After a month of crap (sans
The Informant!) Hollywood has decided to unleash a cartel of worthy films all on the same weekend. Marketing geniuses! Needless to say, it created an unnecessarily busy weekend for me.
Zombieland was my first stop. Even the title makes me smile.
Zombieland is the simple story of a group of travelers trying to stay alive in a world that has been overrun by those pesky non-dead cannibals.
Zombieland is sharp and cheeky and I loved its style. The slow motion scenes, the numbered rule graphics, the gore - it all worked for me.
I love Ricky Gervais (and Stephen Merchant). If you haven't seen the UK version of
The Office or
Extras, rent or download them immediately. Absolutely hilarious. To quote my own blog, I "adored" Gervais's last starring role,
Ghost Town, so I was really looking forward to
The Invention of Lying. I'm sorry to say that I was severely disappointed with
Lying. It just wasn't that funny. It had its moments, but the movie is more or less a drama depicting a religious allegory. It does have an awesome cast, including some really fun cameos, but it's just unfortunate that they all came together for a less than average movie. How long do we have to wait for a Gervais/Merchant penned feature?
"Be your own hero." I love that sentiment and I love the movie it comes from -
Whip It. Directed by Drew Barrymore (she does it all!) Ellen Page plays Bliss Cavendar, a ho-hum Bodeen, TX high schooler who comes into her own when she discovers the rock 'em sock 'em world of roller derby. This movie too just made me smile. I loved its energy and its humor. It has a great coming of age element and an awesome "girls just wanna have fun"/girl power mentality. I want my own derby name! :)
I rarely go to the theater and see a movie I don't like. It's only happened once so far this year, that I can remember. Well, now twice. New York, I Love You is a mess. This movie was shot like a bad 70's TV show. I'm serious, that's what it looked like. There were very few characters or storylines that were even watchable and some of it was just plain boring. You don't start an ensemble piece featuring people like Shia LeBeouf and Robin Wright Penn with Hayden Christensen and Rachel Bilson. You kill the movie before it even gets started. I spent the first ten minutes trying to figure out which one I hated more. Bilson won, for the record. I loved Paris, je'taime, I thought that was a great film. New York, I Love You completely pales in comparison. If you see this movie stay for the Chris Cooper, Julie Christie, Anton Yelchin, Cloris Leachman and Ethan Hawke storylines - skip the rest.
Immediately after New York, I Love You ended, I went and saw The Boys Are Back. I had to redeem filmmaking as an art. Based on a true story, The Boys Are Back stars Clive Owen as a widower who is forced to reconnect with his sons after his wife's untimely death. I loved quite a bit about this film. Clive Owen was great. He doesn't get the chance to carry whole films by himself very often, but he's more than capable. I really liked the father/son relationships here too - another facet that isn't often shown on film. The relationships are fun, complicated and heartbreaking while still being entertaining. The young boys who played Owen's sons were also exceptional. Lastly, I loved the cinematography. Filmed mainly in Australia, the scenery was gorgeous.
Another fine and beautifully shot film was the Amelia Earhart biopic, Amelia. It's not exceptionally flashy or bold, but it's a good, solid dramatic picture that has the feel of old time Hollywood. I really like how the filmmakers zeroed in on a particularly time in Earhart's life and told that story thoroughly. Hilary Swank did an excellent job of capturing Earhart during the prime of her life. Richard Gere and Ewan McGregor were also great. I was surprised by how compelling the film was. You know how the story ends, but I still found myself on the edge of my seat hoping for a safe landing.
