Crazy Movie Lady 36

September 27- October 3, 2009
I passed 550 this week!! Less than 200 more movies to watch before the end of the year. I will be really glad when this is over. There are some tv shows and books I want to get into very badly.
538. Citizen King. Documentary about the last years of Dr. King's life with footage I had never seen before and insight from those closest to him. Noticeably absent in the reflections were his wife and children. Though Coretta Scott King was definitely in the movie, it was via archival pictures & footage including a very powerful open. I think I wanted to hear even more about Dr. King, the man, than this film did. It went farther than most have, but I still wanted more. 3.8 stars
539. Great World of Sound. Pointless indie film set in my hometown of Charlotte about two guys hired to sign new musical talent. You knew the entire movie less than halfway through and it just would.not.END!!! UGH!! Didn't have enough of a script to make this incredibly long movie. The funniest moments were in the beginning. 2 stars
540. The King of Comedy. Robert De Niro, Jerry Lewis & Sandra Bernhard star as two kidnappers who go after a talk show idol to get on his show performing a comedy act. Directed by Martin Scorcese, I really enjoyed this caper-style movie. I was staring mouth-agape at times and Bernhard had me cracking up! They should've given some sort of denouement for her character, though. 4 stars
541. Stormy Weather. Almost non-existent fictional story line about a famous dancer's life. I'm disappointed to say there was a lot of coonish behavior in this classic musical with an all-black cast. Lena Horne has the classiest character. The music was AWESOME. As was much of the dancing but the faces and BLACKFACE??? Not awesome. It is ridiculous that black actors were subjected to these roles. The titular song was awesome. 2.9 stars
542. Valentino: The Last Emperor. Documentary about the production of Valentino's last 2 runway shows. It would've been much more interesting if it was about Valentino the man. Instead it was like any other behind the scenes of the runway which comes on television regularly. I didn't like the editing of this film. At times too languid, at other times too quick, at other times sloppy. Not a fan. I was bored after about an hour. Very sporadic subtitles. There were times even with English where the accents were so heavy we needed them. The denouement was probably a bit too long, too. 3.3 stars
543. Away We Go. Maya Rudolph (looooove her) & John Krasinski are expecting their first kid and go on a journey to find the perfet place to raise their child. Starts too quirkily for me.I didn't expect them to be so... poor. Some bad, cheap, intrusive, at times repetitive "I'm so indie" music. I'm frightened by everyone they've ever known. Very weird. Some laugh out loud scenes. I didn't believe they were actually in love. They seemed like good and crazy friends. Got weirdly deep after about an hour. By the time I got to the end I can't say I cared terribly much what they decided though I called it because the set-up was so obvious. 3.3 stars
544. Niagara. Another Marilyn Monroe as strumpet film. She flirts and cavorts on vacation in Niagara Falls to the chagrin of her gloomy husband. Some interesting twists and tuns. Great photography and action in the last 10 minutes. I was really engaged. The script leading to that point was pretty weak in some parts. 3.6 stars
545. The Brothers Bloom. A film with Adrien Brody, Rachel Wisz & Mark Ruffalo about two con men brothers doing their last job. Pretty heavy handed narration in the early scenes. Does Adrien Brody pay any role other than brooder? It had the indie film convention of strange music with pointless moments where nothing really happens. I'm guessing the purpose of this film is to make you feel like you have no idea what's going on the entire time. Works in some ways but not in others and really came off like the screenwriter/director were trying too hard. This movie was more interesting than average, though. 3.5 stars
546. Something Wild. Melanie Griffith plays a wild woman who gets uptight Charlie out of his shell. Wow credits. They were like the longest of my life. 2:51. I also didn't need to see her n.ude so much. What a cliché of a movie. Silly. Torturously long at an hour 54. Ray Liotta also in this film at his creepiest. It got a little interesting toward the end but still not enough to make me want to see this movie again. And the song break at the end? HORRID. 2 stars
547. We Shall Not Be Moved. Documentary about the role of churches in the Civil Rights Movement narrated by Ossie Davis. I don't understand at all the editing style in the open with jerky zooms. I know it's a stylistic choice, but it's one I don't agree with. Some great archival video early on was in some ways diminished by the never-ending stream of talking heads. I'm guessing this film is supposed to be a primer on the Civil Rights Movement in general since it discussed well-known events in more detail than necessary for those with even a cursory familiarity with the Movement. The narration really seemed largely unnecessary with the amount of interviews. It gave an overly wide swath of history. The music was often intrusive. Incredibly distracting and unnecessary in a lot of places to have a never-ending soundtrack. The film purported to focus on the churches and should've stayed a little more closely to that to make it more unique among Civil Rights Movement films. 2.8 stars
548. You Can Count on Me. Laura Linney & Mark Ruffalo are siblings who were orphaned as children and are now navigating their relationship as adults which is strained due to Ruffalo's bad behavior. Matthew Broderick is the irritating boss. I was really surprised to enjoy this film but I did though it may have been a tad too long. 3.9 stars
549. Treeless Mountain. Korean film from the perspective of two little girls sent by their mother to live with their mean aunt in the country. Some beautiful cinematography, but very slow-moving. One of the longest hour and 29 minutes of my life. Not because it wasn't interesting, there just wasn't enough happening. 3.4 stars
550. Single White Female. Thriller about a woman who needs a roommate and gets a CRAZY one who tries to become her. Those last couple of fight scenes, though, were incredibly unbelievable. ***Spoiler alert for the 5 other people who haven't see this: who has that much energy when they're that injured? Adrenaline? Maybe.. but still. *** The final scene was silly and also unbelievable. 3.7 stars
551. Penny Serenade. Cary Grant is the husband of a pregnant woman who loses her baby during an earthquake, causing a strain on the relationship. The record device of playing one and it giving you a special memory was ridiculous early on. There was no way to tell the passage of time. Cary Grant stole my heart again! Swoon!! There was a really creepy kid in this film, though. I also don't understand why we had to read important parts of the plot in a letter. Very bizarre. The end was ridiculous and brings this movie to 3 stars.
552. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? A middle aged couple invites over a young couple new to the university but can't control their hate of each other, drunkenly spewing venom despite their guests. Some very nice use of lighting and shadows in the night time outdoor scenes. Liz Taylor as shrieking harpy was irritating which is the reason it took me 3 viewings over several months to watch this film. Clearly the end of the film made the movie. I love that they let you figure out what's happening instead of explicitly saying it but then it dragged on too long. Some really good cinematography. 3.8 stars
553. Breathless. French classic by director Jean-Luc Goddard. An American girl (with a horrible French accent) finds herself caught up with a murderer on the run from the police and she's not sure how she feels about him. The end is awesome. I really liked this film. I was engaged the entire time. 4.5 stars