November 1-7, 2009
613. The Mirror Has Two Faces. Barbara Streisand directs and stars in this film, which also includes Pierce Brosnan, about a marriage of convenience between two college professors. I know I've seen it in pieces before but I'm not really sure how much. There were clearly parts of this film where I would've had to kill the main character's husband. Though I enjoyed the characters and the plot, this film was WAY too long. It was funny but could have seriously benefited from some editing. Romantic comedies should not last more than 90 minutes. 4.3 stars
614. What's Up Tiger Lily? Woody Allen took a Japanese film about murder and dubbed it as a comedy in English. If you think I don't get Allen, you're right. There was a strange long period of no dialogue early on. The musical breaks were ridiculous. The plot was worse. There was even a break for shadow puppets. Mess. 1 star
615. Dominick Dunne: After the Party. Documentary about the crime writer. Interesting story at the start but it probably lasted a hair too long which became indicative of the vein of the rest of the film which seemed to have a problem with focus. Incessant name-dropping by everyone. It was nuts. It's almost like the film didn't know what it wanted to be: a retrospective or heavily about his work. Yes, the two are intertwined, but to what extent? There were these interesting or funny stories that went on and on until you got to an underwhelming end. Boring, boring, boring. Some of these stories he told seemed absolutely unbelievable and self-important. It was like the person who led the editing was too enamored with the subject to pull back. There was also a lot of jumping around in the plot. Follow SOME sort of organization or chronology. If the film must be non-linear or topical it would help to keep the story easy to follow. It was also strange that so many stories were told multiple times on multiple days and all spliced together. Dunne's motivations became very clear pretty early. Interesting subject. The filmmaking leaves much to be desired. 2.3 stars
616. Dracula. 1931 film about the original vampire terrorizing his hometown and London. Vaguely amusing horror film. I'm sure it was horrifying when it was first released. Dracula and his sidekick especially are both well-played roles. 3 stars
617. By the People: The Election of Barack Obama. HBO Documentary about the 2008 campaign. I was disappointed by the lack of access to the then senator. Many times the filmmakers were in the pool with the reporters. There was decent access to Michelle, some cute interviews with the kids, some access to upper level campaign staffers. But when you say a behind-the-scenes look at the campaign, there are some expectations that weren't quite met. Access of course is the primary one, but this film seemed to be missing something in focus as well. It actually would've been a more interesting film considering the lack of access (have I said that enough?) if it had focused on the grassroots movement and just bolstered it with talks from Obama. There were more one-on-ones with journalists than with the president. It did evoke some of those feelings I had along the way during the campaign so in that respect it worked, but I followed the campaign closely so I didn't feel like I was exposed to things I hadn't seen before. It would probably be interesting to see this more removed from the events, but in general I didn't feel any new ground was broken. 3 stars
618. The Color of Paradise. Extremely quiet Iranian film about a little blind boy whose father nearly abandons him because he's trying to marry into a prosperous family. This kid spoke very little but I loved him. The end was bad. SO unbelievable which dropped the rating down. 3.4 stars
619. The Answer Man. Lauren Graham is a struggling chiropractor who finds herself connected to a grumpy self-help/new age religion guru and a struggling bookstore clerk. Slow start to this romantic drama. Jeff Daniels' character was amusing and well-acted. There was some pretty bad lack of chemistry between the two main characters. The ending was a bit ridiculous but I enjoyed this film enough. 3.4 stars
620. Marty. 1955 film about a lonely Italian man living with his mother about to give up hope of meeting a wife. Not bad. The end was on the underwhelming side. 3.3 stars
621. The Taking of Pelham 123. Denzel Washington stars as an MTA dispatcher who gets caught up in a hostage situation where John Travolta is the hostage taker. I liked both the of the roles and there was some good action built into this film. There was some silliness in there as well. Like why would I believe that? And in what world? Still enjoyable enough for what it was. 3.9 stars
622. The Big Heat. Fritz Lang directs this 1953 thriller about a detective who while investigating ends up having to avenge a murder. I enjoyed the twists and turns! 4 stars
623. Love Crazy. William Powell & Myrna Loy are a couple celebrating their anniversary when the wife's mother sends the wife into a tizzy prompting a divorce. The only way to stop the divorce is for Mr. Ireland to pretend he's crazy. Of course hijinks ensue. Powell and Loy should still be making movies together. They're awesome! The hijinks were a bit irritating after a while. 3.4 stars
624. The Pink Panther. Classic film starring Peter Sellers as the detective trying to stop a serial jewel thief. Cute and funny though the slapstick was wearying at times. 3.9 stars
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