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My cousin's visiting with his Wii and it's distracting me from the internet. A few things I need to post about:
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nentari, thank you SO MUCH for the book & the card! It's awesome, I can't wait to read it.
There's still one favourite character that nobody's guessed, from 'The Middleman', so I'm not posting the rest of the answers yet.
Yesterday I watched James Dean
James Franco is fantastic, and for a while recently I've been forgetting just how much he looks like James Dean, but this movie helped remind me. Wow. It was clever putting the father & son scene from 'East of Eden' right at the front - that was affecting and difficult to watch in the movie, and seeing how it affected Dean and why was interesting. The movie was too centred on his daddy issues and not enough on the fun stuff in his life for me - I know he had more fun than this movie let on. The performances were all really, really good (and, dude, Enrico Collantoni! I almost didn't recognise him!), particularly James Franco - he was very engaging. The score nearly drove me out of my mind, though. It was so over-the-top and intrusive, I just wanted to hurt the composer. All in all, one of the better TV movies.
2.5 out of 5
I also discovered a whole heap of movies I saw in 2008 that I didn't review, so here are quick write-ups based on what I can remember of the movies:
The Great Race
This is just a really over-the-top, silly cartoon comedy in live action in which Jack Lemmon as a textbook bad guy with a black pencil mustache. You know, one of the slapstick caper comedies. It's fun enough, if sexist and racist, but you know, gotta go with the times. Also, I always love Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis together, and it gives you a rare opportunity to see the lovely Natalie Wood in comedy.
3 out of 5
The Interpreter
I mostly just remember being bored in this by-the-numbers thriller. Sean Penn is, as usual, dour and humourless in a movie that's similarly dour, and Nicole Kidman is...mostly confusing. The movie was also kind of hard to follow, if I recall correctly.
2.5 out of 5
East of Eden
James Dean is just ridiculously, astonishingly good in this. Unfortunately, everything that doesn't feature James Dean is pretty much boring. I'm not much of a Steinbeck fan, and the film's treatment of teenagers is pretty rudimentary when you compare it to the angsty genius of 'Rebel Without a Cause'. It was, being a melodrama, highly melodramatic as well, and I remember it running too long and not engaging me as much as I felt it should.
3 out of 5
Eagle Eye
This movie starred Shia, Michelle Monaghan, and Rosario Dawson, all of whom I love. It was from the team behind 'Disturbia', which, while not brilliant, is a clever, fun update of a classic. It should have had something more going for it than flashy action scenes and nice cinematography. It didn't. It was implausible, beyond silly, and in parts even boring. The only thing that made it watchable was Shia. Michelle, please do something some day to live up to 'Kiss Kiss Bang Bang'! I know you have it in you!
2 out of 5
Augh. This year, remind me to review EVERY MOVIE I SEE AFTER I SEE IT.
Green Queen
nentari, thank you SO MUCH for the book & the card! It's awesome, I can't wait to read it.There's still one favourite character that nobody's guessed, from 'The Middleman', so I'm not posting the rest of the answers yet.
Yesterday I watched James Dean
James Franco is fantastic, and for a while recently I've been forgetting just how much he looks like James Dean, but this movie helped remind me. Wow. It was clever putting the father & son scene from 'East of Eden' right at the front - that was affecting and difficult to watch in the movie, and seeing how it affected Dean and why was interesting. The movie was too centred on his daddy issues and not enough on the fun stuff in his life for me - I know he had more fun than this movie let on. The performances were all really, really good (and, dude, Enrico Collantoni! I almost didn't recognise him!), particularly James Franco - he was very engaging. The score nearly drove me out of my mind, though. It was so over-the-top and intrusive, I just wanted to hurt the composer. All in all, one of the better TV movies.
2.5 out of 5
I also discovered a whole heap of movies I saw in 2008 that I didn't review, so here are quick write-ups based on what I can remember of the movies:
The Great Race
This is just a really over-the-top, silly cartoon comedy in live action in which Jack Lemmon as a textbook bad guy with a black pencil mustache. You know, one of the slapstick caper comedies. It's fun enough, if sexist and racist, but you know, gotta go with the times. Also, I always love Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis together, and it gives you a rare opportunity to see the lovely Natalie Wood in comedy.
3 out of 5
The Interpreter
I mostly just remember being bored in this by-the-numbers thriller. Sean Penn is, as usual, dour and humourless in a movie that's similarly dour, and Nicole Kidman is...mostly confusing. The movie was also kind of hard to follow, if I recall correctly.
2.5 out of 5
East of Eden
James Dean is just ridiculously, astonishingly good in this. Unfortunately, everything that doesn't feature James Dean is pretty much boring. I'm not much of a Steinbeck fan, and the film's treatment of teenagers is pretty rudimentary when you compare it to the angsty genius of 'Rebel Without a Cause'. It was, being a melodrama, highly melodramatic as well, and I remember it running too long and not engaging me as much as I felt it should.
3 out of 5
Eagle Eye
This movie starred Shia, Michelle Monaghan, and Rosario Dawson, all of whom I love. It was from the team behind 'Disturbia', which, while not brilliant, is a clever, fun update of a classic. It should have had something more going for it than flashy action scenes and nice cinematography. It didn't. It was implausible, beyond silly, and in parts even boring. The only thing that made it watchable was Shia. Michelle, please do something some day to live up to 'Kiss Kiss Bang Bang'! I know you have it in you!
2 out of 5
Augh. This year, remind me to review EVERY MOVIE I SEE AFTER I SEE IT.
Green Queen
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