Crazy Movie Lady 19

May 24- 30, 2009
296. The Sugarland Express. Steven Spielberg directs Goldie Hawn as a woman who breaks her husband out of jail to go get their child out of foster care once she got out of jail. Based on a true story in Texas. There was a really cool shoot-out. Apparently it wasn't supposed to be as amusing as I found it. Lol. 4/5 stars.
297. The Lives of Others. German film (that won best foreign film Oscar in 2007) about the Stasi spying on an artist in East Berlin before the fall of the wall. It was pretty interesting despite the leisurely pace. 3.5/5 stars.
298. Kramer vs. Kramer. Dustin Hoffman & my girl Meryl Streep won Oscars for this film where they play divorced parents fighting for custody of their son. I liked it a lot. Something felt a little off to me but I'm not sure what it was. 3.5 stars.
299. The Gathering. Laughably bad Christina Ricci "horror" movie. Wow... it's about the alleged curse on the people who stood around watching Jesus get crucified, forced to watch horrible things for eternity. Predictable most of the way around and when it wasn't being predictable it was being funny for the antics i.e. melodramatics. I like Christina for her Wednesday Adams days but her roles... wow... I have to give this movie 2 stars instead of one because at least it made me laugh-- particularly the last scene.
300. Love in the Afternoon. Audrey Hepburn film about a playboy (old man) bachelor who has his life saved by a young woman whose father is a private investigator and becomes smitten with him. Cute classic. 4 stars.
301. Get Smart. Hmmm... that was supposed to be a funny take on the classic tv show, right? Pass. Anne Hathaway and Steve Carrell weren't as funny as I hoped. I knew where it was going and didn't care 34 minutes in and I had 1hr20 left. Saaaaave meeeee. I forgive classics their ridiculous love stories because it was a requirement of the times. If Get Smart had been made back then it might have scored higher. Alas. 2/5.
302. How to Steal A Million. Audrey Hepburn stars in this classic as a woman who must steal her millionaire father's forgery of a famous statue from a museum to keep him from jail. Cute classic with awesome fashion. 4/5.
303. Nothing But the Truth. Great film inspired by the Valerie P.lame leak. I LOVE films based on history. This one was well done all around and made me SO indignant for the rights of journalists to maintain the integrity of their sources. Great twist which I was delighted to figure out well before it was revealed. Lol. 4.5 stars.
304. Shadow of the Thin Man. One of a serial of classic movies about the thin man-- a detective. The coon role of the black maid pissed me off. God forbid the maid not run around saying stupid things. You can't be a quiet, efficient servant if you can't be a smart one? Thanks classic Hollywood screenwriters. Pretty boring film with an unnecessarily long buildup to the climax. Probably wasn't annoying in its day, though so 3/5 stars.
305. I Could Never Be Your Woman. Michelle Pfeiffer plays the older woman trying to avoid dating Paul Rudd's character because of their age differences. I had seriously (insert SNL skit song) lowered expectations for this film and it actually made me laugh a lot. The show the pair was working on, "You Go Girl" was very annoying but Paul Rudd was definitely a scene-stealer throughout the film. 3.5/5 stars.
306. Last Resort. Film about a woman who leaves Russia for England to meet her fiancee who doesn't show up forcing her to claim political asylum. I didn't care what happened to her, then I really did, then I didn't again. All in 73 minutes. Hm. 2.5 stars.
307. Alive Day Memories: Home from Iraq. Documentary about Iraq war veterans who almost died-- the alive day is the day they almost died. Really poignant. The music overdramatized this film in a cheap way. It doesn't need that. The topic is dramatic on a basic level. The interviewing was done by James G.andolfini and was at times overly intrusive. The home video was used amazingly to impress what they lost. 3.7/5 stars.
308. I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry. Adam Sandler, Ving Rhames, Kevin James and Jessica Biel in a movie about 2 firefighters who pretend they're gay to get benefits. Wow gay joke overload. Still some laugh out loud moments but almost 2 hours? Stop the madness. I didn't hate it but I have no reason to ever watch it again. Cheap laughs. The preachy courtroom scene definitely dragged this movie down. 2.9/5 stars.
309. The Secret Life of Bees. Alicia Keys, Queen Latifah, Dakota Fanning, Jennifer Hudson in the story of sisters caring for bees and selling their honey in the 1960s who take in a runaway white child. I originally wanted to see this movie because my book club read the book it's based on. The differences were mostly not bothersome. There were some horribly slipping southern accents which of course irritated me because I noticed them. The best actress was actually Dakota Fanning with additional great work from Sophie Okonedo, who played one of the sisters. Parts of the film were contrived, but some parts were very moving. 3.5 stars.
310. Last Holiday. Movie where Queen Latifah learns she only has a month left to live so she decides to blow her savings on a trip to the Czech Republic on her dream holiday. Really? CZ? Come on. Anyway. As predictable as you thought it would be. Let's just leave it at that. My mom has a lot of movies I shouldn't be watching and wouldn't if I had other options right now... (no internet).
311. Adaptation. This movie does way too much time-traveling for my taste in the first 19 minutes. At least 8 times. Really? It looks like one of those weird movies Rashan loves already in those same first 19 minutes. Nicolas Cage does a nice job but aww man. It started badly for me then picked up, never boring, but the ending killed it for me and it was on the way to being a 3.9. I liked this film about a screenwriter struggling to adapt a book to film but a seminar said don't have a deus ex machina. And yet it did. Bah. This guy (the director) always has like 3 or 4 different scripts within the script. Very odd. Down to 3.3/5 stars.