Martin's Musings

Here’s a list of all the 2005 releases I’ve seen. (click on the link for my review)

1. ELEKTRA (B-)

2. THE WEDDING DATE (C)

3. HITCH (B)

4. THE UPSIDE OF ANGER (B-)

5. SIN CITY (B)

6. FEVER PITCH (B/B+)

7. THE INTERPRETER (B-)

8. CINDERELLA MAN (A-)

9. CRASH (B+/A-)

10. MADAGASCAR (C)

11. THE LONGEST YARD (B)

12. STAR WARS: EPISODE 3: REVENGE OF THE SITH (C-)

13. BATMAN BEGINS (A-)

14. BEWITCHED (D)

15. MR. & MRS. SMITH

16. WAR OF THE WORLDS (B)

17. CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY (B+)

18. WEDDING CRASHERS (twice) (B+)

19. BAD NEWS BEARS (C+)

20. MUST LOVE DOGS (C)

21. HUSTLE AND FLOW (B)

22. MURDERBALL (A)

23. DUKES OF HAZARD (C-)

24. RED EYE (D+)

25. BROKEN FLOWERS (B+)

26. THE 40-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN (B+)

27. THE ARISTOCRATS (B)

28. MARCH OF THE PENGUINS (B+)

29. JUNEBUG

30. TIM BURTON’S CORPSE BRIDE

31. JUST LIKE HEAVEN (B-)

32. GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK

33. A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE

34. WALLACE & GROMIT in THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT

35. IN HER SHOES

36. ELIZABETHTOWN

37. CAPOTE

38. NORTH COUNTRY

39. SHOPGIRL

40. JARHEAD

41. PRIME

42. KISS KISS, BANG BANG

43. CHICKEN LITTLE

44. WALK THE LINE (twice)

45. RENT

46. THE ICE HARVEST

47. THE PRODUCERS

48. THE NEW WORLD

49. BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN (twice)

50. THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE

51. MUNICH

52. THE FAMILY STONE

53. KING KONG

54. SYRIANA

55. CASANOVA (B)

56. RUMOR HAS IT (B)

57. THE SQUID AND THE WHALE

58. THE CONSTANT GARDENER

59. MATCH POINT

60. THE MATADOR

61. TRANSAMERICA

After watching the DVD of Rent this weekend, I’m happy to report that I have a bit more enthusiasm for the film. As you may recall, I didn’t exactly love Rent when I first saw it last November. I felt that the film had serious pacing problems that made it feel long, and the decision to cut one or two key songs eliminated all the emotional impact. But now I’ve watched all the deleted scenes and the full two-hour documentary, and I’ve played the movie straight through (admittedly, it was more like background music since I wasn’t watching too closely) and I can honestly say I don’t hate the film as much as I did. Sure, I still think director Christopher Columbus was wrong to cut “Goodbye Love” (which you can watch here, along with some other clips), and I actually like the alternate ending more than the one that’s actually there, but as a lasting memento of a musical I love, I could do a lot worse than this movie adaptation. And it’s worth noting that the documentary feature is actually quite good and worth watching, even if you think you know everything about Jonathan Larson and Rent. So there’s my ringing endorsement, without a lame “it’s a good rent-al” pun. Oh wait …

The end of the world is coming.

Here’s more proof: Ludacris is a Screen Actors’ Guild award winner (as a member of the ensemble cast of Crash).

Will Fo’ Bit be next?

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 →