Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Movies I Saw In May

I saw ten movies in May, and most of those were seen in the very last week and a half, when I had finally finished student teaching, graduating, and traveling to friends' weddings. So here's the brief rundown of those.

Four Lions (2010). A dark satire about incompetent suicide bombers which is far more hilarious than I expected it to be. I wasn't really sure what to think about the ending when I first saw it, but now with some distance between when I first saw it and now, I feel like it works. 4/5.

Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008). A horror musical about repossessing internal organs, but also about a lot of other things that just make for a very convoluted, very confusing plot. It starts off strong, with a fantastic musical mood piece, and I wouldn't have minded the nonsensical plot if the whole thing had been that interesting musically, but... it wasn't. Disappointing. 2.5/5.

Gladiator (2000). Oscar-winning story of a former Roman general who is forced into slavery and gladiat...ion? Gladiatordom? Either way, I DON'T GET IT. It's so long and its major protagonist is unbelievably boring. All the points this gets are for Joaquin Phoenix as the crazy evil emperor, because he was awesome. 2/5.

The Cabin in the Woods (2012). I don't want to give away any plot points because the less you know going into it, the better. Let me just say it's one of the best horror movies I personally have ever seen and does an amazing job of using and working with current horror stereotypes. Funny and scary and fascinating. 4.5/5.

Footloose (2011). Remake of the 1984 film about a town where dancing is forbidden. I watched the original right after this and it highlighted just how unnecessary the remake was. The dancing is less interesting, most of the character development is completely gone, and Dennis Quaid is the least forbidding enemy ever. 2/5.

Mr. Baseball (1992). Tom Selleck plays a baseball player who is traded to Japan. I already don't like baseball movies, but this one could've been tolerable if Selleck wasn't such a despicable character the entire time. 1/5.

The Edge of Heaven (2007). Um. OK, my review of this when I first wrote it said something like, "This is solid, but I'm not sure it'll stick out." It has not stuck out so much that I saw it a week ago and cannot for the life of me remember most of the plot. So I'm pretty sure I have to downgrade my original 3-star rating to a 2, because it was apparently extremely forgettable.

Bonnie and Clyde (1967). Based on the story of real life 1930s bank robbers Bonnie and Clyde. More interesting for the characterization of the two characters than for anything else, but that by itself is great. 3.5/5.

Ward 13 (2003). A short claymation horror movie. Fascinating and well-done. I especially like the mix it finds between humor and horror - many moments bounce back and forth between the two. 4/5.

In the Mood For Love (2000). Foreign film about a man and a woman who live next door to each other and each have never-present spouses. I loved the slow build-up of this story, but, without being spoilery, I didn't like the way it ended - it was a very jarring switch from the way it'd been going up until then. 3/5.

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