Crazy Movie Lady 3

February 1- 7, 2009
61. Another Thin Man. A b&w film from the 1930s. I really liked it. It was amusing and was a mystery which seems to be a big theme from that era.
62. Murder on A Sunday Morning. Academy Award-winning documentary about a 15-year-old accused of murder in Jacksonville, FL with no evidence to connect him to the crime. It dragged a bit. I would've preferred the trial not broken up by conversations about the case before/after the trial from the attorneys. Overall I enjoyed it because of the huge payoff at the end though at times the film dragged.
63. Faubourg Treme: The Untold Story of Black New Orleans. A PBS documentary. You know I love stuff about black people. And I'm fascinated by New Orleans. This started with the pre-Civil War history where New Orleans was the home of the largest community of free blacks in the deep south. It was also home of the largest slave revolt (500) in America. And let's not forget jazz. GREAT music in this doc. Chronicled the highs and lows and how Plessy v. Ferguson started in this community.
64. Black Is... Black Ain't. About the many splendored search for identity among black people. The producer died partway through the making which made me wonder about how the film would have progressed if he was alive. He was in it a lot, much of it from his death bed... literally... which forced you to constantly wonder if he would have made the film that way. It's possible... but who knows.
65. Lonely Boy. Hilarious film about how crazy girls went over performer Paul Anka. SO funny watching 1960s groupies crying with all their Anka paraphernalia.
66. A Time for Burning. Exploring the explosion of race relations in Omaha, NE when the Lutheran church tries to integrate. I really liked this movie. I'm all for honest opinions. I did want more of them from the white people, though. They were trying not to look bad... which is amazing. How is it that you don't want to be in the same room with a black person but don't want to admit it? If you feel that way, say it. Quit being a punk! Man up!
67. Fight Club. No thanks. Too much blood and gore. Moderately nteresting plot twist (Rashan made me say that)... buried in blood and gore. I'll have to pass. But at least I can say I've seen it now.
68. The Dark Knight. I know this is getting a lot of buzz and is winning awards all over creation but it was way too long for me. (I know I know. I'm beginning to sound like a broken record, even to myself, but SERIOUSLY. NO movie should pass the 2 hour mark. Amelie has been BY FAR my fave movie at or near that length. I never wanted it to end.) Back to DK, I was most intrigued and impressed by Two Faces. WOW! Left very open-ended for a sequel. Sigh. VERY open-ended makes me not a fan. Open-ended okay. But very. I'll have to pass.
69. Georgia Rule. Structurally weak with a very bouncy and loose story line. I just got it because I like Lindsay Lohan ("stop trying to make fetch work," "Word vomit. Wait. No, actual vomit." "If you're from Africa, why are you white?" "I have ESPN, I can tell when it's going to rain. Actually, I can tell when it's already raining." "Cough cough. I'm sick." "Booo. You whore." -- Mean Girls. Man! Too bad my movie viewing schedule doesn't really allow for hitting up the old faves.). Anyway, I wanted to like this movie. But it was very meh.
70. Children of Men. Rashan recommended this one. Doomsday movie about what happens when a woman is the first pregnant person in the world in 18 years. I didn't connect with this film but I'm not sure why, though my adrenaline was pumping a bit during the last 25 minutes.
71. Dead Like Me. I liked the show much better than the movie. Part of the annoyance was the missing Rube. Ugh. That's like having the main character missing. He was one of the 2 main characters. Why make the movie without him unless he actually died in real life. I don't think he did so they should've held out like the Sex and the City movie. This wasn't awful but the comic book look turned me off in the beginning and the end seemed to meander without a real way to end.
72. 6 in Paris. A collection of short films by 6 French filmmakers. The second, Gare du Nord, was my favorite. Very unexpected ending which is what I LOVED about it. The rest of them didn't really capture my attention much or were horribly acted. Actually the one by Godard was mildly amusing, too.
73. Man on Wire. Oscar nominee in the best documentary category this year. I don't think it will win because of the heavy reliance on recreations (in which they had some AMAZING lookalikes!!). The Academy is notoriously strict about that sort of thing. It was kind of distracting because I kept wondering what was real and what was not which is a shame because they had some really great archival footage. Another one of those films that was too long. It was nice to watch a film with most of my classmates. We watched it at the home of one of our professors after dinner and drinks.
74. Doubt. I was captivated. It was about a Catholic school in the 1960s where a priest was suspected of molesting a student. Another Academy Award nominee this year.
75. Promises. Documentary film about the children on either side of the Israeli, Palestinian dispute. Too long-winded on the portion introducing the children. The most interesting part of the film was the dialogue between the children on both sides so the bulk of the movie could have addressed that.
76. Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2. It was okay. I liked the first one better (of course). I still really like the books which, again, are always better.
77. The Constant Gardner. I'm absolutely understanding why this was an Oscar nominee. (A lot of those this week, huh?) Great thriller about the search for a killer. (Ew... rhyme unintended but too accurate to remove.)