Lazy Movie Saturday
With a weekend (or at least a Saturday) completely open, I made it my plan to see as many movies as I could, seeing as I've been lax this year both due to lack of time and lack of appealing content. Unfortunately, a stunning block by parents prevented me from wasting my whole day sitting at the Loews theater in the mall, so i was forced to change my planned 3 movies in the theater day to a 2 in and 1 at home movie day. It ended up be a fairly decent day overall. Before I get to the films, a few notes:
-saw the poster for "Benchwarmers" with David Spade, Rob Schneider and the guy from Napoleon Dynamite. I have to ask: who's this kid's agent? Schneider & Spade, together in one film? I mean, wow, talk about your HIGH LEVEL star power.
-Previews for Davinci Code and American Dreamz were great, but what the hell is up with the new Mel Gibson film? Is it me or is it a cross between Cirque de soleil and the Temple of Doom?
-Greatest name on a movie poster? "The World's Fastest Indian". That's awesome. I can't wait for the sequels "The world's most tempermental Arab" and "The World's Cheapest Jew".
as to the films:
Match Point: Never would've thought that I would be seeing two Woody Allen films in a 12 month period and actually liking them both. This one is a weird combo of Crimes and Misdemeanors and a British high society drama (if that makes any sense). I'm still not sure what to make of Jonathan Rhys Meyers and whether he's a decent actor or not. This was a tough role for any actor and he gave about a C+ performance. On the other hand, Scarlett Johansson was really good as was the rest of the cast. Speaking of which, anyone remember Ghost World, he breakout role alongside Thora Birch? Did anyone predict she'd end up becoming a much bigger star than Birch? I mean, it's not even close in any aspect of comparission.
Definitely worth seeing this movie, especially for the ending.
The Baxter: This was Michael Showalter follow up to "Wet Hot American Summer", so naturally it piqued my curiosity. Much of the cast from that film is used in either starring or supporting roles, though this film is much more centered on a few characters. Showalter plays the titular "Baxter", a term his character's grandma used to describe guys who keep losing out at love. And by the way he acts in the first half of the film, you almost hope he loses his fiance (played by Elizabeth Banks). Of course, there's a monkey wrench (or actually a pair of them) in Michelle Williams and Justin Thoreaux, who end up driving the couple apart in their own ways. As much as I enjoy Showalter's work on the State and WHAS, this one just fell flat for me. Much of it is due to the general patheticness of his character and the general unlikeability of most of the characters. The best character, at least from a likeability view, was Michelle Williams. This is a cable or netflix worthy rental for fans of the State/WHAS/Stella. Everyone else will likely be bored.
Glory Road- I had no intention of seeing this one in the theater, but it turned out to be a pleasant surprise. The story was enjoyable and the basketball scenes were well done. Several people in the theater actually started cheering during them. All in all, a good movie experience. However, I later learned that the movie was less than truthful about the time frame of the real story (It took actually 5 seasons, not 1, for Texas Western to win the national championship). Does that matter? To me, no. I was looking for a movie not a history lesson.
-saw the poster for "Benchwarmers" with David Spade, Rob Schneider and the guy from Napoleon Dynamite. I have to ask: who's this kid's agent? Schneider & Spade, together in one film? I mean, wow, talk about your HIGH LEVEL star power.
-Previews for Davinci Code and American Dreamz were great, but what the hell is up with the new Mel Gibson film? Is it me or is it a cross between Cirque de soleil and the Temple of Doom?
-Greatest name on a movie poster? "The World's Fastest Indian". That's awesome. I can't wait for the sequels "The world's most tempermental Arab" and "The World's Cheapest Jew".
as to the films:
Match Point: Never would've thought that I would be seeing two Woody Allen films in a 12 month period and actually liking them both. This one is a weird combo of Crimes and Misdemeanors and a British high society drama (if that makes any sense). I'm still not sure what to make of Jonathan Rhys Meyers and whether he's a decent actor or not. This was a tough role for any actor and he gave about a C+ performance. On the other hand, Scarlett Johansson was really good as was the rest of the cast. Speaking of which, anyone remember Ghost World, he breakout role alongside Thora Birch? Did anyone predict she'd end up becoming a much bigger star than Birch? I mean, it's not even close in any aspect of comparission.
Definitely worth seeing this movie, especially for the ending.
The Baxter: This was Michael Showalter follow up to "Wet Hot American Summer", so naturally it piqued my curiosity. Much of the cast from that film is used in either starring or supporting roles, though this film is much more centered on a few characters. Showalter plays the titular "Baxter", a term his character's grandma used to describe guys who keep losing out at love. And by the way he acts in the first half of the film, you almost hope he loses his fiance (played by Elizabeth Banks). Of course, there's a monkey wrench (or actually a pair of them) in Michelle Williams and Justin Thoreaux, who end up driving the couple apart in their own ways. As much as I enjoy Showalter's work on the State and WHAS, this one just fell flat for me. Much of it is due to the general patheticness of his character and the general unlikeability of most of the characters. The best character, at least from a likeability view, was Michelle Williams. This is a cable or netflix worthy rental for fans of the State/WHAS/Stella. Everyone else will likely be bored.
Glory Road- I had no intention of seeing this one in the theater, but it turned out to be a pleasant surprise. The story was enjoyable and the basketball scenes were well done. Several people in the theater actually started cheering during them. All in all, a good movie experience. However, I later learned that the movie was less than truthful about the time frame of the real story (It took actually 5 seasons, not 1, for Texas Western to win the national championship). Does that matter? To me, no. I was looking for a movie not a history lesson.
posted by Mike at 1:09 PM
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