Movies 2011, Weeks 34-36

It's been a while since I posted but I'm back with a vengeance!   I watched four movies in one day this week.  There was enough of a mix of films to entertain me in the last three weeks.  I only have 11 films left on the AFI Top 100 and I'm delighted about it!  I think I'm going to have to finish in November because I have such lengthy films left.

August 28- September 3, 2011
145) Who Does She Think She Is? Documentary about the challenges of being a woman and an artist simultaneously.  It starts out with a somber tone and moves to an empowering one.  It confirmed that I don't expect to become less of a person when I become a mother.  But I didn't need to hear and see that from a dozen people to believe that.  And of course some stories resonated much more with me than others.  This movie needed a focus.  2.8 stars
146) Just Go With It. Jennifer Anniston & Adam Sandler star as an assistant cajoled by her boss into going along with his plan to convince a girl he's married.  Sigh.  First of all, I would've passed on this movie if only I'd seen it was 1hr50 mins!!  What?!?!  For a romcom???  Get over yourself.  You knew what was going to happen and there weren't really any actual complications.  And is Sandler going to do the groin injury "comedy" for every movie???  Sigh.  I just wish these two would get some good scripts.  2 stars
147) Zodiac. A thriller starring Jake Gyllenhaal as a newspaper cartoonist trying to solve uncover the identity of a serial killer who calls himself 'Zodiac.'  Very tense and awesome.  I really enjoyed it.  4.4 stars
148) The Grapes of Wrath. Henry Fonda stars as an ex-con who unexpectedly finds himself on a journey to California when his sharecropping family is forced out of the dust bowl in Oklahoma.  Wow.  This is a really slow-moving film with no opportunity to connect with the characters.  It really is no match for a stellar book.  Even dirtied up Fonda doesn't look rough enough to be Tom Joad.  I'm sure it didn't help that the book was so fresh in my mind.  The movie?  Didn't enjoy it.  2 stars
149) The Perfect Host.  David Hyde Pierce stars as the titular character in this thriller about an ex-con who finds himself in a dinner party.  It started off very interesting then veered bizarrely and badly off-course.  Just... what??  It really could have been so much better... well somewhat better... with a few relatively minor changes.  2.9 stars

September 4-10, 2011
150) With Six You Get Egg Roll.  Doris Day and Brian Keith star as the heads of a newly blended family that's having trouble gelling.  Cute but silly.  Light and easy comedy.  3.3 stars
151) Catfish. Documentary about a guy who meets this beautiful girl on the internet and then goes to track her down.  It shows the evolution of a facebook relationship and his involvement with an entire family.  Really crazy.  It got pretty interesting in a different way toward the end in a way I liked.  It just went on a little too long.  3.7 stars
152) The Godfather. Awesome Scorcese-directed classic about an Italian family controlling a neighborhood and the dangers associated with that business.  Loved it!  I wished I hadn't seen Godfather II first so I would be more surprised by more things.  5 stars

September 11-17, 2011
153) Saving Private Ryan. Matt Damon stars as the last surviving son in a family full of boys at war.  It's Tom Hanks' character's job to save Private Ryan from death.  The early D-Day landing scenes really reinforced the futility and horrors of war.  No wonder people return so jacked up.  You can't unsee that stuff.  Still, those points were belabored in the script.  Good, but a bit too long. 4 stars
154) The Long Kiss Goodnight.  Samuel L. Jackson & Geena Davis star in this film about a spy with amnesia and the sidekick who helps her.  This movie does not stand up to the ravages of digital production today.  Nothing looks as good as it would today and therefore looks incredibly cheesy.  Geena Davis' innocent face and simply fair writing erases much of the thrill of the action moments.  2.9 stars
155) Something Borrowed. Film adapted from a great book about a boring lawyer who finds herself entangled with her best friend's hunky fiancé.  It actually combined ideas from the following book as well.  First, I loved the books.  And I think that was part of my problem with the movie.  I could see Kate Hudson as her character but the rest kept me confused.  Especially John Kransinski.  Extremely perplexing casting.  Like they were chosen for their recognition factor rather than how they fit the character.  The story line was a bit too loose for me period, though, even accepting differences from the book.   2.9 stars
156) Contagion. This movie was awesome!  It stars Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslett and Lawrence Fishburn.  Their lives intersect as an international team of scientists, including those at the CDC try to figure out how stop an epidemic.  They must also figure out where it began.  If you are the slightest bit of a germaphobe, you probably won't even touch yourself on the leg w/o washing your hands for at least a month.  I loved it!  I'm all about a thriller that could happen to me!  4.4 stars
157) The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia. Documentary about a year in the life of a crazy clan of hell-raisers.  Riveting.  We couldn't turn away if we tried.  For all of the flaws in the family, those flaws did not exist in the making of this film.  Very well-written, directed & edited.  4.4 stars
158) Dante's Peak. Film starring Pierce Brosnan and Linda Hamilton about a vulcanologist's effort's to save a town along Dante's Peak from certain volcanic activity.  The volcano-related stuff  was AWESOME!  Great special effects and everything!  The loving and people-related activity was terrible.  Insert copious eye rolling.  3.5 stars
159) Dinner for Schmucks. Steve Carrell and Paul Rudd star in this remake of a (far better) foreign film about an aspiring exec who finds the perfect loser to bring to his bosses' monthly party for losers.  Oh I wish this movie was better.  But it wasn't.  It was too long and too chatty.  Get to the point.  2.7 stars
160) Love Potion No. 9. Sandra Bullock stars in a rom com about two nerdy scientists whose lives are changed by a love potion.  They become hot commodities and then guess what happens?  I won't spoil it for you... *snicker*  One of those amusing-ish, outlandish 80s movies.  I would watch it while cooking again!  3.3 stars
161) Baby Face. Barbara Stanwyck stars in this 1933 film about a woman who charms and manipulates herself to fame and fortune.  You could absolutely see this film today.  You might make a tv series... call it... basketball wives?   But hopefully in a more well-written form.  Extremely abrupt and confusing end.  Jerky story line.  2.8 stars