It's been 5 weeks since my last review, but it's just because I've been studying for my prelims. I still managed to watch a lot of movies and TV shows in there (over lunch and dinner, and random weekend nights). I couldn't however, in good conscience, spend time writing a review if I could spend that time studying for prelims. Thus, I've decided to give you the quick hits on the last 5 weeks of movies/television.
Snow Angels: David Gordon Green's latest effort. Not nearly as good as All the Real Girls or even Undertow. Still, an emotionally intense work.
--Final Grade: B
The Believer: I wanted to give Ryan Gosling a second chance since he impressed me in Lars and the Real Girl, so I picked this up. Meh. It was okay. I thought the ending was cheesy.
--Final Grade: C+
Mad Men (Season 1): An interesting show about advertising in the early 1960s. It's a drama, but it's usually good drama.
--Final Grade: B+
Mad Men (Season 2): The second season was still intriguing, but not as good as the first.
--Final Grade: B
Run Fat Boy Run: I love me some Simon Pegg, but this movie is not nearly good as a few of his others. Some of the gags were a bit too much. The love story felt rather generic.
--Final Grade: C
Away From Her: A three-person drama about a man having to put his wife--recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's--in a nursing home. Not easy viewing; I don't recommend it if you have/had a loved one with Alzheimer's.
--Final Grade: B-
Leatherheads: I'm still not convinced that John Krazinski will find a better role than Jim in The Office. Campy and sassy, but both of those suffer from a lack of spark or spunk. It feels a little forced and over-produced.
--Final Grade: C+
Things We Lost in the Fire: Superbly-acted film in which Benicio Del Toro and Halle Berry both shine. Del Torro plays the [recovering] junkie best friend of Berry's murdered husband (Duchovny). Not an overwhelmingly powerful film, but a good, solid effort.
--Final Grade: B+
Ten Canoes: An Austrailian film, the first--to my understanding--to be almost entirely in the aboriginal language. That uniqueness doesn't help the mediocre story, which sometimes borderlines on boredom.
--Final Grade: C
Atonement: Definitely my least favorite of all the Oscar-nominated films. Was M. Night Shamalan hired as a consultant on this project? Also, I was intensely bored by some of the length of a few scenes.
--Final Grade: B-
The Orphanage: I'm not a fan of scary movies, but I was told this wasn't a scary movie. Welp, it must be about as close as you can come; this blurs the line between "suspense" and "horor." Too intense for me. And don't be confused: Guillermo del Toro merely "presents" this movie (which I suspect means he purchased the rights to sell it in America); he didn't write or direct it.
--Final Grade: C-
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford: I watched this the first week it came to DVD (back in February?) and I've been wanting to see it again. Definitely one of the best films of 2007. Great acting, great cinematography, great narration, great story, and a great musical score. Casey Afleck is still my pick for Best Supporting Actor. Sam Rockwell and Paul Schneider are also a nice addition.
--Final Grade: A+
Indiana Jones: I watched this with the Rifftrax (worth every penny by the way), so it was bound to skew my perception a bit, but man, does this movie suck. Big time. No wonder South Park had a controversial take on what Speilburg/Lucas did to this franchise
--Final Grade: D
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