Martin's Musings

Alright, now I’m done. Today I saw Transamerica, my 61st movie of all those released in 2005, and thus, those that are qualified for all the awards this year. Because I want to start (finally) writing up my top 10 list, I’ll make this quick: Transamerica is alright. Some of it is a little bit hokey and Felicity Huffman is good, but she didn’t blow me away. Here’s what was nagging at me: I just wasn’t totally buying the film, and I was continually wondering whether a man should have played the lead role, not a woman. No matter how much she uglies herself up, or tries to deepen her voice, Felicity Huffman is just too attractive to convincingly play this role. Does that mean the crux of the film went totally over my head? It’s entirely possible. Does it mean I enjoyed it any less? Not really. So I’m giving Transamerica a B.

When I first saw Brokeback Mountain at the beginning of December, I liked the movie, but I wasn’t particularly moved by it.

As a result, I thought my impressions of the movie had been tainted by the wave of hype that had preceded its release.

And I’m not going to lie, that sort of bothered me.

I felt like I had missed out on something, and that I didn’t get the full Brokeback experience. (Stop your snickering.) And if you know me at all, you know I hate to miss out on something that everyone else has experienced. Continue reading →

For all you women out there who just couldn’t relate to Brokeback Mountain, have I got the movie for you. Imagine Me & You tells the story of a woman who, on her wedding day (to a man), makes eye contact with another woman and instantly falls in love. She tries to hold back her feelings, but ultimately, they’re too strong. I’m not kidding. This movie would make an excellent double feature with Brokeback: one is manly and quiet, this one is cutesy and sweet. In Brokeback, Health Ledger speaks in a sometimes undecipherable mumble. In Imagine, nearly all the characters speak in an undecipherable British accent. But this one is a total chick flick. It’s not necessarily a bad movie, and it’s certainly enjoyable, but I just had a hard time with the fact that the florist who was hired for the wedding a) apparently hadn’t met the bride (or anyone in the family) beforehand, b) hadn’t delivered the flowers until that day (seemingly, just minutes before the ceremony), and c) stuck around in her casual clothes to enjoy the festivities. Fine. Big deal. I also thought the best friend was a bit clichéd (he’s that doofus player type who refuses to believe the girl is gay and thinks he can “convert” her). More importantly, I just had a hard time believing the movie’s premise, that this woman, on her wedding day, would see a random other woman, who wasn’t even invited to the ceremony, and just like that not love her husband anymore, and would instead be in love with this woman. I believe in love at first sight, but that is a bit far-fetched. So ultimately, the movie was just eh for me. And as a side note, poor Matthew Goode. First Scarlett Johansson cheats on him in Match Point and now Piper Perabo is in love with another woman. He should never have left Mandy Moore, his costar in Chasing Liberty.

Anyway, I’m giving Imagine Me & You a C+. It opens here in Boston on February 3.

I liked a few things about The Matador, among them: Hope Davis, who isn’t in the movie nearly enough; the style, particularly the big, colorful type that announces each new location; and the soundtrack, despite the rather obvious inclusion of The Killers‘ “All These Things That I’ve Done.” In addition, Greg Kinnear and Pierce Brosnan make a good team, and I liked that both of their characters end the movie with honor, despite the fact that one of them is an assassin. So why am I only giving the movie a B? I’m not sure. I mean, I wish there was more of the guys in Denver and less of them in Mexico City (maybe a switch of 10 minutes on either side), and as I said, more of Hope Davis. So I guess it’s because the movie just wasn’t in the same league as, say, Munich. But this is far from a bad movie, and I’d recommend it.

I see a lot of movies (my current total for 2005 releases is 59), so I take going to the movies quite seriously.

But maybe I take it too seriously. Someone tell me if I am wrong here: Continue reading →

I never did get to see The Constant Gardener when it was in theaters, so tonight I watched the screener DVD that’s been sitting in my apartment for about a month and a half. Despite watching it on my couch — never my preference, compared to in a theater — the movie still had my attention. Rachel Weisz is excellent; the film is full of exotic, African locales; and the story is a well-told political thriller, similar to Syriana but a heck of a lot less complicated. In brief, I really liked The Constant Gardener and would recommend the film for anyone looking for a good rental (it’ll be out on Tuesday). I’m giving it an A.

The Squid and the Whale is one painful movie.

And from that pain it generates some laughs, but it’s not pretty. Right from the get-go you’re embroiled in the thick of a marriage on the decline and you watch as things get worse, the parents separate, and the kids take sides.

Jeff Daniels gives a fantastic performance as the messed-up father whose superiority complex and comments about uncultured Philistines makes you feel like if you don’t like this movie, then you’re one too. Continue reading →

Wow. Is King Kong ever a cool movie. It’s three hours long, and every consecutive hour is better than the last. In fact, when Kong battles not one, not two, but three T. Rexes midway through the movie, you’ve already forgotten how endlessly long the first hour felt. And, just when you think you’ve seen the money scene, Peter Jackson shows you another. And another. And another. And then he leaves you in awe with the truly awesome climax atop the Empire State Building. Naomi Watts’ performance breaks your heart because she makes you really care for Kong — particularly in a scene where they watch a sunset together. I loved how cool New York circa 1933 looked, and I also got a big kick out of the fact that Andy Serkis served as the model for Kong’s movements and also plays one of the ship’s crew members (actually, he also gets the film’s goriest death at the hands — or rather, the mouths of some giant-sized slugs). So there you go: no surprise, King Kong gets high marks from me: an A–.