Crazy Movie Lady 21

June 14-20, 2009
I was having too much fun this weekend to watch movies. I have a lot of catching up to do next week.
336. The Woman in the Window. Classic thriller about a professor who gets ensnared in a murder with a beautiful model. I couldn't believe how bumbling they were. The end killed this movie for me. Cop out. 2.8/5 stars.
337. Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father. Documentary about the director's childhood friend who was murdered just after he fathered a son. His plan was to have the baby's father's many friends tell stories so he could get to know him. It took an extremely unexpected turn a little over halfway through. There were some parts of the film I felt moved too quickly which I attribute to the filmmaker's experience primarily with feature films. Still, overall an excellent film. 4.8/5 stars.
338. Ira and Abby. Funny movie about a neurotic guy who marries a free-spirited woman a week after they meet and how their lives change and in some ways unravel together. This film moved really nicely. I wanted to see more from the scriptwriter and the director, whoever they are. I wasn't in love with part of the ending (multiple story lines) but I really liked some of it. 4.2/5 stars
339. Why Do Fools Fall in Love. I hope you guys have stopped being shocked by all the movies I haven't seen. Lots of B actors in this film about a doo-wop star who married 3 women who didn't know he was married to all of them simultaneously and after his death fought in court over his estate. Mildly interesting but dragged on too long. Larenz Tate never looked like he was actually singing. 3/5 stars.
340. Two Days in April. Documentary follows 4 players trying to get selected in the 2006 NFL draft. It's an inside look at how they prepare themselves to get selected. I was appalled by the weigh-in. All these black men with their shirts off. Umm... reminiscent of the slave trade anyone!!?!? It was more emotional than I expected. Toward the end it dragged on unnecessarily. The film ramped up drama where it already existed but still a pretty good showing. 3.8/5 stars.
341. Victor/Victoria. Julie Andrews stars as a down and out soprano who can only secure work by posing as a female impersonator. Excellent acting in this 7-time Academy Award-nominated musical. Julie Andrews rocks. I could listen to her sing all day. This was more than a little long at 2hr9m but I thoroughly enjoyed it. My only real issue with this film is that it was allegedly set in the 1930s in Paris and some of the dialogue was markedly un-1930s and some of the handling of the issues (h.omosexuality primarily) seemed anachronistic. Plus it's always strange when a movie set in France has no French and very few accents. 4.2 stars.
342. Nine Queens. Argentinean film about a rare sheet of stamps two swindlers are trying to sell and the issues that arise surrounding them. Interesting story line, moved swiftly. 4/5 stars.
343. Surfwise. Documentary about a surfing family of 9 children living in a 24-foot trailer traveling constantly, surfing, and never going to school. Hmmm... obviously a very interesting family and a film which actually got all 11 immediate family members to participate but somehow it never really all came together. I was absolutely intrigued, but some of the things that came to light in large ways throughout the film would have been more effective if they'd been alluded to earlier on. In a way because of that lack of cohesion in multiple story lines, it felt like 2 or 3 very different films. It was trying to show the totality of one man's impact on his children and the world and it just needed one scene or something to tie it all together. 3.5/5 stars.
345. American Gangster. Denzel Washington plays notorious NY drug lord Frank Lucas who involved most of his family. Although the movie was interesting, I get tired of seeing black criminals. And at 2 hours and 30 minutes, it took me about a week to watch this. Though the movie was well done, I just couldn't get into it. 3.5/5 stars.