Crazy Movie Lady 21

June 7- 13, 2009
By the beginning of this week I was behind on my movie watching due to my resistance to watching films. Instead of being 5 films ahead like I was when I left Charlotte I was only 3 films ahead. Okay so not behind but I wanted to step up the movie watching this summer.
324. Jungle Fever. Wesley Snipes movie by Spike Lee about a married, professional black man who has an affair with an Italian woman and the havoc their affair wreaks on their communities. Very political. Interesting like all Spike Lee joints. I liked it and couldn't remember if I'd seen it before... odd. Anyway I'd never rated it and remembered much of the film. Kind of like "I'm Gonna Git You Sucka." 4/5 stars.
325. The Seventh Sign. Demi Moore movie about the 7 signs of the apocalypse which she single-handedly tries to stop. High drama factor but I think I didn't like it because it wasn't well explained early enough. When it got to explanation I didn't believe it. Also probably didn't help that Mrs. Ashton is supposed to save the world... I was really bored most of this movie. 2/5 stars.
326. Half Past Autumn. Documentary on legendary photographer/cinematographer/filmographer Gordon Parks. I didn't understand why this film was narrated as Mr. Parks still alive and in it to tell his own story. I was also confused by how the film was organized. It didn't seem to be chronological or topical or thematic instead bouncing around. Maybe it was a loose combination of all three but throughout the film I found myself trying to mentally organize. 3/5 stars.
327. West Side Story. 1960s musical based on Romeo and Juliet. Instead there are rival gangs in NYC in the 1950s. At the beginning I couldn't stop laughing at the plie-dropping, arabesque-ing gangsters. Lol. So funny. This film won 10 Academy Awards and I can see why. I liked it and already knew a couple of the songs. 4.2/5 stars.
328. Miami Vice. Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx about an undercover operation to bust drug smugglers. There was some strange camera work going on, especially in one of the shootouts which where a marked departure from the very cinematic style of the rest of the movie and thus quite jarring and out of place. This also occurred in the opening scene in the club. At more than 2 hours, it was also too long. Overall a pretty good script until the end. It wrapped up way too neatly which brought it down to 3.5 stars.
329. I Think I Love My Wife. Chris Rock movie about a man who thinks he loves his wife until his friend's old flame pops up (Kerry Washington) to seduce him. Men are stupid. I used to think there was no way they could be that oblivious but I've seen to much evidence to the contrary in the last 5 years. They may not be dumb in everything but when it comes to bewitching women? Dumb. Adulterers make me want to go off. This movie was pretty interesting though I was SMH most of the time. The last scene had me cracking up. 3.5/5 stars.
330. House Calls. Walter Mathau film about a widower who decides to be a Casanova before he meets a beguiling divorcee. Amusing if the script was a bit slow but I laughed out loud. 4 stars.
331. Junebug. Amy Adams plays a hilarious pregnant woman about to give birth and meeting her sister-in-law for the first time. This sister-in-law is well-traveled while Adams and her husband's family, who they live with, seem to have never left NC. Of course I didn't like how hickish they were but Adams was very funny until the film took an unexpected and shockingly sad turn. I really liked the film, though. 4/5 stars.
332. Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? Awesome classic with Bette Davis and Joan Crawford where a former vaudeville star now tortures the star actress sister she crippled decades earlier. I was shocked by this film and actually felt sorry for Crawford, something I'd thought not possible after watching "Mommy Dearest." Lol. 4.4 stars.
333. Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer. Follow-up from British documentarian who did an expose'-style film about the people who tried to make money off of Florida's female serial killer hitchhiking prostitute. Very slanted. Not a fan of the slant or how little Aileen talked though he had access. This was more about the filmmaker hoping to show I guess how she got to be a serial killer (the sympathy angle) but in her final year or so, she wasn't interested in that and just wanted to die. I liked the fiction film, "Monster" much more. 2/5 stars.
334. The Legend of Leigh Bowery. Strange documentary about an Australian man fancied as part fashion designer, part musician, part art exhibit. He made a life of shocking people. This man was naked far too much of this movie. I don't need to see his man parts. Even though he's dead, I wanted to hear from him more considering he was such a presence rather than have people telling me about him over pictures. It was almost like this was their memory of him collected which made it less interesting for other people who didn't know him. 2.9/5 stars.
335. He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not. French Audrey Tatou movie about love gone awry. She plays a student in love with a married man whose wife is pregnant. It unravels from there. At first I was appalled, then amazed, then shocked, then kind of blah and decided the end would make or break this movie. Made it! 4.2/5 stars.