it's not life that matters but the journey...

HI - welcome to my film post. I will start out with a very short, but very heartfelt review of a movie I just watched tonight. I just finished, about an hour ago, the fantastic Irish movie Once , and I have to say it's one of the best movies I've seen in a long time. It was just so low-key, so sweet, so romantic and poignant, and the music is incredible! The songs in this movie were all perfect, and now I have to buy the soundtrack. I really loved the camera work, which brought such intimacy to the shots, whether of the characters or of the landscape. there were great shots of the streets of Dublin, and of the hills and the ocean - so beautiful! It makes me want to visit Ireland, of course I've always wanted to! I also loved the sweet relationships between the characters, especially the guy and girl (who was so adorable) - their love story was tender, and so subtle. even the main character and his father had such a touching scene near the end that I was in tears. Once is exactly the kind of movie that makes me want to watch movies, and brings the joy back to the experience of the film. It was such a rewarding film, and I highly recommend it for those who love music, and who love movies that mean something.

My other reviews will be under the cuts, to save your space and time, and also since I really rambled on and on...

I've been meaning to post movie thoughts for well over a month now; I just get so busy with my stupid daily life, and I can't find the time to really write how I feel about each one. Since I'm so inclined, I think I'll just post some short reviews now, in case anyone is interested.
And galactic_jack if you're reading, I wrote some words about Inland Empire at the very end of my reviews; feel free to ignore the rest of the reviews, but I'd love your two cents on Lynch!



Let's see I'll start with the other most recent movie I watched, Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke . Surprisingly, I had never seen it before, though I have seen other amazing animation by Miyazaki including Howl's Moving Castle and My Friend Totoro . I always wanted to watch more of his films while I was in Japan, but couldn't because I need the subtitles. His stories are so beautiful and so deep and meaningful, but Princess Mononoke was by far the most interesting I've seen. I love the fact that Miyazaki's movies almost always deal with the spirit world, and with deeper concepts of life beyond just the mundane of daily existence. His characters are endowed with special abilities and qualities, and the animals and spirits are even more wise sometimes than the human characters. Mononoke dealt with the conflict between nature and civilization (of course that is simplifying the plot), but the overall idea is that we can, and should, learn to co-exist.

No Country for Old Men was very good, and I'd go so far as to say that visually it was stunning. The beginning was slow-paced, probably just to set the tension and to establish the characters, and the plot (which really wasn't incredibly deep). What I loved best about this movie was the bleakness of the landscape, which was so omnipresent that it almost became a character in the movie. Without those long, lonely shots of the desert, there wouldn't have been such a sense of despair. Of course Javier Bardem's character brought so much of the film's despair, and though he hardly says a word, his presence is chilling. The best thing about the film was Tommy Lee Jones, though. That man is just so incredible, and should have had a nomination for his role in this movie. Overall, I don't feel it was the Coen's best film (that would be Fargo, in my opinion), but it was fascinating, and I think a departure from the more mediocre movies they've been doing recently.

I watched Rendition I'll admit mostly because it has Jake Gyllenhaal, who has always been a favorite of mine. The plot was really interesting, though quite controversial I think because of the subject of terrorism, suicide bombings, and how the CIA hides their interrogation methods. Besides the fact that Jake was weak in this movie (though he was absolutely gorgeous), the biggest disappointment with the movie was it's ending (and I won't reveal any spoilers). It just wasn't realistic, or satisfying. It was a Hollywood ending, very rushed and very abrupt. My favorite bits were the scenes with the Egyptian couple, and their very unusual love story set amidst the violence of the middle east. Reese Witherspoon was quite good, and there is a couple nice small character roles by Meryl Streep and Peter Sarsgaard (not a surprise since he's married to Jake's sister). I recommend it, but just a warning - don't expect to be blown away. It's good, but not fantastic.

Two fun movies I watched were the Simpson's movie and Mr. Bean's Holiday. I won't write much except to say that the Simpsons movie had a few very funny laugh-out-loud scenes, but was rather just like watching a long Simpsons episode. If you're a fan, then you'll love it. Mr. Bean's Holiday was much the same - it was slow in the beginning, but then turned out to be a great bit of Mr. Bean's regular antics. Again, if you're a fan of Mr. Bean, you will enjoy it. Otherwise, stay away.

A movie that surprised me, in a good way, was Reign Over Me with Don Cheadle and Adam Sandler. I wasn't sure if I would like it, and in fact I got about halfway through before I really started to enjoy it. But then, like No Country for Old Men I realized that the first part was slow for a reason. It was establishing the characters, the situations, and setting up a mood. The pace was perfect for the story, which was very poignant, very sad, and very uplifting (at least at the end). What surprised me most was the acting by Adam Sandler. I was discussing this with my sister, and she told me that Adam is great in Punch Drunk Love (which I haven't seen), a more serious role. To be honest, I don't like Adam Sandler much in his comedic roles; he is silly, sophomoric, and not funny (with two exceptions, The Wedding Singer and Big Daddy). But as a dramatic actor, he is quite good. His role in this movie was very serious, but at the same time, because of the character's mental state, Adam was allowed to play someone who was an adult, but also very child-like. One scene, where he tells Don Cheadle's character all about his wife and daughters who were all killed in the 9/11 plane crash, was so powerful. I know some people might not agree with me, or might think the movie was overly sentimental. I would usually feel that way about a movie with this kind of story. But this was a very good movie. I highly recommend it.

Finally, even though I really need to give this movie more space, and another viewing before I really write about it's meanings, I'll write a few lines about David Lynch's most recent masterpiece Inland Empire . It's been so long since I viewed it that it's almost becoming blurry in my mind, but what stands out is a fantastic performance by Laura Dern, who basically had to carry a very convoluted story (or should I say stories, for there are at least three) for 3 hours' worth of film, and also several characters at the same time. She's quite an underrated actress, and a master (or mistress?) of facial expressions and emotion. As usual with Lynch's movies I had to watch the movie twice (and will watch it again and again) to even begin to understand all of the stories taking place. Basically there are three story lines, which all overlap, and all of which deal strongly with the subconcious, and with the crossing over into other dimensions, as well. I saw similarities to Lost Highway with the strong contrasts between light and dark, what you can see and what you can't, and the continuous appearance of curtains (we see in Mulholland Drive, Twin Peaks, Lost Highway), almost like something that hides what is on the other side, a passageway to some other dimension. Very dream-like scenes in which you might even say to yourself "what the heck is going on" or scenes in which several actresses just begin dancing for no apparent reason. I loved the scenes in Poland, which added another very surreal element to the film, and a coldness which contrasted sharply with the warmth and brightness of L.A. (where the other dimension/story takes place. For fans of David Lynch, this is an essential film. those who know Lynch will be able to more easily follow (or really in essence tolerate) the morme confusing moments; you will know where he is going or what he is doing. He repeats themes and even character types throughout his films. And he also uses repetition within his films too, which might be annoying to someone looking for something with plot and continuity. You won't really find straight plot, or straight time sequence in Lynch's films.

Anyway that's enough rambling about film. This amazingly took me only 30 minutes to write. If you're still reading, or if you read any of my reviews, thanks!!
Wow I miss writing about films - that was fun!!



good night all and have a great weekend!