The Beefcake and I are both on vacation at the same time right now, so this morning I thought we should go to a movie in the middle of a weekday.
These are things I get a ridiculous amount of joy from - drinking a beer on the porch at noon, going to the movie theater on a weekday, driving to the beach just to watch the ocean for an hour.
So I started looking for movies we could go see but there ain't shit out there in the big theaters. Fast and Furious, although a bazillion dollar victory for the studio, looks pretty terrible. Neither one of us is into physical or stoner comedies and that's all that's getting even okay reviews right now.
Basically, the only movies that look any good right now are indies from other countries. I don't know if we'll see a movie this week, but if we do it will probably be The Class, a French teacher film starring a real teacher. There are a few other indies I wouldn't mind seeing, but the problem with indies is you never know which ones are really good, and which ones are just self-indulgent talkies.
Last night I watched Rabbit-Proof Fence and that was terrific. A quiet film with very little dialogue that nonetheless was engaging right from the getgo. It wasn't all in your face the way so many smaller films are, it was just a story about some girls who wanted to go home. I wish more smaller films did that and stopped trying so hard to be important.
Anyway, I'm still thinking about going to see The Class, but at the very least I'll stick it in my queue.
Seen any good indies or foreign films lately?
The Wackness was really good, I saw that on dvd a few weeks ago. Last night I watched another French indie film, Le Grand Voyage, it was very bittersweet and really good.
ReplyDeleteOh I saw Adventureland in the cinema, it was brilliant.
What about I Love You, Man?
ReplyDeleteThe Class is good, but if you're already a teacher you're just going to feel like you're at work.
DIMA, I've actually got The Wackness sitting in front of me but The Beefcake refuses to watch it. I'll check out Le Grand Voyage.
ReplyDeleteEric, I Love You Man is more of a physical comedy. Not my style, although it's getting surprisingly good reviews.
And I like movies about teaching as long as they're good. The only thing that makes me feel like being at work is being at work.
Check out Redbelt (2008). I just finished watching it via Netflix instant. The first half I thought it followed a formula but the twist comes and pulled me back in. You and Beefcake will enjoy it because of the martial arts. The headline actors were unfamiliar to me but there were many other characters played by some main stream actors I am familiar with and you will be too.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Redbelt is a surprisingly good film. We actually saw it in the theater - him because he likes Mamet, me because I like Chiwetel Ejiofor. It sort of came and went, which is a shame because I enjoyed the way it was about NOT fighting.
ReplyDeleteSunshine Cleaning is quite good. Not a laugh riot in anyway, nor perfect but very satisfying.
ReplyDeleteAlso Sin Nombre is in a few theaters in LA. Unfortunately I was only able to see the first 25 minutes, before I had to leave, but what I saw was certainly intriguing. Lots of good reviews for it.
I was curious about both of those films, actually. Maybe I'll check them out.
ReplyDeleteSunshine Cleaning gives us all hope. The script was a contest winner, I believe.
I didn't think I Love You Man was that much of a physical comedy. I laughed at least once per scene, and not much of it was physical humor. They just show physical humor in the trailers.
ReplyDeleteI'd second Adventureland though, that movie was great. The trailers are very misleading, it's not a flat-out Superbad type comedy. It's got a lot of heart, good acting, great writing. All of the characters show depth, even the superficial hot girl has depth, as does the villain -- who's really more of a tragic figure.
Seriously. See it.
Watch some great Korean movies:
ReplyDeleteSave the Green Planet
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0354668/
Memories of Murder
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0353969/
and Oldboy (but you propably already know this one)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0364569/
I've seen Oldboy but not the other two. I do love Korean films, though. I'll check those out.
ReplyDeleteI can barely think of any physical comedy in I Love You, Man. It's mostly character and relationship humor.
ReplyDeleteIn the past couple of weeks, I have written about Adventureland, The Wackness, I Love You, Man, and Sunshine Cleaning on my blog. I recommend all of them, with varying levels of enthusiasm: http://acerbicbubblegum.blogspot.com/
I'm still not going to go see I Love You Man.
ReplyDeleteSUGAR is supposed to be excellent, and it's out right now. A friend highly recommended it.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed REDBELT except for the end, which didn't really work for me ... I had read the script before I saw the film, which was an interesting way to do it.
You mention RABBIT PROOF FENCE. The new movie by the same producer has just bombed terribly at the domestic box office (AU) despite terrific reviews. Sad state of affairs: http://bit.ly/tfoh.
ReplyDeleteLast week I saw the Swedish vampire movie LET THE RIGHT ONE IN.
Looking forward to ADVENTURELAND tonight.