been so much more with Jack Black as a Mexican monk/wrestler in tights. "A Prairie Home Companion" was too understated and oddly flat for me, though I adore the radio show. And finally, I actually liked some parts of "Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift." I get a buzz out of racing movies-- what can I say? But if that lead kid's of high school age, I'm Grandma Moses!

Avoided "The Break Up." Heard it was mean-spirited. Anyone care to comment?

anne frasier said...

i watched capote last night and loved it. beautifully shot and really captured the time period. phillip seymour hoffman -- fantastic as always.

capote went to spain to write. *sigh* ah, the good old days.

i think it took him 4 years to write in cold blood, and he never finished another book after that.